It is 3:30am on September 21, 2025. I was timed out at mile 51 about six hours ago on the Grindstone 100k course. I was 26 minutes over the cut-off and as I lay awake in the middle of the night, a thought strikes me. The statin I am taking is making me slower! It is a known side effect that statins cause muscle strains and fatigue, especially in runners. I thought I had adapted to this and worked through the muscle strains, but laying here in bed, I am now certain that it is causing subtle fatigue that slowly over the scores of miles causes me to run slower in an ultramarathon. It is crystal clear in my mind what I need to do. I must pause my statin therapy for the next 12 weeks until Hellgate.
December
12
My
training the last 12 weeks has been very good.
The muscle strain issues I have been nursing for the last year and a
half have faded nicely, and I nailed several key training runs faster than I
had in years. Now I just have to execute
the race. This begins with my crew. Crewing for me this year is a Hellgate
rookie. Although he has never been to
Hellgate, he does have ultrarunning experience himself. Jesse is a colleague of mine and jumped at
the opportunity to help me finish this race for the 23rd straight
year. He lives in Colorado, but we have
been working in Suffolk, Virginia quite a bit this fall. So, this morning, I flew to Hampton Roads,
picked him up, and then we flew to Roanoke for the race.
The
race briefing at Hellgate is quite the entertaining event. David Horton is the race director, and he
holds court throughout the briefing that lasts for over and hour and a
half. Unknown to all of us, he informs
us that the race almost didn’t happen this year because of the snow at the
higher elevations. The Blue Ridge
Parkway is completely closed, and several of the access roads are impassable as
well. The park service didn’t give final
okay until this morning. David covers
all of the usual bits of information, but mentions the course will likely run
slower this year because of the snow.
How bad do you want to finish this year, he asks multiple times. One of the volunteers says the snow is 4-6
inches deep on the Promise Land portion of the course. Due to the conditions of the roads, most of
the aid stations are changed to different locations. There will be one aid station between the
usual AS1 and AS2. The next aid station
will be two miles short of where AS3 usually is. There will be no AS4 so the next aid station
will be at the normal AS5 location. This
means that we will be running over 16 miles between aid stations of any sort in
the middle of the night. And, the first
time crews will be able to see their runner is AS5. After that, AS6 and AS7 will be in their
normal places, but AS8 will be two miles past its normal location. AS9 will also be in its normal place. Here is a chart with the aid stations this year.
|
Horton Mile Mark |
Crews Allowed? |
|
4.7 |
No |
|
11.0 |
No |
|
27.6 |
Yes |
|
34.5 |
No |
|
42.5 |
Yes |
|
51.5 |
No |
|
56.1 |
Yes |
Thus,
there are only seven aid stations of which crews can only go to three.
December
13
After
the briefing, I quickly get ready, and we drive to the start to nap for an hour
or so before the race. Well, I napped;
Jesse couldn’t get comfortable and ends up walking around and calling his wife
back in Colorado. The temperature is
about 30 degrees at the start, and it is forecasted to drop to the mid-20s
before dawn.
Darin & Jesse before the Start
Mile
3.5 46:46 (13:22 avg./mile) FSR 35
Note,
all of my times are at the usual aid station locations so that I know how I am
moving relative to my 22-year history of running this race. This first section goes well as there isn’t
much snow at this lower altitude. I was
hoping to cover this section faster than I have the last few years, but despite
my effort, I reach the aid station point in the same 46 minutes I have the last
five years.
Mile
7.5 58:04 (14:31 avg./mile) Petites
Gap
This
section is all on a gravel road and for the first couple of miles, I run it
with Jeff Garstecki and Ryan Henry—two of the other Fearsome Five members like
me who have finished all 22 of the previous editions of this event. At the aid station that is around mile 4.7, I
grab a few cookies. After the aid
station, the road continues to climb and thus the snow increases and the road
is covered. There are tire tracks nearly
the whole way to the Parkway, and it is a little slick in places. I decided to forgo wearing Yak Traks, but
several other runners are wearing them.
This time is a solid time and puts me right on pace for a sub-17-hour
finish.
