I trained hard this year. We knew that being first time parents, Kristen and I were going to have make sacrifices and work as a team like never before in 2020...and that was before the pandemic. What an amazing, fulfilling and fun year it has been with our little man growing up right in front of our eyes. I enlisted the help of Hayden Hawks in January to elevate my running game and it has paid off in amazing ways. None of us would have expected all the craziness of the pandemic, but having a coach to bounce ideas off, tailor my training and just be accountable to has made this year of training the best I’ve had in years. As Chris Roberts mentioned a few miles into the race, maybe I’m a ‘cheater’ this year for having a coach…but if letting go of my pride and allowing someone else to take a critical look at my training to help me improve is considered cheating, I am all in.
Photo by Ridge RUNers
Spoiler alert: that didn’t happen.
Am I happy about that? Hardly. Am I excited and proud of my race? Absolutely. In 2006, the year before the iPhone 1 was released, I ran Hellgate the first time as a 19 year old Virginia Tech Sophomore and was dragged to the finish line by a conglomerate of older, wiser and stronger runners (Hello Darin Dunham!) in a time of 16:48. In 2007 I returned, an emotional train-wreck, struggling to deal with the aftermath of the campus shootings that rocked my world months earlier, and again survived the long, cold trek in 16:34. As I reflect on my years running Hellgate, I am most thankful for those first two years of struggling mightily through the dark, cold mountains because I can look back on them and know that things get better. I know now that we get stronger, our community grows around us and we get tougher. Lessons for 2020 I guess.
As we started off at 12:01, there was a very intimate, ‘group run’ like feel as our wave of 25 individuals rapidly whittled down to a group of 8 of us who together ran off into the darkness. As usual, John, Chris and Frank were bantering, being loud, and stirring up all the dogs as their owners turned over in bed, reaching for their guns. The guys were having a contest about who would be the first to take off their Houdini jacket. I enjoyed sitting back and listening to my friends talk. I thought to myself that this is what I have missed this year, being with my people in the mountains. As this was clearly going to be a "Sissygate" year, I took a chance jumped the rocks across the creek before aid station 1. For the first time in 14 tries, I made it through without getting my feet wet. Good omen.
Photo by Jay Proffitt
As we climbed up Petites, Chris Roberts, Michael Dubova and I took in the odd scene playing out below and behind us on the road. Rather than the usual constant stream of bobbing headlights going back as far as you could see, we saw a few lights here and there in small clumps. Sobering thoughts about why we were in this situation crept into my head. Thoughts that I had battled just a few days prior when I considered not starting the race. Shaking off those thoughts, I continued to climb with the other two who were left in our party. Focused, Chris, Dubova and I cruised through Petites and down the other side to the FS road climb to Camping Gap. As we climbed, it was clear that this was going to be a race between myself and Dubova (Sorry Chris…the writing was on the wall). We silently ran to the top and passed through the always cold and windy Camping Gap aid station. Chris led us out of the aid station and we caught him about a half mile later. Dubova put in a surge on the long descents on the Promise Land section and I held back, knowing that the tough part of this section was to come in a few miles when the grassy road transitions from 90% downhill to 90% uphill. I focused on not working too hard, but instead on running efficiently. Dubova’s headlamp would get farther away on every downhill and gradually come back to me on the uphills.
Photo by Ridge RUNers
By the time we got to the turnoff onto single track on the side of Onion mountain, I was a few steps back of Dubova. He took off like a madman down the technical descent and I followed, losing time with every step as we approached Overstreet Falls. Climbing up to the parkway and Floyd’s Field aid station, I was happy, but not surprised that my legs were feeling great. I knew I had put in more mileage this year than ever before and my legs were in the strongest shape they had ever been in. The normal fatigue and pain I would typically be feeling at this point were nowhere to be felt. I met up with Josh, my crew chief at Floyd’s Field and he dutifully situated my pack for the next push. By the time I crossed the parkway, Dubova was nowhere to be seen, and after the aid station Michael Owen mentioned I was trailing by about 2.5 minutes. Fair enough! I dawdled a little at that aid station, but no worries, my focus for the 2020 edition of Hellgate was to crush the section from Jennings Creek to Bearwallow and I wasn’t there quite yet. I had yet to fully implement my plan and my confidence was at an all time high.
