Hallucination 100

7-hour downpour during the 100

51% finishing rate 

No pacer 
28th overall in 25:45
3rd place in my age group

Basics

• September 7-8, 2012 
• 4PM start from the Hell Creek Ranch in Pinckney, MI
• 100 Miles on a 16.7-mile loop 
• 15,000 feet total elevation change (The Garmin said double this but it could have been having a bad day)
• Terrain is medium 
• Aid Stations every 4 miles
• 30-hour time limit
• 133 starters and 69 finishers (51% of starters made the 100M. There was also a drop down option available for those that completed 4 loops. 13 runners used this)
• Jonathan Clinthorne 1st place for Men in 18 hours 10 minutes 
• Anastasia Andrychowski 1st place for Women in 21 hours 46 minutes 

Loop 1
0-17 miles (4pm-7pm)
It was hot, humid and I was shirtless. Around my neck I had tied a handkerchief filled with ice and the water was melting down my back. I still felt like I was suffocating.

I previewed the race using any photo or video I could find online. Somehow my mind formed this picture of magically even trail and gently meandering hills.

But of course none of that was to be. The trail had been washed out many times and there were piles of loose, decomposed dirt at the base of the hills and low points on the course. Often the ground was uneven and rutted. Tree roots rose up to grab at weary legs.


Loop 2
17-33 miles (7pm-11pm)
We were running through the dark. There was occasional rain that passed over us and it made the air a little more bearable.  At mile 23 I vomited a PB&J and that was some of the last food I would eat for the next 20 hours. I ran on maltodextrin, soda and soup broth. Most of my energy came from body fat slowly converted to energy.

A cold, hard driving rain began at 10PM that lasted for the next 7 hours. I finally felt motivated to run. The deluge was heavy and at times vision was limited to the ground just in front of my feet. Occasionally a large drop of water would land squarely on the top of my head with a resounding thump.

Each loop was about 17 miles and on the way back from the turnaround point, I was running with a Dr. from Thailand when my headlamp gave a very distinct on/off flash and signaled that the batteries were going to die. I had plenty of batteries 4 miles ahead and plenty of batteries 4 miles behind but I was not carrying any on me. Rookie mistake.

Mike Heider, #53, selflessly lent me his two mini lights and I tucked in behind two new friends Jerry and Dale as we headed back towards the main aid station. It was a very dark trek as I tried to preserve the batteries in Mike's lights yet give myself enough light not to twist an ankle.

It is still pouring.


Loop 3
33-50 miles (11pm-3:30am)
I made it back to the main aid station to my stockpile of batteries and sent out a silent thanks to Mike wherever he may have been.

I checked in at the aid station board and as I turned to enter the runner's area, much to my surprise, I found two bikers standing there complete with sleeveless leather vests, cans of beer and one smoking a cigarette! A second surprise "Can I fill your bottle?" These guys were volunteering at the aid station!

I was getting ready in the tent and I could see the carnage for this race was starting. A stronger runner than I was dropped even though she looked solid the first few laps. There was a group huddled around a heater in their wet clothes and blankets. And as I donned an extra layer, someone gave me a dire warning that parts of the trail were completely washed out.

My new biker pal filled my bottle, changed my headlamp batteries and got me absolutely pumped up to go back out! The next morning when I shuffled into camp I saw him sitting in a golf cart and we were both so psyched that I was still going that we shared a big high five.

The next 17 miles of running were mostly solo in the rain. It was fun to trek through the night like that.


Loop 4
50-67 miles (3:30am-8:15am)
I left for my fourth loop and it was getting cold. The trails were channels of running water and that loose decomposed dirt had turned into a thick mud. One climb was so slick that I used some small plants to pull myself up to a ledge.

I rolled into the aid station at mile 54 and knew I had to stay there to warm up. Both the temperature of the air and my body had dropped considerably. I waited around and watched while the DNF's piled up. After 45 minutes, one runner's boyfriend picked her up and she was kind enough to give me her poncho. I headed back onto the trail and started to warm up. That was about the time that the rain stopped!

I headed back from the turnaround point and daylight was on the horizon. A few miles later the 50k'ers and 50M'ers appeared and they were hauling ass in the outbound direction.

Mile 67. Returning to the aid station after a night in the rain.

Loop 5
67-83 miles (8:15am-1:15pm)
I said to myself that I would set myself right before I left the aid station so I changed out my clothes and took care of my feet for the 3rd time. There were no blisters to break because my feet were macerated and looked strikingly similar to the ruffled potato chips.

This loop felt like the slowest to me but at least the humidity was gone. There was a new mental assault to deal with as the 50k'ers and 50M'ers were blowing past at much faster speeds. Oh to have fresh legs! The constant passing made it tough to get into a rhythm and I continuously had to step aside. The runners were absolutely kind about this but it added a mental challenge.


Loop 6
83-100 miles (1:15pm-5:45pm)

Mile 83. Heading back out on the final loop.

It felt great leaving for that last loop! Granted I couldn’t move my ass any faster but I had a much better experience than Loop 5. My finishing time was going to be slower than planned (25:45) but I was happy it was hard and that I earned this finish.

I kept myself shuffling forward until a few miles before the end where there were a couple of steep downhills. Descending felt similar to getting hit with a baseball bat in the quads. "HEY! –SMACK-- I just wanted to remind you this is 100 miles."

As soon as I heard the band I was in striking distance of the finish line. I had a good surge and ran it in. Then I dropped on all fours to do some push ups.

3rd place in my age group

The 100M buckle

"3 days of peace, love and running". No kidding.

On site camping

The finish

Bands Friday night and Saturday

Resting before the start

Rocky Road 100

4th 100 miler

1st sub-24

21hours 31minutes

12th place

Basics

• February 18-19, 2012 
• 100 Miles on a 7.5-mile out-and-back course 
• 18,000 feet total elevation change 
• All horse trail with occasional street crossings
• Aid Stations every 2.5 miles
• The course is marked by an obvious three-rail horse fence 
• 6AM start in Coto de Caza Sports Park, Coto De Caza, CA
• 34-hour time limit  
• 120 starters and 87 finishers (73%. There is also a drop down option available for those that complete 60 miles)
• Jon Olsen 1st place for Men in 13 hours 14 minutes 
• Jeri Ginsburg 1st place for Women in 18 hours 45 minutes 

Six legs on this 7.5-mile out-and-back course with a final, 5-mile out and back.

I chose Rocky Road because:

• I wanted to complete one more 100 miler before our first child was born in April 
• I had been going up against gut crushing, technical mountain races for my first three 100's and I had not tested myself on a fast 100
• It offered a controlled, consistent environment where I might learn more about my mind and body as I progressed through the 100-mile distance 
• I wanted to run a 100 miler in less than 24 hours and the course is entirely on horse trail with no technical terrain and relatively low elevation change 

Differences going in this race compared to previous 100's:

• For the first time I would be running a 100 without a pacer 
• I had intentionally reduced my training regime to see if I could run 100's with much less training, which would free up more time to be with my family. (My previous training plan was 80 miles per week and this new plan was 50 miles one week alternating with 30 miles the other)  
• I would be running in a state far, far away and would not have familiar faces

Planning
My stomach typically has a complete meltdown between miles 25 and 60 and then I don't take in enough calories. This makes it much harder to perform so for this race I planned to add maltodextrin powder to my water. This would give me extra calories in a liquid form which is much easier to take in.

I did face one hurdle of how to transport this across the country. The maltodextrin comes in a fine white powder and is sold in a container shaped like a powder keg. My buddy suggested I separate it into plastic bags and bring it in my carry-on... Thankfully Rob, the Co-RD, was really helpful and I had the manufacturer ship him one container.


