Brian talks Cascade Crest 100

Brian is a man of few words...even the story of his journey over 100 miles can be summed up in short quick statements.  I attempted to get his account of winning the Cascade Crest 100 Miler in 200 words or less.

(Brian, cruising to victory in 18:45 at Cascade Crest 100) 

 

Cascade Crest 100 was your first 100-miler that wasn't Vermont 100.  How did you decide on Cascade Crest 100?

It's mountainous but low elevation.  And the pictures made it look cool.

What was your favorite part of the course?
I think getting to the first hill was the best part - getting see views that are different than New England was nice.  Getting to the first hill meant getting started for a long day out in the mountains.

What was your biggest challenge during the race?
At mile 80, the Cardiac Needles came and I felt like crap.  I was trying to hike up and I was sliding backwards - and seeing the reflective markers super high up indicating the how much farther to climb - that was tough.

Any entertaining stories during the race to share?
My pacer specifically told me to be careful on the Trail from Hell to not fall off the trail.  About 2 seconds later I fell off the side of the trail and my pacer caught me by the arm and saved me from falling into the ravine.

(Brian, at finish line with RD Rich White and Pacer Eric Sach)

So you got hooked up with a local pacer - tell us about how that went.
I had Eric Sach pacing me.  He was great - he kept me motivated and told me where to run, lit the trail for me, and saved me from injury when I tried to fall down a ravine.

How was the chafing in Washington?
There was none!  Woohoo!

(Brian's so quick that it's hard to get a shot during the race where he's stationary)

What was your least favorite part of the course?
The tunnel - I couldn't see my feet, I couldn't see anything - it was foggy and I totally lost my equilibrium in there.  I thought I was going to puke.

Overall, how did the race go for you?
It went well - I only felt like crap on the needles.  I ran smart and took it easy till 50 miles, then took it harder from there.  I fell apart through the needles but was able to regroup and finish strong.

(Brian only show up as a blur into the finish line)

 

You had to wait hours for Amy to finish - what did you do in that time?
I walked around, talked to people, gave an interview to the local paper, zoned out and stared at the walls for a bit...that takes longer than you'd think when you're that tired.

Brian used a Light and Motion headlamp for the night time running (which is a rarity for Brian).  They posted a great article about his race here: http://www.lightandmotion.com/bike/blog/cascade-crest-100-endurance-runner-uses-the-ex-of-solite-250-for-win/