Quotes from Plain 100
2014:
- It kicked my ass and I'm happy.
- If you want to replace your Plain 100 rock Tom will
send you one for $1000. That is better than running it again.
- I'm glad my toenails are going to fall off soon, so
that I can finally clean out all the dirt that is under them.
- Am I proud of my DNF? You darn toot'en I am.
- Are we going back next year? What do you think?
- Thank you Chris and Tom for putting on a hell of a
race. Thanks to Search and Rescue and our knight in shining armor from the
US Forrest Service.
- I LOVED the low-key atmosphere and self-sufficient
ethic of this event. Don't change a thing!
- Thanks for including all the splits! It’ll help
with training for my comeback next year.
- Thanks for a great event, both of you. Extend
further thanks to all volunteers and S&R.
- Sure hope the Signal Peak climb up is back next year,
though the reroute was great too.
- You know you are in Plain when the replacement for a
6000 foot climb is harder than the climb.
- You haven't seen the last of me yet. I'll definitely be
back for seconds.
- Thanks again for such a great race. I'm usually not
someone to come back to repeat a race, but this one is already beckoning
me back. I'm craving the Klone to Signal Peak section already.
- My racing partner bailed on the race two weeks prior
because he slashed his leg with a chain saw and got twenty stitches which
was the less painful option.
- I feel I have a better sense of the Plain
philosophy. I am grateful to have finished and will cherish my piece of Washington
granite forever."
- It helps to make the prerace briefing for this event -
Tom mentioned that he had said during the briefing that a sign was down on
the Lower Chiwawa trail - the absence of that knowledge cost me about 30
minutes of wandering around Goose Creek Campground.
- I would not have finished if Tom didn't motivate my
white butt!!"
- Plain – where the course flagging is leaves and the aid
stations are mud puddles.
- You know you’ve run Plain when it’s four days after the
run, you’ve taken five showers and two baths, and your feet are still
dirty.
- Thanks again for a life altering experience
- It kicked my ass, fair and square.
- I am going to use this race to give Hardrock a
shot."
- You know you are at Plain when you get skeert by a
frog.
- It's a really tough 100, but at least you have great
footing (wink, wink).
- Search and Rescue did a
great job this year. They can’t help you unless you’re dying, but they
smiled, laughed and waved all the same.
- Learn to love your own
company because you’re not going find much out there.
- 40 miles without seeing
another person is a long time.
- I typically leave my map and GPS at home.
However, I usually find several lost runners out there carrying them.
- The water’s pretty clean, except for that one
mud puddle that I drank out of.
- There’s plenty of wildlife on the course, some
of it not even human.
- Yes, next year I’ll try something different.
Running barefoot on a belt sander in a sauna for 20 hours comes to mind.
- Plain was definitely the toughest finish we
have done including Hardrock.
Quotes from Plain 100 2013:
"... I feel I have a better sense of the Plain
philosophy. I am grateful to have finished and will cherish my piece of
Washington granite forever."
"...it helps to make the prerace briefing for this
event - Tom mentioned that he had said during the briefing that a sign was down
on the Lower Chiwawa trail - the absence of that knowledge cost me about 30
minutes of wandering around Goose Creek Campground ..."
"...I would not have finished if Tom didn't motivate my
white butt!!"
“Plain – where the course flagging is leaves and the aid
stations are mud puddles”
“You know you’ve run Plain when it’s four days after the
run, you’ve taken five showers and two baths, and your feet are still dirty”
“Signal Peak was the second best climb of the day. The
best was anything else.”
"Thanks again for a life altering experience!"
"It kicked my ass, fair and square."
"I am going to use this race to give hardrock a
shot."
"You get skeert by a frog."
"It's a really tough 100, but at least you have great
footing (wink, wink)."
Quotes from Plain 100 2011:
"DON'T WORRY, IT'S NOT PERMANENT"
“Well, at least I finished Hardrock this year.”
“Running down to the Entiat River felt like running into a
hair dryer.”
“The Signal Peak climb is possibly the hardest single climb
in ultra running that nobody knows about.”
“I could have built a big log cabin from all the blowdowns
that were across the trail.”
“Some of the trail is going back to nature. A nice
wildfire to burn out some of the brush in the trail would be helpful.”
“Search and Rescue did a great job this year. They
can’t help you unless you’re dying, but they smiled, laughed and waved all the
same.”
“Learn to love your own company because you’re not going
find much out there.”
“It was so hot that it completely melted the chocolate on my
Snickers bars and I had to drink them for nourishment.”
“If you drop at some of the checkpoints you will suffer more
pain in the vehicle ride than if
you just continue on.”
“I typically leave my map and GPS at
home. However, I usually find several lost runners out there carrying
them.”
“The water’s pretty clean, except
for that one mud puddle that I drank out of….”
“There’s plenty of wildlife on the
course, some of it not even human.”
“Yes, next year I’ll try something
different. Running barefoot on a belt sander in a sauna for 20 hours
comes to mind.”
“Plain brain is getting into the
wrong car after finishing.”
“Plain brain is not knowing what day
of the week it is.”
“Plain brain is saying that you
won't do that again and a week later strategizing for the next year.”
“I don't know why Plain100 is so
hard”
"You can do anything that's
time limited, even child birth concludes with a prize! along with the baby or
in this case finish, additional rewards; a shower & rest!"
"THAT'S JUST STUPID!"
Nothing is promised to you except a
damn tough course.
There are no nurseries on the trail.
This is a no WHINE zone.
Independence exerted here.
This is a DO-IT-YOURSELF race.
The exultation of Plain is knowing
that you have competed in one of the toughest, unsupported 100’s in the U.S.
Run it! Tuck it in! Shut
up! Get moving! This is PLAIN.!!!!!!!!!!!!
You Know You're in the
Plain 100 when:
"...when you vow to
never run another ultra and disown all friends who do.
Plain was definitely the toughest finish we have done including Hardrock."
Tom Hayes
and Liz McGoff
The 2002 Finishers
"I actually laid down
1/2 mile from Deep Creek and tried to sleep but I got too cold and had to walk
in."
Jim Rudig
"Damn, I never had to
work so hard to drop in a race as this one."
Bill LaDieu
"...you decide to quit
at 70 miles but have to drag yourself to mile 95 to find anybody who
cares."
Martin
Miller
"...when you ask the
Search and Rescue/radio checkpoint "where is the trail?" and they say
"sorry we can't tell you" and they mean it!"
"...when you have to ride 100 miles (if you can find a ride)to return to
the Start/Finish line if you drop at the 30 mile mark."
"...if the numbers 'Two' or 'Zero' are used independently to denote the
number of finishers for any given year."
"...if you have a nightmare about being in the Plain 100 only to wake up
and realize You are in the Plain 100!."
"... if 'Zero' equals the number of 'solo' finisher."
"...if you make a decision that next year instead of doing the Plain 100
you vow to go to a biker bar, smack the biggest guy in the place while
proclaiming: "Honda is King and Harley's are Queen."
Scott
McQueeny
"... if the RD is ready
to drop a few more trees across the trail to add a little challenge to the
course."
"...if the snot in your nose is as thick as the dust in your shoes."
Mike Burke
"...you budget your
shoes to be thrown away after the race."
"...take the 'L' away from 'Plain' and what do you get?"
"...you add things up and it ain 't a 100."
Randy
Gehrke
"...when
you start the race definitely knowing that it might take you several attempts
to complete the course!"
"...when you need to check your map multiple times for water
sources."
"...when you definitely need to take care of your feet to even think of
completing the course."
Dimitri Kieffer