Pre-Race Briefing
When we landed at John Wayne Airport, we were taxiing towards the gate and from my window I saw a private plane with a 360-degree bubble-shaped cockpit coming the other way. I was too shocked to take a photo even though I was holding a camera.

At the Pre-Race Briefing they served some pretty delicious food and after a second helping I walked over to the trophy table and took the photo of the two buckles below. I had been on the fence about pushing for a sub-24 when a few days before the race I noticed the USATF (USA Track & Field) elevation profile that read 20,000 feet of vertical in this race instead of the 10,000 I thought I saw when I had signed up. Earlier in this report I listed a number of differences between this race and my previous 100's and the one that I kept thinking about was that I had trained on 50% less mileage. In other races I had known some friends that blew up from pushing too hard. But seeing those buckles side-by-side helped me make up my mind. Screw it, I'm going for it.

One advantage of flying from the east coast to the west coast to race is being able to fall asleep at 8PM PST
and then to be wide awake and chipper at 4AM!

Last minute race preparation at the start. I ate 4 Entemann's donuts.

Leg 1 (Miles 0 to 15)
I went out hard for the first leg of a 100 mile (2h 25m). Some of the downhills were steep and I had to lean only a little ways forward to bomb down. I was cruising along the course and I was trying to memorize the profile since I had another 5 laps to go after this.

The way out is 7.5 miles and the first 5 are mostly downhill with some abrupt uphills.
The next 2.5 miles reverse and are mostly uphill with a few quick downhills.
These sharp up and downs is how the total elevation change reaches 18,000 ft!
 The turnaround is at mile 7.5 and then the whole roller-coaster happens in reverse.

The race is held in the Coto de Caza Sports Park where they filmed the Real Housewives of Orange County.
[Most of the photos in this post are from The Green Girl who generously allowed me to use them without knowing who I was or what I was about. Thank you Green Girl! http://www.therunninggreengirl.com

Leg 2 (Miles 15 to 30)
On the second leg the temperature rose into the 60's and I was not used to this. It is still winter in NJ and the previous weekend I had been training in light snow! The heat was absolutely oppressive and I started to run in the shadows of the fence even though I knew it did not make sense.

The second leg of the race was a low point as my glycogen stores depleted and I was overheating. At the 7.5 mile turnaround there was a tray of salty focaccia bread which helped propel me back to the start.

This three-rail horse fence marks the entire course.

Leg 3 (Miles 30-45)

I needed to cool my core temperature so I switched to a handheld bottle filled to the brim with ice and soda. Wow! The caffeine coursed through into my system and brought me back into focus. For the rest of the day I refilled my bottle with soda even though I knew it wasn't a good idea. I should have switched my fuel back to the maltodextrin but my senses were pretty sharp and brewed coffee would have been too hot plus I don't think they had it.

BTW one 20oz. soda has 250 calories, 75 mg of salt and 65g of sugar which is equal to 17.25 sugar packets according to http://www.onecanofsoda.com/. 17 sugar packets. 17. sugar. packets.

There was an aid station every 2.5 miles and I blew through most of them. Occasionally I would spend a minute to refill a low bottle or grab a handful of chips but I minimized my time at the aid stations.

I found that so much of the course was runnable and there were no long climbs to break up the running. Sometimes I would just tire and would have to slow down to a walk. I wasn't used to quicks up and downs. Walking was more comfortable but it ate up precious time so before I fully recovered I would remind myself to have discipline and would start running again. I wanted that sub-24 buckle and little decisions like this helped to make it more of a reality.

What? I missed this sign on the first 2 passes. This is a densely populated suburb with two golf courses, tennis courts and mountain lions?
After the race I learned that "Coto de Caza" actually means "game preserve" in Spanish.

Since the course was an out-and-back, runners constantly passed in the opposite direction. We greeted one another with words of encouragement: "Great job" "Looking strong." But I had been pushing hard for the many hours and as I approached another runner my brain misfired and I said loudly and clearly "GOOD GAME!"


Leg 4 (Miles 45 to 60)
I reached the 50 mile mark in 9 hours and 25 minutes. I still did not think that I had the sub-24 in the bag since those last 20-30 miles are so unpredictable. And as I mentioned before, one of my concerns was that my legs might blow up and I would be forced to walk. If this second half of the race took 30% longer than the first half then that would push me over the limit.

It was starting to get dark so I carried my headlamp. At the mile 50 aid station I suddenly felt very, very nauseous. My stomach was not absorbing the 17 packets of sugar per bottle and I was feeling it sit on the bottom of my stomach. It felt like I had ingested sand. The urge came on pretty strong so I moved off to the side and heaved. There were a few teenagers volunteering at that aid station and I could their shock and horror. But hey, it's an ultra, it worked and I felt like new. I switched back to the maltodextrin powder, took some NoDoz and felt pretty good as I moved into the second half of the race.

I remember looking up and seeing the cypress trees standing out against the sky. Very cool.

Leg 5 (Miles 60 to 75)
The sun was going down and the headlamps were coming on. The residents of Coto de Caza started heading out for their Saturday night.

Throughout the day I passed many residents taking walks and one even riding a horse. They were all very welcoming and offered lots of encouragement to the runners. But as I reached one of the intersections there was a couple in a Mercedes stopped at a stop sign. Two runners were crossing in front of their car and the man threw both of his hands up in the air and started shaking them because he had to wait a few seconds. After I saw his reaction I just had to pass in front of his car even slower than they had.

Leg 6 (Miles 75 to 90)

Earlier in the day I felt something tight in the upper part of my left calf and I assumed it was cramping. I popped a few S-caps and that seemed to take care of it. Later in the afternoon I felt a strain in the lower part of the left calf just above the ankle. I took more S-caps and it also went away. Then around mile 80 I felt a very sharp pain in the back of the knee and I yelled out loud. 


Something was definitely wrong and I had never felt anything like this before. Suddenly I realized that the calf cramps and the knee were all related. “Oh ___”. What could I do? 80 miles into a 100 and I was making great time. This was some bad news and I did not know what it meant yet. I tested the leg with different strides and force to find out exactly where and what caused the pain. The sharp pain came when the leg extended and I figured out that if I shortened the stride for the left leg then there was no pain. It looked a little awkward but I could actually run better like this than I could walk! 


I kept on racing but of course there were times that I had to walk or at least transition to a walk. The sharp pain returned whenever this happened and sometimes it would be too much. I would have to grab onto the white fence for support. I considered all of my options and what each of them would mean. I continued the race with the adjusted stride. 

The NoDoz wore off when I was about 10 minutes from the mile 87.5 aid station. I started falling asleep while running and I started listing side to side like a zombie. I had been hoping to make it back to the mile 90 before this happened where I heard they were finally serving coffee. Unfortunately I knew I wasn't going to make it back with taking a nap. At the aid station I fell into a chair and asked the family volunteering to wake me up in 10 minutes. While I was sleeping I overheard their hushed conversation that there will be more runners like this shortly. I was too far into sleep to tell them that it is 3AM east coast time. They had about 3 more hours before there were more zombies on the trail.


Final 5 mile out and back (Miles 80 to 90)
At mile 90 I pulled into the start/finish area and sat in a chair. I started in on a coffee and was readying myself mentally for the last 10 miles. I had just sat down when coming across the line were three runners that I had seen at the last turn around. I thought I was much further ahead! The coffee splashed on the ground and I launched myself out of the chair.

I kept a hard pace to put as much distance between us as possible. I was hoping that after I hit the 5 mile turnaround there would be enough of a gap that I would not be caught. But the course had those abrupt changes in vertical and this forced me to transition from fast to slow. I was getting those sharp sensations in my leg and it felt like the muscle had locked tight. I could only push down and behind without pain and I was losing control of my stride.

