2009 McKay Hollow Madness Trail Half Marathon
Huntsville, AL
March 28, 2009
Official Results
The Plan
Over the past year, for each time I've gone into a race, it has been with a plan that I've actually taken the time to write down on the day before. Writing it down, means that I have taken the time to think it through, analyzed the course, the competition, the weather and many other factors. Going through these lengths makes all of it real and then it is all up to execution.
I usually don't share these plans but in this case I thought that I would, although you probably could figure it out pretty easily if you know me.
In a race like McKay Hollow, you have to realize that you are not racing the clock. This may be a half marathon, but the trail and conditions dictate that you are racing the competition and not looking to set any personal records. You have to get past this concept, which for some can be a very difficult thing to do.
Taking a step closer, you have to figure out who you are specifically competing against. For me in this race, I was stacked up against some pretty stout trail runners from DeWayne Satterfield to Dink Taylor to Marty Clarke to a few unknown names with talent. Beyond that, was David Riddle; David has just started running trails, but he is in another league above anyone else, so despite his inexperience he would most likely dominate the field.
After understanding your competition, you need to play to your strengths. For me, I needed to fly on the flats, remain close on the downhills and hammer the climbs. It is not enough to play to your strengths, but you need to factor in your competition. I knew that I needed to go out hard and set the tone early and show that I was committed to a fast race. In addition, I knew that I needed to create a gap on the field, knowing that I am just an adequate downhill runner. With DeWayne in the field, I had to have built a lead up that I could carry through the first climb without having to do it from behind. So my plan was the run the first mile in six low.
After that, I would try to climb faster than the rest and then capitalize on my fitness to recover quickly and get right back into race pace. As long as I didn't lose too much time on the long downhills then I should be all right over the major climbs and descents all the way through the base of Death Trail. Then it would be decision time as to my position in the field as to how hard I would have to push up the hill. I thought that I might be able to make up as much as three to five minutes in the last mile with the hill work that I have been doing since last fall. I had run the Death trail in late January on a training run, covering the 0.64 miles and 655' of climb in 9:08. This had given me confidence that I could hammer this climb with tired legs. Yet that was just the base to top, not including the true lowest point at the base of the Mountain after the 2nd to last water crossing.
So that was my plan.
The Execution
The conditions had gone from bad to miserable in the days leading up to the race, as it had rained several inches, which was falling on already saturated ground. The only good news is that being at the front of the pack, we would at least be running on the best the trails had to offer, without many people in front of us. It was raining at the start, so my warm up was limited to a lap around the parking lot.
I stayed true to the plan right from the start. As the gun was shot off at 6:59am, we ran out of the parking lot and onto Nolen at a fast clip. Greg Reynolds stayed with me to the corner, but I continued to push and ran out front. I could hear the other runners talking behind me, but I was in the zone and the race was on for me. I knew that it was only a matter of time for David to be 'warm' and close the gap and pass. It took until we were on the Cabin road and he glided by. This was expected, as I was not competing against him; that would be the last I would see of him for nearly two hours. I jumped over the rock at the gate and clocked the first mile in 6:16.
Heading down Old Bankhead and onto the Sinks trail meant a significant drop of 300' on technical switchbacks. This meant that DeWayne would most likely close the gap so I would have to run with near reckless abandon to stay ahead. It didn't take long for him to get closer and closer until he was right behind me crossing over Mountain Mist. I tried my best to fly on the downs, staying just ahead as we ran out toward Panther Knob. The second mile was lapped at 7:01.
As I made the turn up toward Super Cuts, I relished in the fact that I was finally running the first hill climb and could pad the distance a little. I seemed to struggle a little on the climb, which worried me a little, but I knew that others were struggling all the same. I jumped the rocks, walked through the crevasse and scaled the rock face to the top of the bluff. I could hear other runners from the east side of the Bluff, but it was impossible to tell how far behind they were. I was able to recover quickly from the climb and start running hard again, even though the climb was not over until heading back down toward Three Benches. Mile three was 8:32.
