Gabe's Wasatch 100 Race Plan
Race Plan: Wasatch 100
Goals
The Wasatch Front 100 is one of the original 100 milers. Its tagline is “100 Miles of Heaven and Hell.” It started in 1980 with a handful of intrepid runner. It was considered the hardest 100 for many years until races like the Hard Rock 100 appeared on the scene. Some argue that it is still the hardest. Certainly with 24,000ft of vertical it’s one of the hardest. I’ve pre-run every inch of the course and feel better prepared than I have for any race. Still a lot can and will go wrong in 100 miles.
· Run humble, run grateful. Both are things that I struggle with in general in life. I suppose if I didn’t have a certain leaving of discontent I wouldn’t be doing things like a 100. I said something pretty cocky to my crew at Leadville and less than a mile later I injured myself. I stayed humble and took time to get to know other runners at the Bear 100, making for an enjoyable ride.
· Have fun and finish injury free. Seriously, how many people get to do this kind of crazy, stupid, epic shit? Don’t be that guy obsessing over his splits (I have before and it ain’t fun).
· Break 30 hours to get the Cougar buckle. Based on pre-running the course and scouring the results of other runners I have raced with, I feel like I have a good shot at breaking 30 hours to be inducted into the Order of the Cougar (24 hours gets you the Cheetah buckle 36 gets you the Badger). But see the above two points first.
Keys to the Race
· Take what the day gives me. A lot can go right or wrong in 100 miles. The weather can be unseasonably hot or cold. You can step in a gofer hole in a grassy field and torque your knee, ala Leadville. Don’t try to be a hero, just take what the day gives me. Keep my HR and RPE in check by adjusting for environmental factors like temperature. I won’t worry about my time chart until I hit Staton Aid Station 13 miles from the Finish.
· Be a balanced trail runner. If there is a case for Wasatch being the toughest 100 I think it is this – it requires you to be balanced. You must be a mountain goat climber for sections like Bair Canyon with 4500ft of vertical right out of the gate. Then you must be a strong steady runner – at the top of Bair Canyon climb you run steady on a downhill dirt road for several miles. There is about 25 miles of dirt road and road by my estimation. Finally, you must be able to navigate technical singletrack. A course like Hard Rock mostly requires you to be a mountain goat, or Leadville mostly requires steady runner with a mountain goat kick in the nuts over Hope Pass. The dimension I was weakest on was mountain goat, so my training the last two months has been heavy doses of climbing and descending. Run up the mountain, run down the mountain. I’ve used my BD carbon fiber trekking poles extensively. For example, I did Speedgoat 50k with over 12,000ft of vertical in July. BTW this should be on every ultrarunners bucket list.
· Make the first 50k the easiest I’ve run. Last year I paced my buddy Justin (who is pacing me this year) from Big Mountain at mile 32 (or 50k). I was surprised how destroyed most of the runners looked rolling in after only a 50k. I’m glad I pre-ran the first 50k because it is the crux of the race. It would be the second hardest standalone 50k I’ve run, only after the bananas Speedgoat 50k. It has over 9,000ft of vertical and is where the most balance in the bullet above is required. Conserve matches in this section.
· Manage heat especially in the Devil’s Armpit between Big Mountain and Lamb’s Canyon. Heat is my kryptonite. When I paced Justin, it got into the high 80s in this super exposed section. I brought bags of ice to stuff under our packs. As the ice melted, I’d poured the ice-cold water over his head. I’ve asked him to return the favor. I also experimented with using Orange Mud arm coolers and a Hoka buff soaked in water on training runs, and found they helped tremendously.
· Avoid the long dark tea-time of the soul during the night. I lost it stumbling through the dark during the Bear. I didn’t have a pacer because I got in on two weeks’ notice. I spent 10 hours staring at the circle of light from my headlamp on the ground 3-5 ft in front of me, causing extreme mental fatigue. The runners really spread out by that point in the race, and I sometimes went an hour without seeing anyone. Happily, I’ll have my buddies Justin and Chris pacing through the night sections to keep me company. Justin has done Wasatch twice, and Chris pre-ran his section with me. When I start losing mental focus, I’ll have them take the lead and just hang on to their wheel. A real game changer is that I discovered the Ultraspire Lumen 600 since the Bear. As the name suggests, it puts our 600 lumen, which is as bright as a motorcycle headlight. It goes on your waist, so the angle of the light is different form the angle of your eyes, creating improved depth perception. During training runs it’s been like running in the day. I can scan ahead to pick my line instead of focusing on 5ft in front of me. I used to change my form at night, getting super tense, to avoid falling. I can run loose and free at night. I also got the Lumen 600 for my night pacers as a gift. With two of those things it’s like a car rolling through the mountains.
Race Plan
Breakdown of the Wasatch 100.
Wasatch 100 Race Plan contains my detailed plan for each section, drop bags, and crew/pacers. I based my times off the data I gathered pre-running sections of the course.
Nutrition Strategy
A key take away from the Bear 100 was that I need to eat real food during the race. After about mile 50 I couldn’t stomach sports nutrition. I did the second half off Coke, Snickers, and whatever confection was being served at aid stations.
