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.
