WS6L Western States Endurance Run radio communications at Ford's Point...

The Western States Endurance Run is a grueling, 100 mile run, over the crest of the Sierra Nevada Mountain range. The race starts promptly in the pre-dawn darkness at Squaw Valley, near Lake Tahoe, and concludes 100 miles later at Placer High School, in Auburn. Along the route, there are various checkpoints, manned by volunteers, including race officials, medical personnel, and members of the communications team. The 2010 event was held Saturday, June 26th.

Photo: Is it really almost July at Robinson Flat Campground? Snow was piled everywhere, which really made for tight operations. The gal taking the photo wears a green T-shirt, identifying her as a member of the medical team, and race officials wear red shirts. The radio tent was under the second canopy to the left of the photo.

Photo: Shuttle bus drops off passengers who have parked their vehicles at Ford's Point.

I began hearing about the event in March, and checked my work schedule, and signed up as a volunteer at the aid station at Robinson Flat Campground, where I'd had the pleasure to work last year during the 2009 Tevis Cup trail ride. Over the course of the next couple of months, I heard much discussion and speculation about the run, and even if it would be held this year, due to the unusually heavy snowfall - about twice the normal amount - and I had heard that a decision for a go/no go would be made on June 18th. Two weeks before the race, I was up in the High Sierras working the ARRL VHF Contest, and I was amazed at how much snow remained about 7000 feet, and keep in mind that the race route over the summit is a trail, not a plowed freeway such as Donner Pass. But, to make a long story short, the race was scheduled to happen, although it was re-routed over the summit to routes less snowed-in.

After getting only a few hours of sleep, I reported into Net Control, which is located in a modular building at Overlook Park in Auburn. I reported into the leader of the communications team, Ralph, W6RWL, who gave me my T-shirt, a brochure about the run, and my marching orders - head up the hill to Robinson Flat and report to Glenn, WA7SPY who was the leader of the Robinson Flat Communication team. Robinson Flat was due to open for business at 0815, but true to form, I arrived early, about 0700, with plenty of time on my hands to mill about and check out the operation. Glenn and John, WB4YJT were set up and in operation, so I reported to them and asked them what they wanted me to do. They had nothing for me to do, and I suggested that I head over to Sailor Flat to see if they needed any assistance, as Sailor Flat can be a busy location.

Photo: Christina mans the checkpoint at Ford's Point, and waves vehicles into the parking lot. Due to the large amount of snow, it wasn't possible to drive east of Robinson Flat Campground, unless you had a snow cat.

Photo: Liz waves vehicles into the parking lot. Western States Endurance Run obtained a special use permit for the event, from the Tahoe National Forest, and operated under strict environmental guideline, which would make any Sierra Club member smile.

Allow me to digress a bit... the landscape at Robinson Flat was quite different than it was during last year's Tevis Cup ride, as the place was covered in snow - lots of it - and it looked more like mid April than the last weekend in June. Robinson Flat Campground sits at a road junction, with one dirt road leading to Duncan Peak, and where the paved Foresthill Road ends, and the unpaved road continues northeast along the divide, known as Baker Ranch - Soda Springs road, where the road continues to the small community of Soda Springs. The aid stations, communication station and other runner services were set up near the intersection, as that was the only area free of snow, as the campground was still covered with a foot or so of snow, and more in the shady areas.

During the Western States Endurance Run and the Tevis Ride, Robinson Flat can be a very busy place, as it's a major checkpoint, aid station, and is the most easily accessible place on the eastern half of the run for friends, relatives and curious onlookers to observe the race. Without the snow, there is a serious lack of parking at Robinson Flat, and when 90% of the area isn't accessible due to snow, it can make for some serious congestion.

