Coyote Fourplay 2003

• Report by Chris Scott
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• Stan Jensen's Photos
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C4P Report from Chris Scott

February 2003

Dear Future Professional Bowlers… if I couldn’t keep the Program before the event down to less than three pages, how could I possibly condense the actual experience into something smaller? Infeasible. From all indications (banter, laughter, consumption (food/fluids), et al), however, I think it’s fair to say that you made C4P one of the highlights of your running season (it’s easy to make that judgment this early in the year…), whether to enhance your future running performances or to add fodder to an otherwise already questionable social standing (or both?). The JABOY cadre certainly enjoyed the entertainment you provided us – all we did was offer an environment for you to express yourself. Marvelous job on your part!! The difficulty of the task notwithstanding, here are a few snippets to help you recount your own memorable moments…

…the veritable rainbow of blossoms and scents (not including those Eric Kajiwara’s Top Ten List referred to about Badass Barb)… …ocean breeze on your face running down Ray Miller… …the incredible prizes and gifts beyond the cool Patagonia and Montrail stuff… …toasters… …panoramas that just wouldn’t quit… …the lure of the Moores’ Beanie Hats and akabill’s Blood Cloaking Device… …Mitch’s red hair and Leah’s purple wig… …Gridley, the PoS out of Rose Valley, Coyote, Fire Line, Cardiac, Chumash/Mugu, Hell… …Hog & Jerry’s venison jerky… …Butt Crack Rock… …imaginatively colorful tights best viewed in black light… …no one getting lost… …mileage accuracy… …bye, bye, Miss America Pie’s finish to a star-studded Talent Night… …the Canadians’ proficiency at both hockey and bowling… …the Babes of Mugu… …bowling???... …panties as course markers… …distinctly savory aid station cuisine… …camaraderie that just sneaks up on you… …longing for the perfect world of doing that every weekend… OK, your turn to add a few of your own…

Stats: I divided the field into 4 categories: Stellar, Bloated, Loaded, and Half-Cocked. Sig and Rick (light blue shaded, bolded, underlined on the Excel spreadsheet) comprise the Stellar mini-herd, she for her doggedness, he for his doggy dreams. The Bloated pride (yellow shaded, bolded, italicized) includes those who also attacked the Scrub Run, with Robin, Phill and Howard doing all 69 miles, descending thru akabill (62), Jo Ann/Dave/Bill (50), Sue/Joe (31) and Pat DeVita to 21 miles. The Loaded pod (no unique markings) envelops all those who ran at least 3 days and/or came up lame enough to prevent them from having a totally bitchin’ time on the trails for as long as they would have wanted (e.g. Deborah Askew hiked the last two days…). The Half-Cocked crock (purple shaded, italicized) accounts for those who planned for less than a full plate, or could not otherwise play because of prior commitments, injury, or just plain fear of the unknown. Having distinctive groups attempts to preclude unnecessary contrasts across the span from most to fewest miles. Bolded numbers by certain runners, and accompanying bolded times in those rows, indicate fastest times for those events, with Sally Marcellus capturing course records on each of her wins (so, does that soothe the frustration of buggering up the 50M, Sally?). You’ll note that Krissy and Brandon get credit for 52 miles on the Ojai course, and Krissy’s time beats Deborah’s for that course, except that K&B also got lost in Rose Valley Land, so they get mileage credit but not event ranking status. To add argument to the incredulity of stats consistency, on the 40 (wink, wink) Miler, Sue ran beyond the flat spot above Butt Crack, but her final miles don’t reflect those two miles, else she’d be beyond the upper limit of official miles (she did the whole course, and went for brownie points!!), and would rank in Rick’s doggy dream closet, which naturally will produce a flaming e-mail claiming “foul!!” I also thought of putting Jim Benike in his own category, for seemingly being more lost than found, but didn’t want to embarrass him. Sitting alone elsewhere on the spectrum, Robin ran as if a blizzard were at his back. Not that competition was the week’s agenda, but once underway, he was compelled to stay strong. Not bad: 197 miles in around 36 hours!! Sue was only the 2nd woman to complete the whole shebang (5 others joined her and Robin this year), and I think her cumulative time surpasses Catra’s from a couple years back. So, how’s that for a confusing protocol of grouping?

This is the paragraph that credits all those who did so much to make this event a success. Thanks, JABOYs!! and your extended network of friends!! And certainly to Craig Holloway and Krissy Moehl for recognizing the distinctive value of this ultra format to the community, and providing outstanding quality apparel to remind you later of your miles on our trails. Should I also thank all those h/motels for their soaps?

I trust memories of C4P will consistently produce some form of laughter. The plethora of pictures taken this year, and presumed to be distributed in the coming weeks, will give testament to the week’s festivities, and hopefully motivate you to seek out or create similar venues in future trail experiences. The theme of C4P attempts just that. Go ye forth, and multiply… and invite your buddies along for the ride!!

Two final notes: (1) Given the growing interest in the event, and the cross-section of the ultra community present at this year’s C4P, I thought (for at least 6.57 nanoseconds) about concocting a piece for publication in one of the trail rags. Nah… Besides, I don’t think anything I could write would pass unexpurgated (read, totally trashed) on the UltraRunning editorial desk (yes, there’s history there), so feel free to write your own account and test your own luck. What are the odds the group shot of the bowling league would find its way into a running mag? (2) Yes, I did promise that this was the last C4P. It was. Are there cousins waiting to be hatched? Let’s hope so. I can’t seem to kick the habit of collecting motel soaps…

Results

(See story for color code)