It is 2:30pm on Friday, and I am picking up the latest person who will be my crew for this race. His name is Rex, and he goes to my church. A week and a half ago when I finally decided I was going to run this, I put out an email to several guys from church to see if any of them would be interested. Rex said he would love to help out. After picking up Rex, we drive out to Camp Bethel, which is serving as the race headquarters (this is just north of Roanoke, Virginia). It takes us over 3 hours because there were two accidents that slowed down traffic. However, we arrive right on time for the start of race check-in at 6pm. After checking in, most of the runners and crews just sit around watching as other people show up. While I recognize some of the names of people at the check-in, I really don’t know anyone. David Horton is the race director, and he talks every now and then. At 7pm, we eat dinner. Rex and I are sitting at a table with a couple. She is the runner, and he is her crew. After dinner, we move over to another building where the pre-race briefing will occur. When Rex and I get over there, only a couple of people are there. One of them is Bethany Hunter, who is not running this race. She is helping to mark the course for the night portions and will also be working at the last aid station. The pre-race briefing starts right on time at 8:30pm. David Horton spends most of the briefing describing in detail about all of the sections on the course. Also, whenever someone asks a question, he introduces this person to the group because they are someone everyone should know in the ultra community. The pre-race briefing ends at 9:15pm, and we are told that we can sleep until 10:30pm if we want to, but the caravan to get to the start is leaving at 11pm sharp. I lay down for about an hour, but I don’t get any sleep.December 13
The trip from Camp Bethel to the start takes about 35 minutes. I finish my pre-race routine, and then walk from the truck to the starting line, getting there 2 minutes before David shouts go. The temperature is cold about 30 degrees, and I am wearing a pair of tights, a long sleeve Cool Max shirt, a long sleeve heavy cotton shirt, a wool cap, thin cotton gloves, my Camelbak with 50 ounces of water, and Asics Traverse trail running shoes. Let the adventure begin!Mile 3.5 45:39 (13:03 avg./mile) FSR 35
The first two miles are totally uneventful. The pack from the start spreads out very quickly. Although it is cold, the wind is near still, and I start to feel comfortable with the amount of clothes I am wearing. David Horton has told us that near the end of this section will be the one place on the course where we will get our feet wet. With less than a mile to go to the aid station, the trail becomes very wet, and there are several places where my feet get wet. However, this is not yet the place that David was referring to when he said we would get our feet wet. Finally, I come to the Belfast Creek crossing and the water is at least knee deep in most places. Coming out of the water, my feet are soaked, but for the most part I am doing well. I come into the first aid station, which crews were not allowed in, and I grab a cup of Conquest, some potato chips, and head on up the road. I am told that we stay on this gravel road until the next aid station.Mile 7.5 1:00:51 (15:13 avg./mile) Petites Gap
As I leave the aid station, the road goes uphill, gradually at first and then more steeply. As the road climbs in elevation, the temperature drops and the road becomes covered with snow and ice. My feet are cold, but I make it into this aid station, and Rex is there waiting for me with a dry pair of shoes and socks. Changing my shoes was not easy because the shoe laces are frozen. I am able to get them off without untying them all the way. The dry pair of shoes is dry and nice, but they were cold, and it will be a couple of miles before my feet warm up all of the way. I also drink a pint of chocolate milk.Mile 13.1 1:35:27 (17:03 avg./mile) Camping Gap
This third aid station is the other one where crews are not allowed. There were no interesting things happening to me on this section except to say that the snow was covering the trail in most sections. Also, there was a spot early on where I once again got my feet wet. I think the streams are all a little higher than when David ran this in November. I was thinking at one point that it would have been very useful to have a set of skiis. My time isn’t great, but in the dark I am just glad to this much closer to seeing daylight. As I got to the aid station, I smelled soup, but they were just starting a pot of Ramen noodles, and I decided not to wait.Mile 21.9 2:33:59 (17:30 avg./mile) Headforemost Mtn.
