Saturday, December 23, 2017

Hellgate 100k 2017 - Perfect Hellgate Weather


December 9

I am another year older.  Am I slowing down when I run?  Sometimes.  I seem to no longer have a chance against Nathan in the shorter distances.  For the longer races, the ultras, the races that I train for and live for, I think I am almost as fast as ever.  My slower top end speed is usually not a factor in ultras, but it has been seven years since I have finished under 17 hours at this race.  Will I be able to break the 17-hour mark again?  I have trained hard this year.  I added weekly speed work over the summer and fall.  It didn’t help a bit in the latest 5k I ran, but it did seem to help on the 50k I ran in late September.  Will it help here?  It is almost time to find out.

Darin before the start
Amy and Ben are getting married next weekend, but they are still out here to crew for me again this year.  They are better prepared with sleeping bags and warmer clothing, although it is not forecasted to be as cold as last year.  It is supposed to stay in the 20s, but snow is forecasted to start sometime after midnight.  I will start the race with thin tights, two long-sleeve shirts, hat, and gloves.

As this is the 15th year, David Horton has made a huge deal about the five of us who have finished all 14 so far.  We have been dubbed, “The Fearsome Five,” and Blue Ridge Outdoor magazine is writing an article about us for the February issue.  Before the start, Horton has us back out in front to get one last picture.  We sing the National Anthem, Horton says a prayer, and the race begins.

Mile 3.5      45:21 (12:57 avg./mile) FSR 35

The air is crisp and nicely cool.  The snow has yet to begin.  Maybe the weatherman will be wrong.  Maybe there won’t be any snow today.  I cover the early miles, settling into a comfortable pace.  Rick Gray comes by me around mile 2.  He had to stop and squat in the woods.  I arrive at the stream crossing to see that the water is very low.  I have never successfully rock hopped this first stream crossing and most years I don’t even consider trying.  However with the water so low, I give it a try and am successful!  I navigate a small rock garden before arriving at the first aid station right on my average pace for this section.  I drink a cup of water before starting up the dirt road.

Mile 7.5      57:34 (14:23 avg./mile) Petites Gap

Early on this section I find myself all alone.  This doesn’t last long as soon I catch a couple of people ahead of me, and a couple of people behind me catch up to me.  I attempt to run all of the not too steep sections as the road continues to go up and up.  It is cold as forecasted, but there is very little wind.  It is a beautiful, crisp winter night in the mountains.  I arrive at the aid station and find Amy and Ben.  They are ready for me with shoes and socks, but my shoes are still dry.  I drink about half a pint of chocolate milk and take a bagel with me.  I hadn’t run this fast on this section since 2010.

Mile 13.1    1:34:51 (16:56 avg./mile) Camping Gap

The goal during the night at Hellgate is to survive.  Leaving Petites Gap, there is a rocky technical downhill section that lasts about a mile or so.  One aspect of surviving is not missing a turn.  Near the bottom of the downhill, the course turns off to the right.  There are a handful of runners coming back up the hill after they missed this turn.  Soon thereafter, I link up with Michelle, who is a friend of the Grays.  She is a great climber, and I decide to try and stay with her through the rest of this section.  We navigate the single-track trail portion, crossing the two streams that are basically dry—not their usual condition this time of year.  Then we start the climb up the dirt road to the next aid station.  During the climb, Michelle pulls ahead of me, but I keep her in sight.  I have made excellent time, and it is only 3:17am.  I hadn’t run this fast on this section since 2010.  (There might be a theme developing with split times.)  I grab a quesadilla and half of a grilled cheese sandwich.  I also take a minute to remove a rock from my right shoe.

Mile 21.9    2:28:46 (16:54 avg./mile) Headforemost Mountain

Leaving Camping Gap, I am not very motivated.  I need to focus, though, as this section is the hardest during the night.  I try to walk with purpose on the uphill portions, and run with abandon on the downhill parts.  After a couple of miles, a few runners start hanging with me once they realize I am one of the Fearsome Five.  I can tell other runners exactly how far we are to the next aid station and what is coming up next.  I point out the false turns to the left (there are a couple of them) before the actual left turn off of the grassy road section.  We make our way up to Apple Orchard and then start the tricky downhill to Overstreet Falls.  At some point the snow begins to fall.  It is a soft snow fall, and it takes a while for any to start to stick on the trail.  I feel fortunate to get through this technical section without having the additional challenge of slick snow.  The Blue Ridge Parkway is closed due to the threat of snow, so the aid station has been moved to Overstreet Falls.  I get here is excellent time, but I don’t click my watch until the top of the mountain where the aid station was the first several years.  My time is very quick as I haven’t done this section in less than 2.5 hours in several years.  The clock shows 5:46am, which means I am 44 minutes ahead of the cut-offs.  I hadn’t run this fast on this section since 2011.

