2021 Coldwater 100 Race Report (Rona Edition)

After completing Javelina Jundred in under 24 hours a couple of months prior, I arrived at the Coldwater Rumble 100 on the third weekend of January hoping to go two for two with sub-24 100's in the Sonoran Desert 200 (Javelina Jundred + Coldwater Rumble 100 in the same winter).

Like the Javelina Jundred, the Coldwater Rumble 100 is composed of five 20-mile loops with ~1500 feet of elevation gain on each loop. Unlike Javelina, the trails are much more technical and the descents are less runnable and more treacherous at night. Each loop also includes a lovely 2-mile section of sandy wash trail leading up to Pederson A/S on the clockwise side. Because of the pandemic, each loop was run in the clockwise direction this year instead of the usual washing machine style.

Course Map

Another aspect of racing during the pandemic is wave starts. Personally, I have found these are preferable to mass starts because they eliminate the bottleneck conga lines one usually endures for the first few miles in these events. I was slotted to begin in the fourth of five waves of 100-milers at 6:15 AM on Saturday morning.

Making sure the watch is on :)

Having completed packet pickup on Friday evening, I arrived with my crew (my parents) and Dan Aspromonte, our running friend from Santa Cruz, CA, who was also starting in the 6:15 wave. After placing our drop bags at the HQ, we excitedly waited for our start and ran into another friend from the Bay Area, Tony Nguyen. He's always full of positivity and chatting with him helped to quell the pre-race nerves.

Me, Dan, Tony (left to right)

Having taken our requisite pre-race photos under the starting arch, and listening to a quick briefing from the RD Noah, we were off on our journey.

The first few miles feature a steep climb, technical descent, some rolling trail, and a gradual climb on a gravel road before reaching the first A/S (Coldwater) on the course. I settled myself at the front of our wave group start and tried to get into the groove by focusing on running with good form and making solid contact with the ground.

I blazed through the first A/S keen to put down a fast time on the first loop. The second section of the clockwise loop (7.9 miles) from Coldwater to Pederson A/S features a mild mile-long climb followed by windy desert trail that drops unexpectedly in and out of washes and ends with a 2-mile section of super sandy wash.

I met and ran with Austin Newblom during this section, a 24-year old from Reno. This was his second appearance at Coldwater seeking his first 100-mile finish. Last year, he had gone out too fast in the heat seeking a sub-24 hr finish and ultimately had to pull out at the 100k mark. As it was about 10 degrees hotter that last year, Austin warned me against the dehydration that can creep up on you. I also once again met Ed "The Jester" Ettinghausen on this section of the trail who provided Austin and me with a simple and salient piece of advice: "Have fun."

Austin running ahead

Arriving at Pederson a couple of minutes ahead of schedule, I filled up on some Coke and fruit snacks before plunging into the next section of the course which would become my favorite over the course of 5 loops. Stunningly beautiful in the early morning light, the course winds up towards a small pass in the foothills passing some beautiful rock formations. This is followed by a gentle descent back into Coldwater A/S.

With the HQ only a couple of miles away, I skipped the aid station tables. The next 4.5-mile section was filled with some (you guessed it) rolling desert wash trail. It also features some pretty trail that weaved around the side of a small mountain with a nice mile-long descent to the road which brought us back to the HQ.

Gradual and winding climb

I finished the first loop in  3:53, solidly under my goal of 4 hours. At the HQ, I took the necessary time to apply KT Tape around some hot spots that were developing on feet and heels. After grabbing some S'mores and Chocolate flavored gels I headed back out for my second loop.

I was feeling really strong at the beginning of the second loop but knew I had to stay on top of my electrolyte and liquid intake because the temperatures were beginning to rise. I had learned at Javelina that the dry desert air wicks off your sweat quickly and so it is difficult to judge how much salt you are actually losing. To counteract this, I took a salt pill about every 1.5 hours through the heat of the day. A quick touch of my tongue to my forearm and the taste of salty residue confirmed my suspicion and affirmed my proactive approach.

