Black Hills 100

 
June 27

My crew, Rick, and I are traveling out to Sturgis, South Dakota so that I can run the Black Hills 100 mile race on Saturday.  I was registered to run this race last year, but then I tore my right ACL skiing in March.  So, the race directors were kind enough to let me delay my entry until this year.  I am flying my own airplane out here.  It is a Cirrus SR-20 built in 2003.  It has a cruising speed of 140 knots, give or take.   We had to make two fuel stops today, but now are on the final stretch.  The badlands are beautiful from the air, and we are flying by Mt. Rushmore on the way into Rapid City where we will land.

After landing in Rapid City, we get our rental vehicle, a Chevy Traverse that has a hatch back.  This is essential in case there is inclement weather so that my crew can still cook my food at the aid stations without it getting wet.  Tonight we feast on Buffalo Wild Wings.  Rick and I each devour 18 wings, washing it down with an adult beverage.  After dinner, it is a quick 30 mile drive up to Sturgis.

June 28


Most of the VHTRC contingent

Today is an easy day to check-in and relax before the race tomorrow.  At breakfast, we see Gary and Keith Knipling and Farouk Elkassed.  They said their trip out from DC took 15 hours due to delays in Chicago.  Rick and I made it in about 12 hours.  After breakfast, we picked up the race packet, did some grocery shopping, and then kicked back in the room until lunch.  For lunch, we ventured into downtown Sturgis to eat in one of the fine establishments where the motorcycle rally happens in August.  Then we bought several souvenir t-shirts before the race briefing at 4pm.  The race briefing was pretty light on information except what the markers looked like.  The dinner was good with the usual spaghetti and such.

June 29

With the late 6am race start, I sleep in until past 4am.  We drive the short distance to the start and meet everyone else.  The running race starts later because the bike race begins at 5am, and they want the riders to be out of our way.  I think 30 minutes would have sufficed, but it is just fine.  I am wearing the VHTRC away colors (blue) along with the other runners from Virginia.  The weather is cool for the start, but should get warm quickly.

Mile 5.7      1:08:57 (12:06 avg./mile) Alkali Creek

Just warming up and sorting through the field.  Gary is close by and the 50 miler and 100k runners are mixed in with us.  After the first two miles, I feel pretty good.  I was very tight and just didn’t feel right this morning at the start, but now I am warming up nicely.  At this first aid station, I remove the shirt and grab a bagel, washing it down with a little chocolate milk.  For most of the food items, I will take them with me.  I can then take my time eating them slowly.

Mile 10.3    1:01:43 (13:25 avg./mile) Bulldog

This aid station comes up quickly.  We have now crossed under I-90 and will stay south and west of the interstate until we return towards Alkali Creek.  Removing the shirt was a good thing, and I now find myself with Gary and a guy named John.  I top off my Camelbak with water.  It is warming up, and I am drinking liberally.  I grab a sandwich quarter and a cup of water at this aid station as crews are not allowed here.

Mile 17.0    1:39:23 (14:50 avg./mile) Elk Creek

Nothing exciting is happening as I am making nice steady progress.  I drink a good bit of Conquest, trade out my Camelbak (which was nearly empty), and take a grilled ham and cheese sandwich for the trail.  Rick is a very good crew as he can cook with the best of them.

Mile 22.5    1:24:52 (15:26 avg./mile) Crooked Tree

Leaving Elk Creek, Gary, John, and I link up.  John leads most of the way on this section, and we made good time.  The creek crossings at the beginning of this section were not as deep as advertised, and I make it across barely getting my shoes wet.  This section is mostly uphill, and John is leading us on a fairly aggressive pace up the switchbacks.  The view as we get higher is really cool.  We are climbing up out of a canyon, and the opposite side of the canyon wall is basically straight up.  We pull into this aid station, and Gary plops down in a chair.  I refill my Camelbak and leave the aid station close behind John with Gary still sitting in the chair.  This is the other aid station where crews are not allowed.

