Where do I begin? This was my first Hellgate race and only the second time I have run a continuous race longer than the 50 mile distance. The first was the Grindstone 100 miler just a little over two months ago. I was still feeling some of the after effects of that race and added to it was the wear and tear of the Mountain Masochist 50 miler only six weeks ago, although I did not feel nearly as beat up going in to Hellgate compared to how rough I felt going in to Masochist. At age 58 and having had some issues with my right knee the past few years, I had to make a decision earlier in 2014, that if I ever wanted to try to complete all 6 races of the Beast Series in one year it might be now or never. That knee might not last much longer, and if the attempt to do this finished my knee off as far as running was concerned I would have to be OK with that. So early in 2014 I decided to go ahead and run the three 50 k spring races, Holiday Lake in February, Terrapin Mountain in March, and Promise Land in April, and register for the Lynchburg Ultra Series. My thinking was that if I could put together a good spring season, I would extend my L.U.S. entry into an entry for the Beast Series which would entail running not just the Mountain Masochist 50 miler in November that concludes the L.U.S., which I had run before, but also run the Grindstone 100 miler in October and Hellgate 100 k ++ in December. Neither of which I had run before, and both distances were over any previous distance I had gone.
For the first race of the two series that share four races, Holiday Lake 50k in February had about 6 to 8 inches of snow on the ground that with the increase of air temperature, I knew would turn in to muddy slush for the second half (I had run it in 2010 when there was similar conditions) so I was not concerned about finish time, just complete it and move on. Something more important than just finishing happened as Grattan Garbee (who I had attached myself to in order to keep a good pace) and myself got to the big creek crossing. We could see someone had fallen on the ice and Dr. Mike Dunlop was there (fortunately, an ER doc) assessing what was wrong with the runner. We saw that it was Amy Albu who was down, and her ankle did not look good. She had broken both the tibia and fibula and definitely needed help getting to transportation so she could get to a hospital. Soon a crowd had gathered and we all took turns carrying Amy toward the next aid station. As we got closer to the aid station a girl in a Jeep came down the double track and we loaded Amy in and she got safely to the Charlottesville hospital where she works as a trauma nurse. It was good to see her out on the Masochist course and finish it in November. What a recovery! Tough gal!
Next was the Terrapin 50k in March. I had a good day and ran faster than I had run that course before by a few minutes. During the weekends, David Horton was rallying some of the local Lynchburg trail runners to help do some trail building, rebuilding, and maintenance on Liberty University's trail system on Candler's Mountain. Dave and I got into a conversation about various adventures on one of those workdays and I mentioned I would like to try Hellgate. Of course, his reverse psychology kicked in right away and he said "Nah, I don't think you are tough enough." Well, I raise my eyebrows, but didn't say much of anything, while at the same time thinking to myself "You wait, I'll show you I am tough enough!"
Then came Promise Land 50 K in April and again I had a good run and set a PR by 17 minutes. I'd have to check dates to make sure, but somewhere around this time was the big train wreck next to the James River in Downtown Lynchburg. I am a mechanic for the Lynchburg Fire Department and sometimes have to respond to large events like that to support the overall operation in various ways. Bring fuel for the trucks, bring food and set up portable tent shelters, set up generators and lights, move equipment and sometimes move hoses, address any equipment malfunctions, etcetera. The evening of that train wreck, I was not sure how long I might have to stay around and assist, so I was drinking coffee (coffee does exactly what it should for me...alert and awake... maybe talk too much about silly stuff). Somewhere about 9:00 pm I was released from duty for the day, so I went home and got on the computer to see what news I could get about the wreck, and see any video about it...pretty impressive. So now I am well caffienated and surfing away on the internet and get the idea to read up on Grindstone. In the middle of the night (not much good happens after 11:00 pm) I decide that if I can get in Grindstone, and my entry to the L.U.S. will extend in to an entry for the Beast Ultra Series, then Horton would pretty much have to allow me to enter the Hellgate race!
You Only Live Once, and since it might be Beast now or never...here we go! Do, or do not, there is no try! You can't score a run with one foot safely on first base! He who wants fruit must first climb the tree. My favorite..."Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go." ~~~ T.S. Eliot.
One of the requirements for entry to Grindstone was sending in an online searchable race result for a race of 50 miles or more in the last two years. Hmmm, it was 2009 the last (and only) time I finished a 50 miler, which was Mountain Masochist in 11:02. I decided on The North Face D.C. 50 mile Endurance Challenge in June. I had another good day, finishing 2nd in the men's 55-59 age group in 10:15. What a confidence booster. I went on a trip to the Florida Keys with some of the older Scouts in my Troop the last few days of June and the first few days of July, then came back to Lynchburg for a couple days , then went to near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where I grew up, to a reunion of the church youth group I was involved with in the early 70's. A great spring season, and now into the second week of July, having not run hardly at all for a couple weeks during vacations, I started ramping mileage up quickly. My right knee had been on good behavior, but...one Wednesday evening on a Blue Ridge Trail Runners Wild Wednesday run in July, coming down off Lone Jack Mountain's long gravel downhill pretty hard, trying to keep up with people younger and faster, (Frank Gonzalez and Clifton Williams), I knew I had pounded it too hard. It started to feel stiff and not real painful, just uncomfortable enough to not be able to train as hard physically as I wanted to mentally. I pride myself on downhill speed and if I feel real good and that knee is doing great I love to hammer a good downhill. Now that was taken away. Even though I managed to train pretty well the rest of the summer, it was always there, nagging me and slowing me down. I tried to boost my uphill speed and fast hiking...only so much available there before I run out of cardio-vascular capability with this old body.
Weekend runs in the mountains with friends, Todd and Alexis Thomas, Grattan Garbee, Clifton and Bethany Williams, Blake Edmondson, Chelsie Viar, Joe Alderson, Kevin Corell, and other folks who came out when they could were a highlight of every week. We raced the Iron Mountan 50 miler at the end of August. I did not do as well as I thought I might. I was starting to feel the toll of the high mileage. Going into September I had several items on my plate that involved quite a bit of effort as far as volunteer time with things I think should be a fair priority for me. There were lots of responsibilities at work to take care of. The week before Grindstone was not planned out well and it got away from me. I was going in to a 100 mile race that was critical for me to finish if I wanted to finish the Beast, without the real rest and good sleep one needs to have for such an event.
I had not slept well for a week or two. It seemed like everyone wanted a piece of my time. I was on a merry-go-round that wouldn't stop. It hit me like a ton of bricks in that event, finishing way slower than I think I have the potential to finish. Got it done though. Twice as hard as I thought it would be.
I turned in my registration for Hellgate the very next day after Grindstone. Horton said to me "Are you sure?" I said I was, and handed him the check for the entry fee. I was already in for Masochist and it was only 4 weeks away. I knew I should recover more but the very next weekend I went for a 17 mile run on part of the Masochist course. Not smart. My knee pain flared up on that run and stayed at a fairly high level for the next month. Dummy! Now this was going to be real interesting. 50 mile race with pretty tight time cut offs on a bum knee. I was right up against the time cut off coming out of the loop at 38 miles, but managed to finish 8 minutes ahead of the time cutoff. So glad to get that in the bag.
At least there would be a little more time to recover, reset some training and taper before Hellgate, with a six week time span between these two races. Rest and recover totally for a week. Lots of time in the whirlpool / hot tub at the YMCA. A little ab and core cross training. A few good long runs in the mountains and a little on the actual course helped a whole lot! Taper week found me doing more cross training and shorter but faster runs. Two days of rest, then time to go to Camp Bethel for the pre race dinner and race briefing.
Blake picked me up and gave me a ride to Camp Bethel. As we got there, we saw Sheryl Mawn, Helen MacDermott, then others gathering. It put me in mind of a tribe gathering to face a common enemy. I renewed acquaintance with Chris Miller at dinner, who I had met around Reddish Knob on the Grindstone course. Horton got us all to put our names on cards for door prize drawing. Of course he had fun with that...being King of the D.Ho Kingdom and all, he gets to make the (ahhhemm) impartial rules for drawing names. Lots of fun! Dave got people all paired up with rides to the start...absolutely amazing. Biggest car pool caravan I have ever seen. This sort of co-operation is what makes runners, and trail ultra runners in particular, such amazing people. Yes we are competing against each other, but in a larger sense we are battling a common enemy...the gnarly trail, and we are all as interested in each other getting to the finish in as good of a time as possible, as we are our own selves.
Nearly midnight and we are at the start. Horton is calling names on his bull horn and one of them is mine. Better go check in and get in the crowd for the start. We sing the Star Spangled Banner, have a prayer and at 12:01 am we are off. The first 3.5 miles is fairly flat on wide trail. I look for someone I can latch on to to give me a sense of pace. Mike Dunlop is right ahead and easy to see since he is 6' 8" tall and so I fall in behind him. Soon we are at the big creek crossing getting wet feet...at least the water is not super cold and the air temp isn't too cold yet...but that will change soon enough. We get thru the first aid station and start up Petites Gap Rd. I feel pretty good and eat a gel so I can keep my energy level up. The lower portion of this gradual uphill is pretty runnable and I keep a steady pace going. After we take the hard right the hill gets steeper so I power hike then jog alternately. I spot Chelsie and we stay within sight of each other to aid station 2 where Blake will meet me with dry shoes and socks and my hydration pack. It is getting real windy and the temperature is falling. Glad to have warm dry socks and shoes. Blake and Todd pour me some veggie soup and a cup of coffee and I head on. I have been moving well and get across the Parkway and start down the rocky trail toward the part of the course that runs on the Terrapin 50 k course. The bottom mile of that is nice grassy down hill that I run with ease. I continue to move well on the single track over to Hunting Creek Rd. I eat some crackers and another Gu gel. My knee is doing good so far. I continue to climb well up to Camping Gap where I expect to see the L. U. student volunteers. As I get to Camping Gap I am looking to my left where the aid station is usually set up for the Terrapin race but it isn't there! Oh no, I think, something happened, they aren't here...ooohh this will be a long stretch with no aid...good thing I have my pack pretty full. Then as I round the turn I see them in the grassy area off to the right...all is well. Brenton Swyers is there keeping order. I get some food and drink there to save what is in my pack for the long haul to Floyd's Field.