Mile 27.6    1:33:56 (16:29 avg./mile) Jennings Creek

Darin leaving Jennings Creek aid station
There are two guys that have been around me the last two sections.  One of them is Grant Muller.  I talk with them a bit, but as the downhill really gets going on this section, I push the pace.  I am feeling good, the snow is soft, and I feel like I might have a little speed left in my legs as if my interval training is paying off.  I pass a couple of runners, but then a couple of runners pass me as well.  Even so, I am thrilled with my time on this section.  I hadn’t run this section this fast since 2009.  When I get to the aid station, I cannot find Amy and Ben.  I walk up the road one direction looking for our car—no luck.  I walk the other direction and then find them starting to setup.  I am ahead of schedule, and they mention the fact that we didn’t buy any propane.  Therefore, they don’t have an egg, bacon, and cheese sandwich ready for me.  However, Ben runs over to the aid station and grabs a sausage and cheese sandwich, which tastes awesome!  Meanwhile, I decide to change my shoes as they have gotten wet in the snow, and my feet are cold.  So, after a 10 minute pit stop, it is still only 7:20am when I depart.  I have a full Camelbak that I hope will last until I see my crew again.

Mile 34.5    1:46:13 (15:24 avg./mile) Little Cove Mountain

On the initial climb, I meet up with two guys from Athens, Alabama that Amy and Ben had met over dinner last night.  They are nice guys, and it is their first time running this race.  We chat about the ultras we have run in Alabama and soon we have finished the climb and start the downhill.  I push ahead with the pace again, maximizing the benefit of gravity.  I catch up to AJ Johnson, and he and I are surprised when we get to the aid station as we are talking away.  AJ is trying to finish his 5th time and then he swears he isn’t going to run this special race again!  At the aid station, I eat half of a grilled cheese sandwich, and drink a cup of water.  In hindsight, I should have eaten more.  The temperature is holding in the high 20s, but with the snow falling on me it is taking more energy to stay warm.  It is 9:06am when I leave the aid station.  With luck and focused running, I have a good chance to get into Bearwallow Gap before 11:30am, which would be an hour ahead of the cut-offs.

Mile 42.5    2:29:12 (18:39 avg./mile) Bearwallow Gap

Darin coming into Bearwallow Gap
The bear hunters are out today as usual, and they have their dogs with them.  Leaving Little Cove Mountain, a few of the hunting dogs want to follow us runners instead of their masters.  After a while the dogs decide they need to go back to their masters, and I am glad.  They weren’t in the way, but they were a distraction to the mission at hand.  I push my tired legs to run almost all of the grassy road section.  It is rolling, but I know that this is where time needs to be made on this section.  Along the way, I find myself running with Jeremiah Clark.  He is running his second Hellgate.  He is a Liberty University graduate who now works as a personal trainer in Lynchburg.  When we get to the devil trail portion, I announce that we are making good time and have 45 minutes to the aid station.  I hear another runner behind me chuckle and turn to see that AJ is back up with me.  He ran with me last year and confirmed that my 45 minute prediction is spot on to the minute.  I survive the rocks and leaves of the devil trail once again, hop across the stream, and then run the last mile to the aid station.  Amy and Ben are setup and ready for me with a beautifully grilled ham and cheese sandwich.  I am famished, so I sit down and vow to eat the whole sandwich before leaving the aid station.  I wash the sandwich down first with chocolate milk, and then with some Conquest.  My Camelbak ran dry about 30 minutes ago, but otherwise, I have made great time, and I arrived at this aid station before 11:30am.  I spend nine minutes eating and drinking and preparing myself mentally for the last third of the race.  I am in great shape to finish under 17 hours,
Darin eating at Bearwallow Gap aid station
but will my mind and body hold up?  Let’s go find out!