Now the section from Camping Gap to Headforemost Mountain was billed by David as the toughest section on the course. Therefore, I was prepared to be in for a serious challenge. It is still dark and heading uphill means it is going to get colder. Even though I am only early in the race, I will go a couple of miles without seeing anyone. Near the end of this section, a lady named Marty runs with me. I don’t know if she came up behind me or vice versa. Anyway, I think I hear sounds coming from the aid station, but each turn only reveals more trail ahead. Finally, I make it into the aid station. Rex is there with some chocolate milk. I go over to check-in, and I ask for some soup or something, but they don’t have any ready. So, I drink a pint of chocolate milk and head on down the trail.Mile 27.6 1:47:27 (18:51 avg./mile) Jennings Creek
Now, let me warn you that if you are eating or just ate or are about to eat, you might want to just skip ahead to the next section and not read the rest of this one. Okay, still reading? Don’t say I didn’t warn you! I no more than got away from the last aid station, and my bowels decided it was getting time to move. So, I am slowing running along the trail trying to figure out what to do. There aren’t any leaves on the trees, so that won’t work in place of toilet paper. I think, maybe I can just maintain the status quo until the next aid station, but I soon realize that this is not a viable option if I want to keep running. Finally, I decide two things. One, I should do this while it is still dark, and two; I need to find a place where there is snow and just use that to clean things up as best as possible. So, that is what I do. As I am taking care of business two guys, who I passed before the last aid station, pass on by, but they don’t see me off the trail about 30 feet. After taking care of this issue, my spirits rise because now this is just one less thing that I will have to worry about the rest of the day (hopefully). Over confidence though, usually comes before the fall—literally. About a mile before reaching this aid station, I take my first tumble. I land on my left shoulder and skid several feet. Fortunately, I fell on some nice soft dirt and nothing else. After dusting myself off, I then make it into the aid station just thankful to be done with this section. The sun is now up, and it is a new day. Rex is here at the aid station, and I grab a bagel and a cup of Conquest before starting up the trail.Mile 33.3 1:35:39 (16:47 avg./mile) Little Cove Mtn.
As soon as I leave Jennings Creek, I come up on Fred Pilon, who used to be the editor of ultra running magazine. Now he is an editor emeritus. We talk for a while going up this next hill. He has done a lot of these ultras, but he says he hasn’t been training enough for this one. When I get to this aid station, it really surprises me because I didn’t think I was going this fast. The original distance to this aid station from the last was 6.9 miles, which means I averaged 13:52/mile. However, as you can see, I only really averaged 16:47/mile. This isn’t bad; it is just I didn’t know at the time that the aid station wasn’t where it was supposed to be. At this aid station, they are cooking breakfast. As I am changing in my third pair of shoes and socks for the day, Rex goes over and gets me a sausage and egg sandwich. It is absolutely delicious! I wash it down with another pint of chocolate milk. I also take my Advair medication for my recently diagnosed asthma. This doesn’t have a dramatic effect, but it will keep the oxygen flowing in my lungs and prevent the fatigue that was starting to occur from getting less oxygen. The clock now stands at 9:19, so I have over three hours to make it the next 8.0 miles to the next aid station and the last cut-off time before the finish. I am feeling good (relatively speaking), the sun is shining, and I have a couple of old guys (Fred Pilon and Gary Knipling) around me to keep me motivated.Mile 42.5 2:56:36 (19:12 avg./mile) Bearwallow Gap
It was reported at the pre-race briefing by David that this was the second hardest section of the race. However, when he said this, he didn’t know that it was going to be 1.2 miles longer and all of that additional mileage was uphill! The really bad part is that I am just coasting along fat, dumb, and happy because I think I will most likely roll into the next aid station well ahead of the 12:30pm cut-off. About an hour and a quarter after leaving the last aid station, Marty Lindemann (who I ran with some in the middle of the night) comes back past me. Not being really competitive, but just trying to break up the boredom, I decide to keep her in sight. Soon the trail turns rough (hence the reason David said it was the second toughest section), and I am motivated to push the pace because nothing gets me going than running downhill over technically difficult, rocky terrain. Soon I am flying down the hill, but Marty is right behind me. We pass Fred like he is standing still (actually he was at the moment we passed), and we don’t know how far we have run or how far we have to the next aid station, and we definitely don’t know that it is 1.2 miles further than we would have thought anyway, but we are definitely making great time. The only problem is that two hours after leaving the last aid station, we are nowhere in sight of the next one. Marty and I start up this series of rocky switchbacks, which