PART 3 OF A MULTI-PART SERIES

Read Part 1 Here: The Cuchara Incident

Read Part 2 Here: A “Near-Miss” At Silverheels

Note: The following is a continuation discussing events centered around the 2022 Cuchara Trail Runs and The Silverheels 100-Mile Endurance Run. Information provided has been pulled from Human Potential’s Incident Reports; factual info gathered from participants, volunteers, HPRS staff, and race directors. The names of the individuals involved have been removed out of respect and for their protection. The purpose of this is not to denigrate, denounce, or embarrass the runner’s involved; but instead to provide a “teachable moment” to encourage all good decisions moving forward.

2021 was the most tragic year in our sport’s history when you consider the tragedy in China, the death of a Czech runner at TDS, the Utah Snowstorm incident where race directors willingly sent runners off into a high mountain blizzard despite the deteriorating (for a week) forecast, and the 100-mile runner who got lost on a 3 mile loop course in Florida, only to be found 36 hours later at a nearby auto parts store.

After all of these tragedies and near-miss events, I took to the airwaves on the Ultra Stories Podcast to talk openly and honestly about our responsibilities as race directors and runners to ensure our sport can continue without ridicule or interruption. I spoke honestly and forcefully about how Risk Management is not only the primary responsibility of race directors, but the primary responsibility of runners as well. As always, I felt that what I shared fell on deaf ears.

Ultra Stories – Episode 134: The China Tragedy and a Reality Check Stateside

Ultra Stories – Episode 135: The Risk Management Changes Ultra Needs

Ultra Stories – Episode 136: Ultrarunning’s Struggle With Being Ethical

Ultra Stories – Episode 137: Continuing The Discussion On Ethics

I’m not someone who just gets up on the soap box and shouts what we all ought to be doing, without also doing it myself. At the end of 2021/early 2022 I got to work identifying the things that I personally could do to improve our risk management within race production at HPRS. I re-certified as a Wilderness First Responder through Wilderness Medical Associates, a certification I’ve argued that every single trail and ultra race director should possess in order to obtain a permit. I obtained a Risk Management For Outdoor Programs certification through Viristar, an intense course that afforded me an opportunity to do a thorough risk management review of HPRS. I went to two separate conferences here in Colorado that put me at the table with the many land managers we work with, so that I can be a better prepared and well-rounded partner. I also obtained my RRCA Professional Race Director certification.

On top of the above, if you don’t know more about my personal experience, I’ll be the first to tell you. I received my Bachelors in Outdoor Education from the award-winning program at The University of New Hampshire. I am a former operations manager for a guide company in Boulder, CO. I have personally directed 70 ultra distance events in my career, more than anyone in Colorado’s history, including the first 200-miler in the world in 2008. I have also finished an ultra, every year, for the last 18 consecutive years having run in over 70 ultra distance events. I truly believe that all of this makes me one of the most well rounded (experienced & knowledgeable) race directors in our sport. That’s not to toot my own horn, it is the basis for what I am about to say in the remainder of this piece.

CUCHARA:

I strongly believe that in Part 1 of this multi-part series, that details the events that unfolded at the Cuchara Trail Runs in June; Runner A is alive today because of Runner B.

Runner B made an honest mistake in navigating his way towards the finish line of our course. He’s not the first ultra-runner to miss a ribbon, he’s not the first to get off course in the dark, and he certainly won’t be the last.  If you’ve run in this sport for any length of time, you’ve been lost or are bound to get lost eventually. What this runner did right though was the following:

• While still on course, he saw another headlamp in an area that was not part of the official course. Because of this, he went to investigate, which is when he found Runner A who had been lost already for some time.

• Runner B made sure that he and Runner A stayed together at all costs for the remainder of their adventure.

• Runner B knew that if they could just keep moving downhill and to the east, they would eventually run into the ski slopes, a trail, or a road.

