Massanutten
Mountain Trails 100 Miler 2006
May 12
The
past two weeks have been interesting as I made my final preparations for this
race. A week and half ago, my original
crew person had to back out for personal reasons. Then I managed to line-up my nephew Zack, who
was just finishing up his freshman year of college at Marshall University. Everything looked good, and I
was excited that Zack would be able to crew for me. Zack knew what he was getting into because in
2003 he helped crew and even paced me for about 13 miles before I dropped out
at the Mohican Trail 100. However, on
Wednesday, Zack told me he was sick with Mono.
Now I was back to square one in terms of a crew. Martha was running a 5k race on Saturday, and
I wasn’t going to let her skip that, so we decided that she would drive up
Saturday afternoon and begin crewing for me at mile 47.1. I would just have to rely on the aid stations
until then. I also prepared a drop bag
for the aid station at mile 24.4. It
would have a change of shoes, socks, and shirts.
It
is now 12:30pm on Friday, and I am hurrying to finish packing so I
can get on the road up to Front Royal.
Finally, just before 1pm,
I leave the house, hopefully not forgetting anything. The drive up to Front Royal goes very well—I
even found relatively cheap gas for $2.65/gallon at the Carmel Church exit. I arrive in Front Royal at
3:15pm and check into my motel, which is a Quality Inn,
before heading out to the ranch to check-in.
The pre-race briefing begins at 4pm,
and Stan and the rest of the race organizers are entertaining as usual. There was a course change for this year that
was going to take us through the Picnic Area aid station twice, but there was a
fire nine days ago, and now we will be going through the Picnic Area aid
station three times. The pre-race dinner
is very good. We have lasagna, salad,
and bread. I meet and talk with a lot of
friends, including, Gary Knipling, David Snipes, Rande
Brown, and Bethany Patterson. I am
relaxed and confident this year, and it looks like the rain just might hold off
until Sunday afternoon.
I
get back to my motel room and am settled in before 8pm. I turn the
light off and hope that I can get some good sleep. The bed leaves something to be desired, but
it is flat and seems to be firm enough.
Ever since we bought a new bed, motel beds usually don’t seem to measure
up very well.
May 13
I
slept well, but still wake up before my alarm goes off. I had it set for 3:15, but at 3:00
I get up and go to the bathroom. As I
run more races, the sleep I get the night before the race becomes better. I guess less anxiety is a good thing. I have everything neatly laid out, and I
quickly get ready. I drink my chocolate
milk and eat a bagel. Then I lube and
dress. I will start off with shorts, and
short-sleeve Coolmax t-shirt, and a long-sleeve t-shirt that I plan to throw
away as soon as it warms up a little. On
the way to the ranch for the start, I decide to eat another bagel because I am
still hungry.
Mile 2.4 23:05 (9:37 avg./mile)
MT Trailhead
The
race starts promptly at 5am. It starts on a paved road for this first
section, and I feel like I am running too hard because we are making fast time
going mostly downhill on a paved road.
At this first aid station, I decide I have warmed up enough, and I drop
my long-sleeve t-shirt. This is a
no-frills aid station, and I don’t bother to get anything.
Mile 8.7 1:21:26 (12:56 avg./mile)
Shawl Gap Trailhead
The
talk early on is about the documentary film that is being shot at this
race. Somebody says that Gary Knipling
and Kerry Owens are the two runners who will be featured. With Gary in it, we hope that there will be some comedy. I run well on this first trail section. I take the uphill conservatively and don’t
hammer the downhill too hard. I see the
film crew walking back to the aid station and ask them how far ahead Gary is. They
don’t have a time for me. I come into
the aid station, grab some HEED and move on out.
Mile 11.8 38:22 (12:23 avg./mile)
Veach Gap Trailhead
This
road section is with the aid station each end is interesting because it isn’t
that far, but I guess they think it is important to have aid station close
together early. I run very
conservatively because there is still a long way to go. At this aid station, Quatro,
Jaret, and Mike have cooked up a spread of pancakes
and eggs. Unfortunately, I am not hungry
to eat a lot yet, so I just grab a pancake and a cup of HEED and head on up the
trail.
