It was a tough 100, and not one to blast through due to the abundance of
the aforementioned footing. It was very scenic and incredibly well run.
Kudos to the vets and management for dealing with an influx of 100, 50
and 25 milers at the 25 mile vet check, it could have been like Picadilly
Circus, but the check flowed smoothly.
I went to do the 100 with the intention of finishing somewhat faster than
at Swanton. There was a debate as to which of the rides was harder, with
the majority feeling that the Rogue was more difficult. Not a confiddence
booster when it took me 22 hours to finish Swanton!
The night before the ride the temperatures dropped from around 85 to 29
degrees, with little shards of frost forming on the grassy meadow. Throughout
the day the temperature climbed back up to the 80's, the effect being particularly
felt at the 64 mile vet check where alot of horses took between 5 - 10 minutes to
reach the 60 pulse criteria (held throughout the day). I managed to hook up
with Janet Hunter and her wonderful little horse 'Far Out'. We both agreed that
the real race was against the dark and the first part of the 17 mile loop
(mile 75-92), where sheer drops (into the Rogue) narrow trail and rocky footing
made for slow going even during the day. With water troughs placed strategically
every four miles on this loop, and some really excellent glow stick marking by
Lois on every conceivable hazard (pointy sticks, knee knockers, fallen logs)
the last leg of the ride was much more pleasant than it could have been. Overall
the trail was marked with an abundance of ribbons and chalk to make it easy to follow.
Janet and I came in (9th and 10th) behind Joyce Sousa, having ridden a large part
of the ride with the Foxes.
The ride breakfast was great, and the awards plentiful, down to the good samaritan
awards for such deeds as helping fallen riders, leading the 100 milers through the
first (dark,) few miles at the start, to returning a heart monitor that my
riding companion had lost on the trail when her pommel bag burst open.
All in all I had a great time, meeting new friends, seeing old friends, and getting through
a tough trail in 16 hours 16 minutes for my (and Fadjurs') first top ten
in a 100 mile ride.
Thanks to all who helped (some of the most cheerful P&R crew I've ever seen,
including Susie Morril who opted not to ride her horse, and pitched in to help
P&R for the whole ride).
Dom (and the *wonder* horse Fadjurs)
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Dominique Freeman | "Life is short, science is long" |
fadjurs@sadandy.hpl.hp.com | |
Hewlett Packard Laboratories, | |
Palo Alto, CA USA | |
Phone: (415) 857-8596 | |
FAX: (415) 852-8576 | |
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