April 7
It
is Friday afternoon, and my crew person (Trey) and I are heading up to Occoquan
for the Bull Run Run 50 Miler. This will
be my third time running this race. This
is the first race Trey will be crewing for me.
It is exciting to be exposing a new person to the world of ultra
running. We leave my house around 2:30pm
and arrive at Hemlock Overlook (the race headquarters) around 4:15pm. I pick up my race packet as well as the
bandannas for my team. Trey and I hang
around the race headquarters until dinner is ready. I meet several old friends, including Melissa
Belleman and Gary Knipling. Gary is
looking especially competitive this year.
He has the list of entrants, and he has highlighted certain people on
the list. He is also making notes on
this list, although he won’t reveal what exactly he is doing.
Dinner
is okay. They serve vegetarian lasagna
and a Mexican-looking dish with ground beef, corn, and tortillas. I am surprised that there is not the classic
spaghetti with meat sauce. I supplement
the main dish with a green salad, cake, and cookies. After dinner, the pre-race briefing by Chris
Scott is outstanding as usual. Chris has
an awesome dry, sarcastic sense of humor, and he never ceases to entertain while
conveying the important information for tomorrow.
During
the pre-race briefing, the first of several storms comes through the area. Today the temperature rose to about 80
degrees, but tomorrow, it is not supposed to get out of the 50s. Trey and I are spending the night right here
in Hemlock in a bunkhouse. In our
bunkhouse are Leigh Schmitt and Todd Walker, the first and second place
finishers from last year. Unfortunately,
neither Leigh nor Todd is interested in a poker game, so we just read a little
before turning off the lights around 9:30pm.
April 8
My
alarm is set for 4:45am, and the race is scheduled to start at 6:15am. However, I wake up at 4:30 and decide to get
up and use the bathroom for the first time this morning. When I return to the bunkhouse, the lights
are still off, and it is about 4:50am, so I decide to lay down assuming
everyone will be getting up at 5am. Well
at 5:10am, I wake back up, and nobody else is up yet, but we turn on the lights
anyway. Trey goes to the truck and gets
my Camelbak, along with a pint of chocolate milk and a bagel—the breakfast of
champions, or at least me. After eating
my breakfast and getting everything ready, I decide that I need to make another
trip to the bathroom. It is now 5:45am
and when I go to the bathroom, the line for the toilets is very long. Fortunately, though, it moves along okay, and
I am out of the bathroom by 6:05am.
As
Trey and I go down to the start, all 340 runners are ready and waiting. It is still mostly dark, but it is still an
impressive sight with all of these runners here. I have only seen two of my teammates so far,
so the other two won’t get their bandannas before the race. The temperature is still slightly warm at
around 60 degrees. I start the race with
a bandanna on my head, my Camelbak, shorts, and a Coolmax t-shirt. My shoes for the start are a pair of Asics
Gel-Eagle III, which are somewhat waterproof.
Mile 7.2
The
start goes off at 6:18am. They waited
until it started getting light. Going
around the ¾ mile loop around Hemlock before getting on the trail, I am running
close to Tom Corris and Marty Lindemann.
The three of us were the last three finishers under the time limit at
the first Hellgate 100k. Tom makes a
joke that we are the top three finishers and then corrects himself.
This
first section to the Centreville Road aid station is gently rolling hills. The field is spreading out nicely, and I
really don’t get slowed up any. I took
the first loop around Hemlock quick so that I would get in a good place on the
trails. The rain begins about the time I
get to this first aid station. It rained
off and on throughout the night, but so far, the trails aren’t too bad. They are wet, but aren’t overly muddy
yet. When I get to the aid station, Trey
is there with Melissa’s crew, Tommy (her brother). I don’t think I took anything from him at
this point. I am off to a good start,
and I hope my legs will stay strong.
Mile 11.6 44:12 (
This
portion of the course above Centreville Road is almost all flat and fairly
muddy. Anstr Davidson is the turn around
point. I am only about eight minutes
behind the leaders at this point, but I hear later that the turn around point
wasn’t there when they got to where the turn around is supposed to be. I am moving well even given the mud, but with
the flat terrain the mud isn’t that big of a problem for me. The mud also motivates me as it makes the
trail a bit of a challenge. My time is a
little fast at this point. At the aid
station, I grab some Conquest and a bagel from Trey. He doesn’t seem to be minding the rain at
all.
Mile 16.6 54:18 (
On
the way back to Hemlock Overlook, Sophie Spiedel finally passes me. She is a very good runner, especially on a
shorter course like this. I have also
seen Justine, who will go on to finish as the third place female. My time for this section is right where I
want it at this point. The rain continues
to fall, and everyone is huddling underneath shelters when I get back to
Hemlock. I find Trey and trade out my
Camelbak, drink a pint of chocolate milk, and take a bagel with me.
Mile 21.1 48:51 (
Since
the early splits were so quick, I decide that I should throttle back some so
that I don’t wear my legs out before the end.
This winter, I got in some good training, but the last six weeks I was
sick twice. Both times coincided with
very long training runs; therefore, I cut both of those runs shorter than I
would have gone otherwise. When I come
into the aid station, Trey is there waiting with Conquest, and he says that I
have caught Gary Knipling, indicating that he is only 30 seconds ahead of me.
Mile 26.1 53:15 (
Leaving
the last aid station, I decided I didn’t want to pass Gary too quickly. I came up to him within less than a mile, and
he looked like he was hurting. He also
told me he was hurting and indicated that it might not be his day. I take in this information very
skeptically. But, then I pass him and
decide to put a little burst in so that he doesn’t hang with me. The rain is coming down steadily. Crews are unable to be at this aid station,
so I grab a cookie or two and a cup of Gatorade and head on down the muddy
trail.