As we rounded the one 160 degree turn on this section of the course I caught glimpse of his light, right where I thought I would see it. I knew then that he was between 2-4 minutes ahead. I realized here that he was descending like a crazy person, so all I could hope for heading into Jennings was to keep the gap as close as possible while staying relaxed and in control. As part of my bid to set a big PR this year, I had the time of day split times to each of the aid stations written on my arm starting with Jennings. First time check, I hit Jennings at 4:56, about 5 minutes faster than my previous best time to that aid station (2015). Perfect. After a quick stop with Josh, I was off to crush my second objective for the race: running fast between Jennings (mile 30'ish) and Bearwallow (mile 46'ish). The first task for this section was to run the entire climb out of Jennings, a feat I had never been able to do. This year it was not a problem. Cruising up to the FS gate at the top of the climb I checked my watch a noted that the climb took in the realm of 20 minutes. Then it was off towards Little Cove aid station and another big climb that I had never been able to run in its entirety. Again, no problem this year! Coming around the last bend in the climb before Little Cove, I mentally planned my next move: Get as close to Bearwallow as possible before the sun came up.
As I rolled into Little Cove, Horton was sitting there. He saw I was focused so he didn’t heckle me too much. He mentioned that Dubova was 5 minutes ahead and that I should chase his headlamp on the next section of long, descending in-and-outs. I told him I was feeling great and took off, PB&J’s in hand. Through the next section of runnable double track and FS road, I thought back to 2018 when Chris, John and I were in this section together, trying to run each other into the ground while heading towards Bearwallow (Spoiler, I was the one who got rocked that year). This year, I was secretly thankful to be out there by myself, able to just focus on chasing one person and running as fast as possible without distraction. I said hi to Horton’s Rock-Wedged-in-a-tree in passing as dawn began to creep into my peripheral vision and soon enough I found myself running the Devil’s Trail, headlamp still blazing. About a mile later I turned off my light and began the always-longer-than-you-think last push to Bearwallow. I saw Mike McMonagle, last years champ a hundred yards before the aid station and the words he said stuck with me the rest of the race…something along the lines of: “You guys are on pace for a special time!”
I ran straight to my crew vehicle and was happy to see Kristen, Josh and my best friend from high school, Matt, all waiting and ready to get me set for the last quarter of the race. My 7:25am arrival time meant I was 25 minutes faster than my previous fastest arrival time to Bearwallow from my 2015, when I finished 3rd and set my PR of 11:42. I also managed to subtract 15 minutes from my previous best section split between Jennings and Bearwallow! Horton came over to tell me that Dubova had ‘gone bezerk’ on that section and I was now 13 minutes behind him despite running that section the best I ever had by a long shot. Regardless, off I went with renewed focus, ready to hit the short 6 miles to Bobblet’s Gap hard and earn some of that time back. I continued to ask more and more of my legs, charging up climbs that I had never imagined running and opening up my stride on the flats as if I were racing a 5k. My legs continued to respond. My previous best effort for this section was 1:15, and this year I arrived at Bobblet’s at a 8:32 am, splitting that section in 1:07. Seeing Josh and Gina Gilbert was a really nice and they, along with my crew got me in and out in no time. I was informed as a left that Dubova was continuing to pour it on and I was still bleeding time, despite running out of my mind up to this point. He had gained another 5+ minutes on me just in that section and was a full 19 minutes at this point!