The trail here is gravel double track for about a mile and goes slightly up then slightly down before becoming grassy road with more ups and downs. Mostly runnable at a good pace. I run quite a bit here within sight of Mike Dunlop and Rick Gray. I know there are some holes and dips in the ground on this stretch so I am trying to be careful about looking where my feet are stepping in the dark. It is really windy and getting colder. I'm going downhill and the wind is really cooling me off. I have a light windbreaker with a hoodie on, so I pull my hood over my head and readjust my headlight. As I am doing this I step in a hole and go down hard. My calves cramp up immediately and I have a real hard time just getting up. Wasn't expecting cramps this early. Takes me a few seconds but I recover and get moving again still maintaining a good pace. Whew! Now the single track that goes down to Overstreet Creek Falls that is part of the Promise Land course, still moving good. Up Overstreet Creek Road looking forward to meeting Blake and getting hot soup and coffee at the aid station before crossing the Parkway. In this section my glasses were fogging a little. I was concerned I was getting "Hellgate eyes". Every year several people get a condition that makes their vision cloudy around this area. It is the coldest and windiest part of the race. You have been facing west into the prevailing wind for a long time with your eyes kind of "bug eyed" to see in the dark to keep from falling. That drys out your eyes and the cornea can actually freeze a little. Apparently having Lasik surgery makes one more susceptible to this. It goes away by itself in a few hours usually, with no ill after effects. Anyway, just fogged glasses for me.
Aid station 4 at Floyd's Field (Headforemost Mountain) and Blake is there with my goody bags and thermos of coffee and thermos of veggie soup. I was a good hour ahead of the cutoff there so I was thankful for that. , I had been eating pretty good but I think the coffee and hot soup was really helping me. Grattan Garbee was there also to crew Bethany and Clifton Williams. He had brought Blake's wife, Kristen, up so she could drive Blake's car to the finish from Bearwallow Gap, where Blake would start pacing me the last 20 miles to the finish. They double teamed crewing me with one filling my pack and the other pouring hot liquids for me. I am so thankful to have friends who would give their time to do this. I owe them big time. Several folks helped me in one way or another. Kevin Corell gave me a box of Salted Caramel Gu gels that I really like and used, Frank Gonzalez gave me a pair of shoes I wore for part of this race. Grattan helped out in multiple ways with training, crew help and transportation, Todd helped with training, crewing, encouraging pep talks, and paced Clifton the last 17 or so miles after running backward on the course from Bobblet's Gap to get him. And not the least, Blake ran with me for the last 20 miles. Anyway, after some good nutrition as I hiked across the Parkway from Floyd's Field I was able to run very well
down to Jennings Creek with the exception of another hard fall and calf cramping episode that I recovered pretty quick from.
Aid station 5 at Jennings Creek was a welcome respite after the fast downhill. It was daylight so I shucked off my headlamp and flashlight. Gave my glasses to Kristen as it was getting warmer and less windy and I would not be concerned about my corneas freezing now. Blake filled my hydration pack, I had some eats off the aid table, as well as more soup and coffee, and set off on the next climb to Little Cove Mountain. I was still moving ok but not quite with the speed I had been operating at on the previous climbs. I took time to keep eating as I power hiked this section. Up higher the gravel road flattened out then had a few short rolling up and downs that were mostly runnable. The sun was a welcome sight. It was still chilly in the shadows though, and a little breezy, so not time to unlayer just yet. Up to this point I had not paid any attention to mileage discrepancies from what it says on the information sheet and what the aid station posters had on them compared to what my GPS watch actually had. Now it was getting noticeable...and slightly irritating. I should be at the Little Cove station by now...grrr. This is taking too long. Not only that but nature calls for a used food waste removal...more time just choppin away. Finally I make it to Little Cove aid station. There I saw one of the funnier things I have seen in awhile. Us runners have come to display decals on the back of our vehicles that show mileage of races we have run. One of the ham radio guys was there with a pickup truck that had stickers like those that had 7.62 and 5.56 (those are ammunition sizes for those reading this that don't know. Namely metric NATO military rifle rounds). I had to smile even though the mileage was starting to wear on me.
On to Bearwallow Gap. As I recall, the beginning of this section is nice downhill on gravel road, then becomes single track that is not bad for a little while. Then all of a sudden you are on this nasty rocky switch backing section that just twists back and forth and you don't get any secure footing on and you know you are now on the "Devil Trail". Every time I thought I was getting close to crossing Route 43 it seems the trail took another turn that I just knew was going the wrong direction. Doggone these rocks...three and a half extra miles shown on my watch on the course at Bearwallow Gap, aid station 7, compared to the aid station time table. No wonder I am not holding pace...look at the extra miles! I was on Horton time through Jennings Creek, now I am way behind that, but at least well ahead of the cut off by around an hour and 15 minutes I think at Bearwallow.
Aid station 7 at Bearwallow Gap is where you are allowed to have a pacer. It is the second place on the course that has a time cutoff. This is where Blake met me to run with me to the finish, and I was finally here! Major milestone reached! There were lots of people there. Pacers and crews meeting their runners. My last change of shoes and socks, my last time to hit my coffee and my veggie soup. I took my jacket off and my Grindstone beanie hat, as well as my mittens. Got my hydration pack filled and stuffed some Roctane and some more salted caramel Gu gels in my pack along with a pack of crackers and an Orchard bar. I'm pretty sure Blake was telling me as we left there that I was ahead of the cut off by an hour and 15 minutes, which meant I had lost 45 minutes on Horton time since coming through Jennings Creek. That section took me way longer than it should have. Can't worry about that now. Got 20 miles left and if I can get moving good again, I should finish well before dark. After a half mile of climbing away from Bearwallow, the trail levels out pretty decent for a good bit and Blake and I got into a pretty steady rythym for the next couple miles. I was catching and passing people and was able to feed motivation to keep moving well from that. Todd had been at Bobblets Gap and when Alexis came through with a chance at a top 5 women's finish, he could not pace her to the finish. Top 5 women and top 10 men can not have a pacer. So here comes Todd backward on the course to help pace someone. Turns out that I was doing ok, and Blake was good company. Bethany was a minute or two behind me with Grattan pacing her. Clifton had fallen back a bit further and it seems Todd was just the right man for the job of getting Clifton back in the groove.
Bobblet's Gap, aid station 8, and Sam Price was rockin it with hot Pierogies and all kinds of cuisine. I ate up and drank up and was a little on the bloated side of comfortable leaving there going down the long gravel road, oh well, just throttle back a little and enjoy the gravity ride while staying out of the big washed out ditches in the road here. I am so glad I had the experience of running this section going into Day Creek aid station a few weeks before. After about 2.5 miles of downhill the course takes a right onto some rougher single track that has three good ups and downs and has several switchbacks and small creek crossings. It seems to go... on... for...ever...hence the nickname, "the forever section" for this part of the course. It is only 5 or maybe 6 miles from the gravel road to Day Creek but it just goes on and on crossing several small creeks that I really did not remember from a few weeks ago. I kept telling Blake "I think this is the last little creek", only to come upon another. One of the little muddy spots was way deeper than I thought it would be and it got a load of extremely abrasive mud in my sock down on the ball of my right foot. After about a mile of trying to wash it out at each little creek without taking time to remove my shoe, I finally had enough with the irritation and had to stop and get my shoe and double socks off and shake out the sand. I was on the verge of bad leg muscle cramps while bending and twisting to get the apparel off then back on my foot. Why does a simple thing like taking your shoe off and putting it back on require so much drama and pain and time late in an ultra?? One would have thought I was wrestling an alligator! Soon though we were on the flat and could see cars at the Day Creek aid station.
