Hellgate 100k 2023 - Sissy-gate Weather?

 December 9

Another year is coming to an end, and for at least one more time, I am competing in the Hellgate 100k on the second Saturday in December.  This is my 21st Hellgate.  My times have ranged from 15:53 in 2007 to 17:50 in 2003.  Last year I was able to finish under 17 hours and get an early qualifier in my pocket for the Western States 100 lottery.  Speaking of which, I had 32 tickets in the WS lottery last weekend and did not get drawn.

Ready for the Midnight Start

I flew my plane up from Huntsville, Alabama this morning to Orange, Virginia where my son, Nathan, picked me up.  He is crewing for me for the fourth time, but the first time since 2015.  At the pre-race briefing, Horton has me give a weather report.  I talk about how this is not going to be real Hellgate weather and might be the most sissy-gate weather Hellgate has ever had.  The low tonight is forecasted to be around 35 and the high tomorrow is supposed to exceed 60.  There is a minimal chance of fog.  What I failed to mention in my report was that there was only a slight chance of rain before the end of the race.  The rain is forecasted to develop after midnight on Sunday morning, which may be an issue for me flying back to Alabama, but will not affect the race.

A good weather forecaster seems to be wrong 50% of the time.  The temperature at the start is 30.  I am concerned that it may get colder, but the forecasts are still saying that the low is only going to be 35.  So, the forecast is wrong, but they are sticking to it!  Given all of my available information, I decide to stick with my clothing plan for the start—shorts, long & short sleeve shirts, thin hat, and thin gloves.  Surprisingly, I don’t feel too cold standing around at the start.  We sing the National Anthem, Horton says a prayer, and we are off for the 21st time!

Mile 3.5      46:44 (13:21 avg./mile) FSR 35

I run all of this first section with Jeff Garstecki.  He is one of us five that have finished all 20 Hellgate races.  His dad passed away on Tuesday, and he said it was looking doubtful that he would make it to the race.  However, due to scheduling conflicts that the cemetery, the burial had to be done Thursday.  We talk the whole section, mostly about the last few months with him being the primary caretaker for his dad in hospice care.   There was a fire around these first two sections, and Horton had great concern that the course would have to be changed for this year, but a week ago the forest service allowed the race to proceed on the original course.  Because of the fire, the fire break that the course follows for most of these first 3.5 miles has been regraded, and it is much smoother.  Jeff and I run comfortably, and I figure that we are making good time since the trail is so smooth.  When we get to the creek crossing around mile 3, I manage to rock hop across without getting my feet wet.  The water is still low and there is no ice on the rocks.  This is only the fourth time in 21 years that I haven’t gotten my feet wet.  I thought my time would be quicker, but this is the same time I have had the last couple of years.

Mile 7.5      55:12 (13:48 avg./mile) Petites Gap

I continue to run with Jeff as we start the climb to Petites.  We run the first half and then I take a walk break.  Jeff continues on, and I wish him well.  I see Lanier Greenhaw, who is also from Alabama, and we catch up a bit.  I power hike and shuffle into the aid station in great time.  Nathan is ready, but I only need some chocolate milk and half of a bagel.  The temperature is remaining in the 30s, and I am dressed perfectly.

Mile 13.1    1:39:41 (17:48 avg./mile) Camping Gap

I cross the parkway and begin the initial descent with half of a bagel in my hand.  The course is dry and the leaves are not too deep so I am able to run well.  My ankles seem to be stronger this year, and I don’t think I have twisted my ankle in the last couple of months.  Lanier passed me when I stopped to pee.  Then I returned the favor when he stopped just before we make the right turn off of the grassy, rocky road.  From here to the jeep road there are two stream crossings, which are usually challenging to navigate without getting my feet wet, but this isn’t the case this year.  There is no mud and little water.  At some point I do take my first fall of the race, but fortunately, I land in some soft leaves.  I make it safely the rest of the way to the jeep road that will take me 3 miles up to the next aid station.  There are several people in my vicinity as I start (mostly) power hiking up the road.  One of the runners is Jesse Meadows, who I had not met before today.  Other runners that I remember from this section are Dan Broom and Sheryl Wheeler.  I enjoy some conversation and before I know it we are passing through the gap and at the aid station.  I get some cheesy tots from Rosie, and they are awesome!  I scarf them down, and then grab a pancake as I leave the aid station.  My time on this section is a few minutes slower than my goal as I wanted this section time to be 1:35.

