Hellgate 100k 2008 – No snow, but some cold wind

 

December 13

 

It is midnight on Saturday morning, and the race is going to start in one minute.  David Horton the race director wanted to ensure no one had any doubts as to whether this race started on Friday or Saturday.  Martha, Nathan, and Amy are crewing for me again this year.  They are priceless as a crew as they provide for everything I could ever want.  I have done everything I can to prepare for this race.  My headlamps all have brand new batteries.  I have backup mini Maglites in my Camelbak.  I have gone over every inch of my clothing to ensure nothing is going to wear out.  Now, it is up to my motivation and desire to finish and run quickly.  This is my sixth year running this race, and the race is in its sixth edition.  There are nine of us that have done all of the five previous races, but this year only eight of us are toeing the line.  Unfortunately, Kevin Bligan’s injuries finally caught up with him.

 

I am standing at the start line with 98 of my closest friends (not really, but they will be for the next 18 hours).  Sean Andrish and the rest of the Leesburg Mafia have arrived at the start line finally.  I wish them good luck, and then we are off.  My plan as always will be to start conservatively and allow the race to come to me.  The night is cold, but at the start, I think it is right around 32 degrees with no real wind.  The forecast is calling for light winds with a low near 20 degrees.  However, that is for the lower elevations, so it will probably be in the mid-teens up on the mountain.  I have on tights, a technical long sleeve shirt, another long sleeve shirt, wool cap, and medium weight gloves.  I also have my headlamp and Camelbak. 

 

Mile 3.5      43:50 (12:31 avg./mile) FSR 35

 

My conservative start feels fast to me, but when I get to the aid station, I realize that I obviously wasn’t running too hard.  Over this first section, I warm up very quickly and begin to have doubts about wearing the second long sleeve shirt.  For the second half of this section, I take my gloves off to stay cooler.  At the stream crossing around mile 3, the water is about knee deep.  Virginia received plenty of rain on Wednesday and Thursday, so I am concerned about the water on the course.  At this aid station, crews are not allowed, so I continue on towards the next aid station.

 

Mile 7.5      1:04:59 (16:15 avg./mile) Petites Gap

 

This section is all uphill—for four miles!  It is runnable for most of the way.  However, in my conservative approach, I walk most of the way.  Many people pass me along the way, but I am sure I will see them again.  I start this section with my gloves off.  My headlamp is also turned off as the moon is full and the brightest it has been in 15 years because of its close proximity to the Earth.  It is incredibly bright, and I can read my digital watch with no backlight.  About halfway up the hill, the temperature gets noticeably cooler.  I put my gloves back on as the wind picks up as well.  This climb takes us up 1,500 feet, which typically lowers the temperature about 5 degrees.  The part that surprises me is how much the wind is blowing up here.  The wind is right at us for most of the time.  When I get to the aid station, Martha and the kids are in the truck keeping warm.  Martha hops out and I quickly begin changing my wet, now frozen shoes and socks.  Untying shoe laces is futile, so I just pry my shoes off and quickly get the dry socks and shoes on before my hands go numb.  I drink half a pint of chocolate milk and take a blueberry bagel with me.  My time is decent at this point, but I need to pick things up if I am going to come close to my time last year.

 

Mile 13.1    1:33:35 (16:43 avg./mile) Camping Gap

 

After leaving the aid station, the course crosses the Blue Ridge Parkway, and then it does down quite a bit.  With my dry shoes and socks on I am feeling good and begin to pass other runners.  The initial downhill is rather technical with some rocks, and then we go back up.  There are many runners in my vicinity, and I have plenty to pass.  When the course starts downhill again, I find myself behind three other runners.  They are moving decently, so I stay behind them for a while.  Then we come to a stream crossing, and they stop to figure out how to cross it without getting wet.  Having run this before, I go high and get across the stream before them.  The next two runners in front of me are Bill Vickery and Rebekah Trittipoe.  The three of us are moving fast down the hill avoiding rocks and trudging through deep leaves in many places.  This is Hellgate—downhill technical running in the dark.  I love it!  We come out on a gravel road, and now it is an uphill climb for about 3 miles to the next aid station.  On the climb, the wind is on us nearly the whole way.  I don’t think it is below 20 degrees yet, but the wind is definitely keeping me cool.  At this aid station, which I get to right on pace, I get a lukewarm cup of soup, and eat several sandwich quarters.  I leave the aid station with a stack of cookies in my hand.  Ed Cacciapaglia comes into the aid station about the time I am leaving, but he declines my offer to run with me.

