Mountain Masochist 50 miler-Course Description

Mountain Masochist is a special race. It's such a beautiful course and as a local runner, I've had the privilege to take many new runners to the course to see it for the first time on training runs. Both for my own memory preparing for the race and to help future runners, I want to write out a detailed description of the course.

Start to AS 1 Peavine Mountain (7.6 miles)

The course begins outside the KOA Campground in Monroe, VA. After circling the lake, runners quickly get to Pera Road and run 1.5 miles on pavement. This is followed by a left turn onto a wide trail/jeep road. After about a half mile of mostly downhill trail, there are a few small creek crossings and one large creek as you go through a tunnel under the parkway. No need to hop across the small creeks because there is no way to avoid wet shoes as you go under the parkway.

After the tunnel, the trail continues a gentle rolling, very runnable grade for almost another mile, at which point you make a sharp right turn across another small creek and the trail begins to climb. The next 2.5 miles are a gentle steady climb on wide trail. Around mile 5.5 in the race, the course takes a sharp left onto a the first single track section of the race. The section is mostly downhill but be cautious of rocks that can be hidden if the trail is still overgrown from summer. The single track continues for just over two miles until you reach the first aid station at the bottom of the hill.

AS1 Peavine Mountain to AS2 Dancing Creek (3.7 miles)

From the aid station, take a right turn and head up the hill. This is a gravel/jeep road that climbs for almost 1.5 miles, then goes steadily downhill to the next aid station which is immediately after another small creek crossing. This aid station is the first one accessible by crew and is always a highlight. As a note, crew can come to either the Dancing Creek or the Parkway Gate, but not both, because parking at both aid stations is very limited. They're so close together though that this is not a big deal.

AS2 Dancing Creek to AS3 Parkway Gate (3.55 miles)

After passing the aid station, you'll continue on the jeep road that is mostly rolling and runnable. You pass another tunnel under the Blue Ridge Parkway and this is about a mile before the aid station. The last half mile to the aid station is uphill but once again, crew can come to the Parkway Gate aid station so it is exciting to climb as people are cheering.

AS3 Parkway Gate to AS4 Robinson Gap (2.24 miles)

Immediately after the aid station you have a nice runnable downhill for almost 3/4 of a mile. At the bottom you'll cross a small creek (if it hasn't rained recently, you'll probably be able to step across) and take a left onto a gravel road. The next 1.7 miles are steadily uphill on the gravel road. It's monotonous and tedious but not that bad if you know it's coming.

AS4 Robinson Gap to AS5 Irish Creek (2.58 miles)

After the long slog up to Robinson Gap, the next section is a real treat. For almost five miles, the course is on a gravel road, almost entirely downhill, and very runnable. It's a welcome reprieve from all the climbing and a chance to bank some precious time before the long climb starts. The Irish Creek aid station is in the middle of this nice downhill section.

AS5 Irish Creek to AS6 Reservoir (2.24 miles)

The downhill continues after the aid station. Near the bottom, it starts to flatten out. You'll know you're approaching the aid station when the trail becomes flat and there is a creek on your right running parallel to the road. About a half mile after this creek appears, you'll be at the reservoir aid station, another crew stop.

AS6 Reservoir to AS7 Long Mountain (4.55 miles)

At this point, the real work begins. The next nearly four miles are primarily uphill. It's a steady incline with a few steep sections and a few runnable sections thrown in for good measure. You'll know you're near the top when you start to see signs about the national forest. On the left, there is a small cemetery-this is exactly 0.75 miles from the Long Mountain aid station. After you pass the cemetery, it flattens out and is very runnable again to the halfway point aid station. You can hear the cheers from a distance away and it is a great highlight of the race to arrive here. You can access your drop bag here. It's also the first hard cutoff of the race-currently you must arrive here in 6 hours to continue.

AS7 Long Mountain to AS8 Buck Mountain (2.83 miles)

When you depart the Long Mountain aid station, you are of course greeted by another long uphill section. The slogan for this race should be, "There's always room for another climb." The next 2.25 miles are entirely uphill, not even a foot of descent. The aid station usually has Rocky theme music playing to help you get up the last part of the climb.

AS8 Buck Mountain to AS9 Wiggins Spring (2.31 miles)

If you can find your running legs again, this section is rolling and actually very pretty. There's a nice downhill section where you can move very well and stretch out your legs again after so many miles of climbing. It's a refreshing change of pace (pun intended).

AS9 Wiggins Spring to AS10 The Loop (1.45 miles)

At the aid station, you'll turn right and head up (literally) to the loop. This climb starts out steep and stays that way for about a mile. When you're near the top, you'll start to see cars and the AT crossing. It gets pretty crowded with crew vehicles and local day hikers, especially if the weather is nice. The road flattens out for a bit and then you'll take a single track trail on the right for a very short distance into the aid station. The loop is a fabulous aid station. Lots of people, lots of excitement, and as you come in (unless you're a frontrunner) you'll see people coming out of the loop at the same time. Once again, this is a hard cutoff aid station-you must enter the loop by 7:55 (race time) to continue.

AS10 to AS11 The Loop (5.33 miles)

Ah, the loop. If you have talked to people who have run this race, you have certainly heard about the loop. It is the undoing of many a runner. I think this is due to a combination of factors. First, you've just run over 20 miles of mostly gravel road and suddenly you have technical trail that requires a lot of thought about foot placement and avoiding rocks and roots. You're now on tired legs and there's still a lot of climbing in the loop. And you're at that 2/3 point in the race that always seems to be difficult no matter the distance, because you're far enough to be tired but not far enough to be almost done.

At any rate, the first mile of the loop is runnable, so by all means run it. After a mile you'll cross a creek and the trail immediately becomes much rockier and more technical and running becomes noticeably more difficult. You'll climb for almost a mile and reach a sign about the summit. This is the out-and-back section of the race. On the bright side, you get to see other runners who are within a mile ahead or behind you, since it's a half mile each way. But that also means you have two-way traffic on a single track trail which is rocky. If there is snow on the course or wet leaves, this can go from annoying to treacherous. At the top is a gorgeous overlook where you punch your bib. Seriously, one of the best views in this region. Take a few seconds to soak it in. It really makes the last thousand miles of climbing worth it.

You'll retrace your steps for the next half mile down to the sign, where you'll now take a right and continue on the loop trail. You will be tempted to think that since you just came down from the summit, you will be going down to the aid station, but alas, that is not how it works. Remember, there is always room for another climb! In this case, you climb up and over Pompey Mountain. Just as high as the summit but no amazing overlook. There are some nice views off to the right as you run along the ridgeline for awhile though, especially if the leaves have fallen from the trees enough to see more of the valley. You'll climb steadily until you're at top, which is marked with a gigantic boulder next to the trail. From there it is almost completely downhill to get back to the loop aid station. Once again, this is a hard cutoff aid station-you must return to the loop by 9:20 (race time) to continue.

AS11 The Loop to AS12 Salt Log Gap (2.94 miles)

Have you ever been running an ultra and thought, "I should have run a 5K instead?" Here's your chance to do both! If you are close to cutoffs, you have about a half hour to make it to the next aid station. The first mile is downhill and then it begins to climb again to the next aid station. With around 40 miles on your legs, it will feel like 5K pace that you need to keep. Push hard here! Salt Log Gap is another hard cutoff-the busses will be there waiting and if you do not want a ride, you need to be there by 9:55. It's a gravel/dirt road the entire way so the footing is good, it's just the climbing that makes it a challenge on tired legs.

AS12 Salt Log Gap to AS13 Forest Valley (1.07 miles)

This section is short but I honestly think it's a bit longer than advertised. After the aid station you climb up a giant hill. It's not that bad on training runs but if you're tired it can be tough. You climb for about (or a little over) a mile and then there is a right turn. The aid station is very shortly after turning right.