both of us assume will lead us to the aid station at the top of the hill. It is not to be and soon after this, she passes me. It will be almost an hour more before I arrive in the aid station. When I am about 15 minutes out of the aid station, I meet a woman walking out from the aid station, and she mentions how much farther I have. I can’t believe it, and she says it was over 9 miles from the last aid station. Needless to say, by the time I get into the aid station, with the clock at 12:15:40pm, I am little heated up because now I really want to finish this tough, longer than advertised race. Rex reads me quickly and tells me just to check-in and not to think about the time. He checks the mileage after I say something, but the sheet says that it was only 8.0 miles from the last checkpoint. Now, I know that I need to really crank it up if I am going to have a chance to finish under the 18 hour cut-off. I grab a bagel and head up the trail quickly.Mile 49.5 1:50:18 (15:45 avg./mile) Bobblets Gap
I blast out of the aid station and practically run to the top of the next hill. It is mostly uphill at first, but I am only walking when it gets too steep. On the JFK 50, I have really gotten good at having a good finishing kick over the last 8 miles, but in this case, here at the Hellgate 100k, I have 20 miles to go. I don’t know if I can maintain my edge for that long or when my body will say it has had enough, but at this point all I am trying to do is get to the next aid station in order to give me a chance. I quickly catch up to a guy by the name of Tom Corris and pass him. One of the things motivating me is all of the good runners that are behind me that I know don’t have much of a chance to finish in time. I start to fade slightly, but I am able to maintain momentum on the downhill portions. I roll into this aid station in a really good position. Rex is here to meet me, and I decide with only 13 miles to go that it is time to start drinking some caffeine. I down two cups of Pepsi and scarf down another bagel. One of the people at the aid station says that it is all downhill to the next aid station.Mile 56.1 2:18:55 (21:03 avg./mile) Day Creek
Heading out of Bobblets Gap, I run downhill on a rocky, but wide trail for almost 30 minutes. As I cruise down this hill, I start to think that I can nail this section in about 1:30 if it keeps going downhill like the aid station worker said. After the first 30 minutes, the route heads back onto single track trail that wanders around going up and down hills. I was not expecting this, but I still think that I will make good time because I probably did 12 minute miles coming down the hill, so that means I have less than 5 miles to the next aid station. However, after another hour and a quarter, I begin to wonder if the aid station is ever going to get here. Marty and another lady pass me as we near the aid station. Finally, after over 2 hours and 15 minutes I manage to finish this supposed 6.6 mile stretch and make it into the last aid station of the race. The overall race clock stands at 16:24:54, which means I have 95 minutes to make it through the next 6.3 miles. As I am getting my Camelbak filled up by Bethany Hunter (the female ultra runner of the year) and drinking some Coke, Marty Lindemann and Tom Corris start up the hill before me.Mile 62.4 1:25:35 (13:35 avg./mile) Finish
With all of my remaining effort, I try to maintain eye sight of Marty and Tom. We all know that the time cut-off is close and that we need to have a good time on this section if we are going to be an official finisher. The first 2.8 miles of this section are directly uphill. There isn’t even a switchback where the trail levels out for a brief moment. Marty seems to still be very strong as she is in the lead most of the way up the hill. It appears that Tom is hobbling slightly, but he is still ahead of me going up the hill. We reach the top at 43:17. I am very confident that I can make it down the hill before the cut-off now. There are almost 52 minutes left to cover the remaining 3.5 miles. Hopefully, the information that it is now all downhill back to Camp Bethel, is accurate. As we reach the top, Marty and Tom pause, and I push on down the hill. It is starting to get dark, and I forgot to get my light from Rex at the last aid station. The first two miles are on a wide, rocky trail. Then we turn onto the final stretch and a nice smooth, gravel road. Marty briefly goes back ahead of me, but I re-pass her for good when she stops to tie her shoe. I push into the camp and head for the finish. There are all of two people at the line when I cross—Rex and David Horton. David thinks that I might be the last official finisher, but I tell him that Marty and Tom should make it. They finish 2 and 3 minutes later.Official Finishing Time 17:50:31
38th out of 71 (only 40 finished within 18 hours)
For the record, I made it the last 3.5 miles in 42:20. This works out to a 12:05 average per mile. After finishing I take a quick shower, and Rex and I hop in the truck and drive back to Richmond.
This effort and accomplishment are very high on my list, and I think this ordeal will help me in my next 100 mile attempt. My recovery seems to be going well. I haven’t run yet, but I am planning on trying later this morning. I hope that your Christmas holiday is a blessed one.
Never stop running,
Darin
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