• Runner B made it his mission to keep himself and Runner A alive by insisting they keep moving given the weather conditions.

Runner B possessed the knowledge necessary to keep himself and his fellow runner alive, through the night, over incredibly challenging off-trail terrain, and near impossible weather conditions. In what we know about Runner A, she simply does not possess this knowledge. I have no doubt whatsoever that if Runner A and B had not found each other high up on that mountain, Runner A would have required the full Search and Rescue, and perhaps could have been the subject of a recovery operation.

Through both scenarios (Cuchara and Silverheels), Runner B in the Cuchara incident is the only one who had his shit together, his head on straight, and despite not having all of the tools provided him at the ready for an emergency of this magnitude, he had the knowledge and wherewithal to not only get himself safely out of the woods but Runner A as well. Having talked to this runner and his significant other, we trust that moving forward he will have the necessary tools, and continue to advance the necessary experience, to not got lost or require the assistance of SAR again.

On our end, the extensive training I completed over the winter months allowed me to conduct a thorough review of our Emergency Action Plan (EAP) and Risk Management Plan (RMP). I was able to think critically in editing these documents to ensure that they were complete, and easy to follow, in the event of an emergency such as this. Between myself, our Assistant Race Director Emily Royal, our Volunteer Coordinator for this event Stephen Wilfong-Oliphant, and with the help of outside resources, we were able to activate our EAP and utilize it to perfection in ensuring the safe and healthy return of these two runners.

Granted the two runners were not “found” and emerged from the woods on their own accord, the entire sequence of events allowed us to utilize the tools at our disposal and realize that the work we do, how we do it, and why we do it is not all for shits and giggles. At the end of the emergency, it was a proud moment to sit across from our Huerfano County Search and Rescue partner and accept his professional praise for having a good plan, activating the plan, following the plan, and that plan being one of the best he’s ever seen.

It should be noted that English is not Runner A’s primary language. Over the years that she has run with us, her English has greatly improved but is still far from perfect. We experience a bit of a communication barrier from time to time when speaking with her. This is why we decided that her future registrations with us be on pause (not banned) until we can sit down with her and have a face-to-face conversation, with an interpreter present, to ensure that nothing gets lost in translation.

We need to ensure that she can hear us, and we can hear her. We need to ensure she clearly understands the track record of her needing a search at our events, and the resources it takes for us to conduct those searches. We need to ensure that a solid safety plan can be devised to keep this runner healthy and safe when participating in our events moving forward, like requiring her to always have a pacer at her side id she wishes to participate. We have requested a reasonable accommodation of an interpreter, and for doing so we’ve been called “discriminatory.” Our request and actions have all been reasonable accommodations focused on the health and safety of one of our runners.

It’s been interesting to see the many conversations being had in the ultra-running peanut gallery regarding these two incidents. The Silverheels Near-Miss has gotten far more visibility than Cuchara.

I want to ask everyone a serious question – Of these two incidents (Cuchara & Silverheels) which of them was the more serious of the two?

SILVERHEELS:

As mentioned, a lot has been said online since posting the story about this runner. A lot of Monday Morning Quarterbacking out there from people who are not race directors and never have been, throwing their two cents into the void on what I “should have done” and how I “should be ashamed” of myself for not disqualifying the runner, or pulling him from the course. One runner went so far as saying they’ll “never run one of their races” because I didn’t DQ this guy. (haha.. slay me) There’s a lot to unpack here and I intend to unpack it.

Simply put, this runner finished the Silverheels 100-Mile Endurance Run because of two reasons: 1.) He reportedly ran 140 miles per week for a few months, making him one of the better trained (over trained) runners on the course. He had the fitness, and as we always say, “You can’t fake a 100-miler.” And 2.) The entire HPRS community showed up and showed him who we are, and what we’re all about.

