Bishop High Sierras Ultras is a collection of endurance runs that take place the third weekend of May. Held in the breathtaking foothills of the Eastern Sierras in the town of Bishop, California, the courses capture incredible views of the snow-covered high altitude peaks surrounding the area. The runs pass through the iconic climbing boulders known as the Buttermilks on the ascent into the high country, peaking at about 9400 ft altitude.
The 50 mi and 100 km runs follow the same route up into the Bishop Creek area with nearly 5000 feet of climbing in the first twenty miles. From there, after about 17 miles of shorter climbs and descents, the course dives back down into the Buttermilks studding the otherwise open sage and bitterbrush covered desert. After the cool temps of morning in the higher altitudes, the mid to late-day sun and heat of the desert feels fairly harsh and inescapable. The 100km course diverges from the 50 mi course about 1.5mi from the finish–allowing those who are disheartened to bail early–-and heads up and over a demoralizing 12-mile out and back over the fully exposed Tungsten Hills on old mining roads.
Bishop High Sierras Ultras started with the 50-mile event in 1994, and continues to support local beneficiaries including Eastern Sierra Youth Outdoor Program and Inyo County Search and Rescue.
Heading to the Bishop 100km this year, I was looking for an opportunity to get into a longer run in a fairly low-profile race. I’d missed the opportunity to run Running Up For Air Mount Sentinel in February due to having mono, and had to withdraw from a race in Madeira in March due to moving and having a broken toe. I ran the Bishop 100km once before in 2021 in 12:17:20 which is still the 6th fastest female time on record, but that year placed second to Gina Myers from Truckee, California who finished in 12:01. Only four women have ever gone sub-12 on the course. I knew that performance was exceptional for me, so rather than focusing on a time goal, I had some specific nutrition, gear and pacing strategies I wanted to focus on implementing this time to practice for longer events later in the year. Using an event that is familiar and low key for a tune up race is ideal as it minimizes the stress of racing and allows the focus to be on process not outcomes.
Knowing the altitude would be an enormous factor in how well I would feel come race day, I spent several weeks in Big Sky, Montana prior to the race and was able to acclimate at about 6000-7000 ft. The majority of the race takes place above 7000 ft altitude, so it wasn’t perfect but it was what I could manage. Generally, although living at altitude will promote more long term adaptations, 2-3 weeks at altitude can prompt hematological changes that will help with performance at altitude.
Also, although the course includes nearly 11,000ft of gain, it is almost entirely runnable taking place on dirt road and pavement, and running roads is certainly not my specialty. The ability to continue to run strong in the latter half of the race is critical as the course descends out of the altitude into the heat of the day after mile 37 and includes a brutal 12 mile out and back at the end. So rather than battling the May snow and mud in Big Sky, I stuck to more runnable dry terrain in the valleys leading up to the race. In the final build up to an event, sticking to terrain that is similar to what you’ll encounter on race day will build resilience in those conditions.
Finally, the third factor that I knew would be my downfall was the midday heat, with temperatures in the valley in the low 80s which although not extreme is nearly 10-20 deg warmer than the highest temps in Montana during my training period. I decided to try using some time in a hot tub at about 103 deg for approximately 30 min-1hr a day as often as I could in the last couple weeks in Big Sky. Hot water immersion after exercise is a great way to extend the time the core temperature is elevated, promoting adaptation for improved thermal regulation.
The field in the 100km this year was relatively small, but still had a couple of strong contenders in the women’s race. My pacing strategy was similar to all my other events–start conservative with the first climb being nearly 20 miles long, then staying steady through the next 20 miles of shorter climbs and descents, with the goal of being able to run strong all the way through the 12-mile out and back in the Tungsten Hills.
In the first third of the run, I ended up running with or near Ashley Hall of Reno, Nevada for nearly 20 miles. My heart rate data actually showed I was working entirely too hard for about fifteen miles which was likely a result of chatting with Ashley, the altitude, the uphill, and the wind. With every race there’s always a wrench thrown into the plan and for us, it was of course the harsh Eastern Sierra weather. A front was passing through along with a “wind event” that brought sustained downslope winds of over 30-40mph with gusts likely into the 60s. At miles 17-20 we were ascending to the height of the Edison climb on an exposed ridge at the base of the mountains in the worst winds of the day. As we hiked uphill the downslope winds sounded like an aircraft taking off and we were bracing ourselves with hands on knees to stay moving. The steepest part of the course, our splits were over 18 min long for these miles as we pushed into the wind.
