An annual event. This was an annual event for me for the last few years. I had set my goal to run this race since 2018/2019 when I first hear of it.
After some setbacks, I finally attempted in 2021. 2022/2023 did not fare any better.
This brings us to this year. Because of my 100 miler schedule, I did not sign up to run in it. I still wish to be there.
I was tapped to serve at the first aid station’s captain (mile 5), Straight Branch on the Virginia Creeper Trail. I pulled my mom into coming with me. She was an amazing helper. As captain with two strong helpers, I could relax and talked with runners.
We were expecting bad weather, wind, rain, and thunderstorm. Luckily, storm came the night before and the second one came during lasy half hour of the race after most had finished.
The trail was wet and slick. Several runners, maybe as many as a dozen or so runners out of 300 fell on the relatively flat terrain, before reachingy station a mile 5.
Oh Boy, I was expecting a long day.
We served sport drinks and water at our station and helped runners along their way. After our station, they would enter the first major climb and many other steep ups and downs before reaching their next station at mile 9.
I was prepared to face with 300 runners coming through. They were spreaded out over four events, so it was not too much a shock. Each event was about half an hour apart. They came in waves.
By 9:30 we were done (actually by 9:15). Couple runners trickled through right after the cutoff. We let them through. Shh, hope they reached the finish. They did. They seemed be strong enough to continue and we did not have to drive runners back. The sweep arrived and we could close our station.
During my watch, I saw familiar faces. Many runners from previous years were running again. Some stopped to chat with me, including Lance (C&O race director), whose wife was running in the 30 mile event and won it. I spoke with famous Horton. I spoke with the Cato, whom we saw again the following day when we hiked the Grayson’s Highlands. I met the Cato this year at the Waterfall 50k.
Next, we moved to work at a later aid station (SkullS Gap, mile, 27 and 37). Note, Skulls Gap had two locations and it shift during the day. We moved to the later station, mile 37 down the road. The front runner was supposed to show up around 11:03, which he did. We were ready around 10 am readying for him.
We joined with couple others volunteers in setting up the aid station at Skulls Gap. The first runner of the 40 mile event came, with only couple minutes behind the predicted pace, 11:05.
The second and third runner were about 9 mins apart.
The early hours at the second Skulls Gap Aid Station, were relaxing. There were very little to do.
I spent time with some families/friends of runners while they waited. It was a good thing they talked to me because they found out they were waiting at the wrong Skulls Gap station. They were waiting for their runners who were doing the 30 mile event, which was one up the road. The 30-milers do not come through our second station (but a different Skulls Gap station). I sent them along their way.
Later, more volunteers and runners came. A runner was dropped off along with some dropbags. I helped unloading them and spreaded them out.
We then drove back to the start/finish area. Reason was a runner had dropped and we were providing him a ride back. Also I wanted to show my mom the way back since ahe would have to do it later in the day while I was sweeping the course.
We arrived at the finish when the 30 milers were coming in. We were able to part take in the excitement. We stayed a little bit before heading back to Skulls Gap.
I signed up to do sweeping duty. It was what I look foward to do. The radio team did a good jump in communicating who had dropped and once we had that clear that no more runners were expected to arrive at Skulls Gap, I could start my sweep.
The last runner had came through my station at least 15 minutes prior. I was hoping they wouldn’t run too fast so I could catch up to some of them.
I caught a runner near the final station and walked with him. He arrived as the station closed. It worked out he wanted to drop.
I continued my sweeping duty from FS90 and I tried to run fast to catch more runners. I caught up to Javon at the final two miles. I encouraged him to run so as to make the final cutoff.
It was thrilling. In my own race several times, I could not make the cutoff. Javon is youngnand had the potential to sprint. Indeed, once we were off the mountain, Javon took off. Unfortunately, he did not have enough time and was over by couple minutes.
I was a few minutes behind. I was happy to finish the sweep so early. The race director was happy too and we could close the race and clean up.
The following day, we drove up to Grayson’s Highlands and did a short run. Then it was a long drive home.
This year, my friend Caroline joined us.
Various cutoff times, we had to be aware of and I am all to familiar with them for having to chase them every year
I’ve been quiet lately. Not much going on in term of running.
My last race was Burning River. Then I did a training run/club event MMB 50k.
From that event, a friend, Robert, hooked me up to his friend in Salt Lake, who will be my pacer for Wasatch 100. I am blessed with a string of coincidents.
I don’t consider that I have Wasatch ready. I am actually very anxious about it. It is the same feeling as when I prepared for Old Dominion, Massanutten, Western States, Vermont, and Burning River.
Some might think I have done so many 100s this year, it should be easy. No, Wasatch is like 10 times harder.
Then there is Grindstone right after. I am concerned about that race too. I wish I could be on the course and do a few more laps.
I said I was going to look into my fall schedule. I haven’t. Guess what? Fall is here!
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I was able to put a tiny bit of training last weekend. I traveled down to Damascus (VA) to do course marking for the Iron Mountain race for the Labor Day weekend.
It was such a fun course to run on. I have been doing this last couple years. This year, the trail condition is good. Trail is clear and dry. I tried to run my fastest while on the course. I love it. (I spoke too soon, it is forecasted to be terrible weather on race day).
The drive down was long though. I had to work late that Friday and did not start on my trip until almost 9 pm. I got to Salem, which is like 2/3 of the way and I was too tired to continue. I stopped at the hotel for the night. Slept for maybe an hour and had to get up.
I felt refresh though and continued down, arriving on time. The marking did not take too long. I marked the same section as the previous year. Finished a little over 3.5 hours. (I finished in 3 hours, but I went for a little more).
Somehow, I used a bit less ribbon this year than before. I only used a little over 1 roll. Two years ago, we used 4 rolls to mark the same section. I am praying that no runners would get lost on this segment. It is the same prayer every year. They shouldn’t get lost since, three of the major turns should be heavily marked and one of them is an aid station.
How I have so much left over ribbons? I was given 3 rolls of 150 ft. I was estimating my section was about 13 miles (actual 11). I cut 4 ft per ribbon. I figured I could mark 8 times per mile, so every 8th of a mile. At my pace, it would mean marking every 3 minutes. I must have either run too fast or did not keep an accurate time, so my eighth of a mile might have been more like a quarter mile or 0.3 mile. So I had a lot of left over. I should have marked at every tenth of a mile 🙂 Anyway, that is for next year, yes to mark every couple minutes.
The rest of the Saturday, I rented a bike and biked up to White Top. I only reached Green Cove. It brought back memories from last year when I paced a friend in Yeti 100. We spent the whole night, about 12 hours to travel up to White Top and Back. Biking only took me like 4 hours.
It was so fun though. Riding up was hard but coming down was all cruising. The bike rental even gave me a discount since I showed up toward the afternoon. I think was a 25% off. I ate lunch at the Wilson’s Grill next door. Biking and eating in Damascus is highly recommended.
