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| Three Major Climbing Sections: Miles 11-18, Miles 26-35, and Miles 44-47 |
I arrived back at Camp Shenandoah the next morning at about 5:15 AM and made my way over to the start area. This was going to be my longest race ever, and my first time doing a single loop of this size, so it was also my first time really racing in a running vest. I am not a huge fan and normally would go with handhelds, if possible, but that was not the case for this one. I was wearing my Hoka Speedgoat 5’s, a Hoka Airolite short sleeve top, a Salomon Adv Skin 12 vest, and a Suunto watch. My nutrition plan was to consumer one Tailwind packet every aid station and to supplement with solid food at aid stations and throughout the course. We began to congregate at the start line at about 5:55 AM and after a few quick words from the race director we were off!
I knew this was a competitive race as the top three received auto entry into UTMB Mont Blanc, but man do people start hot! It looks like the top guys were cranking 6:20-6:30 miles during the opening 5.7 Miles to the first aid station “Lick Run – 1”. This section of the course featured a short loop at the start of about a mile, followed by three miles of gradual uphill on pavement before we transitioned to a gravel fire road for another mile and a half before reaching the aid station. My plan was to start conservatively, run smart, and move up throughout the day. I knew it was going to be a long day and it was also going to be very hot later (80+ degrees) so there was no reason to overcook it too early. I kept it in the low eight minutes miles to start, giving my body and legs time to warm up for the work ahead.
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| Start! |
After leaving Lick Run – 1, we entered the single-track trails, where we would spend most of our day. We hit the first significant climb of the day here traversing 660 feet over eight tenths of a mile, reducing the train of people ahead to power hiking. This was the first moment of the day where I was stuck with the reality of the task at hand, calves on fire at only Mile 7, reduced to a hike. We crested the top of the climb and spent the next several miles running along undulating single-track trail on the ridge line making our way over to the second aid station, Wolf Ridge. I only passed a handful of people over these miles as it was still early, and the hot starters were still out in force.
Wolf Ridge – Mile 11.4, 40th Place, 1:49:01 Total Time
I stayed at Wolf Ridge for two or three minutes, refilling my water and Tailwind and taking my time to collect some food to go in a plastic bag, as it was nearly ten miles to the next aid station. It was early, but the only thing that really seemed to be working for me food wise outside of the Tailwind was peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and Oreos. Leaving the aid station, the first major climbing section of the race began, which was nearly eight miles of single-track from Miles 11-18. My plan here was to continue to take the climb relatively easy and feel good coming out at the top. I ended up shadowing another runner for nearly the whole climb who was making a good pace as we went by more than half a dozen runners. After cresting the end of the climb, we had a very nice grassy non-technical descent for nearly three miles to the next aid station where I was able to open the pace back up into the 7s. I came into the next aid station, Sand Springs at Mile 21.0 feeling great and got several remarks from the those at the aid station that I looked fantastic.
Sand Springs – Mile 21.0, 30th Place, 3:33:16 Total Time
Leaving Sand Springs, we had a very quick 4.2 Miles to the next station, with the entirety on nice, fast gravel roads, with the vast majority being downhill. I split my fastest mile of the day here at Mile 23 running 7:17. It was also nice that this part of the course was mostly shaded. It was only 10:00 AM by this point, and the heat of the day had not entirely set in, so it still felt relatively cool traversing over to the next aid station at North River Gap – 1. During this time, I also pulled out my phone and shot a quick video to send to my family as I had promised to give them a few update videos throughout. Even though I was running fast for this section, I practiced some restraint as I knew we had the second major climbing section coming up from Mile 25 – 35 after leaving the next aid station.
North River Gap 1 – Mile 25.2 – 29th Place, 4:07:05 Total Time
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| Gravel Road from Sand Springs to North River Gap - 1 |
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| Rickety Bridge at Mile 25 |
After leaving the aid station, I continued to climb, this time, however, on more of a fire road trail, which was quicker than the single-track but was in the direct sunlight for most of the rest of the climb. I caught another runner around Mile 34 and paced off of him for the remaining mile or so of climbing before we began to enter a fairly technical descent over four miles to the next aid station. I definitely felt very tight on this descent, with my quads not quite able to open up as nicely as the last downhill section we had from Mile 18 to Mile 26. I lost the runner I had caught up to for a bit during this section, not making up ground until we had leveled out a bit more on the trail as we approached Magic Moss.
