Badwater Part 3..Finish.

One thing I forgot to mention was that during the late night hours I had to devise a make shift chiropractic table and perform some adjusting. As we were heading out of Stovepipe wells towards Town's pass, Susannah was have some mid-back pain and I worked on some of the muscles as she walked for a few minutes and told her that we would have to stop for a couple of minutes if she wanted me to adjust it. She said she would go longer and let me know when she was ready, well, about 4 am she was ready!

Geraldine and I quickly stopped, pulled out the big long cooler we had and set it behind the Mothership, covered it with a little towel. As Susannah walked up I laid down over it instructing her how I needed her to lay on it. She was approaching and removing her fuel belt and things, quickly laid down, I immediately went to the location, sure enough, out of position. A few quick adjustments, I told her to stand up, I did some quick range of motion muscle work, rubbed some Traumeel on it and put her belt back on and off she went! It was literally like 3-4 mins! a complete pit stop as we had refilled her water bottle too. As she walked off she said it feel better but I still feel it. I said give it about 15-20 mins. As she walked ahead, I asked about 20 mins late, how it feels. She said she didn't feel it anymore!! I quickly rubbed some more Traumeel on it and she continued on. I actually asked her heading up to finish about mile 128 how it felt and she said she never felt it again after that!! Nice, huh!

Once passing the check point and heading up the Portal road we had decided that we would each pace for about 4 miles. Geraldine was up first and was excited to be out there! She had been working hard all morning, supplying us with breakfast runs, hotel stuff and anything else. As we started up the road we were about 3 miles up and I happened to look down at the GAS!!! It was at just under a 1/2 tank and I thought to myself how far we could actually go. Last year, it was a must to full the MotherShip at Lonepine and this year it was the plan too but I just over looked it as we rolled through downtown. I knew we would be really close on the gas or run out and to have the crew worry about it and myself included was not worth it, we were still close enough to turn around and be back in a 15-20 mins. I told the crew and made the decision. We stocked Susannah and Geraldine and quickly went to put gas and returned in just about 15 mins. Now it was time for me to take over on the pacing duties for a few miles. As I hit the road it was really just a super fast power walk. It was great to be out there and talk with Susannah and her journey the last 34 hours. She was tired and as the road started to tilt up she started to slow down some. I tried to keep her at pace because she was still 4th overall women but 5th was less than a 1/2 mile behind and working to catch us! Swiss Miss was her call sign and she was in the same starting group as us. She had gotten ahead of us by a long shot but had some troubles and had really slowed and we caught and passed her but in typical Badwater fashion, athletes rest and recover to amazing abilities and was working her way back up to us. As we reached mile 131 at 33 hrs 58 mins (15:33pace) she was ready Nic to come and pace the last few miles up. She had already asked when he was coming out so I knew she was ready for him.

As Nic took over I told him not to let Swiss Miss pass us as she was about a 1/4 mile behind. He said he would do his best. Funny how there is a competition with the Crew's unbeknown to the runner!! Susannah worked those last 4 miles but they also worked her! The road here is just so STEEP the Grade is crazy and she managed to hold on to a 20:30 pace per mile. As we reached the finally 200 meters we went to park the van and run down just a few meters to meet her! We got the Banner ready, the Aussie Flag and there it was the Finish line, She could see it in sight! As the chills started to roll all over my body its just a feeling that indescribable.

We all lined up with the banner. Chris, the Race Director was taking pictures and others were holding the finish line tape. We all jogged to the tape and Susannah broke the line as cheers and applause sounded off!! 135 miles in 35 hours 20 mins (15:42 pace) Amazing! We all hugged and cheered as she thanked us for getting her there. Then we quickly had to move out of the way as Swiss Miss was finishing up 1 min 12 secs behind!

It has taken a couple of weeks to really reflect on the race and emotions. I mean, I met Susannah through an email via fwd from Molly. Agreed to help her and not even know her! I mean who does that? Not only that but agree to help someone in the Worlds Toughest Endurance event! I do, that's Who and I would do it again next year if given the chance.

The lure of Badwater is just amazing. The scenery, the elements, the sleepless hours and the ability to see someone push their bodies to the limit. It's Desire, Ambition, and Dedication that is the drive for so many and I think for me that is my fun in being there. This year was different than last year. It was a only 5* cooler but I felt there was much more wind and that just made for a Hot Blow Dryer effect! There was less crew members and a little more work, although I drove for the most part, that in itself was a lot of concentration. I will be forever grateful to Susannah for having me on her crew and letting me experience another year at Badwater. I am thankful I was able to help her in her time of need and along the course and help get things organized along the way leading up to the race.