Sunday, I stopped by the Grindstone 100 course on my way home and did a bit of out and back on the Crawford Knob and Chimney Hollow trail. Apparently the mountain (on the former Grindstone 100 course) is a private property. I am not sure yet, because it could be I’ve gotten lost the Crawford Knob trail and wandered into someone else property. I hope it was not so, since I love to run around those mountains. Anyway, I’d stay away from there now that I knew it is private (or assume it is).
Damascus, near the swimming pool, I think is a millI asked a biker to pose for me on the Virginia Creeper Trail, I rented a bike and did the sameHighest point, I think. Last year, I thought I reached at the highest point at the junction of Chimney Hollow, a mile more down (up) the trail, you get here with a sign of 3728 ftVisitor Center at Green Cove (an aid station during Yeti 100, not shown) The actual AS during Yeti (now in day time). I sat here and nap during Yeti while waiting for my runner to recover
Running in Damascus always brought back memories, of my early trail running days. It is still a race I haven’t conquered. It gives me an incentive to go down here every year
It was my first race of the new year. I was having racing fatique or hangover from last year. I am sure readers are too when almost every post is a race report. I was not going to sign up, sometimes it just a bit overwhelming to have a race or event every week.
In the end couple reasons got me to sign up. First, a race is always a good training run because I usually run at my best in a race.
Couple of people I know would be there. I drove up with Caroline who introduced me to her friend who finished Western States 10 times. I knew Tom Green would be there, but whether I could talk to him was unknown. My friend had a high certainty I would. There are many good runners in our area (or club) but actually to be able to talk to one is kind of hard. He is no just anyone, but a living legend.
The race started on time. We expected snow, rain, and heavy rain. They all came pretty much on schedule. We were dumped with a lot of precipitation.
The course was 6 loops, 5 miles-ish each and would give us 31 miles.
I ran as I normally would. I carried a heavy water pack. I didn’t mind. I normally drink it all without having to refill it. I dressed warmly, and purposefully overdressed for the occasion. I had a rain cover on me, a fleece, and an outer winter coat. I also brought some hand warmers and one time use rain poncho. I planned to use an umbrella too, so I had it in the car at the ready.
We arrived early and got a parking spot right in front of the start/finish pavillion. This came in handy because at each loop, I could go back to the car for my stuff and it served as my own aid station. I was not planning to use it, but since it is right there, I could if I wanted to. Many people set up tents and tables for their relay teams or their runners in the grassy area. It reminded me of Rocky Raccoon or Pemberton 24, races I did, that more like a camping trip. I did not have to set up my tent, though I had it in the car.
First loop was fine. We had the best weather of the day. You could even see the blue sky through the clouds on occassions. We knew it will snow soon though. I ran with Lynne, a friend who came down from New York. Boris too, I think I met him before. He is a triathlon guy. So he took off a bit faster. Another guy I knew from a previous race (Naked Nick and Rock-n the Knob), Paul, was even farther ahead. Based on their estimated finishing times, I wanted to be between Lynne and Paul. I looked at everyone’s predicted finishing time before the run, so I had a general sense who to follow.
After the first loop I was hot. I did not want to ditch my jacket though. Not because I would need it again, but I felt I need to learn to run when I feel hot. I think I kept it on for the second loop.
I finished loop one in 1:03. It was not fast nor slow. My goal was to maintain the pace if possible and it would be 6:18 ish finishing. My predicted finishing time was 6:00 h but I knew it was tough to reach because the course had a bit of hills.
Loop 2, I tried to keep up with Adeline, another runner, I met before, at OSS/CIA last year. She led me through the loop but I could not stay on her pace. I finished around 1:05 h as my split.
Loop 3, Not sure if it started to snow now. I think I caught up to Paul. He did not seem to doing so well. He carried a heavy pack for some reason, like me. Since it is just a 5 mile loop, we didn’t really need that much water. I carried mine just to be used to the weight as a training. I was not wearing trail shoes either, mine broke and I haven’t replaced them. The ground started getting a bit slipery.
Loop 4. Now we are more than 15 miles in. Snow had changed to rain. It was a good thing I stopped by my car to get a rain poncho. I assumed the one I brought was a winter one, but it happened to have short sleeves. It would do. Only my arms got wet. I also probably got rid of my winter coat by end of the 2nd loop. I was a bit cold now without my coat. The rain poncho though trapped heat well. It ended up balancing. I walked mostly. The Runner’s wall had set in.
Loop 5. I don’t remember much about this loop. I met couple people.
There were a long train of runners behind me. Some passed me. Melisa from the Boyers Furnace Run was behind me. I did not know that at the time but I heard a loud crash and so I turned around to look. There she was on the ground. Her friend and I went and got her back to her feet. The trail now was slick with wet mud. She stepped on one of patches and slided off. I recognized her as the birthday girl from Boyers run a week before. She did her first ultra on her birthday and now she was here to do it again. We finished the loop together. I was not sure my split for this loop because I did not check the time on Loop 3. I believed I came in at 5:25, meaning I was still hanging onto my pace.
and finally Loop 6. Last loop. If Loop 4 was hard, Loop 5 was when heaven opened. Rain poured down hard now. I stopped by my car to get my umbrella. I probably the only one who ran with one. I figured, I likely would walk more than run. Carrying an umbrella would keep my upper body dry at least. Little did I know my hand would be freezing and the umbella get heavier with each mile. There were less people on the trail now. Many had finished already. My goal was if I could to pass my friend Caroline. I believed based on Naked Nick’s pace (our last race together a month ago), I would gain about 5 miles on her by then, but she was no where in sight. I was really hoping to catch her and possibly Lynne. Though at the time I expected Lynne to be maybe 15 mins behind me based on her last year finishing time.
I started to run again even with an umbrella. I passed a few people. Winds were blowing strong. Some commented they wish they had an umbrella. The trail started to be flooded. At first I tried to avoid the water, but then it was unavoidable. I stepped through it. It was quite a joy. My feet were icy cold. To me, it made me run even faster. In my mind I was flying through the trail. It was slippery. I skided from left and right. Soon there was only a mile left. Caroline was still not in sight. I felt disappointed but then I knew, she must need plenty of time for her last loop then because by then it was closer to 6:30 (2:30 pm) otherwise she would not be able to finish, so it was good I did not catch her. I came in at 6:37 h (2:37 pm).
I waited a bit (10 mins) to see if Lynne was behind me after I crossed the finish. I was getting cold so I made my way to the car. It was too cold that day to wait for friends and runners. We joked about being selfish when it comes to our comfort. I haven’t eaten much that day so I knew I was behind on my calories. I had snacks in the car so it relieved a bit of the hunger pain. Rain came down hard then. I was glad I was back in the car. I had warm clothes and everything. We called it a day and headed home. I got treated to a nice meal too.