When I first got into ultrarunning in 2005, one of the first lessons that was taught to me by my mentors was “implanted within the roots of our sport is our obligation to help one another.” Our obligation to give back by volunteering, organizing a fat ass or two, and stopping to help one another while out there running on the course. This is the ole, “if you see someone down tying their shoe, you stop and check on them, offer support, and maybe keep them company” mentality. This has stuck with me now for over 17 years and is the foundation for why I am a race director today.

At this year’s Silverheels 100-Mile, it seems that it finally caught on within our community that COMMUNITY is what this sport has always been about. You need to be someone void of ego and self-serving attitudes to be able to see and accept all of that, something I’ve found hard to come by elsewhere in the Centennial State.

So yes, we held this runner’s hand, nearly wiped his ass (literally), and gathered as one community, one village, to ensure that he not only ran those 100-miles but that he did so safely. HPRS staff, volunteers, and other runner’s crews alike all played a role in helping this young man reach that finish line. Yes, you could even call it enabling, but you could also call it ultrarunning. Every single runner, volunteer, and staff member along the course knew some details of the unfolding story of this runner, and each one of us kept an eye out for this guy knowing that he was a literal shit show.

I ask all of us to please see the big picture here and put it into reasonable perspective:

• He dropped his body bottles in the road within the first mile. As a race director, I cannot even begin to list the myriad of ditched items we pick up along the course of ANY ultra, never mind a 100-miler. Many of you want us to DQ him for littering, like you’ve never ditched gear in a place it wasn’t allowed, or like you’ve never dropped a gel wrapper on the trail, knew about it, and kept running anyway.

• He drank directly from the water coolers. This is not the first time we’ve had a runner get underneath a nozzle, tilt their head, and pour water directly into their mouths from the water cooler. It IS the first time that we witnessed someone put their mouth on the nozzle. That said, our staff and volunteers caught it and we were able to Clorox wipe the nozzles clean before they were used by another runner. I think it’s hilarious that runners are up in arms about “sanitary conditions” at an ultra, when more than half of you have dove your lube covered hands into the M&Ms bowl before. Which is worse.. someone’s mouth on a nozzle, or your ball slathering hand in the chips? After being warned about not putting his mouth on the nozzle, we didn’t learn of his 2nd offense doing so until 36 hours later.

• He got lost, one time, in the early miles of a race and at a place where a few dozen other runners have also missed a turn and gone off course over the years. The turn is marked well, there even used to be a water only aid table there, and people have STILL historically missed it. Why? Because it’s dark! He, like everyone else, found his way back to the course and continued. He’s not the first to get lost, he won’t be the last. Again, I’m willing to bet you have at some point also.

• He forgot a headlamp. It could be because his crew and pacers ditched him at the 11^th hour and he showed up alone without the help and gear he was expecting. I myself have had crew and pacers bail on helping me within the last day or hours leading into a race. It happens. It’s not something you DQ someone for. Another runner’s crew overheard him say he didn’t have a headlamp, she went and got her runner’s extra, BOOM.. he had a headlamp. This is what crews do to help other runners in ultra-running. The next time your batteries run out in your headlamp, and you borrow batteries from another crew, should I DQ you?

• Yes, he took a dump very close to the trail. When I said he was 6” off the trail, no.. I didn’t measure it. I’m just saying that he got off of the trail, but not nearly far enough off trail. I have personally witnessed a handful of ultrarunners literally dropping trow and shitting ON the trail in my years running in this sport. I’ve seen it at the Vermont 100. I’ve seen it at The Mogollon Monster. There’s also the 2013 Leadville 100 where hundreds of poo piles littered the shores of Turquiose Lake! Sometimes, people gotta go in an emergent way and can’t waddle far enough before it starts dropping out, especially during those late miles of a 100. Is it something to DQ him over? No! He did what countless others have done before him. He shit in the weeds right off the trail and unfortunately, I got the whole show! It wasn’t the first time I’ve see this, I’m sure it won’t be the last.

