This was
the first showing of the Ouachita Switchbacks 25k/50k, and I hoped many of the legends
like Paul Turner or Stan Ferguson and their crew would be there. So I was disappointed
I didn’t see them at the start of the race. But I am positive they will find their
way to this race soon. It is put on by Tom Brennan, and it is perfect.
Everything from the food, aid, to the finish is exactly what you would expect
from a top par race. But the actual course and challenge are what will make
this race grow! Tom tried to get a federal permit to make the race a legitimate
race. It was crazy, the hoops they wanted
Tom to go through to get the race legit, so he opted to make the race donations
only so he didn’t have to get a permit. I really feel the race would have had the
same turnout, fee or no fee. Most people came for a challenge, and speaking for
the majority of the racers, I would say that they were challenged beyond what
they had expected.
The race
started at Pashubee Trailhead on the Ouachita Trail. It’s a great place to
start because there is a lot of parking, and you get a little flat area to warm
up with instead of starting straight uphill. Tom and I had run this a couple
months before to measure the distance and elevation of the course. So at 8:00 a.m.
we rolled out heading west on the trail. This was going to be the first showing
of my dog Jesse to the Trail Racing World. I thought it would be a good small
race to take her to. She so loves the forest, and I knew she was ready for the
challenge. I held her until Tom said go, and then put her down and jumped out
in front. The first two guys ahead of me were already going the wrong way,
which I thought was funny. I heard Tom
yell, “Follow the dog!” I was in front
for about 200 yards and heard someone say, “Coming around!” and Aaron Ochoa
from Tulsa went flying around me.
I immediately went into my game
plan mode, which was to fight the urge to chase a lead pack all day! When I
noticed no one else was coming around me, I set into Aaron’s pace, which felt
great at the time. I have run what has felt like a lot of miles with Aaron in
the forest, so it was good to be moving along with him. I was talking to him
and he said, “Dude aren’t you doing the 50k?” I said yes, then he said, “Well
why are you talking to me and running this fast?” I went on to tell him I was taking it easy
and I told him about my training this week. I said I didn’t plan to run too hard
and that I just wanted to have fun today and enjoy the great weather. I told
him I was a little worried it might get hotter later and that I wanted to knock
out some miles early if I could.
A month before the race, Aaron had run
Eagle Rock Loop with me, and he was amazing with my dog Jesse. He loves dogs,
and Jesse is becoming one of his favorites. She is a Toy Fox Terrier and she
loves to run! She goes crazy when I walk out the door and she sees me in my
running shoes. The night before the race, Aaron and a few more people came over
for a pre-race pasta dinner. There we told stories, rock climbed in the garage,
and Aaron went on to tell me to take Jesse and see how fast she could run.
Creek Crossing in the Fall photo by Shannon Duncan
Two miles into the race, it was
Aaron, Jesse, and I alone hopping over rocks, creeks, sticks, and leaves. We came
through the first aid station to see Tom and Bryan Hoover cheering us on. Tom
yelled, “You guys are on a record pace!”
Since this was the first year for the race I thought Tom was just joking,
but later he told me he was serious because of how fast we were moving along. I
didn’t feel like I was working hard at all, and that is always good. We hit the
first creek crossing and I jumped, then hopped, then splash! The last rock
didn’t hold me, and thankfully it was just a foot in the creek, not my whole
body!
The next
quarter of mile was one of the best camp sites on the OT. A picture doesn’t
tell its story or give it justice. It has just about everything. If you are a camper,
you would understand. This is also where the climbing really started kicking
into gear. It climbed steady for the next few miles, but knowing what was ahead,
I kept my pace in high gear. One of the first things I came to is an incredible
rock glacier. This thing is 500 yards long, 50 yards wide, and it just seems out
of place in Oklahoma. This would be about the only place I stopped on the 25k
out and back course. I stopped because every time I cross that point, I am in
awe of the placement of this spectacular rock on the side of a mountain in
Oklahoma!
Rock Glacier on the OT
As I continued to climb up the mountain it was thankfully still
feeling easy. Aaron had fallen behind
and Jesse was right on my heels, loving every step. I hit the Red Spring; a
life saver of water supply in the hot summers on the OT. Here I smelled a camp
fire and knew the next camp site was occupied. They were cooking breakfast and
it smelled great! They said hi with a strange look on their faces, like most
campers in the middle of the forest do when they see me running through their
camp site. I couldn’t chat though, with an up pace long run on my agenda. I
then came into a section of monstrous pine trees, and the big trees brought
smooth, fast, beautiful trail as I continued to climb. Finally, I came to the
crest of a great downhill that went into a big saddle between two of the
mountains, and then the Switchbacks began, all 30 of them, to the top of
Winding Stair. I stopped in the middle for a quick bathroom break and I decided
to run the entire mountain to the top. It was 10 degrees colder here, and another
10 degrees colder than that due to the wind-chill. At the top was the turn around, an aid
station, and a stack of rocks eight feet tall marking the highest point on the OT.