Photo by Ridge RUNers
As I descended away from the parkway, I reminded myself that ANYTHING could still happen and that this race was NOT over. Almost like a sign, I came upon one of Dubova’s big black mittens laying all by it’s lonesome in the middle of the trail as if telling me that yes, he was still there and within striking distance, even though things were getting increasingly one sided in this battle. Over the years, this section has become less and less a “forever section” and more and more a “RUN EVERYTHING challenge,” which is exactly how I treated it this year. Running everything that I once thought was unattainable, with every twist and turn of the trail I kept picturing seeing Dubova coming back to me. It was at this point that I truly realized I was capable of breaking 11 hours. My previous best split from Bobblet’s Gap to Day Creek was 1:28. I knew if I could get to Day Creek by 10 am, I would have a solid shot of breaking 11. This idea, along with chasing Dubova, fueled the fire and I opened up even more in the back half of this section. I counted down the 13 creek crossings with a smile on my face 😃.
I announced my arrival to day creek with a loud whoop and a quick glance at my watch which read 9:47am! Seeing this was enough to get the adrenaline pumping. Without even stopping to properly greet my crew, I quickly grabbed a bottle of Appalachian Powerade (i.e. mountain dew) and charged up the mountain towards Black Horse Gap. Last year I had picked off John Andersen roughly 1 mile from the top, and this year I smiled big to myself as I ran hard past that same spot. The Three Amigos (Roberts, Anderson and Chang) were not meant to be this year, and Anderson and Roberts were left to their own bromantic battle on the course. I tipped my hat to the Black Horse Tavern ruins as tradition requires and set my sights squarely on the parkway gate. At this point a sub-11 finish was “in the bag,” though as I’ve learned in the past, nothing is in the bag until you are 100% finished. I set my sights on beating Ryan Paavola’s 2014 course record, which at the time I remembered as being 10:41. As I crested the top, I had less than 25 minutes to get to the finish line to break what I thought was the record. I also thought, foolishly, that if I finished under the course record, I MUST be close to Dubova. No one would be able to completely obliterate the course record, right? I ran as hard as I could on down the mountain and, for the first time in the last 10+ hours, my legs started to talk to me. Despite the deep fatigue in my quads, I cranked up my turnover in an attempt to pick up the pace.
As I approached the final gate, the location where I broke my ankle during Hellgate 2018, I knew I would need to crank out a sub 7 mile to get under 10:41. I asked everything from my body in the last 1.5 miles. Even when it became clear I was going to finish over 10:41, I pressed forward with acceptance so that I could enjoy the last few hundred meters and soak in the effort that brought me to this point. I crossed the finish line with a final time of 10:42:20, and shortly there-after, heard someone yell that I was under the old course record. Despite my thinking that the course record was 10:41, it was actually 10:45! What a crazy turn of events!
Photo by Ridge RUNers
Photo by Jay Proffitt
Photo by Jay Proffitt
I looked over to Horton and Dubova and asked the question that had been with me for a long time. How fast had he ACTUALLY run? I was floored and in awe to hear that Dubova finished in 10:16! I couldn’t do anything but pick my jaw off the floor and try to wrap my head around what I had just been a part of. Two guys going under the previous course record with first-place crushing the previous record by 30 minutes. Now THAT IS HELLGATE SPECIAL.
Photo by Jay Proffitt
To Hellgate, thank you for allowing me to test myself on your relentless climbs and soul crushing rocks through my teens, 20s and now 30s. You have seen me through some of my toughest years and also through times of great joy. Just when I think that each year couldn’t be more special or memorable than the last, Hellgate proves me wrong. Here I am 14 finishes later and this one was SPECIAL. Special like the first time I arrived at Camp Bethel in 2006, special like finishing the Beast Series in 2014, or under a blanket of snow in 2017 and special like seeing Kristen 36-weeks pregnant waiting at the finish line last year. Here’s to many more special finishes in the years to come!
To DOCTOR David Horton, thank you for always believing in me, for pushing me out of my comfort zone and mentoring me as a person and runner these past 15 years. Thank you for all that you do to organize this VERY special race.
I’m coming for you #15
Crew chief extraordinaire Josh!