Mile
13.1 1:44:02 (18:35 avg./mile) Camping
Gap
After
crossing the ice-covered Parkway at Petites Gap, I bomb the downhill section as
it is fast with the snow filling in around most of the rocks. I test my right ankle once, but it is fine so
far. When the downhill ends, it is a
little slow going on the uphill sections with the snow. However, I still make it to the jeep trail
portion in 44 minutes. In a normal year,
I would cover the next few miles in 45-50 minutes. It is all uphill and about a mile later, I
come upon the aid station. I eat a
couple of quesadillas and a sausage pastry, and take a pack of Lance crackers
with me. Soon after the aid station, the
tire tracks end, and all there is are the foot holes of the runners ahead of
us. The last two miles up to the gap are
very slow going. I cover these last
couple of miles with Jesse Meadows. He
is running his eighth Hellgate. My time
at this point is about 10 minutes slower than average, and I have expended
significantly more effort trudging through the snow that is up to six inches
deep at this point.
Mile
21.9 2:40:04 (18:11 avg./mile)
Headforemost Mountain
Jesse
Meadows and I start the Promise Land part of the course, running as much as we
can. However, the first half of this
section has the deepest snow yet. It is
about eight inches deep in most parts.
So, on the flat and uphill sections, it is very slow going, but on the
downhills, I push the pace to try and maintain a speed that will get me to
Jennings Creek before 8:00am. Near the
end of the Promise Land grassy road section, the lady running behind me asks me
about my headlamp at which point I learn it is none other than Bethany
Patterson behind me. I think I have
known Bethany since 2003 at the first Hellgate.
She didn’t run the first year, but she was here marking the course. Bethany follows me through Apple Orchard and
down to Overstreet Falls. Once again, I
make good time on the very technical down hill sections, but this hardly makes
up for the slow going in other places.
After Overstreet Falls, I hike the mile and a half to the top of
Headforemost Mountain. Fortunately, the
dirt road at this point doesn’t have too much snow on it. I make it to the original aid station
location at 6:09am. This gives me over
20 minutes on the cut-off pace. It isn’t
as fast as I wanted, but it isn’t too bad considering the conditions. My time on this section is a little over 10
minutes slower than my average the past several years.
Mile
27.6 1:36:07 (16:52 avg./mile) Jennings
Creek
With
little margin to spare, I run this mostly downhill section with focused
determination. I gap Bethany for a bit,
and trade places with Sheryl Wheeler.
Sheryl is 62 years old, but is a very savvy trail runner who maintains a
very consistent pace. In contrast, my
pace varies considerably depending mostly on whether I am going up or
down. As I descend down in elevation,
the snow decreases, and I run the last two miles on actual dirt and rocks. Before the start, I told Jesse to expect me
here between 7:00 and 7:30. It is 7:36am
when I enter the aid station, and he is happy to see me. I sit down and eat some of the egg, bacon,
and cheese sandwich Jesse has cooked for me.
I also change both of my shirts, gloves, and hat into thinner versions
of each one. It is 7:45am when I leave
the aid station. Usually, the hard
cut-off is at Headforemost Mountain, but since there was no aid station there,
David set the first hard cut-off here at Jennings Creek at 8:30am. I told everyone at the pre-race briefing that
8:30 was very generous, and they should be closer to 8:00 if they wanted to
make the next cut-off at Bearwallow Gap.
Darin coming into Jennings Creek
Mile
34.5 1:57:19 (17:00 avg./mile) Little
Cove Mountain
 |
| Darin leaving Jennings Creek |
Leaving
the aid station, I meet a new Hellgate runner.
His name is John Goldfield, and he is from North Carolina. He is rather experienced, and the climb out
of Jennings Creek goes by quickly as we chat.
I lead John down the single track, gravel road, and single-track
sections before I let him go ahead as I need to water a tree again. I think I peed once on every section this
year. On the climb up to the aid
station, I have Sheryl just in front of me.
