Molly Sheridan

La Ultra - The High

2011-08-20T10:38:00.000-07:00

Race Report for La Ultra The High

Somewhere on the end of the earth, between China and Pakistan is a remote road in the Himalayas. This dirt road is only open 2 months out of the year because the snows of the Himalayas obscure it from human view for most months in the year. Magically the road opens for a short period of time and the rugged colorful trucks from China bring their commerce into India.

This year the road brought 6 runners from around the world to compete in the second annual La Ultra The High, the highest, longest ultra-marathon in the world. La Ultra begins at 14,400 ft in a small village called Khardung village. The course rises up to the first of 2 mountain peaks, Khardung La, a staggering 17,500 feet, Tanglang La is the second peak with a whopping 17,400 ft elevation that makes Leadville seem like a happy knoll among the giants of India.

This race is daunting. It requires 2 weeks of altitude adjustment just to get to the start line. La, means mountain pass in the Himalayas, therefore the name La Ultra, born from the creative imagination of Rajat Chauhan, visionary for La Ultra The High. The race is 222 kilometers in length (137 miles) non-stop. The number 2 is a lucky number in India so Rajat rounded off the luck in kilometers.

Khardung La [the first 18,000 foot peak] was really tough this year. I feel like it beat me up. I don't know why but it wasn't the altitude it was just tougher than I remember. I was one of the original three to attempt the inaugural race in 2010. Bill Andrews and Mark Cockbain toed the line with me last year. Mark was the single finisher marking an epic event that that proved to the India government that humans can run at extreme altitude and distance. They told us that this race was an impossible feat and it felt good to prove them wrong.

This year I toed the line again. I think I may have been even more intimidated with what lay ahead as I knew what I was up against. Sometimes not knowing is a blessing. I made it 100 miles last year and abandoned the race when my partner, Bill Andews, ended in the hospital for unrelated medical issues that were not a result of the race. Remote locations and unreliable communications forced me to leave the course and take a year to regroup and tackle it again.

This year my journey continued. During the first ascent up Khardung La my stomach (as usual) went nuts after I got to South Pullo [about 40 miles into the race]. My insides felt like it had aliens attacking. When I descended into Leh it was 11pm and I couldn't continue and had to lie down to try to get my stomach settled and under control. I then was able to run through to Karu...ran on to Upshi and made up a lot of time. Bailey Sheridan and John Vigil were my incredible crew. They faithfully supported me and went without sleep for 57 hours straight. I couldn’t have completed the race without their complete devotion. I also had an Indian interpreter Jigme and an Indian driver Lamchun. Both tirelessly drove and maneuvered our way across the vast barren mountains of India into the remote Morey Plains where the race ended.

(Isagenix Dream Team!)

Anyway, there was major drama going on when we got to Rumste, our base camp at the bottom of Tanglang La [the second 17,500 foot peak]. We had all worked so hard to get to the camp. I had visions of hot food and a warm cot that had been promised by the race director. I needed to regroup for the huge ascent up Tanglang La. It was freezing rain and sleet for hours for us leading up to the camp location. I sent my driver Lamchun and Jigme, my English speaking interpreter, up ahead with Bailey to get some rest at camp while John paced me the last few miles into the camp. It was approximately 11:30pm. John and I trudged ahead in the dark and rain. We passed through the town searching for signs of camp. After a long period of time we realized that somehow we had missed camp and we were headed up the mountain. John and I were lost. We were headed up Tanglang la by accident, realized we missed the camp and dismally retreated back down in the dark, flashing our lights into huts in the small remote town desperately envisioning that hot food and bed… Meanwhile.....

When we didn't arrive at camp, Bailey knew something was wrong and grabbed Jigme and started searching for us. They found John and I running around Rumste near midnight...we were freezing cold and soaked to the skin. They loaded us in the car and got us into camp. At camp we were shocked to find ALL the teams were there, asleep, because they had pulled everyone off the mountain because of a snow storm. I was the last one to arrive and they had no beds, no place to lay down, no hot food ready because they did not expect all teams to be there at once.

John, Bailey and I had a quick overview meeting. We all realized that the clock was ticking and we couldn’t wait at camp any longer. As much as I didn’t want to, I knew we had to keep moving. Too much time had gone by. The camp could not provide us with shelter or food. It was our defining moment in the race. I looked outside to the cold, wind, rain and we made the group decision to go on. Our driver and guide were instrumental in this decision. If they decided not to continue the race would have been over for us.

Then, we notified the race officials and medical team that we were going to move ahead...THE medical team said I couldn't go up Tanglang La because of the snow storm and they had pulled everyone off for safety reasons! I told them I was behind, wanted to AT LEAST go to the snowline and stake out to catch up my time! WE waited for a decision but there was confusion, tired people, the race director was no longer at camp, and they ended up just ignoring us THEN John just said, Molly, lets go, these people didn't know what they are doing. I saw Ray Sanchez at that point. He had just finished the race along with Sharon Gaytor from Great Britain. Ray looked amazing. I was so proud that the first American man had completed the race. I so admired the speed of the top runners. They had already finished and the rest of us had not stopped Tanglang La.

