Wy’east Wonder 50 Mile & Tunnel Marathon

Oh, dare we say it? Is racing back? Can we lean into the plans we’ve tentatively made? I don’t know about you, but I’m straddling the line of excitement and apprehension, guilt and grace, with a strong urge to roar from start lines, and also curl up in bed and just silently, secretively train for the rest of my days. But, despite where we’ve been, where we are, and where we’re unsure we’re headed, races are happening.

If you know anything about our team, we’ve been training through Covid, at first singularly and on treadmills in our garages, with masks, avoiding those who leapt into bushes when they heard our footfalls. And followed state/county guidelines. And got vaccinated. And started training together again (still in smaller groups). A collective angst was sure to happen in the continued and affected training cycle. We maximized every virtual opportunity. What we needed was a true line, with true bodies, and the crack of a gun, and gut rot and porta-pottys, and that post race kneel down in the shower. A highly self-motivated individual has his/her/their own limits. And all of this is privileged living. And all of this to say – we’re thrilled and grateful for the return to racing. Fingers crossed.

Alicia finishing the Wy’east 50 Miler

Saturday, June 12 – The Wy’east Wonder 50 Mile and 50k took off, and with it our fabulous, positive and community-driven teammate, Alicia. She raced the big guy – the 50 Miler, which professes to be a real vista treat. With views of Mt. Hood, the eastern Oregon desert, and the Hood River Valley orchards, the course takes on over 7,000 ft. of gain and over 10,000 ft. of loss – a real quad yippity-do-da. Both races can also be used for puntos toward UTMB, which is sick.

Let’s start with the meaning. Wy’east is the original name for Mt. Hood, given by the Multnomah tribe of Native Americans who first inhabited the area. It comes from a legend in which the two sons of the Great Spirit Sahale fell in love with the beautiful maiden Loowit, who could not decide which son to choose. The two young men, Wy’east and Klickitat battled viciously over Loowit, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake. Sahale, greatly displeased by this, became enraged and smote all three lovers, erecting mountain peaks to mark the place that each fell. Sahale created Mt. St. Helens for Loowit, Mt. Hood for Wy’east, and Mt. Adams for Klickitat.

Why Wy’east by Wy’east Wolfpack

In the 50 Mile, Alicia placed 2nd F and 17th OA in 8:55:05, a PR at the distance by over two hours! She was 2nd to Susan Oh of El Dorado Hills, who was 1st in 8:16:39. Rounding out the top 3 was Stephanie Gundel of Seattle, who was 3rd in 9:15:10. Winning the race overall was Jesse Lang of Richland, WA, who won in 6:59:11. Full Results can be found HERE!

Sunday, June 13, the infamous Light at the End of the Tunnel Marathon set out in North Bend and featured our Nutritionist babe, Tanya. Racers love this course, because it’s “one of the fastest courses in the country.” Starting at Hyak Trailhead on the John Wayne Pioneer trail just east of Snoqualmie Pass, this point-to-point course with its downhill grade proffers PRs and BQs galore – and this was our greatest hope for Tanya. Unfortunately the day did not go as planned, but this positive soul made the best of it and still ran a solid time. Tanya finished 8th F in 3:12:51. The women’s winner was Nele Lefeldt in 2:57:10, and the men’s winner was Lynden’s own Hendrik Kok with a blazing 2:29:00. Full results can be found HERE!

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