Aid station 9, Day Creek. I knew this climb out on course pretty well. This is one of Grattan's favorite places to stage a trail run and I have been on several runs here over the last few years. One more 2.5 mile climb and one more descent of about 3 miles or so and I'll be done. A few items off the aid table and I'm hiking the hill. I have run this whole climb on fresh legs, but that was not happening today! Just a steady hike. We get to the top where we cross the Parkway for the last time, four crossings in all counting going under it at Bobblet's Gap. We start to cruise down the other side toward the finish. The sun is low in the western sky but not yet setting. Blake comments about what a good place for a nice photo op this area would be for getting a nice sunset picture. I agree. I drink the last bit of liquid from my hydration pack, knowing that is ok, I'm only a couple miles from the finish. We gradually pick up speed as my legs lose the tightness from the climb up. We hear some whooping and hollering and Blake looks around behind us and says it is Clifton, Bethany, Grattan and Todd, and they are gaining on us. I speed up more, not wanting to let them pass me. I don't have much left and I'm holding my speed as fast as I dare go right now. It might not be enough. I have run with them enough to know they can all beat me in a dead sprint. I'm going to do my best to hold them off. We pass the One Mile to go sign. I don't think I can go any faster and they are closing on me. They shouldn't run an old man down like this. If they catch me, oh well. I am giving it all I've got. We make the left into the camp as Blake, Grattan, and Todd pull off course a little to the right so as to not go in the finish chute, since they are not racers entered in the event and are just pacing us runners the last 20 miles. Clifton and Bethany pull up beside me just as we get to the finish chute and Clifton says to me " Let's all hold hands together as we finish". I say " Yeah, cool!" So we finish together, the three of us in 16:29. So happy for a good day. Bethany, Clifton and myself all finishing together with our pacers and Clifton and myself completing the Beast Ultra Series, finishing an hour and 32 minutes ahead of the cut off. Horton is razzing us about taking a short cut and where did we catch a ride in a car. "No short cuts here" I say. " I even ran all the extra miles!" For sure I could have lived without those "Horton miles" on the Devil trail!
Alexis is there to greet us and we pose for pictures, along with Chelsie Viar, Clifton, and me, the four of us all finishing the Beast Series. We learn Alexis is the women's Beast Series winner and has set a new record by 4 hours total time over the 6 races. We learn Ryan Paavola set a new men's course record today with a 10:45 run. Our friend, Mike Donahue, who gave his all in service to our country's effort to bring freedom and peace to Afghanistan liked to say "Every day is a good day." Indeed that was true for this day.
Monday, December 15, 2014
Sunday, November 2, 2014
2014 Mountain Masochist Trail Run 50 Miler Race Report
For nearly a month (well actually longer) I had been nursing a sore right knee that is a result of a long list of multiple insults and injuries going way back. Mostly the ailment stems from a torn medial meniscus that occurred in August of 2010 that also involved stress fractures of the top of the tibia. The latest insult to this knee was the Grindstone 100 miler just 27 days prior to this event. Why do this, you might ask. That is difficult to explain. Runners have to run. Ultra runners have to run ultra marathons. Football players have to play their game too even though it can be painful at times. For those who understand, no explanation is necessary; for those who don't understand, no explanation is possible. Anyway, my training was limited to a couple short runs a week for the past four weeks and self confidence was waning going in to this 50 miler.
A brief explanation of the Ultra Marathon Series I am attempting to complete is in order here to explain how important this particular race is to me. There are six races annually that make up the Beast Series. Three 50 k races in the spring, the Grindstone 100 miler in October, Mountain Masochist 50 miler in November, and Hellgate 100k ++ in December. The three spring 50k's plus Masochist 50 miler make up the Lynchburg Ultra Series. Add the Grindstone 100 miler and the Hellgate 100k++ to get the Beast Series. You must FINISH ALL the races WITHIN the TIME limit, or you are out of the series. The Masochist 50 miler has the tightest time cut offs of all the six race series. The last time I ran it I finished an hour ahead of the time limit. but I wasn't beat up from just finishing a 100 mile race a month before, as I was now.
I have done the L.U.S. before, but had not done the two longer races in the fall to get the Beast award. I decided last winter to attempt the L.U.S. again this year, then later after two Personal Record times at the Terrapin Mtn. 50k and Promise Land 50k this spring I thought about the Beast Series. I helped Dave Horton along with several others do some trail building and maintenance on the trails on Candler's Mountain in the spring, and got in a conversation with Horton about wanting to run Hellgate. He said he didn't think I would be tough enough to finish. David likes reverse psychology I think. I started thinking about that and decided I would extend my L.U.S. entry into the Beast Series and go ahead and send in my application to run Grindstone. If I got in Grindstone and finished then I would ("only") have to finish Hellgate to get the Beast Award. I finished Grindstone (my only 100 miler, embarrassingly slow, but none the less within the time limit) then I picked up the Hellgate application from Dave at the Grindstone awards breakfast and returned it with my entry fee in person to him the very next day. Part of the entry process for Grindstone is to turn in an online searchable race time for a 50 miler or longer race within the past two years. I realized the last (only) 50 miler I did was Masochist in 2009 in 11:02. So I selected the North Face D.C. 50 miler along the Potomac River and finished second in the men's 55 to 59 age group in 10:15. This really boosted my confidence, although that race is on much flatter terrain than the races we have in the mountains. I spent most weekends this summer doing longer than 25 ish mile runs with Todd and Alexis Thomas and others in the Blue Ridge Mountains. I ran the Iron Mountain 50 miler in late August this year with a bunch of us who are in the Blue Ridge Trail Runners, mostly as training for Grindstone, and while I did ok, I did not do as well as I thought I might. Maybe I was over-training for my own body's capabilities? At any rate, my knee had been hinting to me since late July that it was 58 years old and was not getting any younger. Lots of running and racing were taking a toll on what little cartilage there was left in that right medial meniscus, so my thinking was if I want to get the Beast series done, it might be now or never.
One of these days I will learn to pack a little earlier than the night before or the morning of an event like this. There is lots of stuff to think about and put into drop bags, for example out on the course one may want dry shoes and socks, (yep we go right thru creeks and any mud as a result of precipitation) a jacket, hat, gloves, extra snacks and energy gels. Then there is stuff to pack in my hydration vest, snacks, energy gels, handi wipes, maybe some Ibuprofen, some tums, some leg cramp medicine, and not the least, fill the hydration bladder. Then there is stuff to pack in the drop bag for the finish. I will want a change of clothes and shoes, more handi wipes (no shower at this facility), deodorant, maybe some money to buy some food at the store there, some protein drink and some powerade. Lets see, what else...oh yeah, I want to bring my hiking poles to help me climb the mountains on the second half of the course. I'll tie them to my drop bag that will be at the aid station just past the halfway point. Using the hiking poles should help out my knee.
This is a point to point race in the mountains. There are no big parking lots to park 300 cars. We get on buses in Lynchburg that take us to the start, a campground about 20 miles away. We leave our drop bags with the bus drivers who take them to the halfway point (a highway crossing with a grassy picnic area) where we can access them and get what we want. Then the buses go to the finish (another camping area about 50 miles out of town) where we can access the bags again. We have to board the buses before 5:00 am because they will pull out at 5 and if you are not on one, you will get left. That would be bad. You can't leave cars at the start so driving there is not cool unless you have pre-arranged some way for your car to leave. Plus, the bus comes back to town, not the start. It is past time for me to be on my way and I throw my stuff together and leave the house in a bit of a rush to not be late for the bus. As I am driving I realize I left my little medicine bag on the dining room table...ugh...and my hiking poles are on the floor in the dining room...oh well.
We check in at the start as a light rain is falling, temps are about mid forties but predicted to get colder and very windy by afternoon, possibly some snow. I get my knee brace in place and tape it so hopefully it will stay put, take one last porta john stop, and sit in the bus till the last few minutes before we start. As we get underway we wind out of the camping area onto a back road for about a mile and a half then we hit an old forestry service road that goes under the Blue Ridge Parkway right where two creeks converge. There is no way to get through that area without getting in water up over your ankles, halfway to your knees, so, wet and cold feet right away. Motivation to move a little faster to build up some heat in your feet again! I was pacing myself carefully so as not to go too fast on the first half which is mostly runnable with just a few climbs that will be hiked. The second half has much steeper, and longer elevation climbs, and I will have already been on my feet for 5 and a half hours at my pace, so I have to be careful about energy expenditure, food intake and hydration.
I enjoy the sights on this course. When I was a much younger man I enjoyed hunting with friends I worked with, on or near many of the trails we now run on in this part of Amherst County between the Pedlar Reservoir and Hog Camp Gap just before "the loop". Buck Mountain is aptly named...I have a nice 7 point buck mounted that I took off that mountain on Thanksgiving Day of 1991. (I am now vegetarian and have not hunted in years.) I have enjoyed hiking and camping with my Scout Troop and my family in this area as well. Those experiences may be what draws me to this trail race, whether I am running in it or just cheering others on at aid stations. I always enjoy the view of Buck Mountain as I approach Route 60, but realize the race is just getting started even though I am a little over half way on distance. I was pretty close to being right on schedule, about a half hour ahead of the cut off. I was keeping track of what the cut off times were as I came through each aid station with a little piece of paper I had printed off the runners e-packet and trimmed down to fit in my pocket. I had laminated it with clear packing tape so moisture wouldn't make it unreadable. At some point before we got to the Parkway gate aid station I had to stop and take off my knee brace and stow it in my pack as it was rubbing the back of my knee and causing more irritation than it was worth. That took some valuable time, de-gloving, untaping, unstrapping, shoe untying, getting the pack off and open, back on, tie up my shoe, put gloves back on...grrr, wasted 5 minutes. So hitting Long Mountain Wayside (Rt. 60) at 12:05 pm wasn't too far off my plan but those 5 minutes, and the ten more it took to get into my drop bag, change out of wet socks and shoes, get the useless knee brace out of my pack and restock the pack with more energy gels, get my jacket on and double up on my gloves, as I was about to go into higher and colder elevation with high wind, would come back to haunt me later.