Mile 16.9 1:12:23 (14:12 avg./mile)
Milford Gap
This
section starts out with a long uphill, but it isn’t terribly steep. It is still early in the race, and I am
feeling good. Conserving energy at this
point is my highest priority. At this
aid station, they have Gatorade instead of HEED. I take a couple of cups along with a two
turkey and cheese sandwich quarters. I
am moving along at this point with Rande Brown, and
it seems like we are making good time.
Mile 24.4 1:32:11 (12:17 avg./mile)
Habron Gap Trailhead
I
don’t care too much for this section because after about four miles on an easy
trail, we spend over three miles on a gravel road. The road goes along the south branch of the Shenandoah River. I don’t like to run when I am heading uphill,
so I run the downhills and walk the uphills, even though they are gentle
uphills. A few people pass me, and the
camera crew told me I was only five minutes behind Gary when I left the trail. At this aid station, I see Kevin, who is
David Snipes’ crew. He has a few bottles
of chocolate milk that I gave him last night.
I get one here, and it tastes so good.
I also have the aid station fill-up my Camelbak
bladder, but then they don’t burp the bladder so I have to do that before I put
it back in the carrier. I also talk with
John Dodds some at this aid station, and he tells me
that Gary is just five minutes ahead of me.
Mile 34.1 2:34:53 (15:58 avg./mile)
Camp Roosevelt
A
learning point that you would think I had learned by now—help the aid station
workers fill-up my Camelbak because otherwise they
won’t get it full. I run out of water
about 45 minutes before the aid station.
The climb starting this section is very tough, and the section is the
longest one on the course. I am moving
well, but when I run out of water and don’t know how much farther I have to go,
I get conservative. However, when I get
to the aid station, Gary Knipling is just leaving. I talk to him briefly and then start to tend
to my needs. I hand my Camelbak to Vic Culp, who I think can get the thing filled
up. Then I head to the restrooms. I am somewhat successful, but I know that I
will need to go again before the end of the race. When I pick up my Camelbak,
it is about half full. So, I fill it up
all the way with Vic’s help.
Mile 37.8 1:00:16 (16:17 avg./mile)
Moreland Gap I
Leaving
the aid station, I know that I have 3.7 miles of road in front of me. I walk nearly all of it and manage good
time. When I reach the aid station, Gary is again just leaving. I don’t need much except to top off my Camelbak. I grab
some food and some HEED and head up the trail.
Mile 47.1 2:46:49 (17:56 avg./mile)
Picnic Area I
Less
than a mile after leaving Moreland Gap, I see somebody’s gear laying beside the trail.
Gary yells at me from his squatted position about 30
yards off the trail. I have finally
passed him and am ahead of him for the first time at the MMT. At the top of the next climb, the film crew
is there, and the producer gives me a nod and a look that says, you finally
passed Gary. I continue on
and get passed by most of the runners I passed in the aid station. All of them say that Gary was still in his squatted position when they went by
him. The leaders meet us coming the
other way. A Korean is in the lead with
Meltzer close behind. I am looking
forward to seeing Martha at this aid station.
I plan on drinking a pint of chocolate milk and changing my socks. However, when I get to the aid station,
Martha is nowhere to be seen. I visit
the restroom again, and get my Camelbak re-filled, but
still Martha isn’t there. I am about 50
minutes ahead of the pace I thought I would be on. I leave the aid station, wondering where she
is and hoping that everything is okay.
While I was in the restroom, Gary arrives and leaves the aid station. So, my lead was short-lived.
Mile 50.9 1:06:32 (17:31 avg./mile)
Bird Knob
I
have a good climb up to Bird Knob and feel okay at this point, considering
everything. This aid station is stocked
with food, and I have a bowl of pasta. I
hope this will help things. It really
tasted good. Gary is here at the aid station, but leaves about two
minutes before I do.
Mile 55.2 1:26:32 (20:07 avg./mile)
Picnic Area II
Leaving
the aid station, I can see Gary
down the road, but he quickly disappears from sight. This loop around is deceiving, and I think it
might be longer than advertised. Nobody
passes me, and I don’t pass anyone, but it takes a long time to get back to the
trail leading down the hill. When I get
to that point, I start running again and pass a couple of people. My stomach isn’t feeling great, but I guess I
am okay. When I get to this aid station
again, Martha is there. I am relieved to
see her, but she missed me because she was sitting in the car reading since I
wasn’t expected for another 50 minutes.
