Hellgate 100K,
2011
Many people talked about how ‘special’ this race was… after
awhile I already knew that I wanted to run it. The course sounded so
challenging and scenic! After listening to Robert talk about his experiences
there and going over some race reports from previous years, I was sold.
I knew I would have to train seriously for this one, not
just because it was a 100k but more so because of some of the other aspects
that make it so different than other races. Like the 12:01 am start- that
throws ya off a bit! Of course you are up pretty much the whole day beforehand
since you are at the camp, and there are other people there too, and
practically everyone is talking about the race or previous ones or training and
the energy around the place is electric!
The drive down was slightly cramped but a lot of fun. Temps
were in the 40’s as Robert fired up his van, and then Cassie and Sean, Brad,
Jodie and I piled in and headed east to Virginia. The drive took us about 14.5
hrs…we took turns driving and the time went by as we sailed through
Illinois…Ohio…Indiana…Kentucky…West Virginia…ah, hello Virginia and your
awesome mountains!
I had trained some with Robert for this race, and was glad
that I did because many times our conversation would drift to Hellgate and I
would learn a little more….I was a bit nervous and coming off of a dnf at
Glacial I was pretty determined to get through this one, come hell or high
water! And yes, both came.
The weather was perfect down there, we arrived to Camp Bethel
and Robert kind of gave us the rundown of the place. Neat out buildings, with
all kinds of landscaping around utilizing the creeks and natural spring fed
pond to create scenic little waterfalls and guided little streams under
decorative bridges…The main building where we stayed was simple and wide open
inside the main part of it with rooms along the sides for sleeping which
contained bunks. Showers were right there, and access to a fridge and micro (and
yes, coffee makers!)
Friday morning Robert took us up the final section of the
race which was a good climb up the side of the mountain. Took us about 45
minutes to walk it, Brad, Jodie and I took a little longer as we were taking pics.
It was nice to get out in the woods and exercise a little, felt great!
After we returned to the camp Horton arrived. He was just as
I remembered in the video that Jim Blanchard borrowed me where Horton runs the
PCT from Mexico to Canada…full of energy, mind going a million miles an hour,
always moving…nice to meet him. Brad and Robert went along with him to finish
marking the trail and to help out doing whatever else needed doing.
More and more people began arriving as the day wore on,
leading to many exciting conversations and a growing feeling of anticipation
for the race. Cassie wound up sick the night before the race. She had flu like
systems, and it made her so miserable that she had to drop from the race.
As the race drew nearer it was getting harder to find stuff
to do…having the start at midnight really threw you off. I found myself pacing,
then sitting, then pacing. It was mental torture! Should have brought a book…at
least the dinner broke things up. The pre race dinner was set up home cooking
style in a large room where everyone got to sit at these round tables. There
was like 6 or so to a table, and they had pasta dishes and salad. I sat with
Paul, the RD from the Ozark race and some others that had done Hellgate before
and so dinner conversation was all about races, Hellgate, and of course poison
oak.
Horton held a pre race meeting to discuss the race, and
introduced some key helpers in the race (such as Robert!) so you started to get
a feel for the history…he would call out the number of finishes and then those
who had them would have to stand up. He would also make small talk of past
mistakes people had made, and then make them stand up to…it was all good fun.
When it was time to go Jodie drove us (and Joe from
Michigan) to the start. The full moon was already rising, which was wonderful
to have running through the night!
Some gal sang the Canadian Anthem, and then we all sang the
American National Anthem followed by a prayer led by Horton. And then it was go
time.
This race has A LOT of climbing. Miles of climbs. It was
wonderful having the moonlight because we could shut our headlamps off while
walking up the gravel roads. Gave the eyes a nice break! I remember by mile 15
my hamstrings were already starting to get sore, and I was thinking man this is
going to be a long day lol! It was awesome to be up close to the top of a
mountain and then look back down the switchbacks and see all the headlights
bobbing their way up…just surreal.