I had been drinking plain water for a few hours now and when I hit the aid station at 92.5 miles I made a 50/50 mix with Mountain Dew. I never really had much of the coffee and I wanted to be focused again. Only a mile or so down the road my stomach turned. I went over to the fence and retched over the side. I was half laughing because the fences were the perfect height to do this! Runner #9 came over to me and she rubbed my back and asked if I was ok. This made me feel so much better. Ultrarunners always seem to be such great people.

At mile 95 I climbed up the hill to the final turnaround. As I bombed back towards the finish I saw one of those three runners from mile 90 only about a half mile behind me. I pushed on as fast as I could with my hobbled stride but it was much more difficult than before.

But I was getting psyched for the end and I thought, “This is it. You don’t have to pass this place again.” I made it past this one ginormous mansion that had a driveway hundreds of yards long and I was getting close. I started counting down the cross streets as I made it closer to the end. “4, 3, 2, 1.”

I made a left at the cones and ran up that last hill to the finish line. The official time was 21h31m.

It was around 3AM PST and I changed into every clean layer I had and sat in the passenger seat of the rental car. I was psyched to have my sub-24 silver buckle and surprised I had finished 12th.

The spike in speed before mile 60 was a planned sock change and foot maintenance. The spikes at the end were the leg.

The morning after I was hobbling around but luckily there were no sharp pains. 6 weeks later with lost of rest and ice and I was, thankfully, ok.

Here's our little Maya keeping me company while I write this race report.

The Balled Eagle Fatt Ass 100, well... 50

                    While walking up the hill on the way towards the Kennedy Peak Observation Tower, we are 

                    about to pass in front of two weathered strangers sitting on the side of the trail in front of a small fire. 
                    They are wearing a patchwork of hunting gear and flannel. 

                    Sniper asks in his friendly Virginian banter "Is lunch almost ready?" 

                    The chilling response: "Looks like it's walking up the hill right now."

How this race came to be and the ties between us (The short, short version)

All of us are friends and have paced, ran races together or crewed one another. Each of us had at least one medium to hard 100 under the belt. Sniper had run hundreds of ultras, thirty nine 100's and is our official ultrarunning mentor.

Zoe (crew), Jim (runner), Seth (crew), David/Sniper (Race Director and runner), Dave (runner), Mike (runner)

In October 2011, at the brunch following Grindstone, I was talking with Sniper and shared the recent news that my wife and I are expecting our first in April. We talked about how I wanted to run one more 100 before my life changed forever. Sniper offered to accompany me so he could help me solve an eating problem where I stop taking in solid foods in the latter half of 100's. This sounded like a great idea but in my mind I thought we would choose one of the established races with volunteers with walkie talkies, course markings, etc. but this was not to be. I did not know but the wheels had started churning and the newly crowned Race Director, Sniper, had begun to formulate a plan to craft The most demonic, badass race east of the Rockies. And this is our story.

Relevant Details Leading up to the Start

I live in NJ and Sniper in VA and so we talked and texted about this race many times during the planning stage. One ground rule David established early on was that we would move as a group and no one would be left behind. The course itself was kept completely secret from the runners so that there was no chance the Forest Service would hear about it through the ultra forums. And since we did not see a map until the night before the race and there was no elevation profile, much of our mental preparation had been clouded. Only Sniper truly knew what awaited us! The anxiety was only heightened with exchanges ahead of the race including the following:

                              David sent me a text and said the first question on the post-race survey will be "Are we still friends?" 
                              I laughed and then he said "No really."

Considering that I have all black running gear and it was hunting season,
it was a good thing we stopped at Cabella's in PA.
I was thinking about my baby girl on the way down to VA
and how I couldn't afford to take a head shot. 

Then we painted Jim's car so we would blend in with the locals.

The leaves had turned two months ago and the trees were barren.  The drive down on Friday was overcast and weather.com's prediction for Saturday was a high of 47 and low 28 with a 30% possibility of snow showers developing later during the night. Sniper called to say the number of runners had dropped from 9 to 5. As we drove towards Virginia I remember looking out through the front windshield and thinking the landscape looked nothing but cold.

Given to us at our last meal

The night before

We suspect that Sniper is a major stockholder at The Dollar Tree because most of his stories, experience and guidance about life will somehow reference this store. Anyway, he picked up all of our supplies from there which made this an affordable and very well stocked race. He continuously went above and beyond the call for a Fatt Ass race including giving us each a huge thing of SWAG in a beer mug. At 10:30PM we finally settled in at the hotel for a few hours of restless sleep with a 3:30AM wake up call.

Mile 0 to 7, Signal Knob to Aid Station #1 at the Veach Gap Parking Lot
We met the first group of volunteers in the parking lot of Signal Knob at 5AM. There were no less than 5 people volunteering for the first shift and again this shows you how much effort and coordination Sniper put into this race. We were immensely grateful to the volunteers for trading off their sleep with support for this race.

Sniper welcomed us all to the inaugural Balled Eagle and named the race. Unfortunately the explanation for the name can only be shared with runners and volunteers and I felt compelled to share this so that readers understand the name of the race is spelled correctly.

Sniper

I stepped out of the car and put the rest of my gear on. Then while we stood around in the cold waiting for others I second guessed my layers and added an extra shirt. Of course the extra shirt came right back off in the first few miles so that is a reminder to trust your experience!

We started climbing Sherman Gap Trail towards Little Crease Mountain along with our first pacer, Adam, who was sticking with us for the first 30 miles. The sky was still pitch black as we wove up and down the mountainside using headlamps for illumination. All of us were feeling pretty great with the exception of Mike who had been nauseous for the entire ride down yesterday. He could not tell if it was motion sickness or if he was sick but since the feeling did not fade in the past 8 hours we were leaning towards a bug.

Mike, Dave, Yours Truly in my Tron Jacket, Jim, Adam (pacer and crew)

We went over a few stream crossings and one or two of them were pretty tricky. As we summited our first mountain Mike was looking very pale and this was worrisome. It was around 30 degrees F but we could see he was sweating heavily and rivulets of water were coming down his face. Honestly it did not look like he was going to make it farther than the first Aid Station.

As we started cruising down the mountain for a long, pleasant descent we could see the sun starting to rise on the horizon. The sky was changing colors from black into deep hues of blue which is one of my favorite moments during this sport. While we were crossing a stream on wet rocks, Dave slipped and dunked his foot in some icy mountain water.

Sniper on a stream crossing

The sun was now climbing and we had arrived at the first aid station to a smorgasbord of food. I gorged on anything and everything knowing that later in the race my stomach would reject all solid food. As I write my blog I still feel remember how the spice cake with white frosting was so very delicious. I tore into that as well as a couple of ham and cheese quarter sandwiches! The volunteers Sniper recruited were top notch: positive and wanting to help out as much as possible.


Mile 7 to 12, Veach Gap to Aid Station #2 at Milford Gap Road
Fortunately Mike's color was returning and so he decided he would go back out and then take one leg at a time. We headed back up the mountainside and onto the Massanutten Trail which is along a ridge. We were all pretty energetic so there was a lot of banter and catching up with old friends. The scenery was impressive and the trails were pretty fun although a good number of them were coated with several inches of leaves which can hide ankle twisting rocks.

This is the much improved Mike

Sniper started regaling us with history lessons about Front Royal including a few about one Captain Daniel Morgan (1736-1802). Captain Daniel apparently punched his superior officer for which he received 499 lashes. Usually this was fatal but he lived only to be shot a little later on in life which he also happened to have survived. Curious about this, on findagrave.com I read that he was "seriously wounded by a bullet that hit the back of his neck, knocked out all his teeth in his left jaw and exited his cheek." After the 499 lashings and the bullet he then went on to build a road near Front Royal that is still in use.