Mile 28.1 30:42 (
The
trails are really starting to get messy now.
The mud and water is ankle deep in many places. Surprisingly, I meet the leader, Leigh,
heading back in toward the finish. This
is the first year I have seen the leader before Fountainhead; he is really
moving. At this aid station, Trey is
waiting with a fresh, dry pair of shoes.
It is raining hard when I get into the aid station, and Trey has
everything set up for me to change my shoes under the shelter of a little
information board. I get my shoes on and
drink another pint of chocolate milk.
The day is really getting along, and I just want to get this done.
Mile 32.5 56:18 (
I
continue to bide my time and my legs for the push after I get done with the do
loop. The course continues to get
sloppier as the day goes on. I meet
Scott Mills going the other direction, and he complains about the trails and
the difficulty of getting up the trail when the uphill section is just a
mudslide. A couple of those hills I
skate down, but manage to keep myself upright.
As I am just about to this aid station, Gary Knipling (back from the
dead) comes up behind me. We chat
briefly before he pulls into the aid station ahead of me. Crews aren’t allowed at this aid station
either, and I grab a couple of chocolate/peanut butter cookies and another cup
of Gatorade. Gary is still talking away
with the aid station workers when I head out onto the do loop. Once again, I hope that I can open a gap in
between Gary and me.
Mile 35.5 37:28 (
I
start out on the do loop and try to put another gap on Gary. I am unsuccessful though as he stays close
behind, and when I stop to take a leak on the Nash Rambler, Gary passes
me. The hills on the do loop aren’t
quite as chewed up as the other trails because the runners only travel this
part once around the loop. However, the
hills are still plenty slippery and traction going up the hills is tricky. It is on one of these uphills that I pass
When
I come into the aid station, there are several runners I know that are about to
start the do loop. Just before I got
back to the aid station, I met Quattro Hubbard—the fifth person added to my
team. At the aid station are David
Snipes, another team member, and Melissa Belleman. David mentions that another teammate, Adam,
had to drop out because he hurt his shoulder, so our chances of winning the
mixed division are stuck in the mud. I
don’t stop too long to chat with them because Gary is still right behind
me. I leave the aid station and hope
that Gary will stay a while longer and socialize more.
Mile 37.9 38:53 (
Although
the split time for this section says I ran it slow, it wasn’t from lack of
trying. First, I think this section
might be a little longer than the published 2.4 miles. Second, the rain continues to come down, and
this section has now been run on by most of the runners coming out, so the
trail is really sloppy. I don’t see Gary
at all during this point and hope that I have finally left him for this
race. At the aid station, I drain
another pint of chocolate milk and change from a short-sleeve Coolmax t-shirt
to a long-sleeve one. Runners are
starting to drop, and Trey has been volunteered to take a dropped runner back
to Hemlock. I don’t take any extra time
and head out quickly from this aid station.
Mile 39.9 24:50 (
During
this section, I continue to meet the last of the runners heading out to the do
loop. Many of them now are wearing trash
bags to keep warm. I am feeling warmer
since I put on a dry long-sleeve shirt.
The rain seems to have mostly stopped, but there are still drops coming
off the trees. The wind is gusty, and
the temperature has definitely dropped.
As I get into this aid station, I grab a couple of cookies and a cup of
Gatorade. As soon as I start drinking my
Gatorade, here comes Gary into the aid station.
I throw down my cup and leave the aid station without any more
delay. There are just 10.5 miles to the
finish, and I intend to get there before Gary.
Mile 44.9 56:59 (
All
the way to the marina, I try to push the pace.
But, each time I peek back over my shoulder, Gary is usually about 100
yards behind me. I try to put in spurts
when I go around a corner, but nothing I do seems to matter. I get into this last aid station, grab only
one cup of Coke (not my usual two because of Gary being so close), and don’t
even stop. I would have usually changed
out my Camelbak again, but with the cool, wet weather and close competition, I
decide against it—both for the time savings and the weight.
Mile 50.4
Leaving
the Marina, I think I can stay ahead of Gary because now I am ready to throw
down the hammer and finish this race! I
pass a couple of runners, and each time I think that maybe it will slow Gary
down some because he will have to say hi as he goes by them. I get to the soccer fields and really open up
my stride. It is the first time in
several hours that I can run on decent footing.
I don’t dare look back and after crossing the soccer fields, I run up
the first couple of hills hoping to get out of sight of Gary. I pass the first turn up to Hemlock, which
means there is about a mile and a half to go.
The lack of walk breaks going up hills is wearing me down, so I decide
to take a little walk break before the final push to the finish. As soon as I start walking, Gary passes
me! So, I immediately respond and start
running again, getting right up on Gary’s shoulder. We push each other on up the hill toward
Hemlock and then across an open field.
Then with the finish line in sight and sprinting neck and neck, we
decide to finish together to the disappointment of the few brave souls at the
finish who wanted to see a close finish.
Official
Finishing Time
60th out of 340
starters (281 finishers)
After crossing the line, I
didn’t wait around at all because the temperature had dropped into the
40s. Everyone hosed off before entering
the showers, and it was great to have a nice warm shower to wash most of the
mud and muck off of me. I have now run
the Bull Run Run three times. Gary beat
me the first year I ran it; I beat him last year; and this year we tied. So, we are 1-1-1 against each other, but
who’s counting?
My next race is the
Massanutten Mountain Trails 100 on May 13-14.
I am really looking forward to this race because while I finish last
year, I did so only 42 minutes under the 36-hour cutoff. I am very confident with my new crew that I
will be able to better this time. This
will also be another opportunity to challenge Gary on some difficult trails in
Virginia, until then …
Never stop running,
Darin
Go to Darin’s Running Page