To alleviate this congestion, a roadblock is set up at Sailor Flat, which is a trail junction located about three miles west of Robinson Flat Campground, on Foresthill Road. Unless you're considered "official" traffic, you're asked to pull over and park, and board a shuttle bus that shuttles passengers between Sailor Flat and Robinson Flat. The shuttle bus is actually a school bus, provided by the Foresthill Unified School District, which is a much-appreciated public service asset. Foresthill Road is a public road, and the "traffic control" is only in effect during the West Coast Endurance Run and the Tevis Ride; most of the time, you'll have Foresthill Road and Robinson Flat Campground to yourself, as the area is remote and sees few visitors, outside of hunting season. Again, thanks to the extra-heavy snowfall, Sailor Point was not being used as a shuttle point - there was no place to park due to the snow - so the shuttle point was moved three miles to the west at Ford's Point.

I introduced myself to the station captain, Vicki Haskins, (who has been the parking area captain at Sailor Flat for 25 years) and told her that I was a member of the communications team, and asked her where the other team members were. She gave me a flabbergasted look, and said, "You're it!" Now that was to prove quite interesting...

As I mentioned before, parking at Robinson Flat is always scarce, and with snow covering what little parking there is made parking almost non-existent today. Robinson Flat is a popular look for onlookers to get a first-look at their runner, as points to the east are not easily accessed for most people, and if the weather is good, you can drive a passenger car to Robinson Flat, as the road is paved, albeit narrow. On a good year at Robinson Flat, there is probably parking for 50 cars or so, which would be mostly allocated to official and service vehicles, but probably 5 times that many vehicles show up, so the solution is to park elsewhere and shuttle people to Robinson Flat. This year, Ford's Point was the answer, because there was ample parking, easy access, space for the busses to turn around, and at elevation 5764 feet, it was free of snow. (Robinson Flat is at about the 7100 foot elevation - too much snow!)

Photo: Folks in line to board the shuttle, as Liz directs others into the parking lot. These people asked many questions about the status of their runners during their wait, and I was happy to provide them with updates, in a timely manner.

As you approach Ford's Point, you come to a check point, manned by a couple of race officials, who, to the uninitiated, explain why you can't go through, and direct you to another official, who flags you to a parking spot. You then board the bus and ride it to Robinson Flat, where you can watch your runner. When your runner checks in at Robinson Flat, you board the bus, ride it back to Ford's Point, pick up your car, and you're on your merry way. The round trip of the shuttle bus averaged about 20 minutes, so waiting wasn't a problem.

After checking in with Vicki, the parking captain, I asked her how I could be of service to her, and she told me that the number one service that I could provide is to copy down lists of runners who had made Robinson Flat, and pass the information along to folks who were waiting to board a bus. Also, she asked if she could field people with questions and issues to me, to relieve her of some of the pressure, I told her it was fine with me, as I was here to help and render whatever services I could.

There are a dozen or so major checkpoints along the route of the run, and Robinson Flat was the nearest point to the east, in the direction from where the runners were coming, with Last Chance the first checkpoint to the west. As the runners made Robinson Flat, they were required to check in with the station captain, and to take a short break, maybe eat a little snack, and undergo a quick medical check up. The committee of the Western States Endurance Run doesn't want to have any runners left behind, and doesn't want any "strays," so it's strict protocol for the runners to check in. As the lists of runners are complied, they're relayed via Amateur Radio to Net Control, which enters the numbers in a database, so each runner is accounted for. The database is then uploaded to the Internet, so if you're checking the status of your runner, all you have to go is to go online - but this is about ham radio.

Photo: Vicki Haskins, the parking area captain, in the yellow shirt, was a very busy lady and hard to keep up with. She profusely thanked me for my help at the end of the day, and invited me to come back next year. She also treated me to soft drinks and sandwiches, which was very welcome! Operating the radio is hungry work...