Mile 29.2    1:48:10 (16:09 avg./mile) Dalton Lake

Leaving Crooked Tree, John lets me go by as he says he is going to slow down a little.  I was thinking that we were pushing the pace a little bit for this early in the race.  So, I slow down slightly as well, but keep on moving.  I am still feeling well, and while it is warm, I am managing well.  There is a good climb starting this section, and then we drop down, down, down to Dalton Lake.  Rick is here and has found the only shade in the whole aid station.  It is very warm here.  I eat a bowl of Ramen and a hash brown.  I wash it down with some chocolate milk, trade out the Camelbak again, and head up the trail.  I am sucking down the water and taking in salt capsules regularly.

Mile 36.0    1:43:13 (15:11 avg./mile) Nemo

This is the first of two sections where the course is on a trail that we share with ATVs.  The trail is fairly technical with rocks as the ATVs have chewed up the trail quite a bit.  Another climb out of the aid station gets us up to slightly cooler temperatures.  Near the top, I link up with Brian Woods.  He tells me about last year when he made a wrong turn on this section.  He thinks one of the guys on an ATV probably switched a course mark as a few of them got off course.  We keep the conversation going all the way into Nemo, which is a small town.  It looks like Nemo is the place to come to rent ATVs or motorcycles.  Rick is here, but I only trade out the Camelbak, drink some Conquest, and take a bagel for the trail.

Mile 42.5    2:06:36 (19:29 avg./mile) Pilot Knob

Leaving Nemo, I am alone again on the trail.  Well, there are plenty of ATV riders out here, so I have to let them pass on several occasions.  I feel like I was moving faster than this time indicates, but maybe I am starting to slow down some.  I roll into the aid station anxious to get to the turnaround point.  I eat another bowl of Ramen with a hash brown.  Of course, I wash it all down with some chocolate milk before heading towards Silver City and the turnaround.  The word on the trail is that this next section is really tough.

Mile 50.0    2:17:28 (18:20 avg./mile) Silver City

This “hard” section starts out really nicely.  It is one of the nicer and smoother sections of the course.  Then about halfway through, the fun begins.  It starts with a really steep climb.  The only redeeming feature is that it isn’t too long.  Then the course follows around the hill forever until we finally drop into a valley that takes us to Silver City.  The downhill is tough, technical, and mostly canted.  Silver City isn’t much of a city.  I guess it used to be, but now it is just a few buildings.  I visit the restroom and have little success.  Then I change my shoes and drink some Conquest.  I take my headlamp with me as it is past 7pm.  I also take another grilled ham and cheese to eat as I move out of the aid station to make my way back to Sturgis.

Mile 57.5    2:25:50 (19:27 avg./mile) Pilot Knob

I was hoping that I would have a good cushion on Gary.  I haven’t seen him since mile 22.5.  However, I am only six minutes out of Silver City when I meet Gary heading towards Silver City.  He looks good, and I expect I will see him again before too long.  John is with him.  I meet everyone else—Kaci and Farouk—that are behind me.  Kaci says that she is going to drop in Silver City.  Rick tells me later that she had blister issues.  Farouk is further behind, but he looks okay.  It gets dark when I am on the final stretch into the aid station.  It is good that I took the headlamp from Silver City.  At this aid station, I change my shoes again.  The Keens that I put on in Silver City are letting scree in easier than the La Sportivas do.   So, I put on my second pair of La Sportivas.  I drink some chocolate milk and take a bagel with me.  While I was sitting there changing my shoes, I put on a long sleeve shirt.

Mile 64.0    2:22:28 (21:55 avg./mile) Nemo

Before dusk, it was warmer down low where the aid stations are.  Now that it is dark, it seems like it is warmer in the trees on the trail.  Therefore, I take off the long sleeve shirt and tie it around my waist.  Not long after leaving the aid station, Steve Sjolund catches up to me and asks if I mind if he stays with me.  I welcome the company, and we set a very deliberate pace, speed hiking through the night.  Before we reach the aid station, we link up with Elise Robocker.  She adds something to the conversation, and the three of us roll into Nemo.  Rick is ready as always, I eat some oatmeal and drink some chocolate milk.  I am out of the aid station quickly, but Steve and Elise aren’t far behind.

