Western States Report- Josh Brimhall

At the beginning of this year’s Western States 100 Mile I had grand plans for my summer.  Specifically, the Grand Slam was on the calendar.  I had a decent build-up to Western that included winning both races that I had entered prior to the “big one.” I had also accumulated more quality miles than ever before.   My taper went well, despite a quick bout with a cold, that inevitably gets everyone a few weeks before a big race.  Ultimately, I was pretty confident that I could get a quality time going into Western, but respectful of the distance considering I had three other hundreds to follow.  The atmosphere surrounding WS is a circus.  I’m not sure I like it, but the course looked appealing and it was easy enough to avoid the pre-race hoopla.

The race begin rather auspiciously, with a group of 20-30 promptly taking a wrong turn only minutes into the race.  However, the snafu was quickly corrected and we were on our way.  From the get-go, Dave, Scott, and Hal hammered up the incline.  I held back at a more reasonable pace, mindful of the heat to come.  I quickly settled into a 9:45 pace.  This pace felt very familiar, as it was the pace I’d practiced on my long runs for the previous six months of training.  Soon, Jasper and Leigh had found the same speed and the three of us cruised down through Duncan Canyon together.  I distinctly remember Jasper saying that we were on 17 hour pace and I felt very good about that, because at that time everything was just fine.

At the bottom of Duncan Canyon, there is a small river/stream crossing.  As ridiculous as it sounds in the context of the sport I partake in, I hate getting my feet wet.  I will go out of my way to avoid the water.  I scanned the river.  I was ecstatic to see that I could quickly “rock hop” the river and avoid the dreaded wet foot so early in the race.  On my second step onto the rocks I lost all control.  I was lucky to fall in the water because my entire face submerged.  Had it been on land, I would be making a dental appt. to go along with my knee appt.  

Ultimately, when I got up and checked myself over, I felt pretty good.  A quick glance at the right knee revealed some blood, but nothing too serious.  I slowly jogged/walked the rest of the way up Duncan.  The knee began to swell, but the adrenaline was doing its job.  It wasn’t until the long run down what I think was to Last Chance that I noticed something was amiss with the knee.  Putting pressure on it going downhill felt something akin to someone twisting my kneecap.  This is when I got nervous.  It was not especially painful.  More than anything, I found the sensation strange and worrisome.  

After gingerly climbing Devil’s Thumb, and being passed by what felt like everyone running race, I sat down and spoke with the Dr. at the Devil’s Thumb aid station.  He pulled and tugged on kneecap and said definitively that “there’s a lot of play there.”  He said that more running, especially downhill, could cause long-term damage to the knee and its tendons/ligaments.  That was enough for me.  The decision after that conversation was pretty easy.

I managed to get an MRI as soon as I returned to Las Vegas and the diagnosis is patellar subluxation.  Essentially, my kneecap no longer tracking correctly.  I have 6-8 weeks of PT, and hopefully the second MRI reveals a tighter attachment.  I’m still scheduled to run Wasatch this September, but we’ll see.  I guess I’m somewhat thankful that I didn’t purchase any tickets or entry fees for Vermont and Leadville.  If I ever manage to get into Western and Wasatch again, I will attempt the Slam.

All in all there was a lot of carnage out there on the trail.  There was some surprising finishes and non-finishes, but I look forward to heading back to see the second half of the course.