Each run in the epic series is supposed to get progressively harder
as we progress in our training for the summer 100's. and each run is meant to take all day or the majority of the weekend in the case of
the multi-day runs.  and each one must run through the best
landscapes the northwest has to offer.

the penta rosie picked right up where the first epic left off. the
first was a 50k with 13,000ft of gain. to make epic #2 a 50k with
17,500 was a logical choice. 5 2.9 mile climbs each with 3,500ft of
gain followed with an equal descent.  this out and back route passes through a great forest of big douglas fir in the mt skokomish
wilderness with waterfalls and cascading water along the trail and
views,when the weather cooperates, of the cascades, blackhills of
capitol forest and of course the jagged olympics.

for such a hard 50k i figured it would take atleast from sunrise to
sunset and probably it would take even a few hours of nite running
too.  6am the sun was luminating the rain clouds overhead as mike
burke and i awaited the arrival of rob hester the only other 50k
runner i was expecting. 6:17 mike and i started running rob would
just have to catch up, we probably would've waited longer but mike
had only few hours to run before he had to go easter egg hunting.

the rain was coming down hard as we climbed the first 2 miles
towards the top. on the last mile of the ascent the rain turned from rain to sleet to snow and trail went from being snow free to covered in a light slush to buried in a foot or two of wet, heavy snow.  it
was through this upper section that we had to dodge what seemed like the crossfire of a forest wide snowball fight-- heavy snow pearched
high above and attached precariously to the tree branches would come
crashing down once it reached it's critical weight and with no
concern for whom or whatever may be below including mike and i.
at the top it was cold and there were no views so we quickly turned
around and retraced our steps. the 2 miles(1 up, 1 down) through the snow were slow taking about an hour creating stiff legs and cold
feet.  mike and i for some reason weren't wearing waterproof jackets so we were totally soaked and by the time we got out of the snow we
really needed to move faster to stay warm but our feet were numb and trail was so steep it was hard to not run with the brakes on the
whole way. it wasn't until the last 1/3 mile we were able to really
let loose and run.

back at the trailhead there was no sign of rob and after a few
minutes we heading up hill again. the 2 most noteable aspects of the 2nd lap was that the wind had picked up on the top and the lower
part of the snow section was really slushy making our feet painfully cold and eventually numb much worse than the 1st loop.  the weather
saturday was supposed to cold, very wet and very windy. it
definitely started out very wet, and the wind was hinting it was
about to get going but it was quite warm and only getting warmer.

back down at the trailhead mike and i had covered the first two laps in just 4 hours. john pearch a few years ago had done three of these repeats in 6 hours but i figured i wouldn't be able to hold this
pace for all 5 loops.  mike left to play with the easter bunny but
first he gave me his waterproof jacket.  with his jacket and a pair
of rain pants i had in my truck  i head up mt. rose on my own.  and
as i climbed and warmed up i felt good knowing i was already atleast an hour ahead of schedule.

my confidence grew on that 3rd lap and so did my excitement. i
stayed on the 2hr per out-and-back pace and i was back in the
parking lot by 12:30. two friends from olympia were supposed to join me for a loop but like rob they had changed their minds but it
didn't bother me and i took off for the 4th time.  but my excitement mixed with not eating enough on the first 3 loops got me into
trouble.

on the route there are only two areas to get water at the trailhead
and 1 mile from the top.  i was only a 100 ft from the last creek
leaving the trailhead when i realized i only had a 1/3 of a bottle
but i choose to not go back.  only a few minutes later i felt the
lightheadedness of a quickly approaching bonk.  i pulled out a bar
and ate it immeadiately. a few mins later i stoped and took down a
gel but i only had alittle water so i couldn't take any more until i got more water.  it was a very long haul up to the creek there i ate more took a couple succeed caps and drank a ton because now my legs
had started to threaten to cramp.  the slog up to the top was just
as hard as the lower 2 miles-- i was eating as much as i could but i had fallen way behind calorie wise and i was paying for it. at the
top i decided to try a new route down it was a little longer but it
would be less steep. i had hoped i'd be able to run more of the
downhill this way since it was less steep but the snow was much
deeper on thsi side of the mountain 3-4 feet deep.  by the time i
was down at the trailhead it was nearly 3:30 this loop had taken
more than 1/2 an hour longer than the previous three.  but at least
i had finally gotten caught up on calories, electrolytes and water.

the fifth and last loop i felt great on. the climb was slow but
steady and when i turned around at the top i felt strong and pushed
the pace back down and made it back to the trailhead in just over 2
hours to match the pace of the first three loops. in 11:08 i had run 29.6 miles with 17,500 ft of gain and 17,500 of loss and i felt like i could still do more.

it was hard but i feel that i left plenty of oppourtunity for the
next 4 epics to conitue to get harder. the next in the series the
olympics double crossing will be held apr. 23-24. check out the
webiste www.capitolpeakultras.com/epicseries.htm for more
information and contact me asap to reserve your spot in the lodge.

james