Bishop High Sierra 50 Mile Race Report

... Leaving Overlook (20 miles), the highest point of the race course, I was set to start my chase. I took off down the hill and caught two guys almost immediately. By the time I got to Bishop Creek Lodge (30 miles), I think I had picked off about 6 guys and LT was just in front of me. I counted the number of people coming back on this out-and-back portion of the course, and I was in about 13th. I kept my pace until about mile 36, then I felt the cumulative fatigue from all the weekend ultras I have been doing. I had no more gas left in the tank. I had to slow down...

I arrived in Bishop on Friday night just before the free pre-race dinner was about to begin. I had heard from past year's participants that the pre-race dinner and raffle was a must-attend event; so, I was looking forward to it. The dinner was held at the Whiskey Creek Restaurant, a very nice establishment, and the food was excellent. LT and Beiyi from the Trail Headz came just before they started the raffle and I was happy to join up with them. The raffle did not disappoint, as most people in attendance won some prizes. LT and I both won some socks, and I also scored a pair of Innov8 shoes. Now I can't say I never win anything. The pre-race dinner was fun as I meet some new people and saw some old familiar faces.

The course didn't look too hard from the elevation profile, but it was much harder than it looked. In past years, some very good runners had not posted very fast times on this course. The higher elevation meant less oxygen, and the very runnable course meant that you actually could have ran the whole 50 miles if you could do so. It gradually climbed for 20 miles for the first part, then 3 miles of downhill, then rolling terrain for 12 miles, and then it went back down to bishop for 15 miles.

For this year, the challenge was enduring the heat, as the course offered very little shade. The weather was HOT, HOT, HOT! It was like running in an oven. The nice aid station people offered to put ice cubes in my bottles, but that just froze my hands and the water turned warm very quickly.

As the gun went off, LT and I started together. Beiyi was still in the restroom and would join the race a little late. I went about two miles and my legs and hips were feeling sore. It was not a good sign, but I was hoping the soreness would go away as I warmed up. I settled into a more relaxed pace than normal for the climb and was feeling pretty good. I got up to Overlook (20 miles), the highest point of the course, and was still feeling okay. The heat nor the altitude was bothering me. LT had gone ahead and was probably about 15 minutes in front.

Leaving Overlook, I was set to start my chase. I took off down the hill and caught two guys almost immediately. By the time I got to Bishop Creek Lodge (30 miles), I think I had picked off about 6 guys and LT was just in front of me. I counted the number of people coming back on this out-and-back portion of the course, and I was in about 13th. I kept my pace until about mile 36, then I felt the cumulative fatigue from all the weekend races I have been doing (6 in 7 weeks). I had no more gas left in the tank. I had to slow down.

I was tired and running the remaining 14 miles of gradual downhill felt like running on the flat. It was very hard for me. I ended up walking for about 4-5 miles to save strength and then ran the rest of the way back to the finish line. It was not one of my better races, but I still had a lot of fun. It was good running with LT for part of the way. He is a very strong runner. I enjoyed the raffle, the food, the outdoors, and the company. It was my pleasure to hang out for dinner with LT and Beiyi after the race.

After a few days of rest, I'm looking forward to the San Diego 100. Last night I was dreaming I was running it. Now, that's an ultraholic. I will get a weekend off from racing over the Memorial day holiday, then I'm doing the Shadow of the Giants 50k and then the SD 100 a week after that. The Shadow 50k will be a tapper race for SD, and I will just enjoy myself and not go for time.

Until the next adventure, happy trails!