Mile 70.8    2:13:22 (19:37 avg./mile) Dalton Lake

Elise is from Montana, and Steve is from Minnesota.  We talk about our careers and life.  There is no rush to the conversation as we have all night.  We aren’t running at all, but we are keeping up a very brisk speed hike.  Notice that the splits from Pilot Knob to Nemo are slower than the others.  This is true for both directions, so I don’t think it was a climb or anything.  Anyway, we make it into Dalton Lake aid station, and it is still dark.  I have taken a couple of Vivarins to keep caffeine in my system.  These, along with the engaging conversation, keep me awake.  At Dalton Lake, it is out in the open and much cooler than the trail.  I drink some Coke and Conquest, and then take a grilled ham and cheese for the trail.

Mile 77.5    2:43:11 (24:21 avg./mile) Crooked Tree

Daylight finally comes before we get into Crooked Tree.  As soon as it is light enough, Steve moves on ahead.  I am still doing okay, but I am not ready to push it yet.  This aid station takes me forever.  I was hoping to pick things up, but now I will just be content to keep moving forward.  I am able to run the downhill sections, but obviously I am not running them quickly.

Mile 83.0    2:02:20 (22:15 avg./mile) Elk Creek

I make it across all of the creek crossings again with dry feet until the last one.  However, I only get one foot slightly wet, and at this point I don’t think it will bother anything.  My feet have held up well, but they are hurting.  I think I may have some blisters off of my heels, but otherwise they are good.  I get into Elk Creek and measure my time remaining.  I just need to keep moving forward.  The sun is up, and the temperature is climbing.   I eat some Ramen and a hash brown.  I think I need some more variety next time.  I continue to drink a little Coke at each aid station.

Mile 89.7    2:21:09 (21:04 avg./mile) Bulldog

The climb out of Elk Creek is long and not easy.  I finally get to the top only to be rewarded with a downhill that goes on forever.  I have made at least one squatting pit stop in the woods and have to take another.  When I finally get into the aid station (where crews are not allowed), I plop down in a chair.  I eat half of a PB&J sandwich while washing it down with some Coke.  Then the very nice aid station lady offers me some tomato soup, which I accept.  Now fully recharged, I need to get this race done.

Mile 94.3    1:40:27 (21:50 avg./mile) Alkali Creek

Darin walking into the last aid station

While I am in the woods again, I see Elise pass me, along with a few other runners.  John passes back by me, and I keep asking people if they have seen Gary.  John says he hasn’t seen him for a while.  We are back in the open, and I am measuring my ability to weather the heat.  I do manage to pass one runner, who looks like he is hurting.  I feel fine, but I am in no mood to run anymore.  I get into the aid station, drink some Conquest, trade out my Camelbak, put the VHTRC blue shirt back on, and take a grilled ham and cheese for the last section.

 

Mile 100     2:11:20 (23:02 avg./mile) FINISH

Finally the finish!

These last few sections are much harder than I remember them from yesterday morning.  This last hill has now become a mountain.  It is blazing hot, and this climb is really tough.  I am sweating profusely, and Fausto passes me.  I have seen him multiple times during this race.  It looks like he has an ice pack around his neck to keep him cool.  When I finally get down off the mountain and to the fitness trail that will lead to the finish, I am still in no mood to run.  I am very warm, but I feel okay.  When the track is in sight, I pick up the pace to finish running.  This hasn’t been really pretty, but I finished under the cut-off.  As a bonus, I have also beaten Gary for the first time ever in a 100 mile race.

 Official Finishing Time 31:10:29

 53^rd out of 93 starters (64 finishers)

Gary comes across the line 12 minutes after me.  I kept thinking that he must be having a rough day because I wasn’t making good time the last several sections.  When he finds out that I was only 12 minutes ahead of him, he says he would have pushed it a little harder if he had known.

Overall, I am satisfied.  A 100 miler is always an accomplishment and none of these are easy.  I am now 9 of 15 at finishing 100 milers.  It almost seems like a good place to stop running them.  However, an even 10 finishes sounds even better.  Who knows how many more I will run.  My next race is going to be the Catoctin 50k in late July, and then I don’t think I have anything planned until the Masochist 50 miler in November.  I haven’t run that one in a couple of years because of the high school cross country schedule.  However, this year, Amy isn’t supposed to be running on the day of the Masochist race.

Never stop running,

Darin

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