12 Hour Berryman Adventure Race

The Grandpappy of 'em all, the Berryman. If you're looking for a short and dull read, just go ahead and navigate away from this page and click on some silly Yahoo! story about how scientists disagree about the health benefits of almonds. If you actually want to read something about a cool race put on by cool people, and raced by cool people, read on my friend, read on....

The 10th running of the Berryman Adventure took it back to it's roots, the area surrounding the Berryman trail sandwiched between the small towns of Potosi and Steelville in the heart of the Mark Twain National Forest. Nearly 250 racers were signed up between both the 12 and 36 hr races. For the last four or so years this race has been held near Van Buren, MO. We were signed up for the 12 hour race. July and August delivered record heat waves, and I can at least speak for myself when I say that my training suffered greatly, as in, nearly non-existent. So when it came time to decide which race to do, it was a pretty easy call. Momma didn't raise no fool.

Jill was unable to race this one with us. Her high school volleyball coaching schedule conflicts with this race pretty much every year. So, we went on the recruiting trail to find another female who was up for the task. That's not always easy to do. Well as it turns out, it was much easier than I would have ever thought. "Team, meet Missy Phegley!" Missy lives in Cape Girardeau also and she raced the Berryman with a team in 2009 but that was the extent of her AR experience. But don't mistake that for not being battle tested. Ahemmm. How about competing and finishing the Branson Half Ironman just six days prior to this race? This aen't no disco. Now that's what I call a competitor!

So myself, Marc, Ken and Missy head to Bass River Resort on Friday ready to take on the Berryman. I was super impressed with Bass River Resort and Campground. Great place for a race HQ. So the Friday night pre-race meal pretty much rocked, I caught up with my friend Gary Thompson, and then we took our bikes over to the YMCA Trout Lodge about 16 miles away for the bike drop. Yep, we (ok, I) busted off a few bars of our own version of the "YMCA" song, rest assured. After that we hauled back to Bass River for a standing room only pre-race meeting, got the maps, and headed back to our tents and canopies to plot 25 CP's. We plotted the CP's, highlighted our anticipated route choices, filled our packs and probably got to sleep around midnight. Ahhhh, tent camping before a race. Nothing quite like it. Not much quality sleep.

Saturday morning wakeup. About 4:45 am to get breakfast, finished last minute preparations, and boarded the buses which were pulling out of Bass River at 6:05 and were to arrive at the YMCA Trout Lodge for the race start. We were dropped off at the YMCA next to Sunnen Lake where we were to start off on a trekking leg, hitting CP 1-3, then CP's 4-12 in any order. There was a long and steep road hill that helped separate the pack early on. It got the blood flowing right off the bat. No doubt that was by design, right Jason? We hit 1 thru 3 with no problems, then chose to hit CP 8, then down to 4 and the rest went in order. We were nailing these CP's with no problems at all. A minor 5 minute snafu here and there, but no major hiccups. I think we came out of the woods after that O Course in about 10th place out of 60 12-hour teams so we cleaned the course pretty well. We came in to CP12 which was a mystery event. It turned out to be that we crossed a creek and then came upon an artificial rock climbing wall. Awesome! Two team members had to put on a harness and climb to the top and then rappel down. Ken and I chose to do it. With no problems, we came down, loaded up the packs and took off for CP13 where we then received the UTM's for another mystery event, CP14. Yummm, they had Snickers and Oreo's too! Once we plotted CP14, we made our way to it and as we approached it, we could hear what we all agreed sounded like a ZIPLINE! Sweet. We had to wait a few minutes until the line was available, but once it was, Ken and Marc put on the harness and zipped on down. We found out what we had suspected already. We were in first place in 4 person co-ed, but the Tulsa team was pushing and closing fast.

