Bear 100
Stu Sherman

On September 27-28, 2002 I competed in The Bear 100, a 100 mile endurance race with 17,000 feet of cumulative elevation gain, in the mountains of southeastern Idaho. Most of the race course was run at an average altitude of nearly 8,000 feet, on trails and some dirt roads. I finished in 8th place in 28 hours and 25 minutes. The race began at 6 AM on Friday, and I finished at 10:25 AM on Saturday. There were 43 starters and 32 finishers.

I trained for 9 months this year to compete in the Angeles Crest 100 Mile Endurance Run, scheduled for September 28, 2002. Three weeks prior to the race date the AC100 was cancelled due to fires in the Angeles National Forest. I subsequently chose to run The Bear 100, a race with a supposedly similar level of difficulty, scheduled for the same weekend as the AC100. Upon finishing The Bear 100 and speaking with several runners who had run the AC100 and The Bear 100, I received the unanimous opinion that The Bear 100 is substantially more difficult than the AC100.

The Bear 100 was my second 100 mile trail race. In July 2001 I ran the Vermont 100, finishing in 19:21, with my parents serving as my support crew. My Bear 100 race differed markedly from my Vermont 100 race in several aspects: the Vermont 100 was nearly 100% runnable, while perhaps 20% or more of the Bear course was "unrunnable" (runners must walk "unrunnable" sections, due to the steepness of the uphill or downhill slope, the preponderance of rocks, the altitude, or some combination of these factors); I had no support crew at The Bear, and instead used 15 "drop bags", one at each of the 15 aid stations; the Vermont 100 involved no major change in temperature (I ran the entire race wearing one tee shirt and one pair of shorts), while The Bear involved a significant drop in temperature after sundown; and I ran for only 3.5 hours in night time darkness in Vermont, and 11.5 hours of night time darkness at The Bear.

I carefully planned the contents of my drop bags in order to flawlessly meet my needs for nutrition, vitamin supplementation, night time lighting, and cold weather clothing. The evening chill required that my drop bags contain gloves, a cold-weather hat, short and long-sleeve polypropylene shirts, running tights, and flashlights. Since I was using drop bags instead of a support crew, I needed to predict when I might require these various cold-weather and night time articles. I placed these items in several different drop bags, which gave me the option of adding a clothing layer or continuing to run to a subsequent aid station without adding a layer if I did not feel cold. Prior to the race, I decided to replace my shorts with tights when reaching my drop bag shortly after nightfall, knowing that the evening temperatures were forecast to drop to the upper 30's. When I put on the tights, I added one shirt and a windbreaker, since it was 9 PM at that point and I was feeling slightly chilled. After midnight at a subsequent aid station I added a long-sleeve polypropylene shirt to the two shirts and windbreaker I was wearing.

The duration of my average aid station stop was approximately 4 minutes. In this brief amount of time, I grabbed my drop bag, opened it to remove and swallow 4 energy pills, to remove a container of calorie powder and pour it into my Camelbak (small backpack-style hydration pack with a drinking tube), and gave my Camelbak to an aid station volunteer to fill two-thirds full with water. I grabbed some food from the aid station food table, put the Camelbak on my back, and took off for another 1.5 - 2 hours of running to the next aid station. I ate the food from a hand-held plastic baggie or from a cup placed in a small fanny pack I wore in the front of my waist. For the first 8 hours of the race I ate grapes, watermelon, cantelope, and honeydew. Then I ate pretzels, and by nightfall and throughout the night I ate hot soup and pretzels. All my eating was done while power-walking or running. I never sat down during the race, not even to eat the soup. I consumed nearly 300 calories per hour from the powder I added to my Camelbak at each aid station, and therefore in the course of drinking every 10 minutes throughout the race (20 ounces of water per hour) I was consuming nearly enough calories to fuel my energy output. The small amount of solid food I ate provided the added measure of required calories. To maintain my electrolyte level (critical in order to avoid debilitating leg cramping), every two hours I consumed electrolyte capsules I carried in a waist pouch.

The scenery during the race was spectacular! We ran through the mountains at the peak of the gorgeous autumn colors. The brilliant colors of yellow, red, and orange leaves were magnificent. I ran alone for about 70% of the run, including almost all of the night-time running. Early in the race, and intermittently throughout the day, I ran for short periods of time with a few other solo runners, engaging in brief conversation while running.

I did endure two physical afflictions during the race which probably added two hours to my finishing time. To my surprise, at two hours into the race, I suffered from a noticeable loss of energy, and drowsiness. I am an extremely strong climber, and almost no one ever passes me on a climb in races. In the next 8 hours, several runners were passing me on the climbs, and I knew something was wrong. I became disheartened, but persevered with hopes of overcoming this fatigue before too long. I concluded that I was adversely affected by the high altitude at which we were running, while others runners were not affected. Many of the other Bear 100 runners live in high altitude areas such as Colorado, while I live at sea level.

Fortunately, at about 10 hours into the race my energy returned and consequently my mood improved. However, at the 50 mile mark (approximately 13 hours into the race), the inside edge of my left knee became sore. It was sufficiently sore, and stayed that way for the remaining 50 miles and 15 hours of running, that I could not run continuously for more than several minutes without having to walk for an even longer period. Fortunately, my power walking pace is very strong and I experienced no soreness while power walking. Additionally, most of the remaining mileage would be run in darkness (requiring a slower pace for safety), with more unrunnable climbs and unrunnable rock-covered downhill stretches. I estimate that due to my knee condition, the amount of miles I had to walk in the next 40 miles increased my finishing time by only about 1.5 hours.

Surprisingly, I did not feel sleepy until the 24-hour mark (aside from the drowsiness I experienced 2 hours into the race due to being affected by the altitude). I attempted, unsuccessfully, to overcome the drowsiness by repeatedly shaking my head. Then I decided to take a quick stand-up nap! I leaned against a tree, closed my eyes, and immediately slipped into a dream state. I pulled myself from the nap after perhaps 1 minute, and did not experience any further drowsiness for the remainder of the race!

The toughness of The Bear 100 course is evidenced by the fact that the race winner was the only runner to complete the course in under 24 hours. Usually 10-20% of 100 mile race finishers complete the course in under 24 hours. I was disappointed to have run The Bear without my customary full strength on climbs and to be confined to substantial amounts of walking due to knee soreness. However, I am well aware that I am subject to a wide array of physical conditions and injuries when competing in such a physically demanding event. I fared better than several runners, some of whom succumbed to bouts of nausea, pulmonary edema, hypothermia, or extreme fatigue, causing substantial suffering and/or withdrawal from the race.

As with the Vermont 100, for The Bear 100 I am grateful to the following peo ple who contributed to my success: Lisa Smith my coach, Kim Bleth my massage therapist, Gary Kurilla my chiropractor, and Luis Escobar my running buddy and ultra running mentor. Additionally, Dr. Garry Sherman and Dr. Larry Goldfarb in NJ fitted me in January 2002 with "high-tech" computer-designed orthotics which enabled me to overcome two persistent leg "overuse" injuries incurred in 2001, and begin nine months of race training. These special people contributed to my successful effort to place among the top 10 finishers in one of the toughest 100 mile races in the U.S.