 

Mile 21.9    2:22:42 (16:13 avg./mile) Headforemost Mountain

 

The wind continues to blow up here on the mountain.  We are above 2,500 feet for the whole time on this section.  It is cold and the wind is hitting us all of the time.  Two years ago, when it got down to 12 degrees, the wind only hit us on the exposed ridges.  This is not the case this year, as nearly all of the time the wind is cutting through us.  Fortunately, I don’t think it is too cold as my Camelbak drinking tube with the thermal sleeve isn’t freezing.  I make good time on this section, and I am ready to get on down the hill to Jennings Creek.  Unfortunately, the Parkway is closed, and the aid station had to be moved back to Overstreet Falls.  Here I grab a couple of sandwich quarters and a few cookies.  Marianna Inslee and Bill Vickery are with me as we leave the aid station.

 

Mile 27.6    1:32:02 (16:09 avg./mile) Jennings Creek

 

I make great time coming down the mountain.  Aid station 4 on Headforemost Mountain is around 3,300 feet, and Jennings Creek is at 1,300 feet.  I leave Marianna and Bill on the downhill run and don’t see but a couple of people on this section.  Coming into Jennings Creek, I am just a few minutes behind my pace from last year.  David Snipes is in this aid station when I get here, but I need to go squat in the woods, and this takes me 7 or 8 minutes.  At this aid station, I enjoy a sausage and egg sandwich while washing it down with some chocolate milk.  The sun is now up, and I am ready to push the pace some.

 

Mile 34.5    1:56:09 (16:50 avg./mile) Little Cove Mountain

 

Soon after leaving the aid station, a runner passes me who says he just started at Jennings Creek.  He said he is from New York, and the drive down took him too long, so he missed the start.  I struggle some on this section as I am getting sleepy.  This has happened to me only on the cold years.  I think the cold weather takes more out of me, although I love the cold.  When I get into the aid station, I ask Nathan to ask the aid station if they have any coffee.  They do not, so I decide to take a Vivarin, which has 200mg of caffeine.  I also eat a grilled ham and cheese sandwich, which Martha has expertly made and wash it down with more chocolate milk.  The grilled ham and cheese sandwich is one of the best things to eat on a long ultra run.  My time was rather slow on this section due to my sleepiness.  I am now 22 minutes behind my best pace, which was last year.  However, I am doing well, and am well ahead of any cut-offs.

 

Mile 42.5    2:08:54 (16:07 avg./mile) Bearwallow Gap

 

I push this section hard, as I am trying to catch up to David Snipes again.  The Vivarin seems to have kicked in, and I run nicely until I get to the rockiest section in the race.  Despite moving quickly, I only pass one runner on this section.  The leaves are deep and covering the rocks, but I do okay on them, and make it into the aid station and see Snipes.  I sit down and eat another ham and cheese sandwich and wash it down with some Conquest.  This time on this section is my fastest ever, and I am an hour and eight minutes ahead of the cut-off.  However, I am still 20 minutes behind last year’s pace.  David manages to leave the aid station about 5 minutes before me.