So I spoke with Jigme and my driver and asked them if they could continue up Tanglang La without rest or hot food. They both agreed to push on. That moment was the moment I will look back on for the rest of my life. We left camp at almost 2am in freezing rain, sleet and eventually snow while everyone else slept at camp. My driver actually offered to pace me. He was a local from Leh. That guy got out and walked me for hours up that mountain. He couldn’t' speak much English but he understood the goal. It was the toughest part of the whole race for me. I felt like I was summiting Everest. It was that hard. At 4am the other teams drove past us to go to their stake out position on the mountain. They could not believe that I was on the mountain. They had all slept for hours and had hot food. So, I caught up to Samantha Gash from Australia and Lisa Tamati, from New Zealand who was just ahead. All of us working to get over the mountain.

My Patagonia clothes were amazing. I was cold but it wasn't unbearable. The sun came up and I was half way up Tanglang La in the snow. It was breathtaking. I knew at that point that I was going to make it. Up to then I tried not to think about it but just kept pushing on. The sun gave me renewed hope and energy. Although I did have hallucinations at 17,000 ft. I kept seeing some guy doing cartwheels near our support vehicle. I asked Bailey and John if it was our driver. I knew they were questioning my sanity when I saw them exchange looks. At the summit, again my team was amazing. I was hallucinating really badly by then but I knew I wasn't suffering from any altitude problems. It was simply extreme fatigue. I can deal with fatigue. Down the mountain I knew I was going to make it.

(Top of Tanglang-La)

Barry Walton, the videographer saw me, got out of his car and sobbed. He could not believe that I had caught up with everyone. He just kept crying and said he had never seen anything like what I had just accomplished...that made me feel good. But, I think Barry was partly exhausted! Ha!...I will always be the underdog, back-of-the-packer. When the medical team told me I couldn't go, that really made me mad. It only motivated me to continue stronger. Don’t tell me I can’t continue if there is time on the clock and I am capable.

When someone tells me "I can’t” I will prove that I can. At the peak of Tanglang La I knew I had made it. I knew I had enough time left to complete the distance. The worst was over. My team and I celebrated for a few short moments on the top in the snow. Then we continued on to the Morey plains and the finish line.

I know that when you begin a race of this distance, with challenges this overwhelming that there are no guarantees of finishing. There are too many variables that can take you out in a moment. I have had defeats before and I can handle defeat, but, finishing this race is so rewarding, and the victory is so sweet as to be indescribable. For the rest of my life I will remember the journey I took with Bailey Sheridan, John Vigil, Jigme and Lamchun. I have never felt so grateful and happy. John and Bailey were instrumental. 58 hours without stopping. I know how hard that is to do...sometimes crewing is the harder than running. I owe so much to their devotion and hard hard work...they were also unbelievable funny when I needed fun!

(The FINISH line)

So that is my overview in a nutshell although there is so much more to tell.

I simply loved the race, the country of India and its people. The Himalayas are a magic world where the spiritual meets Mother Nature and it is a blessing to experience the wonders at the ends of the earth.

My next adventure will be in New Zealand at Lisa Tamati’s race in March 2012.

Northburn 100 ….running in rugged, gorgeous New Zealand…..

I'm back!

2011-06-29T11:37:00.000-07:00

Oh wow! It's been a while since I have been to my blog spot! I have been busy!

Right now I am at the peak of training to return to the Himalaya's July 29th. THE HIGH race is August 11, 2011. 138 miles, non-stop through the Himalayas. I have waited all year to return to that beautiful part of the world.

But right now, in honor of the Badwater Ultramarathon, right around the corner. I am uploading a picture of my licenses plates. Good luck to all those incredible athletes toeing the line in just a few weeks!

Stay tuned to updates!

Part 2 Arriving in India

2010-08-19T11:04:00.000-07:00

To say that India has changed my life is an understatement. I have thought about my experiences there ever since I left to come home 17 days ago. My head and my heart are floating somewhere at 18,000 feet, resting on the soft snow of Khardung La.

Ironically, that is where our family prayer flag is stretched across and waving in the mountain winds, at the peak of Khardung La.

When I first arrived in Leh I went to the local monestary and met Lama Tsephel. I brought him our family prayer flag to bless before I took it up to the mountain. We had an immediate contection, my Lama and I. I felt as if I had found a long lost family member. His face seemed familiar and I was drawn to our conversations about the people and history of Leh.

I spoke to the Lama a lot about the race. He loved our crew t-shirt that we presented him. In exchange he gave me his prayer beads. He made me promise that I would come back and visit him next year.