Magic Moss – Mile 38.1, 19th Place, 6:39:29 Total Time
I left the Magic Moss aid station and set off towards the final aid station before the biggest climb on the course. We were greeted with five relatively flat miles of gravel road. The first two miles after leaving Magic Moss were downhill and in the shade, but shortly after that the road flattened out considerably and we were in direct sunlight as the temperatures were starting to peak up near 80 degrees. There was considerable carnage on this stretch of road where I went by no less than six runners. After a fast 7:55 mile at Mile 41, I too got caught up in the heat a bit and started to dial it back. I have consistently seen in race reports and on YouTube videos that something about the gravel road running this late in the race is such a low point, even though it should be one of the quickest parts of the race. I think it is because the only thing you really can do is run, and it is a relentless one foot in front of the other. There is relatively no change in trail conditions, no change in pace, it just feels very rote and unforgiving at this stage in the race. I made a concerted effort to relax a bit as I entered the last mile or so before the aid stations, my hips tightening up considerably over the last few miles. Finally, I rounded one final turn and ran into the Camp Todd aid station, which was well stocked with crew and spectators, preparing to take on the daunting climb ahead of me.
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| Stream Crossing at Camp Todd at Mile 44 |
I stayed at Camp Todd for several minutes, taking extra water and refilling both my bottles. I was starting to struggle with nutrition a little bit, my appetite for Tailwind going down with each mile. I grabbed a few more PB&J sandwiches, stashed a few Oreos, and left the aid station, with nearly ten miles until the next one, with “only” 2,700 feet of elevation gain and 3600 feet of elevation loss in between. Leaving Camp Todd, I completely drenched my feet in the stream crossing, failing miserably at following the dry path. Thankfully, I had stashed an extra pair of socks in my drop bag, but I knew it would be nearly two hours before I reached it.
After crossing the stream, I was immediately faced with the totality of what was ahead of me. 3 Miles, 2,000 feet of elevation gain. I had “practiced” this climb in training, but nothing but the real thing ever really prepares you. These three miles were slippery, technical, and unrelentingly uphill. You couldn’t really run it even if you wanted to. It was at this point in the race where I met Nicholas Wirz, who had come into the Camp Todd aid station right before me. I went by him for the first mile of the climb, but he was a relentless power hiker, driving by me about half way up the climb with his poles. My goal was to stay in eyesight of him and stay connected. After what felt like an eternity, I finally crested the top of the mountain, and that’s when the rain hit.
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| Chasing after Nicholas at Mile 54 |
Thunder had rolled into Camp Todd and the Shenandoah Valley in the hour earlier, which finally gave way to a downpour. Within minutes, I was completely drenched, navigating technical undulating single-track with every cold wet shrub whacking my body as I went by. Nicholas was beginning to pull out of my eyesight as I was debating putting out my rain jacket, but finally decided against it. While the rain was cold, it was refreshing after hours of 80-degree heat. Unfortunately, this section felt very slow, due to the slippery, technical descents. After about 30 minutes, the sky began to clear and the rain dissipated, however lingering thunder would remain for much of the race. I finally caught back up to Nicholas near about Mile 49 as we traded conversation and leads. I would take the front on the downhills, and he would power by me on the climbs. The elevation loss was the real sneaky killer of this section. The near 2,500 feet we dropped over the next seven miles was destructive on the quads. The last mile before the next aid station dropped nearly 800 feet and was barely runnable at this point. Nicholas had gapped me over the last few miles, but I did pull him back in over the last downhill as we ran into the next aid station at North River Gap – 2 together.
