Just one aid station worker’s story from WS100

Six months ago I signed up to volunteer at The Western States 100 mile endurance run.

When I started seeing WS100 hats worn by people on the trail I decided I needed to google what it meant. I read this story about this guy and his horse and it all just seemed so unreal. Then a few years later a guy that wears a giant hat with horns on it who is famously known as Cowman A Mooha finished with Gordon. Who makes up this shit? I kept reading and was shocked to find how many people actually ran 100 miles in 24 hours. At this point I was struggling with a single mile in an hour and these people did 100 of them in a whole day? The thing is, I didn’t think it was insane. I gave up saying that when I took up skydiving. I thought those people were batshit crazy, until I realized that they are probably some of the safety conscious people you would ever meet.
This just seemed…unreal. I read everything I could get my hands on and I studied the map as if I was being tested on it. My excitement was explosive when I realized that the last 40 miles of that trail was what I had been hiking and running on in the past few months. I watched video after video and studied the faces of the people during the race. I wept at the website I found that had Gordon Ainsleigh’s actual story he wrote about the race. There must be something truly wrong with me, if I was even considering this. Then one day I said it out loud. “I want to do that someday.”

Back in April I had emailed Gordon about a question and to thank him for HIS story. He offered to take me running. I have never been more grateful to know those trails and have ran them before I went out with him. He can see into someone, he saw something in me…enough to tell me and continue to encourage me through the months. He saw something more in Lester, enough to remind me this weekend.
That day though, I am still not ready to share.

Last year I had been watching, signing up for updates, refreshing Twitter and checking the podcast as Lester and I drove to Monterey. I was certain we would have enough time to make it back to Sacramento before the first runner crossed the line. We weren’t even close as Killian crossed over in 15 hours.
“NEXT YEAR I WILL BE THERE!” I said when I closed my laptop for the night.

My confirmation email finally came in and I was stationed at Foresthill. I didn’t care what they had me doing. I was going to be there and that’s all that mattered. Lester agreed to go with me and help out if needed. A few days before the race I drove the girls up to Reno to hand them off to Paw Paw for a week of camping and as we passed Auburn, Alyx looked over as the canyons opened up, “Those your trails out there?” I got a lump in my throat and I just nodded yes. My 15 year old daughter call those, ‘my trails’ and for her to see that they are such a huge part of my life made me so proud.
Lester and I started the drive up and I kept thinking about that drive to Reno when I was telling Alyx about WS100 (not that she doesn’t know the story by heart by now) and I asked her if she wanted to know where it started. She knows where the ending is because one night after a hard run I said I wanted to see the finish line so her and I ran the track at the high school until we finally saw the sign they have up there. We finally got to the Squaw Valley exit and I was so emotional at that point that all I could do was poke her and say, “here. It starts here.”
“HERE? WHAT? Okay Mom, this 100 mile thing isn’t sounding like a good plan.” It’s a good thing that I was wearing large, dark glasses because behind them I was crying. “Sounds like a hell of a plan.” Is what I choked out and spent the next 10 miles questioning why I was so emotional about an exit on a freeway I have passed a million times before, even taken a bunch of times. That’s when I knew. The old me passed that exit on the way to Reno to sit in a casino and gamble for the weekend. That old me didn’t know about a life so magical with rewards and blessings I sometimes don’t even understand how I got so lucky to have. That old me would look out the window and count the miles until she could plant herself in front of a slot machine, smoke and drink and laugh with her friend. How selfish of me to not appreciate the beauty that was surrounding me and not think for a single second outside of that world I was in.
This person I am now, I see trails EVERY WHERE and my body aches to explore them all. Now it’s the not the destination, it’s the journey to get me there…and it will not be in a room where they pump oxygen in filled with bright lights and loud ringing. Now it’s fresh air, the sound of my feet, the feel of the wind screaming through the trees. The things I get to see out there, unless you do this…you do not get to see. That explained the other reason I was crying…I knew that right up the road about 10 miles was 400 people who got to see what I do and they understood it. I was a part of something bigger than any casino could ever give me.