I am sure I will be reflecting on things as time continues but I do know that now, as a Veteran crewer only brings the dream of one day completing this amazing event!

rockon'

Badwater Part 3..Finish.

One thing I forgot to mention was that during the late night hours I had to devise a make shift chiropractic table and perform some adjusting. As we were heading out of Stovepipe wells towards Town's pass, Susannah was have some mid-back pain and I worked on some of the muscles as she walked for a few minutes and told her that we would have to stop for a couple of minutes if she wanted me to adjust it. She said she would go longer and let me know when she was ready, well, about 4 am she was ready!

Geraldine and I quickly stopped, pulled out the big long cooler we had and set it behind the Mothership, covered it with a little towel. As Susannah walked up I laid down over it instructing her how I needed her to lay on it. She was approaching and removing her fuel belt and things, quickly laid down, I immediately went to the location, sure enough, out of position. A few quick adjustments, I told her to stand up, I did some quick range of motion muscle work, rubbed some Traumeel on it and put her belt back on and off she went! It was literally like 3-4 mins! a complete pit stop as we had refilled her water bottle too. As she walked off she said it feel better but I still feel it. I said give it about 15-20 mins. As she walked ahead, I asked about 20 mins late, how it feels. She said she didn't feel it anymore!! I quickly rubbed some more Traumeel on it and she continued on. I actually asked her heading up to finish about mile 128 how it felt and she said she never felt it again after that!! Nice, huh!

Once passing the check point and heading up the Portal road we had decided that we would each pace for about 4 miles. Geraldine was up first and was excited to be out there! She had been working hard all morning, supplying us with breakfast runs, hotel stuff and anything else. As we started up the road we were about 3 miles up and I happened to look down at the GAS!!! It was at just under a 1/2 tank and I thought to myself how far we could actually go. Last year, it was a must to full the MotherShip at Lonepine and this year it was the plan too but I just over looked it as we rolled through downtown. I knew we would be really close on the gas or run out and to have the crew worry about it and myself included was not worth it, we were still close enough to turn around and be back in a 15-20 mins. I told the crew and made the decision. We stocked Susannah and Geraldine and quickly went to put gas and returned in just about 15 mins. Now it was time for me to take over on the pacing duties for a few miles. As I hit the road it was really just a super fast power walk. It was great to be out there and talk with Susannah and her journey the last 34 hours. She was tired and as the road started to tilt up she started to slow down some. I tried to keep her at pace because she was still 4th overall women but 5th was less than a 1/2 mile behind and working to catch us! Swiss Miss was her call sign and she was in the same starting group as us. She had gotten ahead of us by a long shot but had some troubles and had really slowed and we caught and passed her but in typical Badwater fashion, athletes rest and recover to amazing abilities and was working her way back up to us. As we reached mile 131 at 33 hrs 58 mins (15:33pace) she was ready Nic to come and pace the last few miles up. She had already asked when he was coming out so I knew she was ready for him.

As Nic took over I told him not to let Swiss Miss pass us as she was about a 1/4 mile behind. He said he would do his best. Funny how there is a competition with the Crew's unbeknown to the runner!! Susannah worked those last 4 miles but they also worked her! The road here is just so STEEP the Grade is crazy and she managed to hold on to a 20:30 pace per mile. As we reached the finally 200 meters we went to park the van and run down just a few meters to meet her! We got the Banner ready, the Aussie Flag and there it was the Finish line, She could see it in sight! As the chills started to roll all over my body its just a feeling that indescribable.

We all lined up with the banner. Chris, the Race Director was taking pictures and others were holding the finish line tape. We all jogged to the tape and Susannah broke the line as cheers and applause sounded off!! 135 miles in 35 hours 20 mins (15:42 pace) Amazing! We all hugged and cheered as she thanked us for getting her there. Then we quickly had to move out of the way as Swiss Miss was finishing up 1 min 12 secs behind!

It has taken a couple of weeks to really reflect on the race and emotions. I mean, I met Susannah through an email via fwd from Molly. Agreed to help her and not even know her! I mean who does that? Not only that but agree to help someone in the Worlds Toughest Endurance event! I do, that's Who and I would do it again next year if given the chance.

