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,
but will my mind and body hold up? Let’s
go find out!
 |
| Darin eating at Bearwallow Gap aid station |
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 12th.
I 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
Return to Darin’s Running Page.
No comments:
Post a Comment