AS13 Forest Valley to AS 14 Porters Ridge (4.1 miles)

After taking a left out of the aid station, you'll head a short way down the gravel road and then take a hard left on the AT. You'll only be on the AT for a few yards and you'll turn onto a different trail. This single track trail is very pretty and mostly runnable. It's known as the forever section because there aren't very many landmarks, you feel like you're running in circles a bit, and let's be honest, your legs are pretty tired by now. The one major landmark is affectionately known as the "creepy camper", although this year the camper was smashed by large tree so it know is more like the "mangled metal". This marks the beginning of this race's death climb. Just know you will be hating life for about 3/4 of a mile. The great news is that this is truly the last significant climb of the race. Not the last climb, but the last significant one. After this hill, you'll continue meandering through the forest for a few more miles. You'll see a sign telling you the AT is 0.4 miles to the right-this is less than a mile before the aid station so know you are getting close!

**For the 2017 race, the Porters Ridge aid station will not be offered.**

AS14 Porters Ridge to Finish (3.75 miles)

It's all downhill from here! Well, it almost is! You'll run down a road which starts out pretty rough but becomes a gravel road. You'll run down, down, down the mountain, past the fish hatchery, and out to the highway. Take a left on the highway and you are almost there! It's about a half mile down the highway to the finish line. This is such an exciting finish line because people can see you coming down the road, and you can hear them from a ways off. You'll see the finish line and the clock and hopefully you'll come around that corner and blaze through the finish in less than twelve hours! Across from the finish is the Montebello store which has great food and a place to change clothes.

**For the 2017 race, you will cross the highway and run to the new finish at Camp Blue Ridge.**

This really is a fabulous race. If the time limit was just a little bit longer, it would probably be on my list every year. The course is gorgeous-challenging yes, but beautiful. On a sunny, crisp fall day it really doesn't get any better than being out in the mountains!

Promise Land 50K

Promise Land 50K. My favorite race! I look forward to this race every year. It's the only one I've done every year since I started running in 2012. That was the year of freezing rain/hail/lightning and something about the craziness of that year got me hooked on ultrarunning, so this race holds a special place in my heart. Plus, it's one of Dr. Horton's races, which are always good. The course is my absolute favorite-it's so beautiful and has lots of variety. I really love this race!

Training this year had been less than ideal, due to illness, travel, kids' schedules, and other life craziness. I'd only managed one training run longer than 20 miles (well, unless you count Holiday Lake or Terrapin 50K) and I'd missed more gym days than any other year. I knew I wasn't in my best shape, but I love this race and had every intention of doing it anyway. When the weather forecast said a high of 90, it just confirmed to me that this wasn't a PR year, and that's okay. This was a year to make enjoying the race the main goal.

The last time I ran a race that was significantly hotter than training conditions was Hellgate, and at that race I started off okay but then lost it after 55 miles, and finished the race in death march mode. I didn't want that to happen this time. So I did everything I could to prepare for these challenging race conditions-I made an ice bandana (thanks Helen for the suggestion!), I wore a buff that I could soak in every creek, I slathered my feet with aquaphor anticipating very wet trail conditions, and I packed two more small water bottles in addition to my handheld.  I packed way more salt pills than I ever thought I would need (although I actually used or gave away all of them) and set an alarm on my watch for every 30 minutes to remind me to take them. And I even remembered to pack sunscreen. I felt as well-prepared as I could be when I headed out to the camp on Friday night.

Friday was crazy trying to get our four family members fed and off to three different places with all the appropriate overnight gear, so by the time I arrived at camp I was a little frazzled. I'm so glad we can camp before this race because I really needed that time to get into race mindset. I arrived early enough to get a good parking spot with a level patch of ground to set up my tent, and had it all set up while it was still light out. First goal accomplished. :)

Now I got to go to the prerace briefing and chat wth the other runners. Dr. Horton always seems like a kid on Christmas Eve at these prerace meetings. He is so genuinely excited to see all these people about to run this crazy race, and he loves giving his shoutouts to the various ultrarunning legends and incredible athletes who are always in attendance. It's so inspiring to see people still able to complete this race in their 70s!! Major life goals right there.

After the briefing I visited with lots of different running friends who were there to run or work aid stations. I love seeing so many familiar faces, and all the nervous/excited chatter about what to wear, how many water bottles to pack, race strategy, course discussion, goals, and so on. It's just so much fun! I made my final wardrobe decisions, got as much prepared for the morning as I could, and then Mary and I settled into the tent for a few hours of sleep.

At 3:45 I started to hear other runners moving around and chatting, and I was awake for the day. I got dressed and had my breakfast (chicken, eggs, and rice, plus almond butter on a banana), and checked in for the race. I had woken up with calf cramps which worried me, so I hoped the banana would help. I'm always amazed at how quickly the 45 minutes before race start zooms by. Before I knew it, we were singing the national anthem (with brass players this year! very nice!) and then taking off up the road.

It was a beautiful night for camping, but even as early as a mile up the road I could tell it was going to be hot. Usually at this point in the run I'm still fairly cold, second-guessing myself for not bringing gloves. Not today. I was already feeling quite warm in my tank top and shorts and the sun wasn't even up yet. Plenty of chatter about the weather, the course, how many times people have run, etc. made the miles go by quickly and soon we were turning off the road onto the single track.

I felt good about my place in the pack at this point. I passed a few people, but mostly was content to walk/run with the people around me. I probably could have run a bit faster but I like feeling like I'm holding something back for the first part of the race. I knew once we hit the grassy road we'd be able to sort ourselves out much more. And before long we were there. I was feeling great at this point-I always love this section, because the sun is up and your legs are warmed up but not tired, and it's the first point in the race where you can run long enough to get into a good rhythm. It was a gorgeous morning up there. Everything was so green! The wildflowers were blooming, and there were little creeks and streams all over the course. I had sort of mentally picked out sections of the race to push hard, and this was one of them, and I did push myself to run pretty well here. I passed quite a few people (strange for me in a race) and before I knew it, we were coming up to the next aid station.

I settled in to hike up to the parkway, since this was a section I'd planned for recovering. I still felt good though-all the right muscles were sore, and my preemptive salt pills seemed to be doing the trick since I had no cramps or swollen fingers. And while it was warm out, I didn't feel uncomfortably hot. So I pushed a little more on this section than I had planned, and enjoyed the beautiful flowers on the way up.


Shortly before the parkway there's a fork in the trail, and taking a right will lead back down the loop towards Camping Gap (which is the Terrapin course), and taking a left heads up to the Parkway. It seems like you can triple your time at this point and have a good estimate of when you will finish. I passed that spot at 2:40, which is right on the nose for an 8 hour finish. I was honestly pretty surprised, because 3 of my 5 finishes have been over 8 hours in this race.

Crossing the Parkway is always a highlight, because it means that you get to run downhill for a whole bunch of miles now. I ran decently hard on the road down to Sunset Fields, and saw a lot of familiar faces when I got there. The aid station crews were fabulous today and this one was no exception. After some cold drinks I headed off down Apple Orchard Falls trail. I didn't even make it an eighth of a mile from the aid station before taking a pretty good tumble, a bust your knee and elbow on the rocks then do a sideways somersault and knock the wind out of yourself by hitting your chest on a rock kind of tumble. Three people stopped to ask if I was REALLY okay, and I was, once I caught my breath. I now had an entry in the Best Blood competition at this race, which is really the only award I had a shot at going in, albeit one I didn't really want to win.

I slowed down quite a bit after that, and took the rest of the technical downhill much more conservatively. A lot of people passed me in this section but that was okay. I was just grateful that it was a lot of scrapes and bruises, but no twisted ankles or pulled muscles that would keep me from finishing the race. At the bottom of this section are the largest creek crossings, and never have they been so refreshing to come across. It must have been at least 80 degrees by this point in the day. Every time I crossed a stream with more water than mud, I used my buff to wipe my face with cold water and wring out cold water on my head and neck. And when I crossed the large creeks, I got as wet as I could. That helped a lot to cool off and I stayed pretty comfortable in this section.