The lure of Badwater is just amazing. The scenery, the elements, the sleepless hours and the ability to see someone push their bodies to the limit. It's Desire, Ambition, and Dedication that is the drive for so many and I think for me that is my fun in being there. This year was different than last year. It was a only 5* cooler but I felt there was much more wind and that just made for a Hot Blow Dryer effect! There was less crew members and a little more work, although I drove for the most part, that in itself was a lot of concentration. I will be forever grateful to Susannah for having me on her crew and letting me experience another year at Badwater. I am thankful I was able to help her in her time of need and along the course and help get things organized along the way leading up to the race.

I am sure I will be reflecting on things as time continues but I do know that now, as a Veteran crewer only brings the dream of one day completing this amazing event!

rockon'

Badwater Part 2..

As we are well on our way up Panament springs heading to mile 80ish I pull up next to Pam Reed's crew van, so I knew she had to be close. As we stopped to get ready for Susannah a couple of people from her van came over and said hello and asked how we were doing and who our runner was and the wave time we started. (as I was driving I didn't realize I had drove by Pam) I asked how Pam was doing and they said she was doing good but had some stomach issues she had been dealing with with a long time. (In the back of my mind I was excited to actually be next Pam on the course, even though she wasn't feeling good I was hoping we could be with her for a while, I mean she is the superstar and knows how to win at this race!)

As the night was clearly working its way to morning, we had special request for food, our Susannah is a Gourmet runner with a special palate. Requests for Mac'n cheese (glute free, specially bought from Whole Foods) with graded cheese (chucks) and Cracked Pepper was ordered. At one time the cracked pepper was forgot and immediately handed back to return to the chief!! In a nice but stern Aussie accent.. "ughh, there's no crack'd pepper!" Another gourmet item of the day, which I soon nicknamed a "CheeseBurger" was a rice cake, with Our Mate spread with sliced baby Roma tomato's! Check out the picture:

Our items included the same rice cake with Sliced Avocado's and yup, Cracked Pepper!! A lot of it! We actually tried to make soup one time, as we did last year, but the burner for the soup was in the support car and I tried to warm it up on the engine, as last year, but this time it was too difficult because we didn't have a can only a cup and that made it hard b/c the cup would start to melt or burn, lol. At the time I was under the hood, Pam runs by and goes "are you guys okay?" I said yeah, just trying to warm up soup. She goes "ohh, nice idea, if you need anything my crew can help." So very nice, I said, thank you. (HFS, I was talking to Pam Reed at 3 am in the middle of no where!)

As the sun started to come up we actually started to play leap frog with Pam. Even though Pam is actually 2 hours ahead of us b/c she started at 10am, I so bad just wanted to pass her for good as I thought it would bring extra pep to Susannah. The morning Sunrise was amazing and heading into Darwin I actually started to pull more than our mile stop just to leap from Pam farther so she would know that we are right behind her, somewhat of a mental game, or at least my thought of a mental game with Pam. Susannah and Pam finally ran/walked together for about 45 mins and then we finally got ahead of her. But it was not for long b/c Pam made sure to stay close and almost seemed to run when she didn't want to but knew she had to. Eventually Pam passed us again and as the winding road heading to Lonepine started Pam laid the hammer down and within a matter of an hour she was out of sight. My thought to a great a champion that knows the course and knows when and where to push!

As we passed Darwin check point, 90 miles @ 22 hrs 5 mins (14:43pace) it was time to wake up the support crew and Geraldine was ready for some sleep. She did an amazing job all night and was cooked herself. As the shift change came on, we soon found our self basically in No Man's Land! No one behind or in front of us for a about 2-3 hours. Then as we got closer to Lonepine a few other 10am starters were catching us and I was glad to see others as well as Susannah was to give her the drive to continue to push, as she seemed to slow down in this alone long stretch. (As last year, I distinctly remember this part of the course b/c as I said it seems so long and you can see from about mile 100 to Lonepine at 122!! and it mentally just sucks it out of you being on the course for 22+ hours. You're tired, close but so far from the end, and you just want to get there!

