April 6
I am back at this race after finishing last year with only 15 seconds
to spare. This is my 15th
time running this event, and unlike last year, the weather is forecasted to be
much more conducive for running.
Additionally, my son, Nathan, is running his first 50-mile race. It has rained quite a bit this week, but the
last two days have been dry. I have
differing thoughts on how I want to run this race this year. One thought I have is that I could try and
sneak out and push the pace early to make Nathan work to catch up to me. The other thought is that I should just hang
with him and see how long I can keep up.
The weather is dry and clear with the temperature at the start in the
high 30s. I am wearing a long-sleeve
shirt with thin hat and gloves.
Mile
7.2 1:18:11 (10:52 avg./mile)
Centreville Road
The
race starts, and I get off quickly. I
wonder if Nathan got through the start congestion as well as I did. I look over to my right, and Nathan is
running right beside me! We make the
initial ¾ of a mile loop, and some runners are trying to go around the
spillway. I run right on through as the
water is only an inch or two deep. I
don’t think I got my socks wet. Nathan
and I proceed down the trail to the main trail beside the river. We are in a pack of runners that are all
moving well. We walk only when the
uphill is steep. I have a slight worry
that I may be going too fast, but let’s see what happens. Kevin Sayers is in his usual position
welcoming everyone to Centreville Road.
I grab a PB&J sandwich quarter from the aid station and press on
with Nathan right in front of me.
Mile
9.7 25:19 (10:08 avg./mile) Bluebell
Loop
We
are about a mile and a half into this section and the trail is not very muddy
at all. Nathan comments that he probably
won’t change his shoes at mile 17. Less
than a half mile later we come to a small tributary that doesn’t have a
bridge. So, down and up through the
stream we go with the water about knee deep.
I guess we will be changing shoes when the time comes. The stream crossing doesn’t slow us down as
we hit this aid station in quick time.
This aid station just has water so I don’t even stop.
Mile
12.5 27:18 (9:45 avg./mile) Centreville
Road
Nathan
and I continue to run at a very fast clip.
There are two midshipmen from the Naval Academy trailing us as we head
back to the south. So far, I feel really
good, and the temperature is still rather cool.
I still have the hat and gloves on, but I have rolled the hat up one
fold. We are welcomed back by Kevin, and
I again grab a sandwich quarter.
Mile
17.6 57:31 (11:17 avg./mile) Hemlock
Overlook
My
effort remains steady through this section.
The trail is drier on this section than the last, but this section has
some climbs. Nathan is leading the pace
and a group of up to eight runners. I am
hanging on for now. We cross the second
set of pylons and then make the climb up to Hemlock. Nathan is about 30 yards ahead of me entering
the aid station, and none of our crew is in sight. Nathan has a drop bag with shoes in it, and
he proceeds to change them. Since I don’t
have a drop bag, I press on ahead after grabbing another PB&J sandwich
quarter. My time to this point is very
quick at only 3 hours and 8 minutes.
Mile
21.9 55:07 (12:49 avg./mile) Bull Run
Marina
I
leave the aid station before Nathan and the two midshipmen. I run steady, but conservatively, and right
before getting to the soccer fields, the midshipmen come by me. They are moving quickly, and I don’t give any
thought to hanging with them. Soon
thereafter, Nathan catches back up with me, and we run together to the aid
station expecting to see our crew. It
turned out that while Nathan was changing his shoes at Hemlock, Martha and Seb
made it to the aid station. Gabby was
still coming from the car with Oliver.
So, at least they knew we were through that aid station. At this aid station, none of them are
there. We meet them just as we are leaving. They had to park the car on the other side of
Yates Ford Road and were dragging the kids towards us. I sit down and change my shoes, and this time
Nathan presses on ahead. It is great to
get out of my damp shoes, and since the trail was dry since the water crossing,
my shoes should stay dry the rest of the way.
I also drink some chocolate milk.
Mile
26.1 1:02:36 (14:54 avg./mile) Wolf Run
Shoals
I
try to push the pace a little to catch back up with Nathan. At one point, I trip and fall, landing on my
right side and shoulder. I pick myself
up and appear to be not injured. My
shoulder is fine, but I may have bruised the top of my hip bone. I press on now more carefully. I have plenty of time to catch up with
Nathan, and if I don’t catch him that is okay.
I enter this aid station greet the aid station captain, Alex, and get some
strawberries and a quesadilla.
Mile
28.9 37:20 (13:20 avg./mile)
Fountainhead
About
half way through this section, Kathleen Cusick catches up to me. I ran with her for a mile or so at Hellgate
last year, and here we are together again.
