Well, I haven’t blogged since my PikesPeakSports.us team days, but I wanted to write up a race report for the Cactus to Cloud 50Krace I did this weekend in New Mexico. First off I have to say, that one of my favorite things about trail running is travelling to places I have never been, run some great new trails and meet the local trail runners. I don’t even remember how I found this race, I think I was checking out other runners from the Cedro Peak 45K and stumbled upon Cactus to Cloud 50K. Since moving from Colorado last year I haven’t been able to get a race with much elevation gain, so this one really sparked my interest. What stuck out was there was 10,000’ elevation gain on a point to point course, what else could a mountain runner want? I honestly didn’t believe the claim that there was 10K of climbing when I was reading the course preview. I just didn’t think that they could pull off that much climbing on a mountain that peaked around 9500’……………..I was wrong!

     I couldn’t arrange my work schedule so I would be racing Saturday and driving home that night to work at 6am Sunday. I find I do this to myself way too much, but it’s the price I pay to run in these cool places. I have never been east of Las Cruces before, so it was a treat to drive through that pass and have an incredible view of the White Sands Missile Range. After a while, I could make out some small white spots on the mountains ahead of me and realized those must be the observatories near Cloudcroft. I was trying to take pictures through my windshield while driving, but all that turned out were the hundreds of dead bugs on my windshield. The closer I got to Alamogordo that mountain was getting bigger….sweet!!!

     I had the pleasure of meeting Kelly Garcia aka “Perky” a couple years ago for the Turkey Track Trail Marathon in Pagosa Springs, Co. Before that race, I met up with her at the prerace dinner. I was must have looked pathetic because I was by myself, they invited me over to their table and we have kept in touch with her ever since. From what I can tell she is a New Mexico Running Icon, who seems to be involved in every aspect of running. It’s like hanging out with a celebrity, I think she knows every runner in New Mexico!! She invited me to share a room with her and Kathy at the Summit Inn. I met up with them at the Western Bar and Cafe just across the street from the hotel. I met her crew and we all discussed the next days adventure over some grub and a beer. They went back to room and I had a few more beers at the bar in the Western. This was a really cool place, it had dollar bills stuck to walls and ceiling. My love of bars is almost as great as my love of trail running! After a few beers, I headed across the street to the hotel. We discussed Kathy’s Boston Marathon experience and some other race stories, then were off to bed. I was tired after drive so I had no trouble sleeping, but I think Perky and Kathy didn’t sleep as well. I hope it wasn’t me snoring or farting that kept them up!!

     4am came early, we all got ready and headed down to the shuttles that would take us back down to Oliver Lee State Park in Alamogordo. We got some coffee from a little shop that was open for race (forgot the name). I also got an apple fritter that was warm and hit the spot before we loaded up the van to head down the mountain. We all got dropped off at the trailhead at Oliver Lee State Park, we checked in and got prepared for the run. When we left Cloudcroft it was chilly but down at the start is was a lot warmer with a little breeze. There was only one bathroom so they waited until everyone was done to start the race, I thought that was pretty cool!! I warmed up a bit, talked to some folks, attempted a selfie with Perky and we lined up for start. A guy sang the national anthem and did an incredible job!! I wish I had my phone to record him singing.

     We were off!! Most of us not knowing what was ahead of us!! Well as advertised, it started uphill, and after that there was more uphill!! I was surprised that there were a few downhill sections in the first couple miles. I have found that I am bad at reading elevation profiles, I didn’t think there would be any downhill the first 10 miles. Dog Canyon was incredible! Climbs were steep with incredible views, we went up along side this huge canyon wall with a sheer rock face. I always love it when I run a trail and think…..how in the hell am I going to get to the top from here?! It didn’t seem possible for this trail to make its way to the top of the canyon. I was chasing Michael Bursum up Dog Canyon and being pushed by Clifton Trujillo who Perky introduced me to the night before. I would seem to gain a little bit of ground on Michael on the climbs but when we hit any flat or downhill section he would hit another gear. We got to the top of our first big climb and hit a nice stretch of dirt road. I usually don’t like running on any types of road, but honestly it was a nice relief after the last 5 or so miles of HUGE CLIMBS. The next big climb seemed like it was one big, long, steep switch back that seemed to last forever. I actually really liked this section and thought I was climbing well but I still did not see Michael. I figured he must have really killed that road and I would never seem him again. I finally saw those towers and knew I must be close to the top then I heard some cowbell and caught a glimpse of Michael about a minute or two ahead of me. Rolled into the aid station a little over 2hrs and still felt good. I did think to myself however, we have barely went 10 miles in two hours, it’s going to be a long day! I grabbed a couple PBJ tortilla’s, refilled my water and took off. The next short section was some downhill on pavement that really felt good, again after those two long climbs. The next section I believe was the Rim Trail, it was here that I caught up to Michael and we ran together for a while. He actually spotted some turkeys beside the trail on this section. The next 20 miles you could really see that somebody has put a lot of work in moving downed trees. I bet a few chainsaw blades were wore out doing all of this. Thanks to all! I passed Michael after a while and just continued to try to push the up hills and cruise the downs. Again, my lack of reading the elevation profile. I was thinking we were just going to have nice rollers to the finish…..wrong. The climbs were definitely not as steep as the first 10 miles but they were longer that I thought. Even though they weren’t as big, after that much climbing on the old pegs, they sure felt big. Usually I am not in the lead of races, but the few times I have, especially early, it sucks!! I never run smart, forget to drink, eat, usually blow up because I run scared, you don’t know whats coming behind you. The last time I was in this situation was at the Flatrock50K, were I bonked with about 6 miles to go and had to walk in to finish. Anyway I was able to hold on to the lead even though I really slowed the last couple miles. I honestly just wanted to be done with this race and it was getting hot. I came into the last aid station thinking I had less than a mile and the aid station volunteer told me 1.5 miles….Fu<k!!! That’s what I wanted to say!!! Finally came to Cloudcroft and started running on the roads that would eventually pass by our hotel we were staying. I remember saying to myself after what seemed forever on that road……..Cloadcroft cant be this Fu<king big!! I finally made it down to Zenith park still looking over my shoulder for someone to come screaming by me. Came in at 5:48 was able to hold on to the lead for 1st place overall. Michael Bursum came in right behind me, followed by Mike Rahmer shortly after him. If Cloudcroft would have been any Fu<king bigger they would have caught me!! Final Results

