Hellgate 100k 2012 – Hot times at the gates of hell

December 8

This race started nine years ago with 71 runners entered the first year and only 40 of us crossing the finish line.  I didn’t even hear about the race until about two weeks before and decided to enter as a good training run as I had yet to finish my first 100 miler.  Somewhere during that race, I realized that this was a tough challenge and that there would be some good runners who were behind me that would not finish.  However, finish I did with Tom Corris and Marty Lindemann close behind.  We were the last three finishers that first year in 2003.  After last year’s ninth edition of this special challenge, there were only six of us that have finished all nine.  Unfortunately, there are only five of us on the start line this year as Dan Lehmann has some health issues that prevented him from running since August.  So, now there will be only five of us if all of us can finish this year.

My own health became a factor this year when I tore my ACL in March skiing in Big Sky, MT.  Five weeks later on April 13, I had my right ACL reconstructed by patella auto graft.   That is, the surgeon took the center third section of my patella tendon and fashioned a new ACL tendon.  My recovery has gone well, but this will be my first ultra since last year’s Hellgate.  I hit most of my training goals, but my speed has been slower coming back.  If this race were just a question of whether I could cover 62+ miles, then I would be very confident in my ability to finish.  However, this is Hellgate where most mid-pack ultra runners have to fight to stay in front of the cut-offs.  I have to admit that I had some concerns on whether I could run the sections fast enough.  The advantage I had was that after nine times I knew nearly every bend, dip, and climb on the course.

Before the start keeping warm with the jacket

This year’s weather is the mildest in the history of this race.  This is only the third time that I haven’t worn tights for this usually bone-chilling cold race.  Today it feels like early fall.  I am wearing a couple of light weight shirts, shorts, and just a buff on my head.  I also have my Camelbak and headlamp, of course.  We all join together and sing the National Anthem, Horton says a prayer, someone else says a prayer for Horton as he will have open heart surgery on Monday, and then we are off.  Can I go 10 for 10?  We are about to find out.

Mile 3.5      41:40 (11:54 avg./mile) FSR 35

I am well rested and well fed.  I feel good and knowing that I might need every minute I can get, I keep the pace up for this first section.  In the process, I cover this first section about 40 seconds faster than I ever have and 3-4 minutes faster than my goal.  Without much rain this fall, the creek is very low, and two steps on rocks and I am across.  This is the first year that I don’t get my feet wet.  Maybe staying in front of the time cut-offs won’t be too hard, and I can have a smooth, quick race.  I grab a cup of water at this first aid station and without wasting any time, start heading up the mountain.

Mile 7.5      1:00:31 (15:08 avg./mile) Petites Gap

These four miles are all uphill, but the key is making good time.  This is done by running quite a bit of the first half before it gets too steep.  This is an enjoyable time as David Snipes, Beth Minnick, Kathleen Cusick, Rick Gray, and others are around me some of the climb.  This section is all on a gravel road, and the talk flows easy as we settle into our race.  As I approach the aid station and my wife Martha, who is crewing for me this year, I have to decide whether I am going to change my shoes and socks.  I had planned on doing so, but I also thought I would get my feet wet at the creek crossing.  However, I decide to change them anyway as I started the race with an older pair of shoes.  I drink some chocolate milk while changing my shoes and socks, and then take a bagel with me for the trail.  My time is right on schedule.

Mile 13.1    1:36:23 (17:13 avg./mile) Camping Gap

I run the technical downhill at the start of this section intelligently, but I still feel like I am making good time.  After the sharp downhill, there is another mile or so of rolling single track trail.  I love this section as I can usually get in a good groove, make good time, and start to pass some people.  I manage to pass some people and still feel very strong.  My right knee is doing okay.  A little bit of fog as crept onto the course, but fortunately we are not in it very long.  When the course dumps back out onto a gravel road, I know that I need to push it to the top.  I do okay as no one passes me.  My time to this aid station is a minute behind my goal, so I am still right where I need to be.  I eat a few sandwich quarters at the aid station and grab some cookies for the road.

