Hellgate 100k 2009 – A rather ordinary year

December 12

The Hellgate 100k started in 2003 with 71 runners toeing the line, and 40 of those runners finishing. None of us really knew what we were getting into that first year. I managed to barely conquer the course with less than 10 minutes to spare on the race cutoff time. I was 38^th and felt fortunate to have been able to persevere to the finish. At the time (since I had yet to finish a 100 mile race), it was the toughest race I had ever done. However, I learned a lot about myself that day, and I think it helped me finish my first 100 miler six months later.

Since that first race, many people have decided that mountain trail running in cold and darkness was not their idea of the best of times. For some reason or another though, a few of us have returned every year to try to see how long we can continue to conquer this challenge. Through last year’s race, there were eight runners who have finished all of the editions of the race. This year, two of those eight will not make it to the starting line. One of them is out of the country, and the other one is injured and sick. So, there will be six of us survivors toeing the starting line. How many will be left at the end? Only the next 18 hours or less will tell.

The weather at the start is calm with temperatures in the 20s. I am wearing my thick tights, a couple of technical shirts, running jacket, and wool cap. The temperature before morning is likely to drop into the teens and may even go colder. There were some people wondering if we might break the record cold temperature for the race. It was 12 degrees back in 2006, but we also had some fierce winds that year, so the wind chill was definitely below zero. Today, while it may get pretty cold, the wind is not supposed to blow much.

Mile 3.5 44:13 (12:38 avg./mile) FSR 35

For this race I am using a new headlamp. It is a modified Black Diamond Icon with the battery box on an extension cord so that it can be put in a pack instead of on the back of my head. Since I am wearing my running jacket, I have put the battery box in a pocket in my jacket. I also have my Camelbak under the jacket so that it won’t freeze up on this cold night. As the race begins, I feel good. I have had to deal with a couple of injuries this fall that actually kept me from training a couple of days. First, in August, I had an issue with my right knee. It is better now, but still lets me know it is there. Second, in late October, I had issues with my calves. This led to me seeing a sports therapist for several sessions. Then at my last ultra race, the Mountain Masochist, I dropped at 32 miles because of a rolled ankle and the lingering calves’ issue. So, for my body to feel good even early in the race is a major plus. The weather this fall in Virginia has been extremely wet, and we are expecting a lot of water and mud on the course. The snow from last week is all but melted, but there should be a little bit left at the higher elevations. At the first stream crossing around the three mile mark, the water is moving swiftly. I carefully wade across as the water comes up to my knees. Welcome to Hellgate; the fun is just beginning.

Mile 7.5 1:03:49 (15:57 avg./mile) Petites Gap

This section is very straightforward—uphill on a dirt road for four miles. I believe in approaching this race the same way I do a 100-miler. That means, for the most part, I walk when going uphill. So, I follow this approach except when I decide to mix it up a little on the less steep portions. Since it is early in the race and most of the other runners don’t share my approach, I get passed by many people on this section. In fact, Barb Isom comes by me with less than a mile to go to the aid station. Now, for those that may not know Barb, she is one tough female runner. Did I mention that she is 62 years old! When are these people going to start acting their age? She says she is pushing the pace because she finished last year a mere five minutes over the final cutoff. The moon has yet to rise, and the stars are awesome! The night is perfectly cold and clear, and I don’t think the stars can be any brighter. At this aid station, I pry my frozen shoes off my feet and put on dry socks and shoes. The shoes are Keen Powerline, which I haven’t used yet in a race. I drink most of a pint of chocolate milk and take a bagel with me for the trail. I am right where I want to be time wise.

Mile 13.1 1:33:18 (16:40 avg./mile) Camping Gap

A little technical downhill single track trail starts off this section. I pass a couple of runners, as I am still feeling good. Then I come to a stream crossing, which in drier times would be easy to cross without getting my feet wet. However, on this night, the stream is quite formidable, but I manage to hop across a log and keep my feet dry. Another up and down, and I come to another stream crossing. On this one, I decide to try to step across on a rock and log. My chances catch up to me and I slip and fall, although managing to catch myself before I totally fall in the water. Other than my shoes and gloves getting wet, I have banged my left arm. I think I should have taken a different route across the stream, but I am really not bad. After that stream crossing, I make some good time on the remaining single track trail until we come out on the road that will take us to the aid station. This climb to the aid station is long and steep, and this time, nearly everyone is walking. I talk with Curt and a few other runners as we make our way up the hill. At the aid station, I eat a couple of sandwich quarters and grab a few cookies for the trail.