I hit the aid station table for a 1/4 peanut butter and jelly sandwich and checked my watch as I started the climb up Buck Mountain. Hmmm, 12:15, that certainly took longer than I thought it would. Now I am only 15 minutes ahead of the cut off and they are strictly enforced from here to the finish. Not where I wanted to be going in to the toughest terrain on the course. I could see Jeff Martin up ahead and thought maybe I could catch back up to him as we had been leap frogging each other all morning. Pretty soon he is coming down the opposite way. He told me he was going to go back down to Rt. 60 and call it a day. Easier to go down than up. I tried to tell him to come on and stay with it but he continued down. I hiked on hoping for something warm at the aid station at the top. Well, before I got to the top, here comes Jeff again, back on course. He passed me and went on to finish...big "atta boy" Jeff! At the top of the mountain there were angels sent from heaven...oh, well, maybe not quite that dramatic, but close! Freda Spencer, Cheyenne Craig, Wade Stout, and Opal Corell were there with a campfire, hot broth, snacks and encouragement. I wish I had time to stay by the fire but I knew I had to keep moving on to Wiggins Spring.
Downhill! Moving faster now, well doggone, that didn't last long. My hamstrings were cramping and greatly slowing me, right when I have opportunity to move faster. The only thing I could do was stop, stretch, then hike for a few yards then try to jog on a little till the cramp would hit again. Right leg, then left. Then my calves started joining the cramp party. This is mutiny! And my medicine for this is on my dining room table! Soon though I was at Wiggins Spring aid station where I knew I would see my buddy Blake Edmondson again, working the aid station. I handed him my pack and asked him to top off my water, which he took care of. I got some veggie soup and some salt on a chunk of baked potato and kept on up the hill toward "the loop". As I was leaving there I overheard a young lady in great distress over how rough she felt talking to her crew. I tried to encourage her saying "a mile and a half up this hill and you will be at "the loop". Get through the loop and you've pretty much got it made to the finish." Her crew hiked up the hill with her, behind me, cheering her up and feeding her as they went. By the time we got to the aid station going into "the loop" she was in a better mood and moving faster than me so I let her go and her crew went back to get their car. Food equals happy! I know Todd Thomas believes that. He was at the loop after escorting Alexis thru that section and sending her on to the finish, he filled me with food, gave me a pep talk and sent me on into the loop.
The Henry Lanum Loop in the Mount Pleasant National Scenic Area is a nice day hike for those who enjoy hiking. Beautiful views from the summit of Mt. Pleasant are breathtaking. This day was not pleasant though. Cold. Windy. 4,000 foot elevation. Small ice pellets blowing out of the sky. As we go in to this loop the trail is nice, wide, grassy, a bit on the down slope, very runnable. In about a mile it makes a left turn into uphill, gnarly, technical trail that is slow going. I caught back up to the young lady who was in great distress but got happy again. She was not hiking uphill as fast as I was so I chose a spot and went around. She was still in a good mood. We chatted a little and I told her I would see her at the finish and moved on. The summit was brutally windy, but enough visibility to be able to get a decent view. One of the more memorable family hikes we have been on was to the summit of Mt. Pleasant several years ago. When we got to the summit we saw a rain storm off in the distance, with the sun shining through the rain to make a beautiful rainbow. My youngest son who is disabled and can't walk was small enough to fit in a Kelty papoose backpack, and he had a blast holding on to my head as we hiked up, took in the scenery, and hiked back to the car. As I thought about that warm day, I took my aid station cutoff sheet from my pocket and realized I had less time than I thought. As a matter of fact I need to push the pace getting out of here if I am going to be allowed to continue. I began moving faster, running more and hiking less. Thankful the last mile or so of that 6 mile loop is very runnable, I started pushing the pace more, keeping an eye on my watch. I had to be at the aid station going out of the loop by 3:50 pm. It was exactly 3:50 as I got to that aid station. I kept on going as Sam Price yelled "what do you need? I'll bring it to you." I yelled back, "I'm good, I have enough water in my pack and enough energy gels to make it to the finish." I don't know if any one behind me was allowed to continue, that made me kind of feel sad for those folks for a minute. I had other business at hand though.
Rather than think about trying to run fast enough to make it to the finish I just concentrated on the cut off time at the next aid station and getting there as quick as my legs would carry me, given the fact I already had 38 + miles on them. Thirty minutes to cover the next three miles. Ok, lets see if I can put a road 5k effort down here on the sections that are flat and down. I knew there were two short uphills on this part that I likely would have to hike some. I cranked the speed up and held it as much as I could. After a couple miles I came up on Craig Miller and another guy and as I came by them I said, "You know the cut off at Salt Log Gap Is 4:20 and it is 4:10 now." Craig said, "Wow, I better hang on your coat tail then." We cruised by the Salt Log aid workers and I saw one of the buses were there to give people that had to be pulled off the course a ride to the finish. I checked my watch and called out "number two six zero - thru Salt Log at 4:19 - a minute ahead of the cut." As I started up the hill the aid worker called out to me, "The Forest Valley aid folks will pull you if you aren't past them in 20 minutes." Well that sounds pretty easy since it is just a little over a mile. Problem with that is it is up a real steep hill, the whole mile +, that does not lend itself to being run very much at all, especially with legs that already have around 40 miles on them and have another 10 or so to go. As I got thru the Forest Valley aid station I checked the time and was four minutes ahead of the cut.
The section between Forest Valley and Porters Ridge aid station is marked at 4.1 miles but seems more like 8 miles to me. It is late in the day, 43 miles in. High elevation. Cold. Windy. More uphill and finally a section of down and flat for a couple miles. I lost track of Craig thru there somewhere, but I had a mission, to get to Porters Ridge before 5:45. More STEEEEP uphill. Over 4,000 feet elevation for at least the third time. My legs are burning. My chest is heaving. My heart is pounding, But I must maintain relentless forward progress. I pass a few people. Suddenly out of seemingly nowhere a familiar face appears. It is Blake Edmondson! He ran backwards on the course from the finish after working two different aid stations to pace me in to the finish!
I ask Blake how far to Porters Ridge. He says it is less than two miles. Then he tells me he has some of the Gu brand salted carmel energy gels with the elevated electrolytes. I get one to stall the near cramping feeling I have in my hamstrings again. I can go at a nice steady pace but can't keep a redline pace the way I'd like to, or the cramping will straighten my legs and turn my muscles into useless brick. We keep moving as steady as I can manage. We pass John Cooper. Finally we hear music and the Porters ridge aid station and I am about 5 minutes on the good side of the cut. I get a couple salted tater tots and head to the finish.
Down, down, down off the mountain and past the fish hatchery then the left turn on to route 56 and I know I will finish under the time limit. Todd Thomas has come backward on the course to help run me in. As the finish line comes in sight I pick up my speed pretty good, knowing I don't have to hold anything in reserve now. It is dusk. The red numbers on the race clock glow in the dim light. 11:52 is the elapsed race time. I am happy to have finished under the twelve hour limit and earn my second completion of the four race Lynchburg Ultra Series, and still be able to continue to the last race of the six race Beast Series. Thankful to have the opportunity to do these kinds of adventures. I have run and hiked thousands of miles soaking up the great outdoors that I love to be out enjoying. Not everyone can do this. Thankful for a friendly, supportive running community locally in the Lynchburg area that supports events like this... it takes a lot of volunteers...and what good is a race with no one to run it?
Thankful for Race Directors such as Clark Zealand who directs this quality event and two other races in the Beast Series, as well as David Horton, the founder of this race, now complete thru 32 years, and director of three of the other races in the Beast series.
Next up: Hellgate 100k+, stay tuned. If my knee goes the way of the dinosoar, I will join Dave Horton and Paula Dahl on bicycles next year. Maybe do a little more tailgate camping instead of backpacking.
A brief explanation of the Ultra Marathon Series I am attempting to complete is in order here to explain how important this particular race is to me. There are six races annually that make up the Beast Series. Three 50 k races in the spring, the Grindstone 100 miler in October, Mountain Masochist 50 miler in November, and Hellgate 100k ++ in December. The three spring 50k's plus Masochist 50 miler make up the Lynchburg Ultra Series. Add the Grindstone 100 miler and the Hellgate 100k++ to get the Beast Series. You must FINISH ALL the races WITHIN the TIME limit, or you are out of the series. The Masochist 50 miler has the tightest time cut offs of all the six race series. The last time I ran it I finished an hour ahead of the time limit. but I wasn't beat up from just finishing a 100 mile race a month before, as I was now.