Waiting on another part of the ridge were two of the volunteers, Carter and Brian, and they paced us for a few miles as we headed towards AS #2. Mike was looking significantly better and Carter had a theory about what could be happening to his bug. As she pointed out after the race this comes from "a lot of disparate sources". I think the theory is pretty cool and I like the logic:

When athletes are working out at a high-intensity threshold, intense prolonged exercise causes a slight depression in immunity. However in moderate and lower-intensity exercise, there is serological data (blood serum and other bodily fluids) that demonstrate that the immune system is temporarily boosted. The pace Mike was exercising at probably boosted his metabolic activity which included his immune system. His core body temperature was also higher which created the same effect as having an induced fever. The body’s responses then increased the body’s ability to attack and neutralize the pathogens. This created a hostile environment for the bug which prevented it from flourishing. Mike’s immune system and the natural inflammatory response caused by the exercise attacked and flushed the bug from his system faster than normal which explains why he was ok when he stopped exercising.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21446352
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10910293
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21403796
http://www.jleukbio.org/content/90/5/951
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10466015

Mile 12 to 27.5, Milford Gap Road to Aid Station #3 at Camp Roosevelt
It was time for more spice cake! Again I stuffed myself with as many calories as possible while my stomach was still taking in food and I picked up a packet of Shot Bloks for later. We climbed back up to the ridge and Dave sent an email Seth saying “Where the hell are you? Bring a suitcase full of unmarked bills to Aid Station #3. We’ll see you in two hours.”

Along the ridge line we had some excellent views. We had not seen Seth and Zoe yet so whenever we found a break in the tree line Jim would go out to the ledge, and to our amusement, would start calling out "Seth" across the Massanutten Valley 2000 feet below. At one point we climbed to the Kennedy Peak observation tower where we stood under the overcast sky in the cold and wind. There was a single ray of sunlight radiating down on part of the valley and Dave pointed out the ray of light had definitely been avoiding us all morning.

I heart technical terrain

This was a very long and enduring leg that dealt a solid blow to our energy. Also we began a trail maintenance program that continued for the next 20 miles. Why? Because a 100 miles is not hard enough and so it is good to also lift trees.

When we made the descent to Aid Station #3, it was very steep and also technical. Jim’s IT band took a beating and I stayed with him until we finally made it into the aid station.

Steep descent

Still no Seth and Zoe so this time we were getting a little concerned since it was now early in the afternoon and we thought worse case they overslept and had brunch. Adam departed so he could meet his girlfriend for dinner but they would return to crew us for the entire next day. On the menu now were some delicious perogies and ramen soup. The sky was so overcast and gray that it felt like it was the end of the afternoon. We headed out on the next leg onto some nice single track that looped around the mountain side and was really enjoyable.


Mile 27.5 - 33.5, Camp Roosevelt to Aid Station #4 at Gap Creek
We had a pretty good run here for awhile and continued our practice of trail maintenance. Dave attempted to skirt around a tree that was only partly on the trail and Sniper caught it! After that we picked up every twig, branch and redwood.

Later as we were running up a hill Sniper snapped his fist up in the military signal to hold. We bunched up and peered towards the top of the hill where there was a problem circling on the trail aimlessly. We hoped he would move into the woods so we could sneak by but then he spotted us. It was a little unreal to be charged by a skunk but nonetheless that is what happened. We were flanked on both sides by an embankment and some trees. Five grown humans scattered back down the trail. The skunk bound down the hill and then chased three of us up the embankment. As we ran by him up the hill he pursued! Getting tired of running uphill he then did an about face. Now he set his sights on Mike and Jim who had gone farther down the trail in the direction we had come from. Mike used his best running back moves to fake right and dodge left. It was remarkable but again the skunk turned around to follow Mike uphill! At this point I was sure Jim was doomed and was going to get sprayed. Cornered, alone, he was desperate but quick in thought. He picked up a rock, charged the skunk, tossed the rock ahead and to one side for distraction and then ran past. Somehow we made it out and smelled no worse than what 12 hours of running will do to you.


Mile 33.5 - 39, Gap Creek to Aid Station #5 at Crisman Hollow Road
Seth and Zoe were finally there when we arrived. Turns out there was a bit of a miscommunication and they said they would show up for Shift 2 rather than at AS 2. But then they had gotten lost and for the rest of the day could not time their arrival with the roving crew at the aid stations.

Sniper, Jim and I

I tell you this next bit because my choice led to more complications that ultimately had an impact to the outcome of the race. I was still wearing shorts at this time but my body felt pretty warm when I arrived. Choose-Your-Own-Adventure choices included:
(1) add pants, risk overheating and then sweating. Body heat could then be lost 25x faster from the wind wicking it away.
(2) eat while we were around food, then try to get moving again and warm back up.
I went for the #2, food but asked Seth if he could find my pants in my drop bag so I could put them on at the next Aid Station. It seemed like the right thing to do at the time.

Zoe looking cold

Stew and perogies

The distance to the next aid station was only six miles but I overhead Sniper’s exchange with Janice (one of the volunteers and chef extraordinaire) and it went something like this
                    “How long till we see you? Maybe one or one and a half hours?”
                    Sniper’s reply “Well you know what’s coming at the end so probably two.”

The sun started to go down and we grabbed our headlamps. Seth was giving out handwarmers as we were leaving which turned out to be a great call because the temperature dropped quickly! We started back up the hill along with two new pacers, Doug and Mike.

While on the trail, Sniper called a pitt stop and we snacked. He told us very little about the end of this leg except we knew we were approaching Waterfall Mountain and there was no water... We kept on cruising through the woods and as the sun set the headlamps flicked on a few at a time. When we finally reached the base of the waterfall, it turned out to be one hell of a vertical climb: one thousand feet in a half a mile. I stopped at the base to text my family but by the time I was done the group had moved out of sight. I hurried up the hill to catch up with them but I was breathing pretty hard and never really recovered until well after we reached the top. By now I had a new situation to deal with in that the batteries for my headlamp were fading fast and I was losing sight. Thankfully, from the top we were only a mile from the next aid station and Jim dropped back so that I could safely maneuver through the rocks on the trail.

Mile 39 - 44.5, Crisman Hollow Road to Aid Station #6 at Moreland Gap
Before the race I sent out a suggestion to the runners to bring your warmest winter coat to wear while refueling at the aid stations. Each time we arrived, the volunteers had kindly set all of our coats out on chairs. We zipped up like the NFL players waiting on the sidelines but not everyone had brought a coat. They were loosing body heat fast while waiting for everyone to slowly refuel, change gear and regroup.

In my mind this aid station is really where the mayhem began. I was exhausted from hurrying up the waterfall route and then trying to keep close to Jim with a faded headlamp. When I arrived I was having a hard time keeping my head on straight so I could talk to Seth and another volunteer that were helping me to:

• Fill my hydration pack with water and Nuun
• Find my spare headlamp so they could put it on and see my faded headlamp and then change out the batteries
• Help me find layers, eat food and drink  
• Also my Garmin 310 had been on for 15 hours in the cold and the battery was about dead. I had a portable USB charger in my bag so we could re-charge the watch midway and have the entire run recorded on one set of data. 

This is where the choice not to put on pants comes in because by the time we sorted through all of the bullets above, pulling off my mud caked shoes to put pants on seemed to be too much of a hassle and I was short on time.  I tried to eat a grilled cheese but the stomach was now revolting against solid foods. I pounded a smoothie instead that I had pre-made at home using fresh fruit and ground up caffeine pills. The smoothie was turning to slush even though it was kept in Seth's car and what this was effectively doing was flushing out heat from my body's core. Don't be stupid! David Horton's message from the Grindstone race briefing echoes in my head as I type this.