Mile 21.9    2:31:03 (17:10 avg./mile) Headforemost Mountain

I am munching on a pancake as I begin the grassy road section, which is part of the Promise Land 50k.  This section rolls up and down and goes on for a long time.  I am moving along with Lanier again when we see the moon rising off to our left.  The moon is only a thin crescent, but since it is just rising, it is a deep red.  It feels like I am making good time as I feel good.  I got a lot of good sleep this week, and I am not sleepy at all.  Most of the way through the grassy road section, we pass a lady that is running the race, but she is sitting on the side of the trail.  I think she is trying to take a catnap, but clearly she doesn’t have much experience doing this during a race as I have learned you need to get off the trail so each runner that comes along doesn’t ask you if you are okay.  When I passed her I was slightly distracted, stepped in a hole, and fall once more.  Fortunately, there is no harm done, and I am quickly back up and moving forward.  Around 1:31 into this section, I finally finish the grassy road section and begin the Apple Orchard section.  There are a couple of guys following me at this point.  I lead them up and over the Apple Orchard and then begin the technical downhill to Overstreet Falls.  I am moving very well, and I pass a few runners.  When I get to Overstreet Falls, I start the hike up to Headforemost, and Lanier catches up to me within a couple of minutes.  Dan is with me as well as I press the pace to the top.  I mark my time on this section at the location of the original aid station at the top as opposed to where it is now down the road less than a mile at Floyd’s Field.  I was really hoping to be under 2:30 for this section, but instead I have given up another few minutes to my goal pace.  Fortunately, I sketched out my goal pace at 16:34, so I have some wiggle room to still be able to finish before 17 hours.

Mile 27.6    1:38:19 (17:15 avg./mile) Jennings Creek

Breakfast at Jennings Creek

I run down the road to Floyd’s Field and the current aid station.  I don’t have my crew come to this aid station and instead have go straight to Jennings Creek after seeing me at Petites Gap.  This allows them to get several hours of sleep in before daybreak.  I also discovered that it helps me run faster down the hill to mile 27.5.  At this aid station, I grab half of a grilled cheese sandwich and grab a cup of water to wash it down.  The problem is that there is water and naked Tailwind.  The cup I grabbed was naked Tailwind which I realize quickly.  This is not good, but I think I have caught it quick enough.  I get a cup of water and throw out the rest of the cup of Tailwind.  (Tailwind, like all electrolyte drinks, contains magnesium, which I have found was never in Conquest.  Now I mix my own drink that my crew has for me, and I call it CR02.)  I cross the parkway again and begin the run downhill.  At first, I am running easily, but then I start to gather momentum.  When the course makes a left turn and begins the technical section, there is a lady behind me.  She follows my lead through the rocks, across a stream and up a short climb when we see the first hint of daylight.  At this point, we begin chatting as she follows me all the way through this section.  Her name is Sarah Wallace and while this is her first time at this race, she is a rather accomplished ultrarunner.  I learn that she has run Rim to River all three times.  This is the race that Nathan is going to run next year for his first attempt at a 100 miler.  I run smoothly and efficiently guiding us down to the aid station.  My time is decent on this section, but once again I have given time back to my goal pace.  I wanted to run this in 1:30 like I did last year, but alas it is not to be.  At the aid station, Nathan has a grilled egg, bacon, and cheese sandwich ready and warm for me.  I eat 80% of it and wash it down with plenty of CR02 and chocolate milk.  As I start to leave the aid station, I see Lanier stripping off his jacket, which reminds me that I should take something off since the temperature is forecasted to climb to 60 or more now that the sun is up.  I take off my hat and put on a buff, but decide to keep my gloves and long-sleeve shirt on for now.

Mile 34.5    1:52:06 (16:15 avg./mile) Little Cove Mountain

Hiking out of Jennings Creek, I join up with Don Knight, who along with 4-5 others (including Sarah) are from Pittsburgh.  I always enjoy meeting people from Pittsburgh as I went to college there at Carnegie Mellon.  He says Sarah is insane with all of the 100+ runs she has done.  We power hike together to the top and then I let Don lead going down the hill.  I catch back up to him on the way to the Little Cove Mountain aid station.  I feel slightly sleepy, but not bad.  The weather continues to be cool, probably in the 40s with clouds gently moving into the area.  At the aid station, I eat two PB&J sandwich quarters and grab a bag of Doritos to eat on the run.  I wash it down with a cup of sweet tea.  This is the first caffeine I have had during the race, and I figure I need to keep the sleepiness away and pick the pace up a little if I am going to finish within 17 hours.  On the other side of aid station, Rosie has some hot food, but I already ate so I pass on anything more.

Mile 42.5    2:21:38 (17:42 avg./mile) Bearwallow Gap

The sweet tea takes effect, and I am running very well on the rolling grassy road section.  For the first 30 minutes or so, I see no one at all.  Then near the end of the grassy road section before it becomes single track again, I spy a runner ahead of me and two coming up behind me.  The two behind me are a surprise because I thought I was moving really well.  As the single track starts, the two behind me (I think they were Anne Pike and Sheryl Wheeler) get ahead of me, but then I stay with them for a while before I pass them back.  Around 10:00, rain begins to fall.  The forecast had rain developing after midnight, so this is only 14 hours early.  I left Little Cove Mountain at 9:23.  So that is when my caffeine intake began.  Now, an hour later, I decide to pop a caffeine pill as I want to maintain the pace I am on.  It is 10:27.  I leave the two ladies behind (for now) and press forward through the new section and towards the devil trail.  As I reach the devil trail, I catch Chad Cato.  He follows me through the terribly rocky section.  At times I can hear the other runners behind me, but I keep the pace as well as I can.  When I cross the creek at the end of the devil trail portion, there is no one close behind me.  I run most of the last mile from there into the aid station.  Nathan has a hot grilled cheese sandwich ready and waiting for me.  I sit down to eat it and drink a healthy amount of CR02.  Charlie Hesse comes over to chat, and we talk about the weather mostly.  He says it is supposed to stop at 1:00pm.  I hope this forecast is correct.  My goal pace was to get here before 11:30, so I am about 15 minutes behind schedule.  I am going to have to have a good last third to finish before 17 hours.  I keep the same shoes on since it is raining.  I haven’t gotten my feet wet during any stream crossings, but the rain has made them damp.  Before I leave the aid station, I see Lanier arrive.