We came through Cornelius Creek Aid Station for the first time, and that crew was ready for the heat. They had popsicles, ice, cold soda, and pickles-exactly what I needed. I filled my ice bandana for the first time and tied it so the ice was on the back of my neck, and also enjoyed a popsicle. Between that and the cold drinks, I felt very refreshed and headed off down the road. This section is a bit of a drag, but I pushed myself to run it solidly and not walk until the deer trail down at the bottom. It's mentally tough but the miles ticked by easily and the trail came before I expected. I think it was at this point that I realized I really was having a good day.  I'd been bracing for the part where it got crazy hot/miserable/tiring, and so far I felt really good. I hadn't once been counting down miles to a landmark or aid station. It was constantly, "Oh, I'm already here!" My last race at Terrapin was a mentally hard day, and it was so refreshing to have a day when I was genuinely enjoying every mile, every conversation with fellow runners, and every beautiful view.


I came into the Colon Hollow aid station at around 4 hours, still on an 8 hour pace and still feeling surprisingly good. Another great aid station crew with popsicles, smiles, and encouraging words for us. My main goal in this back section was to run where it was runnable, and hike with purpose the rest of the time. Secondary goal was to stop at every creek I could and douse myself with cold water. I still had some ice in my ice bandana here, and with the cold water and extra shade thanks to an early spring, it was still mostly comfortable. I was able to run quite a bit and passed several people who weren't having as easy a day. I tried to encourage them as best I could. In this section Helen and I ran together for awhile. She was also having a great day-not a PR day but a fabulous day in the mountains, and it was nice to have company for several miles. This section usually feels very long to me, and there has been more than one year that I walked the majority of it. But this year the miles were still sailing by easily, and I just continued to enjoy the scenery, the conversation, and the joy of running.

Just before we get back to Cornelius Creek there's a large creek crossing with a broken down bridge. Many runners were using it like a hot tub, only it was just the opposite, a cold tub. I splashed my way through, and dunked my head again before making my way to the aid station. Much to my surprise, we still weren't even at 6 hours on the race clock.

I have run many races and been through many aid stations, but this one was a cut above today. They had so much ice, and a giant bucket of ice water where Don used a sponge to wring the cold water over your head, and there were plenty of popsicles and ice cold drinks...aid stations are always an emotional and physical boost to your day, but this one was more than ever. Fresh ice in my bandana on my neck, popsicles in hand, dripping with ice cold water, I headed out feeling cool for the first time all day, ready to climb the falls.

I headed up the falls rejuvenated. There was no plan to rush, just to hike with purpose. I knew from previous years that leaving Cornelius Creek before 6 hours put me right on 8 hour pace. Obviously I knew the climb up the falls would be tough, and it was getting hot, and I didn't set out with any particular time goals in place, but there's something about finishing before that next hour turns over that is always kind of nice. I still felt good, way better than I had at this point in the race last year, and this was when I decided I would try to make that 8 hour mark. Climbing the falls went as well as it ever has. Honestly, it was better than a few training runs I've had out there this year. I still stopped at every creek crossing (and there were plenty!) which helped me stay cool. 

The trail was very wet in places, even water running down the boulders we had to climb. It was beautiful and fun!


Pretty soon I had reached the largest part of Apple Orchard Falls. It's always pretty, but today, the water was high and the falls were full and it was breathtaking. Absolutely gorgeous!        

After the falls everything in the valley was so green and beautiful. It was amazing!


Next come the infamous stairs...of course these are never easy, especially on a hot day. But one step at a time (literally), I made my way up, greeting fellow runners and day hikers and dogs on the way up.
 

After another dunk in a waterfall, I made my way up the last mile back to Sunset Fields. I love crossing that road with the 0.9miles sign, because that's when I know I really am going to make it! Back at the top, another top notch aid station crew was there with cold drinks. Those aid stations really made the difference in the race today, I was so grateful for them!

I headed out for the last five miles to the finish. It took a few hundred yards before I could really get my legs back into running mode after all the hiking. Still playing it safe on the downhill rocks, so a decent pace but not my fastest on this section. Soon we came to the road and knew it was 2.7 miles to the finish. My goal had been to get there by 7:30 and I made it with 8 seconds to spare! My legs still felt pretty good so I ran almost the whole road down. This was the first time I really started to feel hot-my bandana & buff had dried since I went through the last creek, and parts of the road were sunny and warm. But since it was the last few miles, I was able to push through. I ran part of this with Wade, who has been trying for years to get a sub 8 hour finish. It was great to see that he was going to make his goal!

I crossed the finish line in 7:55, enough for my second best time in six years at Promise Land. Honestly, I think it was my best performance, since the one time I did better by seven minutes, I was training much more heavily (for a 100 miler) and had far better racing weather.  I was absolutely thrilled with the day. This was my most enjoyable Promise Land ever, and my most enjoyable run in a long time. After my earlier races this spring I was feeling kind of meh about running, and not sure I'd sign up for anything in the fall...but I had such a great day out there it rekindled my love of running. It was like the first year I was running, when I was just out there having fun because I didn't know what I was doing well enough to make it a job about pace or training or nutrition. In some ways I'm grateful I've never been fast, and probably never will be. It really frees me up to enjoy the day in a different way. My fast friends inspire me and I do wonder what it would be like to fly through the mountains the way they do. But I get to enjoy many more hours out on the course, and it's okay if my goal is just to enjoy the day.

Many people suffered a lot more than I did in this race, and I don't want to make it sound like I have it all figured out. I just had a really great day out there. Yes, my preparations and attitude helped-but a lot of things just went right for me. It was one of those rare races where nothing really goes terribly wrong. The salt pills and Tailwind all day worked for me, and I didn't have to fight cramps or stomach issues. I braced for an awful day and was delightfully surprised to have one of my best running experiences of all. I'm so grateful for all the encouraging faces out there, both at aid stations and on the trail, for all the preparation that went into this race, for Dr. Horton directing it, and for the chance to see so many people finish a hard race under really tough conditions. It's always inspiring to see other people accomplish their goals! I'm so grateful I get to be a part of such an amazing running community!

Smith Mountain Lake Dam 50K

New race! It'll be fun! Dr. Horton is helping direct it!

That's pretty much all I had heard about this race when I signed up. That in itself was a very different experience. I have been spoiled by being late to the game with trail running, and benefiting from many, many race reports and friends who shared their course knowledge. Even if I hadn't been on the course before race day, every other race I at least knew something about what I was getting into.

Not so with this race.

I didn't know exactly how long the race was (well, that's not terribly unusual for a Dr. Horton race). Until about a week before the race I didn't know how many aid stations there were, how far apart, how much road in the race, etc. All I knew was there was some infamous "death climb" that Dr. Horton was excited for all of us to experience.

It certainly added an interesting element of mystery and intrigue to run, guessing as best I could where to push myself and where to hold back, since I knew so little of the course. It was a different sort of challenge than I usually get at these races and I enjoyed being a part of an inaugural year for a race.

But I know there are plenty of other runners out there like me who love to plan ahead and read race reports and course descriptions before deciding to run a race. So in the interest of giving back, I am writing a course description, as best I can remember, of this race, hopefully benefiting future runners.

Course Overview

Link to Course on Garmin Connect

Total Distance: 32.33 mi
Total Elevation Gain: 5,000 ft
Total Elevation Change: 10,000 ft

The course is a figure 8 style course. The first loop is almost 21 miles long, and the second loop is a little over 11 miles long. The only repetition in the two loops is approximately 2 miles before you come into the main start/finish area.

The race was well-organized. You come into an area closed off by barbed wire and actually need to sign security clearance papers before entering the parking area (which is behind lots of interesting signs, like "Hard Hat Area" and one describing how the magnetic fields will interfere with pacemakers). There were plenty of parking attendants and signs, it was very clear where to go. Checkin was quick and easy. The bathroom building at the start/finish was not functional but there were several portajohns set up for runners and aid station workers.