After the Lama blessing it was time to get ready for race day........all I wanted to do was conquer that first peak Khardung La. I knew if I summitted that peak I had a chance at this race.......

to be continued....

Avalanches and No Air... fun in the Himalayas!

2010-08-04T11:37:00.000-07:00

I am back from one of The High's of my life...running The High in the Himalayas. Where do I begin when there is so much to share? Do I tell you all the details? Do I speak about witnessing acute altitude sickness on an unknown Indian man? Do I tell you about Yaks and mongooses and herds of goats roaming at 17,500 feet, in a place that is as remote as the Moon? Do I tell you about soldiers, and borders with permits, an angry crowd, a misplaced hand grenade? Shall I talk about the avalanche? Was it all a dream?.........well, let me tell you the main parts. Then, if you are with me alone over some campfire far away, I will share the rest if you are willing to hear. It begins with a man with a dream, Dr. Rajat Chauhan, who sent me an email not long ago. From the time that Rajat picked up Bill Andrews and I up from the New Dehli airport, until we left India, three weeks later, he showed us unbelievable hospitality. His race in my opinion is one of the most unique experiences on the planet. The soldiers of the Indian Army told Rajat that the race could not be physically done. Mark Cockbain proved that wrong when he crossed the finish line on July 26th. Bill Andrews made it 50 miles and I made it somewhere close to 100 miles. I felt priviledged to be the only woman to attempt it.

I am going to make this blog into a couple of seperate reports. This first report is the summary of events. I'll follow it with more detailed events as they happened during the race.

Mark, Bill and I started the race in "High" spirits on July 24th at 6:30am. We all had great crew support and the whole team was excited to start after spending the last 10 days or more adjusting to altitude in Leh. We had camped the night before the race in Khargdung Village at approximately 14,000 ft elevation. The first 42 kilometers of the race are straight up to the top of Khardung La, approximately 4,000 foot climb. At the top of the peak the sign says 18,380 feet. Our GPS said 17,500 ft. Too me, what difference does is make!? Breathing is slow and labored. When you exert yourself you can feel your heart pumping harder and the feeling of overwhelming exhaustion hits you. Climbing to the top I tried to power walk. I don't believe it is possible to run that section but maybe some day my theory will be proved wrong and some strong superhuman person will be able to run it. All I know is that it was difficult mentally and physically for me. I knew that if I could make it to the top I would have a good chance of completing the race. At least I would have survived the first altitude test.

Our crews drove ahead and we climbed toward the first peak. Mark, Bill and I, the only runners this year at The High, seperated early, each in our own pace. Later I hooked up with Bill to get to the top. We had made a pack to reach the top together and he was a huge support for me. I was sick half way up. I understand that you can get dehydrated rapidly at these elevations and thats what happened to me rather quickly. I reached the top with Bill and we had a few minutes together to take in the incredible view and have a few moments of our own time together. Then, Bill flew down the hill. A couple of people on his crew were having altitude problems and they had gone ahead. I took a few minutes to rehydrate then I headed down. My crew at that point misunderstood my requests to stop every 3 or 4 kilometers and went to South Pullo, which is many miles away. I ran out of water and got really dehydrated and was pretty wiped out when I finally reached them.

Rajat met me at that point. He was driving back and forth checking on the runners. When he saw me in South Pullo he asked me to go with him to the hospital for an IV. He said it would not disqualify me under these conditions. So, I agreed. We staked the course where I had stopped and went with my crew to the Leh hospital. The hospital was rather scary. I will give details in a later blog on the hospital. I did see an Indian man come into the hopsital suffering from acute altitude sickness. I don't know the details of his story. I don't know why he waited so long to get help or why the men with him didn't get him help sooner. I don't know if he had other health issues...all I know is that he died in the bed next to mine. We were all in one room, no curtians between patients. It was unsettling. Rajat wisked me out of there and I layed down for a couple of hours of sleep before continuing the race. I tried to focus back on the race. The hospital senerio was a reminder that the mountains of the Himalayas need to be respected.

I felt safe with Rajat as Race Director. The safety of the runners and crew were a priority with him and I never doubted that. I returned to the course, felt better and ran the next 42 kilometers at a great pace for me. I ran all the way through Leh. I heard that Bill had taken a break in the night and I had passed him but he wasn't far behind. I heard that Mark was doing great ahead of me. During the day it got hot. It was 104 degrees in Upshi. I was slowing down quite a bit then. I asked my pacer Rajesh what the altitude was because I was feeling so much better than Khardung La. He said it was only 10,000 feet at Upshi...I had to laugh! ONLY 10,000 feet?! What a breeze! ha! During the second night it was a full moon and the river next to the road looked like milk flowing. My crew Robert, Sindu, Rajesh were doing a wonderful job of keeping me moving.

