Peterson Ridge Rumble 20 Mile - Sisters, Oregon - April 10th, 2011

At last, the month of April has arrived. I've been anticipated its forthcoming for a long time...

April Race #1, the Peterson Ridge Rumble...

Sisters is a small little town of about 2,000 people that sits just East of the Cascades, 20 miles northwest of Bend. The perfect location for a relaxing getaway weekend! The race was scheduled for Sunday, so my plan was to catch a ride down Friday and hang out with some ultra friends of mine, Chris and Liz, and to explore the Sisters and Bend area.

Friday night I caught a ride with my running friend Amy Sproston. We passed the time with wonderful conversation, and luckily that was enough. Even though she had a cd player in her car, all she had with her was 1 album...The Chipmunks Christmas Carols. Did we listen to the cd? Yes, only for 2.5 minutes. It was promptly turned off when we decided it was a little unnecessary. I told her that if I had the chipmunks stuck in my head during my race, that I would hate her forever.

Amy dropped me off at the Best Western in Sisters where I would stay with Chris, Liz, and their dog Ladybird for the next 2 nights. I hadn't seen Chris or Liz for months, so we spent the rest of the night chatting about life, running, and the pursuit of further distances. The next morning (Liz's birthday) we got up for a mid-morning fun run and explored the first couple miles of the race course. We then drove to Bend for lunch, our race bibs, and a couple running store visits (Foot Zone and Fleet Feet). By the time we left Bend, I somehow ordered and paid for a Veggie Blend beverage…Never again.

Race Day Morning

The Peterson Ridge Rumble has both a 40 mile and 20 mile race. Chris and I were signed up for the 20, but we woke up early to see some of our friends start of the 40 mile race. Some of those friends included Nathan Blair (Hagg Lake, Trailfactor), Todd Janssen (Hagg Lake, Trailfactor), Larry Buchanan (Bunker to Bonneville), Larry’s wife Susan, and Bryan Mullaney. Bryan is a buddy from college who got into ultra running last year, and we only found out 2 weeks prior that we both run ultras. I wonder if any other friends are running ultras these days…

The 20 Mile Race

The 20 mile is dog friendly, and there were a number of owners with their highly energetic dogs. As soon as the race started, some of the dogs (off leash) were doing ‘fly by’s at full speed up and down the trail. One dog came bounding from the bushes and crashed into one of the runners, almost knocking his legs out from under him. It was a bit crazy, but eventually the trail opened up to a long and wide road, where the runners and their mutts had a chance to spread out.

The road seemed endless because it was long, wide, flat, and you could see forever because of how straight it was. I went out as fast as I could sustain, given the 3,000’ ground elevation (much higher than Portland). I was breathing deep, but my legs were feeling fairly fresh. When we finally turned off the long dirt road onto single track trail, things got much better. I was in 10th place at this point, but caught a few runners on the climb (hooray for training in the Gorge). The single track twisted and turned through the sparse trees with only a slight elevation climb, making for some extremely enjoyable running.

The overall 1,000' climb for the first half of the course was fairly gradual, and it eventually opened up to some gorgeous views of the surrounding snow-covered buttes and mountains. A picture wouldn’t do the view justice (at least, that’s what I say when I’m too lazy to carry a camera). At the halfway point the course looped back downhill towards the start, and there’s nothing more fun than gradual downhill on soft, dry single track. All I had to do was lean a little forward and let my legs roll with my momentum.

I was able to pass a couple more runners on the downhill, despite nearly face planting somewhere along the trail. When I eventually reached the long, wide, flat, and seemingly endless road, I looked behind me and saw nobody for at least half a mile. With only 2 miles to go until the finish, that was a huge relief. There's nothing worse than running in fear of being caught. I had no idea what place I was in, but I was running strong and hoping for a top 5 finish. I could see Gary Robbins half a mile in front of me, but there was no way I was going to catch him. I kept a good pace and somehow got Rick Astley stuck in my head for the last mile.

The finish was on the high school track, but the runners had to complete a full lap first. Someone put hurdles out on the track, for those who still had the energy or the audacity to humor the situation. When I entered the track, I threw down my water bottle on the grass and took off for the finish. Halfway around the track, I remembered why I quit track in high school...because tracks suck. After totally jumping the hurdle with 100 meters to go, I finished with a sprint and a great time.

Results:     2:28:04 - 4th out of 193 finishers

Pace:     7:24 min/mile

At the finish line there was a magnificent burrito buffet, along with all the common post race amenities. Oh, how I Love trail races. Chris finished a mere 10 minutes after me, and we sat and ate all afternoon while watching the 20 mile and 40 mile finishers. Life is good! After a time, the race director announced the awards for the top 3 finishers in the 20 mile race. The 2nd place finisher was actually the 1st place finisher in the masters division (40+), and he got his own specific award. Since that was the case, the 3rd and 4th place overall finishers received the 2nd and 3rd place prizes! When he announced my name for 3rd place, I felt a little out of place and slightly proud. I walked up, received some mountain hardware arm sleeves and a box of GU Roctane, and shook the race director's hand. Holy crap, I just got a prize for running a race!

As if I wasn't hooked on trail running already, now I'm starting to see my running improve more and more with each race. Seeing the 40 milers finish, I can only dream of the day when I can compete with their 6:40 min/mile pace. Maybe someday I'll get there. Is it only a matter of time? There's only one way to find out...

Afterthought: I never got the chipmunks stuck in my head during the race. Chris oddly had Taylor Swift stuck in his head.