Caroline ran strong that day and finished the loop 20 minutes ahead before I came in. In an ideal condition, she would be able to do the 6th loop. I would not have caught her given my pace that day. It seemed the umbrella did slow me down on the last loop. I did the loop in 1:12 h. So, even if I ran the last loop in 1:03 or 1:05 time, I still would not have caught up. I would have to run under 52 mins, not an impossible pace, but a very fast 10 min mile (my 5k pace) on tired feet and hilly terrains to catch up. I was running a 14 min pace that day. The gap was too huge to overcome. Putting it down here, so next year, if I get to run this course again, I would try to reach under 1 hour per loop, possibly aiming for that 52 min on the last loop. Set high goal they say. Until next year.
I have been a bit emotional as I stepped back on the MMT course the second time. I was not mad or disappointed the last time when I did not finish. I know I tried my hardest at the time. It is satisfying to be able to try it again.
I have been giddy all year looking forward to this. I have done plenty of training runs. January, February, March, and April. Now finally it is time for the real deal.
I know what to expect this second time around. I packed my drop bags, 10 of them for 9 dropbag stations (one station, Gap Creek we will pass by twice (there are total 15 aid stations)).
I spent whole Thursday night preparing. I did not sleep until 3 AM. I finished packing by 1 AM actually, but by then I was not sleepy. I know I need all the rest I can get. It probably pre race anxiety. Some runners go for med to put the body out for the night.
Friday. after work I drove to camp. It was exactly like last year. I was caught in the DC area traffic, but I used the Toll Road to bypass all the local traffic. Got to camp in time for the checking and dinner, but I missed the race briefing.
I met a new friend Zheng. This is his first year running the MMT. He was the sweeper of the last miles last year. Apparently I didn’t see him in the last year race. I know I was one of the last few on the course.
After dinner, I handed over my drop bags. They will be transported to various aid stations along the course the next day and will be available when I get there. I packed food, clothes, shoes, lubricant, wipes and various stuff. The race provides food, but sometimes it can get so crowded around the aid stations and there is no time to eat. Also the food the race provided many times would not be sufficient. As a runner, we learn to bring our own. The race provided food is supplemental only. I learned this the hard way last year. It is not that their food is not good or deficient, but that their purpose is to feed a lot of people in shortest amount of time, so it means to keep portions super small (finger food). The solution is to get a doggie bag and fill it up!
The night settled in. I slept in the back of my car. It is a perfect day to sleep under the stars. I brought a tent but too lazy to set it up (and to put in away the next morning). I just climbed on the back of my truck, laid down some yoga mats and blankets and crawled in.
I set an alarm for tomorow 4 AM. I made sure it is AM and not PM. Actually my watch is on military time this year so I will not mess up on the AM/PM thing. Last year, I messed up somehow and my alarm did not go off because I set it to PM. I almost missed the race. It was at the last moment I woke up in time and ran to the start line, which was only few hundred yards away.
I had everything ready this year. Even if I missed my alarm, as long as I could wake up, I could run any time. My hydration pack is filled. My shoes are right next to me. I dressed in the clothes I will be running in and I am sleeping in them. They will be the same set for the next couple days.
There are some annoying bugs. They don’t bite but they are crawling on me and are making me itchy. Soon I will get under my blacket and ignore the bugs.
It got colder at night. Of course the night dew too made things wet. I had a tarp on top of my sleeping bag so it kept my blankets and sleeping bag dry.
As you can see, I didn’t sleep too well. I checked my alarm every hour. Volunteers came a bit before 4 (maybe 3:30). A few early birds showed up and parking people were directing them how/where to park. I was awaken by then.
I didn’t feel groggy. It is race day. I am exicited. Race report will be continued in a later post. (This post was written before I felt asleep and added the morning bit subsequently)
This brings an end of my 5 week streak since Labor Day where every weekend I ran a big race.
Post marathon blue kind of set in this week. I kept it from me since the Iron Mountain 50 mile, after Labor Day. Maybe I did not have time to be sad, when I had the Lake Ridge 12 hour run to do. After that was Pemberton 24 hour 5k, and right after that was Ann Arbor Marathon. Rock n the Knob was somewhere in there. It was just one big event after another. I woke up each weekend and asked what is next. Finally, this week is calming down a bit.
This weekend I had just the Army 10 miler. What could I be stressed out about? Nothing much except for the logistics of getting myself to the race and running on tired legs. I still treated it as a simi big race because I haven’t done a 10 miler for a long time.
What was so crazy right, was I did a long run the day before. I was wondering if I could still run fast the next day. The 26 miles was to stay in shape for my longer race later in the year. The 10 mile though did drain everything from me.
I don’t know what I like better, the Saturday training run or the Sunday race. I guess I like them both together.
I have been trying to up my mileage to 50 miles on the weekend trying to get ready for a 100 miler race in December. This weekend, I started the Stone Mill training series. Don’t worry about all the names I am throwing around. I am using races too as my training runs. Readers will hear a lot about races like Stone Mill and Devil Dog here as the season intensifies.
The training was a “short” 20 mile run long and so I added an extra 6 miles at the end to make it a 26 miles just for the fun of it, and to brag I did a marathon again. My take is, my body can do a marathon every weekend.
I was tired from it, indeed. The run started early at 7:30 and I had to be up before 6 to get ready. I think I set my alarm at 5:30 or something. It was god early hour. I did not want to get up. Normally I don’t get up this early for anything. but for a run? You bet, I didn’t want to miss the run.
The training run was easy the first 13 miles. I ran with a friend who kept me on a nice easy pace. We were behind an older gentleman who looks like he is in his 60s or more. Not really that old when compare to my age. He was leading the pack for the first 4 miles until his pace started to lag and people started to pass him.
My friend stayed with him. I personally wanted to pass the guy, but for the sake of my friend I stayed back too. My friend will be doing the Stone Mill 50. It will be his first, but it will be my third. I have a bunch of 50 milers under my belt. The trails are not unfarmiliar to me since I also ran the Seneca Greenway 50k there too annually, which uses almost the same course.
I was pretty sure my friend could run faster. He finished his first 50 miler last year around 10 hours, while I’m still trying to bust my butt to make it under 12 hours. Soon the older gentleman stopped and turned back (our run was an out and back). My friend and I wanted at least another 5 miles, and we continued on. By mile 10, my friend turned around. There was another runner with us (Jackie), so my friend wasn’t alone. I didn’t want him to get lost. I wanted some more miles by myself.
I stayed on the Seneca Greenway for 3 more miles and then ran along a road south to the Seneca Ridge Trail. I took Seneca Ridge back to Rifleford where I separated from my friend earlier. But it was a slow march back for me especially without a companion. I did not get back until after 2 pm. Hours after I was supposed to be back. The last mile crushed me. I like this kind of exhaustion training though. I like runs where I just lay everything down and had nothing left to give.
