Mountain Masochist Trail Run 2008

October 31

This will be the third year I have run this race. The past two years, my family’s schedule did not allow for them to come out and crew for me, but this year everything fell into place for them to come out on Friday with me and crew for me during the race on Saturday. We are staying in Lynchburg on Saturday night as well since the awards dinner won’t end until late Saturday evening. Nathan and Amy get home from school around 2:00pm because of early release. We manage to depart for Lynchburg around 3:00pm and arrive at our hotel shortly after 5:00pm.

The pre-race dinner is at the Kirkley Hotel this year, and we are staying at this hotel as well. I am looking forward to the convenience of eating the pre-race dinner, hearing the race briefing, and then going upstairs to bed. As we wait for the dinner to begin, we see many old friends, and I get my picture taken by Frank Probst, who seems to be taking pictures of all of the younger guys he is going to beat tomorrow. (Frank is 65 years old.) When the buffet line opens, we quickly realize that there is no meat in any of the selections. There is a spinach salad, vegetarian lasagna, vegetable medley pasta, and rolls. There is also cake and ice cream for dessert.

The race briefing finishes, but not before several male runners parade through in miniskirts and pink t-shirts. It is of course Halloween. After the briefing, I make sure I know how to get to the back parking lot where the buses will be in the morning, and then I head up to the room. I am pretty relaxed. I set my alarm for 3:50am, and we turn off the light at 9:00pm.

November 1

I sleep well. I eat a bagel and drink a pint of chocolate milk for starters. I have to turn on the light in the room to pin on my number and make sure I have everything. At 4:50am, I leave the room with the rest of the family still in bed and go out to the back parking lot and get on one of the five buses that will take most of us to the starting line near Big Island, Virginia. The weather feels cold this morning, probably around 40 degrees. I am going to wear shorts, a short-sleeve shirt, a long-sleeve shirt (that I plan on taking off after the sun warms things up a bit), a buff on my head, and my Camelbak.

The ride to the start is uneventful. I talk with a few people along the way, including Vicki Kendall and Barb Isom. We arrive at the start around 5:45am. I hang out on the bus until 6:20am, and then I get out, relieve myself one last time, and go over to the start. My plan is to go out fairly quickly and see how things are going. I am optimistic that I can run my best time at this race because my training has gone well, and included two Priest/Three Ridges training runs. My best time is 10:58 at this race.

Mile 3.3 27:32 (8:21 avg./mile) Parkway & 501

I get off to a good start. The first 5.7 miles are on roads, and the first 4 miles or so are basically flat. The race starts before the sun rises, but since it is on the roads, and plenty of other runners have lights, I don’t need a light. My time at this first aid station is pretty quick, but I feel good, and I don’t think I am going out too fast.

Mile 5.7 33:07 (13:48 avg./mile) Cashaw Creek Trail

As hard as it is to believe that even Horton can’t get the mileage right even on a paved surface, I do believe there is a little Horton mileage in this section. There are a couple of hills that I walk up, but for the most part, I am running. Furthermore, even with the slow pace shown here, I am not getting passed by anyone.

Mile 8.4 34:52 (12:55 avg./mile) Peavine Mountain

This section is the first one on the trails. I take it nice and relaxed as I start to work into the race. The sun is now fully up, and things are warming up a bit. I still have my long-sleeve shirt on. This pace for this section seems about right mileage-wise given the terrain and climbing.

Mile 11.2 35:37 (12:43 avg./mile) Otter Creek

Up and down the hills, I roll on, but my left hamstring feels a little tight for some reason. At this aid station, I get to see my crew (Martha, Nathan, and Amy) for the first time. Well, Nathan is there, but he says that Martha is parking the car--our new/used 2006 Ford Escape. We decided it was time to replace the 1996 Ford F150 that has almost 200k miles on it. We bought the Escape with crewing at my races in mind. It is much more maneuverable, has a nice hatch-back, and is still four-wheel drive. But, I digress. I trade Nathan my Camelbak for a full one, and I also give him my long-sleeve shirt.

Mile 14.9 44:14 (11:57 avg./mile) Parkway Gate

This section includes more climbing as we are really gaining in elevation since we left the James River at mile 5.7. I am making good time, I think, but I am not really calculating things yet. I am mostly letting the race come to me. My left hamstring is still tight, and I wonder if the lack of meat protein the night before has anything to do with it. I am definitely a meat-eater, and my body is used to getting its full supply of meat each day. I see Charlie Hessie taking down runners’ numbers at this aid station, and he asks me how my attitude is. I tell him it is better than my hamstring. At this aid station, I see my crew again, and I drink about half a pint of chocolate milk. It tastes so good that I could drink a quart, but I need to save some for later.

