2025 Bigfoot 200 (Tony McDermott)
Day 1 - Start to Coldwater Pass (Miles 0 - 37.4)
With Bigfoot 200 being a point-to-point race, we boarded a bus at 7:30 am and drove 3 hours to Sno-Park, which was going to function as the start. The race org gave us a noon start time versus a morning one, so it meant we’d be navigating much of Mount St. Helens in the afternoon heat. This first section featured about 3k feet of climbing and navigating the infamous boulder fields of the mountain. So, a group of us (including my “trail dad” or “trail older brother” Cliff) settled into a casual early pass and kept it pretty chill before heading into the Blue Lake aid station at mile 12.
The next section featured 4k feet of climbing, with a ton of ridge running and some scrambling - then converted into some more open field running and river crossing. Once we got through the open field running, the terrain became very overgrown - and we did a ton of thick bushwhacking. This was a very slow process, because while you’re learning a path for your vision, you also have to pay attention to the rocks, roots, and rutted trails at your feet.
A group of five of us (Ben, Marnie, Tak, Tina) came into the aid station at Coldwater Pass and decided to fuel up and get sleep here versus pressing onto another segment. The original goal was to get to Norway Pass at mile 52 before sleeping. But the terrain in the first 50k+, in addition to the amount of climbing coming in the next stretch, resulted in getting around an hour of sleep at Coldwater. Sleep was a key focus area coming into BF200, so I wanted to start that on a good note. It wasn’t great, as a sleeping pad on an asphalt parking lot never is, but it was some rest.
Day 2 - Coldwater Pass to RD9327 (Miles 37.4 - 82.2)
After getting some sleep, a few of us headed out a 4 am and started the climb up Mount Margaret, which was the highest part of the course. I actually fell a little behind the group heading out of the aid station and ended up navigating the majority of this next 19-mile stretch (with 5k feet of gain) solo. I didn’t really mind this early, since I commonly like to power hike based on my pace and stay in my own head/zone. But as the miles went on and the temperature climbed, I started to break down a bit. Fortunately, I saw some other runners on the descent and ate a ton of fresh huckleberries, which improved my spirits a little.
When I got to the aid station, I saw Tak and Tina - and asked Tak for the car keys to our rental. In my mind, I was in a dark place and didn’t think I would be making the full distance. As a back story, in my previous 200m+ races, the end of day one/start of day two has always been a dark point. I think it’s changing the mindset and getting ready to accept the grind that is coming. But after getting some food and cold beverages, I motioned to Tak and threw him the car keys back…I was either going to finish this thing or be pulled from the course based on time.
I had planned on getting some more sleep at Norway Pass, but the bugs were horrible in this section. Additionally, it took a long time to get some taping and blister work done on my feet, so I opted to just forge forward and get some rest at Elk Ridge. Before I left, Seline (one of the volunteers) gave me a surgical glove full of Nerd Clusters, which became a source of some nutrition but more conversation and laughs through the rest of the event.
At Elk Ridge, I was able to get some really solid food (burger, chips, watermelon) and link back up with Marnie. We agreed to get two hours of sleep and move on from there. Around sunset, we headed out to the next AS together and met up with Cassidy, Kelsey, and Scott on this next climb. We spent the majority of this segment with the group and took some much-needed dirt naps and fueling breaks as we climbed. Unfortunately, when we got to RD, there were no sleeping cots available…so I used two camping chairs as my bed…one for the body and one to elevate the feet. This would end up being my sleeping style for most of the race!
Day 3 - RD9327 to Quartz Ridge (Miles 82.2 - 118.2)
When I woke up at RD9327, Marnie was ripping and ready to go, but I still needed some time to fuel up and get my stuff together. So, she moved on, and I told her I would catch her on the trails. I ended up catching Marnie a few miles into this section, and then we ended up catching Cliff on the climb into the Spencer Butte AS. This was one of my favorite AS - the chef was cooking up bacon cheddar burgers, and they had a ton of watermelon. It was also the first time I had cell reception in the race due to their Starlinks. So, while the family wasn’t available, I still got to share my progress and mindset. This AS was also the first time I had to use the Lug A Loo (if you don’t know what it is, please Google it) for my deuce, so that was eventful.