Start to AS 1 (Mile 0 to Mile 4.2)

Dr. Horton's description:

"Cross the bridge and head up the hill towards the Visitor Center, at .6 mile turn right at the top of the hill on a road to the right, go steeply up the hill. Reach the top of the hill and go around the gate onto Silver Dollar Road. Pass the tower on the left at 1.55 miles. Continue on the gravel road to the paved road. Reach Toler's Ferry Road (608) and Aid Station 1 at mile 4.27. Turn right and follow Toler's Ferry Road."

My thoughts:
There was little to no warmup in this race. We ran across the bridge and started climbing almost immediately. Dr. Horton had mentioned a "good climb" near the start, but none of us knew how steep or long. The answer? Very steep and fairly long. The first mile took us almost 18 minutes. We gained almost 1,000 ft in the first mile and a half. The first half mile is uphill on a road, and then once you reach the Visitor Center you turn right onto a steep and rocky trail. Then you climb and climb until you're starting to wonder if signing up for a 50K was such a great idea, and whether you will be able to run another 30 miles on these legs. Then you climb a little farther. There was one place where you come to a sort of clearing near the power lines and it looked like maybe you were at the top, but then you turned right and continued to climb for a few more minutes before it levels out. There were some beautiful views running along the ridgeline at the top.  The next few miles were quite nice, on various dirt and gravel service roads. The trail was mostly down for the next mile and a half or so, and then it was rolling with some very runnable ups and downs until reaching the aid station at mile 4.2 or so.

The first climb, after turning at the visitor center

View from the ridgeline

Service roads leading to AS 1

AS1 to AS 2 (Mile 4.2 to Mile 8.5)

 Dr. Horton's description: 

"Turn right and follow Toler's Ferry Road. Green Gate on left side of the road at the bottom of a hill is AS 2 at mile 8.58."

My thoughts:
After the aid station, we immediately turned right onto a paved road. This section was mostly down with a few short climbs until the trail bottomed out shortly after mile 7. The roads were pavement but very pretty and very runnable, especially so early in the race. Around mile 7.2 we started to climb again, but it was still a lot of rolling hills. The climbs were easy to run/walk, and the downhills were runnable and not steep. We reached the aid station at mile 8.5 right on this road. Shortly before the aid station, on a downhill section the landscape opened up a bit, and instead of being heavily wooded there was a large clearing. When you see this you know you are close to the aid station.

Paved road section

Run/walk climbs

Glimpse of the lake about .75 miles before the aid station

Looking backwards at AS 2-note the landscape

AS 2 to AS 3 (Mile 8.5 to Mile 12.7)

Dr. Horton's description:

"Continue on this paved road. Reach AS 3 at intersection of 608 and 672, Ridgeville/Pittsville Roads at mile 12.75."

My thoughts:
 Road, road, and more road. By this point, I was truthfully getting a bit tired of roads. Admittedly I rarely run roads and that certainly factored in. But after almost 5 miles, all the rural roads, turns, farmhouses, and abandoned outbuildings were starting to look the same. These miles can feel a bit tedious. There weren't many landmarks in this section, except for a long bridge. The roads were still rolling until approximately mile 11, then there was a longer climb for a little over a mile. The last half mile before the aid station had a small descent and then a section that was relatively flat.

Most of this section looks like this

A bridge with some nice views (and graffiti)

AS 3 to AS 4 (Mile 12.7 to Mile 16.5)

Dr. Horton's description:

"Reach intersection of 608 and 771 at mile 12.9. Turn right on 771. Reach intesection of 771 and 605, Toshes and Court Roads at mile 14.4. Turn right on Toshes Road. Reach AS 4 at intersection of Jasmine and Toshes Road, 778 and 605 at mile 16.57. This is next to church and cemetery."

My thoughts:
This section starts out with a nice runnable descent (assuming your legs aren't hurting too much from the pounding pavement yet), until bottoming out around 15.2. Where this bottoms out, there was a portajohn next to a construction crane, right before a bridge. I have no idea if it was supposed to be a part of the race, but for many miles before it, there was either barbed wire or people's yards on both sides of the road. It would have been very difficult to find a place to relieve oneself (although men certainly have an advantage in times like these). At any rate, the portajohn was open and frequented by several runners. It was a wonderful site at approximately the halfway point in the race. Aside from the portajohn highlight, it was mostly just more country paved roads, nothing especially memorable. After bottoming out at the bridge, the road climbed steadily to the aid station.

Many miles of country roads and scenery

AS 4 to AS 5 (Mile 16.5 to Mile 21.2)

Dr. Horton's description:

"Turn right on gravel road which is Toshes Road. At mile 17.38 turn left on Yorkshire which is a paved road. At Ford Road which is mile 19.04, turn right on Ford Road (908) and proceed back to the starting area. Reach AS5 and the starting area and the restrooms at mile 21.30."

My thoughts:
After aid station 4, we turned onto a more gravel/dirt road, which offered a blessed reprieve from the pavement. There was a sign about a sandwich shop which sounded delicious at about this point. We ran mostly downhill on this gravel road. Sadly, the gravel ended after less than a mile, as we turned onto another paved road. On the bright side, I knew this meant we were getting closer to where we had started and therefore the end of the loop. While the first mile of this section was downhill, the next two miles saw us steadily climbing back towards the road we had driven in to get to the start. At the sharp right, there was a police car blocking the road and an officer directing us to the right. Definitely won't be missing that turn! From there we climbed for another mile. This road was much busier than any of the other roads we ran on so far, but there was plenty of room to run on the shoulder for most of the way and the road was wide. After a mile on this road, we started to descend. This was a nice runnable descent, and it felt good to stretch the legs out. At one point there is a sign warning of sharp turns and a 25mph recommended speed. From this sign, it's less than a mile (around 0.8 miles I believe) back to the starting area. We ran down for a half mile after this sign, around the curves, until we saw the entrance to the visitor area. Around the corner to the left, and we were soon directed to move to the bike path on the right side of the road. A short stint on this paved bike trail brought us back to the starting area and the aid station at the conclusion of this first lap.

It doesn't actually go on forever. But close.

AS 5 to AS 6 (Mile 21.2 to Mile 22.5)

Dr. Horton's description:

"Turn left in front of the restrooms and go straight across the road onto a single track trail. Ascent the mountain on the DEATH CLIMB. Reach AS 6 at mile 22.7 at the top of the Death Climb."

My thoughts:
Leaving the aid station, we crossed the road onto a trail. Hooray! It was a refreshing change of pace (literally) from the last 17 miles of road. The trail started out very pretty, wooded along a stream. We crossed back and forth across the stream a total of 8 times. The footing was challenging at times, but it was fun. The stream was deep enough to get your feet wet in a few places, and deep enough to splash some cool water on your face if it's hot. Then there was a short section that didn't look like a trail at all, but a clearing where a storm had knocked down several large trees. And after that began the infamous Death Climb. I had been hoping/expecting that Dr. Horton was exaggerating his claims of this climb. He was not. It most certainly lived up to its name. This was the most difficult climb I have ever done in any race. According to my garmin, we gained over 1200 feet in exactly one mile. That's insane. That's approximately a 22.7% grade. Like a ski hill. Only covered in thick trees, roots, and rocks. I saw many runners simply sitting down at this point. I was afraid to stop and catch my breath without holding onto a tree; I really thought I might just lean back and fall off the mountain. I've done longer climbs than this in a race. I've done climbs that gained more elevation. But never have I climbed something so intense for so long. It was almost comical, how ridiculously steep it was. Pictures hardly do it justice, but I tried. There were some nice views looking back as we climbed.

Entering the trail after the aid station

One of the 8 stream crossings

Trail or natural disaster zone? You be the judge

Up, up, up

Yes, they really are about 50 feet above and 10 feet in front of me

Talking to Dr. Horton after the race, he let us know that his first choice was actually for us to cross the dam and take a different trail up the mountain. A steeper trail. But the race organizers didn't believe him that it was actually possible for people to climb the mountain on that trail because it was so steep. So take heart friends, it could be worse.

