When Yeti Trail Runners announced the Capitan Mountain 34-hour race in New Mexico, I was intrigued. When they announced an 80-mile buckle to celebrate Smokey Bear’s 80th birthday, I was completely sold. I’ve loved Smokey since I was a little girl, when his posters graced the walls of my grandparent’s cabin. I grew up in the Pacific Northwest, and Smokey was a fixture at all of the National Parks I visited every summer. As I got older, I began collecting vintage Smokey Bear memorabilia because it brought back some of the happiest memories of my childhood. When I say this race was meant for me, I mean it.
Smokey Bear holds his 80th birthday finisher buckle. Photo: Jason Green
I went in with a plan A and plan B. My plan A was to finish 100 miles and earn two buckles (separate buckles were given for both the 80 and 100-mile distances) and a distance PR. My plan B was to finish 80 miles and earn one buckle along with a distance PR. There was no plan C—I wasn’t leaving without a Smokey Bear buckle.
The race was a 4-mile single-track loop at the base of Capitan Mountain, and plan A meant I needed to run the loop 25 times. The hottest part of the race was mid-afternoon on Friday, with no shade on the course, but after the sun faded behind the mountain on Friday night, I kept going out for loop after loop. Seeing headlamps bob in the distance was always a comfort because there were always other runners out on the course. I would swing by my tent only when necessary because I knew that if I wanted to run 100 miles, there could be no rest.
After struggling through loop 14, I finally got back to camp and my stomach was in knots. The mileage on my watch read: 56. In a brief moment of frustration, I knew my plan A of 100 miles had just slipped through my hands and I wouldn’t be able to finish the last 44 miles in the time that remained. The previous loop had been rough, and I needed to problem-solve before I could safely go back out on the course. In my car, I was able to warm up and grab a wink of sleep and when I awoke, I didn’t feel quite so bad.
The next morning, I walked my first loop with the best cup of coffee I’ve ever had, along with my friend Glenda. She kept me moving at a great pace which helped set me up for my last five loops. My friend Andi had finished her race and left to find us breakfast because we desperately needed real food. While walking through that morning loop, I thought about how much time I had to get to mile 80 and it lit a fire deep within. I knew I’d have to run the next five loops to get that buckle and I wasn’t leaving without it.
On loop 17, my friend Richard came up behind me. He was on his last loop and when we reached the top of the biggest hill on the course, we started running together. As we were talking, he said, “Carrie, you’re running a 12:30 pace right now.” For me, a back-of-the-packer, that was cruising. To be on day two, feel great and still be running, was amazing and I’m so grateful I had a trail moment with my friend. Richard has been at all three of my 100-miler attempts and has seen my progress. It’s one of the many reasons I love the Yeti community and keep coming back to their 34-hour races.
On the last loop, I slowed to take in the sights one final time. When I was near the finish, I messaged Andi so she could get a picture and responded that she was already there waiting with Glenda. Each one of us had hit a distance PR, and I finally got my Smokey Bear buckle. Everything about this race was magical, and I can’t wait to do it again next year.
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