Lynchburg, VA
November 7, 2009
Official Results
In my opinion, ultra marathons are more than just physical preparedness; they are also equal parts of mental fortitude, proper nutrition/hydration and experience. I have always said that a road marathon is much more physically demanding than a trail ultra marathon and I stand by that statement.
Mountain Masochist was my first attempt at the 50 mile distance, and while I could have chosen an easier race, the mystique and lore of this epic race drew me in to sign up back in May. I was properly trained, having run numerous 50k's this year and having a solid mileage base leading into perfectly timed taper to get healthy. My fueling plan was sound, though I didn't necessarily execute it that well during the race. Where I lacked, was in experience at this distance and with no course knowledge. I would also struggle mentally as the day and the miles began to take its toll on me. But let's start at the end beginning.
I was fortunate enough to share in this experience with a few close friends from Huntsville area. Traveling with me were Joey Butler, Eric Fritz and Jon Elmore and together we met up with Dink Taylor on race day. We decided to fly to Lynchburg due to the low flight costs when we booked, and not having to get in the car for 10 hours on the day after the race was more appealing. While there, we made camp with Paul (Jon's Dad) and Sandy Elmore who live in Lynchburg. They were kind enough to host us for the weekend.
On race morning, Paul drove the four of us out to the James River Visitor Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway for the 5:30am start. The temperature was in the low 30's and would rise to the mid 60's during the day. It is clear that we were all bundled up for the first few miles, with a chance to drop our headlamps at the first aid station and our excess clothes at the Highway 60 road crossing near mile 27.
All photos courtesy of Clark Zealand.
As the start time approached, Jon and I made our way to front of the pack. After some light strides, we waited for Clark Zealand, race director, to give us the starting command. Most experts said that the Men's field was 'stacked' with talent. Current Wasatch Front 100 record holder Goeff Roes, local prodigy Jeremy Ramsey and Valmir Nunes from Badwater fame were just some of the names at the top of the list. Shown below are the top 10 seeds, courtesy of David Horton. I was lucky enough to be ranked at number 10, given my resume of ultra running from this year.
Seed / Name
1. Valmir Nunes
2. Geoff Roes
3. Gary Robbins
4. Jeremy Ramsey
5. Lon Freeman
6. Will Harlan
7. Glen Redpath
8. Chris Reed
9. Dink Taylor
10. Eric Charette
Here is a link to the full list of seeded runners at eco-xports
At the start, you can see Nunes and Roes in the center, with Jon and me off to the right.
It was an easy paced first mile heading north toward the turn around on the out and back section. It was time for old friends to catch up, talk about recent race adventures and ease into the pace. The first 6+ miles would be all on blacktop roads before we hit the trails and dirt roads until the final mile. I knew that the pace needed to be quick early on, but I didn't know that it meant sub 7 pace. It was not long before I realized that I was in over my head, but I wanted to stay with the front runners for as long as I could. The first mile was at 6:57.
Lon Freeman decided to take it out harder than the rest, and he was the early leader. The chase pack of ten or so runners stuck together through miles 2 and 3 with splits of 6:48 and 6:38 as we came back through the starting area. After that, we started to separate and began to run single file along a busy road. The only time that the pace eased up before the first aid station was in mile 5 when we had a slight uphill, but the overall effort was still even.
Mile splits from 4 through 7 were 6:36, 7:14, 6:33 and 6:37. It felt more like a road marathon at this point than anything else. I was one of 10 runners who came through at 46 minutes as we came through the aid station, with Goeff and Lon out ahead of us. I was carrying two bottles; one with fluids and another with my energy gels so I was able to bypass aid and start my ascent up the hill.
We started up what looked like an old washed out road that had multiple man-made berms that featured 500' of ascent. Hill climbs are my strength and my passion so I was able to close the gap to the leaders and pull about even. This was just the start of a much larger climb that would take us from 700' up to nearly 2000' at mile 11, all along gravel roads. I was really feeling great and running steady as I ripped off miles of 8:23, 8:29 and 8:34 on this section. Jeremy passed me toward the top of this peak, which was expected sooner or later. We came back down hill to Otter Creek, dropping back down 377' along a ridge line and hit the next aid station, having run 12 miles in 1:40:00, placing me 9th overall through this point. I crossed the stream and passed up another aid station without taking anything. Horton shouted out my name which gave me a little emotional lift, which I needed as my stomach was starting to complain.
Here I am seen leaping the creek, trying to keep my feet dry, knowing that I had another 40 miles to run.
Just before passing under the tunnel which lead us under the Blue Ridge Parkway, I had to stop to go to the bathroom. I couldn't hold it any longer as the pasta dinner from the night before, mixed in with coffee and and the early fast pace had gotten to me. I surrendered about 2 positions as I stepped off the trail for about a minute. It was well worth it though, as I was several pounds lighter after that!
The next few miles were rolling and it was just about staying even and not trying to red line. I kept the pace under 9 minute miles as I regained control of my stomach by mile 17. Running this distance was funny because of how quickly the tide would change; I would go from feeling great one mile to miserable in the next mile. The further along the day went, the more of a roller coaster it became in how I felt and the shorter the time in between how often that changed.
