Race Report: Twin Peaks 50/50 - Volunteering

Wow. Quite possibly the earliest I've gotten up and furthest I've driven to NOT race (70+ miles). Not to mention the night before, when I drove across town to attend a pre-race volunteer pasta dinner while fighting Los Angeles Friday night rush hour traffic (40+ miles). My volunteer partner, Lori and I also managed to get lost driving up to our water station causing us to show up a little later than planned. Good times.



In the end, it was all worth it. The day for Twin Peaks 50/50 ultramarathon turned out beautiful with nary a cloud in the sky and our station at 4,100' ft offered up some nice scenery (save for a random massive tractor parked next to us). We also blasted some tunes from my boombox all day. All of which made our 9 hours or so of volunteering a breeze.

Thanks to RD Jessica Deline, the other helpful volunteers/sweepers and of course, to all the runners for making it a fun day. The runners especially were troopers while battling fatigue, heat, nausea and some even going off course a bit (hey, I can relate) while running a tough, tough course (50K - 11,000' ft of gain, 50 Mi - 17,000' of gain). Most still never managed to lose their smile and/or sense of humor. It definitely made me look forward to lacing up and getting out there to suffer and slog through another ultra.

By in large, our duties consisted of refilling hydration packs/bottles, icing/massaging some down, and tending to whatever miscellaneous needs the runners had.

In the end, a Japanese import managed to cross the line at 9:05 to win the 50-miler, while everyone's favorite Alaskan Evan won the 50K distance at 5:30-something.

Here are some sights from the day:


Pasta dinner before the big day.


Rachel, Lori and I at the start.


The view from our ride up.


Our very bumpy and rocky ride up to our station.


My buddy Dave coming through at mile 10.5


50K winner Evan Hone blazing through our aid station.


The very scenic view from our volunteer station.


Lori and I standing by our sparse water station.


In spite of the sun and warm temps, Lori was always cold.


Hiroki, the eventual 50-mile winner.


Some leisure reading to pass the time.


Lori cleaning the feet of 2nd place 50-mile winner, Trey Hughes.


Dr. Lori walking with our 1st barf victim to make sure he was ok.


Brian Krogmann and other Coyotes leaving mile 34.


A 50-mile runner taking a load off in the shade.


Dynamic Duo: Andy Kumeda and Catra Corbett.


Another Coyote Erin and her pacer still very fresh at mile 34.


Tired but all smiles at the end of our shift!

Thanks for reading!