Spokane River Run: Bloomsday it is not! |
Year after year, the Spokane River Run draws Montanans looking to test their winter fitness on the (mostly) smooth singletrack of Spokane River State Park. Spokane sits at just 1800 feet above sea level, meaning that spring comes a few weeks earlier there than it does in Western Montana. The three hour drive from Missoula makes for an easy road trip, so nearly every year I find myself in Spokane running a springtime race. Usually it’s Bloomsday. The 45,000-runner spectacle has been a staple of my race calendar over the years. When I say spectacle, I mean it: bands playing every mile, costumes galore, helicopters filming overhead, and some of the best runners in the world. Bloomsday takes a well-deserved place on every Montana runner’s bucket list. The Spokane River Run sits on the opposite end of the craziness spectrum. Bucket list? Maybe not, but it’s a solid trail race: plenty of volunteers, insanely well marked course, and being a Hammer Nutrition sponsored event it has fully-stocked aid stations with Heed, Hammer Gels, Endurolytes, and the typical ultra aid station munchies. The race also has a knack at bringing in talent—in the last 5 years alone, top runners have included the likes of Jim Rucker, Mike Wolfe, Mike Foote, Zachariah Miller, Jeremy Wolf, Anna Zialaski, Nikki Kimball, Trisha Drobeck, and Emily Judd. It also offers a number of distances making the trails a bit crowded in places, but “low-key” is the perfect way to describe it. It’s about the run.
Well marked? With three of these at every turn you probably won't get lost |
With a rain-filled forecast, I made the call to spare my
family yet another weekend of watching Dad run. Instead, I recruited my
faithful golden retriever Cooper to serve as crew. After dinner in Missoula we
rallied west through a late season winter storm, reaching Spokane River State
Park at dust. I pitched our tent and my trusty companion curled up at my feet
for a race-eve campfire.
My support crew |
We awoke at 4 am to the pitter-patter of sprinkles on the
tent. The downpour came next. By morning light I was tempted to just stay
inside. Cooper felt the same way. But we eventually motivated, packed our wet
camp, and got ready to toe the line.
Maps! |
The 50K started alongside the 25K and I immediately found
myself trailing a pair of runners holding a steady pace over the opening miles.
The rain faucet turned off and on all day, but the shelter of the forest made
it mostly a non-issue. The unusual thing was the troops. You know, camouflage
and guns. They were scattered through the forest, marching around doing soldier
things. It appeared to be some sort of ROTC drill complete with fake gunfire.
Some were huddled around bonfires. It was a bizarre scene for a trail race, but
the solid early pace and plenty of puddles to dodge forced me to ignore it.
After a few miles we crossed a road and were all alone. By that
time I caught Ben Bucklin. As it turns out, Ben is from Spokane but is also a
University of Montana alum originally hailing from Plentywood, Montana. He finished as runner-up
here last year and is currently in the depths of training for the Bighorn 100. We ran together for 10 miles or so and he provided welcome conversation
in the early going. In this first 25K, the course climbs up and down river
bluffs with a few climbs in 200-300 foot range, but nothing major. There are also a few interesting sections up
and over basalt cliffs run mostly on scree that’s not particularly challenging,
but just enough to keep you on your toes. These are really fun trails and if you ever find yourself looking for a place to run in Spokane, look no further. On a short climb just past the 10 mile mark I put a little gap on Ben and soon regained contact with the leader. I passed him
around 23K but since he was running the 25K he flew through the final aid
station where I stopped. He disappeared.
The next 5 miles was just me and the trail, or so I
thought. The exceptional wildflowers included Balsamroot and Serviceberry already in full bloom. I found it easy to settle into a groove and just run, paying more attention to my peaceful forest surroundings than the fact that I was in the midst of a race.
Spring has sprung |
The woods are
pretty thick in places and I didn't sense anyone behind me until I hit a switchback and
spotted Ben’s bright jacket below just a couple minutes back. I wondered if
he’d push his pace to rejoin me. We had a lot of ground left to cover and were
running pretty quickly so I figured it’d be good to have someone to run
with, but at the same time a race is a race and the primary objective is to
win. Ben’s presence motivated me to keep a steady stride and every open
view triggered a look back. Was he gaining? Is there a way to gauge?
Eventually, I came to an open ridgeline above the Spokane River and looked back to see nothing. By that
point I figured he must have been at least a few minutes back. I hit a half mile
road stretch and picked it up enough to think I was well ahead.
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Cheering spectators? - Credit: Spokane River Run |
The trail doubled back along a curve in the river and
I found a smooth stretch to grab a gel. As I fumbled with the wrapper I heard
someone coming up fast behind me. It was Ben! Crap. Not that I didn't like Ben’s
company, but clearly he must have been running a whole lot faster than me to
make up two or three minutes in a couple of miles. More likely, I simply missed
him when I was looking back on that ridge. Maybe he was below a rise or
something and I lost sight of him. Regardless, it was a race again and the
momentum was his.
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28 miles, time to race - Credit: Spokane River Run |
With Ben in tow we maintained a steady clip along the muddy trails, over rocks, and around curves. Miles 26 and 27 flew by, but miles 28 and 29 were brutal. This
two-mile stretch of the 50K course overlaps with a 10K route. Unfortunate timing meant that the lead 50K runners are forced pass nearly 100 runners going half
their speed along tight singletrack. It makes for an uncomfortable experience for everyone involved. Sort of
a bummer for an otherwise well designed event. I managed to only bump into a
few runners as I passed and I only got yelled at once. Not bad. Dealing with
traffic I built a slight lead and when the 50K course
separated from the 10K, I picked up the pace enough to click off a couple of sub-6:00
miles, which put me a minute up at the finish.
The contrast from
relaxed daydreaming alone in the woods to an intense duel through traffic changed
the mood of the day from run to race. In the end, I credit Ben with pushing me
a few minutes faster than I would have run otherwise. Even better, we both went
home with new personal bests over the 50K trail distance (3:35 and 3:36). Good times indeed. And for Montana
representation, if you count Ben, we managed an all-Montana podium in the men’s
50k with Montana runners taking the top 5 places:
1. Jimmy Grant, Missoula
2. Ben Bucklin, Spokane by way of Plentywood
3. Dennis Ball, Bozeman
4. Taylor Neal, Bozeman
5. Damian Stoy, Bozeman
Lots of Montana on that podium |
The women’s side was nearly as impressive. Montana ladies took the top two spots with Amanda Blair from Kalispell clocking the win
followed by Michele Anderson from Livingston. Montana represent! All told, a fun race and a great way to get the season going.
Full Results: http://www.atltiming.com/results/2014/river-run.html
Great racing and the course is spectacular too. Will you make it back over for Bloomsday?
ReplyDeleteSee you out there! Jim Rucker
Ps. I will be racing at the Paradise run in mid-May.
Jim- Great to hear from you. I'm not making Bloomsday this year. Probably running Don't Fence Me In over in Helena in a couple of weeks. Paradise is a really cool race and should be right in your wheelhouse. Fast trail and moderate climbing, not unlike the River Run. The 1 hour mark might be doable!
DeleteRight on! I will make the trek over for Bloomsday and we will see what happens at Paradise. Should be a great summer!
ReplyDelete