From there, I was running near a young guy–Bradley Martin of Long Beach–who was moving well. The weather was still churning out strong winds and vacillating between snow and sun and people were starting to slow down. At our turn around at mile 26 in Bishop Creek my husband told me I was in 3rd overall. At the out and back, the second place female, Megan Kono of San Rafael, was likely only about a mile behind and didn’t appear to be slowing at all. I was actually in 2nd overall after I passed Bradley in the aid station, but not long after as we descended back down into the heat, he passed me again around mile 40 leaving me in 3rd overall. I worked hard to stay moving as efficiently as possible in these miles, knowing the next gal was close behind. I kept moving through aid stations and having my husband to crew at three of them was an advantage for sure. This race has a multitude of aid stations, so at no point do you need to carry more than 2 water bottles. There are also at least two places you can have a drop bag so it’s easy to keep the pack light. I did take the time to reapply sunscreen as down low there was no reprieve from the sun. And I had white OR arm warmers that came in super handy for the cold wind and sun.
At the final out and back in Tungsten Hills around mile 55, I was surprised to see Megan was still right behind me. I pushed as hard as I could on the steep climb back up and over the hills and ran as hard as I could to the finish. At this point, I was still keeping to the same nutrition plan which was one SiS Beta Fuel gel every hour and Scratch Hydration in every bottle with extra electrolytes in some that I got from Drew, taking in approximately 400-600 mg sodium per hour and 60g of carbs per hour. I wore my hDrop hydration monitor for the first 10h and my sweat concentration stayed fairly close to balanced although it ranged from being more concentrated for about 3 hours to more diluted around 5-6h. I did eat a Stryker bar at hour 4 and 8 but skipped the final bar in lieu of a gel to push strong to the finish. I ended up finishing in 12:54:38 with Megan right behind me in 13:05:50 and Ashley in third in 14:07:11. Bradley had put nearly a half hour on me in the last twenty miles with his finishing time of 12:27:54 just 5 min after first place male, Barry Main who finished in 12:22:23.
The nutrition strategy I used for this race worked well for me, allowing for consistent energy throughout the race and zero gut issues, which was a big change from 2021. The strong flavor of combining scratch hydration with an extra scoop of another electrolyte powder was slightly hard to tolerate later in the race. I used a Naked belt to hold my gels, scratch packets, bars and trash so that I could use my vest mostly for bottles, a windbreaker, arm warmers and gloves. This made it really easy to get rid of trash and restock at aid stations as needed. Drew could only crew me at three points, so I did use a drop bag at mile 17 for a gel restock.
A key takeaway was also that for this course, it turns out having the course gpx uploaded on the watch was essential as two women, including Ashley, mentioned taking wrong turns on the course during the race. I had no problems as I’d been there before, but it’s essential to know and study the course and have the map to avoid this kind of thing. I’ve come in second and third at several races after losing time getting off course and it can be devastating. Especially if there’s a ranking, cash prize, or course record at stake.
Key takeaways:
Stay conservative in the beginning by observing physical cues (heart rate, breathing, perceived effort). Avoid running too hard in the beginning by keeping conversation to a minimum and running at your own pace. (I had to let Ashley go and told her I needed to keep my HR down!) The first third of the course is the time to be humble and approach the course with respect and humility. You have no idea what will happen out there.
Stay steady in the middle by taking care of yourself and being efficient not rushed (manage issues like layering as they come up, eat regularly by watching the clock not miles, don’t waste time at aid stations, keep an eye on the course map as needed for critical turns). Arm warmers, gloves and a windbreaker can go a long way in various conditions for layering on the go. A light pack and easy accessible nutrition storage helps keep things moving. Having a practiced nutrition plan that includes a plan for carbs and electrolytes is critical to keeping energy consistent throughout the event and to minimize decision fatigue and gut issues. Always have the course GPX on your device–ideally with notifications silenced to preserve battery life–and study the course and the website ahead of time to understand critical turns. The middle of the course is the time to be a workhorse, getting the job done but not racing to do it. This is the time to put your head down and focus on the task at hand.
Stay strong at the end with mental strategies (e.g. running all the downhills and flats, incorporating running into steeper ascents as possible, aiming to keep miles under a certain min/mile, etc.) The last third of the course is when you can start thinking about the outcome of the race. You can use the proximity of other racers or the goal of finishing under a certain time as motivation to push with everything you have. The final third of the course is the time to visualize the best outcome possible and leave it all out there. If you’ve paced well this part of the race will actually feel like a race.
After the race, observe what went well, what could be better, and what you would change for next time. Take the time to write out your experience like this so next time you race you can reflect on what you learned and put these hard earned lessons to work.