Lisa's Badwater Double attempt and the "Not So Normal Relay"

I have been back for over a week now and it has been really hard for me to get into gear. Someone put it this way "it's kind of like the let down you get after the holidays". And that is just how I feel. Lisa's Badwater week was so extraordinary; not one of us could have predicted the outcome. Although she was not able to complete her double, what happened to us as crew and elite runner is more then hard to put into words. How can you accurately express feelings both highs and lows? How can it be told of the camaraderie we had as a crew? How can the suffering of a true champion be described? What I witnessed on the highway will be one of those everlasting memories.... you know, the kind that bring up those great once in a lifetime feelings when ever you recall them.

My account will not only be about Lisa's struggle and ultimate triumph but also about other accounts that I as a crew member encountered that week. I was able to witness some incredible acts of kindness and good sportsmanship, something that ultra running has been known for.

Crew spending quality time together!

Lisa's Crew arrived early to Stovepipe Wells. We were able to spend two days hanging out and stratagising as a team. We ate together, ran together and played together. Lisa was ready in every way. At Stovepipe Wells we were able to see and spend time with many of Lisa's students that she coaches and several of her Death Valley campers were among the crew members there too. It was a very positive place to be.

Race Start 10 am

On Monday morning, Lisa had a 10 am date with the starting line. But before we left, we were all, as runner and crew members blessed with sage by Greg Pressler, good friend of Lisa's and also running the race. Once I was assured that it wouldn't leave a mark, I was cool with it. The first two waves had already left and were on the road. Among the 6am start were Gabor Kozinc, Gary Hilliard and Tom Triumph. The 8 am start included Kira Matukaitis while the 10 am start brought the veterans back together. Lisa toed the line with her great friends Marshall Ulrich, Dean Karnazez, Frank McKinney and Lisa Bliss. Other noteworthy runners in this wave were David Goggins (later to be mentioned in this report, all should read this...) Jorje Pacheco, Akos Konya and Valmir Nunes.

And they are off...

The weather threw off many seasoned runners and they would pay dearly at some point down the road. It was overcast and the runners were experiencing a terrific tailwind. Many were trying to take full advantage of this while putting the heat in the back of their minds. There were some record numbers coming through Stovepipe Wells, mile 41 on the Badwater course. Jorje was leading the race in record time while Lisa S-B came through at a blistering 7 hours and change, a personal best for her. She was currently in 4rth place among the women.

Lisa and Scott on Father Crowley

As night time fell, things should have been looking better but they weren't. That is one thing about Badwater, you never know what cards are going to be dealt to you. First Lisa had some serious issues with her IT band, something that had been nagging her, only to be followed by severe stomach problems. Lisa has dealt with this for many years. This must have been among the worst and her svelte 10 minute mile pace had slowed to a mere 2-3 minute per mile crawl. The worst was yet to come!

We reached Panamint around 1 am or so. Lisa was in 4rth place but had been going at it back and forth with Lisa Bliss between 4rth and 5th. What a joy of sportsmanship, friendship and respect this was to watch as each of these ladies wanted to take the lead. I know that this was special to both Lisa's, one mentor and one student but both champions. Lisa S-B took a short break here. When we set things up for Lisa to lay down to take a rest, it did seem to be quiet only to have cars drive up with headlights blaring and much noise just as Lisa tried to rest, so off she went to conquer Father Crowley. By the time we came off the hill, it was morning and instead of things looking up they only got worse.

Lisa and Leigh coming into Keeler

We tried everything as a crew to get her going and keep her going and it became apparent that this was more then a slump. The decision was made. Lisa would put her stake out at Keeler and head for Lone Pine for a rest and to have her feet re-taped. At this point a runner who had been staked out had just re-entered the race as we were leaving. One of his crew members attempted to take his stake out for him as he readied himself for the road. I heard a sharp "don't touch that" as he made his way around the cars to pull out his stake himself proving the immense integrity of this runner. I think it was Blake but I am not sure. Anyway, good for you! This decision for Lisa to stake out may have saved her race. I am not sure if she would have made it had she not gotten this break. She hit the road again around 4pm on Tuesday feeling much better. I saw her on 395 with Marie pacing and she was smiling and happy as she checked through the Dow, a Badwater checkpoint.