After descending the road out of Spencer solo, I turned onto the trail and started a very technical descent of around 3k feet down to the Lewis River. This stretch was really cool because there were opportunities to cool down in the river and also see families playing in the river and cliff jumping. In these races, there are so many times when you don’t see people enjoying real life and can get disjointed from reality. So, this stretch was really unique and cool. The last stretch of this segment included a road climb to the Lewis River AS.
At Lewis, they were cooking pizza on the Umi oven, and my friend Natasha (aka Thor) was there to provide some much-needed help to my feet. When leaving this AS, I linked up with Kelsey and our new buddy Robby for what was going to be a brutal stretch to Quartz Ridge. This was the toughest stretch of the race, featuring 7k feet of climbing and 4.5k feet of descending. The footing on this stretch was also dicey, especially on the ridges, so we took our time here. The humidity was also high in this area, which led me to take in 10 liters (that’s four liters of initial carry and six liters of filtered water on the route)…that is a ton of liquid. Unfortunately, we had to leave Robby on the approach to the AS and had around an hour before the cutoff at Quartz Ridge. So, I got some food here and a little sleep before moving on.
Day 4 - Quartz Ridge to Cispus River (118.2 - 146.6)
I headed out of Quartz Ridge with a small group that included Cassady, Kelsey, and Robby. But shortly heading out of the aid station, I could see I had a second wind and was ready to pick up the pace. The 16.2-mile stretch between Quartz Ridge and Chain of Lakes was the fastest of my race. I really thought I was going to be coming in too close for the cut off here and just hammered. I ended up passing a few people in this stretch and just got into a zone on a stretch that featured 4k feet up and down. But the back half of this segment was a lot of road running, and that really started to hurt the feet.
I ended up getting into Chain of Lakes more than an hour before the cutoff, so the pacing worked in this stretch. After leaving Chain of Lakes around noon, the temps started picking up, and this stretch was particularly exposed. In this stretch, the route summited a mountain and then descended what seemed like forever (it was another 4k of loss). The hallucinations also started in this stretch, which isn’t uncommon with a lack of sleep and the high temps. So, I took a few dirt naps in this stretch to try to get the head right. On the last road stretch heading to Cispus River, I linked up with Heather, and we did the last few miles together. At Cispus, the goal was to get an hour of sleep, fuel up, and head out before the cutoff. I was able to manage a little sleep, but a pumped-up AS staff and some friends at that spot resulted in only around 30 minutes of sleep.
Day 5 - Cispus River to Finish (146.6 - 200.02)
About 30 mins before the Cispus River cutoff, Adam, Heather, Jim, and I headed out and proceeded down a country road that went for around 10 miles. This was a very boring stretch, and it resulted in our crew taking a few 15-minute dirt naps just to stay awake. Once we got onto the trail section, it was apparent that many of us were swaying and sleep-deprived, which is not ideal when ridge running. So, we took a few more dirt naps.
This was also a stretch where my “trail math was not mathing” - and I started to doubt my ability to finish this on time. So, I had a little pity party for myself, voiced some of it to Heather, and she tried to motivate me with some Goggins classics. But I really just wanted to get a little darker in my own head before pulling myself out of the hole. I ended up losing Adam and Heather, but picking up Jim…we took another dirt nap and then finished the climb up to Twin Sisters.
At Twin Sisters, I saw Adam, Heather, and some of my favorite trail people (who happened to be volunteering) - Helgi was cooking and Thor was working on feet. So, I was able to get assistance from both of them - as well as dropping a deuce in one of nature’s finest pit toilets looking out to Klickitat - before heading out solo. Before I left, Robby came rolling in, and that was awesome to see!