Once we finished the CP 14 zipline, we then made the short trek back to the start where we transitioned to the bike. While transitioning, we heard a couple of male racers next to us talking about how they forgot to get a CP punch at 14. One of them said, "No problem, Jason and Laura saw us up there, they'll know we were there but that we just forgot to get the punch." Ken couldn't help himself, and tried to kindly inform them that they needed to go back and get that CP 14 punched on their passport. Rules about getting your passport punched are pretty strict, and I would NEVER count on trying to explain that we were there but just forgot. Well, the old phrase about no good deed going unpunished rang true. It seems that two guys thought we were trying to mess with them and cause them to lose time since we were both at the same point in the race. I suppose they can draw whatever conclusion that they want, but I just hate seeing or hearing a team make a mistake like that when they were so close to the CP still. It is always the right decision to go back and get it. Anyway, we learned after the race that they thought we were trying to just make them go back frivolously and lose time against us I guess. I think they went back and got it, and I think they also finished ahead of us. Good for them. If you ask me, we saved their race for them. I would be surprised if Jason had made an exception and gave them the credit for the punch if the passport didn't have it. Maybe he would have, but I don't think so, and I would never chance it, being so close still to the CP to where you can still just go back and get it. They were gonna not go back and get it. I think they would have found out the hard way that they would have been ranked behind all teams who got it. If you guys are reading this....you're welcome. We would never practice crappy sportsmanship like that to deceive or mislead another team. We don't want a reputation for that because that is not who we are. Alright, enough typing wasted on that stupid subject anyway.

Off on the bikes in great shape, first place in our division after having just done a great job on the Rogaine style O course. We hit 16 and 17 with no problems, climbing up and descending down pretty big hills on gravel roads until we then got onto the Berryman Trail. CP 18 was a little more challenging. Reading a topo map on the bike presents more challenges than being on foot. Despite being on a cable on a tree, trailside, we blew past it but not too far. I realized it pretty quickly and we turned back and got it. It was at that moment that the Tulsa crew came up on us. I knew they were giving chase all day long, and there they were. Good group of folks though. It was fun to Yo-Yo with them back and forth throughout the next hour or so. CP 19 was at a natural spring, and we quickly refilled water bottles and then got back on the Berryman Trail where we linked up with a gravel road for a few miles, then got back on the Berryman Trail near the Berryman campground and hit CP 21 with no problem.

After CP 21 we headed through the Berryman campground and linked up with the Ozark Trail section that descends down to Highway 8 where we hit CP 22. The night before the race we had the Shirley Ridge Road highlighted as our route down to Hwy 8 from the Berryman campground right after we hit CP 21, but Jason had said at the Saturday morning last minute directions/rules that the ONLY time we could be on Hwy 8 was between 22 and 23. Obviously this meant that we could NOT be on Hwy 8 between 21 and 22. WHile this important detail was not on the cluesheet, nor was it covered in the pre-race meeting, we nonetheless heeded his rule that was mentioned Saturdy morning. I now know that many teams went ahead and descended down that gravel road (Shirley Ridge Road I believe) to Hwy 8. This was a big time saver for them. I shouldn't have listened so closely to Jason at the Saturday morning start. Anyway, we all agreed that that section of the Ozark Trail that we took instead was super fun, fast, good surface, and just plain fun. We were still rockin' in first place in our division but the Tulsa crew was minutes back, having just stopped briefly on the trail to deal with a bike issue.

We blasted down Highway 8 for about a mile and a half until we came to the Hwy 8 bridge at the Curtois River where we dropped bikes, did a gear check, and transitioned to the paddle. The Tulsa crew pulled in and were putting on PFD's as we launched our canoes. Now something I haven't mentioned yet is that around CP18 when they caught up to us, I noticed that they had double bladed kayak paddles sticking out of their packs. I kindly asked them how many they had, to which they replied, "Three." For a second I thought that he had said that they had a 30 horsepower outboard motor in their pack. One and the same at that point, really. Either way, I knew we were doomed on the final leg. 11 miles of canoeing against a team with three double bladed paddles and of course a regular single blade, to our 4 oar type single blade paddles, and it was all she wrote. We held them off for about 20 minutes or so, and then they came by in a fury, and off they paddled into the sunset and on their way for the 1st place prize in the premier 4 person co-ed division. They earned it though. They put around 25 minutes of distance on us on that final paddle. Some people don't take any solace in losing to anyone, but if you are going to lose, personally, I'd rather lose to good teams with cool people, and they are both. Despite losing our lead on this final paddling leg, the paddling leg nonetheless offered a surprise as we encountered none other than my friends Jim and Wendy Davis. What a treat to see them at this manned CP!