• This event has historically had a qualifier associated with the entry process. We did away with the qualifier in 2019 to see if it would help registrations grow. It hasn’t. This was also the first year that we did not have an 8-hour volunteer requirement as a condition of entry for this race, something else we did to see if it would help registrations grow. It didn’t. There was a runner from Texas in the event who thanked me at the finish line, after her 100-mile finish, for not having a qualifier for entry because she didn’t have one. Yet she finished and did so safely. All of that said, the qualifier and the volunteer requirement are once again a condition of entry starting in 2023.

• During miles 61-63 when he was unable to navigate the woods in the dark, and tagged along with my pacer and me, he wasn’t doing anything that was a DQable offense. I’ve seen countless runners wandering into the trees to talk to Teddy Roosevelt who is sitting just over there. Maybe he was hallucinating, maybe he just doesn’t know what he’s doing, either way… he had company. He tagged along with us, just like he had shared miles with a handful of other runners along the way. This is also not a DQable offense. He was tracked, monitored, cared for, and safe.

To continue without the bullet points, we gave him excess of the food that was meant to be shared with all. We handed the bottles he ditched back to him when he realized he needed them. We gave him a map to try and keep him from getting lost. We gave him a headlamp when we realized he never brought his own. We gave him turn by turn instruction on where to go next, and many of us shared countless miles with him to ensure he was never again alone along the course. We were those bumpers your kids use at the bowling alley, providing a safety net around a young man who had a dream of running 100-miles. You may not realize it, but others have helped you in the same way along your 100-mile journey’s as well. It’s only unusual that there is so much packed into ONE runner, at ONE race.

This community… what we’ve built at HPRS that is for some reason different than many others, yet so like what this sport USED to be, is what kept this young man safe, healthy, and realizing his goals. I’m damn proud of what this community displayed and accomplished; and those who were there should be too.

What I didn’t share in that story is the countless opportunities of tough love that we also gave this young man at Silverheels. He was verbally warned, sternly, by Asst RD Emily Royal who I have never honestly heard raise her voice at a single soul. For her to get in someone’s personal space and make sure she is clear, is no small thing.

I also verbally excoriated this young man from Miles 56 to 63 in listening to the things he bragged about and commented on. Emily and I gave him another piece of our minds after his finish when he giggled and said, “Can you believe I finished with all that I messed up?” …  It’s not amusing. It’s not funny. To make it worse, he blames this entire fiasco on the fact that his crew and pacers bailed on him at the eleventh hour, taking no personal accountability for his actions, which is standard for a participant of this caliber.

Not one director or staff member at HPRS had the full picture and story about this runner during the race. While I have packaged the entire story up into a digestible retelling of events, we didn’t amass the full scope of what transpired with this one runner until after the race had ended, when we wrote our Near-Miss incident report by collecting all of the facts from numerous parties. At no time during the race did any one individual witness a strike 2 or 3 from this young man, and all we had to go on throughout the race were rumors, hearsay, and assumptions. Simply put, if you put yourselves in our shoes you may be able to understand why we didn’t pull or DQ him, without fear of the political/social repercussions for doing so.

Everyone who had the ability to DQ this runner gave him a second chance, not realizing that he had already received warnings from other staff and he was now on chances 3 or 4. The events associated with this runner were so spread apart over just the first 24-hours of the event, that we never had the chance to bring our heads together to discuss these issues at one time until after the event concluded. That is the nature of directing a 100-mile race over the course of 60-miles of trails and roads, when operating on a skeleton crew of volunteers (::ahem::)

This story is nothing to laugh at. His finish is NOT to be celebrated. I wrote him a detailed email, not much unlike the story you all read previously, describing to him everything we documented POST RACE, and everything that went down for him to make it to that finish line. I even went so far as reaching out to the folks at the next race/series he is signed up for, to try and give them a friendly heads-up about the liability this runner truly is, given the fact that the next race(s) he is signed up for are all theirs. They may not listen to me, but I would carry an enormous level of guilt if I didn’t say something and then something happened. Some of you may label me a jerk for having reached out to them at all, but it is my duty to do so. It has always been my duty to say something.