I have done the L.U.S. before, but had not done the two longer races in the fall to get the Beast award. I decided last winter to attempt the L.U.S. again this year, then later after two Personal Record times at the Terrapin Mtn. 50k and Promise Land 50k this spring I thought about the Beast Series. I helped Dave Horton along with several others do some trail building and maintenance on the trails on Candler's Mountain in the spring, and got in a conversation with Horton about wanting to run Hellgate. He said he didn't think I would be tough enough to finish. David likes reverse psychology I think. I started thinking about that and decided I would extend my L.U.S. entry into the Beast Series and go ahead and send in my application to run Grindstone. If I got in Grindstone and finished then I would ("only") have to finish Hellgate to get the Beast Award. I finished Grindstone (my only 100 miler, embarrassingly slow, but none the less within the time limit) then I picked up the Hellgate application from Dave at the Grindstone awards breakfast and returned it with my entry fee in person to him the very next day. Part of the entry process for Grindstone is to turn in an online searchable race time for a 50 miler or longer race within the past two years. I realized the last (only) 50 miler I did was Masochist in 2009 in 11:02. So I selected the North Face D.C. 50 miler along the Potomac River and finished second in the men's 55 to 59 age group in 10:15. This really boosted my confidence, although that race is on much flatter terrain than the races we have in the mountains. I spent most weekends this summer doing longer than 25 ish mile runs with Todd and Alexis Thomas and others in the Blue Ridge Mountains. I ran the Iron Mountain 50 miler in late August this year with a bunch of us who are in the Blue Ridge Trail Runners, mostly as training for Grindstone, and while I did ok, I did not do as well as I thought I might. Maybe I was over-training for my own body's capabilities? At any rate, my knee had been hinting to me since late July that it was 58 years old and was not getting any younger. Lots of running and racing were taking a toll on what little cartilage there was left in that right medial meniscus, so my thinking was if I want to get the Beast series done, it might be now or never.
One of these days I will learn to pack a little earlier than the night before or the morning of an event like this. There is lots of stuff to think about and put into drop bags, for example out on the course one may want dry shoes and socks, (yep we go right thru creeks and any mud as a result of precipitation) a jacket, hat, gloves, extra snacks and energy gels. Then there is stuff to pack in my hydration vest, snacks, energy gels, handi wipes, maybe some Ibuprofen, some tums, some leg cramp medicine, and not the least, fill the hydration bladder. Then there is stuff to pack in the drop bag for the finish. I will want a change of clothes and shoes, more handi wipes (no shower at this facility), deodorant, maybe some money to buy some food at the store there, some protein drink and some powerade. Lets see, what else...oh yeah, I want to bring my hiking poles to help me climb the mountains on the second half of the course. I'll tie them to my drop bag that will be at the aid station just past the halfway point. Using the hiking poles should help out my knee.
This is a point to point race in the mountains. There are no big parking lots to park 300 cars. We get on buses in Lynchburg that take us to the start, a campground about 20 miles away. We leave our drop bags with the bus drivers who take them to the halfway point (a highway crossing with a grassy picnic area) where we can access them and get what we want. Then the buses go to the finish (another camping area about 50 miles out of town) where we can access the bags again. We have to board the buses before 5:00 am because they will pull out at 5 and if you are not on one, you will get left. That would be bad. You can't leave cars at the start so driving there is not cool unless you have pre-arranged some way for your car to leave. Plus, the bus comes back to town, not the start. It is past time for me to be on my way and I throw my stuff together and leave the house in a bit of a rush to not be late for the bus. As I am driving I realize I left my little medicine bag on the dining room table...ugh...and my hiking poles are on the floor in the dining room...oh well.
We check in at the start as a light rain is falling, temps are about mid forties but predicted to get colder and very windy by afternoon, possibly some snow. I get my knee brace in place and tape it so hopefully it will stay put, take one last porta john stop, and sit in the bus till the last few minutes before we start. As we get underway we wind out of the camping area onto a back road for about a mile and a half then we hit an old forestry service road that goes under the Blue Ridge Parkway right where two creeks converge. There is no way to get through that area without getting in water up over your ankles, halfway to your knees, so, wet and cold feet right away. Motivation to move a little faster to build up some heat in your feet again! I was pacing myself carefully so as not to go too fast on the first half which is mostly runnable with just a few climbs that will be hiked. The second half has much steeper, and longer elevation climbs, and I will have already been on my feet for 5 and a half hours at my pace, so I have to be careful about energy expenditure, food intake and hydration.
I enjoy the sights on this course. When I was a much younger man I enjoyed hunting with friends I worked with, on or near many of the trails we now run on in this part of Amherst County between the Pedlar Reservoir and Hog Camp Gap just before "the loop". Buck Mountain is aptly named...I have a nice 7 point buck mounted that I took off that mountain on Thanksgiving Day of 1991. (I am now vegetarian and have not hunted in years.) I have enjoyed hiking and camping with my Scout Troop and my family in this area as well. Those experiences may be what draws me to this trail race, whether I am running in it or just cheering others on at aid stations. I always enjoy the view of Buck Mountain as I approach Route 60, but realize the race is just getting started even though I am a little over half way on distance. I was pretty close to being right on schedule, about a half hour ahead of the cut off. I was keeping track of what the cut off times were as I came through each aid station with a little piece of paper I had printed off the runners e-packet and trimmed down to fit in my pocket. I had laminated it with clear packing tape so moisture wouldn't make it unreadable. At some point before we got to the Parkway gate aid station I had to stop and take off my knee brace and stow it in my pack as it was rubbing the back of my knee and causing more irritation than it was worth. That took some valuable time, de-gloving, untaping, unstrapping, shoe untying, getting the pack off and open, back on, tie up my shoe, put gloves back on...grrr, wasted 5 minutes. So hitting Long Mountain Wayside (Rt. 60) at 12:05 pm wasn't too far off my plan but those 5 minutes, and the ten more it took to get into my drop bag, change out of wet socks and shoes, get the useless knee brace out of my pack and restock the pack with more energy gels, get my jacket on and double up on my gloves, as I was about to go into higher and colder elevation with high wind, would come back to haunt me later.
I hit the aid station table for a 1/4 peanut butter and jelly sandwich and checked my watch as I started the climb up Buck Mountain. Hmmm, 12:15, that certainly took longer than I thought it would. Now I am only 15 minutes ahead of the cut off and they are strictly enforced from here to the finish. Not where I wanted to be going in to the toughest terrain on the course. I could see Jeff Martin up ahead and thought maybe I could catch back up to him as we had been leap frogging each other all morning. Pretty soon he is coming down the opposite way. He told me he was going to go back down to Rt. 60 and call it a day. Easier to go down than up. I tried to tell him to come on and stay with it but he continued down. I hiked on hoping for something warm at the aid station at the top. Well, before I got to the top, here comes Jeff again, back on course. He passed me and went on to finish...big "atta boy" Jeff! At the top of the mountain there were angels sent from heaven...oh, well, maybe not quite that dramatic, but close! Freda Spencer, Cheyenne Craig, Wade Stout, and Opal Corell were there with a campfire, hot broth, snacks and encouragement. I wish I had time to stay by the fire but I knew I had to keep moving on to Wiggins Spring.
Downhill! Moving faster now, well doggone, that didn't last long. My hamstrings were cramping and greatly slowing me, right when I have opportunity to move faster. The only thing I could do was stop, stretch, then hike for a few yards then try to jog on a little till the cramp would hit again. Right leg, then left. Then my calves started joining the cramp party. This is mutiny! And my medicine for this is on my dining room table! Soon though I was at Wiggins Spring aid station where I knew I would see my buddy Blake Edmondson again, working the aid station. I handed him my pack and asked him to top off my water, which he took care of. I got some veggie soup and some salt on a chunk of baked potato and kept on up the hill toward "the loop". As I was leaving there I overheard a young lady in great distress over how rough she felt talking to her crew. I tried to encourage her saying "a mile and a half up this hill and you will be at "the loop". Get through the loop and you've pretty much got it made to the finish." Her crew hiked up the hill with her, behind me, cheering her up and feeding her as they went. By the time we got to the aid station going into "the loop" she was in a better mood and moving faster than me so I let her go and her crew went back to get their car. Food equals happy! I know Todd Thomas believes that. He was at the loop after escorting Alexis thru that section and sending her on to the finish, he filled me with food, gave me a pep talk and sent me on into the loop.
The Henry Lanum Loop in the Mount Pleasant National Scenic Area is a nice day hike for those who enjoy hiking. Beautiful views from the summit of Mt. Pleasant are breathtaking. This day was not pleasant though. Cold. Windy. 4,000 foot elevation. Small ice pellets blowing out of the sky. As we go in to this loop the trail is nice, wide, grassy, a bit on the down slope, very runnable. In about a mile it makes a left turn into uphill, gnarly, technical trail that is slow going. I caught back up to the young lady who was in great distress but got happy again. She was not hiking uphill as fast as I was so I chose a spot and went around. She was still in a good mood. We chatted a little and I told her I would see her at the finish and moved on. The summit was brutally windy, but enough visibility to be able to get a decent view. One of the more memorable family hikes we have been on was to the summit of Mt. Pleasant several years ago. When we got to the summit we saw a rain storm off in the distance, with the sun shining through the rain to make a beautiful rainbow. My youngest son who is disabled and can't walk was small enough to fit in a Kelty papoose backpack, and he had a blast holding on to my head as we hiked up, took in the scenery, and hiked back to the car. As I thought about that warm day, I took my aid station cutoff sheet from my pocket and realized I had less time than I thought. As a matter of fact I need to push the pace getting out of here if I am going to be allowed to continue. I began moving faster, running more and hiking less. Thankful the last mile or so of that 6 mile loop is very runnable, I started pushing the pace more, keeping an eye on my watch. I had to be at the aid station going out of the loop by 3:50 pm. It was exactly 3:50 as I got to that aid station. I kept on going as Sam Price yelled "what do you need? I'll bring it to you." I yelled back, "I'm good, I have enough water in my pack and enough energy gels to make it to the finish." I don't know if any one behind me was allowed to continue, that made me kind of feel sad for those folks for a minute. I had other business at hand though.