What does my run have to do with what I am about to tell next? Nothing really. I just like flexing.
The next day, getting up for the Army Ten Miler was hard. I had to get up even earlier so as to be out of the house by 6 am. The race did not start until 8, but knowing I would be fighting for a parking spot with 20,000+ other cars, I had to be there early. I was right. Roads were closed by 5:30. Google map estimated driving time was way off. Luckily, Google map was aware of the road closures and was able to direct me around them. The remaining open roads were congested (at least for those who used Google map and such). We had to make a few big detours.
I headed south away from the Pentagon where to race was to be held and looked for a parking in Crystal City. Off topic, they renamed part of the area as Capital Landing for where the Amazon HQ2 is located (new to me) — also Crystal City shopping area has become a ghost town to my disappointment.
I took a long stroll (maybe 2 miles), from my parking to the Pentagon — but we followed a wrong crowd who wanted to see the sunrise and so we all ended taking a long way to get to the Pentagon. Normally, they say it would be about a half mile walk. The walk became a good warm up.
I got to my corral in time, maybe about 30 minutes prior to the start. We saw the paratroopers landed as we were arriving at the pentagon and we made it before the singing of the national anthem. There was the helicopter (I don’t know the model) fly-by.
I was assigned to the fourth wave. It was not bad. I think it was right for my pace. Though during that morning, I had no idea whether I was with the right crowd or not since when I went to pick up my bib, they asked me to pick a color and I randomly picked blue. I did not know that each color corresponds to our pace. I was aiming for a 1:40:00 run, a 10 min mile pace.
The first mile, I did it in 10:05. It was about the right pace. I was a bit behind the pace needed for the 1:40 finish but I did not let that worry me.
Generally everyone run their fastest on the first mile. I think I did too. My left back side started to have stitches from the lack of oxygen and from the lactic acid build up. I always had them in weird places (most people have them in the front). They made me hard to breath as with each inhale my back was hurting. I continued to press the fast pace until the pain was gone. There was a guy in front holding a big the flag and I used him as my target. By mile 2, I passed him.
Because we ran with a lot of people, there were a lot of faster people in the rear and they caught up and passed me all during the race. I passed many people in the front of me too. I don’t think I was slow.
When each wave started, they fired off the cannon (not sure what gun, probably a howitzer). I was keeping track of the sound. We could hear the cannon blast through out the course. Those people from the back waves surged up to us.
I was trying to find the gap between my wave and the immediate wave before us. We had a seven minute separation, so in theory, there should be a gap. I never was able to find that dead space. I think over time, the space was filled in. There were always people around me.
I tried to look at the bib color. I started with the light blue bib crowd. The white bibs were the wave behind me. Green and red were ones ahead. The yellow (gold) bibs were for the fastest runners. There were no exclusive elite runners as with the Cherry Blossom Ten Miller. The elite runners join in with the gold bibs.
Supposingly we were seeded into our wave based on our predicted finishing time. They want the fast people to line up in the front and the slower people in the back. During the race, all the color were mixed up. I saw many of the supposingly slower people ran fast and sped their way to the front. The front crowd supposingly the fast people were dropping back and I passed so many of them. I caught up with a lot of the green and red bibs people. This usually means someone lied about their estimated time or they were really clueless and might have used their 5K time to estimate their pace.
How did I do? I finished around 1:29:45. I think 1:20 was my fastest 10 miler ever. Not a bad time. I was aiming for a 1:40 finish. I must have gotten a bit faster after the first mile. Indeed, after checking the 5 mile split, 10k split, and 15k split, each time I was a second or two faster. I was averaging a 9 min mile pace. My first mile was probably my slowest mile of 10:05.
I believe I had enough breath to sustain me on my run. I was kind of sad about the race not being a half marathon, so I could run longer. No point in the race was I out of breath. Somehow though I was not able to push myself hard enough to run faster. I hit a sweet spot of a 9 min pace and hang on to it most of the race. I tried to go a bit faster but was unable to do it. Not sure if my leg muscles were not strong enough or what was holding me back.
I ran this race when I was 18. I did not remember much about that run, only that I woke up very early ran it and we had to leave as soon as possible to get back to our college. I did not have a car back then, so when people I was carpooling left, I left too. I tried to look up my 18 y.o. time, but it was no longer available online.
The experience this time was fuller. It also gave me a perspective that this race overlapped the same course as the Marine Corps Marathon (MCM) and it is a blessing for us locals to test run our race strategy for the Marine Corps using this race. Note, MCM will be taking place on the last weekend in October, a couple weeks from now. It is a big race for us in the area. Light went up as to why some people ran this. Why did I not think of this when I was training for the MCM a few years ago? I am not running the MCM this year, but I defer it to next year, so the Ten Miler is not helping me much.
I stayed till 12:30-ish and went for lunch at the Pentagon City Mall because Crystal City mall was kind of dead. I actually walked to Crystal City first, but did not find anything appealling before going to Pentagon City Mall. I remissed on the memories from my first run even though they were hazy and I don’t remember much.
Another year, another week and another race report – It was my third time running and third race this fall season! I’m not jaded by it yet. I love fall! (year1, year2)
As if readers haven’t realized, I am hitting my races in full strides this season. This one Rock-n-the Knob is one of the hardest marathons in Pennsylvania and might be the hardest on the east coast. Couple weeks ago I was at Virginia highest peak (Mt Rogers, not literally but was in the area of Skull Gap and Grayson Highlands, while running the Iron Mountain event) and this week, I had the chance of being on Pennsylvania 2nd highest peak (Blue Knob Mnt). This stuff doesn’t mean anything to me, but they are bragging points to show how badass my races were. This time I had 7000 ft in 26.5 miles with most of the elevation at the tail end. Backloading the run. I was looking for hard races for a reason to prepare myself for my December Devil Dog 100.
I enjoyed it for the challenge as well as the over all fun of running. I met old friends, made new ones, camped out. It was a lot of work but it was a beautiful weekend and well worth it. Thank you for all the food afterward too. Food was a bonus. My non-running friends asked me why I run so much, that’s why. I enjoy it.
This course ran like a 50k. The first place male finisher finished it just under 5 hours. Female first place was around 6:30. My time was 8 hours. My 50k normally takes around 6-7 hours. You can say this is harder than a 50k.
Coming in with the prior years experience, I learned to start slow, real slow. Last year I started still too fast and choked at halfway. This year was a lot easier for me to run. The climbs were still tough. I ended with sore ankles, quads, hip, and everywhere. Running hurts my shoulders too! I guess I ran while hunching over. They are the good pain mostly. Non runners were asking why!? Why put ourselves through the suffering. Somehow, they will prepare me for my next run. A lesson: no matter how hard I ran the week before, you only get a quality work out like this race, by doing hard runs. This was a hard run! A run I really need for — The Devil Dog.