Mile 21.9    2:39:58 (18:11 avg./mile) Headforemost Mountain

I head out of the aid station, planning to keep up my good pace.  About a half mile out of the Camping Gap aid station, Jason Bryant, the seventh seeded runner, is running back towards us.  He doesn’t look confused or anything so I assume he knows what he is doing.  Another runner that is heading the same direction that I am asks if we are heading the right way, and I assure him that we are.  The first half of this section is along a grassy road.  There are several runners in my vicinity most of the way.  I feel like I am making good time as all of us are moving about the same pace.  When the course turns off of the grassy road back to a single track trail, my legs are fine, but my right hip is starting to hurt on the climbs.  This is a new pain for me, but nothing that isn’t manageable at this point.  I manage to make my way down the rocky trail to Overstreet Falls, and then just one more climb to the aid station.  A couple of years ago, they moved the aid station forward to be closer to the Blue Ridge Parkway.  My time here is still from where the old aid station was.  I was hoping to do this section in 2:30 so I am not far off of that time, and I still made it by 5:58am—over 30 minutes ahead of the cut-off.  However, my legs aren’t feeling peppy anymore.  At the aid station, I drink two cups of chicken broth.  I over hear another runner telling her crew that she didn’t train well enough and you can’t fake it at Hellgate.  I feel like that applies to me, but I am going to see how much longer I can “fake it.”  The problem staring me in my face is that my large intestine is full and wants to be relieved.  An aid station worker offers me some toilet paper.  I take some and head on down the trail.

Mile 27.6    1:52:13 (19:41 avg./mile) Jennings Creek

I get out of the view of the aid station and start looking for the proper terrain and a log necessary to “take care of business.”  Now there are many methods to taking a dump in the woods, but I prefer to find the perfect log.  I spy a nice size log off to the left of the trail and make my way towards it.  It is a little large, so I will have to use the lean my back on it as opposed to the sit on it and hang off of it method.  Business is all complete in about five minutes, now I just have to start running again, downhill on a rocky trail.  Now, it feels like I am running okay, but three or four people pass me on the way down to the aid station so I am sure I am not going as fast as I think I am.  My time on this section is definitely slower than desired, but hopefully I won’t have to take any more dumps in the woods.  My time this year is actually my slowest ever on this section—not good.  Martha is at this aid station with my grilled ham and cheese.  I wash it down with some chocolate milk and then I am off to climb the next hill.

Mile 34.5    1:55:27 (16:44 avg./mile) Little Cove Mountain

I start up the first climb with the intention of getting back on pace.  There is one guy in front of me that I am trying to catch or at least stay with.  I keep him in sight for most of the first climb and then he is gone.  However, nobody passes me so I can’t be going too slowly.  After the climb, there is a little downhill on a gravel road, and then the course keeps going down on a single track trail.  Usually I really hammer this section, but my legs don’t seem to really want to move quickly at this point.  I am still running decent (I think), but it doesn’t feel like I am going very fast.  Then we the course comes out of the woods and back on a gravel road, Bob Hiltibridle is sitting in his truck.  His wife, Janice is one of the course sweepers, and I am guessing the Bob is waiting for the course sweepers.  My immediate thought is that I hope I am not that close to the back of the pack.  Then I think that the last thing I want is the course sweepers to be following me that closely.  When I finally get up to the aid station, I am really worried about the next cut-off at Bearwallow Gap.  That cut-off is 12:30pm, and I know from experience that getting there close to that wouldn’t be good at all.  It is 9:46am when I grab a cup of Coke and a cup of Ramen from Martha, don’t even sit down, and continue on.  I don’t like to start drinking Coke this early in a race with some much of the race left, but I feel like I don’t have a choice.

Mile 42.5    2:15:35 (16:57 avg./mile) Bearwallow Gap

I drink the cup of Coke before I even get all of the way out of the aid station.  Then I gulp down the Ramen while I walk the first quarter of a mile.  I am motivated to really push this section hard.  I want to get there before Noon.  I will accept anything earlier than 12:15pm, but for my psyche I need a little time cushion on the cut-off.  When the downhill begins, I start running.  When I get to the rolling grassy road part, the Coke and Ramen are starting to take effect as I am starting to feel a little better and maybe even a little faster.  By the time the grassy road ends, and I am back on a single track trail, I have finally caught up to someone in front of me.  I pick off three runners, and then put distance between them and me.  It has been 45 minutes since I left Little Cove Mountain.  In another 15 minutes, I see three more runners in front of me that I need to catch.  I pass all three, but the third, Al Eder hangs with me.  I hammer the down hills and make the turn up the hill to the devil trail right at 1:25 since leaving Little Cove.  Typically, it takes me 45 minutes from here to the aid station.  Al stays right behind me as we carefully pick our way through the devil trail where loose rocks are covering the trail and they are buried under a foot of leaves.  We enter the aid station right around 2:10 for this section, and four minutes before Noon.  I can now breathe a little easier and even allow myself to sit down while taking in some nourishment.  I drink about a pint of Conquest, and then another can of Coke.  I take a grilled ham and cheese with me as I leave the aid station, right behind Al.

