The View From the Other Side

Palo Duro 50 as a volunteer

I’ve volunteered before and I’ve paced many times but never at PD 50. Every year I’ve made it, I’ve run the 50 K or 50 Mile and I’ve never been disappointed. This year, as a volunteer, I again was rewarded for attending.

I’ve bragged about this race since I first ran it, from the race director to the aid station food and everywhere in between. The trails are spectacular and the volunteers even more exceptional than at many other ultras (believe me, that’s a high bar!). I’m not sure I’m allowed to brag about the volunteers in general this year since I was one but I’ll share a few specifics. I would say it’s a “colorful” race… from the founders to the volunteers to the canyon itself… color, everywhere.

The night before the race, I sat at a picnic table between the canopies we had set up. I looked at the race banner in the moonlight. Rows of flags waited to be unfurled. It was quiet except the distant laughter of racers hovering over campfires making final preparations and the coyote yipping in the distance. The Milky Way stretched from north to south across the canyon and the Big Dipper was poised over the north rim to enjoy a scoop of the magic of the Canyon.

As always, the race started with a prerace check-in before dark. Bagpipes echoed of the cliffs of the canyon. I love bagpipes but this year they made me cry for the first of many times that day. Check-in is too fast and furious to think about anything else so we got people in order and they gathered under the start banner and the American and Texas flags. Runners lined up between a 100 yard path of flags, Texas on the north and flags for other states and countries represented by runners on the south.

The 50 mile and 50 K runners took off as we finished with the 20K runners. In a short half hour they would be off into the darkness too, seeking glow sticks and bogeymen in the trees. As it does every day, the sun rose and lit the canyon walls. I don’t get to see it every day and it always takes my breath away. I’ve been there in all seasons for trail work weekends and visiting… it always amazes me.

And so the volunteers wait. The 20K finish line was set out. The cooking crew was in full swing. Timer set up, computers and backups, were finalized. The aid station was arranged. And we waited. 50K runners started coming through on their first lap, then 50 milers. Once the 20K runners started coming in, we got very busy getting everyone tabulated. It’s not like those road races where you have a chute to stack the runners into… no pull off tabs… Here we call out numbers and enter them in the computer, we pass out finisher’s hats (not enough because so many people registered so late), we answer questions, and we guide people into the appropriate place so the 20K people don’t get run over by 50K and 50 Mile runners blazing through for another go ‘round.

My favorite thing about volunteering is getting to meet everyone. Hearing stories about streakers through the Little Fox aid station where Dos Locos Senoritas were in rare form, as usual. I wished I were out on that trail nearly as much as I enjoyed what I was doing.

This year, the race was put on by Bill and Wynn Ross and a lot of volunteers from the Amarillo area running and mountain bike groups. Bill and Wynn have been co-race directors for many years but this year, they got the whole tamale. It has been a tradition that the race gets a little bigger and a little better every year. It’s pretty spectacular so that’s not a small task to do. They more than succeeded. Their love of the race and the canyon comes through in how they handle the race and the volunteers. As much as colorfulness, this race exudes class.

Every year when I have run this race, I have attributed my luck to making a point to kiss the race director, Red Spicer, and anyone in his family that might be present (usually his daughter Revelle and some years ago, his son Phil) on every loop. Red was not there to direct the race this year. Nor did he get to receive kisses. But Red was very present on the whole course all day. Dos Locos Senoritas hung a triangle at their aid station and invited people to ring it for Red to hear. They gave out bells for people to ring as they crossed the finish line. Revelle was present and I did manage to give her one kiss when she came into the start finish for a couple burgers and more supplies.

Once the 20K was done, I helped time the 50 Mile and 50K. I cheered friends and visited with friends. I sent people on necessary errands and tended to whatever I could do. But I was still itching to get out on the trail. I knew one special friend was soon to come in on the 50K so I finally broke free to run out and find him. It was good to be on the trails that are so much like an old friend. The fall color was in full glory on Juniper Creekside and Sunflower. If I was lucky, I’d get to Red’s Rock before I found him… but he was too fast. I got to run in with my dear friend Jay as he finished this race for the 22nd or 23rd time in the 24 years it has been put on.

Did I tell you about the food? After a long day in the sun timing and a little run, a burger sure is a good thing. The cooking crew was working so hard and I knew they had something terrific. Somewhere in the stacks of the smoker there is always a veggie burger hiding for me and anyone else who asks. There are fresh grilled jalepenos and hatch green chiles if you are so inclined. The usual burger fixin’s are also available for more traditional types. One burger would leave just enough room for the volunteer dinner I knew they were working on. Primo, Bassman, and their faithful crew (too many to name them all) also deliver on bigger and better every year. .. cherry AND peach cobbler… It pays to volunteer.

At 6:30 as the last racer came in under the wire, the sun was setting on Palo Duro Canyon; every bit as beautiful as the sun rise. The runners packed up and went home or to their campsites and hot showers. But there is more to be done when the race is run.

100 yards of flags need to be rolled and packaged for next year. The finish banner needs to come down off its frame and all the electrical equipment for lighting and timing have to be packed up. That shower has to be unhooked and put in the trailer. Signs along the course, aid station tables, and every last scrap of trash has to be cleaned up. The course markings can be left for the mountain bike volunteers to pick up tomorrow along the trail where they offered assistance or encouragement to injured, dehydrated, and tired runners all day. Finally at 8:30 dinner and rest. I get to go home in the morning but the race directors and a few other local volunteers will have to clean out the rental truck of all the supplies. They will have to be cleaned and stored for next year. The end is a beginning in and of itself…preparation for the 25th running of the Palo Duro Canyon races.

Many thanks to Wynn and Bill for taking over the direction of this race under such sad circumstances and doing such a fabulous job. To Revelle for being a gracious hostess and aid station captain with her amazingly busy schedule and all she’s had to handle in the months leading up to the race. To the cooking crew who really know how to satisfy a racer’s appetite. And all the other volunteers who make this race special.

For starting all of this and leaving this legacy, thanks to Red Spicer and Bob Givens… and the others who got it going with them. Your love of the trails is given back 1000 fold to the runners whose simultaneous struggle and happiness echoes off the canyon walls.

Lisa B