We have a field of about 50 starters, and this was fewer than last year. A Small group. This year, I was the last person (third to last) by the time I got onto the trail. Everyone had left me, unlike previous years when everyone seemed to be in my way. (I think I said the same thing last year). I couldn’t believe I was slower or people were faster.
I ran for a long time by myself. It did not bother me. Oh, I found an iPhone, one of the newer ones (iPhone 13 or 14). A runner before me actually spotted it but she did not know what to do and was going leave it back on the trail. Someone called out to take it to the Aid Station, so I picked it up. Apparently it was dropped by one of the fast runners. He came back for it later on, like 15 minutes later. I was glad I did not have to lug the heavy phone for 6 miles to the first aid station. Not sure if he got on the podium later. He said, he would have dropped from the race if he couldn’t find it. I glad I did a good deed. I overheard him of being with the third place runner.
By the 3rd mile, I saw the first guy I could pass (Sean). He is a big guy but he was limble as well as powerful on his feet and he out ran me on downhills and such. To me, he look like three or four times my size, yet he was pushing up and flying on down hills. I always have the image of an (American) football player doing ballerina on the trail. What a sight. I was thinking how on earth he could move and moving so well. He passed me like a freight train. However, Over time though I reeled him in. I had no doubt I could pass him.
I caught up. He passed me back, but I waited till for another uphill and I was sure I could pass him for good. In front of him was a runner having bib 304. She was the last year last runner. She started walking on the flat portions. Soon I passed her too as my pace was still strong. I believe at this point in the race, you could walk to finish a 9-hr marathon, but you have to walk fast!
After her were two faster ladies. We pushed our way to the first Aid Station (AS) together. At the AS, I learned from my recent ultra races to be quick! I was in and out in no time. If you can’t beat a runner on the trail beat them at the AS transition. Be faster than them going out. I was out before the two women. They were still chatting from behind but they did not catch right up. One later did catch up to me, but she seemed to overly exerted herself. If you get a good head start, they might not able to catch back up.
Ahead of me were a couple. It seemed the guy was pacing the lady. I reeled them in slowly, gaining on them at every uphill over the next two miles. Soon I was close enough and they let me pass at one of the hills. Some asked why I did not pass them the moment I saw them?
One of the ladies from behind caught up and kind of ask why I did not pass the couple. My reasoning was, if they provide me a good pace, (pacing) why destroy that relationship or the pace. If it is not broken don’t fix it. If you follow someone long enough you will realize whether they could provide a steady pace or not. If they could, then use them. See, if I passed them too early, they would be strong enough to overtake me again. It would be a competition of passing one another. It wastes a lot of effort. I could end up draining myself. However, if they have relatively the same pace as me, then let them lead. Then I could follow and I could go at the pace I want without doubting if I were going fast enough for people from behind.
This couple though were able to stay on my heels till Quitter Row AS (final 10k). They were strong runners. Actually, I did not know they were behind me till we came into Quitter Row together. And that was at mile 20. They followed me for over 15 miles. Lesson: I thought I was smart in using people but people ended up using me right back!
After passing them, I came to Brian and a 65 year old guy. They are stronger runners than those I passed. Of course. I was now with seasoned runners. So I chased them for couple of miles and was not being able to pass easily. This portion had the first big uphill “Teal is Real”. Soon we came to the 2nd AS at Pavia. Dang, both of them were super quick with the transitioning too. I thought I was good but they bested me. It seemed they didn’t need much of anything. They beated me out the station. When you are competing with a 65 y.o., they are experts at reducing every wasted second on the clock. Brian was nice to say goodbye and said he will see me in a bit. He knew I could catch up.
It was on downhill but still took me a while to catch up to them. They were only a minute or two ahead, yet they were far enough. I was not able to pass them because they were strong runners. I learned Brian was the same guy I encountered last year at the creek (where I threw up, “I nettle do it again/Beaver Dam”) and he gave me the needed encouragement to get me back on track and to finish the race. Last year, he ended up not making the cut himself to finish the last 10k of the course. Memories from that race came in. Brian talked a lot.
On one hand, learning that he did not make the cutoff had me a bit worried since today I was running at his pace. However the 65 year old guy said he finished around 8 hours and that boosted my confident a bit that I was with the right crowd. This was their third time too. I felt likely, we were faster than last year at that point in time.
We arrived at Raven Rest (AS3) (not sure it it should be Raven Nest). After this, we had the hardest and longest climb in my opinion. I beated them on a climb and so arrived a little early and got out the AS before them this time around. I grabbed a bag of food-to-go I thought was a bag of chips and accidentally took all the station’s fish crackers with me. Sorry! Some might think that was a strat, but I did not mean to.
I have gained a couple minutes. I could hear them talking in the back. Brian found a snake. In my mind, good. Go check out the snake and let me get couple more minutes ahead of them. He did. I saw him stopping and peeking to the woods. I did not see them again till Quitter Row (AS 5).
By mile 15-17, we started to catch some half marathoners. This is always what I like to do. We are doing the full with an hour headstart but we ran 10k more by this time, by catching up to the half marathoners made me feel I was back on the course pace. The half marathons we passed were all walking, whether uphills or downhills.
Brian commented that the half marathon’s sweeper was here at this point in the race last year as they made this climb. So we were earlier than the sweeper this year as the sweeper was no where in sight (the sweeper is my friend Aaron, and he was sweeping again this year). We had two hours to get to the next station at Heavenly Hairpins. I pushed ahead. The climb was tough but it was not like last year when I was seeing spinning stars and blacking out and then throwing up from heat exhaustion. This year, I was only sweating profusely. I made sure I continued to drink and eat my fish crackers. I got the whole bag of them. I reached to the Heavenly Hairpins AS, with an hour to spare. There I caught up with more half marathoners and a couple of the marathoners. It made me happy, I felt I caught up to the bulk of the race by now and no longer in the tailend group. I was leading them. Being in the tailend had me worry about being cut. Now I was with the good crowd. We were only 2.5 miles away from Quitter Row and I was an hour well ahead of the final cutoff.
An overlook, I think we are at the highest knob in PA if not the second highest
These two miles were probably the most fun in the entire race. We got to run down a ski slope and ran back up and then ran down a probably black diamond rated slope. It was too steep even to stand on, not sure how people ski down it. I remembered the first year, I had to slide down on my butt. Then we had to climb back up on the scrambling trail, which was not really a trail (I need a sherpa) but more like mountain climbing back up on your hands and knees. I was wearing road shoes that had the treads worn down, so it was super exciting trying to get a grip of the trail.
ski lift. We would be at the bottom somewhere. It doesn’t look too steep until you have to climb back up
We reached the Quitter Row AS. This was the race “last” cutoff. I was still an hour ahead. It was named such because here is the place if you want to quit, you could because this was the start/finish for the race and it is tempting to do so. I came in with a runner, and he said he was feeling nauseated. We had him sat down. I told him, no need to rush out, but try resetting and when he is ready go out again for the final 10K, do it. I told him last year, I was there till the cutoff, and still had two hours to do a 10K and I finished the race. Finishing at this point is doable.