Where was Bill? It was strange to me that he hadn't passed me. I was waiting all day for him to come running by. He is always faster and stronger than me. Late into the night my crew and I decided to take a rest at the next camp that Rajat had provided. After resting for a few hours we woke up to cold and the knowledge that the second mountain was ahead, Tanglang La. As I was coming out of the tent Rajat drove up. He came up to me and told me that Bill was in a hospital in Leh. He was very ill and they were flying him back to New Dehli. I was stunned. I couldn't believe it. Communication in that area of the world is really tough. No cell phones. Satellite phones are forbidden by the military. I asked Rajat to call from the nearest town to ask if Bill was improving as Rajat hadn't heard anything in about 12 hours. I didn't know what was wrong with Bill. I only knew it wasn't altitude sickness. Bill was having terrible stomach pains and they suspected appendicitis or such. Rajat went to the nearest town to find a phone. I started back out onto the course...then I just started crying. I couldn't go on not knowing what state Bill was in. I felt that I couldn't get my head back in the race. I was seriously worried. I actually thought about how I would feel if I finished the race and something horrible happened to Bill......was it worth it? I didn't feel that I could keep going under these circumstances....I decided to abandon the race and go to the hospital. I have no regrets about that decision.

I had Rajat drive me to the hospital. When I arrived at the hospital and went to Bills room the first thing he said was, "Oh no you dropped". He looked horrible. He was having terrible pains. I was glad it had nothing to do with altitude but he was in a terrible state. I accompanied him to New Dehli where he spent the next four days in the hospital. (Today as I am writing this Bill is having surgery in the States to remove his gallbladder which got badly infected in India). I remember looking out the windows on the flight from Leh. I looked over those vast Himalayas and then the clouds suddenly moved in and obscured my view. It was almost like some magical curtain closed and I realized my time there had ended.

All the crews joined together after Bill and I left and watched Mark become the first finisher of the High. It was an amazing accomplishment. I am so proud of what he did. On top of that he is a gracious and incredible person. It was a pleasure to run with him.

I can't wait to go back and run this race next year...I have unfinished business with Tanglang La. Next year I'd like to have an extra person accompany me to help crew...Bailey?!!

Also, Bill and I now have a pact that we must go on and finish this race trusting that the other person will be okay during the race......there was a lot of unknowns this year as with any event that has never been done before. I'm glad I had the guts to be at the starting line this year. I will look forward to arriving at that finish line next year.

I will add all the additional details in the next couple of blogs.......there is more to the story!!!

-Molly

Training in Leh, India 4/20/10

2010-07-20T09:16:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, Bailey again! The generator in Leh has been down for 2 days but here is the update of the past couple of days:

So, hello to everyone! I love and miss you all!! Everyday has been filled with amazing things here. Training at altitude has gone well but I have to say I am nervouse about the race This Saturday!! We leave Friday for our base camp where we will be camping with our crews. Then 6am Saturday morning I will be attempting to run a race that no one has done before. It is a daunting task but one that I am excited to begin. It is such a remote area...so beautiful, so unique. I am always nervous before a race and this race isn't any different. I do have a great crew.

My whole crew, Billl and his crew and Mark Cockbain from Britian and his crew, went to see Lama Tsphael yesterday. When we got to the temple another Lama was there and said he was the only priest there that day. I was sooo disappointed!! I really wanted Lama Tsphael to bless our crews! So I walked out of the temple to tell the crews that they would not be meeting my Lama friend... I turned the corner and there was Lama Tsphael! He said he had a feeling he should stop by the temple on his day off and he spotted me! So He ended up blessing each one of us by tying a red sacred ribbon around our wrists. Then after the ceremony he pulled me and Bill aside and gave us special prayer beads. Saying good bye to him was really hard! He is like a family member to me we have gotten so close these last few days. He told me he will see me again...

Lama Tsphael left yesterday to go see His Holiness the Dahli Lama in a neighboring town. So I gave him a big hug goodbye. Then today all of us went up to Khardung La to train. It is a couple of hours from town. When we were coming back to Leh in our car caravan we stopped at a remote village for a quick break. It is in the middle of nowhere! I got out of the car and there he was!!! Lama Tspheal walking out of a little tea stall by the road!! He smiled and gave me a huge hug. All the crews were cracking up that he was there in the middle of nowhere. His driver had stopped there on their ride to see His Holiness. So, we laughed and visited... then when he was ready to leave, he looked at me, clasped my hands and said "I will see you again"...

This morning I went to the Shanti Stupa the giant temple at the top of the city of Leh. I went to a Buddhist prayer service at 5am. The monk giving the service is the founder of the Stupa. After the service ( there was about 6 of us in the temple) he asked the french guy behind me if he could please play his guitar for him. The french guy played a song that was lovely. Then the monk asked if he could play his guitar. The monk took the guitar and started playing classic guitar!! Absolutely flawless classical music. I thought I was in a dream . THEN he started playing Rolling Stones early music!