We came to the first creek-not so bad. I heard someone say “this
is the creek before the creek” and I thought oh, it must get worse. They had
had a lot of rain down there so there were plenty of spots where water was
running across the trail that had made its way down the mountain. In fact there
were spots where the water was coming right out of the mountain! Very cool.
Until you were running in it and your feet were soaked ha-ha
When we came to the creek Horton had mentioned it was up to
about my knees, rushing along pretty good. I was about half way across when I
saw the photographer sitting on the bank in the dark and that was quite a startle!
Made my way across and squished up the other side; long climb to dry out and
then some more single track. There was a single track section in here that had
a ton of leaves and I found out soon enough that the Altra Instincts have less
than desirable traction on such surfaces. I was sliding all over the place
through there, once I almost slid right off the trail and down the mountainside
so mental note for next time!
Seeing Jodie at the aid stations was a good boost. She
crewed for everyone in our group, and found her way from aid station to aid
station all night. It is always nice having someone you know helping out there!
Plus I always got to ask how everyone else was doing, since I was last in our
group coming through after Brad got ahead of me. I still cannot believe he
decided to go ahead with the race with no training for 2 months and rocked it!
WTF?!
Throughout the race I talked with a few people who were
finishing up the Beast Series…had one guy (SNIPER) who pointed out Telluride
Mountain as we were climbing up a mountain beside it. Always cool to talk with
local runners too, who fill ya in on all the history of the trail and ‘what
those guys are doing with the dogs’ that kept passing me while they were going
up the trail in their hunting trucks. The aid stations were great, manned by
students from Horton’s classes. They were encouraging and as helpful as they
could be. At aid station 4 I heard of people dropping already. All I could
think about was my dnf at Glacial. Seriously, it haunted me every time I
thought about how hard things were getting or how much this or that is starting
to hurt or how much farther can this climb possibly go on? I mean the mountain
is only so tall right? Ha-ha There was no way I was not finishing this race….
Through aid station 6 I felt ok, which was around 30-40
miles. Soon after this however I started to get bad inflammation in my feet and
ankles, and things were kind of at a real low. I struggled through the next
section, running with Drew, a guy from Richmond who I got to know pretty well
while running the next few hours. At aid station 7 I knew I needed
something. I argued with myself about
taking Ibuprophen for a few hours...as I look at it as a crutch. Finally I just
made the decision that nothing else is going to take the inflammation down,
nothing in your pack, nothing in your supplements, nothing else you got on ya.
I asked Jodie to see if she could find me some at aid station 8. She did, and
after briefly talking with the medic there he said it was ok since I was
hydrating well and had no cramping issues. After taking it and about 3 miles or
so down the trail, I could almost feel the swelling go down and I was back in
business! Still hurt but at least I wasn’t hobbling along! The rest of the race
was pretty smooth sailing…there are sections of this race where you swear it’s
just been forever, and then there are sections that are so scenic that I wanted
them to last forever. The view of the mountains was just awe inspiring, and
reminds me why we trail runners do what we do! At night the lights from the
cities in the valleys was amazing, the sun coming up was such a welcome sight,
the brilliantly green moss on the rocks and some tree bases was neat to see- so
much tied into this race. I can see why
everyone calls it a special event...Climbing the last hill, you already have a
smile (at least I did, I believe the guy behind me was cursing) as you know the
end is in reach. I remember getting to the point where I realized that I was
going to finish, in less than 17 hours. Talk about ecstatic! My Garmin watch
helped me to get through the longer parts since the mileage was always longer
than what the course said or the people at the aid stations would say. It
lasted until mile 64- the last hill. I couldn’t believe it when the ‘low
battery’ alarm went off! “Stay with me!” I said aloud, this is it! Then it
faded to a dull blank screen… Alas, technology will never have the guts that
ultra runners do…crossing that finish line and shaking Horton’s hand was a real
treat to my memory. I am so glad that I was able to be a part of Hellgate 2011,
and now I understand why Robert keeps on coming back to this one.