Susannah did great as we pushed into Lonepine with a few food items to get her morning energy. Mostly she was calling for anything caffeine, so espresso beans, and Coke Zero seemed to do the trick. At one time Susannah need a yogurt to settle her stomach, most likely from too much caffeine and no sold type food. The thing was the damn yogurt was frozen solid into the ice/water/dry ice in the cooler. Nic had attempted to get it out but no luck. We asked Susannah if there was anything else we could get her which was probably a bad idea, but in her nice Aussie voice just replied, "I really need that to settle my stomach, there is nothing else!" I quickly shouted from the drivers seat, "You will have it at the next stop!" She just smiled and said Okay, thanks! As I raced up to the next stop Nic was telling me there was no way to get it out b/c so much of it was frozen in and we would have to dump everything out to get it and that wasn't possible. I told him if we have to dump it out, then we have to dump it! I quickly jumped in the back and started ravaging through the ice and water to move stuff out of the way. My hand immediately froze from the cold but I couldn't think about that, I needed that Yogurt. Finally, I was able to clear some things out of the way and get to the yogurt. I came out in a solid block of frozen water/ice and sure enough it was solid. I busted it apart, handed it to Nic, we opened it, drained the water that had seeped into it, told him to scrap the top layer off it, stick the spoon in but DON'T STIR IT!! ( we stirred an early yogurt and she said she liked the chunks in it so don't mix it, lol.. runners!!) We had a few minutes before she got to us and I repacked all the cooler, Nic ran out to give her the yogurt and she was in heaven!

We finally reached Lonepine, mile 122 at 31 hrs 44 mins (15:16pace). We quickly dumped the support car off at the hotel, rearranged the MotherShip because you can only one crew vehicle on the portal road up to Mt. Whitney.

These pics are heading into Lonepine.

I will continue to part 3.. the final push to the Finish..

Rockon'

2010 Badwater Ultramarathon recap.

From Australia, #21 Susannah Harvey-Jamieson

First of all I want to thank Susannah so much for inviting me to crew for her this year. This marks my second year for crewing at Badwater and just as last year, it was Work, sleepless nights, bugs, and Hot but all worth it and I wouldn't have it any other way nor would I trade it for anything else.

My new down-under friends, Susannah, Nic, and Mallani all arrived in LA last Thursday and enjoyed the West Coast scene before arriving in Sin City on Friday afternoon. It was on Saturday morning that Susannah took a little jog from the MGM to my house which is about 20 miles! (yes this is two days before Badwater) After meeting up with her, Nic and Mallani for the 1st time we all went to pick up the MotherShip. As I was giving Nic directions he somehow forgot he was in the US and as we turned left he turned to the oncoming traffic!!! HOLY Fuckn'Shit!!! I yelled..Dude your going the Wrong way!!! He was quick to jerk the car around and make the correct turn on the road but after cleaning out my pants I really couldnt remember where we were going! hahaha.

The MotherShip was picked up and all set. After getting the supplies and all stocked up it was time to sleep for the trip Sunday. Sunday morning came and we all met up. Geraldine was now with the Crew and we were all making our way towards Furnace Creek. We had the MotherShip and the crew support car and being as we were behind scheduled Nic the NASCAR man went ahead with Susannah to get checked in at registration. Once we got there we met up with them at the athlete meeting. It was great to be back in Furnace Creek with all the cars and designation of runners posted on the sides. It was like it was just a couple of weeks ago that I was here with Molly's crew and facing the heat and the new experience. This time it the heat was still here but the crew had terminology that was very fun to get to understand.

At the athletes meeting we had a great seat due to getting there early and being about 5 in line. We save a whole row for our crew and another Aussie named Kelvin "Kelvinator" Marshall from Austrlia and his crew. The meeting was all the rules in and outs and of course some medical stuff. Then they called up the whole group who would be running.

After the meeting it was back to the hotel to get settled in and get ready for bed and some dinner. As the alarm was set for 5:15am it was hard to get sleep b/c I was ready to get the show on the road. Soon enough it was wake up time.

Race Day - July 12th

As the alarm went off I was up and ready and quickly grabbed breakfast with Nic and Millani. We then got the Mothership packed up and ready to go. We all piled into the van at about 6:45am to head to the start. (Last year, Brendan and I stayed behind at mile 17 Furnace Creek with the support car and so missed out on the start) So I was very excited to see what Badwater start was all about. This year my role in support would be mostly driving, some actual crewing, doctoring, and pacing. As we got close to the start we came across the starters of the 6am group and it was just amazing to see them already on the road making it happen!

As we got to the start, I parked the van, jumped out and started taking pictures:

This next picture tells it all. The long shot is the distance below sea level and the sign placed up on the mountain side is the actual level of Sea Level - Zero Feet.

The 8am Start:

The start was so exciting with acapella of the National Anthem. It was then a quick count down and BANG!! Sussannah was off and running. As we made our way back to the van and took our time to get ready to leave as all the vans were leaving to make sure to get there runner ASAP, it is Badwater ya know! We finally caught up with Sussannah about 1.5-2 miles down and she was ready for water. After a 1st crew session all was good and move to the next stop which would be mostly a mile down the road.