Rather than think about trying to run fast enough to make it to the finish I just concentrated on the cut off time at the next aid station and getting there as quick as my legs would carry me, given the fact I already had 38 + miles on them. Thirty minutes to cover the next three miles. Ok, lets see if I can put a road 5k effort down here on the sections that are flat and down. I knew there were two short uphills on this part that I likely would have to hike some. I cranked the speed up and held it as much as I could. After a couple miles I came up on Craig Miller and another guy and as I came by them I said, "You know the cut off at Salt Log Gap Is 4:20 and it is 4:10 now." Craig said, "Wow, I better hang on your coat tail then." We cruised by the Salt Log aid workers and I saw one of the buses were there to give people that had to be pulled off the course a ride to the finish. I checked my watch and called out "number two six zero - thru Salt Log at 4:19 - a minute ahead of the cut." As I started up the hill the aid worker called out to me, "The Forest Valley aid folks will pull you if you aren't past them in 20 minutes." Well that sounds pretty easy since it is just a little over a mile. Problem with that is it is up a real steep hill, the whole mile +, that does not lend itself to being run very much at all, especially with legs that already have around 40 miles on them and have another 10 or so to go. As I got thru the Forest Valley aid station I checked the time and was four minutes ahead of the cut.
The section between Forest Valley and Porters Ridge aid station is marked at 4.1 miles but seems more like 8 miles to me. It is late in the day, 43 miles in. High elevation. Cold. Windy. More uphill and finally a section of down and flat for a couple miles. I lost track of Craig thru there somewhere, but I had a mission, to get to Porters Ridge before 5:45. More STEEEEP uphill. Over 4,000 feet elevation for at least the third time. My legs are burning. My chest is heaving. My heart is pounding, But I must maintain relentless forward progress. I pass a few people. Suddenly out of seemingly nowhere a familiar face appears. It is Blake Edmondson! He ran backwards on the course from the finish after working two different aid stations to pace me in to the finish!
I ask Blake how far to Porters Ridge. He says it is less than two miles. Then he tells me he has some of the Gu brand salted carmel energy gels with the elevated electrolytes. I get one to stall the near cramping feeling I have in my hamstrings again. I can go at a nice steady pace but can't keep a redline pace the way I'd like to, or the cramping will straighten my legs and turn my muscles into useless brick. We keep moving as steady as I can manage. We pass John Cooper. Finally we hear music and the Porters ridge aid station and I am about 5 minutes on the good side of the cut. I get a couple salted tater tots and head to the finish.
Down, down, down off the mountain and past the fish hatchery then the left turn on to route 56 and I know I will finish under the time limit. Todd Thomas has come backward on the course to help run me in. As the finish line comes in sight I pick up my speed pretty good, knowing I don't have to hold anything in reserve now. It is dusk. The red numbers on the race clock glow in the dim light. 11:52 is the elapsed race time. I am happy to have finished under the twelve hour limit and earn my second completion of the four race Lynchburg Ultra Series, and still be able to continue to the last race of the six race Beast Series. Thankful to have the opportunity to do these kinds of adventures. I have run and hiked thousands of miles soaking up the great outdoors that I love to be out enjoying. Not everyone can do this. Thankful for a friendly, supportive running community locally in the Lynchburg area that supports events like this... it takes a lot of volunteers...and what good is a race with no one to run it?
Thankful for Race Directors such as Clark Zealand who directs this quality event and two other races in the Beast Series, as well as David Horton, the founder of this race, now complete thru 32 years, and director of three of the other races in the Beast series.
Next up: Hellgate 100k+, stay tuned. If my knee goes the way of the dinosoar, I will join Dave Horton and Paula Dahl on bicycles next year. Maybe do a little more tailgate camping instead of backpacking.
Saturday, October 18, 2014
Grindstone Post Script (I did figure out out how to edit the original but this was a stop gap measure before that)
I have been informed that when I finished and was dizzy and falling over the guys that helped me into the dining hall were Sam Price and Frankie Viar. Thanks guys, I was not functioning well and was very cold! Sam also told me as well as Kevin that it was not Kevin who gave me a slice of Pizza (although he did buy it) it was Sam. Like I said...I was out of it as far as cognitive skills were concerned. My comments about the way the course was marked the first and last few miles, and the first two and last two aid stations were not intended to bash anyone, especially not the race director, Clark Zealand. The volunteers thought they were doing what was expected, maybe they need a little coaching? The fact that an aid station 15 miles in at the beginning of a hundred mile race ran out of water needs to be thought about, and measures taken to try to not have that happen again. I want to make observations that will contribute to improvements and enhance other participants experience.
We all have room for improvement and adjustment. Inbound, those aid station workers were probably nearly as tired as I was, and I don't fault them for being tired, I wish there was some hot soup or broth and hot chocolate at those last two stations and that the people there would have acted more helpful to the mid and back of the pack runners. It seemed to me that these were mostly college students who just came to have their own little party and since they were tired they just wanted to go home.
I hope that if there was someone who was moving or taking down markers, that person will be found out and will come to their senses. I don't know how more security or patrolling of that section might be accomplished but given the delirious state of runners and the sparse markings on the last few miles I am surprised that I haven't heard more stories than I have of people getting lost there. Jeremy Ramsey told me he went back through the last five miles to add markers but I would swear on a stack of Bibles to tell the truth, the markers were very sparse. For an extremely tired runner at night any marker that is not reflective is difficult to see. My opinion is that more reflective markers would be a great idea...about three times as many. At turns the markers should be on the same side as the direction of the turn to attract your attention that way, not the opposite side of the direction of the turn. There should be three markers before the turn and three after within 20 or 30 feet of each other.
I know the course is marked during the day by people who know where they are going, but it needs to be marked with this thought in mind...there are people who don't know where they are going, and they will be extremely tired, and it will be dark, maybe raining, maybe foggy. I don't want to think of a worst case scenario here but let your imagination go and you might come to some of the same conclusions as have I.
As a race participant we have spent good money for registration, shoes, hydration gear and clothing, to say nothing of the hundreds of hours and miles of training that we took away from spending that time with our families or other less painful pursuits. We expect a good race experience. Overall I had an ok experience, but I would like for others to have an excellent experience. Getting off course because of too few markers or markers on the opposite side of a turn in the dark, as I experienced is not good. Coming to an aid station that is out of water is not good. My purpose in bringing that to light is hopeful improvement so that others may have a better experience. Not intending to step on anyone's toes...just making observations.
We all have room for improvement and adjustment. Inbound, those aid station workers were probably nearly as tired as I was, and I don't fault them for being tired, I wish there was some hot soup or broth and hot chocolate at those last two stations and that the people there would have acted more helpful to the mid and back of the pack runners. It seemed to me that these were mostly college students who just came to have their own little party and since they were tired they just wanted to go home.
I hope that if there was someone who was moving or taking down markers, that person will be found out and will come to their senses. I don't know how more security or patrolling of that section might be accomplished but given the delirious state of runners and the sparse markings on the last few miles I am surprised that I haven't heard more stories than I have of people getting lost there. Jeremy Ramsey told me he went back through the last five miles to add markers but I would swear on a stack of Bibles to tell the truth, the markers were very sparse. For an extremely tired runner at night any marker that is not reflective is difficult to see. My opinion is that more reflective markers would be a great idea...about three times as many. At turns the markers should be on the same side as the direction of the turn to attract your attention that way, not the opposite side of the direction of the turn. There should be three markers before the turn and three after within 20 or 30 feet of each other.
I know the course is marked during the day by people who know where they are going, but it needs to be marked with this thought in mind...there are people who don't know where they are going, and they will be extremely tired, and it will be dark, maybe raining, maybe foggy. I don't want to think of a worst case scenario here but let your imagination go and you might come to some of the same conclusions as have I.
As a race participant we have spent good money for registration, shoes, hydration gear and clothing, to say nothing of the hundreds of hours and miles of training that we took away from spending that time with our families or other less painful pursuits. We expect a good race experience. Overall I had an ok experience, but I would like for others to have an excellent experience. Getting off course because of too few markers or markers on the opposite side of a turn in the dark, as I experienced is not good. Coming to an aid station that is out of water is not good. My purpose in bringing that to light is hopeful improvement so that others may have a better experience. Not intending to step on anyone's toes...just making observations.
Saturday, October 11, 2014
Grindstone 100 race report
Well, I have waited a week, but I said I would post a race report so here it is. The week leading up to Grindstone, I was real busy with work and some other volunteer things I am in, plus I was nervous and excited about the upcoming race...and tapering my training so not as physically tired as I am used to. All that said to explain a general lack of adequate sleep the whole week. Added to that I am habitually a last minute packer when it comes time to go places, so I was up till 1:00 am the Thursday night before the race started Friday, Oct. 3. Todd and Alexis had told all of us that were planning to caravan and carpool to Camp Shennandoah together, to meet at their house at 8:30 to load up cars and then plan to leave by 9:00 am Friday, which would get us there and a little time to set up our tents and eat lunch before the 1:00 pm pre-race briefing. After the briefing I tried to rest and hopefully take a nap but only managed about a 20 minute nap.