She is moving well, but says she is dealing with a few nagging
injuries. I manage to stay with her as
she presses the pace and runs nearly the rest of the way into the aid
station. She is just ahead of me when we
enter the aid station, and she gets a nice cheer from the crowd. I get welcomed by the crew—grandsons Seb and
Oliver, daughter-in-law Gabby, and my wife Martha. Martha says that Nathan is about 10 minutes
ahead of me. I drink some CR02 and refill
my Camelbak and then grab a few cookies from the aid station table.
Mile
32.9 55:42 (13:56 avg./mile) Do Loop
I
keep a decent pace on the laborious white loop, which is 1.6 miles long and
gets you nowhere. Heading out to the do
loop, I meet several of the front runners heading back. It is still breezy and cool in the
mid-50s. When I get to the aid station,
I grab a PB&J sandwich quarter and a handful of corn chips. Since I haven’t seen Nathan yet, it means
that he is less than 2.5 miles ahead of me.
Mile
35.5 38:04 (14:38 avg./mile) Do Loop
 |
| Decorated Nash Rambler (courtesy of Cathy Kovacic) |
The
do loop starts with the lollipop stem for about a quarter of a mile. I still do not see Nathan coming back towards
me so he is less than two miles ahead of me.
I pass a couple of struggling runners on this section while running well
down to the water. On the inbound part
of the loop, there is a tribute to some of the VHTRC founders at the Nash
Rambler—Chris Scott, Anstr Davidson, Scott Mills, Ed Demoney and Joe Clapper. I finish the do loop still feeling pretty
good. When I get to the aid station, the
lady checking in runners tells me that my son just left, and he was asking if
they knew how far back I was. Ah, it is
now time to run him down!
Mile
37.9 32:25 (13:30 avg./mile)
Fountainhead
I
push my pace a little leaving the aid station and within a mile I spot some
orange shorts way up ahead. Unfortunately,
this pair is on a female, who clearly is not Nathan. However, it is only another half mile or so
until I spot Nathan and his orange shorts ahead of me. I close the gap on him on the way to the aid
station, but he stays in front of me. At
the aid station, the crew is all there cheering both of us. I drink a little CR02, refill my Camelbak,
and grab another PB&J sandwich quarter.
Nathan and I leave the aid station together.
Mile
40.6 38:36 (14:18 avg./mile) Wolf Run
Shoals
The
newer trail on this section is gently rolling, which is nice for mountain bikes,
but not so nice for running late in an ultra-race. Regardless, I maintain a slow run for most of
the gentle uphill sections. Nathan stays
right with me, and we both make it to Wolf Run Shoals in decent shape. I take a seat and drink a cup of Coke before
rising and taking a cheese quesadilla to eat on the run.
Mile
44.8 1:04:02 (15:15 avg./mile) Bull Run
Marina
This
section has more climbs that require power hiking. On one of the climbs, Nathan presses on ahead
of me, but then let’s me back into the lead on the next downhill. Soon enough we can see the Yates Road bridge
over the Occoquan River. Nathan continues
to help me push the pace, but says his stomach is talking to him a little
bit. I took my third S-Cap of the race
on this section, and then about 10 minutes from the aid station, I pop a caffeine
pill. I follow Nathan into the aid
station, hoping that the crew is waiting for us. Sure enough, there they are. Seb is sitting in his own little chair. Nathan takes a seat, I say hi to Seb (and the
others), and then I walk right on out of the aid station, leaving Nathan sitting
in the chair.
Seb cheering us on!
Mile
50.2 1:15:11 (13:55 avg./mile) FINISH
It
wasn’t my plan to gap Nathan at this point, and I wouldn’t have been disappointed
to finish together, but the opportunity presented itself, I was feeling good,
and I took it. I pass a couple of
runners and run when the course is favorable to running. I run across the soccer field complex, and
then run the meadow. When I finally get
to the spot where we came down to the trail, another runner makes the right
turn and starts up the hill. I tell him
that isn’t the right way, and he thanks me for saving his race. His name is Clay, and we chat as we make our
way over the last mile and a half. When
we get to the top of the last climb, I leave Clay behind and push to the
finish.
Official
Finishing Time 10:47:22
53rd
out of 193 starters
(149 official finishers)
At the finish
line, Gary Knipling is there to congratulate the runners. It is simply outstanding to see Gary, and as
can be seen in the photo by his son, Keith, Gary and I share a very warm
embrace. I receive my 15-year finishing
award and my regular finishing award. I am
just sitting down when here comes Nathan completing his finish less than four
minutes after me. It is a great day!
Nathan and Darin after the Finish
I now have a short
recovery as I am supposed to pace James Ebert for 36 miles at the inaugural
Southern States 200-mile race next weekend.
On Sunday, Martha and I fly north in order to view totality in northern
Vermont on Monday before flying home Monday evening/night. After pacing James, my next race will be the
Kettle Moraine 100 miler in June in Wisconsin.
Until then…
Never stop
running,
Darin