Before I finish this aid station, Bethany catches back up. I grab several chicken nuggets and a meat
ball to eat. I wash these down with a
cup of Mountain Dew, which is the first caffeine I have consumed so far. Then I take a pack of Lance crackers with me
to eat while I run.
Mile
42.5 2:23:46 (17:58 avg./mile)
Bearwallow Gap
Bethany
and I run together for all of this section.
We talk about our families and the Ohio State Buckeyes. While Bethany graduated from Liberty
University, her husband Mike went to OSU, and Bethany is a serious fan. I run the rolling grassy road section at a
steady, solid pace. To ensure I don’t
have a low as the Mountain Dew wears off, I pop a caffeine pill at the 10:30
mark. This is a bit earlier than I would
have liked, but this next aid station is a hard cut-off, and I want to be
comfortably ahead of it. Bethany and I
trade places once or twice with each other, and we also trade places with
Sheryl at least once on this section. I
get into the aid station, and Jesse has a perfectly cooked grilled ham and
cheese sandwich for me. I eat a majority
of it, washing it down with my CR02 electrolyte drink. I think about changing out of my tights as it
is about 40 degrees at this point, but I decide to keep things as they
are. I leave the aid station at 12:06pm,
24 minutes ahead of the cut-off. Other
than the first year of the race in 2003, this is the slowest at this point for
me. Last year I was eight minutes
faster, and I only finished the race with less than 2.5 minutes to spare. I need to stay focused and make good time.
Darin coming into Bearwallow Gap
Mile
49.5 2:05:53 (17:59 avg./mile) Bobblets
Gap
I
follow Sheryl out of the aid station, and another runner, Tom, follows me. Sheryl is quicker in the climb than us, and she
gaps us. Tom and I are chatting away and
the company is good, but I am not moving too quickly. At 13:15, I am really starting to fade and
pop my second caffeine pill. This turns
things around to some degree, but it also prompts another item that I have to
deal with. My large intestine lets me
know that it has some stuff it needs to move.
As I drop down onto the dirt road, I roll my right ankle for the third
time. The good thing is that it is my
chronic ankle and the pain deadens out within a minute or two. A little bit later, I spy the perfect
location to squat in the woods. There is
a log about 20 yards off the course, and there is snow around it. I take my time to ensure this will be the one
and only time I need to do this activity, and then I clean up with some snow
and the little bit of TP that I carry.
While I was taking care of business in the woods, Bethany and a few
others pass by. They don’t seem to notice
me. After that, I quickly finish the
trek up to the location the aid station typically is. My time is slower than average, and slower
than I wanted, but I am hoping the 5+ minutes in the woods helps me run faster
from here to the finish. The race time
is 14:12, which should be enough time, but this is 18 minutes behind last year’s
pace.
Mile
56.1 2:23:05 (21:41 avg./mile) Day
Creek
With
no aid station at Bobblets Gap, I get to run down the dirt road on an empty
stomach to where the aid station actually is.
I was hoping this would be right where the course enters back onto the
single-tracked trail, but it is about a half mile before that point. I sit down at the aid station and eat a
little slider BBQ sandwich. It tastes
good, and I hope my stomach handles it okay.
Late in a race, I am never certain with different food items. I don’t stay any longer and take a pierogi
and a quesadilla with me to eat on the run.
I enter the forever section 38 minutes after I pass through Bobblets
Gap. Usually, I am at 30 minutes or
less, but I did spend a couple of minutes at the ad hoc aid station. The climbs on this section are not very long,
but they are challenging on the single-tracked trail. I struggle up the first one while two runners
close in on me. When I start down the
other side, they are right behind me and ask if I am going to finish this
year. Well, I am ahead of you at this
point! They pass me, but I will see them
again. Soon after this, here comes Jesse
running towards me. He mentioned he was
going to do this, and it is nice to see him.
He says it took him 53 minutes to get to this point from the aid
station, but caveats that with he was taking it easy. He thinks I can do it faster. I work hard and stay focused, but I also know
I am not moving that quickly, so I pop my third caffeine pill of the race. I count the creek crossings and manage not to
roll my right ankle in this section. As
we near a half mile from the aid station, Jesse runs ahead to get my headlamp
for me so that I won’t need to stop at the aid station. I run into the aid station and only pause
long enough to drink a cup of Coke. The
clock stands at 16:35, so I have less than 85 minutes to finish. This is the slowest that I have ever left
this last aid station by over 10 minutes.
