What Mi-Wok? Mi-Paddle!

Well a few hearty soles braved the elements at the 2009 Miwok 100k. Of those, two Ashlander's finished while one persevered for what seemed like 40 days and 40 nights.

In the end Carly Varner stormed to an 18th place finish for the ladies in 12:05 and Erin Keller squeaked under 13 hours to finish in 12:58! Anne Crispino-Taylor found herself at Rogue Valley Runners the next day inquiring about rain jackets and Gore-tex trail runners. Nice work!

Fellow friend, ultrarunner and esteemed filmmaker JB Benna crewed for Carly and put together these two great pieces for your enjoyment.

Here's Carly's first hand words about the event.

"I had the immeasurable loving support from Hal that was without a
doubt heartwarming and outright amazing. He’s a trooper for sticking it out. The Benna’s were also strong supporters – up at the crack of dawn and laughing and smiling every second thereafter. Those two are super studs! Who no doubt kept me moving from Bolinas Ridge to the finish.

JB is officially my first pacer ever. The mixture of severe winding roads and Hal’s James Bond driving pretty much forced him to jump in impromptu and muscle out the toughest 7 mile section with me – thankfully! After that the ever bubbly Jen Benna cruised me in for a strong finish. Hal too made a cameo pacing appearance with the little miss in tow. I’m definitely a fan of the whole pacing concept!

All and all it was just mind blowing. The weather was the most unique I’ve ever run in. Seriously – it rained on me for 12 of the 12 hours and five minutes it took me to finish. From Bolinas to the turnaround I crossed a whooping 20+ muddy lakes. Who knew mud could come in so many varieties and colors. Two of my favorite textures were swampy kitty litter and pudding. There weren’t any of the typical views you would expect on the course, instead I was finding humor in the many different floating objects that were bouncing along in the fog. My favorite was the bodiless neon hat I was chasing down from Pan Toll to Hwy 1. So regardless of the persistent annoyance the torrential downpour provided, it just made it that more special.

Yes I want another whack at the Miwok 100k. This terrain is fantastic and the race is put on (seemingly) without a hitch.

Yes I’m looking forward to Wasatch 100 this year too. Miwok solidified my confidence in my ability to train well, target attainable time goals and once I’m in it to simply enjoy the ride. But in addition I’m completely freaked out by the idea of adding 27 more miles – at altitude.

And don’t let me forget to mention how awesome it was to have so many wonderful women out there plugging along too; the ever fashionable Jenny Uehisa who also completed her first 100k, fellow Ashlander Erin Keller who was also looking quite amazing in her form fitted hefty trash bag and another Ashlander Anne Crispino-Taylor who has so many of these darn things under her belt she knows when and where she really going to shine.

I’m very proud of myself. It wasn’t easy, it wasn’t short, it wasn’t dry but it will be an experience and a memory to last a lifetime. Yea ME!!!"

Nice work Varner!