Mile 17.5 32:35 (12:32 avg./mile) AT & 607 & FS 311

At this aid station, we make it to the first “top of the hill”. Now, it is time to go down for a while. I grab some water, a sandwich quarter or two, and a couple of cookies, and start running down the hill. It is time to make some good time.

Mile 20.2 20:53 (7:44 avg./mile) FS 311 & FS 315

My hamstring does okay on the downhill, which is where it would likely cause problems, and I make decent time coming down the hill. I catch up to David Snipes, who has a couple of other runners trailing along with him. At one point, he tells me to slow down, but he always seems to pass me on the uphills.

Mile 22.3 21:29 (10:14 avg./mile) North End of LR

Coming down this next section, I am trying to catch up to Snipes when Bert Horsley comes out of the woods. He had been running with Snipes earlier, but seems to have had to make a squatting restroom break. I catch back up to Snipes at the bottom of the hill, but I do not pass him. At this aid station, I drink the other half of the pint of chocolate milk. I also get half of a bagel to take with me. My hamstring seems to have relaxed a bit and is no longer causing me great concern.

Mile 24.6 33:24 (14:31 avg./mile) Halfway between North End of LR & Hwy 60

This climb starts the longest ascent of the race. When we are done going up, we will be on top of Buck Mountain. The ascent over the next five miles is around 2,500 feet. I am taking it easy at this point as I want to have plenty left after I ascend Buck Mountain. At the same time, the next aid station usually marks the chronological halfway point of the race for most runners, so there is great temptation to get there as quick as possible. I eat a ham sandwich quarter at this aid station and a couple of cookies.

Mile 26.9 29:08 (12:40 avg./mile) Hwy 60

Halfway to this aid station, Jay Finkle catches up to me. He ran the Grindstone 100 miler four weeks ago, and he says he can still feel the effects in his legs. We chat for the rest of the way into the aid station. He mentions that he is hoping to run a negative split. I think that keeping up with him for a while might not be a bad idea. At this aid station, my crew is ready and waiting. I sit down on a stool for a minute while I trade off my Camelbak and drink another half pint of chocolate milk. I was ready to drink the whole thing when Martha tells me it is the last pint of chocolate milk we have with us. I grab a full bagel for the climb up Buck Mountain and head out of the aid station.

Mile 29.5 54:35 (21:00 avg./mile) Buck Mountain

As I am exiting the aid station, I figure I have probably made it out before Jay because he doesn’t have a crew with him, and at Highway 60, the drop bags are delivered. Therefore, he will have to get anything he wants out of his drop bag. Due to this, I figure I have beaten him out of the aid station, but I think he will catch me on the climb. However, I find out after the race, that he didn’t spend much time at all in the aid station, and actually beat me. My climb up Buck Mountain starts out quite labored. My breathing is redlined, and my legs are sore and tired. My time on this section is my slowest yet, but I make it to the top feeling okay. At this aid station, they are blasting Rocky music, and we can hear it for over a mile before we get to the aid station.

Mile 32.1 28:57 (11:08 avg./mile) Intersection of FS 48 & FS 520

After making it up Buck Mountain, I spend this section running easily hoping that my legs recover soon. Soon after leaving the Buck Mountain aid station, Kerry Owens passes me. Last year, I think she passed me a mile or two later in the race than this. At this aid station, I see my crew again, but I don’t spend much time because I will see them again in a mile and a half. I grab a sandwich quarter and start walking up the hill to the “loooooop”.

Mile 33.6 25:58 (17:19 avg./mile) Start of 5 Mile Loop

Before heading into the loooooop, I drink the remaining chocolate milk, which was about half of a pint. I also grab a couple of sandwich quarters because I know that the loooooop is a tough long 5 miles. My walk up the hill was okay, but my legs don’t feel recovered yet. So, I start the loooooop with tired legs and not feeling particularly inspired.

Mile 38.6 1:12:11 (14:26 avg./mile) End of 5 Mile Loop

At the beginning of the loooooop, Rebekah Trittipoe passes me, which doesn’t help my motivation any. However, I know that I need to run the first couple of miles on the loooooop because they are downhill. Surprisingly, somewhere before two miles into the loooooop, my legs come back to life, and I start making decent time. On the big climb, someone else passes me, but I quickly pass him back on the downhill. The downhill always seems longer than I remember it, but I get into the aid station, tired, but in a much better mood than when I left. At the aid station, Joey Anderson is sitting there. He was only two minutes under the cut-off and has decided to drop. He has done this race a few times and knew where he needed to be.