Soon, it was time to get ready to check in and line up for the start. My first 100 mile race, 38 hours to get it done, and still have a chance at completing the whole Beast 6 race series for the year with the three 50 k races done in the spring, then the 100 miler now, plus Mountain Masochist 50 miler Nov. 1, then Hellgate 100k ++ Dec. 13. Six o'clock pm and the start had us going around the Scout Camp past the lake, off the back of the dam and onto a single track trail that jammed the procession up for a couple minutes till we got sorted out. We came back to the shower house location at the camp where some of the folks had gathered to watch and cheer us on, that was motivational. A light rain had begun right before the start and was now getting to be a steady rain and foggy as we climbed away from the camp. I joined up with Chelsie Viar and Sheryl Mawn on this section along with about 10 or 12 others as we started to cruise downhill on a gravel road. Soon we were expecting to come up on aid station #1. We were in pretty thick fog, rain, and it was getting dark so visibility was a problem. We were looking for the reflective markers and hadn't seen any for a few minutes. When we got to the mileage on our watches that we should have been at the aid station we concluded we missed a turn and had to head back up the hill to the last place we saw a marker and figure out where we were supposed to go. Finally I see a reflective marker...on the opposite side of where we were to turn! The turn was marked with pink streamers but I saw no reflective marker where the turn was other than one on the opposite side from the turn! The pink streamers were not very visible in the dark rain and fog! Two extra miles I didn't need and way behind now, started me in a bit of a foul mood but soon I was past the Falls Hollow aid station and catching others on the climbs with my fast hiking, while running the flats and downhills, and settling into completing the event.
The first big climb was up a long steep gravel road on Elliot's Knob. Near the top I could hear a fan or some sort of machinery running and I saw a light on a building. Assuming that was the top of the mountain where there would be antennas and generators and a building with computers, I headed that direction, only to find I was off course AGAIN! I was not seeing where I should go, and finally heard others yelling, and spotted their headlamps in the darkness and went back the way I came, to find there was more uphill trail to another antenna site and that was where the punch was we had to use to punch our bib numbers.
Thankful to be heading down hill I settled in to a decent pace along the ridge line looking forward to about 5 miles of downhill into Dry Branch Gap, the next aid station, which would be close to 15 miles total so far. Once the ridge line gave way to a descent, however, I found a very rocky trail with lots of loose rocks that made that ominous "clunk" sound as you stepped on them, and a sheer drop off to my left going thousands of feet to the valley below. Progress was not as expected to say the least, but soon I could hear and see the aid station ahead. I took stock of myself and what I needed, thinking I might need to top off my hydration bladder in my pack. Just about the time I get my pack unsaddled from my shoulders and get the hydration top open, I hear an aid station worker say they are out of water! WHAT?! You have got to be kidding me! This was not good! This is the 6th year this race has been held and I have already been off course twice, and now an aid station 15 miles in that is out of water! They had two years to plan for this as the event was cancelled last year on account of the government shutdown and no forest rangers were available. My mind is spinning now. I grabbed a two liter of the cheap version of Mountain Dew from the table and dumped about half of it in my hydro pack and set about moving on as this aid station, nor the first were able to offer much aid. I was hoping things would not get worse, might as well just keep moving. Hot chocolate, coffee and maybe some hot broth or vegetable soup would have worked wonders there...but there was none.
Soon I was greeted by the climb up Crawford Mountain and another ridge line and yet another rocky downhill before coming to aid station #3 at Dowell's Draft. This is where I saw some familiar faces, Brenton Swyers running the station, Blake Edmondson who was crewing Todd and myself, and Bethany Williams who was crewing Clifton. There was some actual food there and I ate some, Blake and Bethany helped me to a chair and got my drop bag. I switched out my pack with one I had prepared ahead of time and changed shoes and socks, then back on the trail climbing Hankey Mountain and Lookout Mountain. I don't remember much about this section. I remember stopping at the Lookout Mtn. aid station, but not much else. I do remember coming in to the next aid station at North River Gap and crossing the swaying wood and cable bridge then the short road section where cars and crews were waiting for runners. Apparently some folks found some sleep here would be good! Sam Price was running the North River Gap aid station and it rocked! All kinds of food to eat and a real party atmosphere! Blake and Bethany were doing their best to help me but I was beginning to not really know what I wanted. I did change clothes and shoes completely there and ate some, but realizing I was only 30 minutes from the hard cut off there, I needed to keep moving so move I did!
This next section was a steady 7.8 mile climb in the wee hours of the morning when I was dead tired sleepy and I was not with anyone this whole section. I found myself falling asleep while hiking uphill. My pace slowed to a crawl. Finally I could see a headlight up in front of me...and it was getting closer, fast! Here comes the leader I told myself. Wow, he already has gone about 60 miles and I have only gone about 40! Soon others followed, that helped keep me awake as I told them "way to go" and "good job". Finally daylight. The rain had stopped and the sky was clearing up and I managed to get to Little Bald aid station. Another excellent bunch operating here! Hot Breakfast! Nice Fire! A few items out of my drop bag here and I was headed for Reddish Knob and the turn around!
Reddish Knob is a very beautiful mountaintop with 360 degree views. West Virginia to the west slope and Virginia to the east slope. You can actually drive right to the top as there is a paved road and paved parking area on the top. It was stunning with fall colors beginning to show and the scattered clouds casting contrasting shadows against the sunlit trees covering the surrounding mountainsides. It was near here I saw Todd and Alexis with their pacers. That made me happy to see them looking like they were having fun and moving well. On to the turn around I saw Sheryl and a few minutes later Chelsie and they both looked like they were moving well. Finally the actual turn around! Halfway home!
Back at the Reddish Knob aid station, Charlie Hesse had made some coffee so I stopped for a minute and got a little, mmm, that was good! I was feeling pretty decent and ran well from here back through North River Gap. When I got back there and Blake and Sam told me I could basically hike the rest of it and still make the cut off, that was good news. Of course I wanted better than that, kind of close to 30 hours but that looked out of reach, maybe 32 was possible, or so I thought.
Rolling on through the late afternoon back through Lookout Mountain aid station and on down to Dowell's Draft I still thought maybe I had a chance at the 32 hour range, but then I came to this never ending climb called Crawford Mountain. The wind started blowing, the sun had set, the temperature was falling down around 35 degrees and 30 m.p.h. winds were making wind chills around 20 degrees. I didn't have quite enough clothing to keep warm. I started the climb up Crawford ahead of four other guys I had kind of been close to since Lookout Mtn. aid station. Halfway up I could not maintain pace and had to let them go. Somewhere here Helen MacDermott came up on me along with another guy that was slightly hobbled with some sort of injury. As we got going along the ridge I pulled ahead and then they caught me again pulling up the back of Elliot's Knob. I pulled ahead some on the descent off the ridge but by the time we got to the last aid station (which appeared that the folks there were attempting to close) they had caught me again. Those last two climbs and descents in that cold furious wind took nearly all my strength. I would look at the red, white, and blue paracord on my wrist that David Snipes had given us as a memorial to Major Mike Donahue, and I would glance down at my bib and see the sticker with Mike's name and the race number he always requested, #82, for the 82nd Airborne, and tell myself "all the way" you are not quitting!
Getting past the last aid station I knew there was only 5.18 miles left, I knew I was so close. But I had no strength left to muster up running. I was hallucinating, seeing huge bugs crawling all over the trail, trees looking like people, rocks looking like wrecked cars in a junkyard. When I would stop to look for a trail marker, everything seemed to keep moving, I was dizzy and just not really "with it". The last bit of trail coming into the scout camp seemed like a maze and did not seem to be marked to where I was positive I was on course all the time. If Craig Miller hadn't been standing on the dam at the lake I might still be there looking for where to go. When I finally got in the driveway and was looking at the finish area I could not even make sense of what I sort of recognized as the dining hall, and the finish chute really had me baffled for a few seconds as to what I was seeing. When I finally stepped over the finish line at 34hrs, 46min. my mind just released responsibility for my legs and I nearly fell over. It took me 2hrs. 36 min. I think for the last 5 miles! If Clark Zealand hadn't caught me I would have crashed to the ground right there. Clark got Sam Price and Frankie Viar there to take me into the dining hall where I sat on a chair and Sheryl Mawn got a sleeping bag for me to get warm in. I was hypothermic, shivering uncontrolably. Alexis came over and Sam got me a slice of pizza that Kevin Corell had brought to eat. I wanted hot chocolate so bad, but there was none. We all talked for a little then I decided I was warm enough to get my stuff and get a hot shower. A shower never felt so good! One of the scouts with the kitchen crew found a mattress for me and I got in my sleeping bag and slept about three hours I think before the sounds of breakfast woke me.
Take aways from this 100 mile adventure:
1. Time on and familiarity with a course are extremely valuable. Take advantage of opportunities if you can, to get both. (I was not able this time, and it affected my performance).
2. Sleep and proper rest the week and days right before a 100 miler are crucial. You might be able to do OK in a 50k or even a 50 miler with a sleep deficit but not a 100 miler!
3. Training and preparation for weather is not to be taken lightly...I did alot of running and hiking in the Blue Ridge and alot of it in rain and fog this summer. Just like the way the race started.
Will I do Grindstone again? Or another 100 miler? At this time I want to say yes. I have some problems with my right knee and that might prevent me. I hope my knee will take me through Mountain Masochist 50 miler and Hellgate 100k++ this year so I can complete the Beast Series. I think I could finish Grindstone in 30 hours knowing the course better now.
