Elephant Mountain 35K February 3rd 2024

Elephant Mountain 35K

Cave Creek Regional Park, Cave Creek, AZ

Waking up early Noelle nudges me to hit my alarm. Today I was up fast. Not like a lightning bolt but also not my usual slow going in the morning. By the time I get dressed and adjusted my shoes she is already fixing me some toast made with love and avocado smeared on top. A green Yerba Mate cracked we were heading out to pick up Ahmed.

Ahmed lives down the road no more than 10 minutes, on the drive I remind Noelle that while he has had racing experience he only had been training for less than 3 weeks leading up to this. He signed up because I talked him into it. Its why I love the guy he is ready to get into an adventure the drop of a hat.

Arriving at the starting line, the sky begins to lighten, casting a soft glow over the hills. I was doing everything I could to stay warm. Jumping in place, stretching and rubbing my hands together.

Soon enough it lightens up and we were about to start. We take our places and the race began at 7:30. I took off and we left the headquarters all 60+ of us who signed up for a day of running. I was so excited I found myself one mile off the start line with the lead group…

Then came the mud.

There were three kinds of mud.

The first and least of concern in this shorter distance was the wet mud. You ran in it, splashed on your feet and legs and all it left was a bit of war paint on your socks and shins. It was the one least encountered but also the one I preferred the most.

Then came what I call the rat trap mud. It adhered your sole of your shoe to the ground and it took serious work to pull it from the ground. We saw this mainly in the shaded areas that still had some more water in the soil. It sucked. Nearly ripping your shoes right off it definitely made you double check your laces.

Lastly and certainly not of least concern, was the peanut butter mud. With miles of the trail consisting of this stuff it was wholly unavoidable. Each stride would have you landing, sliding, and adding another layer to your shoes new muddy outsole. Caked on there it would add what felt like 5 lbs weights to your feet making each climbing step that much more difficult. The only respite was when you found a good rock to try to scrape the mud off or a decent section of dry trail

Coming down from the top of Elephant mountain’s saddle I felt good but I lost the lead group and that was okay. I was back to something that resembled my true abilities pace wise. It was buttery and smooth all the way down and have some of the best views of the entire course.

Then came the climb out of the aid station.It was the climb back up where I lost my pacing. It was a crushing blow, I could not find the right gear to keep chugging along. It was a reminder that I need to hit the hills more in my training. Some people passed me and I was starting to struggle.

Then I saw Ahmed on his way down!

Even with the energy from Ahmed there was still yet more hiking. It was a challenging part of the race for me.

After seeing the saddle traverse down the backside of the slope I started to let gravity take me down faster than I was going earlier.

Then more mud.

After the mud left I continued to cruise feeling like the finish line was achievable in my time goal. I was so off. I was not close. I was actually quite off. The trail rolled up one hill into another wash then cut up the side of the valley.

Final Climb. It was everything I had left. I walked. I could not run more than a few feet of the switchbacks before my lungs and legs screamed at me. I had folks pass me, some running the 50k others who would beat me in the end of the 35K, but this was more about me fighting my desire to just call it in. I remember thinking about what I wanted to eat and how I could not wait to lie down.

I had run this climb multiple times in my training yet this time there had to have been another 5 switchbacks added to it increase the pain delivered. Nearing the top I passed some folks who were out on their Saturday morning hike. I scared them as I came huffing and puffing around the corner. I would like to think It was the speed that spooked them but it was probably my zombie look that startled them. They gave me a genuine smile when they realized I did not want to attack them but just wanted to roll down the hill.

I bargained with myself that when I made it to the top I had to just let go of the brakes no matter what. It was all downhill to the finish line. At this point I missed 3:30 but I had a chance to get in before 4:00. So I just turned off my music and just let it rip down the hill. It felt like it was the fastest I had ever ran. In fact I was not even close to the fastest that day. I could see the finish line and that’s when this would be over.

I sprinted to the finish Line! With my head held high I came in at 3:52:34.

I ended up in 10th place for Men’s 12th overall! Great! I didn’t quit, but I did not make my goal time of sub 3:30:00. I completed the race at 11:22am for 3:52:34.