Shanti Stupa

Okay, you all are probably thinking that I have gone mad and immersed myself into the Buddhist culture. But, the truth is, I am in my second week of living in a city that is the mecca of monks. It is a magical place and every day there is something new. I am so glad that I have all this positive energy before this daunting race. It gives me strength to be around all this incredible powerful and positive energy. This is truly a sacred place. I have never experienced anything like it.

I hope some of you will want to come back with me here next year.
Okay dear loved ones...generator going down!!

-Molly
4/20/10

Training in Leh, India 4/14/10

2010-07-15T18:39:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, Bailey again! Here is some more highlights from my moms adventures:

Hi Everyone!

Well, today I went to 18,000 feet. Now Bill said his GPS was reading 17,600 feet but, since I always like to embellish my stories, lets just say I was around 19,000.. Haha. I will tell you that I was higher than any mountain in the U.S. including Alaska... It was frickin HIGH!! I did pretty well actually. I can't say I was doing any running but I didn't experience any headaches or altitude sickness and I was up there for a long time. I am excited about that. It got me over my fear of having wacky problems.

I did have an exciting afternoon too. I met with Lama Tsephel at Lengshed Gonpa monastery. He was an amazing holy man and simply adorable. He blessed our family prayer flag. He rang bells over it, poured holy oil, threw rice on it, ran it through incense, then he chanted for about 20 minutes. It is now thoroughly blessed. I will be hanging it at the highest peak Kangdung La during my race.

Lama Tsephel has invited me to come to his second monastery, up in the mountains, next year. You can only get there by trekking as there are no roads. He is now my new best friend!! We really hit it off. He asked us to come back to see him tomorrow at 3pm. He is going to give us a special blessing for the race and a special blessing to take home. It was an awesome experience. I was humbled by it to tell you the truth.

-Molly Sheridan
4/14/10

Training in Leh, India 4/13/10

2010-07-15T18:14:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody, this is Molly's daughter Bailey! I am going to be the official reporter for my mom as she travels through India. Here is what she has to say from her first few days in Leh:

I am at a remote location, LEH, India at about 12,000 feet and believe me when I tell you I expect to see a Yeti any minute. I do LOVE it here. It is a special place and more gorgeous than I could have imagined. So much cleaner and serene then New Dehli...ahhh New Dehli... that is a different story!!

I am at an Internet Cafe with a generator grinding outside this room. I am staying at a peaceful house cottage. thank god my own little room , overlooking a meadow and the incredible Himalayas. It is surreal. There is limited electricity...really no Internet except for this cafe (sometimes).

My guide Nattu took me on a tour of the little town. Bill took off for parts un-known as he went to TanLang La to experiment being at 17,000 feet. I didn't feel the calling for that yet! So, I am slowly acclimating here. I ran for almost 3 hours this morning and I felt okay. Tomorrow I am going to see what 17,000 feels like. I'll be going up and down in elevation over the next week. My crew will arrive on Saturday to acclimate for a week.

So, sporadic electricity, freezing cold showers, no sheets or pillow cases, sleeping on a mat with a kind of Yak blanket....yep! I'm lovin life!! hee hee hee

I am headed over to the monastery here today with our family prayers flag (thank you Toodie!!) Nattu set up an appointment for me to meet with a holy man who will give his blessing on our flag (I think he chants and blow on it from what I understand!) Then Nattu has sent me up to see a woman Oracle. He tells me she isn't a fortune teller but she is a healer and spiritual elder. I am very excited to meet her.

Lots of powerful energy in the monastery here. I walked in and have to tell you that there is an energy here that I can't describe. I can't wait to hang our flag at Khang Lang La.

-Molly Sheridan
4/13/10

Training for the Himalayas!

2010-06-02T09:31:00.000-07:00

Okay....here we go! 5 weeks until I leave for India and 7 weeks until race day, The High race through the Himalayas, July 24 and 25th, 2010. I will be running 135 miles non-stop starting at approx 13,500 feet through 4 mountain passes, highest point at 17,000 feet.

It has never been done before. I'll be running on the only road in the Himalayas which is open for a short time during the year.

I am excited and overwhelmed. I really have no idea what to expect.

I will be running the race with Bill Andrews, the amazing ultra-runner, Grand Slammer, best Buddy on the planet. I have a crew, Bob Weir, writer, author, adventurer! Race Director is Dr. Rajat Chauhan, master visionary and ultra-runner. There are two other accomplished British ultrarunners running this race. What an amazing group of people. I will be acclimating in the village of Leh for 2 weeks before the race. I hope that helps!

I'll keep my training and my blog up-to-date as best I can and try to have posts sent during the race if indeed we can get a satelitte connection in that remote area.

Wish me luck......I can use all the good energy you can send!

