That being said, let me just dive right in:
Sleeping in your car is never the best time. Waking up in your car at 4am to the sound of your alarm can be considered a pretty rotten time as well. Nonetheless, it is something that I chose to do on Wednesday morning during the seven days that I spent at Burning Man in the Black Rock Desert last week. The only thing that gets me up at such an hour with any kind of regularity is running races, and this day was no different.
I gathered my things together as quickly as I could- which was probably not quickly enough- and began to make my way over to Camp Pink Lightning, which was a little ways from the location where I was camped. My camp was at 4:00 and B, and my destination was 7:15 and C. Roads being shaped as the hours of a clock, this put me 6ish blocks from the start.
Walking through Black Rock City at 4:30 in the morning is an experience in itself. Being the early-to-bed-early-to-rise girl that I am, I was still getting in quite a few hours of sleep in the dark, which is not the case for most of the citizens of Black Rock. Many people were out and had not yet gone to bed. Many still would not for several hours, and this proved itself with beats from dance parties continuing on into the first of the daylight hours. It was night time, but I was still surrounded by lights, by cars blasting fire into the air, by glow stick covered bicycles.
There was already a crowd of people at the start of the 50k by the time I got there. Other than the running shoes and hydration devices, this crowd would have fit in anywhere else on The Playa. From my fellow runners, there was some nudity, some long fancy eyelashes, some party dresses, and quite a few tutus. (I myself was on team tutu for this race; why not?) We took some moments to collect as a group and get some photos taken, and then around 5:15am, with a “Ready, set, GO!” we were off.
I stayed pretty close to the front of the pack at the beginning, which is not typical for me. I normally like to hang towards the back so that I can settle into my groove and spend the rest of the race with a few passes instead of being passed. (I wound up with quite a lot of both, as I will describe shortly..) Starting our run down the Esplanade and through the more rave-y part of town, people’s reactions to a group of 40 people running voluntarily was varied and amusing. Pretty soon after we started, one particular person along the way yelled at us “You should all be shot!” The retort from one of the other runners was “You’re fat and lazy!” I normally would consider this to be a low-blow and mostly inappropriate, but.. this guy was kind of asking for it. Though no other spectators had such strong reactions, there were many more folks that greeted with “you’re crazy” or “you’re an inspiration” or “what the hell are you running for?”
Our course was 4 repeats of a 7.1 mile loop followed by an out-and-back to bring us up to the 31 mile 50k. I would guess that about 3 of the miles along the loop were through areas that were populated and 4 miles were out away from the city, along the perimeter fence and out into the deep Playa. This means that for about 3 miles, porta potties were incredibly easy to come by. For the other 4, not so much, as I discovered on my first lap about a quarter of the way into the run along the perimeter. This is a common theme for me a few miles into a race. However, most ultras, you can just hop off into the woods and do your business. In the middle of the wide open desert, your options become much more limited. I won’t go into too much detail on this, but let’s just say that a looooot of people passed me on this first loop, most inquiring about whether or not I was okay as I was sitting on the ground trying to keep it together. Spoiler alert- it all turned out okay in the end. I made it to the portas, and the race went on. But it was touch and go there for a while.
I was eager to make up some time on my second leg, and popped in and out of the aid station with just enough time to check in. Loop two was sunrise, which is always an amazing experience during a race. Art cars came up and parked along the fence so that the evening revelers could take in the view before turning back to camp for some sleep. Electronic beats still continued, but the crowds had started to dwindle. And the sky, of course, was beautiful. Deep reds and oranges and finally, a big red bulb popping up over the mountains. The sunrise at Burning Man is always greeted with applause, and running through the spectators, this day was no different. It was a great thing and kept me running hard, because I knew that the heat would set in shortly after.
I didn’t stop for much longer on the second loop, or the third. I stopped to walk a bit on each so that I could snack on a granola bar and some chips and continue to rehydrate. I met up with a man who introduced himself as Angus at some point during my third leg. He was a runner himself- had just completed his first 50k this year and was coming back in off an injury. We reconnected later in the race, and he offered to pace me for the last little leg of 2.6ish miles. By that point, I was glad for someone to help me push, especially since a group of 4 or 5 runners was following pretty closely behind me. I am not normally super motivated by keeping place, but I had incentive on this one. I knew that a friend of the RD had made hats for all the finishers that said BRC 50k on them. I also knew that there were only 35 hats and that there were 50 people who started the run. I thought I was closer to the front end than the back, but after my bathroom fiasco, I didn’t really care to test it out, and I REALLY wanted a hat. I told Angus that I wanted to pull off from that group, and he and his fresh legs helped me to put a little more distance between us and finish pretty strong. It was a great feeling to get to the end feeling strong. Even though the course was totally flat, I think that it will be very helpful for me in getting prepared for the IMTUF 100 that is now only a month away.
I got my hat. I sat down. I watched the other runners come in. I heard Cherie, the RD, talking about a woman who was out on the course who had never done more than a 10k and was trying to finish. Ray, Cherie’s friend and the creator of the hats, was out running/walking with her, and I linked up with them to finish her last leg on the out-and-back. Ultrarunning has become very addictive to me and very important, so I feel the need to help bring that passion to other people, or at least to be there to let them relish their accomplishment. It was good for me to get my legs up and going again, and it was good for my heart to be there for this girl finishing. I continued to hang out at the start/finish/aid station for a few hours before heading back to my friends’ camp to nap. As always, it was great to be around fellow runners. Even in an environment as foreign as Burning Man, there is that camaraderie amongst runners that makes walking away from the group hard.
I think that the 50k was my favorite event during the week that I was away, which doesn’t really surprise me. I run ultras because it gives me an excuse to see beautiful and unique places that the average person misses out on. I don’t think that this was much different. Traveling though the city during a few different times of day was a thorough exposure to all the different cultures that exist within Black Rock City, and I traveled through the chaos of the center of the city as well as the remoteness of the perimeter- which most people think is too far away for a trip. A big congratulations to all the finishers, and a big congratulations to Cherie Yanek, who did a great job organizing the event!
Run on!