We came into CP 25 at the takeout within Bass River, parked the canoes and made our way across the river and ran through the finish line at 8 hrs 52 minutes, good for 2nd place in 4 person co-ed, and 5th out of 24 in 4 person overall teams, all male and co-ed. It was a solid race for us. The weather was phenomenal, trails and course were great, mystery events added some unusual elements to the race, and it's always great to get together with my teamies and camp, hang out, and race.
Everybody on the team pitched in and we all performed well with no performance issues of any kind. No cramps, no bonks, crashes, etc. It was just a really good day to be alive and racing. Can't wait for the next one. Man, such good times....I am one seriously lucky dude.

by Bryan Greaser

Katy Trail 50

Saturday, the 18th was the second annual running of the La Sportiva Katy Trail 50. I decided to participate in this run for a couple of reasons. One, perhaps a bit of redemption due to my recent DNF @ Leadville, and second, I really wanted to test out my newly implemented shoe wedge with a legitimate trial before I put myself into a race situation with the Cyclewerx team. I really didn't want to hit uncharted waters with my joint history, & an entirely new running strategy.

Friday evening we drove to Boonville. Upon arrival, we dined at Glenn's Cafe in the Hotel Frederick. The food was fabulous, so we enjoyed our meal & retired to our quarters for the evening. In retrospect, I so wish I had arranged to stay at the Frederick, but live & learn- I will stay there next time. We picked up my pre-race packet, bib, shirt, the usual fare, & had the pre-race evening freak-out.

I woke up early Saturday for the run & went down for the "continental breakfast." Read, Dolly Madison donuts & coffee...sort of. I didn't even care, but they promised me hot water for my oatmeal & there was none. :(

After a luke-warm breakfast of hearty oats, we loaded in the car & zipped over to the trailhead. First the countdown, & then we were off. We ran out about 2 1/2 miles so we could end at the right spot, then turned & came back. I picked up a full water bottle @ the start & took off. I was having a wonderful run, reminiscent of my PR on the Frisco Trail. The trail was the same, & I felt the same, so what the heck. I opened it up, & abandoned my run 25 minutes, walk 5 strategy for the run run run run run strategy.

I zipped through several aid stations & the turn-around, picking water at each of them. I had on my fanny pack full of gels, so I was good to go there. I met some nice folks, & Tom & I played cat & mouse all day. When we reached mile 30, we were both cooked. I had yet to pee, & Tom wasn't in much better shape. That's odd for me, as I usually pee at least every 10 miles.

We spent about 10 minutes in that area, longer than we wanted, but it was much needed. As we rolled out, our walk/run strategy had been reversed to run 5/walk 25, but at least we were moving. The temps kept climbing with the humidity...someone even passed out on the trail.

As we approached mile 38, Tom suggested we continue the death march to the finish line together. I told him I was sorry, but I would not be going on at this point. I bid him farewell as he filled his bottles & hit the trail. Since my 9 hour time goal was blown, I asked how long I had until the cut-off...& when will I be pulled from the race? The guy @ the check point said I had over 3 hours, & that was all I needed to hear. I pulled my phone from my pack & called my wife, and then I explained to her, I needed 5 minutes to fall asleep, & then a 30 minute nap before she was to call me back. After some smart aleck comments about the tortoise & the hare, she agreed. I told the guy running the table, "I am fine, don't let anyone bother me, I just need a nap." So I laid down in the somewhat shady spot in the middle of the road & passed out. Exactly 35 minutes later, my phone rang. I jumped up, thanked Tammy for the call, & spent another 6-7 minutes doctoring my new blisters.
As I left the checkpoint, I know they were all betting against me. None of them thought I could even finish the race. My gait was pretty ridiculous, if I do say so myself, but on I went. After about 5 minutes, I was actually able to run again.

By the time I had reached the next checkpoint, they told me I had gained 15 minutes on Tom, & they thought I might actually catch him. I only had 12 miles to do so from my napping point, so I doubted it. 30 minutes later, the hail & lightning started; dime size hail & lots of lightning. I ran as hard as I was able, & finally crossed the finish line in the rain & storm. They told me Tom beat me by about 7 minutes, even after my 41 minute side-show, but it didn't matter. I had another successful run.