North River Gap – 2 – Mile 52.8 – 13th Place – 9:38:53 Total Time
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| Technical Descent before North River Gap - 2 |
I took my time at North River Gap – 2 again, changing my socks and taking in extra water and food, knowing this was the last critical aid station before the finish. Nicholas set off about thirty seconds before me as we left the aid station and traveled up the gravel roads that we had run down from Mile 21 to Mile 25. I stayed within eyesight of him, as I began the slow, methodical climb back up. After about three miles, we took a right hand turn back onto the trail, at which time I caught back up to Nicholas, and he and I continued to run and power hike together for the next two miles of fairly non-technical single-track. We both thought that we were still on target for a sub-12-hour finish but knew that we would need to close strong. After the single-track, we popped back out onto a short gravel descent that we had come up on way back at Mile 8 or 9, and this where Nicholas and I finally parted. He was climbing much better than I was, but said his quads were shot. He had his GPS hooked up to the course topo profile and did warn me we had a pretty extreme downhill coming up over the next mile and boy was he right. I had just passed 60 Miles on my Suunto as I entered the downhill, which was not technical, but was indeed very steep. At the bottom of this descent, I popped out on the fire roads which would lead me back to the final aid station, Lick Run – 2. This was an odd mentally low point for me of the race, especially because it was so late. I must have misread or missed the sign indicating the distance to the next aid station, because I thought it was nearly two miles sooner than when I actually reached it. I kept going up and up the fire trails, out of water for nearly 20 minutes, with each turn I made failing to yield the final aid station. I was now beginning to get nervous I would not squeak in under 12 hours, when I finally rounded a turn and could see the final aid station up ahead.
Lick Run – 2 – 60.5 Miles, 11th Place – 11:11:09 Total Time
4.5 Miles, a tiny bit of climbing, and nearly 600 feet of descent was all that stood between me and the finish. I did spend about a minute or so at this aid station, even refilling both my bottles. I didn’t really need the water (or the weight of it), but I think I was just trying to compensate for the fact that I had been out before and had hit a mentally low spot. I had approximately 49 minutes to go the last 4.5 Miles to make it under 12 hours, knowing all I had to do was just get to the asphalt road. After about a mile of slightly uphill fire road, I finally hit the turn left to travel back to Camp Shenandoah. The sky was turning a deep grey color, but the rain and thunder was holding off for now. I felt surprisingly strong and smooth passing by all of the farmhouses and fields that I went by in the dark over eleven hours ago that were now illuminated. I pulled out my phone with two miles to go sending a short video to my family, trying hard to contain the emotion in my voice. I made one final turn on the asphalt road before approaching traffic volunteers, who told me I was less than a mile away. “That’s the best thing I have heard all day” I said. After two quick final turns on the asphalt, I plunged into one final smooth trail that traversed the back of Camp Shenandoah towards the finish. Having clocked low eight-minute miles the last three miles, I knew I was now well inside the twelve-hour mark and tried to soak in the last half mile, thankful for the great adventure I was able to have today and the ability to be able to push my body the way that I do. One final turn and I was on the path to the finishing line, a sense of relief coursing through my body. As I crossed the finish line, the sky began to open up in a downpour, perhaps waiting until the very second that I crossed the line to unleash. I raised my hands to the sky and took it all in.
Finish – Natural Chimneys – Mile 65.4 – 11th Place, 11:46:07 Total Time
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| Finish! |
I had finished in a time of 11:46:07, which was good for 11th Overall, and 10th Male. When I was told that I had finished in 11th my jaw dropped. Looking at the results from last year, on a great day, I thought maybe I could have been in the Top 20 or Top 25, but this result was far outside of my expectations. The winning times were slower than last year, but it really was a hot day out there and I’m sure there was carnage for those who went out too quickly. I ended up executing my race plan perfectly, moving up the entire day, from 44th at the first aid station to 11th at the finish, without getting passed once. After hanging out for about fifteen or twenty minutes I made my way to the car when the weather suddenly started to turn violent. Lighting directly overhead, torrential downpour basically blowing sideways. It was so terrifying that after 66 Miles of running, I still ran to my car to get to safety, zig zagging in the open field trying to avoid getting struck by lightning. That certainly would have been a way to go. I felt grateful for finishing when I did, but props to the runners still out on the course who had to battle through that.
Overall, I could not be more thrilled with how this race turned out. It was a lot of validation for me that all of my hard work and training have been paying off; that I could come into a race put on by UTMB with a national (at minimum, regional) class field and make the Top 10 Men. With the task at hand completed I now wait for two things. First, I finally have the opportunity to enter the lottery for the Western States Endurance Run, a goal of mine since I was 12-years old. I may not make it this time around, but you have to start somewhere and often times setting the foundation is the hardest part. Second, I collected three “Running Stones” which gives me an opportunity to enter the lottery for UTMB Mont Blanc, the World Series Final in Chamonix, France. I think I probably have a 1.00% chance of getting into WSER per their lottery analysis, and probably a 20% chance of getting into UTMB Mont Blanc per other analysis I have seen. Hopefully, I am fortunate enough to be on one of those starting lines next Summer, but if not I’m sure I will have some other big plans!