Soon, it was time to get ready to check in and line up for the start. My first 100 mile race, 38 hours to get it done, and still have a chance at completing the whole Beast 6 race series for the year with the three 50 k races done in the spring, then the 100 miler now, plus Mountain Masochist 50 miler Nov. 1, then Hellgate 100k ++ Dec. 13. Six o'clock pm and the start had us going around the Scout Camp past the lake, off the back of the dam and onto a single track trail that jammed the procession up for a couple minutes till we got sorted out. We came back to the shower house location at the camp where some of the folks had gathered to watch and cheer us on, that was motivational. A light rain had begun right before the start and was now getting to be a steady rain and foggy as we climbed away from the camp. I joined up with Chelsie Viar and Sheryl Mawn on this section along with about 10 or 12 others as we started to cruise downhill on a gravel road. Soon we were expecting to come up on aid station #1. We were in pretty thick fog, rain, and it was getting dark so visibility was a problem. We were looking for the reflective markers and hadn't seen any for a few minutes. When we got to the mileage on our watches that we should have been at the aid station we concluded we missed a turn and had to head back up the hill to the last place we saw a marker and figure out where we were supposed to go. Finally I see a reflective marker...on the opposite side of where we were to turn! The turn was marked with pink streamers but I saw no reflective marker where the turn was other than one on the opposite side from the turn! The pink streamers were not very visible in the dark rain and fog! Two extra miles I didn't need and way behind now, started me in a bit of a foul mood but soon I was past the Falls Hollow aid station and catching others on the climbs with my fast hiking, while running the flats and downhills, and settling into completing the event.
The first big climb was up a long steep gravel road on Elliot's Knob. Near the top I could hear a fan or some sort of machinery running and I saw a light on a building. Assuming that was the top of the mountain where there would be antennas and generators and a building with computers, I headed that direction, only to find I was off course AGAIN! I was not seeing where I should go, and finally heard others yelling, and spotted their headlamps in the darkness and went back the way I came, to find there was more uphill trail to another antenna site and that was where the punch was we had to use to punch our bib numbers.
Thankful to be heading down hill I settled in to a decent pace along the ridge line looking forward to about 5 miles of downhill into Dry Branch Gap, the next aid station, which would be close to 15 miles total so far. Once the ridge line gave way to a descent, however, I found a very rocky trail with lots of loose rocks that made that ominous "clunk" sound as you stepped on them, and a sheer drop off to my left going thousands of feet to the valley below. Progress was not as expected to say the least, but soon I could hear and see the aid station ahead. I took stock of myself and what I needed, thinking I might need to top off my hydration bladder in my pack. Just about the time I get my pack unsaddled from my shoulders and get the hydration top open, I hear an aid station worker say they are out of water! WHAT?! You have got to be kidding me! This was not good! This is the 6th year this race has been held and I have already been off course twice, and now an aid station 15 miles in that is out of water! They had two years to plan for this as the event was cancelled last year on account of the government shutdown and no forest rangers were available. My mind is spinning now. I grabbed a two liter of the cheap version of Mountain Dew from the table and dumped about half of it in my hydro pack and set about moving on as this aid station, nor the first were able to offer much aid. I was hoping things would not get worse, might as well just keep moving. Hot chocolate, coffee and maybe some hot broth or vegetable soup would have worked wonders there...but there was none.
Soon I was greeted by the climb up Crawford Mountain and another ridge line and yet another rocky downhill before coming to aid station #3 at Dowell's Draft. This is where I saw some familiar faces, Brenton Swyers running the station, Blake Edmondson who was crewing Todd and myself, and Bethany Williams who was crewing Clifton. There was some actual food there and I ate some, Blake and Bethany helped me to a chair and got my drop bag. I switched out my pack with one I had prepared ahead of time and changed shoes and socks, then back on the trail climbing Hankey Mountain and Lookout Mountain. I don't remember much about this section. I remember stopping at the Lookout Mtn. aid station, but not much else. I do remember coming in to the next aid station at North River Gap and crossing the swaying wood and cable bridge then the short road section where cars and crews were waiting for runners. Apparently some folks found some sleep here would be good! Sam Price was running the North River Gap aid station and it rocked! All kinds of food to eat and a real party atmosphere! Blake and Bethany were doing their best to help me but I was beginning to not really know what I wanted. I did change clothes and shoes completely there and ate some, but realizing I was only 30 minutes from the hard cut off there, I needed to keep moving so move I did!
This next section was a steady 7.8 mile climb in the wee hours of the morning when I was dead tired sleepy and I was not with anyone this whole section. I found myself falling asleep while hiking uphill. My pace slowed to a crawl. Finally I could see a headlight up in front of me...and it was getting closer, fast! Here comes the leader I told myself. Wow, he already has gone about 60 miles and I have only gone about 40! Soon others followed, that helped keep me awake as I told them "way to go" and "good job". Finally daylight. The rain had stopped and the sky was clearing up and I managed to get to Little Bald aid station. Another excellent bunch operating here! Hot Breakfast! Nice Fire! A few items out of my drop bag here and I was headed for Reddish Knob and the turn around!
Reddish Knob is a very beautiful mountaintop with 360 degree views. West Virginia to the west slope and Virginia to the east slope. You can actually drive right to the top as there is a paved road and paved parking area on the top. It was stunning with fall colors beginning to show and the scattered clouds casting contrasting shadows against the sunlit trees covering the surrounding mountainsides. It was near here I saw Todd and Alexis with their pacers. That made me happy to see them looking like they were having fun and moving well. On to the turn around I saw Sheryl and a few minutes later Chelsie and they both looked like they were moving well. Finally the actual turn around! Halfway home!
Back at the Reddish Knob aid station, Charlie Hesse had made some coffee so I stopped for a minute and got a little, mmm, that was good! I was feeling pretty decent and ran well from here back through North River Gap. When I got back there and Blake and Sam told me I could basically hike the rest of it and still make the cut off, that was good news. Of course I wanted better than that, kind of close to 30 hours but that looked out of reach, maybe 32 was possible, or so I thought.
Rolling on through the late afternoon back through Lookout Mountain aid station and on down to Dowell's Draft I still thought maybe I had a chance at the 32 hour range, but then I came to this never ending climb called Crawford Mountain. The wind started blowing, the sun had set, the temperature was falling down around 35 degrees and 30 m.p.h. winds were making wind chills around 20 degrees. I didn't have quite enough clothing to keep warm. I started the climb up Crawford ahead of four other guys I had kind of been close to since Lookout Mtn. aid station. Halfway up I could not maintain pace and had to let them go. Somewhere here Helen MacDermott came up on me along with another guy that was slightly hobbled with some sort of injury. As we got going along the ridge I pulled ahead and then they caught me again pulling up the back of Elliot's Knob. I pulled ahead some on the descent off the ridge but by the time we got to the last aid station (which appeared that the folks there were attempting to close) they had caught me again. Those last two climbs and descents in that cold furious wind took nearly all my strength. I would look at the red, white, and blue paracord on my wrist that David Snipes had given us as a memorial to Major Mike Donahue, and I would glance down at my bib and see the sticker with Mike's name and the race number he always requested, #82, for the 82nd Airborne, and tell myself "all the way" you are not quitting!
Getting past the last aid station I knew there was only 5.18 miles left, I knew I was so close. But I had no strength left to muster up running. I was hallucinating, seeing huge bugs crawling all over the trail, trees looking like people, rocks looking like wrecked cars in a junkyard. When I would stop to look for a trail marker, everything seemed to keep moving, I was dizzy and just not really "with it". The last bit of trail coming into the scout camp seemed like a maze and did not seem to be marked to where I was positive I was on course all the time. If Craig Miller hadn't been standing on the dam at the lake I might still be there looking for where to go. When I finally got in the driveway and was looking at the finish area I could not even make sense of what I sort of recognized as the dining hall, and the finish chute really had me baffled for a few seconds as to what I was seeing. When I finally stepped over the finish line at 34hrs, 46min. my mind just released responsibility for my legs and I nearly fell over. It took me 2hrs. 36 min. I think for the last 5 miles! If Clark Zealand hadn't caught me I would have crashed to the ground right there. Clark got Sam Price and Frankie Viar there to take me into the dining hall where I sat on a chair and Sheryl Mawn got a sleeping bag for me to get warm in. I was hypothermic, shivering uncontrolably. Alexis came over and Sam got me a slice of pizza that Kevin Corell had brought to eat. I wanted hot chocolate so bad, but there was none. We all talked for a little then I decided I was warm enough to get my stuff and get a hot shower. A shower never felt so good! One of the scouts with the kitchen crew found a mattress for me and I got in my sleeping bag and slept about three hours I think before the sounds of breakfast woke me.
Take aways from this 100 mile adventure:
1. Time on and familiarity with a course are extremely valuable. Take advantage of opportunities if you can, to get both. (I was not able this time, and it affected my performance).
2. Sleep and proper rest the week and days right before a 100 miler are crucial. You might be able to do OK in a 50k or even a 50 miler with a sleep deficit but not a 100 miler!
3. Training and preparation for weather is not to be taken lightly...I did alot of running and hiking in the Blue Ridge and alot of it in rain and fog this summer. Just like the way the race started.
Will I do Grindstone again? Or another 100 miler? At this time I want to say yes. I have some problems with my right knee and that might prevent me. I hope my knee will take me through Mountain Masochist 50 miler and Hellgate 100k++ this year so I can complete the Beast Series. I think I could finish Grindstone in 30 hours knowing the course better now.
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