Rocky Raccoon 100 Mile

2010-02-22T13:32:00.000-08:00

Here I am two weeks ago running the Rocky Raccoon 100 mile race in Huntsville, Texas. What a beautiful course with lots of trees. I had a blast! My friend George Velasco took this picture as we were constantly running next to eachother, passing eachother and having a great time through pine-needle trails. I felt great the whole race and my nutrition was perfect this time. The only problem I had was that my headlamp was so dim during the night that I was forced to go slow to keep from tripping over those darn roots!
I was so happy to meet up with fellow Marathon Des Sables runners at the race. It was a reunion of sorts. We laughed about our run through The Sahara Desert and relived our favorite and not so favorite moments.
After returning home. I made the decision and....

It's Official! I'll be running the inaugaural "The High" race in the Himalayas this July, 2010.
Check out the link!
http://web.me.com/drrajatchauhan/B2F/The_High.html

This will be a most amazing adventure. Dr. Rajat Chauhan contacted me and invited me to his race. I simply couldn't pass up the opportunity. Running 135 miles non-stop in an area of such extraordinary beauty....can't wait.
I am so happy that Bill Andrews, the incredible and talented endurance runner, will be accompanying me. Also, writer, author, Robert Weir will be crew support and journalist during this epic adventure.
I am very excited!

Now for the training. Since 'The High' starts at 14,000 feet and travels over four summits and hits 17,000 feet, I will be attitude training. Looks like I'll be climbing up Mt. Whitney a few times before July.
I feel like I'm embarking into territories unknown......not only the terrain but I'm also traveling inside my head and heart, wondering what it will take to finish this race.

I'll keep you posted on my training.

Races on the calendar:

March 6th - Old Pueblo 50 mile race in Arizona
March 27th - Umstead 100 mile race in North Carolina
May 15th - Keys 100 mile in Florida
July 15th - off to India and 'The High"

to be continued!!

Ancient Oaks and More

2010-01-18T07:51:00.001-08:00

Wow...Ancient Oaks 100 was a trip. What an awesome race. Running in Florida in the Enchanted Forest....a truly magical place. I had visions and and felt like I was Alice in Wonderland running through the night in that mysterious place.....I'm going back next year!

I am gearing up for a new year of races and experiences. I've been invited to run "The High" 135 mile endurance run, nonstop through the Himalayas. It's in July...only 40 runners allowed. It sounds like a trip that I can't miss...we will see.

Next is Rocky Raccoon 100 in Huntsville, Texas. I can't wait to see all my friends from Marathon Des Sable. It will be a mini reunion!

More Later!

Remembering Africa

2009-11-14T11:50:00.000-08:00

I posted this picture today to remind me of my trek across the Sahara Desert. It was just six short months ago that I had an adventure that changed my life.
Next to Badwater, Marathon Des Sables was the ultimate test of endurance for me. I remember feeling invincible when I arrived in Morocco...yes, maybe even a little cocky because I had trained well and felt that I could place in my age group. Out of the 800 participants there was only about 100 women...about 19 of those were American and only a handful in my age group. I expected to do well running across 150 miles of sand dunes and salt flats in one of the most remote places on the planet. The first two days I ran well. I loved being in Africa! I loved laying in that bivouac at night looking at those glorious stars....what an epic adventure! I expected the 60 mile day to be MY day. After all, I'm an endurance runner! The night before the race I felt weird...dizzy...I had stomach issues. After increased nausea and vomiting I knew I was in big trouble. I went to the French medics at midnight and they gave me pills. I didn't understand the language and for whatever reason the pills made me more ill. After no sleep and not being able to get anything down, I dragged myself to the start line. Getting dysentery and having to run 60 mile section through North Africa was a lesson I'll not forget. It wasn't really a race at all...more like the death march of Bataan....one foot in front of the other gutting it out...trying not to get behind the cutoff time. It was a lesson in persistence, determination, and mental strength. AND it was a humbling experience. There was not much left of my ego back at the tents. But, I was proud that I didn't quit...even when everything in my body wanted to stop. The final day was marathon day. I was able to rally and run to the final finish-line of the race. An incredible feeling of joy, strength, peace and thankfulness poured out of me.
I remember the first day back home in Las Vegas, sitting on the edge of the bed; I thought,"How did you do that Molly?" I certainly didn't do it alone. I did it with the love and support of my family, my friends who were supporting me, the kids at Boys Town Nevada who I was trying to help....all the positive energy that was sent my way.....
yes....I am thinking of all that today, as I sit in my comfortable home....remembering Africa.

Badwater documentary is on-line!

