So let's start off this race report with a bit of nostalgia to set the tone:
Hellgate 2006: 16:48, 19 years old...death march, wet, frozen shoes... hallucinations.
Hellgate 2007: 16:34, cold, snow, ice, sliding down mountains and not being able to climb up them
Hellgate 2008: 14:17, breakthrough year, getting lost, bloody hands, physics final 7-9PM Friday night
Hellgate 2009: 13:05, breakthrough year #2...until last 3 miles, lying on my back and unable to get up
Hellgate 2010: 12:51, breakthrough year #3...10th in deepest field yet...no meltdown, Eagle Trophy!
Hellgate 2011: DNS...finishing my Doctorate wishing I was running in the mountains at midnight in December...wait...what?
So thats a brief synopsis of my Hellgate story... and it sure has been quite a ride. Something that started as a simple one-and-done challenge has turned into a [nearly] yearly tradition. I can honestly say that one of the worst feelings ever was being at my desk, studying for my Doctoral comprehensive exams on the evening of December 10th, 2011, knowing what few people knew about an event going on 150 miles away on a dark, cold, horse trail. I honestly felt sick to my stomach knowing that I would not be there to sing the national anthem with everyone, wonder at the huge expanse of starts while climbing to Pettites Gap, experience the sunrise on the way up to Little Cove mountain, run the 'in and outs' on the way to Bobblet's Gap, or wonder how many freaking curves it takes to get up to the darn Blue Ridge Parkway on the way to the finish. Anyways, It was that night that I decided that I guess Hellgate, for some weird reason has a very, very special place in my heart. The one and only Jeremy Ramsey told me earlier this fall that I was, "messed up" when I mentioned to him that I was definitely going for Hellgate #6 this year. Anyways, onto the Hellgate #6...the Welcome Home Edition:
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| Pre-race happy thoughts... |
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| Pre-race hanging with the (overnight) crew: Matt, Max and Kelly |
Off we were into the unseasonably warm night. I tucked in with a group somewhere in the middle of the pack I thought, and settled in for the long first third of the race. After aid station 1, I found my fast friends Holly and Matt Bugin and ran with them for awhile, catching up on life. On the climb up to Pettites Gap, I was reveling in the awesome beauty of the mountains at night and remembered that this was why I was out there. Then, 15 minutes or so past A.S. #2 and my crew, my headlamp strap proceeded to fall apart when I was adjusting it on a technical, downhill section. That put a damper on this section as I had to hold the headlamp in my hand until I could find someone with a light to help me get the head loop back situated correctly. Luckily someone was kind enough to walk with me up a hill while I tried to get it back together and I was able to manhandle it into a working (sort of) headlamp.
On we went through the warm night, into and out of the fog, which was a first for me at Hellgate. Normally you are battling ice, snow or bitterly cold wind, not fog and wet rocks. New year, new experiences I guess. At Camping Gap (A.S. 3) I loaded up and got on trucking, figuring I was somewhere in 20-30th place (I was really more in the 30-40th place range) Needless to say, looking back on the race I had gone out too slow and had gotten dusted by the pack I would normally find myself in, but at this point I was just enjoying the night, blissfully unaware of where I stood in the race.
At Floyd's Field (A.S. 4) I met up with my crew, fueled up and got ready for my favorite section which includes fast, downhills, both technical and smooth. I hauled it out of there and immediately began catching people. In my mind this is where the race really begins. By the time I made it to Jenning's Creek I had passed 15 or so runners and figured I was into the top 15 at least. I booked it out of A.S. 5, eager to get up the mountain and out of sight of those following me. I ran the whole way up the top and began bombing the downhill to the road before the climb to Little Cove. When I started climbing I realized for the first time that I was definitely behind pace from my last two Hellgates and started wondering what place I actually was in. When I got to the aid station, my awesome crew who had been driving all night once again faithfully fueled my up and sent me on my way. They also told me that I was in 24th place. Ouch. That was not what I wanted to hear. The whole next section, which is very runnable, I contemplated on how I could get back into the top ten, concluding that realistically, it was not going to happen for me this year. All I had to shoot for was finishing strong, enjoying the ride and being thankful for being out there... really what more is there to want anyways? I got passed by the lead female at this point, who turned in a fantastic result. This section was definitely my low point, but once I got to the 'Devil's Trail' I began to feel better because I had done trailwork with Dr. Horton on this section earlier in the fall and I knew it like the back of my hand. That really helped me get through this rough and tumble section with my morale intact.