Silverheels Post Mortem

Some of you out there said “He should have been DQ’d,” that “he should be banned for life”.. and “Shame on the RD for allowing him to continue.” As the race director and owner of HPRS, as the sole individual obtaining the permits and the insurance, as the sole individual who personally assumes all risk and liability for all persons involved with our events, it is my prerogative to choose the language and type of energy that I express towards risk management. <- Read it again…

Over the years I have been incredibly outspoken about the negligence of other race directors, and how their actions and behaviors jeopardize all our abilities to host these kinds of events. For saying ANYTHING publicly about these events and a race director’s negligent actions, I have been labelled a bully, told to shut my mouth, and told to mind my own business. That because I own a similar business and direct my own races, it’s wrong of me to speak publicly about another RD being negligent or lying to you.

Ironically, the response to this story is that I NEED to “let the RDs of his future registered races know before something more serious happens.” No Shit! It’s the same reason I’ve hopped up on my soap box over the years and told you about the negligent shit other RDs do out there. YOU NEED TO KNOW! It doesn’t make me a bully, it makes me someone invested in protecting our sport and those who participate in it.

Over the years I have banned many runners from running in our series for being “liabilities,” and banned runners for spreading false information about our events and those who spread false information about how we handle risk management. I’ve also banned runners for interfering with my ability to do my job the way I know how to do it. I have also banned runners for simply being jerks and interfering with my ability to conduct business. Do you know Anthony Kunkel? Ever heard of him? That dude was banned from HPRS events back in 2013 because he did a handful of things, during a Fat Ass, not too far off from what Runner A did at this year’s Silverheels. It’s like a carbon copy of events friends. I banned him for being a liability. Look an Anthony now, he’s a “professional” athlete and running coach. When I first met and ran with Anthony at one of our Fat Asses, he was an absolute idiot and a total liability. His attitudes and behaviors ironically match that of Runner A to a “T.”

As the sole individual who obtains the permits, insurance, and assumes all risk and liability; I actually do get to decide who runs with us and who doesn’t. I would be remiss if I didn’t add that, wouldn’t you know that every single story from a banned runner describes how horrible we are and how you should never run with us. Yet they rarely ever mention acceptance of their role in what transpired, zero personal accountability for their own actions and behaviors; just more of “the customer is always right” and “that RD is just an asshole.”

I chose this human approach because that’s what has been demanded of me. That is what so many of you said you wanted more of from me and HPRS. You want us to hold your hand, you want us to coddle you and carry you. When you deliberately do asinine things that jeopardizes our permits, or the health and safety of other runners, volunteers, and staff, you demanded that we treat you with utmost respect and care regardless.

Where you asked questions when the answers are clearly provided on our website, in the runner’s manual, or within the incredible number of tools we provide you for a successful race, and I barked back… you called me a “bully.” You called me an asshole for holding you accountable to yourself with language you thought I needed to fluff and soften. You went about cancelling me. You wrote a petition that 500+ signed because I’m too harsh, too forceful, too direct, too much of an asshole. I’m sorry, but when you sign up for a race in an extreme sport and you show up and act like we’re just heading to the local indoor trampoline park, I’m going to give you the tough love and harsh language the moment deserves. Ask Dr. David Horton if you need reference to the tough love I’m talking about.

Perhaps now you can see the conundrum I live in. If I am too stern, if I am too direct and if I take care of business in as blunt a way as I know how… I am a bad guy, labeled a bully, and cancelled. If I am too soft, if I provide the human approach, and behave in the soft and subtle ways that have been demanded of me by your peers, then I have not done enough, and my inaction should be denounced. As a race director, I simply cannot win because there is no middle ground for me. I have to choose a direction that works for me, for HPRS, for our entire community… and that has always been to be blunt, direct, and no bull shit.