2009-09-01T13:16:00.000-07:00

The Badwater video of my July 2009 race is on the web....follow the link below.
What a great job by videographer, Justin Yurkanin.

http://www.jyurkanin.com/video/badwater

The White Line of Badwater 2009

2009-07-20T18:40:00.000-07:00

Rumor has it that it was 125 degrees in Death Valley on race day, July 13th, 2009. I was running the race of my life, the Badwater Ultramarathon. The biggest, baddest, 135 mile non-stop race on the planet..... destination Mt. Whitney. But, you know, you can't depend on rumors...heck, maybe it was only 124 degrees with 200 degrees radiating off the payment....all I know is it was like nothing I had experienced.

I did train an additional 6 weeks in a row at Death Valley, preparing myself for the barrage of heat. I sauna trained every day for months before the race. Living in Las Vegas, one of the hottest cities around, was an advantage to me and I drove around town with no air conditioning in my car. I tried turning off the air at home to further condition myself but my daughters Bailey and Taylor threatened mutiny and I refrained from further parental abuse. Still, race day came and it was a shocker.

I started off my 135 mile adventure with the goal of finishing under 48 hours. I had never run over 100 miles all at once. It was uncharted territory for me. I had never run in 125 degrees. I had never gone over 28 hours without sleeping, and here I was, pushing myself to a 48 hour non-stop finish with 13,000 elevation gain.

My other goal was to provide the kids at Boys Town Nevada a reason to be proud. I didn't want them to be disappointed in the runner who was representing them. I wanted to go the distance for them. And finally, I wanted my crew to be proud. I wanted them to experience the finish line like I had one year ago when I crewed and paced at Badwater. My crew was the best and deserved a finish.

My daughter Bailey was my Crew Chief. I raised some eyebrows choosing an 18 year old to be in charge of my very life. In reality, I was not blinded by a mothers love. Bailey and I are team mates. We are not mother and daughter when we are in the game. We established these rules long ago when she was only 15 and ran her first marathon with me. No one knows me better than Bailey. She is intuitive and smart beyond her years. Plus, she gives me major comic relief like no other. The rest of the crew, Georganna, Jimmy, Brendan, Justin and John are equally gifted team mates. It was an incredible blessing for me to have their support and care. Plus, we had a blast!

There was a lot of laughter, hilarity, and light heartedness....which turned into somberness, intense focus, quiet determination and every range of human emotion. When you are with 7 people on a mission to accomplish something out of the ordinary.....amazing things happen. Here is the blow by blow details of my race:

We were the first crew to arrive at race start 5:15 am. I was running around trying to keep from feeling totally terrified about what I was about to do. Well, that isn't necessarily true. I went from terrified to elated and then it flipped every two seconds. 6am the race began and I ran out too fast but I let myself go. I needed to burn a little extra energy off so i could start my Molly cruise mode (slow and steady!)

I felt wonderful at mile one!! hahaha. The sun hadn't quite hit and I was elated running on the white line of Badwater. It felt surreal to be along side some of the most talented athletes on the planet. I felt humbled and privileged to be on that white line.

At 17 miles, I was approaching Furnace Creek. My crew was yelling at me to slow down. I had given them my mileage goal sheet and race plan and we all agreed to follow the plan. So I slowed down.

Furnace Creek to Stovepipe the heat started pouring on. Jimmy began to pace me. Jimmy is ex-military and was as excited as I to be on the road. I had my crew give me ice under my hat, ice in a bandanna around my neck, ice down my shirt sleeves and in my running bra. I had them spray me all over with ice water....this went on every few minutes. Brendan became an expert with the spray bottle. Georg kept putting food in front of me. Justin, John and Bailey just kept flinging the ice. Every member of the team worked in perfect harmony to keep me moving. Sometimes it got so hot that I put a sponge up to my face and just held it there as I ran...it was a brutal heat.

I believed if I got to Stovepipe, the 40 mile mark, in good shape, that I could finish the race. That was my own personal belief. I looked through all the Badwater race results and noticed that a lot of runners don't make it past Stovepipe. It seems to me that a significant number dropped there. I was very conservative for that next 23 miles.

At Stovepipe my crew put a stake in the road to show that I was leaving the course for a break, and I took a 10 minute ice bath in the hotel road. It actually didn't feel good...it was rather shocking and horrid but it did cool me down and get my legs ready for the first climb of the race....17 miles up Townes Pass, 5000 ' elevation gain. When I was getting out of the ice bath I was completely bummed to see a big swollen bump on my Achilles tendon. It was sore to the touch. It was too early in the race for injuries. It freaked me out but there wasn't anything I could do at the moment. I put back on my compression socks and ran back out into the heat.

As I was climbing up Townes Pass, Dean Karnazes came running up behind me. I was in the 6am start and Dean was in the 10am start, 4 hours behind me. He said, "There's Molly! Hey Molly, I've been trying to catch you all day" I told him that I wanted that on a recording so I could play it back to family and friends back home!! Dean, who is a talented, fast, and accomplished runner, was trying to catch Molly all day....I still crack up when I think about that moment.

