In awe

Tag: volunteer

  • [617] Surprise 3rd winter storm (the Reverse Ring)

    The Ring and the Reverse Ring. Those who are in the know know. It is not a secret but the Ring and the Reverse Ring is like a secret club run. I think because it is hard and very few people do it. It ends up as a clique thing.

    First, it has certain entry requirements especially for the Reverse Ring.  Runners cannot sign up unless they did the Ring (summer version first).

    Typically, you are looking at a dozen of so runners and some years there were just a handful.  When you finish, your name is written forever on tge club page and you are part of the fellowship of the Ring. It is like being in a selective club. The Reverse Ring they say is harder, though it is on the same course but run in the reverse direction (counterclockwise).

    About the course, it is 100% on the Massanutten Trail. This trail is the central to many of the club runs with the most notably, the Massanutten 100, the 100 miler everyone knows and loves.  The Ring only runs about 70 miles (71) on it, the northern half. You would think that would be easier for those who have done the 100 mile version to do this one.  Maybe is true, but there is less fanfare about the Ring, so maybe runners are not seriously as prepared to run it as in the 100 miler.

    I myself truly did not know for I have never done it. Like most races from the Virginia Happy people, I’ve heard of the Ring in passing but once come to running in it, it gets tricky in the signing up process. I usually don’t pay attention to when it is open for signup and usually a lowly club event falls off from my radar.

    Thankfully the MMT 100 signup has moved to the normal website (ultrasignup) and thus, I was able to run it the last two years.

    The Ring is the free version, a fatass they call it.  Maybe because it is free, not many people sign up to run it.

    Those who have done it love it.  It is their Orange trail. Orange because the trail is blazed with orange color paint.  I heard of the Orange trail etc.  It is rocky and difficult. Those who did it always complain that they hate it but always will come back next year for more.

    This year was doubly hard because in the middle of the event we had a surprise winter storm (snow) on the mountain.  The race/run continued.

    I had a free weekend. The two RDs for the Reverse Ring sent out a call for volunteers.  It was their first time in charge.  We had an unusual high number of participants (30+ signed up), 24 toed the start, but only about 10 finished.

    I was put my name to join the first Aid Station at Woodstock Tower which was about 13-15 miles in the race.  The race started at 6 am.  I was at my station by 7.  We had a bit of time before the first runner showed up, which was predicted to be around 8:10.  Daisy and Jesse (the two RDs) said, let’s climb the Woodstock Tower since none of us never been up there.  I always wondered in the past when I ran by it during my race or training run, exactly what’s the view is up there. Curiosity got better of us.

    Lookout from Woodstock Tower, facing east

    All three of us were scare of height and we quickly descended once we took some bragging selfies. 

    The First runner arrived right on the dot at 8:11/8:12. (He will be at the Western States 100).  He was sure fast.  Carl, another fast runner came not long after.  Then there were a trickle of runners.  Lastly all my slower friends came in, including, Wayne, Jamie, Q, and Carol.  These were people I often get to run with.

    Our AS was the first one so there was very little for us to do to help runners.  All were happy people.  Also the time spread from the first to the last runners were still kind of close, about two hours apart unlike at the later stations, which could be as long as 12 hours. We were done by 10:30 in the morning.

    I had the rest of the day to myself, so I decided to drive about 45 minutes down Fort Valley Road to Camp Roosevelt (Camp Roo as it is known among us).  This is the last crew station and final cutoff at their mile 50.  It was still early and the aid station at Camp Roo had not set up yet. 

    I then went out for a run, decided to head up to Kerns Mountain intended to do my MMT 3rd training run.  It would take about 12 hours for me to tackle this 35 mile run.  Little did I know the weather had other idea.

    I got on Orange around 11 am.  Went down toward Duncan Knob. Duncan Hollow was as muddy as ever. Took Blue trail and climb up on Gap Creek.  From Gap Creek to the little bridge, crossed over Crisman Hollow Rd and climbed Jaw Bone.  Then I realized my mistake of not bringing a rain jacket or winter clothes because it started raining and quickly turned into snow.  Soon before I reached Kerns Mnt, the trail started turning white. I heard later it was at least 4 inches.

    Trail turning white.

    The trail was completely covered. There was no longer any rock seen. It was slip and slide.  A few runners from the Ring run caught up to me.  The front runners (1-4) already had been through but these who were passing me also are pretty good runners and they were battling the element (Justin, Jaque and Luc).

    I was glad the trial finally ended for me once I got back on Crisman Hollow Rd.  The runners who were doing the Ring, they had to descend the Waterfall trail which was notorious steep.  No thanks for me.  I took the Road back to Camp Roo.  The Road portion is same for MMT 100 and Old Dominion 100 (to Four Point AS).  I have never ran from here to Camp Roo before so it was a good run for me.  It was about 8 miles back.  I was happy to be back.

