Sharing a ‘crazy effort’ together: Oly Trail Runners take on Cascade Crest 100

Last year, Olympia resident Hannah McLean tapped out of the Cascade Crest 100 at mile 69.

After shifting her mindset and training for another year, McLean, alongside eight other Oly Trail Runners members, took on and completed the race in some of its most brutal conditions. The already 100-mile-long course became 102 with the use of a modified route, and runners climbed more than 23,000 feet in soaring high temperatures.

“It was a really big deal that I was able to finish, especially on the harder course,” McLean said. “I was trying not to remember last year, and motivate myself to keep going.”

Olympia resident Michael Marchand said the “did not finish” rate is a testament to just how difficult the race, which took place between July 21 and 22, was this year. Seventy of the 184 runners who started the run ended up tapping out, a rate he said was about 15% higher than a typical year.

“The DNF percentage makes it even more mind blowing that we have nine area runners and everyone finished,” he said. “I was just like, ‘Did we all finish?’ That’s nuts. That never happens anywhere.”

The road to victory

Marchand has had an on-and-off relationship with running through much of his life. He was involved in high school cross-country, held a position at Runner’s World and completed the Boston Marathon, but said he put his life on hold for about 10 years to start a family and change jobs.

When he made the choice to pick up running again, he connected with people in the region and got to exploring the area’s trails. Then, he set a goal: Complete a 50k for his 50th birthday. From there, the distances got progressively longer.

“I keep wondering, ‘How far can I actually physically and mentally push myself? What’s the limit?’” he said. “What you begin to realize is that there are few limitations that actually exist other than the ones you place on yourself.”

As a dad, Marchand has made many sacrifices for his training, sometimes waking up at 2 a.m. to fit his long runs into a packed schedule. But he’s also about efficiently training with the resources he has. On some weekends, he would loop a two-mile hilly course near Watershed Park until he hit 35 miles.

For Montesano resident Phyllis Stanley, running is a more organic experience. Growing up in Arizona as part of the Navajo tribe, Stanley said the sport was a big part of her heritage and culture. She uses running as a way to appreciate nature’s beauty and process her own emotions.

“It always helps to change out the different places to run,” Stanley said. “We’re so lucky and blessed to have the Capitol Forest. … There’s a whole trail system here and the beauty of these trails is endless.”

Still, one thing Stanley and other runners swear by is the back-to-back long run. Typically a weekend endeavor, runners conquer a long distance one day and go back out the next day to do the same run all over again.

McLean said the technique builds up endurance, and helps runners get used to working with tired legs.

“Back-to-back runs are actually my favorite, I love doing them,” she said. “I just really love being in the woods. It’s nice to get out of my head and into my body and just enjoy being in nature for several hours.”

The big day

The Cascade Crest 100 was Olympia runner Shaun Haby’s first time taking on the distance.

The race came with a lot of challenges, he said, especially with the elevation. Foot pain forced him to hike most of the night, and he fell behind the paces he wanted to stay on course with.

“You have to find a little way to deal with it,” he said. “That’s what some races are. You’re mini problem-solving along the way.”

Stanley, who has run other 100-mile races before, heard about Cascade Crest’s difficulty from friends, but said she didn’t expect it to be as hard as it was. The terrain was “gnarly” and she tried to dodge her way through jagged rocks, all while facing dehydration as a concern.

She persisted, and it seemed like she would be able to clock in under 30 hours. But the final peak took it all out of her, and she ended up finishing in 32 hours.

“I never swore at the course so much. That last peak seemed to go on forever,” Stanley said, laughing. “I was barely shuffling. I couldn’t believe in the last maybe 100 meters, I was in a full sprint because I just wanted to meet God.”

McLean, who has run 100 miles in 23 hours before, came in at about hour 34 of the race, an additional testament to its difficulty. She said she barely processed her situation after crossing the finish line, and she was just glad to see ice water and take her shoes off.

But for Marchand and Haby, the moments across the finish line were euphoric, especially after the various challenges both had endured.

“That last few miles where I was running, I felt like I was flying,” Haby said. “I was relieved but also excited and proud that I had done it. I was just so happy that I had finished it at all.”

All about the people

Even though these nine runners accomplished a major feat, they had a network of support. Countless volunteers worked various aid stations, and Oly Trail Runners hosted their own aid station at mile 40 to provide resources for all racers.

Herb Reeves, president of Oly Trail Runners, led the aid station, which supplied snacks and electrolyte drinks. He said the station gets busy in the late afternoon and early evening, and he feels inspired year after year helping support people on their journey.

McLean started running with Oly Trail Runners in 2017 and found a community in the people who enjoy the sport as much as she does. When she’s not racing, she typically joins the party on the spectator side, cheering on fellow members, and she also enjoys having a space to meet other runners who might be approaching trail running for the first time.

“Everybody in the club is really nice and really helpful and wants to be there for you and support you,” she said. “Especially when you’re having a hard time.”

Though Marchand doesn’t get out with the runners often because of his busy schedule, he enjoys training with them when he can. He provided support — and leaned on fellow members — through much of the course, cheering for them every step of the way because he knew the challenges they’d conquered to get there.

“What made me feel so good, even though it was a blessing and curse, was a few of my friends went by me, like Hannah ran by me in the last mile,” he said. “I was so glad to see her because she had dropped out last year and it was a really hard race for her and I was so glad she finished this year.”

Stanley said seeing her fellow runners gave her a mental boost. She has been involved with the group for at least a decade, and she enjoys seeing familiar faces through all the different races she’s been a part of.

She relied on people from the group to be her pacers or crew throughout her adventure.

“They have become another form of family to me,” Stanley said. “It gives me extra confidence to know that I’m sharing this crazy effort with somebody else.”