Passing through the first aid station, I asked George (DeWitt) if he had heard the loud tree crash in the Sinks. He said that there had been a few come down, which showed the ferocity of the wind. I climbed back out steadily and back up to Mountain Mist. The first three quarters of this mile was climbing again, back up 300' to nearly the top rim before leveling off. I was feeling pretty good, but I knew that DeWayne and maybe others, were lingering around nearby. They had many years of experience running this section during Mountain Mist in the early miles. The technical rocks are not as tough as Rail Road Bed, but they can make footing tricky, especially with the wet conditions. Running into the Southern headwinds maybe this one of the more difficult portions of the entire course. I was still able to run 8:09 and 7:37 for miles four and five, which took us to the base of Warpath Ridge.
Dewayne had closed the gap again on the winding downhill switchbacks before the intersection, and now I hoped to just hold him off until the second aid station on the top of O'Shaughnessy. The climb from 1350' to 1575' happens in a little less than 1/3 of a mile. I walked part of the climb in the steep sections, mostly to save some energy for later in the race, but also because DeWayne had fallen back and I had the opportunity to do it without much risk. As I crested the climb and ran past the aid station, the temperature had changed and now running with the wind at my back, I became too warm to run with a shirt on. I pulled it off in mid stride and dropped it at Rest Shelter. I didn't look back, but I think that maybe DeWayne stopped for fluids or maybe just took some on the way by, as he was not carrying a bottle. I had been carrying Gatorade Endurance, which is perfect fuel for me on this type of race.
I started down Rest Shelter Hill with DeWayne very close and before the second bench, he caught up and ran past me. He commented on the weather and wanting the rain to come back. He also joked that we was strong on the downhills but I would most likely catch him on the climbs. Neither one of us was running 100% healthy. For DeWayne, he had run Oak Mountain one week prior and then Mountain Mist 7 weeks before that. For me, it was Mountain Mist 50k, Black Warrior 50k and then Delano 50k two weeks before McKay. I was mostly recovered, but we would see if his words would hold true and if I could catch him on the climbs. I could see someone in the near distance behind him, but did not recognize the gray/green shirt. This guy could be the x-factor depending on how strong he was on the climbs, which I wouldn't know until later in the race. This mile was the toughest for me, as it started and ended at 1350' with a climb in the middle and I ended up running an 8:23.
At the bottom of Rest Shelter was probably the muddiest section of the course. Feet were long since dry and although I ran right through the middle of every puddle, I did so gingerly as to make sure the mud didn't suck my shoes off my feet! I had tied them tightly, but once they got wet they loosened slightly. I tried to make up as much time as possible on the Hollow Flats, cranking up the intensity a little and ran 7:46. This put me a little more than half way and through seven miles I was at 53:45 and I was averaging 7:40 pace with two more major climbs yet to go. The next mile was just sort of there, nothing special. I think the split was a little slow just because of the water crossings and how this trail winds back and forth. I had also taken just a few Gel Blasts in this mile, so fidgeting with my aid packet probably took my focus off the trail. The split was 8:01.
McKay Hollow truly turns into Madness in the last 5+ miles which starts with a 6/10 mile climb up Natural Well. I had practiced this climb so many times, even late in training runs to simulate the fatigue in my legs, so this was just like another training run. I only walked a few times on the more technical water crossings, but otherwise powered up the hill steadily. When reaching the false summit of the actual Natural Well, I passed the Hemsi guys who mentioned that 'the other guy' had just gone through. Somehow I had closed the gap on DeWayne in the short climb. I didn't see him until we rounded the corner on the washed out road, but I was gaining fast. Once we reached the top and hit the plateau, I picked up the pace until I caught him and run in his footsteps. I had run this climbing mile, including a 500' ascent, in 10:19 and made up significant time.