Mile 21.9 2:26:20 (16:38 avg./mile) Headforemost Mountain

Starting out on the grassy road from the last aid station, I soon catch up to Barb. I am figuring that I will pass her and probably not see her again. But, over the next few miles, we pass each other a total of five times. Finally, just before the course goes back to a single track trail, I pass her for the last time. I push the single track pretty hard, and manage to catch a couple of people. The downhill going to Overstreet Falls is particularly treacherous as there is just enough ice, along with the rocks, to make things very interesting. After Overstreet Falls, it is a quick hike up the hill to the aid station. Along the way, Curt joins me again and asks me about the next couple of sections. At the aid station, my awesome crew is waiting for me with chocolate milk and a grilled ham and cheese sandwich. It is cold, but I feel like I am ready for a quick downhill to the next aid station.

Mile 27.6 1:29:58 (15:47 avg./mile) Jennings Creek

As usual, leaving Headforemost Mountain is very cold. Not only is it the coldest part of the night and at the highest point on the course, but I have also just eaten and my body shunts some of the blood from my extremities to my stomach. I run the dirt road down to the parkway and across to the other side. I catch a couple of people on this mostly downhill section, but another runner slips by me as well. I feel good as daylight finally begins to arrive, and I traverse the last part into the aid station. Jennings Creek is probably my favorite aid station at this race. Not only is the nighttime portion over, but there is usually some good chow here. This year, Rosie does not disappoint as there are pizza pockets and pigs in a blanket. Rosie fills a large cup of these for me, and I devour them along with some Conquest. I was thinking about changing shoes here, but for some reason I decide not to. Instead I take off my running jacket, but add another long sleeve shirt. So, now I have on three shirts—two long and one short.

Mile 34.5 1:58:38 (17:12 avg./mile) Little Cove Mountain

After leaving Jennings Creek, the course goes uphill for at least a couple of miles. I manage to pass two people on my way to the top, and then going down the other side I pass one more. At the bottom of the downhill there is then a boring gravel road for a couple of miles up to the aid station. As it is now approaching mid morning, I usually get sleepy on this portion. Fortunately, this year the sleepiness isn’t too bad. When I get to the aid station, my wonderful crew has some warm Ramen soup for me. I quickly consume the whole cup, and then make a shoes and socks change. In between shoes I drink half of a cup of coffee. I was hoping to shed more clothing, but the weather really hasn’t warmed up much.

Mile 42.5 2:13:22 (16:40 avg./mile) Bearwallow Gap

Vicki and Marianna manage to slip by me while I was in the aid station. Actually, Marianna and I leave the aid station about the same time. I push it on the grassy road section and quickly pass Vicki. However, when the course goes back to single track trail, Vicki catches back up to me and is right behind me for quite a while. When I stop for a leak, Vicki passes me, but I stay close to her until we enter the worst part of the course. It is a single track trail with melon size rocks all over the place. To add to the “fun,” most of these rocks are covered with oak leaves. Vicki goes over these like they are nothing, while I have to be careful not to kill myself. One guy passes me, but then I come up on Roger Sutton, who I am very surprised to see. This is his second time here, and after the first time he ran this in 2006, he wrote a book about it. Meanwhile, Marianna has again caught back up to me, but I manage to beat her into the aid station in part because I am able to quickly cross the creek while keeping my feet dry. At the aid station, my awesome crew has another grilled ham and cheese sandwich for me. I drink about a pint of Conquest and then grab four cookies as I am leaving.

Mile 49.5 1:47:41 (15:23 avg./mile) Bobblets Gap

Just as I am leaving the Bearwallow Gap aid station, Tammy Gray yells at me to run with Doug. Marianna is right there as well, so the three of us (me, Marianna, and Doug) start up the climb together. None of us seem to care too much about staying together, but we are moving about the same pace, so we stay together most of the time during this section. This section is definitely one that I have to let the course come to me. The initial climb is pretty tough this late in the race, and then it still goes uphill for a while longer. Finally after almost three miles of uphill, I am able to run the gentle downhill that weaves in and out of the side of the mountain. The leaves are much less deep this year due to all of the rain and some snow this fall. Some years on this section, the leaves will get up to my knees. As we near the end of the mountain, there is a group of half a dozen or so of us together. I am in the lead when I catch my foot and go down. I am fine, but I lose my rhythm, not to mention my place in the conga line. Marianna then leads us down to the dirt road that will take us to the aid station. On the mile climb up to the aid station, Jay Finkle catches up to me. He mentions that he thinks he can finish under 16 hours, and I tell him I don’t think we have enough time. However, he says he is going to give it a try and starts running up the hill. I find out later that he just missed, finishing in 16:05. When I get to the aid station, I eat another grilled ham and cheese prepared by my awesome crew. I decide to drink only Conquest and not chocolate milk or eat anything else because the last thing I want to do is have to stop for a squatting bio break.