We pulled into Foresthill and the crowd was already there. We signed in and got our T-shirt and were asked how we wanted our station to work since it was a new thing and they had no idea how it was going to work. Lester took over quickly and earned the name “Shuttle Captain” His smile when he told him new title made me so proud. Here’s the guy that just agreed to help me out a week ago and had NO IDEA what he was getting himself into. He took care of everything before we left from the food to the chairs and making sure we could find the place. He was smiles all day and helpful to every single person he came in contact with…and I am guessing he probably spoke to roughly 2,000 people. That might be an all time Lester record…the fact that he did it while genuinely smiling shows how much he loves me. Not a lot of people, who don’t really like people all that much, would agree to do what he did.

I’m not exactly sure what I was expecting, but Lonnie, our aid station captain showed me around and told me how things were going to go, I felt a lot more relaxed and ready.
Later we all gathered around and had our team meeting. Lonnie went back over things, even though he knew that all his team members were prepared. He then said, “Most important is the runners. You treat them like gold.” And about then his walkie talkie went off informing him that we already had a runner in Michigan Bluff. He was about an hour earlier than expected so we got our team picture and then all ran off to handle our stations. Buses. I got buses. Lester had that handled so I asked him if I could get a picture of the first guy coming through.
About 40 minutes later I saw Hal Koerner (who won WS100 in 07 and 09) take off like a bullet up past the aid station to run in with Tim Olson. He was blur of running shorts and muscles. “Whoa, those are really short shorts.” It was like watching a horse run…in short, shorts. A few minutes later I saw both of them come running in. Hal and Tim all smiles and waving at the crowd. To say he was in the aid station less than a minute doesn’t do it justice. He was there just long enough to weigh in and was gone again. Possibly 18 seconds max. He did not look like he had just ran 63 miles. There wasn’t enough time to figure it out, he was a blur as he ran out of the aid station and down the street where he was greeting with wild cheers from crews waiting for their runner and people just wanting to shout words of encouragement to the runners. Someone had said it during the day, “this is more than a sporting event. This is a show.” And now I understood.
One of the aid station workers who has been doing this for nearly 20 years said to his runner as he greeted him, “Now the race has really started. This is where it gets good!” The runner smiled knowingly at his greeter and took off. It wasn’t until I watched Unbreakable later that night that I understood that. Foresthill is the point where you are either in this race or you’re not. This is the make you or break you portion of the race.

As the next few runners came in I got to watch as the fellow aid station people ran them in. I walked up to the head of the trail and hung out with those guys for awhile. Hands down there was no sweeter, nicer, warm hearted people alive.
“What’cha doin, guys?” I asked as I watched them checking their paperwork. They explained that as the runner comes in you run with them, take their water bottles, make sure they cross over the timing mat, get to the weigh station, get their water filled, get them whatever they ask for all while running.
“Wanna give it a try?”
OH MY GOD. DO I WANT TO GIVE IT A TRY?! I could see the next runner coming in and I squealed “YES!” They let me cut in line and off I went with the runner. I got his water bottles and asked him what he wanted. “My wife. I want my wife.”
Okay, this guy has been running for 60 miles and could be a bit loopy. “If she’s here, she’s in the aid station. As soon as you guys are announced we let in your crew.” He got his now filled water bottles and saw his wife. He ran over to her, got a kiss and left. That’s what he required at our aid station. She travelled God knows how many miles, caught shuttles, carted all his gear around and what got him through to this point in his race was a kiss. AMAZING and BEAUTIFUL at the same time.

Ellie came in a bit later and I had read about her in about 700 articles in the last year and they don’t do her justice. She has this look in her eye that is 100% focus. She’s aware of everyone around her, but you can see that she is all strategy and determination at the rawest form. Then you see her stomach. JESUS CHRIST that woman is toned. It was outstanding! Could I PLEASE stop staring at this woman’s abs!?
No. I couldn’t stop. I heard Gordy in my head (like always lately) “How bad do you want it?” FUCK. If wanting it to the point of crushing the women’s course record this year means having a stomach you can grate cheese on, YEAH…THAT BAD.