AS 6 to AS 7 (Mile 22.6 to Mile 26.2)

Dr. Horton's description:

"Continue on the gravel road along the ridge with GREAT views to the right. There are several climbs and descents along this ridge. Reach AS 7 at mile 26.35 at Lakeview Gap still on the gravel road and the ridge."

My thoughts:
After such a long and difficult climb, we at least deserve some great views, right? This did not disappoint.

View from near AS 6

 From there, we started running down a gravel road, but before we could really even get into a stride, we saw another climb. At this point it felt like the aid station workers should have been handing out bottled oxygen because surely the Death Climb was at least 20,000 feet of climbing, how could we seriously be going any higher? But climb we did. There was a series of four good climbs along this ridgeline, each followed by a descent. After the fourth climb, we finally peaked out at the highest point in the race, and started our long and very steep descent on loose gravel roads. The peak was about 1.5 miles before the next aid station, and it was almost entirely down except for one very short climb shortly before the aid station.

Dirt road leaving the aid station

We are going up again??

Very pretty descents

AS 7 to AS 8 (Mile 26.2 to Mile 29.4)

Dr. Horton's description:

"Reach bottom of hill and Jasmine Road (778) at mile 27.50. Turn left on Jasmine Road which is still a gravel road. Go to AS 8 at the intersection of Jasmine and Yorkshire Roads (777 and 778) and mile 29.55."

My thoughts:
We continued our long steep descent down the mountain. Altogether, we descended about 1000 feet in under 3 miles, all on loose gravel roads. We went down for over a mile before encountering any sort of climb at all, and even then there were only a few very short climbs to mile 29. This was not an easy runnable down, it was steep and the gravel was loose, so it was the sort of downhill that took concentration and cooperation from your quads. After hitting mile 29, we climbed for a short ways up to the aid station. I don't have any pictures in this section due to a camera malfunction-sorry!

AS 8 to Finish (Mile 29.4 to Mile 32.3)

Dr. Horton's description: 

"Turn left on the paved road Yorkshire (777), go to intersection of Ford and Yorkshire. Stay left on Ford Road and continue to the finish at mile 32.47."

My thoughts:
Immediately after the last aid station we turned left on yet another paved road. We went steadily downhill on this paved road for almost a mile. There were a few small creeks and a lake in this section that were accessible for splashing our heads and faces in the heat. Then we began climbing again, a climb that would have been runnable in the first ten miles but was definitely a run/walk hill for us at this point. We climbed up to the intersection where the police officer directed us to turn at the end of the first loop. We ran the same road in, steadily climbing for about a mile before starting to descend on that road to the visitor center. At last we saw the 25mph sign, and knew we had less than a mile to go. Around a few corners, over to the bike path, and the finish was just across the small bridge on the bike path.

Steady climb in the last 2 miles of the race

Overall Impressions

This was a well-organized race, especially for a race in its first year, with multiple distances (there was also a 5K event). There were many aid stations, with the longest distance between aid being only 4.7 miles, which made it easy to just carry a handheld water bottle. The volunteers were friendly and helpful at every aid station. The course was well-marked. I would have appreciated a few more confidence streamers in places, but every turn was easy to spot and we had no trouble staying on course. It was exposed though-I wish I had worn sunscreen. 

If there's anything to improve on, it would be small details. The aid stations were like candy stores-lots of chocolate candies, M&Ms, gummy bears, cookies...with very little substantial food, fruit or salty snacks. They did have potato chips at most aid stations. I would have appreciated some PB&J, pretzels, grapes, etc. And the soda was in cans, not opened-I'm sure that the volunteers honestly thought we would prefer fresh fizzy soda, but most of us find it much easier to drink soda that's a bit flat. And maybe skip the diet soda in favor of something with more calories and caffeine. These are very minor things though that would be easy to adjust. The aid stations all had ample helpful volunteers, plenty of water, and lots of food.

I would also have appreciated more restroom access. Many many road miles with no official portajohn stops can make for an awkward race. Perhaps one of the small churches we passed would be willing to accommodate future runners on the course. And there was a nice restroom building at the start/finish, but for some reason it was not functional. It would have been nice to have a real restroom and changing area at the finish.

There was no post-race food included in the price of the race, although there were some food trucks at the finish with food available for purchase. I wish I had known to plan for that, and what options would be available with approximate costs.

The finishers' shirt was a very nice tech t-shirt, plus we received a regular cotton shirt when we checked in. I especially like how the finishers' shirt is extra long and fits nicely.

The Top 10 awards were also very unique and specific to this race. They were special trophies made to hold one of the core samples they took when building the dam. Admittedly, part of why I think this is great is because I am not normally a top 10 finisher. It was pretty fun to win an award and be in the top women's picture, since I am usually in the mid to back of the pack. So thank you to all the women who didn't run, I owe this trophy to you. :)

Would I run it again next year? I'm not sure. There were an awful lot of road miles for this trail runner. I don't train on roads, and found it tough to deal with so many miles of pavement. Yet I'm not sure this would be a road runner's favorite either, because the trail sections-while relatively short as far as mileage-are quite rigorous and demanding. I did very much enjoy the challenge of the two big climbs, the one at the start and the Death Climb, and the views were gorgeous.

If they created a 25K option, by combining the 5K course and the 2nd loop of the 50K course, I would definitely run that. I think a middle distance option here would be very appealing. The Death Climb would be a bit gentler on relatively fresh legs, and the 10 miles of gravel and paved roads would be far less pounding. Another good suggestion was to make the second loop just a little longer and turn it into a half marathon. A middle distance like that could appeal to either road or trail runners. Just my opinion though.

I'm grateful for a well-organized race, a beautiful day in the mountains, gorgeous views to enjoy, friends to run with, and a chance to be a part of something new. 

From left: Myself, Rhonda, Dr. Horton, and David

Terrapin 1/2 Marathon

I love the Terrapin half course.

Nowhere else I know has such variety-demanding climbs, long technical descents, incredible views, water crossings, and plenty of boulders-all in such a short course.

The first time I ran this course was in 2012. I had just started running and really had no idea what I was doing. The next two years, I ran the 50K race. And last year, I did the half course with two ladies doing it as their first trail race-we were not racing at all, but enjoying the day and taking lots of photos.

Since running Hellgate a few months ago, I've been just running for fun. I've stayed in shape but haven't trained rigidly like I do before big goal races. Still, I thought it would be fun to try to beat younger me. My 2012 time was 3:22. I was hoping to do it in 3:20 this year. Our last training run was closer to 3:30, but we weren't racing and there were a few places we had stopped for pictures, so I was hoping to be able to make up the time.

The morning started off comfortably cool, in the lower 40s. As we stood around checking in and waiting for the prerace briefing to start, it seemed to be getting colder. I changed into my cold weather contingency clothes, switching out shorts for capris and my tank top for a long sleeved shirt, plus my prized Hellgate jacket. I was wearing a pack, but without the hydration bladder, mostly just for the convenience of pockets for snacks and my Salomon soft flask, plus the option of stashing my 12oz water bottle when I needed my hands.

Soon we lined up near the start, and the gong sounded-what a great way to start a race! We all headed out down the road. It was about 15 minutes before sunrise and there was just enough light to run up the road without headlamps. Several friends were nearby and it was nice to start out together. My first goal of the day was to run the first mile without walking. It's mostly flat or slightly uphill, and followed by a long climb, so I wanted to get some running in while I could. I made that goal, and finished the first mile in 10:30. Then we set in to run/walk (well, mostly walk) the long climb up to Camping Gap. There were still a lot of people close together, which made the climb go by relatively quickly. The sun came up and it was a beautiful morning to be out. I started to feel warm at a few points up the climb and wondered if I had overdressed. Before I knew it, we were taking the hard right turn off the fire road and arriving at Camping Gap at 1:02. I was very pleased with that time, knowing it was several minutes faster than we had done on the training run and I was still feeling good. The aid station crew there was great, very cheerful and helpful.