Mile 41.5 42:45 (14:44 avg./mile) Salt Log Gap

On this section, my motivation from the loooooop quickly dissipates, and I just putter along waiting for this race to end. Two runners pass me during this section, and he appears to be muling for her even though they are both in the race. He has a large Camelbak on his back, and she is drinking from it as well as getting bars out of the pack. I know it really doesn’t matter much for us middle of the packers, but it still bothers me. At this aid station, I see my crew for the last time. I decide it is time to start the push to the finish, so I drink two cups of Coke.

Mile 43.0 20:16 (13:31 avg./mile) Forest Valley

This section is all uphill. The good thing is that it is only 1.5 miles as I don’t believe there are any Horton miles. My legs feel okay, and the end of the race is not far away. I grab another cup of Coke and start the next section.

Mile 47.1 57:41 (14:04 avg./mile) Porter’s Ridge

On this next to the last section, I start out slow and Marianna passes me, and then Blake Brown comes by me. We get up the initial climb, and then I kick it in. I pass Marianna and then Blake as I am surging well at this point. On a downhill, technical section, I blow by a few more runners. I don’t slow down until on a steep uphill section, I have to walk. I make it into this last aid station, with a few runners around me. One of them is Richard Michael, who is doing the whole Beast Series. Blake is close behind me as I grab two cups of Coke and head down the hill towards the finish.

Mile 50.0 39:00 (13:27 avg./mile) FINISH

Even Horton admits that this last section is really not 2.9 miles, but rather about 3.9 miles. I think it might even be longer than that as I run the whole thing, and it is all flat or downhill. During the last mile and a half, I hear two people coming up behind me, but I am determined to hold them off. The course leaves the dirt road and starts steeply down a gravel road. I am flying down the hill as fast as I can, but I can still hear the two guys behind me. At some point, Nathan is along side of the road waiting for me. There is no time to stop or slow down now, so I continue running hard. As I turn onto the paved road, Amy is there cheering me on. Nathan is attempting to keep up with me, but I gave him my Camelbak so I can better sprint to the finish. Just after getting onto the paved road, I spot Rebekah and Kerry in front of me. Can I catch them before the finish? I don’t have a choice if I am going to hold off the guys behind me. I pass the ladies just before the post office in Montebello, and I am able to hold off the guys as I cross the line and get congratulated by Clark Zealand, the race director.

Official Finishing Time 10:54:24

96^th out of 258 starters

After I finish, Blake Brown comes across the line. He was my closest pursuer as I came down the hill. It was a very nice competition between the two of us over the last 7+ miles. Now, I have to catch my breath and get something to eat so that I can compete in the bench press contest. The bench press for the men is to bench press 135 pounds as many times as possible. Last year, I managed 22 repetitions. This year, I don’t think I worked on my bench pressing as much as I did last year, but we will see what happens. Nathan and Amy set a bag chair with the foot rest up for me, and I sit down and drink a Coke and eat some beef jerky. I also consume some cookies and a bagel.

After about 20 minutes, I decide that I should go ahead and give the bench press my best effort. The best so far was 32 reps. The guys get the bar ready, and I get my position on the bench. They hand me the bar, and I begin. I get to 10 very quickly, then 15, when I slow down some. Each one is an effort now, 16, 17, 18… I am cheered on by my kids and a couple of others. I gut out 19, 20, and 21. Then number 22, with great effort, is completed. I get 23, but I am done. I have done one more than last year, and I can’t complain. Three other guys will end up doing more (33, 32, and 26).

The post-race dinner at the Kirkley Hotel is better than the night before because there is actually meat being served. Nathan and I eat the chicken, rice pilaf, and vegetables. Martha and Amy are off grabbing dinner on the run as they are trying to find Amy’s friend’s soccer game just north of Lynchburg. Nathan and I sit with Harland Peelle, Sean Andrish, Steve Core, Brian Schmidt, and Don Padfield. It is great to be able to talk with these front runners about ultra running and their future race plans.

All in all, it is a nice weekend in Lynchburg. I am now focused on the Hellgate 100k in six weeks. I will be attempting to finish my sixth Hellgate in a row. There are eight other guys going for their sixth also, and we are all entered into the race, but Neil Jamison is injured and doesn’t know if he will be able to run it. So, stay tuned to see how many of us will finish six straight Hellgates! Will this be the year we have rain, sleet, and snow all in the same race?

Never stop running,

Darin

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