At about 7pm, trudging up the pass I started to feel sick. My crew had been trying to keep me eating 200 calories an hour, but the last hour I couldn't get anything down...that's when I started having problems. Georganna was on top of all the calories I was taking. She was instrumental in helping me to stay on course. But, no one can physically force you to eat. I threw up my guts on the side of the road and took a 5 minute break. I actually felt better. I began to eat watermelon and blue chips and started to rehydrate again. At the top of Towns Pass I took a break and addressed the Achilles problem which was bothering me more and more. Georganna with the help of John, a chiropractor on our crew, taped the ankle and I kept moving.

Down I went into Panamint Springs mile 70 or so. This is where I felt my first deep exhaustion. I took a break in the front seat of the car with the air conditioning on my face and my eyes closed. I really didn't want to leave the car. I just wanted to crawl up and have a 8 hour nap with a little blankie and fluffy pillow and a masseuse rubbing my feet and a little cocktail drink with a...... the crew chief then jolted me awake from my two second dream by kicking me out of that delightful van and my beautiful vision. I reluctantly got out of the van and John began to pace me. We scanned the road for rattle snakes and saw a couple of dead ones that cars had run over....so much for blankies and fluffy pillows.

Now it was an 18 mile climb up to Fr. Crowley....a never ending, long, long, dark...did I say never ending? climb in the dark. The sun started to rise when I got to the summit. At first I was happy for light then realized how fast the heat was coming back.

At the top of the summit I stopped and had blister care. I didn't even want to look at them because I knew they were getting bad. Georg taped them up and off I went. I was so happy to have flat road that I took off running with new energy. I ran well through Darwin the 90 mile mark. I felt great....then, not too much later down the road, probably around 110 miles I was spent. I was hotter than yesterday. I felt like I was having an out of body experience I wanted the van so bad. I couldn't get a grip so I stopped on the side of the road and just sobbed. I had a 10 minute pity party.

Bailey and Georganna were off getting supplies so it was just me and the guys. I noticed that John, upon seeing me uncontrollably sobbing, ran off to the van. I later learned that he text messaged Bailey saying " Your Mom is sobbing....what do we do?!!" I told them I was fine, just give me a moment. Then, I asked for my Ipod, dried my tears and started to put one foot in front of the other again. I was listening to some sort of techno beat that brought me out of my negative thinking. I really had to gut it out at that point. I was fully miserable. I didn't want to continue. All I could think about was stopping. I had to ask myself, Molly, is anything broken?...no....are you having a heart attack?...no ....are you in grave danger?....no...then you must move on and think of all your friends and families who are waiting for you to complete this adventure.

The last 20 miles was mind numbing. It was just an out and out gut it out to the finish for me. Maybe others cruise through this and have a different system that works...but for me it was mentally tough. I used every mind game I could think of...every motivation...every meditation and mantra. When I got to Lone Pine and started up the Whitney Portal I had been running 40 hours without sleep. I was weaving and sleeping on my feet.

Jimmy, ex-military crew man, told me to toughen up and get ahold of myself....I have to chuckle when I think about it. I don't respond well to military, in your face, encouragement. I need fun. I need someone to make me laugh or make me feel good....I need a soft touch. Bailey came over and told Jimmy to take a break. Then she held my hand for a minute and told me how proud she was of me. That is motivation for me. I did realized that I was leaning and unable to stand straight. Exhaustion was clouding my thinking. I asked the crew to let me lay down for 10 minutes then wake me. I completely crashed for 10 minutes in the van. I woke up feeling like I could actually function. But, now there were fire trucks screaming up and down the road and rumors that the race was stopped.

Brendan was able to contact his wife Kendall by text. We were able to learn that the finish line had been moved in 4 miles because of forest fires. We could all smell the smoke in the air. I was hallucinating during the last miles of the climb. I made a quick stop on the side of the road and told Bailey to pick up her purse which I distinctly saw laying on the road. She looked at me as if I had lost my mind....which I had! I started laughing because I realized how ridiculous I was sounding. I thought I saw a bunch of frogs jumping across the road too but I didn't mention it!!

The finish line was the most beautiful site on the planet. I held hands with this wonderful crew who had worked their hearts out tirelessly for 45:09 hours. I am forever in their debt and forever grateful. I will never forget our journey through Death Valley.

At 131 miles, I received my buckle and my official finish. The last 4 miles of the course were closed and trees were still smoldering. I had the option of going back the following day to do the last 4 miles but my race was officially over and my crew officially spent. Plus for me, Mother Nature was speaking. I didn't have any problem listening to her words. I felt satisfied and accomplished and at peace with a race that was bigger than me. I still feel that Badwater is daunting....a bigger than life Bad Ass course. I feel like I was granted safe passage on those precious days out there...and given a gift of an incredible crew that were able to help me through.