    Bird Knob was my original plan after Kerns Mountain but with the snow, no way would I want to ascend Bird Knob.

    I stayed at Camp Roo from 5 to closing at 10pm.  The three runners I met eventually made it to Camp Roo and they also called quit after arriving.  I took the honor to drive them back to the start at Signal Knob.

    A side story, was I became kind of sick afterward.  The mountain road of the Fort Valley Road made my head dizzy.  I made it back to camp Roo around 8/9 o clock but I was feeling dizzy.  Wayne came in.  I helped him with what he needed.  He stayed about half an hour before heading back out. They were asking me if I would accompany him (pacing).  I would but I was kind of sick so I turned it down.  He did fine without me any way and finished. 

    Jamie came in.  Her friend Larry helped her and paced her through the night. 

    John H and John C came in. Nick too. These were the final runners. John H decided  it was enough of Orange for him. John C and Nick were cold. They also stayed a while at the camp fire to warm up. Someone donated a jacket to John and thank God, that got him through the night.

    The Reverse Ring showed grit some runners had.

    I took the easy way. I drove to Signal Knob after the last runner came through. There I slept till 6 am in the morning.  Wayne said he would arrive at 6 am.  I know that was just a prediction.  He came in a little after 7. He was happy as so were other runners, John and Nick and Jamie. They all made it back.

    I was not running in it. I was happy to experience their thrill.  We were tracking them from station to station. 

    On a personal note, once the race was over, Dan, and his wife and I decided to climb the  Signal Knob. It was about a 10 mile to go around. This is my stumping ground so I am pretty familiar. I took the Meneka Peak path. It was an awesome day for me.

    I fnished my short version of the run and was exhausted.  The night sleeping in the car was not fun, but it definitely beat being out on the trail that night.  I heard the temperature was around 24 at the base. With wind chill factoring in and elevation, it might have been in the teens.  Those runners survived the night. Hat off to them. Yes, the winter storm was not in the forecast. It was beautiful nonetheless.  I slept the next 14-16 hours after I got home.  I call that a great weekend.

  • Volunteer at C&O 100 [Day552]

    Not much to report. I have been a zombie lately.

    C&O 100, I didn’t pull to the trigger to run it. I was on the fence. It was risky to do 3x 100 and expect to do well in the MMT. I could but who knows. I know some did do the C&O and would run the MMT too. I just have to be more conservative.

    I don’t regret of sitting out on it. I went instead to volunteer from 1 am to 1 pm on Sunday. It was a hard stretch but satisfying. I got to see the first place came in at 9 pm Saturday night as well as almost everyone finishing. I actually arrived early on Saturday at 6 pm. The kitchen/food crew cooked us dinners (I didn’t eat them since I was not voluntering at the time).

    I was one who handed out most of the medals (buckles). There was no first/second place awards. Everyone got the same prize.

    I helped bind up someone’s feet because of blisters. I guided the person in popping them and then wrapped them up with tapes. The person did finish the race. It was her first time doing a 100 miler. I couldn’t be more pleased. I remembered when I ran my first 100, no one taught me how to deal with blisters. I ended up quiting. I was happy I saved someone’s first 100 race.

    There were couple runners with very ugly blisters. Fortunately, I did not have to deal with them. RD himself helped pop them and blind up the feet. As for another runner, the Aid Station Captain took care. There was a concern that it was poison ivy and not blisters from rubbing against the shoes. We didn’t pop them. Instead, the Aid Station captain sent the person to lie down. The dude finished under 24 hours, and we think it was his body reacting. I think it was his first 100. Not sure what happened to him. The next morning, his feet seemed to not swell any more and seemed to return to normal. Yes, it was very disgusting when they swoll up.

    Another runner came in to the aid station in the middle of the night and her headlamp was out. She asked if anyone has a spare. I gave her mine. Unfortunately, she was not able to make the cutoff the next day and did not finish. She did return me my headlamp.

    Also another runner came into the station very late. By rule, 3:45 am was our cut-off. The person came in at 4 am. Luckily the race director was there during the night shift. He told the guy if he could make it out in 5 mins, he could continue. He did make out within 5 mins. He picked up his pace and made the rest of the cutoffs. He finished. I avoided making the dreaded decision of pulling a guy from the course. In some races, rules are rules, missed the cut-off, means you are out. I missed a cut-off twice, one in MMT and the other at Iron Mountain. Each one was about 15 mins after the time limit. I am not jealous, but sometimes, I wish I could be able to continue on.