The day and the morning seemed to go by really fast and after reaching mile 17 check point at Furnace Creek in 3 hours and 17 mins (11:28 pace) I was concerned that Sussannah was going too fast for a 40 hour finish. I had the crew ask how she was feeling and she was feeling great with a much confident reply from her Heart Rate and how she has been in her zone the whole time. There would be a few other times during the race that we would check on her because of her pace but all times she was close to or within her zones and simply, it doesn't matter how fast or slow you run if you go by heart rate. After stocking up and picking up the support car we were making out way towards Stovepipe Wells at mile 41. Just before we reached Stovepipe the 10am starters were starting to catch us!!! Can you believe that shit!! Jorge Pacheco and last years winner Marico Farinazzo ran the 17 miles in 2 hours 15 mins (7:56 pace) By the time we got to Stovepipe Jorge clocked in at 5 hours 29 mins (8:01pace) and Marco at 5 hours 43 mins (8:22pace) with the 1st place Female Jamie Donaldson at 6hrs 47 mins (9:55pace). It was hot and I enjoyed Devils Cornfield, the Sand Dunes, and all the other great scenery. By this time we had the support car on the course taking up the action while Geraldine and I went ahead to gas up and stock up on ice as well as jump in the swimming pool and cool off. We had about 45 mins before Sussannah got here and when she did she clocked in at 8hrs 29 mins (12:25pace) and was feeling and looking great.

Check out these pictures:

After going through Stovepipe its a long ass climb up to Towns Pass and Sussannah settled into some strong power walking and short running bouts. As the sun started to go down I was beginning to show weakness and get tired. It was late evening and by 10pm I was needing a break so I jumped to the support crew and headed down Towns Pass for some rest. Once the crew got closer they radioed to me and around 11pm I headed for Panament Springs where there was a designated cottage that all could use to shower and get some rest in the beds they had available. When I got there I was being attacked by millions of freakn annoying Beatles and I'm not talking about John, Paul, George and Ringo!! According to locals it was last season for beetles mating season and they were everywhere!! After grabbing a shower I settled in the car with the AC running and slept for about an hour. At 12:43 am (Tuesday) Susannah rolled through check point mile 72 in 16 hours 43 mins (10:44pace) HFS!!! She had totally killed it coming down Town's Pass and made up some serious time heading into Panament. By this time I jumped back in the Mothership while Nic went for a shower, Mallani geared up for some pacing up to Father Crowleys point.

Panament is at 1,920 ft. at mile 72 and Fr. Crowley's Point is at 4000 ft. at mile 80.2!! Serious climbing and winding roads. The night time was nice for crewing mostly because Susannah didn't need much resupply of things, some food and soup mostly. After a couple of hours we caught up with Pam Reed, who was currently in 3rd place (10am starter) and a champion of this race in the past.

I will continue the report due to its length and details....

rockon'

May recap.

Now that the new month has rolled it's time for the pitaful recap of May, but at least I got to running!

No swimming.

Biking was a whopping 4 miles/15 mins on the stationary bike post-leg workout.

RUNNING!!! - 6 runs totaling 17.60 miles!! Nothing big but ALL NO PAIN!!! and building back up slowly, mostly I just want to make sure I am healthy and able to pace for Badwater in a couple of weeks.

I have managed to return to the gym and work on strength training and elliptical for some cardio and add in some good outside heat stretching. I also started sauna training and am now capable of 30 mins non-stop. I will look to continue my sauna training over the next couple of weeks as well as a couple of walks outside for the heat!

I plan to have July looking a little more productive but hey, we gotta start back somewhere.

A couple of weeks back I when I was visiting the great New Mexico Outlaws State, I dropped by and had lunch, well my g/f and I, with S.Baboo and IronMisty aka. GeekGirl.. We stopped by to check out there new crib which I saw is SUPER AWESOME and was very happy for them and jealous. I mean this place rocks.. open the back gate and out the 10 yards is the trail heading up to the mountains!! WTH!! Great views, great landscaping and these kids have the Pad! Why the big shout out for them.. Because they are great people and friends. S.Baboo is preparing for his run at Leadville 100 and is totally going to jam that bitch for all its worth and Misty is heading towards Redman 140.6 in October. !!! knowing them they probably have some other great events thrown in there for good measure. Keep up the great work and see ya sometime soon!

rockon'