Brush Mountain Breakdown 2017 – Donuts and Beer

Brush Mountain Breakdown – race report – Donuts and Beer, Saturday, Oct 28, 2017, 12 noon

The 2017 Brush Mountain Breakdown was a blast and I am writing this mainly to archive my race and to showcase the photo shown herein. After falling in behind Katie Little and Michael Stowe going up the Horse Nettle trail, at about 1.4 miles in, I surged ahead and focused on my sub-1:30 Plan A goal. No mile-splits band this time…going by feel mostly. It was a gorgeous day with temps in the high 50s at the 12 noon race start. Just over 30 12-milers and 40 7-milers started the race at a fast pace with a few 12-milers riding the wave of the faster 7-miler pace (the 5 K race started separately at 11:30 am).

Donut bite & a beer swig at mile 5.8

Donuts and beer? Yes, at the make-shift 5.8 mile “aid” station, staffed by Laura Hamm and some other “supportive” mountain bikers. Check out the photo provided by Laura; some crazy mountain bikers provided vital “support” at the intersection of Poverty Creek and the Forest Service Rd, just before the Trillium turn. I can’t blame them totally for me missing my goal (lol), but the short version is that I think I missed my 1:30 goal by just about a donut bite and a beer swig (and a couple stumbles later). Apparently I was the first taker; “go up the ramp!” someone shouted – so I did. “Take a donut!” and I did. “Grab a beer! – so I did. Obviously, I was quite susceptible to suggestion as I tunnel-visioned my way along (I was not tempted by the mini-bottles of liquor, however). I barely comprehended who was standing there. After a swig and a bite, I continued across the service road and washed it all down with a swig of Gatorade at the official aid station there. 

Then my legs started wobbling as the interaction of sugar and alcohol hit my system. I kept moving but it took a full 2 minutes to feel somewhat normal. Stumble #1 and an adrenaline surge cleansed the toxins out. I hit the rock gardens at a steady pace, channeling my inner Kirby; around mile 8 down Queen Anne, Nick Kinney approached, and passed, so I picked it up and drafted along for a spell before he pulled away. Stumble #2 (again on flat trail) at around mile 9 along Poverty Creek, and a few more seconds lost – I bounced up and kept going thinking I might catch Nick. And I almost did – about ¼ mile from the end I saw Nick ahead and pushed up the pace finishing with an official time of 1:32:18 (see Strava track here), just 5 seconds behind him; the cost of 2 stumbles, a donut-bite and swig of beer? Maybe 2:18 or so. I’ll take it ;)

Notable finishing times were Clark Jeffrey, 5k winner with 22:16 and Nora Dragovic (3rd) with 26:51. For the 7-miler Ignacio Moore finished 1st with 45:12 followed by Brian Walter with 46:18; Audry Link (age 14) was the 1st female with an impressive 56:49. Jordan Chang powered out a 1:24:07 to win the 12-miler, followed by Danny Mathieson with 1:25:39 and Kevin McGuire with 1:27:38. Michael Stowe finished right behind me in 1:33:32. Katie Little was the 1st female with a solid finishing time of 1:33:47.