    There were many first timers. This was the 10th year for this race. I handed out a 500 mile buckle for those who finished the race 5 times. There was a guy who ran and finished 7 times. I met one who did it 10 times. He was at every single race.

    C&O would have been my first 100. C&O was canceled in 2020 and I feared it would be too for 2021. So I went for Umstead, but Umstead was full, and I signed up for the Rocky Raccoon. So Rocky Raccoon became my first 100. I haven’t had a chance to go back to C&O to run it, just for fun.

    Other news, I signed up to run across Tennessee in a virtual race again. This time we started in New Orleans and we would run to Tennessee along the Trace. It is a well known historic trail. I think it is 444 miles long. I would love to run that some day.

    There is a Trace Trail run (50 miler) in Tennessee. I can’t do it this year due to schedule conflict, but I will try it next year.

    That’s all. Voluntering was a different perspective. I got to talk to many people. I was able to relax at the camp fire. We had bad weather, but as volunteers, we were sheltered under the tents. I was dry most of the time. Runners were not so lucky. I was glad I was not out there running. The race was much harder when it was cold and wet. Some runners though had a lot of fun in the rain it seemed.

    Sleep deprivation didn’t hit me until I was driving home. It was scary. Let just leave it as that.

  • Day424 Worlds End

    A Big weekend – best and much hyped though I would not able to compact and let the world know how great it was.

    I forgot how I got into this but many months ago I responded to a call for volunteering at the Worlds End Ultra.

    Likely it was because my friend was also volunteering in it, I decided to do it. I might have written something about this back then if I care to go back and check.

    I was so looking forward to it and it was everything as hoped. Worlds End 100k was challenging course. Though I was not running it, I felt the intensity. I felt I walk in the field where the very best compete – the real deal of ultra marathons.

    I signed up for sweeping duty at the fifth stage, with a hard cutoff (from mile 35 to 50). There were four other sweepers before me though their cutoffs were not as strictly enforced as mine section. No one could enter my section once I started my sweep. I felt pretty important. I had the night portion from 5 pm to 9 pm, with 9 as the cutoff. They warned me that last year, they couldn’t close the race until everyone was out and they were there till 1:30 – 2 in the morning. They made sure I understand that I should get everyone through that section as quickly as possible (and we were at the most remote place on the course).

    My primary concern…no I had several worries but first was that I was not able to run fast enough. Even though that is impossible but I was afraid there wouldn’t be anyone for me to sweep if I am too slow because these people were strong runners! Second that what if I injured myself on the course and they would have to send a rescue team looking for me instead. On the same vein, what if I got lost! I was afraid I would make a fool myself. Lastly, what if someone got hurt and I was not able to help them. It wouldn’t be wholely my responsibility but still I had a part in getting aid to the person and his/her safety is my responsibility.

    Me being too slow was out of the question. Still like in any races, you wouldn’t know until you do it. I had that butterfly in my stomach feeling before and during my run.

    I got to the course couple hours before my shift. It took me some time to flag down the volunteering coordinator, Tom. He was all over the place and I had no idea how he looked. Luckily I hooked up with my friend and he got me to checked out one of the radio/cell phones for key volunteers to be used for this race. I felt like a VIP carrying one. With that I got a hold of Tom. Tom was one responsible getting me to the right place on the course. It was far away from the start and finish.

    I got to the assigned station with Tom around 4:30. My start time was 5 pm. We saw two ladies leaving the station when we pulled in. I had to wait for exact time to start the sweep. However, no other runners showed up after the two ladies left (anyone showing up after 5 pm would be cut).

    So I started my shift. The first couple miles were all to myself. I was running on pace, actually a bit early. I know I was fast. The course was challenging. I immediately had about 1000 ft drop, like running along an edge of a clift. I didn’t really run but tried to get down to the bottom of the ravine as quickly as possible. It was fun and nerve whacking. This is the real deal, the kind of race I always wanted to do! Though it was not my race, I felt the excitement to be on the course.

    The afternoon was hot. The trail became smooth. There were rocks and stuff and crossings, but nothing too difficult for my fresh pair of legs. I did roll my ankle and F*, I continued on.

    Then came a big climb. Later I found out it might have been one of the hardest climbs. Midway through I caught up with the two ladies. I think I was like 5 minutes ahead of pace.

    Though I knew those two ladies were in trouble for going this slow since they had half hour ahead of me, but still enough time for me to able to catch them. I didn’t actually expect to catch them until like 8-10 miles later, but I caught them like on 2nd mile in.

    So I had a job to do. The runner, Gaby was pretty much tired but she was moving. Her pacer, Karen, was doing all she could. I didn’t have to do much to get them moving. As long as they were moving, my job is done. They were moving on pace.