 

Mile 49.5    1:47:38 (15:23 avg./mile) Bobblets Gap

 

There is an initial climb leaving Bearwallow, and I think I hear Snipes above me, but I never see him.  I maintain a good pace on this section, and the leaves aren’t as deep as they have been in the past.  Bill Vickery catches back up to me, and we goes into the aid station slightly ahead of me.  Nathan comes down the trail about half a mile to meet me, and we walk up to the aid station together.  I eat yet another grilled ham and cheese sandwich at this aid station (a total of 3 now, if you are keeping track) and wash it down with some Conquest.  I don’t see Snipes at this aid station, but Martha says he is about 8 minutes ahead of me.  On my way out of the aid station, I stop by the aid station’s food table and begin to eat some M&Ms.  They then offer the last Krispy Kreme donut to me, and I take them up on their offer.  As I begin eating it, one of the aid station workers recites the nutritional information of the donut to me, and I tell him it won’t even provide me enough calories to get down the hill so it is a good thing I had the sandwich first.  I pick up my Oakley sunglasses as this next section heads into the afternoon sun.

 

Mile 56.1    1:57:05 (17:44 avg./mile) Day Creek

 

I run down the hill for 2.5 miles and then we are back on single track trail.  Soon after getting on the single track trail, I pass Kari Brown, who is having a rough day of it.  She mentions dropping out at the next aid station, and I tell her it is probably only an hour and a half to the next one.  She looks terrible and is concerned about her kidneys because she says she has taken quite a bit of Motrin and Tylenol today.  Next I pass Bill Vickery again, who is bonking, and he asks if I have an Cliff Shots or anything.  Unfortunately not, and I keep on moving.  This is officially the forever section because it is much longer than the 6.6 miles advertised.  Even Horton admits this, but 6.6 miles is how far it measures on his map, so 6.6 miles it is.  We have 12 or 13 small creek crossings on this section, and I finally get into the aid station in good time.  I was ready to catch up with Snipes, but it appears that he is running as fast as I am because Martha says he has 8-10 minutes on me.  I drink a can of Coke and grab a bagel for the road.  I take off my outer long sleeve t-shirt and trade out my wool cap for a Buff.  I also leave my Oakleys with Martha.  I am ready to push hard, I guess, on this last section.  Nathan is going to go with me as he did last year.

 

Mile 62.4    1:09:19 (11:00 avg./mile) FINISH

 

Very quickly as we power hike up the hill, we catch Rick Gray and Dan Lehman.  Rick looks spent, and Dan is hanging with him.  We pass them, and soon after that we catch up to David Snipes and two other guys running with him.  David is coughing and spitting, but still looks okay.  However, we pass them as well, as I am in a power hiking groove.  My lungs are maxed out as we climb up to the Parkway, but my legs feel good.  Nathan half jogs to stay up with me, and even has to run to catch up when he helps David reorganize his iPods and Camelbak.  We get to the Parkway in 38 minutes and start running down the hill.  After about a half mile, I back the pace off because I feel a hot spot forming on my left foot.  Coming down the hill, we are staring directly into the sun low on the horizon.  I ask Nathan why it is that I took off my Oakleys, and neither of us has an answer to my rhetorical question.  Just after the mile to go mark, I pass two more runners.  I have to run the last mile in 9 minutes to get my second fastest time at Hellgate.  So, I push it in and finish with 47 seconds to spare and set a new second fastest time for me at Hellgate.

 

Official Finishing Time          16:16:13

 

43rd out of 99 starters (73 finishers under 18 hours)

 

Overall, I am pretty satisfied with my race this year.  David Horton congratulates me on being 6 for 6 in finishing at Hellgate, and then asks me how many years I can keep doing this.  Only time will tell, and I want to end the streak on my own terms sometime in the distant future.

 

After I finish, I talk with Rande Brown for awhile about Kari and my C&O towpath run this past summer.  We are both pleasantly surprised when Kari finishes at 16:40.  She has finished a very gutsy race on a day in which she had many problems.  The other seven survivors make it, including Neal Jamison who hadn’t been able to run much at all this fall because of injuries.  I am very thankful that I have the ability and opportunity to run this race each year.  As Horton says, it is a very special event.

 

Never stop running,

Darin

 

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