We entered the woods and it took a good ten minutes of running to return my body temperature to comfortable. To compound it all the temperatures dropped into the low 30’s and we were heading onto Kern’s Mountain which is one of the more technical parts of the course. Yes, going back to my earlier statement this is where the mayhem had definitely begun.

During this section David must have been doing some calculations in his head because he asked me what time we absolutely had to leave for home by. Mike and I had to be back on Monday so I backed up the time to get home and said 5pm would be ideal. (We were on track for a 36 hour finish best case so that was 5:30pm) Also we could not see our mileage on the watch because while the Garmin 310 is charging the face information is not visible. The chord to the watch also made it more difficult to eat and my laziness to not reach into my pack and have a snack was another mistake of mine.

We averaged 2 mph on Kern's Mountain because of the leaves, rocks, darkness and overall tough conditions.  Dave remarked about a section and Sniper replied "Do I hear a Patty?". Dave replied "No. I am not complaining that we are going 40 feet down to climb right back up 40 feet." Mike's ankle started bothering him on this section probably because it was overstressed on the steep, technical descents. We never knew if under the leaves were those ankle twising rocks so on the descents we slowed ourselves by going from rock to rock. This was much harder on all of our bodies. At one point on one of the ridges we could see two lights on the mountain across from us and it looked like they were coming towards us. After an hour we realized that they had not moved and that it was probably someone's house. The Garmin watch battery finally reached 100% and I took off the charger to learn, sadly, that we had only gone 45 miles.

Slower progress at night

Mile 45.5 - 51.5,  Moreland Gap to Aid Station #7 at Edinburg Gap One
When I write my reports I do a memory release over the next few days after the event. It makes it much easier to recall detail and let's me publish reports much later than the event. As I look back my notes for this section though were brief. I wrote down simply "shortcut and disaster".

We made it to the Aid Station and I was still only able to drink fluids. I chugged another smoothie but it was again slush. I started shivering despite my down jacket and so Sniper suggested I take off with Dave and they would catch up. This next section was originally planned to be Short Mountain and after Sniper's earlier conversation about what time we could run until on Sunday night, he made an Executive decision and diverted us onto a road to the next Aid Station. Instead of 8 miles in 3.5 hours this cut us back to 6 miles in 2 hours.We were desperate for making up time and we hightailed it on the road. We were all so happy to finally be moving and we had the space to run next to one another and talk. It was refreshing and gave us all a mental boost.

Short Mountain in Daylight. Photo by Aaron Schwartzbard

Mile 51.5,  Aid Station #7 at Edinburg Gap One
When we cruised into the next AS we were hot and sweating and then we suddenly stopped moving and started to refuel. We were offered chili, chicken noodle soup and coffee but the liquids were very hot and while it was cooling we were also cooling rapidly. While I was sitting in a chair finally putting on my pants I started shaking. Then the shakes came in waves and grew a little uncontrollable. The volunteers working there were all experienced 100 milers and thought it best to put Mike and I into their van to warm up. They cranked up the heat and Mike warmed up but I kept on shaking. Without the solid calories my body lacked the energy to keep warm. It was now 27 degrees and in a postmortem discussion about the race with an MD, I learned that my body had progressed too far into mild hypothermia and that by placing me into a warm atmosphere it determined that it was ok to now shut down. The volunteers were bringing hot food and drink to the van but at this point I was in bad shape.

The volunteers suggested that I skip a leg, take in some calories, get myself right and then rejoin the group. My mind starting running through all of the choices and scenarios. Eventually I concluded that I would have to let down all of the volunteers and Sniper. This though was smarter than being out on the side of the mountain in below freezing temperatures and possibly encounter a problem. I would take my DNF, take a 2-3 hour break, get some food in, change into warm clothes and then rejoin my friends after one leg if I was ok. Stricken, I agreed I would stop.

I guess the volunteer told Sniper because in a few minutes the van doors opened and it was loaded with Dave, Jim and Mike for a group discussion. Sniper said he was happy to call it. This was incredibly tough for me to hear because my intention of pulling myself out was not to deep-six the race. The rest of the group could continue and get the whole race in! I did not want to ruin this for everyone. David reassured me that my friends were in equally bad shape. (With the exception of Dave and Sniper who could have easily finished the race) Another serious considerations was that it was currently 27 degrees, 10:30PM and the temperatures were only going to drop until 8AM the next morning. The reality was that it had taken us 17.5 hours to go 52 miles, we had only recently started night running which is much slower than the progress we made during the day,. The last half of a race is always slower than the first and the second half of this 100 was harder than the first with an absolutely brutal ending planned. We were approaching a 40-hour finish time. As Race Director it was Sniper's decision and he tried to reassure us that would not be a DNF since it was a Fatt Ass race and you do as much as you want to. (I still count this as my first DNF since the race was set out as a 100). Sniper did make one final crucial point in that this race was about having fun and not about getting anyone hurt. We had had a good long day together and there was no need to risk anything further. Looking around at the carnage, David made the call.


Hotel
We went back to the hotel for a hot shower, change of clothes and a little sleep. The next morning it was bittersweet receiving the buckle from Sniper. I am half proud for the immense level of energy and difficulty it took to get through those first 52 miles. But it is also a sad reminder that we could not complete the whole race.

My friends reassured me that eventually we would have been doomed (Jim told Mike on the road he was not sure he could finish. And Mike said in the van he knew was not going to finish but he just did not know which AS he was going to drop at). But we cannot go back to that moment and redo the alternate paths so we will never know what would have happened.

A sad ending yes, but up until the moment we had to stop, we had a really great time. And that was still one hell of an adventure.


Movie with my Flip camera of the skunk attack:
http://vimeo.com/33885694

Grindstone 100 - 2nd 100 Miler

Stumbling along this rocky trail in the pitch black woods and I am horrified because I realize I have no idea where I am going. There are several trails that connect to other trails and a few dead end trails for new construction. One of the trails I know will lead back to Grindstone so I head down one  in the opposite direction. I'm desperately trying not to walk any further than absolutely necessary and I want to go to bed. I really want to go to bed. "Take a left, then there is a trail, and then another trail." Those aren't directions. Why didn't I say something? I am lost! 
Holyaxemurderer who is that standing in the woods? 

Basics

• October 7th, 8th and 9th 2011 
• 101.85 Miles on an out-and-back course 
• Over 46,000 feet of total elevation change 
• Technical Terrain 
• 6PM start in Swoope, Virginia 
• 38 hour time limit with intermediate cut-off times 
• 15 Aid Stations 
• A well marked course although not overly reassuring for first timers 
• 118 starters and 85 finishers (72%) 
• Neal Gorman 1st place for Men in 19 hours 41 minutes 
• Debbie Livingston 1st place for Women in 24 hours 58 minutes 

Nicknamed the "The hardest 100 miler east of the 100th meridian"

Training and 2nd 100 Miler Mental State
Shortly after I completed Massanutten as my first 100 (the toughest 100 east of the Rockies), I signed up for Grindstone (the hardest 100 miler east of the 100th meridian). Sometimes the only difference between brave and foolish will be the end result. As Grindstone began to approach I started to consider what I had really signed up for:

• A race run mostly at night 
• Climbs that last twice the heights and lengths of the climbs at Massanutten. (Uphills for 7 to 9 miles) 
• 30% more elevation change than Massanutten 
• A 6PM start so the sleep and food cycle will be off 
• The distance between Aid Stations increases near the end of this 100 miler

Massanutten was truly a great life experience for me. But I really had to dig deep to finish that as a first 100 and my pacers Jim and Seth saved me in that race.