    I got to say, we stayed on pace until the next Aid Station #8, Dry Run. As we near the station, I picked up another runner. He was in much worse shape. He didn’t speak much, together, we pushed into the station. Gaby arrived first.

    Dry Run station wasn’t going to close until 7pm. As me and the guy I picked up came in Gaby left the station with her pacer. As I said, the guy runner (forgot his name) was not doing great. He asked me if I was going to cut him. I said, no, he had to decide himself. If he felt he could continue, I wouldn’t stop him. I don’t think he even went to the food table but instead took a seat. He had stomach trouble.

    People at the aid station tried to help him as much as possible. There was another guy and his pacer too just dropped at the station (that was before I arrived). I announced to the station that I was the course sweeper for the section and I am the last person. They got busy then to pack up. Look how much power I had. Hehe. I was busy eating all the food they had left!

    The guy that did not do well, rested for maybe 10-15 minutes and decided to call it quit. The station captain then said I could continue on to sweep the next part.

    I am happy I got to run again and Gaby at this time had maybe a 15-20 minutes head start and I love chasing. I was wondering how long before I would catch up to her and her pacer again.

    I did catch up and we continued on pushing toward to the next part, which was about 4 miles away. We had a good chat going. Gaby was still upbeat though her chances of finishing was slipping fast. We were no longer on pace. Time was slipping. Her pace was slipping. I did not try to rush her. She had her pacer who would know how best to help her.

    Aid Station #9 was unstaffed and it was just water only. We didn’t stop. I think we were like 15 mins late by then (a mile slower). After that section, I picked up another runner and her pacer. I was not able to get her name but she was not a happy camper. I felt she was mad at me for catching up to her. Gaby quickly passed her. But I had to follow the slower runner since it was my job to stay with the last person. She told me she already decided not to continue the race and so would take her time to get to next station. I said, same, my only concern was that everyone keeps on moving and no one gets hurt. I don’t want to have to call in a rescue squad since that would mean I would remain on the course with the injured runner for a long time.

    We were probably 4 miles from Aid Station #10. We had two tough climbs and two also tough descends.

    I thought Gaby was long gone but she and pacer missed a turn. So they came back and we found them at the tricky turn. Gaby was able to save me from getting lost there! They brought along an even slower runner who also missed the turnoff.

    I was happy that I got a job to do. I stayed with this new runner, David, the rest of the ladies hurried passed. Comparing to David, the ladies were like flying. I was a bit sad that they were gone but I didn’t mind staying with David since it was my job.

    David was in even worse shape than any runners I came across. We had about 3 more miles to go by then.

    David was walking every few steps and had to bend over to breath. He was not injured but was totally worn. I felt sorry. I stayed with him and let him rest as long as he wanted. He was very cooperative. He would move without me prompting. I know he was doing his best. I love having him as companion. I think we were moving like a mile an hour. Time quickly passed. 9 pm came and gone – the cutoff. By then it was meaningless. Then 10 pm.

    David was kind. I tried to chat with him and he responded to everything. He did a full Ironman before, so physically he was strong. This though was his first 100k on a very hard course and on a hot weekend. His desire was strong, but the day just sapped his energy. He did improved after I met him, and was moving better and took less breaks.

    We kept pressing on to the Aid Station. There I reunited with Gaby and others. The Station captain scared me saying there was a runner still out there and they joked I should go back out on the trail to look for the dude. I took it seriously though at the time and was like a WTH moment for me. I wouldn’t cry but hell it would be whole night out there searching for this missing guy.

    We thought of different scenarios where I could miss the guy. We crossed a road couple times and ran along a road, so likely he flagged down a car and left the course. Or he might have taken a wrong turn like Gaby did, and that I passed him. Gaby said she saw a bearded guy, but I never came across a bearded runner. It got me all worry that on my first sweeping duty and I lost a guy!

    Anyway, they had someone to drive me back to the finish. I turned in my radio (was totally useless since I had no signal in my part of the course). There they told me they found the guy. He had a medical emergency earlier and had taken him off the course, so he was accounted for. It was not my fault that I supposingly missed him on my section.

    What a relief for me. I spent the rest of the weekend there, camping as well running part of the course after the race was done. It was a fulfilling personal time. I could write several entries just on the camping and the run I did. The sweeping duty is done.

    I hope to run the 50k there next year. 100k I probably can do it, but seeing so many strong runners being dropped, it gives me a pause on attempt 100k without fully know what I will be getting into. So 50k first is the thing to do to get my feet wet.

  • Volunteer

    Day 86

    It was a lazy day and a very happy one. How so? 

    I started the day going to a free 5K run at the warf downtown DC. It was a race to celebrate Black Women History Month. Unlike the New Year race, this race was untimed. It was also started late. 15 minutes late. I rarely have been to a race thst started  late.

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