Mile 49.5    1:57:03 (16:43 avg./mile) Bobblets Gap

The climb out of Bearwallow Gap is difficult.  I do okay with it, and AJ is back with me.  After we reach the top of the climb, he pushes on ahead of me.  After a couple more runners pass me, it is obvious I am not keeping the pace I want.  So, I make the decision to start the caffeine.  I pop a caffeine pill and within 10 minutes, I am running well.  My legs are no longer so tired, and I begin to re-pass the runners that had passed me earlier.  I quickly pass AJ, and power my way into the aid station with my eye on the clock.  I grab another half of a grilled cheese sandwich and wash it down with a cup of Pepsi.  With the parkway closed, crews cannot get to this aid station so I have to drink what is provided by the dedicated volunteers that man the aid stations.  As most know, I prefer Coke over Pepsi.  It not only tastes better to me, but the performance benefit late in a race is better as well.  I leave the aid station at 1:32pm.  I have 3 hours and 28 minutes left before 17 hours.  Of course the race cut-off is 18 hours, so I am in great shape for finishing number 15, but whether it will be under 17 hours is going to be close!

Mile 56.1    2:08:47 (19:31 avg./mile) Day Creek

Potato chips & Coke at the last aid station
I run down the hill on the dirt road for 2.5 miles completing it in 29 minutes.  The road was smoothed out last year, and it is easier to make good time down it than before when it was one rut after another.  I link back up with the guys from Athens, and we push each other through most of the section.  When I stop to take a leak with a mile or so to go, they go on ahead of me and make it to the aid station a few minutes before me.  Completing this forever section with 13 small creek crossings is the last tough mental portion of this adventure.  At the aid station, Amy and Ben are ready with a bottle of Coke and a bagel in hand.  I drink about two-thirds of the Coke while stuffing potato chips from the aid station into my mouth.  The clock reads 3:41pm.  I will have to run this section faster than I have in years.  Can I still recreate the speed I had when I was younger and before I had my ACL reconstructed?  Can I pull one last rabbit out of my bag of tricks?  I think I am ready mentally, now the question is will my body allow it?

Mile 62.4    1:12:12 (11:28 avg./mile) FINISH

Crossing the finish line!
Amy paces me for this last section.  I breathe as hard as my 48-year old lungs will allow while power hiking as fast as my legs will move.  We make it up the climb and cross the parkway one last time in 41 minutes—not bad.  My fastest ever was 35 minutes seven years ago.  I was hoping for 40 minutes, 41 flat will have to do.  Now the moment of truth, how much speed is left in my legs?  We start down the grassy road, avoiding the loose rocks.  I passed one runner on the climb and now start passing other runners in bunches.  I am moving very well.  I avoid any missteps, and we hit the gate with 1.5 miles to go (2 miles since crossing the parkway) in 18 minutes.  That leaves me almost 20 minutes to reach my goal.  The mile to go line feels like it takes us a long time to reach.  Meanwhile, we pass Robert Wehner, who is going to finish his 12thI mark my watch as I start the last mile.  The sun is setting, and I try to see if there is another runner I can catch before the finish.  Seeing no other runners in front of me and knowing I have my goal made, I let off the accelerator just a tad to ensure I have something left in the tank to look good crossing the finish line.  I may be the slowest of the Fearsome Five, but I am still one of them.  15 in a row!

Official Finishing Time          16:53:55

92nd out of 140 starters (111 finishers under 18 hours)

As you can see I ended up over six minutes under the 17-hour goal I had set.  It has been seven years (since 2010) that I have run this fast at Hellgate.  And, this then counts as a qualifier for Western States in 2019.  I was not lucky in the lottery this year for Western States for 2018, so I will have two tickets in the lottery next year.

When I finish, Horton again gets the five of us up in front for more pictures and recognition.  All I want to do is sit down.  First we take a picture with our finisher pullovers, which are very comfy.  Then we have to take those off and put on the embroidered golf shirts for another picture (below).  Finally, I get to sit down.  I start my recovery with a Coke over ice (thanks to Amy), and then think about a shower.  I learn from Ben that Rick Gray finished only 46 seconds ahead of me.  That would have been nice, but I guess will have to wait for another year.
The Fearsome Five
My next race will likely be the Mountain Mist 50k in Huntsville on my birthday, January 27.  Then Amy and Ben are talking about running Mt. Cheaha 50k with me in February.  Stay tuned, the fun is just beginning.  How many more years will I run Hellgate?  I don’t know, but I plan to be back next year.

Never stop running,
Darin
 
* All photos courtesy of Ben Shea--thank you!