Mile 49.5    1:51:35 (15:56 avg./mile) Bobblets Gap

Leaving the Bearwallow aid station, I am eating my grilled ham and cheese sandwich.  The course is mostly uphill, but there are a few short flat sections.  I walk these while Al and his pacer run them.  Consequently, they pull away from me quickly.  I know how to make time on this section and it involves running the downhill portions smooth and steady.  I eat my entire sandwich, and when the full climb is complete, I am ready to run the downhill portions.  I pass a few people and then before I get to the saddle point, a guy who I have seen before today comes back by me.  When I finally get off of the single track trail and onto the dirt road that is only a mile to the aid station, I do something I have never done in this race.  I run most of it into the aid station.  I have again hit my mark for what I needed.  I drink some Conquest and some chocolate milk, and then take another ham and cheese sandwich with me leaving the aid station.  It is 1:53pm, and if I can run the next section in a little over two hours, I will be golden.  I elect not to drink any Coke at this aid station.

Mile 56.1    2:21:25 (21:26 avg./mile) Day Creek



At Day Creek drinking a Coke

Running this forever section involves making quick time when you can.  This means running fairly quickly the 2.5 miles down the hill to start the section.  My legs aren’t there to run it very fast.  I don’t let myself walk any of it, but the road is washed out and very rocky.  It is difficult to make really good time if one isn’t running really well at this point.  I get back to the trail after the 2.5 miles in 37 minutes.  I would have liked to be at this point in 30 minutes.  As soon as I get on the single track trail, Ernesto comes by me, and I follow him most of the way to the top of the first climb.  This about kills me, but it is faster than I would have done it otherwise.  Now, I need to try to keep the momentum.  However, about an hour into this section, my right hip starts hurting me again.  It hasn’t hurt me since just after starting to drink Coke at Little Cove Mountain.  My hip is really killing me, and it is affecting me most when power hiking uphill.  So, I run slowly most of the gradual uphill parts of this section.  My time is not good, but fortunately, I had built up a little cushion on the two previous sections.  Martha has another can of Coke poured for me.  I drink that and take half of a bagel for the trail.  After a little debate, Martha convinces me to take my headlamp as it is 4:14pm when I leave, and it will be dark in less than an hour.

Mile 62.4    1:32:29 (14:41 avg./mile) FINISH

Soon after finishing

Contrary to what anyone else will tell you, this last section is the only section that is the length it is advertised by Horton.  The total length is 6.3 miles—2.8 miles to the Parkway, and then 3.5 miles down the other side to the finish.  This is important because when you get to the top you don’t think you only have 3 miles to the finish.  I have typically made it the 2.8 miles in a nice quick 40 minutes or less, but this year with my hip that doesn’t stop killing me until 30 minutes after I drank the Coke, it takes me 45:56.  Not bad, as I have just under an hour to get down the other side.  Now, if someone thought it was only 3 miles to the finish, you could walk this, and while someone fresh could walk 3.5 miles in an hour or less, most Hellgate runners at this point need to run some to get down the hill in less than hour.  Furthermore, I know that late in a race as tough as this one, the body has a way of not doing what you want it to do.  So, while the body is willing, I will take advantage of the situation.  I start running down the hill while a few other runners pause at the Parkway.  One runner joins me, and we make decent time for the first mile or so, until he decides to slow down.  I am thinking, optimistically, that I might be doing a 10 minute mile or so, but it takes me 26 minutes to get to the gate, which is about 1.5 miles from the finish and 2.0 miles from the Parkway.  So, I am actually doing 13 minute miles!  I continue my very pedestrian pace all the way to the finish where Horton is ecstatic to see that the fifth survivor/streaker has made it home—ten for ten at Hellgate—not bad, not bad, indeed.

Official Finishing Time          17:47:16

112^th out of 139 starters (115 finishers under 18 hours)

This year really challenged me and hurt me in the end.  The limited training didn’t cost me so much in endurance, but rather in speed and quickness.  It seemed like I was pushing the entire time to stay under the cut-offs.  I would rather save the Coke until the last section or two, but this year I went to it early and it kept me in the race.  Although, I was in quite a bit of pain at the finish, I don’t think I hurt anything severely.  As I sit here two days later, my knees feel really good as do my thighs.  My calves are pretty tight, but they will be fine.  My right hip that gave me trouble during the race feels okay, mostly, and I think after several days of rest it should be okay.

Receiving the 10 time finisher award

This race wouldn’t exist without the vision and leadership of David Horton.  Today (Dec. 10) he had open-heart, seven by-pass surgery and my prayers go out for him.  I pray that the healing touch of Jesus will get him back on his feet quickly.  Finally, Martha was my expert, veteran crew person this year, and I deeply appreciated her help and support getting through this endeavor.  I don’t know why my streak at Hellgate means so much to me, but I am going to see how long I can keep this ride going.

Never stop running,

Darin