However, he was young and inexperienced. I asked if his crew/family is there, he said yes, I handed him off to his wife. However, she seemed to be unprepared to help him, only told him about don’t quit. They were standing around. I understood no crewing or pacing in this race, but I know the race rules could be bend a bit. If a runner needed help, go help!
In my mind, he should be given a chair, and wrap in a towel, get him warm up or cool down, freshen up, take care of his food/water/feet or whatever, then get him back out. He himself did not know what to ask either. I would ask for a gatorade. Get some fluid in him. Reset his system.
He ended up dropping. I had no time to evaluate his condition, so I did not encourage or wait on him to go back out, since I didn’t want him to stuck with 6 miles feeling miserable out there. He had to make that choice himself. If he was more direct (assertive) and committed, I would be more than willing to help him as I did last year with Jenn. Personally, I felt if he reset himself, and with a pacer, he would definitely finish it.
I had three hours to do the final portion so even if I walk, I would still be finishing the race. As I ran, I thought back on the last year race. Jenn and I were so strong here. We blasted out the station and then flying down hills on this portion last year. This time, I was by myself and I was taking my time. There was a group of 5-6 behind me but I was always leading them. They were within earshot but I couldn’t see them. I could hear them but they were usually a good distance away to pass me. I got to Throat Punch AS. I swallowed some chocolate covered coffee beans and off I went. Three time the volunteers cheered me as they thought I was about to set off and each time I ended staying some more for their food. I stayed a bit longer here because I knew a tough climb ahead. I did not set off until I heard the group pack being near and there were cheering in the back. Off I went with a bunch of coffee beans in my mouth.
I had maybe couple more miles to go and it was mostly an uphill climb back to Blue Knob where we would finish. The climb was much easier than I remembered. Granted this year, I was not cramping up like last year while scrambling up. I got through the Soul Sucker. I had cramps earlier while descending to Throat Punch, but now they were under control. Also I got plenty of energy from the AS to prep for the climb. I also did not have to wait for my partner like last year, when I waited 4-5 mins at every hill for Jenn. My only concern was to hold off the “wolf” pack that was chasing me. It was mostly for pride. I don’t mind if they beat me up the hill, but I hoped to do better than them.
Cadillac Alley – the sign there Cadillac parking only…someone (a druggie) got his Cadillac up on the trail, and no tow company would go out to get it back down. It’s been there since last year
The finish was anticlimatic. I got to the top with 15 minutes left on my target finish time. My closest competitor was maybe 5 minutes ahead, and I could not close in. There was maybe a mile of trail left. Soon I saw the road and I sprinted in, finishing before the 8 hour mark.
The rest of the afternoon was waiting for the rest of the pack to finish. I thought they were on my heels. The 65 y.o. guy came in like 10 minutes after me, which is still quite close. I couldn’t go to greet him because I had awful cramps in both legs for an hour or so. Finally a fellow runner helped me on my feet and my cramping then was gone. I felt much better, I could run and move again. I then was able to change into my clean clothes and had a good meal as well as join in the celebration with the rest of the runners.
The group that was chasing me came in spreading over the last hour. During the run, I felt they were on my heels. Some took my advice of not rushing the final 10k. I remember everyone I passed. It was good to cheer them as they came in.
Sean, the big guy showed up on the road with less than 2 minutes left on the clock. Seriously, I did not expect him to finish but he did. We saw him with the sweeper from far away. Everyone jumped up and rushed to the finishing chute cheering. We were hoping he would arrive before 5 pm, when the race would close. We were on edge whether he would he make it. Sean was splinting to the end with the sweeper right behind. He made it in as the final second on the clock expired. (They actually turned off the clock ahead of 5 pm, and so some were wondering if he made it in). He did. He earned it.
Take away – Why do I love running, going on trip, and doing these kinds of things every weekend? The full answer deserve a blog post, but the short version is, because I love it. It is exciting. It gives me a story to tell. To me, it is a good experience. I reread my last two year posts. Weird my memory has changed a bit even though I can remember a race for a long time and relive them. Even if I forget, I have it written down here. If it is not too boring, I might attempt to write a longer version.
TLDR – a 12h endurance run at Claytor Lake. My second year
Fall season is here and I can run as much as I want! This past weekend I went to Claytor Lake in Dublin, VA and ran a 12 hour event. They had a 6, 12, and 24 hour event. Last year I signed up for the 6 hour and while doing it, I didn’t want to stop and bumped it to the 12 hour event.
This year, I figured the 12 hour was just right event for me too. Indeed. I know I could do the 24 hour, but it would take a lot out of me – mental as well as physical toll. 12 hours were just fun. I was happy I chose it.
Those interested in reading about last year race can find my report (here) for comparison. It was fun both years.
Coming back for a second year, I knew what to expect. We ran on the same set of trails. For some reason the course felt shorter, but it was still 4 mile ish, maybe 4.2 miles. They mowed part of the trail and it took me like 5-6 loops to figure out what was changed. Because I remembered there was a part where the grass tickled my feet toward the end. There were none this year. Then it was an aha moment.
This time, I started in the day time, at 1 pm instead of 7 pm, so I became more familiar with the trail by nightfall and had every roots and rocks memorized. Last year, I only had one loop in before darkness and I kept hitting all the rocks and roots and I did not know how to avoid them, which was a fun challenge in a way. I remember how I chose running on one side and then another side, and then right in the middle, and yet I still stumbled. I tried to find which option had the least amount of rock kicking.
Not this year. There were no rocks. At least I did not trip on any. Maybe having done the MMT and fresh off the Iron Mountain, this course is childplay. This year was easy, I could partically run it without looking. I definitely grew more confident running on trails. Last year I was a dummy for wearing a headlamp that was not bright enough to see anything. I still wear the same one, but there was no need for me to see the trail this year. Really! I knew it by heart.
This was an advantage to me when it got dark, I could still keep up my pace as if it were day time. The last three laps toward the end, I could push my pace more aggressively and got my last loop in before the time expired for 48 miles. The race timing person, commented of how fast my last lap time was (47 minutes, might have been the fastest if not the second fastest lap) and I even got lost for couple minutes because I missed a turn and had to backtrack and retrace my steps.
When I was on my 7th lap, I was telling myself I would be fine if I reached 40 miles and called it a night. At that time, I was not having much fun, because of the rain and I was sick. Later, I saw I could make 48 if I do one more lap, and I had to try it with only 65 minutes left on the clock. And I did it. It was also thank to a guy/lady who was within earshot behind me, and I felt I was chased by this ghost. I did not get to see the person because I was afraid to turn around.