About 6 weeks prior to GS (Grindstone)  I wasn’t really sure yet about my fitness because it had been a busy summer. In 9 successive weekends I had travelled to VT, a race in NJ, CT, NH, Boston, Miami, WV and then two weekends in Jordan. I still trained, but it wasn’t the ideal check-the-box-on-the-training-plan-every-week kind of training.

With only 3 weeks to go before the race my peak training week reached 80 miles. This was a turning point and suddenly I felt confident and strong. I hadn't worked on speed but I still I tested it and ran a 6-minute mile on a slightly longer run. I was now ready for Grindstone.


Pre-race Briefing
For the safety of the runners, it's policy to weigh us in at the start and then check us again at miles 35.9 and 66.6. The weigh-in was followed by a light meal and then Clark Zealand, the Race Director, began the briefing. He kept it interesting by pausing to play Ultrarunner Santa Clause and hand out raffle prizes from many of the sponsors. The highlight, I think, was a guest star appearance by ultrarunning legend Dr. Horton. Surprisingly, instead of giving us useful course information, advice or inspiring us to go run 100 miles, he  lectures us and repeats several times "Don't be Stupid". He also advised us out-of-towners to know the course through prior purchase of a local trail map and not to rely on the course markings that he had put up. It was too late for the advice and we were about to start the hardest 100 east of the...


Start to Mile 5.2, Falls Hallow Aid Station
5.18 miles, average pace of 11:46
6:00 PM to 7:00 PM (Twilight)
Clothing & Gear: Inov-8 roclite 295’s, Drymax Lite Trail Running Socks with a BlisterShield Powder single use packet, shorts, sleevelss, hat, Camelbak Octane XC 70 oz., Vest from the Sugoi Versa Jacket, arm warmers in Camelbak, headlamp 

Weather.com: Mainly clear. Low 41F. Winds light and variable. (This was the forecast for the town. We were warned it would be in the 30's on the mountain)

It was chilly at the start so I wore my post-race snowboarding jacket over my race clothes. It was funny but I had three people ask me separately if I was going to wear that for the race. "Yes I will. But first I need to put my snowboard pants on so I don't look weird."

A few minutes before 6pm and we are all lined up behind the Grindstone 100 banner. A group prayer was given by Dr. Horton, which included one more "Don't be stupid" and then we were off. I settled into a position of 50-60th out of 118 starters and that's where I finished. So far I have not been fast in the 100's but I know I'm hardy and consistent.

There was some good technical in the first few miles of the race. Then, as the sun was fading, about 10 of us were cruising down a jeep road and we were distracted by the mammoth mountain range that was just appearing through the leaves. Some of us missed a hard right turn onto the trail but another runner caught it and saved us all an early blow to morale. We backtracked onto the trail and that’s when I heard Dr. Horton's quote “Don't be stupid" echo up and down the line.

Approaching the first ascent

Mile 5.2 to 14.6, Dry Branch Gap
9.4 miles, average pace of 16:26
7:00 PM to 9:43 PM (Night)

Those first 9 miles with 4000' of ascent took me about 2.5 hours. Much of the trail had tricky footing and this was followed by a brutal climb up to the summit of Eliot's Knob. The worst of the climb was on a gravel road and it was pretty steep (17% grade for the last 1.2 miles to the top). I was with a smaller group now and we were meeting one another and chatting as our calf muscles were doing some serious flexing. I had heard this road described as “being able to reach straight out and touch the ground in front of you.” Prior to the race, Jim and I weren't sure if he should pace 30, 40 or 50 miles. We took an easy approach to it and it would depend on how long he slept in on Saturday. But just after I summited Eliot Knob, Jim texted to ask “How was it?”  And I replied "Hope u make 50".

The next downhill was 2800' deep and it is single-track carved onto the edge of the mountain. The trail was  made up of large, loose rocks that seesawed as I ran over them. These rocks made deep clunking noises and I could hear them banging against each other from the runners that were both in front and behind me on the trail. On one side is an uphill and the other is a steep slope down into a black hole. The trees and flora were also sparse down there which meant there is not a lot to grab onto. I paid attention to my footing.

We went down 2800’ and then back up 1800’ and then back down another 2800’ and I was feeling good. On the second descent I briefly caught up with David Snipes and a few others. He encouraged me to stay with them but here the rocks were loose again and that black hole was still to the side.


Miles 14.6 to 22.1, Dowells Draft
7.5 miles, average pace of 16:41
9:43 PM to 11:40 PM (Night)
Clothing & Gear: Switched sleeveless to sleeved shirt, changed hat to lightweight beanie, picked up arms to Sugoi Versa Jacket and put in Camelbak, put on arm warmers
Weather.com: Felt like upper 30's

I did not feel like eating but in my drop bag at mile 22 was a Vietnamese coffee which I had really been looking forward to. When I entered the AS, I was hoping to spot Rob Colenso's crew for an easy emotional power up but missed them because the place was a beehive. There were scores of runners, crew and volunteers. I dove into my drop bag and grabbed layers. As I was changing I can remember watching steam floating off the other runner' backs! I realized that I was at my drop bag for a little too long but it was confusing with all of the energy. Thankfully I had written out directions in my bag and I followed them line by line to make sure I was taking care of everything. As I was doing this the runner next to me was working on getting some sympathy from his GF. I left freezing cold but the 3-mile climb that followed quickly warmed me up.

Photo by Bobby Gill

Mile 22.1 to 30.5, Lookout Mountain
8.4 miles, average pace of 18:18
11:40 PM to 2:25 AM (Night)

On the climb up the next mountain I was traveling with a runner who was using trekking poles. There were still some people passing us and we were passing a few when we came upon a runner sitting on a nice long ledge immediately to the side of the trail having a snack. The trek pole guy said “I am going to take a nap.” So the 3 of us lined up next to one another and slept on this ledge. I heard more runners approach and they also laid down next to us. I woke up a few minutes later freezing cold and I could hear snoring. A 10-minute map made me feel sharp and refreshed. I started in on my bottle of coffee and was good to go.

Mile 30.5 to 35.9, North River Gap

5.4 miles, average pace of 21:44
2:25 AM to 4:13 AM (Night)
Clothing & Gear: Battery change and hand warmers

At the Mile 30 AS my stomach was in a full revolt. It was like Occupy Wall Street except it knew what it wanted and had a realistic plan to achieve it: there will be no more food. I made a mistake and attempted a caffeine pill. It quickly dissolved in my mouth, I bit it in half and then I vomited. Don't be stupid! I also had a  puking experience at Massanutten but this time I rallied myself mentally and went straight for something I could put down: ramen soup with broth and noodles. The next 8-hours was a battle to take in food and salt.

I went back out on the trail and put on some music for motivation. I ran with one headphone in so I could communicate with other runners and listen to the sound of my feet as they landed.


Mile 35.9 to 43.7, Little Bald Knob
7.8 miles, average pace of 23:27
4:13 AM to 7:00 (Night)
Weather.com: Probably mid 30's

When I got to the AS they weighed me in and I had only dropped 2 pounds. David Snipes and another runner were encouraging me but I felt nauseous just thinking about food. Liquids went down easily so I ate a cup of Brunswick Stew and then grabbed a pair of hand warmers from my drop bag. As I was leaving this AS I ran by a number of crews hanging out by a very warm and inviting fire. It was 4AM and I was a little out of it because I yelled excitedly “I have hand warmers” and kept running.

Shortly after I started the next uphill I thought I saw a headlamp and a runner breaking apart branches up ahead to build a separate fire. I went up the switchback towards that location but when I got there I didn't see anyone! I thought I was hallucinating when again I saw the headlamp further up and the guy breaking branches. As I closed in this time I realized it was actually a runner making walking sticks!

