July 8, 2023
Our
existence in this world is dynamic; it is ever changing; it is never
static. I am not the same person I was
yesterday, and I am definitely not the same person I was 10 years ago. Stop and think for a minute what you are
doing today that you did 10 years ago.
Ten years ago was the last time I ran this race. It was before I moved to Alabama. It was before my son, Nathan, had left for
college. My daughter, Amy, was about to
start her senior year of high school, and she was crewing for me for the first
time solo. Now, both of my kids have a
kid or kids of their own—my kids’ kids are growing quickly, but fortunately
still very young—two years old or less.
In
the past 10 years, I have run scores of ultra-races—even a few with Amy or
Nathan. This year I am coming back to
run this race because the timing is right, and I need it as training for my
next race in six weeks—the Twisted Branch 100km in upstate New York. I am hoping the climbs, descents, and heat
will prepare me well.
My
friend James decided to join me, and we are both optimistic about today. 10 years ago, I finished this race in 7:33,
but it was moderate weather. Today it is
going to be hot! Not the hottest it has
been at this race, but still hot enough to test one’s heat training. The forecast calls for a high temperature in
the lower 90s, but at the start it is rather cool at about 70 degrees or
so. I meet several old friends including
Rande and Kari Brown, along with Quatro Hubbard, and Alan and Pam Gowen. One last piece of information from 10 years
ago and then I will stop reminiscing.
Eddie C. was running this race, and we shared the trail for a good chunk
of time that day. Unfortunately, Ed
passed away a few years ago from cancer—I miss Ed at these races in Maryland
and Virginia—as I am sure many others do as well.
At
the pre-race briefing, I see Kevin Bligan, who is going to work the aid station
at High Knob. I ask him if I can give
him a bottle of drink stuff to have for me.
I go get my bottle of CR-2 (my own concoction from scratch) and hand it
to him. He looks at it and asks if it is
water. Nope, it isn’t water; it is just
some maltodextrin and electrolytes with no magnesium.
Mile
7.0 1:43:17 (14:45 avg./mile) Delauter
Road
Elevation Profile
Sometime
in the last few years, the race director, Kevin Sayers, decided that this race
would be better run in reverse. So, the
race now starts at the Manor parking area where the turnaround used to be. Because of this this first section includes
quite a bit of climbing. I decide I am
going to start off conservatively and see if I can run hard the second
half. Despite the fact that Kevin
emphasizes that there is a sharp left turn less than 200 yards onto the trail,
there are still many runners who miss this turn. James started out well ahead of me, but here
he is passing me around halfway through this section. He says he only ran an extra half mile or so,
but there were others that ran more bonus miles than that. So, for the next several miles, the faster
runners are coming back by me. By the
time I reach this first aid station, I have worked up a very good sweat
(drenched actually), but I am feeling good as it isn’t too hot yet. I grab a PB&J sandwich quarter and press
on through the aid station. This section
is now at least half a mile longer than it was last time I ran this race.
Mile
10.0 45:44 (15:15 avg./mile) Hamburg
Road
On
this section, I am running with several other runners from the Hagerstown
area—they are part of HURT (Hagerstown Ultra Running Team). One of them is a formerly active duty Marine
like me. I stay with these guys for a
mile or so and then let most of them slip away.
It is still early in the race, and I need to conserve myself for
later. I was hoping to run this section
faster than this, but the clock doesn’t lie.
I eat two little cups of Fritos, and I refill my Camelbak.
Mile
17.0 1:45:45 (15:06 avg./mile) High
Knob – TURNAROUND
Since
I ran this race last, this section has been extended by a mile or so. Also, more of this section is uphill than
down, and it is quite a bit of work on these climbs. The lead runners are now coming back towards
me, and I lose count after 50 or so.
Rande Brown is in 13th place and looking great. James is around 20th and looking okay. When I meet him, he tells me it is less than
two miles from here to the turnaround. I
was thinking (hoping) that it was closer to one mile as it is already 1:15
since I left the last aid station.
Unfortunately, James was really close, and it was about two miles. I arrive at the aid station at High Knob, and
Kevin Bligan is here, and he has my bottle of CR-2. I chug the majority of the bottle—probably
10-12 ounces to put this mixture to the test in this warm, humid weather. Kevin mentions something about it not being
too hot yet, and I have to agree with him at this point. However, the morning clouds are gone, and it
looks like things will really start heating up.