There were a couple “curved balls” thrown at me in this year race. Before we arrived, the RD (race director) sent us a last minute email, telling us to expect rain and lot of it. It started raining after our first loop. It got harder and a bit harder as time went on. I did not like it but soon got used to it. We had to deal with it. There were times when I was cold. The temperature stayed steady at 65 F, which generally is a good temperature for running, but when I stopped I felt cold quickly. Later the rain stopped. It remained such till we finished. I felt humid and hot without the rain during the night. The rain was both a blessing and a bane. Over all I was glad. Interesting how the temperature stayed the same but I went through both heat and cold.
The rain though made the trail wet, muddy, and slippery. I had to change socks, clothes shoes a couple times. I brought plenty sets of clothes to change. They came in handy. I kept my feet blister free. The RD (race director) commented how each lap runners kept changing clothes that it was funny to not being able to tell who is who. It was like we were playing a trick on the race director. We were bib/chip-timed so, recording our laps was not an issue.
The second difficulty I had was as I started into my secound lap, my stomach started hurting. Again, this is the third week in a row, while running I started to have diarrhea. By the third loop, I had to stop and use the bathroom, which took about 10 minutes off my clock. Luckily I reached the bathroom in time. By the fifth loop my pain came back, this time I couldn’t make it back to the bathroom. I was still couple miles away, and I prayed dear don’t make a mess. I couldn’t hold it and stuff started flowing out from the backside and flowing down my legs. Yucky. It mixed in with the rain and mud. Maybe my imagination, but that when it rained the hardest. It was a hot mess. my legs were covered with what looked just like mud, but I knew, they were not mud. Yuck indeed! On my last too runs two weeks ago, I prayed don’t let me encounter this situation out in the woods and here go, right in the middle of the race.
I had to use leaves to clean up and then ran as fast as I could to back to my car. I did not carry toilet paper on me this time. It wouldn’t have helped because of the rain. Luckily I had everything ready since I planned to camp out later. I brough extra sets of clothes and everything. We had a shower room so I rushed into the shower with my toiletry to clean everything up. This took about 20 minutes off the clock. I also hugged the toilet to get everything completely out of my system. I think the RD thought I was seriously ill (or throwing up the food he gave me earlier). I came out with new clothes, shorts, socks, shoes, jacket, completely new and fresh. All the poopy stuff I put them in a ziplock and a trash bag to take home to clean. Now I could race.
I had not figured out what keep giving me an upset stomach week after week. It doesn’t happen while I am at home. I had not narrowed down what is the common denominator. Was it my water bag, the gels I used? Something I touched? What was it? This time it came early in the run. The last two times were late into the run.
Other than that, the run was successful. I did as many loops as last year (48 miles in 12 hours). I had no more weird stuff happening to me. The rest of the run was quiet. It was peaceful and I was in the zone. I was not fast but I was steady with my pace. There were like only 15 of us out on the trail, but we hardly came across another runner. By 1:00 AM almost all of us were finished. Many left since they came from the local areas. I live the farthest, so I stayed. There were a few 24 hour runners still out on the trail. They later took couple hours to sleep too and some started at it again when the morning came. I was a bit too excited to sleep. I had my dinner and watched others coming through the aid station.
Tried as I might to sleep but my body was all spun up. I was restless until morning when a couple more people arrived to run.
We could camp near the start. In the morning, I did one loop on the trail, to honor a recent runner Eliza (from Tennessee) who was murdered while running. Many of my runner friends did a memorial run last Friday, but I couldn’t wake up early that day. I then packed up and waited couple runners to come in before heading home.
Looking ahead, I will be going to PA to do Rock n the Knob, a fun and hard trail marathon. I love the fall, because of racing. My schedule is packed with them. I am in the process of looking for more races to do for next year. Stay tune.
Got to share…and can’t wait till next week or the next day. I just got accepted into the WTF race (waterfall 50K, waterfall is the nickname I think). The race is next weekend.
Telling you guys, this race is old school. They don’t let you know until almost the day of. But it is free! Nothing beat a free ultra. You just got to be ready to run in any condition and at any time…
Zippy! lets go…I did some training in the snow and ice today because we had a snow storm of the century the past week.
I think I am ready to run up and down the 1000 ft frozen waterfall. I was there exactly a year ago when the race was canceled and treaded through ice and freezing river – A scary race. Icy and slippery rocks is no fun. frostbite and wet feet is real…ah let not think about it or else I might back out.
2022 Edition. Part of the tradition is around this time of year, I will reveal my next year race scehdule. couple weeks (Day442) ago, I already hinted/ let it known a few races I already signed up.
3 marathons I signed up were, the Newport News One City, Grandma’s in Minnesota, and Salisbury in Maryland.
My goal as always is to chip away my 50-states goal. Grandma is the target for that And I might likely go down to Atlanta to run theirs. One City and Salisbury are states I already did. They are just races I want to run.
I also, signed up for a 100 miler – Massanutten. It is the big boy race. It will be one that challenges me at the next level. What I mean is I will be running like never before! 2021 was a pop off year, and 2022, definitely the real deal in running if I get Massunutten down.
Other than these, there will be some repeats of 2021 and some volunteering. Some races are not determined yet. Catoctin, Iron Mountain, Rock n the Knob, definitely I want to rerun those. Rim Tahoe, is a new race and is a maybe. It has a lottery and requires traveling. Lake Ridge too is another repeat, I would like to do it on a weekend like I did this year.
Some were deferred races from 2020, such as the Marine Corps, Rock -n- Roll, and the Richmond Marathon. I also want to run the Philadelphia Rocky Fatass, Philadelphia trail marathon and the Devil Dog 100. All these were kind a deferred race from 2020.
By the way, I am kind of on the fence too on Laurel Highlands – a race I ran this year, but I want to run it one more time.
By the way, the live schedule is on the site, and it changes from time to time.
I also as with thousands other runners tossed our names in the lottery for Western States – one of the most coveted races for ultra marathoners. My chance of getting in is like 1:20000. One can only dream that I will make it on first try.
I do plan out my races a year in advance. Kind a. All in all, my races are not much a surprise. My goal (A) Race is probably the Grandma’s Marathon and maybe Massanutten.
~~~2022~~~
Marathon Goal: MN
(Dec/Jan) (doubtful) Holaday Lake?, VA
(Mar. 5-6) (reg’d) One City Marathon, Newport News, Va (race is on Sunday). Check back in Sept.
(March 26?) (likely) DC Rock n Roll Half. reg is open
(April 2) (Reg’d) Salisbury Marathon, MD, sign up is open ($85)
(May 14) (reg’d) MMT 100. Definitely
(Jun 4) (volunteering) 1st Weekend. 100k. Worlds End, PA. Should consider running it. very difficult. might defer to 2023
June 18, 2022: (reg’d) Grandma’s Marathon, MN. travel required
Jul 9. (likely) Catoctin 50k. Real deal this year. reg open Jan 1.