Miles 34 to 43.7 turned out to be the toughest part of the course for me for a number of reasons:

• It is almost a 4500ft climb and happening at the worst time 3-7AM 
• I was low on energy from not eating
• I could not stop thinking about sleep

Thankfully I did have all the right layers on because it was probably in the mid-30’s. It was easy to see my breath and there was an occasional cold breeze so we must have been somewhat exposed while climbing to the top of this tall mountain. I also used my hand warmers as a nose warmer.

On the 2.5-hour climb from the AS, I began taking 5-10 minute naps. At first I would find a nice place on the side of the trail, then take off my pack, then set a 15-minute alarm and lay down on my back. The cold would inevitably wake me up before the alarm would go off but I would feel refreshed. By the end of the climb I had the catnaps down so that I would simply just fall over on my side with all of my gear still on and pass out for a few minutes.

My fading headlamp
From miles 5 to 22 (about 6 hours) the batteries for my headlamp worked well. They were still going strong at mile 22 but I changed them out with fresh batteries anyway. I assumed that the batteries would also last another 6 hours until sunrise. Don't be stupid. I forgot to account for the cold weakening them! It was around 5AM when my headlamp faded from a nice wide spotlight to a small circle. I arched my neck down towards the ground for more light. Around 6AM the sun was just rising on the horizon but I could still see the stars clearly overhead. (The stars were Planetarium Awesome BTW). I kept peeking over my shoulder and then I would wish for the sun to hurry up. Then I would turn back to watch the circle continue to fade.

This section was my struggle for this 100. When I finally made it to the top I was honestly thinking “If I see Jim we are getting in the car and going straight back to NJ.” But after the peak was a descent and by the time I reached the Little Bald Knob Aid Station the sun was rising. This was an incredible powerup. I forgot all of that bad juju and I was ready to do whatever was necessary to complete Grindstone.

Photo by Geoffrey S. Baker at www.OellaWorks.com

Mile 43.7 to 48.2, Reddish Knob and Mile 48.2 to 51.6, Gnashing Knob
4.5 miles, average pace of 17:33 and 3.4 miles, average pace of 16:16
7:00 AM to 8:26 AM (Dawn) and 8:26 AM to 9:31 AM (Day)
Clothing & Gear: Threw out batteries and dropped headlamp
Weather.com: Sunny skies. High 74F. Winds light and variable.

It just goes to show you that we impose limits on what we believe we cannot do. I met Randy Dietz on my way to the turnaround and for a few hours we had a pretty good time running together. At 61, Randy was running solo on his 41st 100 miler and he was crushing it.

Randy stuck it out with me while I was having a low and we tried talking through my difficulty eating solid foods. When we reached Mile 51 the volunteers were making fresh breakfast burritos and I just had to take one. I had brought our pace down to a walk but Randy pointed out that eating and drinking was worth much more than the time spent.


Mile 51.6 to 54.9, Reddish Knob
3.3 miles, average pace of 17:02
9:31 AM to 10:23 AM (Day)

Jim arrived with perfect timing to start pacing at mile 51! I caught him up on my late night struggles and was feeling pretty chipper and enthusiastic. (Some background on my friend: Jim blew through his first 100 at VT  this year with a sub-23)

The burrito was now fueling me and I had the impression that having something in my stomach was making it easier to eat! Randy was moving a little faster than me and I needed to take in more food so we stopped at the next AS and he went off ahead.

Mile 54.9 to 58.7, Little Bald Knob
3.8 miles, average pace of 15:32
10:23 AM to 11:25 AM (Day)
Clothing & Gear: Changed lightweight beanie to hat, added sunglasses, dropped arm warmers, picked up empty headlamp. BlisterShield Powder single use packet, Clean Drymax socks, Alcohol pad, sterile lancet and Second Skin

Having learned this an important lesson from my first 100, I performed a planned foot treatment at Mile 58.7 with a sterile lancet. Once the blisters were taken care of, a new BlisterShield power pack was dumped into a pair of fresh socks.

One of the Aid Station volunteers came over and paid a lot of attention to help me resolve my eating issue. He asked pointed questions and when he heard I couldn’t take in any S-caps or Endurolytes he offered Nuun. I said "I train on Nuun" and he quite logically pointed out that I should have brought it for the race. “Don’t be stupid!” The Nuun container is heavy but in hindsight I could have staged them in my drop bags since the eating issue is not new.

Two days later I would find out that the super knowledgeable, helpful volunteer was Jonathan Basham. Out of over 700 attempts by ultrarunners, Jonathan is the 9th Finisher of The Barkley Marathons 100 Mile Run. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barkley_Marathons. 54,200 feet of accumulated ascent, 54,200 feet of descent in a total of 5 loops. Each 20 mile loop has a 12 hour time limit. That’s right. 12 hours to run 20 miles. Less than a 1.5% overall success rate and invitation only. I just love this sport even more knowing that Jonathan Basham volunteered his time and focused on helping a mid-pack runner for his 100.


Mile 58.7 to 66.6, North River Gap
7.9 miles, average pace of 17:36
11:25 AM to 1:28 PM (Day)
Clothing & Gear: Tried to change to a clean shirt but only had longsleeve. Picked up batteries for the approaching night

Jim and I departed that excellent aid station in good spirits and we climbed. That’s when I remembered that I had packed a handheld bottle with coffee but then forget it in my drop bag. Jim ignored my comments to leave it, sprinted back and retrieved the coffee. Now that’s a great friend and pacer! That coffee helped me maintain my focus for the next 4500' descent and the 2600' ascent. At the bottom of the 4500' Jim found a pair of wood walking sticks that were smooth, lightweight and just laying at the side of the trail. Again what a great pacer because I used these for the next 30 miles!


Mile 66.6 to 72.0, Lookout Mountain
5.4 miles, average pace of 24:30
1:28 PM to 3:55 PM (Day)

When we arrived at the AS they weighed me in again and I was still only down two pounds from my original weight. My graph of the Grindstone elevation chart must have been off because I was seeing a descent from this aid station. But then as Jim and I were leaving we immediately started climbing and I was concerned that we had yet to reach another descent before we started a 2600' ascent. I developed a paranoia and started constantly checking that we were still on the course!

There are a few moments during that afternoon when I felt the enormity of the race. I was sure to listen to Jim whenever he would tell me to speed up. My mental preparation included using mantras to help pass the low points. I remember a few of them:

• It’s a 100. There will be struggles.
• Just keep swimming. (Then I would think about swimming)
• I want that buckle.

My diet was pretty much Kit-Kats, M&M’s and Gin-Gins. At every aid station Jim went on a mission to find foods I would eat. There wasn’t much fruit on the course which is too bad because fruit is much easier to eat than dry chips, dry pretzels and sticky PB&J.


Mile 72.0 to 80.4, Dowells Draft
8.4 miles, average pace of 20:52
3:55 PM to 6:42 PM (Day & Twilight)
Clothing & Gear: Long sleeve shirt, headlamp on, dropped sunglasses, changed hat for lightweight beanie, Sugoi jacket vest and arm sleeves on, winter running gloves

We ran into several groups of mountain bikers. They were all super friendly and really encouraging. There was one biker with her two dogs going up and down on the same trail. While we were on a 1400' climb she passed us in the opposite direction and announced “Almost at the top.” I learned long ago never to ask or to listen to someone that says you are almost anywhere. Their perception of time and distance will rarely meet with your own. But her comment was a welcome distraction and it kept us entertained. We figured out that if she was coming downhill at a speed of 15mph and we were moving uphill at 2-3mph, a distance of 2 miles would seem like a few minutes to her but an hour for us! We reached the top and started a 3-mile descent to the AS.