I was now feeling great and had new motivation, but also recognized that DeWayne was about to hammer down Arrowhead. Per my race plan, I needed to disregard personal safety and try to stay with him, or at least not lose too much before it flattened out again. Of course by half way down, he was out of sight and began to pad the lead again. So despite having caught him just minutes before I was back to wondering if I too would be caught by the guy behind me as I went slowly down the hill. So even though I ran to the cistern from the top in 7:13, DeWayne probably added a minute on me through this section.
The next two miles I focused on just staying relaxed and running as hard as I could without breaking down. There is but one uphill on this section, coming back up Big Cat Hill, which I ran very slowly, even walking the top back to Arrowhead trail. This mostly rolls up and down, and was moderately muddy back through the last aid station/intersection before heading into the deep Hollow again. I was also trying to conserve as much energy as possible for the last hill climb. If I had any chance at second place, I would have to make my surge up Death Trail. My splits through here were 7:57 and 7:46.
After making the last water crossing, I would have about 1.3 miles to the top and around 800' to climb. I couldn't hear or see DeWayne, but I knew he was above me somewhere. Based on my projected time of 1:40 for David, I was guessing that he would be crossing the finish line at any time.
All of the energy I had stored by holding back earlier paid off as I put my head down and focused on good form and tried to keep my breathing controlled without gasping. I didn't feel great, but I was also climbing one of the toughest, technical hills on the mountain at the end of a difficult rest, so that was to be expected. About half way up the climb, I caught a glimpse of DeWayne; all of a sudden I had new life. I knew that there was plenty of time to close the gap, but I wanted to do it quickly. Within a minute I had pushed hard and caught him and then went by. He joked with me that he needed a downhill finish (his strength). He also shouted out something positive... I am not sure what he it was but it had something my climbing ability. Ironically, after passing him, the trail was fairly technical for a few yards and I had to walk just a few steps. But once making the half way point (two trees that are close together and the trail passes between them and is commonly referred to as the spot on the climb where you can run to the top) I found another gear, swung my arms to provide additional knee lift and focused on the final execution of my plan.
As I made came to the top, with one final switch back to go, I could see the people at the top of the water falls and I knew that it was almost over. Normally people would ease up a little and take it easy coming in, but I pushed even harder across the top of the waterfalls, through the stream and to the finish. The sound of the applause and cheering from the crowd and volunteers who had braved the cold and wet weather all morning had lifted me up and carried me through the finish, figuratively.
The Results
The results of the this race were better than I had expected. Even though I had a good race plan and executed it well, so many things had to come together in order for me to finish as I did, with a time of 1:51:51 and in second place. This was about a minute faster than my 2008 time, which was on a much easier course, with conditions that were a hundred times better. David had beaten me by more than 11 minutes (nearly a minute a mile faster) which is a testament of his abilities, but as I said, I was competing with the rest of the field and not him. When DeWayne came in, he noted that if we could combine his downhill running ability with my uphill skills, we would be unbeatable... what a package that would be! I laughed quite a bit at this.
When I finished, my Dad said that I was talking with him like I just stepped out of the car and had walked over to the pavilion. I wasn't gasping for air or tired looking at all, having recovered quickly once I stopped. For a few minutes after the race and before DeWayne finished, I was floating on clouds having turned in one of my better race performances in quite some time and having done it while my Mom and Dad where there to watch.
The day only got better from there as I had a chance to go for a cool down run with Marty, Greg and Luke Hobbs as well as watch many other friends climb the final summit to the end. I took pictures of finishers as they came through and gave out high fives to a few also. It really made me feel good to be there at the end, supporting the runners who had just done something amazing on such an impossible course with less than stellar conditions. I was really impressed with some of the performances out there, from Greg running his first trail race, to young Ben Purinton, to Alan Teed and the Grissom boys to Tim Pitz who had been training hard for this race to Eric Patterson who is coming on strong.
I just wish that we could run this race every weekend!