Jul 16-17. (considering) (Hyped) Tahoe Rim Trail (TRTer) 100/50. reg lottery open is in Dec 5. Drawing Jan 1, Stroke to sign up. race is on Sat. 8 hr trail work req for 100Mi. Travel.
(Sep 5) (considering/likely) Iron Mnt Ultra 50 – IMTR, labor day weekend. Don’t miss reg Jun 1.
(Sep 12) (considering/probably) (Claytor Lake) Lake Ridge Endurance Run – 24 hr? defending my title 😉
(Sep 25) (considering/but not likely) Pemberton 24x5K, Friday 7:00 pm – Sat 7:00pm. Reg open on April 28. only if i get in.
(Oct 25) (reg’d/but need confirm, deferred from 2020 & 2021) MCM 50K, again! 6 hr is course limit. Need to re-reg in April.
(Nov 13, 2022) (reg’d/but need confirm, deferred from 2020 and 2021)Richmond Marathon. ahhh, going to be intense
(Dec 4): (not likely) Rocky 50 PA Fatass. http://www.rocky50k.com/. Always been considering, 1st of Dec
(Dec 4) (Considering the 100M)Devil Dog 100K/100MI, Triangle, VA. As such this or Yetti. The full monty (race reg opens on July 4)
Be thankful, I say. I ran and finished the Iron Mnt Trail Race (IMTR). I did the 40 miles this time. Actually it was my first time though probably won’t be my last. I signed up for the race in 2019, but I got sick that year (caught Lyme Disease) and did not make it to the start – I could barely walk a mile at the time. Last year, the race was canceled due to Covid19 pandemic. Finally, here I was I ran and crossed the finish line in decent time. It was an almost perfect race.
I like races where I struggle and overcome what seems to be unimaginable challenge. I guess readers would like such stories too. This one was not like that
For me the IMTR was too perfect, like a fairy tale. I did not struggle much. It was too easy and I was a bit underwhelmed when I crossed the finish line. It was like that is it? That is the end?
Granted I did not run the 50 mile event but the 40 miler. It might have been different if I had done that. 40 though was a magnitude easier, at least for me.
In the end I have to be thankful. This race has been something I dreaded. It has been on my schedule for so long. I actually wanted to test myself on it. I have been good at marathons. This year I have done a few 50 mile distances. However, when it comes to trail running, I am still a pretty poor runner, meaning I usually finish near last. Placement does not bother me, but I want to do better and I also do not want to be cut from a race. IMTR was to face that fear of doing a race on a technical course in a longer distance event than I am comfortable with.
To tell the truth, I enjoyed the two training runs (hosted by the race director) more than the race itself. Maybe, during the training run, running in the hot sun was much harder (and I did not finish my distance that time but had to cut short the training). Also, I had to keep up with the faster people who came out to the training. Lastly, it was a smaller group, and we were kind of know each other, having been on the trail for 5-6 hours together, whereas at the race, there were couple hundreds and everyone was too intensely focused in their own race.
The race though was like strolling for me. I was not in a hurry. The weather was nice and temperature was like 15-20 degrees cooler. Most people run better in the cold than in the heat.
I ran a fast start since the first portion was flat and on a paved bike trail (the Virginia Creeper Trail). It went rather well. It was probably a little too fast that had me bonking a few miles later when I hit the mountain. I’m not blaming it, it just turned out that way. I did not really come into a race with a strategy except to run and finish before the cutoff. I was pretty sure I would make the cut.
The next 10 ish miles were truly on the mountain – mostly climbing on a single track trail to Iron Mountain (?). There were quite a few climbings. My body became a bit exhausted. I was out of breath, and people then were passing me right and left by then.
One of the runners (E/moon, her trail name) caught up to me. We were on the struggle bus. Mostly she was one telling she was bonking. As a competitor, we (I) shouldn’t share about our weaknesses while on the course. But sometimes, it helps to admit the reality. I told her too I was having trouble with my race, though giving up on a race was out of the question for me, but apparently it was a real possibilty for her. When we reached the Aid Station at mile 15 (Skull Gap), her face was green and she almost turned in her bib. She later credited me for getting her through and back out the station. I didn’t know if I said anything encouraging. I was just waiting on her – like hurry up lady.
We pretty much hang together to the next station. By mile 21, I knew I got the race in the bag. there was no way I would be cut and not finish. We were on pace to finish within 10 hours even though we were not moving that fast (and 1 hour ahead there and I was expecting 2 hrs ahead of the final cut off). We mostly walked all the hills and gently ran all the flats and downhills. E said she would be moving slower in the second half.
She shared about her last 41-mile run she did couple months ago and it took her 14 hours, she thinks this race would be the same as that. She and her friend were attempting the Scar Challenge at The Smoky Natl Park. I told her I was there too that July 4th weekend. I did 65 miles over like 3-4 days. They were attempting 70-ish miles in 24 hours, but she dropped about 41 miles into the event. We got excited sharing our past adventures – at least I did. We might have passed each other at Smokies.
She was very strong in attacking hills. I was more a downhill specialist as a city boy. I love flying downhills. Well, I tried to run as fast as I could – because going downhill is easy for me – you just have to watch where you step. It is like water flowing down the hill.
We pretty much ran the rest of the race together. There were probably only 60 of us on the whole course for the 40/50 mile distance. We did not see anyone else after the start until halfway when we finally were able to pick people off. We were able to pick up speed in the second half and caught up to a few other runners. This was a relief to me because it meant we were not lost or last. This was the kind of racing I like – to catch up to people and passing them as fast as possible. I did not say that to E but she was good at passing runners. I didn’t check, but we might have done a reverse split on this ultra – the runner’s holy grail to run the second half of a race faster than the first half.
For her though, she likes the views. There were not any vistas but she likes the foliage and the moss and the ferns, and the light and shadows on the trail. She pointed those out to me as we passed them and indeed it was a very nice day for running. The course is beautiful if only you know where to look (and appreciate) otherwise it is like any other trails. The weather was much better than when I did my training runs there couple weeks earlier.
The rest of the race was uneventful. E/moon asked me to pass ahead of her a few times. In the end, on the final 8 miles, I did. No longer holding back, and it was downhill. She hinted that she was not going to die and risk her life running down the hardest part of race. I trained there before and by now I was not afraid of the last few of the steep hills. In fact, I love it. I reached the finish line and was about to go back out looking for her but she was only just a bit behind me and finished it under 10 hours too, reaching her goal. Her goal became my goal as well.
One benefit of the race was to prepare me for the next one. I will have a big one in November. I need some technical hard trails to train on. This race was perfect for that. As advice to future runners of IMTR, go to the trainning runs. The race was not hard with some practice, but the weather plays a big part. Finally, there was a cookout at the end. I see myself doing this race year after year.
In awe 