This time I’ll use sports nutrition, primarily in the form of Tailwind, to get between the aid stations. Why Tailwind? I’ll basically be climbing, which means using my trekking poles and occupying my hands, or descending the entire race. It’s much easier to grab a quick drink. Gels are also convenient to slam down 100 calories. There are a couple sections with more moderate climbs and I’ve planned to have food such as PB&J at the appropriate drop bag. I’ll target 250 calories per hour.
At aid stations I’ll take in at least 200 calories of real food, such as bananas, cookies, burgers, and pancakes. Every aid station except Grobben’s Shed and Rock Springs will have food, making for 16 opportunities to fuel up.
Conclusion
Well, that’s it. It’s 12 days out from the race and the hay is in the barn. I just have to taper and show up healthy at 5AM on September 7th. Tell me what you think and help make me smarter.
Gratuitous Pictures of the Wasatch 100 Course
Cresting the top of Bair Canyon, a 4,500ft climb right out of the gate. I started at the valley below for perspective.
Desolation Lake. Too bad this will be in the dark at mile 59.
The Wasatch Crest, or Red Lovers Ridge, looking back at Desolation Lake. About mile 62.
Point Supreme, the highest point on the course at about 10,500ft. About mile 70.
Ridge Trail near Pole Line Pass around mile 75 looking down into American Fork Canyon.
The final stretch around Deer Creek Reservoir. Hope it's not 100F like it was in this picture. I look happy because I just swam in the reservoir to cool off.
Comments
I like the humble approach . Never say anything to anger the Ultra Gods. Amazing prep, plan , schedule, and crew.
Great report! I am curious what you carry with you. Have a great race! Your training has been incredible.
Looks good Gabe, but then this is way out of my league so I'm in no place to advise. Its been cool seeing your training on strava, just wanted to wish you good luck 👍️
Wow! Thank you for sharing, Gabe! Looks like a solid plan. So exciting to hear about your upcoming EPIC adventure. Your attitude of gratitude and not taking a moment for granted will make your day....and yeah you've nailed it, your life!! As you know, the mind is a terribly stubborn thing....it will fight your body no matter how physically prepared you are. The chatter between our ears often makes or breaks a day. Just keep talking positive to yourself and have those "Whys" ready or a picture of someone/something in mind. So glad you have pacers for the dark hours this time. Just so excited for you! Savor it!! We will be cheering!! Good luck, Gabe!!
@Gabe- thanks for sharing. I am just getting started in this space (ultra) and love seeing how you've been preparing. Good Luck Buddy!
Wow, thanks for the outpouring of support and feedback!
Starting with @tim cronk:
@Tim Sullivan, I'll start off with all the equipment listed below from the Drop Bags tab on my Race Plan. Then I'll grab the bolded items on my drop bag list at aid stations. The non-bolded are backups. I have a Salomon S-Lab Sense Ultra 8 running vest with the Salomon quiver for my poles.
Sunglasses, Hoka Buff, Headphones, Phone, Light weight rain jacket, Hat/visor, First aid, Sunscreen stick, Pepper spray, Petzl Zipka light, Hiking poles, Ziplock bag, 3x Soft Flask with Tailwind, 1 Soft Flask with Tailwind powder (to fill at the first water station), Untapped Waffles, Gu Salted Caramel gels
@Stephanie Weldon, you're spot on that it's mostly a mental game. I did a practice night run with one of my pacers, Justin, on Friday. It was a blast! I'm looking at the night portion as a party -- super stoked to have friends out on the course with me!
@Karl Bonner and @Patrick Large, thanks for the mojo!
Couple more things.
The idea came from Brent Sutton but I expanded on it... I call it REN... There are actually 3 R's (from Sutton) 3 E's and 3 N's which is what I added...Some is redundant or over lapping but it makes you think and concentrate....So this is what I thought about ...I try to incorporate all three through out but its a natural progression starting with the R's in the early miles and finishing with the N's in the late miles....
R's- Relax,Rhythm, RPM's- 1. Relax -think about body from head down to toes then back again, 2. Rhythm- just listen to your breathing and find your rhythm, 3. RPM's- cadence short quick easy turn over
E's- Easy, Efficient, Effort - 1. Easy- just go easy, are you going easy enough? 2. Efficient- think about your movement head to toe being as efficient as possible with no wasted movements while choosing the most efficient line, 3. Effort- think about your effort and where you are is it easy enough for the beginning ? Is it hard enough for the end?
N's- Nothing, No Pain, Never Stop- 1. Nothing- This is Nothing I can do this all day, 2. No Pain- I feel nothing , yes a little uncomfortable but NO Pain, 3. Never Stop - Never Ever Stop Moving Forward!
@Tim Cronk, thanks for sharing the above. Its pure GOLD!
I am sure I will revisit this many times.
@tim cronk, great tip on the hand sanitizer! I'll add that to the list of gear in my crew bag for Brighton (mile 68). That would be a good point to clean my feet and change socks and shoes.
Funny story...when I got to Beaver Mt Lodge at about mile 75 of the Bear, my crew helped me take my shoes off and poured out like a giant handful of gravel from each shoe. He looked at me and said something like "how the hell have you been running with all that in your shoes?" I hadn't even noticed. :)
Love the REN acronym!