From there it was on to the toughest part of the climb, the better part of a mile up to the Terrapin summit. This part is always tough on the legs, but every time I climb it, whether training runs or races, it does seem to get a bit easier, if only because it gets more familiar. Even though it felt like forever, it actually took less than 20 minutes to get to the summit. There was a line at the bib punch and I had to wait for 5-6 people to punch their bibs, but it was nice to rest for a few minutes and catch my breath.

From there, we ran along the ridges towards Fat Man's Misery. It was nice to be able to stretch the legs out a bit in between rocky patches, and remember what it's like to run instead of just climb.  Now I was not only glad I'd chosen the long sleeves, I started to wish I had added gloves. Before long, we were at Fat Man's Misery. Once again, a bit of a traffic jam. I was pretty tickled to have to wait; when I ran it as a 50K, or ran/hiked last year, I was pretty far behind the pack by this point and had it all to myself. I was quite flattered that I was in the mid-pack still at this point in the race. It didn't take long and we were all through and back on the trail, ready to take on the pounding downhill.

There are a LOT of rocks in this section, and it's very steep. I tried to run hard enough to push myself, but still concentrate on not tripping. Going through the rock garden, I found myself wishing someone would come and paint a few rocks that wouldn't move as you stepped on them so I'd know where to step. The part afterwards feels especially precarious, and is the most challenging section of the course to me, when it's so steep that I often find myself sliding down more than running. Thankfully, the recent rain had given the ground a bit more grip than when it's dry and dusty, and my legs were able to just keep up. I arrived at the last aid station at exactly two hours into the race. I was thrilled with that time. I knew I had run the downhill much stronger than I had any previous time on the course, and yet my legs did not feel trashed and I was looking forward to running strong on the last section.

I was trying to remember exactly how long the race was. My watch said I'd only gone a little over 7 miles by this aid station, but I thought it was pretty close to 13 miles. I decided to do my mental math with 6 miles to go. I was hoping to run 6 miles in 80 minutes, which sounded very doable. I started to get excited about beating Younger Me.

My main goal for this section was just to run as hard as I could the whole time. I'd kept that up so far today and wanted to finish knowing I'd really given my all the entire day. If I did that, I'd be happy with any finishing time. Coming in and out of the last aid station, I'd seen many of my running buddies-Ruth, Rhonda, David, Joe, Tim...it was fun to know that we were all having a good day out there. I chased Rhonda down during the first part of this rolling section and chatted with her for a few minutes. I was experiencing Selective Runner Memory, whereby I remembered this section as having much more downhill and much less uphill than it actually had.

Eventually, we did get to the boundary signs about the edge of the forest, and it started to go downhill. Now this was the running I remembered! It really felt glorious to run hard again, after many miles of challenging climbs and treacherous descents. We blazed through the rest of the swoops in and out of the mountain, and through the last big stream crossing. I ran hard down the rocky road, faster than I normally would but feeling confident and strong and trying to eke out the best finish I could. I ran with a few guys during those last few miles and we really pushed each other to keep going strong. Finally, the picnic table! One more mile. No walking now! We came out to the paved road and headed over the bridge. My last miles friends took off here and I couldn't catch them anymore. There's one last hill that's not big, but just large enough to be annoying when the finish line is so close. Then you can see the finish line, only it's still almost half mile away and you have many cows to run past before you get there. Finally, finally, we came around the corner to the gate. Another girl and I turned the corner at the same time and we both turned on the jets for a sprint across the field. And we were done! 3:02. Twenty whole minutes faster than Younger Me. So much better than I had hoped for!! I was thrilled with my time. It was a great day out there!

The best prize of all was finishing before the freezing rain and snow began. The 50Kers and slower half marathoners definitely had a tougher day as far as weather conditions. Hats off to them.

It was great to watch so many friends finish. Lots of us had set PRs for the course, and everyone seemed to have a good experience out there. We enjoyed a delicious post-race meal of bbq sandwiches, and as icing on the cake, I won a pair of socks in the giveaway.

All in all, it was a magnificent day on the mountain. Can't wait to come back next year and try to break that three hour mark!

(Hotter than) Hellgate 100K - December 12, 2015

Hellgate 100K is a "special" race, no matter who you ask. Every year I try to run one race that I don't think I can finish, to push myself to train harder and run smarter. Many of my friends entered the Beast series this year, and a few others who were interested in the race, so I put in my application for Hellgate-misery loves company right? Much to my surprise, Dr. Horton (aka "the race committee") selected my application and I was in. The race has intrigued me for years, and other than Holiday Lake, I haven't run many winter races. It sounded like an insanely hard challenge and I honestly gave myself about 50-50 odds of finishing, if I was able to train the way I hoped and the weather cooperated.

Well, training did not go as I had hoped. Scheduling conflicts, various injuries, sickness-it seemed like every week there was something that caused me to miss a workout, or shorten a long run, or cut out my speed work. Part of what I love about ultrarunning is that your success depends in large part on how you handle challenges that come your way, both in training and on race day. Overcoming obstacles is at least as important, if not moreso, than your athletic ability. Even so, when race day arrived I was feeling unprepared. I felt like I had only reached about 80% of the fitness level I was aiming for. And there was a large section of the course (Floyd's Field to Bearwallow) that I hadn't been able to see, because Dr. Horton had a bike wreck and had to cancel that training run on short notice.

Leading up to the race, the weather forecast got warmer and warmer. I was very thankful for this honestly. My biggest fear about Hellgate was getting "Hellgate eyes", which sounded absolutely awful. Personally, I'd rather deal with a warm day than frozen eyeballs, so I was grateful for the "Sissygate" forecast.

Friday night, Melissa picked up me and Alissa and a month's worth of food and drinks, and we drove up to the camp. Melissa would be crewing both me and Alissa for the race. We drove up to arrive at 8:00 for the race briefing, but in his excitement Dr. Horton had started the meeting early and we walked in just in time to hear, "Well, that's all my points..." Oh well.

We spent some time visiting with other runners, the nervous excitement thick and everyone trying to occupy the time before we drove to the start. I talked to people, and then around 10:00 I started gathering up my pack and supplies, double-checking that I had everything I needed and nothing I didn't think was worth carrying for 66 miles. Knowing it would be warm, I decided to keep the bladder in my pack filled with tailwind, and I also used an 8oz softflask so I could grab a second type of drink from the aid stations. I had a few snacks, my mp3 player, my index cards with notes about the course sections and my goal times, and gloves. It wasn't cold yet, but I thought that when we got higher up in elevation later in the night that I would probably want them.

10:40 finally arrived, and there was a burst of frenetic activity as everyone grabbed their race supplies and squeezed into the caravan of vehicles driving to the start. The bank at Natural Bridge said the temperature was 46 degrees as we drove by. It was nice that we could stand outside before the start and not freeze. I had a lot of thoughts along the lines of, "What am I thinking?" which is typical for me at a race start.

I had come up with these split goals, based on splits I had found online (thanks Keith Knipling and Darin), and giving my best guess as to how much time I should allow for each section. Now of course, knowing you should run at a 14 minute pace, and actually being able to run at a 14 minute pace, are not the same thing. But I figured I would know throughout the day if I was on track. During the training run, we ran from the start to Headforemost Mountain in 6:07. My first big goal for race day was to be there by 6 hours. My race strategy was basically to run as hard as I could, for as long as I could, run-walking all the hills, and hope to bank enough time that if I hit a rough spot I could recover and still finish.

We all gathered at the start line, and Dr. Horton counted down to GO. We all took off, to the cheers of the other runners and crew who were there. Here we go!!

Start to AS1 (FSR 35)  0:48
It was very warm at the start, and I appreciated that my legs didn't feel stiff or numb like they usually do at the beginning of a cold run. I worked hard on staying in the pack of runners and not just drifting to the back like I usually do. I knew from the training run that none of the hills here were steep or long, so I ran as much as possible. On the downhills, I was feeling strong and passed quite a few people. I was happy to bank some time where I could. The miles went by pretty quickly here. I chatted with other runners, enjoyed the commentary about the stench of the water in the creek, and pushed myself. Even though I arrived at the first aid station a few minutes after my goal, I was pleased, because I was still in a big pack of people and I was feeling strong.