Mile
62.4 1:21:35 (12:57 avg./mile) FINISH
About
a hundred yards from the aid station, I stop to pee. As I am finishing that task, Jesse catches up
to me with the headlamp. I set my focus
on power hiking as fast as my legs will carry me. There is a lady in front of me, Rebecca
Phalen, and I tell Jesse that we are going to catch her. My approach in times like this is to breathe
as hard as I can and then move my legs as quick as possible. The climb is about 2.8 miles long, although
some say it is a little shorter than that.
I pass Rebecca as we are getting to the first gate. My watch on this section reads 16.5 minutes,
which isn’t bad considering I stopped to water a tree. The whole climb, my stomach is screaming with
hunger; I will just have to ignore that part of me. After passing Rebecca there are two runners
in front of me. I think these are the
two guys that passed me in the forever section.
I catch and pass them before we get to the ruins. Then it is just a short section to the
Parkway. Jesse was pumping me up the
whole time. At the Parkway, I give Jesse
a fist bump, he wishes me the best, and I start running down the hill. It feels like I am moving well, but then the
two guys come by me. After they pass me,
Rebecca passes me, and both Rebecca and I pass the two guys back. Rebecca and I are running mostly side-by-side
when I roll my right ankle for the fourth time.
I barely break stride, but decide I will follow close behind Rebecca and
let her find the ankle twisters. We are
flat-out sprinting at this point. We
pass a couple of more runners and one of them asks me how far. My only answer is that when we get to the gate,
we have a mile and a half. Around the
next corner is the gate, and I let out a cheer!
My watch says 16:44:01; I only have to run a 10-minute per mile pace
from here. A minor detail is that I just
ran the last two miles in 24:38, but that was on a grassy road strewn with
rocks. Initially, I run side-by-side
with Rebecca. We cover the half mile to
the mile to go line in 4:11. Okay, now I
just need to run the last mile in about 11 minutes. However, neither Rebecca nor I slow down and
actually, she speeds up! She gaps me a
little, but I track close behind her. At
some point in our sprint, we pass another runner, and he says, “Way to go
Darin!” Recognizing the voice as Dan
Broom, I say thanks. I make the turn
into Camp Bethel and each of us has a volunteer to guide us to the finish. I pass Sheryl Wheeler one last time and hit
the finish line 11 seconds behind Rebecca, running the last mile in 8:50.
Official
Finishing Time 17:56:41
117th
out of 143 starters (120 finishers under 18 hours)
After crossing
the finish line and shaking David’s hand, I collapse on the ground. I am completely exhausted and spent. I lay on the ground in total exhilaration
until Ryan Henry’s wife and a couple of others pick me up off the ground. Ryan’s wife assists me inside, and I flop
down on a couch. Dan Broom finishes in
17:58 and is the last official finisher under 18 hours.
My time on this
section is faster than I have run it since 2018. I thought I was in shape to run the last
section in 1:25, but that was all before the deep snow and sparse aid
stations. Let me just say this, for some
reason, I am able to push myself harder than I do anywhere else. This was true the first year, and it is still
true 22 years later. The cold or at
least cool weather helps, but there is something else, something special about
this place, the race director, and everyone that is and has been part of the
Hellgate family.
Darin at Camp Bethel
This year was
one of the more memorable ones, and there are a lot of memories at Hellgate! All five of the fearsome five finished, but
only Jerry and Jeff finish under 17 hours.
The rest of us are in the last hour.
Looking over the DNF list, there are many Hellgate veterans with
multiple Hellgate finishes that were beaten by the conditions this year.
At this point I
don’t know what my next race will be.
However, with my Western States qualifier, I don’t have to worry about
that for the next 52 weeks. I will have
128 tickets in the lottery next year.
Never stop
running,
Darin
