Chuckanut 50k - Bellingham, WA

0300am, 16 March 2013 (Saturday) I sprang from my cozy mountain retreat to decent down the Mtn Loop Hwy enroute to Bellingham/Fairhaven, up the road North just over 1.5 hours.  Arriving about 0530 I joined a few other early birds as part of the Mtn Chuckanut 50k Ultra marathon Volunteer Crew.  We hoisted tents and setup registration tables to welcome entrants and handout race bids and Patagonia L/S shirts.  The race initially sold out at 400 entrants in less than a day, with only about 30 no shows the pack was ready to run.  The clouds slightly parted for a time to halt the rain till later in the race, and the racers were off at 0800 on the dot.  It's a pretty wicked course, not a suggested 50k for a first timer.  After you run the initial leg along the base of the mountain you come to a sudden Left turn up a path rightfully referred to as "Chin scraper", this is due to the the severe incline that basically has your chin scraping the ground ahead of you, NO JOKE!  Then you run along the ridge of the mountain that often times has some of the wildest weather.  Unlike last year when there was plenty of snow it was powder free this time, but howling winds of up to 30mph, hail, and blasting rain made a serious mess of the course.  However most survived with only about 25% drop rate.  First place male (David Laney) came in at an astonishing 3:40:21 and first female 4:01:15.  They arrived muddy and whipped to say the very least.  It poured rain so much that the race director Krissy Moehl (fastest women ever) had us spread out 12 bails of hay in an attempt to soak up the water at the finish and provide a decent place to hang out (see pics). The last runner came in at just over 9:06:32 and she was nothing short of a fighter, it was Anne's first Ultra.  And even though just about everything was packed up even the finishing line and tents, those that were still present gathered and cheered her on in support to welcome her home.  To an amazing class of racers, race staff, and volunteers, THANK YOU!

Oh, I must not forget I had a mid morning break so I drove into Bellingham and stopped at Ralf's Bavarian Pretzel shop and picked up a few freshly hand forged pretzels, had them coated with a healthy slathering of butter and quite merrily drove back to the race.  It was a Kai moment, thank you Ralf and Stef for your delicious gifts!