Mile 56.1 2:22:11 (21:33 avg./mile) Day Creek

It is now 1:17pm, and I have little to shoot for other than finishing. My fastest time is 15:53, and that is not in reach. I have already ruled out getting under 16 hours. So, now I just have to keep moving and get this one done for my seventh straight finish. Coming down the hill on a road from the last aid station, I have no energy, and as I mentioned even less motivation. Doug catches back up to me, and when the course goes back on the trail, we hang together for a couple of miles until he decides he is feeling a little better than me. At this point, my energy is low, I am lethargic, and this section goes on forever. The advertised 6.6 miles is off my at least a mile. I decide to eat an Access bar and then I take a Succeed capsule. I have been taking Succeed capsules (which have a blend of sodium and potassium) every couple of hours. I keep myself focused on the 11 stream crossings, but my body is just ready to quit. I don’t feel too bad; I just don’t have any energy. A few people end up passing me during the last mile or so, and then finally there is Nathan waiting for me. He says it is less than half a mile to the aid station, and I will be glad to be done with this section! At the aid station, I get a can of Coke from Martha, and then I go over to the aid station table to eat some corn chips. While I am eating corn chips and drinking my Coke, I chat a little with the two ladies working the aid station. One of them says she has never run more than five miles. As I am finishing up my Coke, Rebekah Trittipoe and another Rebecca approach the aid station. I say it is time for me to leave the aid station as I don’t want to get passed by anyone else. Nathan (who will run the last section with me) and I take off at a reasonable pace.

Mile 62.4 1:09:11 (10:59 avg./mile) FINISH

The last section is 6.3 miles, 2.8 miles to the parkway, and then 3.5 miles downhill to the finish. I start off at a brisk hike up the hill, and as I get going I realize I am now ready to push it to the finish. So, I start going faster. When we are about two-thirds the way up, Nathan looks back and says he doesn’t see anyone behind us. There is one guy ahead of us, and I set my pace to try and catch him. Just as we near the top, I pass this guy, and then we start off down the hill to the finish. I start running and am again surprised that there is life left in my legs. Very quickly, we come upon two more runners, and we pass them with no problems. Then we see Doug and two other runners ahead of us. Two years ago, Nathan and I passed Doug on the way down, and he decided to keep up with us and eventually ended up beating me. So, this year as I pass Doug, I don’t want to give Doug any chance to stay with us. I push the pace even more and as I am about to go past Doug, he starts to turn around and almost turns right into me. I manage not to run him over, and Nathan and I continue flying down the hill. I didn’t realize it at the time, but one of the other runners with Doug was Rick Gray. I just love this sprint to the finish. I am wide open, running down the hill like I am out on just a 6-7 mile run. I throttle back just a bit when the road gets a little technical because I know with a mile and a half to go, the road becomes a nice smooth gravel road. So, when we hit that section, I open it back up. I ask Nathan how many people we have passed on this section, and he says seven. Then we round the next corner and there are three more runners to pass to make it double digits. They are running well, so I really have to push it to get by them, and then there is one last runner for me to pass just as we are turning into the entrance to Camp Bethel. I cross the finish with David Horton announcing my name and saying that I am 7 for 7 at Hellgate. I run the last mile in 7:06, and it feels like I might have caused a few hot spots with this sprint to the finish.

Official Finishing Time 16:48:41

56^th out of 116 starters (86 finishers under 18 hours)

In the end, I find my stride and have a good finish. With the injuries I have had to deal with this year, I am very satisfied with my time. It is nice to finish with over an hour to spare on the cutoff. After I finish, I talk with Aaron, Sophie, Donna, and Doug. It is great to just sit here in the retreat center, eat some chili, and discuss the race with everyone. Vicki says she is done running ultras, but we will see. Sophie says she is taking some time off from Hellgate, but I will believe that only when she isn’t at the start line next year. Aaron (another survivor of all seven Hellgates) says this is now a war between the last six of us with the last one standing being the winner. Aaron is the youngest and fastest of us, and he probably can keep this up longer than any of us, but who knows. I take a shower, thank Horton for directing another awesome Hellgate race, and then head to the vehicle where Martha is waiting patiently.

Now sitting here a week later, I am glad that we didn’t have the weather we have today last week. Central Virginia has been blanketed by up to two feet of snow last night and today. I look forward to running in snow, but more than a foot is another story. How many more Hellgates will I be able to survive…only time will tell?

Never stop running,

Darin

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