So instead of DQing this young man, we held his hand, we collectively got him there, because that’s what ultra-runners do, that’s what you demanded we do. Instead of saying “You’re banned”, we instead said.. “If you want to race with us again, you need to do the following: Volunteer at 3 of our races, at least 8 hours at each of those events, and complete our We Belong Virtual Series (Ultrarunning Masterclass in April).” You and I both know that he won’t complete any of that never mind all of it, essentially banning himself from running in our events.

On that point, someone in a group commented “”I laughed out loud when they said they wanted that dude to volunteer with them for 24h.” So I asked, “Why? He has a lot to learn, and there’s no better way to learn it. He also owes the entire community who carried him on their backs.. and should pay the effort back.” His response? “Because it’s funny that they would want to put up with him and treach him instead of just banning him for any one of several things.”

Friends… this runner is you. It WAS you. Instead of making these same mistakes at a handful of races along the way, he made them all in the same one and it just so happened to be his first. If we are to just ban him right away, we are creating what I call a “mis-adventure” for this young man. If we ban him we abandon him. He becomes someone else’s problem and perhaps he fucks up more at his next race, which is your favorite race, and they lose their permits. Someone. Has. To. Help. Him.

Of all the things I deal with each year by directing 15 races, without a huge staff surrounding me like Aravaipa or other, helping to guide this young runner is not a big deal. It’s a downright honor and privilege to do what my mentors told me this sport was about, and doing it because it’s what I chose as my profession. I help you. I’m going to help him…. Providing he accepts the help, and follows through with the opportunity to get educated.

Other runners in the community have reached out to me in direct messages telling me they knew our Silverheels runner was a liability issue prior to his running in our event, and they wonder if they should have said something to us. They wondered what the response would have been should they have warned us. The answer to that question is YES!!! ALWAYS YES! SAY SOMETHING! I welcome the heads-up as it’s incredibly important that we do a better job at policing ourselves within this sport. If you try and warn an RD about a runner being a health and safety risk, and they dismiss you or don’t reply, you just discovered a race to no longer run because that RD just showed you their hand in not caring about the health and safety of their runners.

I go back to my earlier question:

Of these two incidents (Cuchara & Silverheels) which of them was the more serious of the two?

HPRS has an advisory board comprised of six diverse members. They represent our primary target demographics, and represent many genders and ethnicities. The group advises me. They are volunteers. We meet to discuss every incident that occurs at HPRS and how the response should be handled.

Every single one of our advisory board members stated that Runner A in the Cuchara incident “should be Banned from running with us moving forward.” Why? Because of her long track record of getting lost and needing resources to find her. All but ONE of our advisory board members was present at Silverheels serving as Asst. RD, working aid stations, or even pacing me (the RD) through the night. Not one of us mentioned banning this runner from our events, and we all took on that obligation to look after him. Yet no one in the peanut gallery is calling for Runner A at Cuchara to be banned, like you’re calling for the Silverheels runner to be.

To answer the question, the Cuchara Incident is the most serious of the two. That incident is far more emotionally traumatizing to race directors and the runners than what occurred at Silverheels. The consequences of what took place, and could have taken place, at Cuchara are far more serious and detrimental to our races, our business, and our sport. We had an emergency. We called 911 and called in an army of resources. We followed our plan.

There was no emergency at Silverheels. There was an aloof runner making every mistake imaginable, and a community that rallied around him to see him through. He was valued and cared for just like every other runner at HPRS. Moving forward, things are going to be much different…

Please Join HPRS RD John Lacroix for the fourth and final part of this series on Monday, July 25th at 8pm Mountain Time. John will be hosting a LIVE show on the HPRS Facebook Page that will later be uploaded to the HPRS YouTube Channel. This show will focus on wrapping up the discussion, where we go from here, and a few changes we are making at HPRS.