Mile 49.5    1:56:09 (16:24 avg./mile) Bobblets Gap

There is a healthy climb leaving Bearwallow, and I conquer it well.  This is a great indication that my legs are strong and should be up for the challenge.  I encounter only a few runners on this section.  They include Chad and Dan Broom and a lady runner with a pacer.  Near the end of this section before dropping down to the road that leads into the aid station, I catch up with Kathleen Cusick.  She is struggling, but working hard.  Usually, Kathleen is far ahead of me.  I think this is the first time I have chatted with her during a race.  I stay with her into the aid station.  The rain does indeed stop at 1pm, and the sun even peeks through the clouds at times.  On the climb on the road into the aid station, there are several other runners in my vicinity, and I pop my second caffeine pill to keep the heart rate up.  At the aid station, Nathan has Ramen ready for me.  I sit down and eat the whole serving.  I leave the aid station, grabbing a donut hole from the table.  I am now 26 minutes behind my goal pace, and now have zero margin for getting under 17 hours.  It is going to be close, but only if I can run the next section faster than I have in years.

Mile 56.1    2:00:07 (19:02 avg./mile) Day Creek

With a full belly, I start the trotting down the hill on the dirt road.  I quickly catch and pass a few runners that snuck ahead of me while I was sitting in the aid station eating Ramen.  Then I really get the legs turning over as I try to catch back up to Chad.  It takes me most of this 2.5 mile section to catch up to Chad.  I cover this section in 27 minutes, which is as fast as I have ever run this portion.  After 50 miles, I can still run miles faster than 11 minutes when I have gravity helping me!  Chad follows me closely on the single track trail as we chat a little.  We pass Larry Huffman on the first climb and then roll through the in and outs, small stream crossings, and ups and downs.  We drop down into the little  evergreen portion which tells me we are really close to the end of this section, so I pop one more caffeine pill hoping to fend off any slowdowns.  We meet someone walking out from the aid station, and she tells us we are 0.2 miles away.  Heck, I can see the aid station at this point.  I finish this section faster than I have since 2008.  I strip off my two shirts and put on a short-sleeve thin gray shirt.  I pushed hard on the last section, and I will have to push really hard on this last section.  I leave the aid station at 3:41pm.  I have 78 minutes for the last 6.3 miles.  Last year I covered this section in 83 minutes.  But, my best time on this last section came in 2010 as I was paced by my daughter, Amy, in 64 minutes.

Mile 62.4    1:37:51 (15:32 avg./mile) FINISH

I drink several ounces of Coke and eat a handful of potato chips at the aid station.  I start the last climb power hiking, catching and passing four other runners on my way to the top at the parkway.  I hit the gate in 15 minutes flat.  This is about a third of the way to the top so I know I am moving well.  I continue moving well, but feel a slight fade as I approach the top.  I cross the parkway in 43 minutes, which is 3 minutes faster than last year, and now just have to run downhill at 10 minutes per mile.  Somehow I was able to do that last year.  I try to start running, but all I can manage is a slow shuffle.  Darn it!  There is no response from my body.  I shuffle the two miles to the gate in 32 minutes and know that under 17 hours isn’t going to happen this year.  At the gate with 1.5 miles to go, I am but a couple of minutes before 17 hours.  The four runners I passed on the climb pass me back on the descent.  However, I manage to keep running slowly all the way to Camp Bethel.  Even though I won’t have a qualifier for WS, I am easily under the cut-off for finishing this race in under 18 hours.  Horton does his usual announcements about 21 times starting, and 21 times finishing.  All 5 of the Fearsome Five have finished for at least one more year.

Official Finishing Time          17:18:50

106^th out of 140 starters (118 finishers under 18 hours)

21st Hellgate Finish

Before my ACL injury in 2012, I rarely took any caffeine at this race before Day Creek.  Since then I have found that caffeine does very well at keeping my energy up.  Unfortunately, there is a limit to how many times I can go to the “well.”  In hindsight, I went to the well too early and too often.  My legs stayed strong throughout, but I lost my edge at the end.  My training and racing were good this year, but I think I need to be more disciplined with the caffeine during races.

Despite not hitting my top goal, I am still very satisfied to finish this race once again.  I now turn my focus to getting my WS qualifier for 2024 at another race.  My targets are Kettle Moraine in June and Twisted Branch in August.  Before then I plan to run the Red Eye on January 1, Mountain Mist near the end of January, Mount Cheaha in February, and Bull Run Run with Nathan in April.  Here’s hoping my soon to be 55 year old body holds up!  Until next time…

Never stop running,

Darin