I change shoes and drink a pint of chocolate milk. The shoes feel really tight, and I hope they
will loosen up.
Mile 56.9 29:40 (17:27 avg./mile)
US 211 East
I try to put on a push to this aid station, which is
mostly downhill. As I get close to the
aid station, David Snipes and his friend Jack catch up to me. We meet Gary
leaving the aid station right before we get there. At the aid station, my pacer, Craig Penrose
is there, and Martha is there. I don’t
grab much for some reason and decide to head back on the trail to the Picnic
Area. This is the last time I will see
Martha until I get back to Moreland Gap, but I don’t take any more clothing
with me. I am sweating pretty good right now.
Mile 58.6 48:13 (28:22 avg./mile)
Picnic Area III
This section is mostly uphill and my stomach is
really uneasy. I am not sure what the
problem is as I have been taking my electrolyte pills consistently and peeing
enough, I think. When I get to the aid
station, I feel terrible and decide to sit down for awhile. The aid station workers were excellent as
they brought me two cups of ginger ale.
I don’t think I ate anything and head out to make the return trip over Kerns
Mountain.
Mile 67.9 4:33:23 (29:24 avg./mile)
Moreland Gap II
Leaving the Picnic Area for the last time, I make
good time walking up the road for the first 3 miles. It takes me about an hour and nobody passes
me—a moral victory. However, once back
on the trails, people begin to stream passed me. I am skittish about the rocks, especially
since it is now dark and this is the section where I busted my chin last year
in the daylight! At some point on Kerns
Mountain, my motivation for
finishing this race left me. I can’t say
exactly what the deciding point was, but after 60+ miles on rocks and boulders
and almost 20 hours, my motivation was gone.
Last year I finished in 35 hours, and as my pace got slower and slower,
I realized it might take 35 hours to finish this year. I am now very tired, and I begin taking my
catnaps beside the trail. The first two
are okay, but not really restful. It is
also getting cold and I only have on a short-sleeve shirt. The third catnap I take up on Kerns
Mountain lasts 12 minutes, and I
feel pretty good getting up from that one.
I manage to make my way down the hill, and even run a little before
reaching the aid station. Craig and
Martha are there waiting, and I tell Craig that I am sorry, but I think I am
going to drop. He says to make sure—sit
down and have something to eat and then make your decision. I eat some quesadillas and some hash browns,
but neither is very tasty. After 5 or 10
minutes in the aid station, I officially decide to drop.
126th out of 151
starters (113 finishers)
We hop in the car and drive
Craig back to his truck near the 211 East aid station. Then Martha and I head up to Front Royal to
the ranch to get my truck, which has our motel room key in it. Finally, we get to our motel room around 3am. The
excitement of being done with the race has worn off, and as I fall asleep, I
start to wonder if I should have dropped.
The next morning around 9am
when I get up, I am thinking again about why I dropped, but I know why—I would
still be out on the course with 6-7 hours of more running to do! Monday morning, I have a 6:30am flight to Atlanta for a 10:30am meeting, which will last the rest of the day. The six hours of sleep is a good thing, and a
full night’s sleep will be even better.
In retrospect, I hope that
without the Monday morning flight, I would have persevered and finished, but I
don’t know. The good thing is that I
didn’t hurt myself; my legs feel okay; and I am ready to enter my next
race. Sunday night, I fill out the
application for the Mohican Trail 100 on June 17-18. On Monday, I get up at 4am, drive to the airport and make my flight. The meeting goes well, and I think it was a
good thing I quit at 68 miles. Comparing
this 68 mile effort to my first 100 mile attempt in 2001, I am in much better
shape. MMT is a brutal course, and it
didn’t draw any blood from me, and I was still standing when I threw in the
towel. At Vermont in 2001, I
was almost down and out. Martha spent
the night feeling my hot skin wondering if she should call for an
ambulance. In the end I was fine, but I
realize how far I have progressed.
Here’s hoping Mohican is ready for me in five weeks.
Never stop running,
Darin
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