Sunday, July 22, 2007

24 Summits EPIC

Update #2: Added night photos courtesy of King Arthur

Update #1: Shawn mentioned some very odd sounds that we were hearing during the day in her blog. It was a very deep, very loud, sound. At first we joked that it was some sort of large monster bear. We would hear the noise about every 15 min. or so. I was reading the newspaper this morning and when I flipped to the sports section they had a big article on the drag racing that took place at the Pacific Raceways in Kent WA. We were hearing Top Fuel Dragsters. Mystery Solved!

I'm going to defer a run report because I feel Rob and Shawn did an excellent job of describing the experience. I'll say that the night run was spooky and while we talked the crazy talk of starting a 12 Summits night "Solo Runner" club we decided it would be nuts to attempt such a stunt. My day began at 5:00AM on Friday and I finally got to bed after the run at 11:00 PM on Saturday. Whew! I felt good the entire distance with my only mistake being forgetting to pack Cliff Bars and Granolla Bars for the run. That was not a problem because Robin and Shawn shared what they had with us. This run of 68 miles with 21,000 feet of elevation gain was a huge confidence builder for Cascade Crest 100. Enjoy the pics!












The first four photos are dedicated to the folks who really made our 24 Summit adventure become a reality. The "three amigos" picture from left to right Rob, Me, Arthur. The canine picture is Shela who ran the night segment with us. That's Robin with her waterbottle up on East Tiger. The photo with the red truck in the background has a rare shot of Shawn since she volunteered to take pictures with my camera. All these photos were taken at the transition between the two 12 Summit runs.

This next set of four pictures are some scenic shots and one posed photo at the Hikers Hut on Tiger 1.




















Night photos courtesy of King Arthur.










And finally the photo that Rob and I really wanted to see... Two 24 Summit Finishers! Smile Rob!



















Thanks to Michelle for stepping in and watching Rob's kids for him so he could join me on this Epic Run!

24 comments:

runliarun said...

Doesn't the pain feel permanent when you feel it?

No sleep for all that time would render me unable to run. Sleep or not, I would still be unable to run all those miles. You can kind of patent a new method of torture - the 78 mile 24 Summit.

I could do without the bars though. Still looking for something that does not make me gag.

Olga said...

Did we have to bare nudity picture? But hey, now I think I'll go back and read the whole report - gotta love the photos, much better visual stimuli! Man, you're smiling too much, you didn't have enough pain:)

Emily said...

You guys are nuts! Cannot believe you were able to go almost 70 miles in under 24 hours and you call it fun.

Unknown said...

Yes, I agree with Olga. Some photos are supposed to stay private. Do I need to ask Michelle to bare the "mooning" photo from the Rainier to Pacific? That photo doesn't really shine the best light on me.

At least the photo at the end matches my description of being too tired to be happy when we were done.

Wes said...

You guys are running machines and animals!! Evidently more so than the wildlife on the 12 Summits :-)

Scott McMurtrey said...

Thanks for sharing the photos. What an adventure! You have a great group there. CC100 is all yours.

King Arthur said...

Great job Eric. Thanks for letting me tag along. I hope I didn't push the pace too fast. That last picture is great. You two or like day and night.

Anonymous said...

Yep, I usually look and feel like Rob when I finish running with you. Fantastic adventure and training. A true 100 type effort without the bling. I'm looking forward to sweeping PCT wih you this weekend. Way to go, buddy.

Tony C said...

Eric, well done! I hope this gave you a lot of confidence for CCC.

CCC is a tough course with the last 1/3 being the toughest, the first 1/3 being the second toughest. Your run prepared you for both.

Time for some rest. *tc

shawn said...

Eric, thanks for the update on the weird noise. I created more SPOF yesterday because I could hear it all day Sunday from the house and I muted the TV everytime to listen to it :)
You were awesome out there, and so positive, and Robin and I never had to bring out the big guns to get you guys motivated! That is really something incredible that you did.
However, you do know that, from a purist point of view, it is totally cheating to just defer to others' posts and not write your own report ;-)

aquaasho said...

What an adventure! Those photos, I especailly lile the ones in silhouette, are wonderful!

Scott McMurtrey said...

Eric,

To answer your question. Since I don't run with a Garmin or any GPS device I just use mapmyrun.com for their elevation graph feature. Can't vouch for the accuracy, but it usually "feels" pretty accurate... :)

Scott

Thomas said...

Epic doesn't half describe it. Great photos. Rob looks like he has been to hell and back, while you look like you had a short little jog. Amazing.

Sarah said...

You are nuts...but what an adventure! Glad to see you ended smiling. : )

Anonymous said...

The pictures are great Eric and communicate every bit as well as Rob's post. One thing you can say for him, he's thoroughly honest.

Your accounts of the runnng stunts you guys pull make my own running stories seem pale by comparison. Congratulations on getting this one done.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the tip on the camelback. I've tried to squeeze as much air out as possible before screwing the cap on. But your suggestion sounds more effective.

The way I see it if people sacrificed running in order to blog more that would pretty much remove any reason to have a running blog at all. Sounds like the training is going well for you.

Bruce said...

Great run Eric, you guys are amazing.

adam said...

After reading through Shawn's, Rob's and your post I am impressed of course, and a little bit jealous. I think it is awesome that you came up with a cool plan, got some great support and went for it. I thought about how it was going for y'all when I drove by Tiger and it was raining on Sat.

Anonymous said...

Eric,

Holy cow! Look what I missed over here on your blog! A mighty, mighty, mighty congratulations to you.

I'm exhausted just reading about your trip. But the report(s) and photos make me want to do it. Do you guys offer guiding services up there? Fair trade for a free guide over here in Yellowstone should you ever need one. :)

Meghan
www.running-blogs.com/meghan

Ryan said...

WHAT??? Did someone say NUTS...looks like a fun challenge..hey where would we be without these challenges? WOOyaaa...great run guy's!

Adelyn said...

wow...what a journey and what photos! You definitely put yourself through some crazy stuff in the name of training :) Sounds (and looks) like you had a great time out there though!

Anonymous said...

You guys are amazing! Keep up the insanity. It's what keeps me reading. ;) Seriously, though, what an accomplishment!

Darrell said...

You're smiling, Rob not so much.

Way to go, all of you.

Trevor Garner said...

Eric, dude, you've been busy! I've been meaning to get back to you from all those notes you've left me over the past month, but I guess things have been kind of hectic here. It was a pleasure to meet you and Michelle out at the Mega Fat Ass. I will hopefully see you out there at another event sometime soon in the future. I'll keep you posted! And hey, nice work on all your events lately. You're very ambitious and it looks like you pulled them all off nicely. Happy trailing and scatting!