"Weaver v. Weaver, Or The Battle of San Juan Trail"
by Bad Andy Weaver

The first half of this leg is a pretty good downhill and Andy built a 4 minute lead over his lovely wife Laura. About a mile from the Candy store this lead was down to 90 seconds which became a 45 second deficit as Andy stopped to answer the call of nature. Having seen Laura and 5 others pass Andy quickly made up the deficit and regained the lead. This only lasted about a half mile as there is a sharp uphill just before the Candy Store where Laura passed with ease, her lead built to 90 seconds with a faster exit out of the aid station. As the next mile is downhill, Andy managed to make up some ground and repassed Laura ever so briefly at about a mile and a half out before they hit some uphill where Laura took over. About a mile later, Laura needed to stop and water the rocks, so Andy regained the lead.

Shortly after her stop, Laura noticed her stomach was sloshing around indicating the fluid she was taking was not being absorbed, she decided to slow the pace a bit until were stomach emptied. By the Falls, about 5 miles from the Candy Store, Andy had a 3 minute lead again and was on his target pace. It was about a half mile from Blue Jay when he first heard the pitter patter of little Laura's feet, she had closed to within 30 seconds.

Andy was first into the Blue Jay aid station at 19 miles, but Laura arrived 30 seconds later. She picked up Fred Shufflebarger as a pacer and left the aid station quickly with a 30 second lead. About a half mile later, Andy regained the lead as lovely Laura was fertilizing the bushes in Falcon.

The next 2 miles are relentlessly uphill and Andy managed to run about a half mile before switching to power walking. Andy took this opportunity to eat his peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Laura retook the lead about a minute later as she was able to continue running a bit further until the slope got really steep.

Andy managed to stay within 1 minute of his wife up to the Trabuco aid station, where he stopped to refill his Camelback. Andy was now two minutes behind with a nice downhill ahead.

This is where the peanut butter and jelly sandwich and all that water got its revenge on Andy. A bad side ache hit him the moment he started down Trabuco. He tried everything, deep breaths, changing strides and speeds, stopping frequently and bending at the waist, nothing worked.

After about 10 minutes of suffering, Andy was surprised to hear Fred and Laura just ahead. He passed them despite the side ache and a rather slow descent of Trabuco. The 30 second lead he built lasted all of about 30 steps up the incredibly steep Horsethief Trail as Laura and Fred blew by.

This is where Bad Andy died and ugly death. For the first 2 minutes he was walking OK, but then it all all fell apart and he was relegated to a pathetic hobble, hands on his knees barely moving at 1.5 miles per hour. By the time he reached the top of Horsethief, 5 people had passed and Laura had more than a 10 minute lead.

After a brief rest at the aid station, Andy tried to run but the side ache was still there with a vengeance. Meanwhile up ahead, Laura was having a great day, managing to run almost all of the way back to the Trabuco aid station. From there she had a nice run downhill to the finish.

Laura finished in 5:18 on a hot day for first place beating the second woman, Ann Langstaff, a seasoned Ultra runner by 24 minutes.

Back up the mountain, things were not getting better for Andy. He was mostly walking between 30 second bursts of running which were about all his side ache would allow. Even over the last couple of miles, his favorite downhill, Andy had to stop several times and walk because of the side ache.

With a half mile to go, at a bend in the road, he turned to see Ann Langstaff bearing down on him. Andy was wasted but he took shorter walking breaks and managed to hold her off until the end.

A sad 5:42 finish for Andy, but all in all, a good day at the battle of the San Juan Trail 50K.

This was Laura's second ultra, the first in more than 4 years. Finishing in first place by such a large margin, over strong competition, at one of the most difficult 50K's in the country is quite a feat. I am very proud of her and know that she has many more great ultra's in her future. When it comes to long distance, Laura is the undisputed champion of the Weaver household. Run Laura Run.

The Ultrarunner
by Bad Andy Weaver
(a song inspired by Laura Weaver’s victory at the battle of San Juan, sung to the tune of the Gambler)

On a warm spring mornin’
on a trail bound for nowhere,
I met up with a runner,
we were both too tired to speak,
So we took turns a-leadin’
down the rocky forest trail, ‘Til boredom overtook us
and she began to speak.

She said, “Andy, I’ve made a life
out of readin’ people’s faces,
Knowing how their run would go
by the way they gasp for air,
And if you don’t mind me sayin’,
I can see you’re gonna bonk,
And for a taste of your Cytomax,
I’ll give you some advice.”

So I handed her my bottle and
she drank down my last swallow; Then she bummed a Powergel
and asked for my flashlight,
And the trail got deathly quiet,
her face lost all expression, ‘said,
If you’re gonna run the trails, boy,
ya gotta learn to run em right.

You gotta know when to roll em,
Know when to stroll em,
Know when to walk away,
And know when to run.

You never count your position,
When your headed for the turnaround,
There’ll be time enough for countin’,
When the race is done.

Every runner knows
the secret to survivin’,
Is knowing when to DNF
and knowing when to eat,
Cause every trails a winner
and every trails a loser,
And the best that you can hope for
is to die on Horsethief Trail.

And when she finished speakin’,
she turned back toward the meadow,
Turned off her flashlight
and charged off on her feet,
And somewhere in the darkness,
the runner she broke records,
But in her words I found
some food that I could eat.

You gotta know when to roll em,
Know when to stroll em,
Know when to walk away,
And know when to run.

You never count your position,
When your headed for the turnaround,
There’ll be time enough for countin’,
When the race is done.