Road Climb into Coldwater (23.4)

At Pederson A/S (31.3), I took advantage of a bucket of ice water to soak my Santa hat and cool down. Before I left the station, one of the volunteers filled my hat up with ice. All the way back to the HQ, I focused on keeping my heart rate down and my body temperature low. I would occasionally take some ice out of my hat to rub down my face and arms which helped with feeling cool in the desert heat.

With solid pacing and an appropriate response to the desert heat, I finished the loop in an elapsed race time of 8:12, nearly 20 minutes ahead of my 8:30 goal. Back at the HQ, I filled up on a burrito supreme from Taco Bell and tapped up the balls of my feet which had become sensitive with all the pounding. After filling up on some more calories and changing socks again to keep my feet dry, I headed out for the third loop. 

End of loop 2

Knowing the sun would set some time in the back half of loop 3, I focused on keeping a steady pace and not overexerting myself while it was still hot. Despite the miles, my legs felt strong and I was able to run all of the rolling and flat sections while giving myself a walking break when the trail climbed out of the washes. As I was listening to a variety of podcasts and some music, the time passed quickly.

On the long trek to Pederson

Shortly after leaving Pederson A/S (51.3), we were treated to a beautiful sunset. As I climbed up to one of the small mountain passes on the course, the last glimmers of daylight shined behind me onto the larger mountains in the distance showering them in a beautiful alpenglow. I took a few minutes to reflect and be grateful.

The temperature dropped fairly quickly and surprised by the cold, the last few miles of this loop took longer than expected. Despite this, I finished the loop in an elapsed time of 12:56, a couple minutes ahead of my 13 hr goal. I was pleased with my performance so far because it gave me 11 hours to complete the last 2 loops (40 miles) of the course and still finish sub-24.

Back at the HQ, my crew treated me to a full-service pit stop experience. I was able to kick up my legs for a short while and my brother used a massage gun to ease the aches in my calves, hamstrings, and quads. I also took the time to fill up on calories in dramatic fashion, downing a strawberry vanilla milkshake and a double-double from In-n-out. I grabbed my night gear but decided against changing socks with just two loops left and headed back out into the night.

While I had high hopes for this loop, I fairly quickly hit the wall and became the official driver of the strugglebus. In retrospect, I believe I took in way too many calories (especially a lot of fat) at the headquarters and didn't have the blood or energy to process it all. My goal for this loop had been to complete it in under 5 hours, leaving a generous six hours for a sub-24 finish. However, I decided the best approach for the loop was simply to keep moving.

At the Pederson A/S (71.3), I took some time to empty my shoes and fill up some ramen soup which I hoped would settle my stomach. The night crew at the station were super gracious and took the time to cook up a new batch having just run out of cooked (softened) noodles. The soup seemed to hit the spot and signaled to me that I might be low on electrolytes.

On the back half of this loop, the sluggish feeling receded which was a blessing. However, in its place came serious stomach sloshing. I'll periodically experience this in ultras when I have messed up my hydration and electrolyte intakes like at Ride to Walk 100 back in September of 2020. It only presented itself when I ran and it hurt quite acutely. I took a couple salt pills and decided to power hike it all the way back to the HQ.

One nice surprise came in the form of our friend Tony. I was in a real low patch coming into Coldwater (75.5) and thinking about what I wanted to grab at the station when a familiar face appeared. Tony had just gotten into the A/S on his third loop. He had a rough start to the day getting a couple miles off course and then faceplanting. Yet, he's an eternal optimist so he remained positive and kept pushing. Despite his best attempt, he was forced to drop after missing the 80-mile cutoff.

Coldwater (75.5)

I finished the fourth loop in an elapsed time of 18:15, slightly slower than my goal. I filled up on some potato soup and drank some beer. Both of these seemed to have a soothing effect on my stomach. After filling up my pack and grabbing a few fruit snack packets, I hit the road at 18:30, giving myself 5 and a half hours for a sub-24 finish.