It is 4 hours and 14 minutes since I started, and I am 21 minutes ahead
of the cut-off—no problem.
Mile
24.0 1:59:51 (17:07 avg./mile) Hamburg
Road
I
cruise this section taking my time and only running the downhill sections. I figure it is more downhill than up, so I
should be able to cover this section at least as fast as I did going out. As can be seen by my time, this is not the
case. I didn’t think I was going that
slowly, but I was being conscious to keep my pace slow enough to manage the
heat. Apparently, the heat is starting
to take its toll on me and my pace in this race. I get to the aid station, refill my Camelbak
again, and eat another PB&J sandwich quarter. I took a salt tablet three hours into the
race, and I took another one at the five-hour mark. I am now only six minutes ahead the cut-offs.
Mile
27.0 57:00 (19:00 avg./mile) Delauter
Road
With
my cut-off margin down to nil, I really focus on making efficient
progress. I figure the cut-off for the
last aid station will be 7:15, which will give me two hours to finish the last
seven miles. However, the cut-off is
actually 7:10, but the aid station worker says I am fine since I made it into
the aid station before the cut-off. I
leave with 2 hours and 3 minutes to finish.
I have to refill my Camelbak and take a rock out of my shoe. The latter exercise was fraught with cramping
legs. I had aid station workers
encouraging me to take some pickle juice, but I pass as my stomach is in a good
place right now.
Mile
34.0 2:00:59 (17:17 avg./mile) Manor
Parking Area – FINISH
Soon
after leaving the aid station, Ade comes up behind me. I had seen her at the turnaround where I was
several minutes ahead of her, but now she is right with me. I paced Ade at the Pinhoti 100 mile race in
November of 2017. We had only seen each
other in passing since then, so we spend a couple of miles catching up. At first it seemed like she was running a
nice easy pace, but after a couple of miles, I let her go as I feel like I am
pushing too much and getting warm. Then
a little bit later, Kari Brown catches up to me. I heard a rumor that she had dropped at the
turnaround, but alas she did not. She
said that she threw up and had diarrhea at the turnaround, but then she felt
better and here she is. So, she left the
turnaround 20 minutes after me and has now caught up. She asks me if we are going to make it, and I
say I think we will. She leaves me
behind rather quickly just before we cross a dirt road that I know is two and a
half miles from the finish. I have 40
minutes to run 2.5 miles that is mostly all downhill. At the road, I catch up to another runner,
and I offer him encouragement. At first he
looks resigned to not making the finishing cut-off, but after I explain that we
have until 9:15, he perks up and follows me for the next mile before he also
leaves me behind—so much for encouraging another runner! I begin to wonder whether I will finish or
not given these other runners who are running away from me. I press the downhills, but walk with purpose anything
that doesn’t look like it is going downhill.
I cross a paved drive and know that I am very close, but I only have
eight minutes left. I cross the creek by
wading through—not rock hopping to keep my feet dry like I did at the
start. Then it is one more short, steep
uphill before the final drop to the finish line. The clock reads…
Official
Finishing Time 9:12:36
96th
out of 98 finishers (150 starters)
I have made
it for my seventh finish at this race. I
never dreamed it was going to take me this long! However, the course is a couple of miles
longer than the last time I ran it 10 years ago, and I am 10 years older. It was also quite warm today with the
temperature topping out around 92 degrees.
I find a bench to sit on in the pavilion and some nice aid station
workers bring me cups of water. The
first and second cups of water taste really good, so I have a couple of more
cups. But, then I don’t feel so
well. So, I sit there and try to relax
and let the water be absorbed into my system.
Unfortunately, before that can happen, my body decides to expel the
water in several heaves. Now, people are
worried about me, and it is mentioned that I might want to go to an emergency
room to get an IV. No, I now feel much
better, and I have James here to drive me back to our hotel for the night. I take a cup of Coke with me for the ride and
only sip it very slowly.
This was much better of a training event for Twisted Branch than I had envisioned. I got plenty of climbing in, and the heat and humidity were high and thick. I now have six weeks to recover and prepare for Twisted Branch which is a 100k in upstate New York. I dropped out of that race a year ago at mile 50, so I am looking to redeem myself. Until then…
Never stop
running,
Darin
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