2019 Cuyamaca 100K — Seth LaReau

Race: Cuyamaca 100K

Location: Cuyamaca Rancho State Park - Julian, CA

Date: October 5, 2019

Finish Cutoff: 19 hours (17 hours for Western States lottery qualification)

Before the Race

Coming off a DNF at the Tamalpa Headlands 50K, and two months into new parenthood, I was a bit nervous to take on the Cuyamaca 100K.

Not only would this be my longest race by more than 20 miles, but three of my close Strava colleagues — Jason, Kate, and Paul — were also making the trip from San Francisco to crew me.

I couldn’t let them down.

We flew into San Diego a couple of days before the race and drove out to Julian the day before. After a quick shakeout run, pre-race dinner, and crew meeting, we were ready for race day!

The Cuyamaca 100K consists of three distinct loops, all starting and finishing at Camp Cuyamaca:

Loop 1 - 31.5 miles; 5,100 ft elevation gain
Loop 2 - 12.8 miles; 1,450 ft elevation gain
Loop 3 - 18.2 miles; 2,25o ft elevation gain

Jason, Kate, and Paul would crew me for the first two loops, then Kate would jump in to pace me for the final 18 miles.

Race Morning

I’m always nervous as shit on race mornings.

Sometimes I wish I could just wake up and run instead of going through all of the prep and formalities.

Paul drove me to Camp Cuyamaca, helped me check in, and waited around until the race started. I appreciated his company and energy. His presence helped distract me until it was time to run.

Attempting to feel busy to pass the time.

Loop 1

Like most races, the start was slow and we immediately formed a conga line waiting to cross a creek on the single track.

I didn’t mind, since I wanted to take it super chill at the beginning anyways.

I tried my best to ease into the race. I hiked most of the uphills and tried to keep things light on the downs.

A few miles into the race, I chatted with a guy who had recently run a 200-mile race. He educated me on the nuances of 200-milers vs. 100-milers and stressed sleep deprivation as the key difference. Noted.

For the most part, I felt really strong throughout the whole loop.

I was able to see my crew at Mile 14, which was a nice boost. It started to get HOT and I don’t remember much from miles 16-25 other than trying to keep putting one foot in front of the other.

Unfortunately, Cuyamaca Peak was closed so the course was rerouted toward Highway 79 and back to the main course. While the total elevation gain stayed the same, this meant we didn’t have nine consecutive miles of climbing (as the original course would have) and got to break up the climbs with some descending.

I was boosted by some motivational signs running into the mile 28 aid station like “Run the mile you’re in” and “Nothing great ever came from comfort zones”.

It was great to see Jason and Paul once again at mile 28. I picked up an extra jolt of energy running the last 3.5 miles back to the start/finish area and made it through the first loop in ~7:35 elapsed.

I felt good about being on pace for 15ish hours, especially since more than 60% of the elevation gain was behind me.

After regrouping for a few minutes and refilling my water, I headed back out on Loop 2.

Loop 2

Despite being the shortest (in terms of miles), Loop 2 was by far the hardest and most soul-sucking loop.

To start, there was no crew access on the entire loop. Just a single remote aid station ~7 miles in and then I could see my crew again back at Camp Cuyamaca.

My only real low moment of the day came on the climb out of the main start/finish area. It was so warm and I was just sick of hiking.

Eventually, we hit a flatter section that was one single track trail through a wide open field. I was able to run a bit more, though it was quite exposed and we were in the midst of the hottest part of the day.

After what felt like hours, I finally descended into East Mesa aid station (a.k.a. The Florida Gator aid station). It was decked out with Florida Gator jerseys and memorabilia. In my head I did the Gator “Chomp” with my hands, but in reality all I could think about was cooling down.

Luckily, the aid station was stocked with freezer pops. I polished off a lime green one while I sat in the shade for a few minutes.

The last few miles downhill back to Camp Cuyamaca were quite rocky, but it felt nice to let gravity pull me back towards the end of the loop.

I returned from the loop around the 11:05 mark (~44.3 miles) with only the final loop standing between me and my first 100k finish!

I also spent about 30 minutes dealing with some ultra related bathroom issues.

I’m not entirely sure what the issue was, but I simultaneously felt like I had to go really bad and like I wasn’t able to get things to work properly. I’m guessing it was some sort of GI issue — and I was able to take care of it at the next aid station around mile 50 — but something to monitor in future races.

Loop 3

After almost 45 miles solo, I finally got to pick up Kate as my pacer!

The first several miles out of Camp Cuyamaca were only a gradual uphill, but they felt like I was climbing a mountain give my tired legs.

We started by alternating between running and walking and eventually had to turn our headlamps on. It took me awhile to get used to running in my headlamp, but eventually I got the hang of it.

We were fortunate enough to be able to run ~4 miles on the Pacific Crest Trail. I mentioned to Kate how cool it is to think that anyone who has hiked the whole trail from Canada to Mexico has covered the same trails we were running on.

The last two aid stations came at miles 50 and 56. At this point in the race, I was simply just focused on getting from one to the other. Aid station food highlights included chicken broth and quesadillas.

Seeing Paul and Jason again at mile 56 was a cool feeling, since I knew the next checkpoint would be the finish line. I could smell the barn and it was great to have my whole crew in one place to reflect on the day.

Between aid stations, Kate was great about letting me alternate running and walking and encouraging me to keep moving forward.

The coolest part was that she collected a bunch of hand-written notes from various Strava colleagues that she’d read at each mile marker starting at mile 50. It was motivating to know that at each mile I’d get to hear some words of encouragement. Each note — and each mile — made me more and more certain I would finish.

With about five miles left, Kate convinced me to start jogging. When we finally turned onto the final fire road, we turned on “LFG mode” and ran the rest of the way in.

Stoked and grateful to finish in 16:05:45.

Reflections

As I finally finish this race recap 3.5 years later, I feel a rush of emotion and gratitude fall over me.

I’m so thankful for Jason, Kate, and Paul for willing to spend their time and money to come and support me in what is — to date — my greatest physical feat.

I’m also grateful to my wife for letting me spend a weekend to go run around in the mountains, even though we had a two-month-old baby at the time. I appreciate the opportunity to focus on challenging the limits of my body and mind.

I’m looking forward to the next one.

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