Lisa and Marie coming into the Dow to check through.

Lisa's dark hours.

Once on Whitney Portal things turned ugly again and it took her over 7 hours to make it up the hill to the finish, 13 miles away. This is a very hard stretch for any runner but Lisa hit this late at night and coming into the wee hours of the morning. This must have been very difficult for any runner on the road at this time. Every few miles or so we would put Lisa in the van to rest. Her dreams of a top five finish were over and now all she could hope for was to break the tape at the top of the hill, which was seeming endless. There was not much as a crew that we could do to comfort her during these hours, they were very dark and quiet. She was buoyed up by the fact that Lisa Bliss had pulled out an amazing finish as the first place woman, and as Lisa stated when she found out "she deserves it, she worked hard for it." Half way up the hill she was passed by her very good friend Marshall Ulrich who she was very glad to see. He had been ill at the beginning of the race and made a full recovery to finish just before Lisa S-B. Finally, Lisa made it to the tape and together as runner and crew, we crossed. Lisa never views a venture such as this as "all Lisa" but rather as a team effort. At the finish, she was greeted with hugs from Marshall and Heather and Badwater RD and friend Chris Kostman. Lisa had an amazing finish in the face of despair with a time of 41:54. 8th woman overall. That is a time and a place finish that most of us could only dream about.

Finish in great time 41:54!

By early the next morning, Lisa was feeling anxious to get going up the mountain, she needed to tag the summit of Mt. Whitney for it to be a true double. The weather was checked and watched closely and the mountain expedition had to be delayed due to very dangerous weather conditions.

I hate do do this but I now have to jump back into the race... As Lisa and her mountain crew were heading up the mountain to begin their climb, Marie, George and I were witness to something truly remarkable. The race was officially over as I had heard it to be but there were two runners coming down the road on their way to the Dow. I did not realize that someone was left out there still making their way into Lone Pine, but someone else was aware and after his amazing third place finish, David Goggins went out on the highway again to help Don Fallis who was having trouble. The picture is of two men, one a champion and the other with the heart of a lion. Don is holding a rock in his left hand to try to even his balance out as sometimes happens when runners are going for extremely long periods of time. Dons goal was to make it to the awards ceremony before the 60 hour race deadline. He is not an official finisher as he did not make it up Whitney Portal to the finish line (but he did make it to the ceremony) in time but he was happy as could be with a new distance PR and what I am sure will be a lasting memory and a new friend.

David Goggins helps fellow runner Don Fallis

Lisa left just before nightfall with Scott, Mike and Laurie. the four of them would never reach the summit. With just two miles left to climb they where forced to turn back because of the near freezing weather conditions. This would now greatly alter Lisa's hopes for her second straight double. I know that she had to have been crushed as she made her way back down the mountain but the wheels in her head never stopped turning and by the time she was down she had come up with a new plan... AKA "the not so normal relay". After a short meeting by the pool, it was agreed upon that we as Lisa's crew and friends would run the 135 miles back to Badwater for her and she would be our crew. The rules were agreed upon which were, there were no rules. We just needed to have one official runner on the road at all times. We were free to join that runner whenever we wanted. Each of us picked a stretch of road that we wanted, we almost always had company. It was like an all night party with music and dancing and wow, you'll just have to ask the Post Master of Driggs what else went on out there... It was amazing to see to a small degree what these Badwater runners have to deal with, heat, lack of sleep, pain. we begun to see Lisa a bit differently now as we ran back for her.

Meet the Not So Normal Crew

George, Lisa, Scott, Cathy and Bonnie

Mike and Laurie. Marie.

Leigh

We entered Badwater just after 6pm on Friday. This meant that we ran across the desert in the heat of the afternoon. The temperature was 121 as we ran into a headwind. Crazy. Our finish time as a team was 27:10. As a team, we shared a wonderful dinner that night before heading home on Saturday. This was one of those rare experiences that come along only once in a while. The Kind to be added to our other precious memories as we journey this long road that only a few are lucky enough to call "Badwater".

Check back next week for a link to my website with lots of fun pictures.

Farewell!