So I spent a very busy several hours at Ford's Point, copying down runner numbers from the transmission made at Robinson Flat, and relaying them to whoever would ask me. When asked for runner information, Vicki and the other officials would point folks in my direction, and at times, I seemed to be the most popular person in the area, as I would quickly attract a crowd. Other times, I'd just be providing information about the race, the course and the local area. This race attracts people from all over the country, so I sort of acted like an "ambassador" to Placer County, and dispensed lots of information about the local area. One gentleman from Florida even asked me for a recommendation for a good restaurant for breakfast, and since I'm president of the Sacramento Breakfast Club, I was in a good position to answer his question. (I recommended Charlie's Café in Citrus Heights, which is our de facto favorite breakfast restaurant.)

The communications team for Western States Endurance Run sets up a rather elaborate network of linked Amateur Radio 2-meter, and 440 repeaters. Each checkpoint has a primary repeater and a secondary repeater frequency, and usually one or two simplex frequencies. Ford's Point was unique, as the runners didn't actually pass through the place - I didn't see any "live" runners until I stopped in Foresthill on my way home to take photos - and therefore doesn't utilize any specific frequencies. It was just the case of use-what-frequency-works-best, and in my case, it was the Bald Mountain repeater on 146.625, and the Foresthill machine on 147.355. (Due to the differences in operation, the communication facilities differ between the Western States Run and the Tevis Ride.) Since Ford's Point affords a clear view of the valley to the west, I was able to work each repeater, using my handheld Yaesu FT-60R, running 5 watts to a Diamond 144/440 MHz wide band coverage flexible antenna on my handheld transceiver.

Photo: WS6L is copying down the numbers of runners who have made it to Robinson Flat, and will be relaying the information to all interested parties. Runners must check in and check out of each rest stop, and it must be recorded and relayed to Net Control, so nobody is left behind or forgotten.

Photo: "Net Control, this is Ford's Point with traffic..." Christina caught me in action relaying a message from Vicki to Net Control. Note the blue T-shirt that I'm wearing, as all members of the Communications Team received a complimentary blue shirt, to identify you as a member of the team.

As I mentioned before, answering questions and obtaining the status of individual runners kept me busy most of the time. There were a couple of incidents that were bordering on the funny side. I was approached by a young woman who had locked her keys in the ignition of her Ford Explorer, and wanted my help. There is no cell phone service at Ford's Point, so unless you have satellite radio, ham radio will have to do... the girl asked me if I knew how to jimmy open card windows, and told her that since I'm no Houdini, about all I could do is break her window. Then, I got on the radio and asked if there was anybody around who knew what to do, and believe it or not, one of the guys from checkpoint Poppy said he could help, and that he'd be down as soon as his duties at Poppy were finished. Sure enough - two hours later - they'd managed to open her window, and she was on her way with a friendly smile.

Another interesting incident happened when I was standing around, chatting with Vicki, about how smoothly things were going, and the fact that things seemed to be winding down. I was approached by a young woman and two gentlemen, who explained that they were trying to get in touch with their ride, who was over the hill at Squaw Valley, and that they were stranded at Ford's Point with no ride, and what seemed to be the most important to them, no laptop computer! They also bemoaned the fact that their cell phone wouldn't work, and what they really wanted most of anything was for their ride to meet them at the Michigan Bar checkpoint. They gave me the number of their ride, and I radioed it into Net Control, and Net Control actually managed to get in touch with their ride and divert them to Ford's Point.

Photo: Runner Andy Jones-Wilkins, from Idaho, crosses the line at the Foresthill checkpoint, with his supporting team. Runners come from all over the country, and many foreign countries, to participate in this event, which is considered one of the most physically taxing competitive events in the world.

Photo: Runner Erik Skaden makes it across the line at Foresthill, with a member of his support team and a race official. Race officials can be identified by their red shirts. Although this guy has been running for 11 hours, and has put over 60 miles of mountains behind him, he looks like he's out for a walk in the park. Truly amazing!

I was glad that I was able to help out at Ford's Point, as Amateur Radio communications played a vital role in helping the event run smoothly. For me, it was a lot of fun, a chance to be a goodwill ambassador of ham radio, and a chance to get out in the beautiful Sierra Nevada mountains, with a group of really nice folks.

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