AS1 (FSR 35) to AS2 (Petites Gap) 1:46
This section is a long uphill road. I focused on run/walking the whole way up, counting my steps to run for a long section, then walk just enough to recover. Knowing there are a lot of uphill roads in this race, I had tried to train on running uphill roads, so I feel like this is one place my training did help. I made decent time up the road and was pleased with how my legs were feeling so far. At Petites, I got to see Melissa for the first time. She helped me fill up quickly and head back out on the trail. Familiar faces are such a boost in ultras!

AS2 (Petites Gap) to AS 3 (Camping Gap) 3:28
Leaving Petites, we had a short downhill section. I was nervous about the rocks and things under the leaves, but I was able to stay close enough behind some other runners to watch their footing and use that to my advantage. I think I made better time on the downhill part here than during the training run. After that, there is a section of single track that goes uphill. This was the first part (but definitely not the last) that seemed to take forever. I kept watching for the road that I know leads up to Camping Gap. Finally, we reached it and did the long climb. Once again, I pushed myself to run/walk as much as possible, with short walking breaks in between longer sections of running. As much as I wanted to walk, my legs were feeling strong still and I knew I had to hussle to make my 6 hour goal. The Camping Gap aid station was a welcome site, and I made sure to take a minute there to drink a lot, and take some food with me, since the next section is the longest between aid stations.

AS3 (Camping Gap) to AS 4 (Headforemost Mountain) 6:01
The first few miles of this section are pretty runnable, and once again I tried to push myself to run as much as possible. It wasn't easy; I had some stomach issues here, and some cramps. I was losing my mind a little bit in here too-maybe the fatigue/sleep deprivation, maybe the hours of night running, I'm not sure. But I saw many many pairs of eyes in the woods just off the trail, heard many large animals, and saw a few people sitting on logs on the side of the trail. I'm pretty sure none of them were real. I expected this to be the section where it got cold, but it never did, and the grassy road section known for its fierce wind many years was completely still.

My first year of running ultras, I would go out way too fast and then hit a wall in the second half. But as I learned to pace myself, I think I tend to err on the side of caution, and don't run as hard as I often could. Holiday Lake this year I used as an experiment. I ran as hard as I could for as long as I could to see what would happen. And honestly, it wasn't until the last climb in that race, a little over a mile to go, that I reached the point of not being able to run.

I was thinking about that as I ran here. I knew that Hellgate would be a tough race, and I wasn't sure I could finish. But if I was going to miss a cutoff, I wanted to know that I had pushed myself the whole way, so there would be no wondering if I could have done better. With that in mind, I hauled tail the entire way up the mountain. And I arrived at 6:01! Honestly, I was thrilled. That was faster than we had run on the training run and I still felt good. Melissa was at Headforemost, but she was still helping other runners, not expecting me to arrive yet. That made me smile. :) I filled my pack with more tailwind and drank more ginger ale, grabbed some food, and headed out.

AS4 (Headforemost Mountain) to AS5 (Jennings Creek) 7:28
I was looking forward to this section and I was scared of this section at the same time. I was nervous because this began the section I had never seen, and going into the race I was pretty confident that I would make it through the Headforemost Mountain cutoff, that it was the second portion of the race and the Bearwallow cutoff I was concerned about. At the same time, I knew that Jennings Creek was the breakfast aid station, which I was excited about, and every race report talked about running DOWN to Jennings Creek, which after doing mostly climbing for the last 6 hours, sounded amazing. You can imagine my disappointment when the first section turned out to be a climb! Thankfully, it was short, and after that we did indeed run down most of the way to Jennings Creek. Shortly after the aid station we passed an elderly man hiking uphill in the dark with two walking sticks. That startled me, and I wondered if I had imagined him too until I confirmed with another runner that she also saw him. Strange.

I was glad to have read race reports about this section, because after about 2 miles I caught site of the aid station down the mountain, and it sure seemed like we would be there soon. But we weren't. We wandered around and around the mountain, in every direction possible except for towards the aid station. Still, the footing was good, the trails were nice, and I was able to run almost the entire section. The sun came up here, and I underestimated the mental boost that would give me today. I felt like a brand new person. I was running well, running downhill (which helps me feel like superwoman anyway), enjoying the trails, and now the sun was up and I could see the beautiful mountains we were in. This section was a real highlight of the race for me. I entered it exhausted and nervous, but then I got to Jennings Creek 20 minutes ahead of when I expect to be there, and at Jennings Creek there was bacon! Oh happy day! When I came in to the aid station, Alissa was still there, and she was looking pretty good at that point. I was quite proud of myself for catching up to her, because she is a very strong runner. Melissa made sure we both got what we needed. I stopped to drink a lot at the aid station again, and took some bacon and hash browns to go.

AS5 (Jennings Creek) to AS 6 (Little Cove) 9:18
For the first time in the race, I started to relax a little bit. Knowing I had just banked 20 minutes was huge-now I felt like if I had to stop and pee, I could, without worrying about that making the difference at the cutoff. This section was a really pretty section-it started off with a long road climb with beautiful views off to the side. I pushed myself to continue the run/walk plan up the hill. After the gate, we started on a single track trail downhill, and then before I knew it there was a road going downhill. This was a perfect running road-compacted dirt and gravel, and a wonderful downhill angle. I felt amazing running down this road, and for the first time all day began to believe I might actually finish the race. I was a little sad to turn off the road onto another trail! Eventually we reached the bottom and made the turn onto Yellowstone Road, which begins the long road climb up to Little Cove. I continued to run/walk, although my walking breaks were getting a little longer at this point and it was getting harder to push myself. This section felt pretty long, and I was so happy to finally see the aid station! And when I looked at the time, I was thrilled. I had banked another 15 minutes against my goals. Never did I think I would be so far ahead of my goal pace. The cutoff at Bearwallow didn't seem nearly so intimidating. I just needed to keep running steady. I drank a lot at the aid station (definitely becoming a theme) and then headed back out towards Bearwallow.

AS 6 (Little Cove) to AS 7 (Bearwallow Gap) 11:32
I knew that my husband was going to try to bring the kids out to Bearwallow. I told him I didn't think there was any way I'd be there before noon, but he said they'd get there around 11:30 so my son could help with drop bags (his favorite thing to do at aid stations). As I went through this section, I realized there was a chance I could beat him to Bearwallow. I felt bad that I had no way of letting him know, but fairly proud of myself at the same time. I was really having a great day. I was even having fun!

My notes said that the first mile out of Little Cove was runnable downhill, but once again, it started out climbing. The climb was short though, and then the trail did indeed go downhill. This was a very pretty section of single track and grassy trail. I was nervously awaiting the so-called "devil trail", which I knew led into Bearwallow. A few times I'd go through a rocky section of single track and wonder if this was already it, and then it would smooth out. At one point we made a turn onto a trail and that trail was noticeably more rocky. Here we are, I thought. This was a pretty tough section of trail. I saw a few people fall, and I took a hard fall myself. Thankfully nothing was bleeding or badly bruised and I was able to keep going. The last quarter mile or so was such a tease; we had crossed the road and I could see the sign for the entrance to the parking lot, but then we wandered around in zig zags every which way before we actually entered the parking lot.

I was beyond excited to arrive when I did. Melissa and Kathie were there, and helped me change my socks, get food, refill my pack, etc. Can I just say that having a crew is an amazing gift! The aid station volunteers are wonderful, and we couldn't do these races without them. But there's something special about having friends out there supporting you personally on these crazy endeavors. I asked Melissa to tell Jeremy I'd already been through so he wouldn't keep waiting, and to tell him I'm so sorry I missed him! Then it was back to the trail, uphill of course.