It reminded me of what I believe to be true about running, every run is a great run, some are greater than others.

Get the Lead Out!!

We {Tammy the crew} & I arrived in Denver on Wednesday, drove on up that night to LV. We checked in to the Innd of the Line, which is now my personal B&B in Leadville, so stay away, they're booked! J/K, they were fabulous. Better care than Mom could give you. Thursday, we attended the evening "dinner" & basically spent the day trying to relax. I knew I couldn't relax if I were at home, so we planned that day on purpose. Friday we awoke to attend all of the mandatory meetings. The pre-race meeting was pretty much not helpful, as well as the mandatory crew meeting. All information which had previously been covered, & would be covered again in multiplicity. At any rate, we put our time in & picked up the BEST race bag ever. Too much good stuff to mention, but it is to say, I would pay good money for that bag. We took a couple of trips to the HQ, where we bought some clothing items. Both times we were overcharged, & received no receipt, but I didn't raise a stink...I figured why not help out my new favorite event.

Part 2 of the crew, Randy & Libby didn't arrive until I was already in bed on Friday, so they weren't really able to review my race plan with Tammy, which I had only obsessed over for about a year. At any rate, when Randy arrived about 10, he & Tammy did the pre-race freak out so I didn't have to. I was in bed with earplugs in.
3:30 came sooo early, but Jane & Mary Beth made steel cut oats, bagels, fresh fruit, coffee, yogurt, eggs, the whole deal. It was amazing. I sauntered upstairs & popped on my gear, which I had laid out 2 days before. Time flew so quickly, I blinked & it was 15 till...YIKES! I jogged to the start to check in, the official check in table turned out to be roving clip board folks. Nice. Lucky for me I found one. Luckier for me, I had my wrist band on, but Tammy had my bib. I ran back up the street, borrowed a cell to call them, Tammy's phone was {shocker} not on. Panic.
As I ran down the street looking like Paul Revere, Libby shouted out to me, & I was back in with my bib on my shirt. Again, the time flew, the gun went off, & I was jogging down the boulevard.

I kept smelling something, I knew the cat in front of me needed a shower, & I thought to myself, "what will you be like 24 hours from now" but I kept running. I hit his calves with my headlamp, & knew in an instant it was Barefoot Ted, the legend. A quick glance to his home made Huaraches, & it was verified. One of the coolest moments in the race for me...to be running behind this urban myth, if only I'd had my flip. Either way, it was cool, so I followed him for about another mile, smirking to myself at his self bantering & comedy.

Soon, we veered off onto the trail that parallels Turquoise Lake. I had asked my crew to wait @ Tabor Boat ramp with 2 water bottles as I left the starting line, purposely light on water. I was going as slow as possible in an effort to conserve energy for later. Well, they determined that they missed me, so they left before I got there. When I didn't see them, I rocked on. About a mile or so outside of May Queen, I found someone's water bottle on the ground, un-touched. Yep, drank it all.

Into May Queen, Tammy & Randy were there, I picked up my pack & dropped off water bottles & rolled on up the hill. This is one of my favorite parts of the course; it's on the Colorado trail & the views are breathtaking. I still felt sooo relaxed & was just enjoying the day. Up Sugarloaf to Powerline, then down into the Fish Hatchery.

Again, Randy & Tammy were there. I dropped my pack, switched back to the handhelds, & cruised out feeling fine. About 4-5 miles of grueling pavement later, I came into Pipeline, where Tammy was waiting. She was also running the video & asked me how I felt, to which I replied, "SUPER COOL." Of course, later, watching the video, I saw my left ankle roll like a spaghetti noodle, but I never even flinched. I didn't feel it at all. Obviously, by this point, my ankles were just flopping around like dead fish, but heck, I didn't care. I was running Leadville, conserving energy, & having a BLAST!