     Zenith park was a great place to finish this race! Plenty of room, parking, food and BEER!! I talked with Michael and Mike for a while then watched as other runners finished. I got to see Betsy Kalmeyer of Leadville come in for the womens win. I didn’t know it at the time, but she is a multiple winner of Hardrock 100…………Wow that is impressive.

     I had a great time talking to Travis McWhorter Hammer sponsored runner who I first met at Flatrock a couple years ago. Matt Crownover who I met at Crosstimbers Trail Race. We all talked about the race and upcoming races in the future. Got to see Marco Zuniga today, he was just coming off finishing the tough Zane Grey 50miler. I believe he was supporting his girlfriend, an MMA fighter/Ultrarunner. If he would have been running today I am sure we would have all been chasing him! Hopefully see him at Pikes Peak Marathon tearing it up again. They had a nice awards presentation with some cool hand made awards. I also won a pair of Merrell shoes and a free massage. I got to meet a couple from Cloudcroft who just came out to see the finish, I asked them if they had anybody running? They said no, just wanted to come check it out. They asked to take my picture, thought that was cool. The food was great! They had all kinds of sandwiches, fruit salad, yogurt in a cup and some cold beer that was secretly being served in a camper. I downed a beer ate many sandwiches then my stomach was a bit queezy so I took about an hour long nap in my car.

     Just want to thank all the volunteers who made this race possible. Aid stations were incredible with everything you needed. I thought they were spread out nicely and everyone was very encouraging along the way. Trail was well marked and again a lot of work was done by somebody to get this trail ready. Usually when you run an inaugural race there are usually glitches somewhere along the way but I think this race ran like a well oiled machine. Race Directors Chris and Dan did an incredible job with this event. This race will definitely be one of my yearly must do races! I think this race has it all, tough climbs, more tough climbs, sweet single track, technical ankle busting sections, great views, elevation, tough climbs, and it all ends up in a really cool little mountain town in Cloudcroft that has a really sweet atmosphere………did I mention tough climbs!!!! To quote Travis McWhorter from his Facebook post: “I have no doubt this will become a New Mexico flagship ultramarathon. Thanks to the RD's Dan & Chris, you have outdone yourselves gentlemen” I couldn’t agree more Travis. To all my Colorado/Arizona friends, this is a great early season race to get you ready for Pikes Peak Ascent/Marathon.

     Well I took a quick shower and it was cool because our room was right there along course so I was able to cheer on a few more runners as they made their way to finish. I really didn’t want to leave but I had to go have one last beer and a big double cheeseburger at the Western before I left. Really hit the spot and some of the locals found out some of us had just ran, so we got to chat with them for a while. I could have stayed there all night!!! I really hated not to be able to see Perky and Kathy finish but I had to start my 6 hour trip back to Az. Perky texted me later when they finished. Nice Work!!! I had to stop a few times for naps and I was craving more food so I stopped for a 4 piece meal at KFC!!!!Dont judge!! My plans for the rest of the year include: Training for Pikes Peak as a flatlander ,trying to get things lined up to give the Colorado 200 a shot,La Luz if I get picked, Pikes Peak Marathon then back toRun Rabbit Run 100 to renew my qualifier for Hardrock!!!

Happy Trails

Don Solberg