Thinking back to the course profile, I knew that starting at mile 18, we would climb for 2 straight miles from 1500' back up to 2100', so when we left the trail and hit the dirt roads again, I put my head down and started to grind it out. In the distance I could see the next runner and I set my sights on closing the gap to him. I ran an even 9 minute pace in the first mile, climbing 300', while keeping my effort just below red line. I picked off the first runner and set my sights on the next runner, who was much further ahead than the last, but I was feeling really good.
I dropped the pace even more, down to 8:43 climbing mile 19 up another 375' and moving up again. I had to red line nearly the entire mile, but it was worth it as I cracked the top 10 again by the aid station. My time was 2:33 at aid station 6 for 19 miles.
Here are several shots of me with runners that I passed in the background.
These photos highlight the gear that I selected for this race, headlined by the inov-8 roclite 305's. Given that this distance was longer than the 50k's I had been running, I decided to step up to this ultra distance trail shoe. It was ideal for the terrain with plenty of underfoot cushion for the hard packed gravel roads and support for being on my feet for 8 hours straight. They were a great choice. For clothes, I wore the inov-8 Race Top and Nike Split shorts with the Fleet Feet Racing Team logo. For socks, I went with the medium cushioned PhD Trail Run Mini from Smartwool. They kept my feet dry and blister-free all day. I also sported the Zooz arm sleeves for the first half of the race. They kept me warm while the temps were cold in the deep valleys. I was carrying along two Ultimate Direction Fast Draw Extreme hand held bottles. They have been my bottles of choice for several years.
Leaving aid 6, was a lengthy downhill covering nearly 4 miles and dropping back down over a thousand feet. Running in this section was the first time that I struggled. The constant downhill pounding started to bother my quads and hips. Also, I had been nursing a sore ankle since the Xterra 15km a couple of weeks earlier, and the pounding had retweaked that injury. I actually walked for awhile downhill and took two more Advil, bring my total up to 3 for the race. Before we hit the 'half-way' point, I managed to lose 5 spots and dropped to 14th overall. Dink Taylor and Byron Backer were two of the folks who passed me by on the downhill, though I would pass Byron up later on. Dink put 13 minutes on me in this section as did many others, capitalizing on my weakness; downhill running.
I went on to split the marathon in 3:44. I felt pretty decent about this time, given that I had another marathon to run after that.
I seriously contemplated dropping out at the half way point. I knew that Jon's Dad would be there with the truck and I was struggling mentally. I had lost count of my placing and I really thought that I was running about 25th. I certainly did not want to go on for another 5 hours having to deal with the pain I was going through. I finally told myself that I was done about a mile before Long Mountain Wayside. Fortunately, when I got there, Paul told me that I was running in 14th place. It finally sunk in that I was faster than 275 other people to that point and if I could hold on, a top 15 finish at Mountain Masochist would be something to be proud of; so I decided to stick it out. I went to the truck, changed my shirt for sleeveless inov-8 top, dropped my arm sleeves and winter hat, picked up my sun glasses and a handful of mini Snicker's bars.
As I left the aid station and started the climb up Buck Mountain, I realized that this was the first solid food, other than energy blocks, that I had all day. It was amazing how much better I felt once eating real food. I probably should have started earlier than half way. This is where my inexperience at this distance really hurt me. In a fast 50k, I can get by without solids whatsoever.
From mile 23-28 we had already climbed up 1000', and now with Buck Mountain in front of me, I had another 1500' to climb in just over 3 miles. At the aid station, I dropped one spot to the first female, but quickly passed her back on the way up the mountain, and even overtook another runner in the process. I went with 4-1 run/walk method, meaning I would try to run about 4 times as many steps as I would walk, but push hard when I was running. I was taking no more than 10 steps while walking. This proved to be the recipe, along with the Rocky Theme song that played at the top of the mountain. When running I was clearly red lined, but I was able to sustain it to the summit. My splits were an amazing 12:32, 12:10 and 12:07, as I hit the 50km mark in 4 hours, 44 minutes.
Coming down the backside of Buck, I was running with Tamsin Anstey again. She was the lead female and running in her first 50 miler, as was I. She was strong on the downhills and pulled ahead slightly before the start of the 5 mile loop.
The start of the loop up toward the peak of Mt. Pleasant and then over to Pompey Mountain would prove to be the hardest section of the race. What was non technical gravel roads turned into technical single track with never ending climb. I think that I walked most of the climb in the first two miles, as noted by mile splits of 17:33 and 15:52. I would later hear that Roes would run this entire loop in 37 minutes; a true testament of his performance. I kept thinking that I could have done without this detour and laughing to myself that I would never be able to get back the hour that I lost between those mountains. My miles back down were almost as slow, as the trail was leaf covered and I had to put the brakes on to keep from slipping.
