La Cuesta Ranch Trail 25K 1/9/2016

The first race of 2016 was another of Luis Escobar’s races. Red Rock was incredible and it made me want to run his brand of race again (even though my little timing chip never worked, so as far as the internet is concerned, I DNS that race, I did though, I have the finishers amulet to prove it!). This race was even more rustic than Red Rock. There were no timing chips, no official start line, no course or elevation map, just a bell to ring when you finished and a shot gun to tell you when to start. It was on a beautiful ranch in San Luis Obispo that is owned by a friend of Luis and he was kind enough to let us run all over his property for this one day only.

I had Jesse join me for this one since they had a 10K option. My hubby does not mind running with me but distance is not his thing, nor is relentless climbing of hills and mountains. He likes to see how fast he can run, not how fast he can hike up a hill. So I figured Luis could only pack so much misery into a 10K (ish since his distances are approximate) and I signed myself up for the 25K. I flaked out on the last 25K because I was unprepared as far as what to wear for the weather and how to carry food and water. I was ready for this one though, I had bought a great new rain coat and a wonderful pack that holds lots of water and food.

Our distances did not start until 0800 but there was a 50K option and it started at 0700. I received an email the day before the race saying that a famous Tarahumara would be there running and I just had to see him start his race. He is one of the gentlemen from the Born to Run book and I was just amazed that I had the opportunity to run the same course as such a legendary distance runner. The 50K course was the 25K course twice and I listened as Luis described what their run would be like. It involved a lot of mud, a run along rollercoaster road and a rock scramble. This was going to be a challenge.

Eventually more people started arriving and Jesse awoke from his nap in the Jeep (making him get up at 0430 for this event did not agree with him) and Luis called for us to gather around so he could give us our instructions. He described the course, giving us the colors we need to follow and also thanking us for coming and supporting his style of racing, no frills, no sponsors, just fun funky family run races. He also said that in order to be officially done with the run we had to ring the bell and take a shot of Fireball Whiskey, little did I know that this would help me get through this event.

We gathered at the start “line” and the shot gun was fired, we were off! It started off fairly gradual and then boom, the first big, steep hill. There were loose cattle all around and I swear they were laughing at us as we trudged up this hill, dodging cow patties and odd holes in the ground. We made it to the top and were gifted with some downhill. The first three miles went by pretty quickly and I was feeling pretty good. Again I would not say I was trained for this but my goal was just to finish and I was happy to be there in beautiful scenery with an overcast and 50 degree day. Perfect running weather for me! I got to the 25K split off and it was very lonely. I continued along and came to the epic mud Luis had mentioned. It was like wet clay and it was a mixture of mud, cow patty and cow pee. Not a pretty combo. It stuck to my shoes and made them weigh a ton; it was even deep enough to almost pull them off. I began laughing at the absurdity of it and just kept going. I eventually made it to a nicely stocked aid station where I got the best tasting grilled cheese ever and some Coke. I was also able to refill my water bladder. At this point 7 miles had ticked by and I was still feeling OK, just hungry but the sandwich helped with that.

Next up was rollercoaster road and good heavens did it live up to its name. Several miles of up and down and up and down, it was pretty brutal but when you got to the turn around you knew that you were on your way back to that bell and the Fireball. This was also when I was passed a second time by the amazing Tarahumara, Arnulfo. Just watching him run so quickly but so effortlessly was incredible and awe inspiring, at least for me. By now 10 miles had gone by and the course had a nice gradual downhill on less muddy terrain so it was nice running. Then I got to the rock scramble he had mentioned. It was about mile 14 and I had to climb up a mountain and back down the other side in order to get back to the road where I had to run past the Jeep to the finish area.

This was no joke, there was no clear path and your ankles were at such an odd angle. It was colder, windier and rainier up there. I just kept my eyes on the ground because I knew if I looked out I would be terrified of how high up I was, one wrong step and I would go rolling down that hill, breaking every bone. I made it to the top and walked along the ridge to the other side. I could see the blue tent as a tiny spot far below. The going down was as slow as the going up. I was so afraid of falling. My legs were shot, my quads were shaking and my knees were hurting since they were taking most of the beating as I inched my way down. I finally made it to a more open runnable area and off I went. There ahead of me was the road and my very supportive wonderful hubby. He greeted me with a smile and ran the rest of the way with me while snapping some pictures. I made it to the end where people were cheering me in. I rang that bell and took my shot and felt very proud and accomplished. That was very hard but I did it and it was fun.

I thanked Luis for an amazing course and a wonderful run, he gave me a warm hug and I walked away from this experience wanting even more. The views were spectacular and worth every lung searing breath. I hope I can keep this up for many years to come and with any luck I will be able to run more events put on by Luis Escobar, they just make me love running even more.

 

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