Then something awesome happened. I was talking to the Injinji rep about photography and saw this guy with a crazy tshirt. I excused myself and made my way over to him. He was smiling and talking to this pacer and his daughter. I was just going to sneak in a quick picture and then he turned and faced me straight on. I’m not kidding, I took a step back. He was on the other side of the aid station tape that kept all the people out of the restricted area. “OH MY GOD. YOU’RE COWMAN!” I jumped the aid station tape and he engulfed me into the biggest hug I have ever had.
“and you are?” he squeezed so tight that he smashed his bag of strawberries he was holding.
“I’m Kristine. I uh.” I had nothing to say.
Then he did something that blew my mind, “Thank you, Kristine. Thank you for volunteering your time for us. It means a lot to us.” Then and there I was reminded I was actually a race official at this damn thing.
“You just thanked ME?” We sat and talked about Hawaii, family, the runners, his hat and what he does in between running. Fifteen minutes he talked to me as if I had something important to tell him. All the while a group of fans began to gather around him. I told him I would see him around and I instantly had to see Lester. I jumped back over the wall and made my way back to him in a blur of tears. He was chatting with the bus driver as I leaned up against the door. “Cowman. I just met Cowman.” …and THANK YOU, LESTER for knowing who I was talking about! He understood to the best of his ability what I was feeling since he was there when I got to run with Gordon a few months ago.
Throughout the next couple of hours, Cowman and I would start talking again. Each time he would give me a hug and tell me something about his time or point out who someone was for me.
Back at the bus Lester said, “There’s Gordon.” I yelled out, “GORDON!” he turned around and mumbled something and kept walking as if he was in a daze, completely surrounded by people. “What did he say?” We both asked each other. The guy standing in line said, “I got pulled at Robbinson.”
Oh hell. He didn’t make the cutoff. I was nearly certain he was going to make the whole 100 this year. I met up with Cowman later and he said that he though Gordon might still be in a bit of shock.
A while later I saw Gordon and gave him a big hug. “how you doing sweetie?” and then his rapid fire questions cam at me. “I’m riding now like you said to do!” He smiled and said, “good, run twice instead of three days and keep riding. Where’s The Natural?” I turned and pointed to Lester who was helping people on the bus. He smiled and said, “Now you get serious, Kristine. Train hard.” He told me he was a bit disappointed that he got pulled because he had two people from southern California here with him.
I told him I got to meet Cowman, he looked up scanning the crowd of people and said, “Hawaii ruined him.” He gave me a quick hug and told me he had to go.

Seriously, could this day get better?

Cowman caught up with me again and asked if he could catch a ride to the finish line when we headed down. ARE YOU SHITTING ME? Yes. OF COURSE.

Around 6:00, Lonnie found two people to take over and Lester got the truck. We loaded up all the stuff we brought and a Cowman. I sat in the back and listened as Lester and Cowman chatted the whole way. We pulled into Auburn at the finish line and Lester jumped out and said he wanted a picture. My smile was so big as I took the picture.
Cowman asked Lester if he was going to the finish line and I don’t even think Lester realized he said it, but he said, “I’ll see it one day when I cross over it.”
I lead Cowman down to the track and he told me, “My favorite was getting me 1000 mile buckle. I’m proud of that.” He wanted to desperately show me the cow horn helmet and so off we went to find the drop bags. There is a whole section of the field set up for drop bags and since he was 00, his was at the front, but the horns weren’t there.
“It’s okay, I’ll see them next year.”
We got a couple of guys that had been following us from the gate to get a picture and in return I took a picture of them with him too. “A LEGEND!” they both said.
He gave me another hug and I pointed to his safety pins. I had told him about how I don’t have my bibs or anything on display, but I do keep my safety pins in an old jar my mom had given me. “I have never heard of anyone saving their safety pins. That’s kind of neat.” He let me take two of the 4 pins holding his bib onto his shorts. “Thank you.” I said and again, he thanked me. “Thank you for today. Thank you for Ohana. For the ride. For the great talk. For being good people.” And I got another hug and kiss. “You promise to email me!” he demanded and made me repeat his email address to prove to him I had it memorized.

I ran off the last bit of track, the same track that Tim Olson would be on winning Western States 100 mile and setting a course record 30 minutes later.

Six months ago I had no idea that this would be yet another day that would shape my future and how I would be blessed.
Later that night when Lester and I had made it home and had beer in hand I asked him what his favorite part of the day was. Without hesitation he said, “The drive home and talking to Cowman.”
I shook my head in agreement. There were so many things I could list off that made it “the best day”, but thinking back on it a day later, the best part was having Lester there with me, sharing in all ‘the best’ moments I had.

“Love it or Leave it.” Is what Cowman’s hat had handwritten on it.

I take the “love it” part.