The leaf colors here were phenomenal!
Photo by Geoffrey S. Baker at www.OellaWorks.com

The light through the forest leaves sometimes played tricks on the eyes. Sometimes I would mistake a dark maple leaf on the ground for a giant bug. One time I think I was borderline hallucinating because on trail ahead I saw an elaborately carved cat statue and I was wondering why someone had left it. As I passed by it became a log.

The sun set just as we are arrived at Mile 80 and we reached the final drop bag. We changed into fresh, warm gear for the coming night and the temperature dropped fast. I was cold and shaking as we left for the next climb.


Mile 80.4 to 87.8, Dry Branch Gap
7.4 miles, average pace of 24:50
6:42 PM to 10:00 PM (Night)
Weather.com: Mainly clear. Low 43F. Winds light and variable. (This is the forecast for the town. Colder in the mountains)

I counted down the miles to 90. Each one we took down was a milestone. There were now two, 2800' climbs before the last Aid Station. The first was tough but doable.

Shown here is Tom McNulty saved us a post-race worry by comandeering the car and bringing it to the finish line for us from Mile 51! Photo by Bobby Gill.

At Mile 88 we arrived to a warm fire and Tom McNutly in his awesome robot suit. The radio operator was  kind enough to share a cup of coffee from his personal coffee pot. I did not point it out to Jim but I knew I was avoiding food again. (Maybe it is night related?) As we headed out towards the final Aid Station I had to stop  thinking about how many hours it would take to get to Mile 97!


Mile 87.8 to 96.7, Falls Hallow
8.9 miles, average pace of 25:39
10:00 PM to 1:50 AM (Night)

Brutal! The second 2800' climb was the trail carved on the edge of the mountain with the black hole to one side. Also those large loose clunking rocks were back. Which runner at the Aid Station said this was a Jeep road?

Occasionally we would stop and turn off our headlamps so we could look at the dark shapes of the mountains next to us. The stars and the outlines of these massive shapes were incredible.

We were most of the way up the mountain when we caught up to Randy. He was waking from a nap and was sharp and ready to move. We finally made it off of the black hole trail but that’s when I started stumbling around and falling asleep while running. I overheard Randy ask Jim what was going on with me and Jim said “You haven’t met Zombie Mark?” I was stubborn and refused to sleep until we had reached that steep gravel road from 24 hours ago. The walking sticks kept me from face planting but really I should have stopped to nap.

Where was that damned gravel road! When we finally got there Jim looked for a comfortable place I could lay down but instead I just walked onto the road and passed out on my side. Five minutes later I think I surprised him when I woke myself up and announced I was ready to go.

No sooner had we started down the mountain when two runners caught up to us. It was Rob Colenso and his pacer Bob Gaylord. Rob thankfully backed it down to our pace and the five of us formed a team. Bob was hilarious and egged on the whole group to move faster. I think he called us "molasses".

Mile 96.7 to 101.85, Finish
5.2 miles, average pace of 25:08
1:50 AM to 3:50 AM (Night)

“Get me out of here.” – Mark Leuner 3AM

5 miles from the finish. L to R: Randy Dietz, Bob Gaylord, Mark Leuner, Jim Bruening and Rob Colenso

At this Aid Station was Instant Folgers coffee which we were all very happy to have. We started the final leg with Carrie Lombardo and her pacer and once absorbed, we looked like one large amoeba of headlamps.

My legs felt fine at the time but I was having a real problem walking fast to keep up. I could run but not walk at the group's pace so I had to run a short distance, then walk, then run a short distance, then walk. It was driving me nuts. We encountered the technical rocks from the Miles 2-5 and they were also tripping us up. We had already run 100 miles but now it is one last minefield of toe stubs and ankle twisting before we finished. I am not sure what I was thinking but it was probably a combination of the rocks and the odd walk-run pace that prompted me to start saying “Get me out of here” And “Let’s get out of here”. Jim and Rob found it hilarious.

We finally made it to the Finish. Our awesome and much appreciated pacers ran ahead and the four runners crossed the line together as one. Clark congratulated us all and then we collapsed on the totem pole for a few glamour shots.

33:50:32
Carrie Lombardo
Randy Dietz
Rob Colenso
Mark Leuner

Post Race
After the finish of Massanutten in May a stranger told me 100’s get easier. The mental at Grindstone was easier for me but I have to say the lows I had for my first 100 would make anything seem better. I think the physical is the physical and will depend on the race prep and the difficulty of the race. For Grindstone I prepared just right because in the days afterwards my legs were not even sore. Eating seems to be my trial for the 100’s and something to work on. Grindstone was a tough, strenuous course that required a lot of solid physical and mental resolve to complete and I am very thankful for the experience!

The Shower Story
We are now at the finish line/Dining Hall. The showers are a quarter mile into the woods in the opposite direction of the tents. Jim walks to the tents, grabs my post-race bag, picks me up at the Dining Hall and then leads the way into the woods. The trail to the showers is rocky and uneven so I am watching my footing! After I shower I am moving slow and feeling really appreciative for all of his efforts so I urge Jim to finally go to the tents to get some sleep. "How do I get back?" "Take a left, then follow a trail to another trail."

When I exit the showers I cannot see the Dining Hall and I am stumbling along this rocky trail in the pitch black woods with my headlamp emanating the only light. I am horrified because I realize now I have no idea where I am going! There are several trails that connect to other trails and a few dead end trails. One way leads back to Grindstone so I head down the one in the opposite direction. I am desperately trying not to walk any further than absolutely necessary because I feel everything and I want to go to bed. I really want to go to bed. I am wearing flip flops and carrying bags of dirty clothes. "Take a left, then there's a trail, and then another trail." Those aren't directions. Why didn't I say something! I am lost. The trail I take turns out to be the wrong one so my mind is on overdrive trying to figure out how to get back. "Don't be stupid!" I shouldn't have urged Jim to go back and now I might have to sleep on the bench in the showers. I use my phone and take a chance that the Boy Scouts of America published a map locating the boys' showers on the internet. Sure enough there's a map. Soon I am back on track and heading down a trail to the Dining Hall when I hear "Hey, over here."

Holyaxemurderer who is that? Why is there a person standing alone in the middle of the woods with no light? This is weird. "Come over here." Who are you? "I forgot my headlamp. Where are you going?" "The Dining Hall." "You're going the wrong way. It's over there." (The opposite direction I am going) "How did you get here in the dark without a headlamp?" "They turned the lights off on me after I showered" "I just came from the showers." "I JUST came from that way. THOSE are the showers." Is this person crazy?  "Come over here." "I just ran 100 miles, you come over here." "I ran it too. But I can't see anything." He continues to try to convince me, with all the confidence in the world, that he knows where he is going and he just needs me to flip flop my way over to him with my light. I am not in the mood and want to go to bed. I still don’t know how he got that far in the woods in the dark. I see he has on a Grindstone sweatshirt so I go to get him. I tell him I have a map on my phone and that I know where the Dining Hall is. He follows me through the woods and then as we approach the Dining Hall he says to me: "There's the Dining Hall."

This was the chaotic scene 45 minutes after I crossed the finish line at the Grindstone 100. Two idiots, having just run 102 miles over mountains, can't find their way back from the showers. Have you ever wondered why products have labels like "Do not iron clothes while on body." Well this story is the reason why Grindstone will put up course markings next year from the Dining Hall to the showers.

Grindstone 100 from Mark Leuner on Vimeo.

Grindstone Movie
http://vimeo.com/32418441

Race Website 

http://www.eco-xsports.com/events/grindstone/