Coming back down through the aid station, I continued my onslaught of solid foods taking a Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pie, followed by 3 Swiss Cake Rolls. I managed to get all three Swiss Cake Rolls into my mouth at the same time. It was wonderful! I walked for a few minutes before seeing Paul again at the start of the loop. He asked how I was and I responded by saying "I can hold on for another 13 miles." I was starting to gain some confidence again, despite now running in 16th, having dropped one spot on the loop while I stopped to take electrolytes to ward off leg cramps.
We continued on for another few miles with more gravel roads rolling along I did manage to leapfrog another runner in this section with about 12 miles to go. I was back in the top 15. When I arrived at Salt Log Gap, I picked up some more chocolate chip cookies, filled my bottles and got some encouraging words from the aid station workers. They asked how I was doing and said that they were amazed at my performance given that I had never run this distance before. I'm not sure how, but they called me by name which brightened my outlook.
The next climb was pretty brutal as we ran more gravel roads with berms every few hundred feet toward the top of Rocky Mountain. I was down to a 2:1 run/walk ratio but still running hard when I was running. This method got me to the top and to the next aid station. The volunteers were fuzzy on how far it was to the end. The sign said 9 miles, but they didn't know if that meant 9 'actual' miles or 9 'Horton' miles. They laughed, but I didn't think that was so funny:) I was starting to work the math and slowly realizing that I would have to run strong to stay under 9 hours. They guys told me that it was a long 4 miles to the next aid station and that I should take plenty of nutrition.
What they really meant was "Prepare to run along the Appalachian Trail in a straight climb back up to above 4000' for the 3rd time of the day." I had no choice but to hike my way to the top. At one point, it seemed like there was no trail, but just white ribbons on trees as we passed a camping trailer and went straight up to the summit. I knew that somewhere Horton was laughing at me!
I was trying to ration my water, but ran out with a mile to go. I had also just finished my last Gel Blast and things seemed to be going downhill fast. I was guessing that I would have another 5 miles to go after the next aid station and I had just taken my 7th and 8th Advil for the day, maxing out on what I will take during a 24 hour period. My right knee was throbbing and I didn't think that I had anything left. This was one of my lowest lows of the race.
When I came through the next aid station, I asked again how many actual miles I had left to go. The volunteer said that it was about 3 miles. Again, I asked if these were 'real' miles or 'Horton' miles. He said that they drive this up by truck, so the measurement was precise. As I was taking a few steps in the wrong direction, I caught a glimpse of the next two runners behind me. I hadn't seen anyone in several hours and had no idea that they were that close to me. The guy at the aid station yelled for me to go (and in the right direction), so I took off. I immediately began to run scared. I wasn't about to finish in 17th place after being in the top 15 this late in the game.
I picked up the pace and it wasn't long before I tripped and fell, for the first time. I had been shuffling my feet for hours and having to increase my turnover meant lifting up my feet. I went down pretty hard, but landed on the bottles carried in each hand. I took a quick look to see if the two guys behind me saw the fall before getting back up; they had not as I was just around a bend on the decent.
I was running without any regard to personal safety on leaf covered roads full of rocks, yet I was driven with adrenaline. My first split after the aid station was 7:11. I was relatively shocked that I wasn't redlining or totally gassed, but in reality I was dropping at a rate of 500' per mile for the last 3 miles which really helped. My next split was 7:12. I saw a few people hiking back up and they told me that I was pretty near the 1 mile (to go) mark. I glanced at my watch and it read 8:23:00. That meant that if I could break 7 minutes for the last mile, that I could come in under eight and a half hours. I could no longer see anyone behind me, so now it was a true battle with the clock.
I ran around the last gate and onto the blacktop, now striding out pretty well. There was one more left turn and then the home stretch. I could faintly see the cars toward the finish and as I got closer, the faster I ran. As I neared the end, I could see everyone and hear them cheering. They could tell that I was all out, and that I was pushing to be under 8:30.
I rounded the corner and ducked into the parking lot and under the banner in 8:29:24, having run the last 5km in 21:27 or at 6:54 pace. I immediately dropped my bottles and bent over to catch my breathe; I had made it! In the process, I had put 4 minutes on the next runner coming down the hill.
The joy was immense as I staggered over to Clark and Horton to shake hands and take some pictures. I have to say that this may be my favorite picture of the year.
In the end, we decided that the total distance was somewhere between 52 and 53 miles or about a double marathon with 2.5 miles of climb and 2 miles of decent.
The elevation profile for the race is below.
Assuming 52.5 miles, that meant that my overall pace was 9:42. I am very proud of the fact that I stuck this through when I hit the emotional lows and that it was my first 50 miler. On this day, there were 14 people who were faster; but I was faster than 275 other people. I may forget how hard this was, but I will never forget the amazing feeling of accomplishment when it was over.
Here is a picture of the Huntsville gang before Dink and Suzanne had to head back home.
Then here we are all as proud finishers of the mighty Mountain Masochist. Dink nearly missed another sub 8 hour finish, coming in 10th overall at 8:00:40 with his 15th finish at MMTR. Jon ran a personal best 9:12, Eric Fritz ran 9:31 and Joey ran injured but finished at 11:42.