AS 7 (Bearwallow Gap) to AS 8 (Bobblets Gap) 13:26
As always, this section had plenty of climbing. I was thankful to have seen it during a training run. This part seems to go on forever, repeating over and over-climb a long uphill around a ridge, turn the corner, run a slight downhill, then turn the other way, repeat. The nice thing is that each climb gets a little less steep, so it sort of feels like you're repeating the same trail, but getting a little stronger each time. My legs were getting tired here, but I kept pushing myself to run wherever I could. I had to back off on the rocky sections because I was starting to stumble a lot-no agility left in my legs. When the footing was good I did push myself to run. The views were very pretty along here, overlooking the valley, although I don't think I enjoyed them as much because I was so tired. Two ladies passed me in this section talking about trying to make their 17 hour finish-were we really on pace for that?? I started to daydream about what that would look like. I kept doing the math, and I would need to average something like a 16 minute mile for the rest of the course, which almost sounded doable at that point. Even short of that, it looked like I would at least avoid the need to sprint a 6 minute mile at the end to make it into the camp on time, and I was very thankful for that.

This section was long, and I was very impatiently awaiting the aid station. Because of the turns in the trail, you can't see or hear the aid station until you're right there. When I came around the corner, my son was there, ringing a cowbell!! And then my daughter ran up! Jeremy was there, and it was so great to see him and the kids. What a huge encouragement! This was another high point in the race for me-I was running very well, almost a full hour ahead of my goals, and my husband and kids were there to see me doing well. Melissa and Alissa (much to my surprise) were at the aid station and helped me get food and something to drink. Blake was working this aid station, and he had a cooler full of ice-amazing!! I drank some ice cold water, and then dumped a bunch of ice into my bra. That helped so much to cool me off, because I was feeling pretty hot at this point. The high ended up being in the mid 70s, and I was running hard and feeling it. I left the aid station with a great sendoff from my family and friends.

AS 8 (Bobblets Gap) to AS 9 (Day Creek) 15:49
The first part of this section is a very washed out road, which I ran/walked because I was no longer nimble enough to hop over the millions of rocks, holes, and ravines that made up the road. Then it opens to a gravel road. I ran the entire road down, and although my legs were definitely tired, I still felt pretty good. As I turned into the single track though, it was like a switch flipped and my body just said, "Aaaand we're done." Suddenly my legs were like lead weights, and I couldn't eat anything anymore, and I was so tired. My tailwind started making me feel thirstier every time I took a sip, so I stopped drinking. By late in this section I was getting very dehydrated and felt like I was on the verge of passing out. I remember promising myself that I would sit in a chair at Day Creek, because at least if I passed out there, there would be people to get me back up and make sure I finished the race. This was the lowest I have ever felt in any race. I was overwhelmed, discouraged, and disappointed. I had run so well up to this point, and now the wheels had fallen off. I wondered why I was out there, and if I should even have attempted this race. It was like the heat, exhaustion, distance, and infamous "forever section" had all twisted into one big nasty black hole and sucked me in. The trail in this section is very disorienting, turning in every direction, and there aren't many landmarks, so it feels like you're making very little progress. At one point, I was pretty certain that I had accidentally looped back and was never actually going to leave the course. My Garmin gave me the low battery beep here, and for awhile I was convinced that it had actually stopped recording because it seemed like it said the same distance every time I looked at it. I considered curling up on the trail and taking a nap. It was not pretty.

At this point, I was so grateful to the previous, strong runner me, who had banked enough time that I could walk and still believe there was time to get to the finish. For the first time all day, I covered miles that took more than 20 minutes. It was very slow and ugly. Mentally, I knew that I still had time to finish, and I knew that quitting was not an option. I would finish. But I hate finishing a race on a death march.

Finally, somehow, I made it to the Day Creek aid station in terrible shape. I mumbled something about needing to sit down and drink a lot of water. I had Melissa dump out the rest of the tailwind in my pack, and fill it with water instead. I took everything out of my pack that I didn't need for the last section. I kept water, salt pills, and one Stinger waffle, hoping I'd be able to eat it (wishful thinking). Alissa was so encouraging, pointing out that I had two hours to cover 6 miles, so even if I walked the whole thing I would make it. They did exactly what I needed then-they let me sit and rest for a few minutes, rehydrate, and then they got me back out on the trail. I was so very thankful to have friends there-the aid station crew is fabulous, but I needed the familiar faces telling me I could do this.

AS 9 (Day Creek) to Finish 17:44
I headed out of the aid station and promptly vomited most of the water I had drank while sitting in the chair. So much for hydration. Too bad, have to keep moving anyway. I slogged up the hill which seemed to be about 700 miles long. I know that in reality, this hill is not that terrible, but I was physically spent at that point. My legs just laughed at me when I considered running. So I trudged along, focusing on taking one step at a time. From the training run, I knew that there was a historical marker shortly before you can see the gate where you cross the parkway at the top of the hill. It seemed like forever, but after about 45 minutes, there was the marker. Hooray, that means we're almost there. A few more minutes of hiking and finally, the gate came into view. I have never been so excited to see a metal gate or hear the sound of traffic!! At the top, there was a most blessed gift, a person with a cooler of ice cold water bottles. That was exactly what I needed in that moment. And I knew that I had three miles to go, they really are all downhill, and I had just over an hour to do them. Even in my sad state, I was pretty confident that I could do that. I was hoping to run most of it, since the footing is pretty decent. But for the first section, there were just enough rocks that I was sure I would slip and fall off the mountain. Plus, when I tried to run, it felt like my legs were about to break off at the hips. So I quick-walked down, and jogged a few steps when I could, until my legs loosened up a bit again. Then I did my same run-walk approach down the hill. Never thought I would be using that on a downhill. Normally I love downhill finishes, but when you have no legs left, downhill can be just as tough as climbing.

Finally, we reached the gravel road section, and I forced myself to jog as much as possible. Even jogging, I was moving pretty slowly, like a 14 minute pace. But I was moving and I was happy to be running again. Many many walking breaks in this section. Not pretty. But forward progress and the finish line was ever so close. As I came down the mountain, I saw Melissa coming up. She was excited to see me, and gave me a last boost of encouragement. I was almost to the 1 mile to go sign, and I still had half an hour. I was really going to do this!!

I ran most of the way until I came up around the side of the camp. I knew that no matter how exhausted I was, once I entered the gates of the camp, I was running to the finish, and I wanted to rest for a minute first! At last, I turned through the gates to the camp. It was dark, and hard to spot the reflective markers, so I was very thankful for the people standing at one particular intersection calling me to come the right way. And then, there it was-that orange tape finishers chute leading to the race clock. As I came up, they asked for my number (it was dark, and my headlamp prevented them from seeing my face). Then Dr. Horton greeted me at the finish with, "WHOA!!!! NO WAY!!! I didn't give you a chance at all to finish!!" That was a pretty great feeling, honestly. Dr. Horton is a legend, and he is really good at predicting what runners will be able to do. Being able to exceed his expectations is a huge achievement.

I stayed at the finish for the next 15 minutes to watch the rest of the runners finish, which worked out well since I could hardly move anyway. There was a big group that came in with about 5 minutes to spare, so exciting to see them beat the clock!! Everyone had suffered that day. The race was no longer Sissygate, it was too hot for that. "Hotter than Hellgate" seemed to be sticking. I was so exhausted that I forgot to get the finish line photo with Dr. Horton, my one regret from this race.

This race was the hardest race I've ever run, with the highest highs and the lowest lows. For awhile I ran a much stronger race than I expected, and then I had a breakdown I never saw coming. I went from being afraid of missing the 12:30pm cutoff, to daydreaming about a 17 hour finish, to slogging ten miles on dead legs. But I finished!! I am so thankful for all the aid station volunteers, for Melissa, who is the most amazing crew ever, for Alissa and Kathie helping me at aid stations, for Jeremy coming out with the kids to see me running, and for Dr. Horton creating this beast of a race and giving me a chance to run it. It certainly was a "special" experience that brought every bit of the challenge promised, even if it wasn't what we expected. I'm so glad I was able to run it!