Popping out at Bearwallow gap was a great feeling because I knew Kristen, my friend Robbie and my parents would all be there joining my night crew of Kelly, Max and Matt. It was great to see everyone and pick up Kristen to run with me. I can honestly say that this was the best I ever felt coming into Bearwallow gap which is at about mile 45, give or take a few Horton Miles. As Kristen and I headed back out into the mountains, I told her that I felt like I would be finishing pretty strong this year. We ran together and enjoyed the views of the 'ins and outs' and the fog rolling in the valleys. I was caught by two runners while climbing up the road to A.S. 8, but otherwise felt good about my pace through that section.
My amazing crew once again met me at the A.S. and for the 2nd to last time got me in and out of the A.S. with pit-crew like efficiency. Heading out, I was determined to crush the 'Forever' sections, which I had never done before. Normally Kristen would be dragging me through this section, but this year, probably due to my conservative start, I was able to keep the pace really moving. This is one of the sections where being familiar with the course come in handy since its easy to get frustrated when you feel like you are nearly done with the section when in fact, you are not even close. My familiarity with this section allowed me to focus on running and not thinking about how close I was to the last A.S. I was able to pass 3 people in this section and set a 'PR' (can I say that?) for this sections. Previously the fastest I had run from Bobblet's gap to Day's creek had been in the ballpark of 2 hours. This time I hit it in 1:26. This set me up nicely for a great finish.
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| My amazing crew getting me set to leave Bobblet's Gap |
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| Food. The End. |
My crew had a special surprise for me at A.S. 9...they had driven all the way into town to get me a veggie burger, which they handed to me as Kristen and I headed up towards to Blue Ridge Parkway! Yay for real food!!! This climb is always a tough one for me and I keep telling myself that one day I will figure out how to run this section... but this skill still eludes me. We hiked up the mountain in 37 minutes which is good for my pathetic walking speed. When we crested the mountain, I knew I had a chance to catch a few more people before the finish. Kristen and I began bombing it down the mountain and caught up with my VT Ultra buddy Guy L. who was hurting, but putting on a clinic in gutsy finishes. After passing him all I wanted to do was get done. Kristen told me to go ahead so I kept pushing the pace (in reality I just got really excited to get done and left Kristen in the dust in the last mile)
Hitting the 1 mile to go mark, I started cranking it up, looking for someone else to catch. I came into the finish running full tilt and crossed the line in 13:20:50 with a 6:10 last mile. First time not setting a PR, but by far the strongest finish I have ever had. Mad props to the rest of the VT Ulta group with Rudy rocking out to sub 13 on his first Hellgate, Guy finishing the Beast, while not letting any measly (ok... not so measly) foot pain stop him, and Fletcher hanging tough to finish his first Hellgate! Also how about the man who got me into all this craziness, Michael Stratton finishing Hellgate #9. Man, I have some really inspiring people to hang out with. Speaking of inspiring, I give mad props to my crew, the people who got zero sleep and drove along dark winding roads all night and my wife who ran the last 20 miles to get me through this whole thing. Thanks to the most amazing crew! You guys make this race very special for me year in and year out.
Thanks also to all the race volunteers, course markers, sweepers and of course, Dr. Horton. Thanks for being an inspiration to so many people and for putting on such a special race. Hope to see you there for years to come. On that note... I have been thinking...10 Hellgate finishes before the age of 30 sounds pretty cool....haha....See you Camp Bethel next year!
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| Everyone (minus dad who's taking the picture) |
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| Chang Family |