The first part of the stretch was beautiful, but then the heat picked up, and we got into a really hot section. So, I took a few short naps on the ridge and linked up with Robby on the descent. He was moving better than I, and I initially lost him - and I actually thought I would be timed out before getting to the Owen’s Creek AS based on my pace. However, I saw the sweepers in this stretch, and they told me I had time. I also finally got cell reception and confirmed this with some friends on text, and called my friend Tak, who had already finished. So, I picked up the past and dropped the hammer in this section. The negative was that I took a low-hanging log to the head, which dropped me to the ground (and probably gave me a mild concussion). But the positive was I was still in the race, and I caught Robby a little outside of Owen’s AS.
We got to Owen’s about 30 minutes before the cutoff, fueled up with the precision of a NASCAR pit crew, and decided to work together for the last 12 miles of the race. In the last stretch, we knew exactly what pace we needed to keep to finish under the cutoff. So, we kept it moderate and helped each other stay awake and stave off some fun hallucinations (i.e., trapeze artists flying through the woods and some mean mugging plant people). Our pacing strategy worked, and we ended up coming onto the track at White Pass High School with around 30 minutes to spare and finished as co-DFL.
Bigfoot 200m Retrospective
The training plan heading into this race was good prior to July, when I was running moderate distances, but prioritizing strength training and weighted vest incline hiking. Then, after the car accident, I was not able to lift for the majority of the time before the race due to the broken finger. So, I ramped up the mileage and incorporated more weight vest hiking on the treadmill. The end result was that I was really strong on the climbs and descents. But the feet also got torn up from the trail and terrain, so I do need to continue prioritizing the miles so my feet get used to the pounding. In addition, working on taping my feet in training will help save them a little from the pounding.
While my sleep schedule was better than prior 200m+ races, it still needs to be optimized. During this event, I slept for a total of around 10 hours between aid stations and dirt naps. So, ideally, I would like to get more of that earlier in the race to stave off the need for the acute trail naps later (since the deficit is already there). The trail naps are good and are a useful tool, but I resorted to them for primary sleep in this event more than I would have wished.
The fueling plan that Liz Raynor worked up for Old Dominion and then Bigfoot worked very well. We started focusing on carbs and sodium, in addition to calories. For someone with ulcerative colitis, I do have to be wary of overtaxing the GI system, while also staying on top of nutrition. It’s a delicate balance, and I feel like we found the right mix here, with focusing on aid station foods and smartly supplementing with gels, blocks, and electrolytes within the segments. I also experimented with a few things that I saw TdF riders use this year (e.g., tart cherry juice for recovery added to Coke…great call, Tak) and those were all good moves.
I need to start taking foot care more seriously. I have this book - Fixing Your Feet - that is the gospel for endurance athletes. But I never practice taping in training runs. That needs to change, since I believe I probably spent around 5-6 hours total at aid stations waiting to get my feet treated, getting them worked on, and/or elevating them to flush out the lactic acid. So incremental improvements here will positively impact finishing times.
The pacing in these races needs to get better. I default to being a hiker in these races to make sure the pacing is not too hot earlier, so that my legs are still somewhat fresh later in the race. I also struggle to be an aggressive downhill runner, especially when running on technical terrain and ridges. I need to start taking calculated risks with my pacing to make sure I can firmly get into that mid-pack company. This confidence grows with my use of poles, especially the new Leki poles I used for this race.
The partnerships and friendships on the trail in 200m+ are like no other. There are countless people that I shared miles with - and I know we will continue to stay in touch in some capacity after the race. There were many stretches where I relied on others and others relied on me. This support can be physical, with one person taking the pacing duties in particular stretches, and it can be mental to help others stay awake/alert or share the confidence that the goal can be achieved. The selflessness in this community is like no other. Everyone is there to run their own race, but at times, chance encounters require that we provide aid or receive it from others. This community is a reason I keep coming back to the 200m+ distance!