Pipeline to Twin Lakes is yet another feast for the eyes. I again, ran this conservatively, my plan was to hit Winfield, and then actually "run" the rest of the race. As I came down the hill into Twin, there was a lot of confusion. There were tons of people standing around, but no clear direction on where to go. After asking several spectators, I was finally pointed in the right direction. I went into the check station; saw none of my crew, so I went out the other side. Up until now, someone from my crew was at the entrance of the checkpoints, so I assumed they would be here. When I didn't see them, I started looking for them...I NEEDED some of my things which they had. I ran down the boulevard, no crew. Down to the adjacent street, no crew. Soooo, I ran the 3/4 mile back into the aid station, filled my water pack, grabbed some gels & cookies & set out to climb Hope. After I crossed the adjacent street, Randy was there saying "just in time." Arrrgh. Really? “I just lost about 23 minutes looking for you guys, where were you?” “Here.” “Why?” “Why not?” “Okay, from now on, someone meet me at the timing mat, PLEASE!” “Okay.”
They popped me on the massage table, Randy & Libby beat the crap out of me, Tammy changed my shoes & socks, & they kicked me out of the station.

Well, up over Hope Pass we go. I still "felt good" but picked up a walking cane one the way as my right knee was on fire. Apparently my IT bands were not happy. I hobbled over Hope & down the back side, then up 3 miles of gravel into the half-way point, Winfield, 50 miles. Libby met me on the road with her kid gloves on. She radioed back to Tammy what to prepare, & the crew was in panic mode. I only had 10 minutes to enter & exit the aid station. I kept telling them to relax; I had plenty of time, as I really felt like they might forget something. I asked for my Garmin, which I had traded out earlier, & they gave it to me, but somehow, they had lost the charger in the car & didn't charge it, so I picked up a dead Garmin.

Out of Hope with 2 minutes to cut-off, 5:58. Let me say this, I don't like pacers. I like being alone. Maddie had asked if she could pace me & I said okay. Anyone else I would have rejected, but I thought since she was a teenaged girl, who may never get this chance again, to go over Hope, why not. I told her on the way out to stop treating my like Libby & Tammy had, that I was quite lucid, & didn't need a babysitter. I finally just had to ask her to start talking to me. I think they had her freaked out thinking I was "pretty disoriented." Still packing my stick, we hobbled on. At one point, for the first time in the race, I sat on a rock to take a break. I told Madison we would rest 3 minutes & then go on. I passed out, sitting on a rock with my face on my stick. Exactly 2 minutes, 55 seconds later, I woke up. On we went. Darkness hit us just at the summit. I told Maddie we would walk for 3 or 4 minutes to rest from the climb & then run. We did. We went into the hopeless aid station; I asked for soda, I needed caffeine badly. They had nothing but water so we quickly moved on. Still hobbling with my stick, having NO idea of the time, I really begin to push down the mountain as best I could. At one point, I left Madison & went on by myself. I knew I would be past the cut-off, but I didn't know by how much. As I passed people on the way down, people who had passed me on their way up the other side, I begged them to not give up. You can call pull me from the race when they cut my band or the race is over, but not until.

Well, on into Twin where Libby went out to pick up Maddy. Tammy met me at the river crossing, & took me on up to the timing mat, where my wrist band was cut & I was pulled from the race, still hobbling on my stick- 62 miles.

As I sat in a chair, Randy pulled my shoe off & I realized for the first time, my ankle was the size of a softball. Huge. Purple. Sprained. Bad. I suppose the IT band issues caused me to use the stick in my right hand, putting extra weight on my left ankle. I have since discovered a discrepancy in my leg length; my right appears to be about 1/4inch longer than the left. Wonder why I've been having ankle sprains????
Well, the second they cut my band, I looked at Tammy & said, "364 days till next year," and I meant it. I started this race, I WILL finish it.

A few quick points:
My hydration & nutrition were perfect; I lost about a pound over the entire race.
I should have ran a 'bit' faster at the start. My average heart rate was 124 for the first 25 miles.
The crew was helpful, but they need to be better informed of my race plan next time. Tammy knew what I wanted, but since the rest of them didn't get there until late the night before the race, they really didn't know what I wanted or expected of them.
Madison was awesome. I found out after I was cut, she is 12 years old. Wow. She has a running career ahead of her for sure.
I can't wait to get to the starting line next year!