Ready to be done!

In the first few miles of the 5th loop, the sleep monsters really took over. On the gravel road climb into Coldwater A/S (83.4), I found myself going in out of consciousness. I would start sleep-walking and end up on the far side of the road, nearly in the surrounding wash. For the short periods that I felt awake, I would see dramatic and intense hallucinations of bowling alleys, coffins, and all sorts of imagery on the side of the road.

I had forgot to bring caffeine gum along for this race which usually quickly kicks me out of these stupors. Instead, I resorted to pinching and slapping myself and ending up intentionally pricking my hand on a cactus just to stay awake. By the time I made it to Coldwater (83.4), I was nearly falling over and decided to take a short nap on a cot they had laid out adjacent to the food tables. I took a five-minute cat nap and was woken up nicely by an aid station volunteer. After downing some Mountain Dew, I charged out of the station determined to put down a solid time.

This determination slowly faded as I began the long trek towards the Peterson A/S. Through this section, I was hitting mostly 15-minute miles but somehow managing to continue passing people. By the time I reached the sandy wash, I caught up to one gentleman in front of me who really turned my race around. His name was Eric Johnson, and this was his 96th 100-miler. For the last couple miles into Pederson, he told me spell-binding stories about his previous races (including his favorite Iditarod race in Alaska) and discussed the current state of the sport.

Eric and I at the finish

We reached Pederson shortly thereafter and made a quick pit stop before we were on our way again. Having someone to talk to revived me. Eventually, Eric picked up the pace and I was alone again. I took the time to reflect on the day's journey and all the cool people I had met and shared miles with. As I was reminiscing, I was caught by two other runners on their fifth loop (Austin Lewis and Supaporn Walton-Robertson). We chatted and passed the last couple miles fairly quickly back into Coldwater A/S.

Austin and I at the finish

After learning that both of them were on their last loop, I secretly committed myself to finish in front of them and decided I would make my move when we reached Coldwater by blazing through the A/S. This didn't go exactly as planned because I ran into Dan from Santa Cruz who was still on his fourth loop. After a short chat, I boogied out of the A/S a couple seconds before Austin and Supaporn.

I ran the last five miles faster than any other section on the course with an average pace of ~10:55 min/mile. I really surprised myself with the amount of energy I had left when confronted with the challenge of finishing in front of these other two stout runners. I seemed to catch another person on the course every half mile during this section (some were on their fourth loop though).

With a mile left and a treacherous descent still waiting for me, I realized that I could break my trail 100-mile PR of 23:20:11 I set at Javelina a couple months prior. I turned on my favorite music and ran for my life that last mile just praying that I wouldn't roll my ankle. When I hit the road for the last third of a mile, I knew I would make it under my Javelina time and I just felt ecstatic.

Crossing the finish line in style

I crossed the finish line with my signature cartwheel and stood dazed for a couple minutes. My whole family had come from the hotel early in the morning just to see me finish. It was a truly special moment with some special people. My official time ended up being 23:18:56. I finished 13th overall (also 13th male). 

Dan about to head out for his last loop!

I tried to decompress from the run as we waited for my buddy Dan to finish up his fourth loop. After we sent him on his way, we went to the hotel so I could sleep for a few hours, before coming back to watch him finish and collect my finisher's award for the Sonoran Desert 200.

Dan finished strong in 30:20:05

Finally done!

Overall, I'm very pleased with my performance and thoroughly enjoyed my time out there in the Estrella Mountain Regional Park. In retrospect, I wish I had more closely monitored my electrolyte and fluid intake to prevent the water-sloshing problem. I also wish I had brought caffeine gum and more flavored gels (S'mores and Chocolate in particular) that seemed to sit well with me even into the late hours of the race. 

Either way, now it's time to kick the feet up and recover (and celebrate a bit ;) ). I've got Rocky Raccoon in a couple weeks and my goal is to keep the streak of sub-24 100's going.