Tom Brennan and Chris Montgomery went all out to get Gatorade, water, and
cookies to the top. Wow, those guys rock!
My time at the top was 1:34.
I re-fueled
and headed down the hill trying to save my quads. Before I got to the steep
downhill, I was surprised to see David pretty close to the turn around. I was
also glad to see Jed up close to the front looking strong. I then got back in the
saddle and started the next climb. Near the top, I saw Kasey, my third cousin,
on his first trail run. It was also his first run further than 13.1 miles, and
he was having the time of his life. He went on to finish and have a great time.
I was super proud of him! He is only 20 years old! I went on down the mountain
past the other racers coming out, only slowing for the rock glacier and saltine
peanut butter crackers for me, and water for Jesse at the Big Cedar Trailhead
aid station. I came in for a long 25k of 18 miles with a time of 2:56.
OT and its Rocks
I got a
bowl of water from Tom’s mom, and we started off from the Pashubee Trailhead heading
east now. The first three-quarters of a mile felt like solid rock and like the
bottom of a creek. Then the climb started. This climb I hadn’t done since 2009
with some friends on an overnight hike. That hike was crazy fun with my father
and close friends. I remembered two other climbs, both led to the Mena Lodge on
top of Rich Mountain, but the Switchbacks were only taking in the first
climb. During the race I got to what I
thought was the first summit, but soon found out the climb was about to start. Not
only did the climb start, but the effort of up pace running started its toll on
me. I was thinking after all the training this week maybe the 25k was a better
idea. But I kept up the effort, finally got to the top of the mountain, and found
lots of rocks and hard running over the top. At last, I got to start downhill,
and it felt better. I also go to hear the great music of Tatur Aid Station, and
this got me fired up enough to get down the mountain and get some aid.
Views East of Pashubee Trailhead
I fueled up again and Jesse didn’t
eat anything. I then took off running and Jesse didn’t come with me. I stopped
and yelled at her and she just looked at me. I thought she was done and hoped
she would be able to finish after I hit the turn around and came back to the
aid station. Half a mile later I heard a blazing noise and saw Jesse fly past
me, happy to be running with me again. She couldn’t stand that I had left her I
guess. So we had some rough rocky running for another mile, crossed the Kiamichi
River and hit the turn around. Jesse was super pumped to turn around, and she
was now pulling the pace. It was great for me to have someone to chase, even if
it was a dog.
View of the Valley below Pushubee Trailhead First Climb
I saw a
trail beside the rocky creek bed I had just ran down on my way out, and kept
thinking: “Man I wish I would have seen this smooth trail beside this rock bed
on the way out!” My feet were feeling the rocks. My Brooks TrueGrit 2 shoes
were great, but I was just wearing down. I saw John from Tulsa right before I
got to the aid station, and I had a lot of time on him. It took the pressure
off, but I knew I had to keep the pace up to stay in the lead and get over the
next mountain. This climb was steeper, but seemed easy because it was shorter. Near
the top was the rocky trail again and I lost a lot of effort to run trail on
the rocks. I was super happy to finally start the path on the downhill because
I knew the race was almost over. Jesse
was still pulling and doing a great job. We stopped at a creek crossing with
just half a mile of trail to go, and I washed my face while she was drinking it
up. I got my Headsweat visor wet and
said: “Let’s do this Jesse!” We had just
3 switchbacks and 100 yards of trail to finish. Jesse was so pumped, and the
crowd went crazy for her as she ran to the finish area!
I finished the 50k race in first
place at 5:48! I like to think I could have gone faster if I was taper and
going at race pace, but I was really happy for the effort I made and the technical
trail that I had run.
Tom asked me if it was a hard race.
I told him it has to be the hardest 50k in OK, AR, and TX for sure! I hope he
puts the race on again, and I am so glad for the people that came out to run. I’m
also pumped for my cousin Kasey for his first trail marathon, along with Sean Nichols and Zack Duncan who I heard did great. I heard Zack ended up lying on his back at the
top of Winding Stair with a Cookie in his mouth. That is funny stuff! My hat is off to Jed. I know he had a full
week of training going into the race. He won the 25k by 13 minutes, and he
still had gas in the tank!
