Arriving at Hope Lake Park in Virgil NY there is amazing energy from the other ultra runners that are slowly trickling in and setting up camp. I immediately start getting excited for race morning. I introduce myself to Ian, the race director, and offer any help setting up. Soon enough I run into Johnny, a great ultra runner that I met a race earlier this year. We set up camp and relax in the afternoon sun with a beer and good conversation. Pre race meal hosted by the Virgil Crest fire department is your typical spaghetti with meatballs and a salad. Then Ian sets up for the pre race briefing. He opts not to go into a detailed course description as we will most likely forget it, but reminds us to stick to the white trail markers, respect and thank the crew at the aid stations, ignore the coyotes, and most importantly have FUN!!
I slept well that night. The camp sight was beautiful on top of a hill overlooking a little lake with The Greek Peaks just off to the left. But I must admit, spending an afternoon with those peaks in my peripheral made me a bit nervous to think I'd be running up and down them multiple times.
Race morning I woke up around 5:00. Made myself some oatmeal and tea using my little camping stove, then geared up to head out for a 6:00 am start. Clad in basic running shorts, a tank top, arm warmers, my camelbak and headlamp I felt ready for the adventure to begin. For nutrition I had filled my camelbak with water and a couple nuun tablets. Packed with me I had several organic food bars and a few gels, I also anticipated eating real food at the aid stations and restocking my pack when needed.
There we stood, all 82 of us (50-50 mile racers and 32-100 mile racers), in the grass some with head lamps, few brave enough to go without. For some this would be a first 50 or 100, for others it's another tally in the books. One thing we all had in common was the courage to get to that start line, and the determination to cross the finish. With Ian's final words of encouragement, "don't get lost in the woods, and if you do get lost in the woods at night we won't come look for you till daylight", the horn blows and we are off. I had a huge smile on my face heading out into the darkness.
The course was an out and back format (doubled for the 100). The first portion of the race was around the lake on a gravel road then out into the woods. Everyone quickly dispersed into smaller "packs" and you could start to see the leaders head lamps dancing in the darkness. The first section was 5.4 miles to the 1st aid station known as Gravel Pit, and this would be the easiest section in both directions. Flat around the lake followed by a nice wide trail path with very small hills to help warm everyone up for the rest of the course.
I didn't need anything at the first aid station so I passed right through and headed out to Lift House 5. Section 2 of the trails got a little more technical slowing things down a bit. Runners are spreading out at this point and I fall in with 2 other runners, Jimena (1st place female, 3rd overall 100m) and Steve (6th overall 100m). Although its tough at this point to run side by side we stay close and are able to chat and get to know each other a bit. The last part of this section is a little over a mile on the road so I decide to pick up the pace while I can before hitting the peaks. Cruising into Lift House 5 aid station I refill and grab some solid food to take with me for the hike up the peaks.
The Lift House loop is just 3.9 miles, not knowing what to expect I start out in a light jog across the flat grassy area before I come to a complete stop and just stare up the ski slope that I'm expected to go up. I can't even see the top!!! For those of you that are number junkies this section brags 1,431 feet of elevation gain with a 14% average grade. I climb up the 0.6 mile hill to reach a slight descent only to find there is a monster of a peak waiting for me to climb, and thats not all, I have to get back down the other side. But I make it, even comfortably jogging the downhill remembering to keep my stride nice and short to keep from pounding my knees too much. Back at Lift House 5 aid station I need nothing so I press on to section 4 up to Rock Pile. This 6 mile section takes us out to the highest point in the course (because the ski mountains weren't enough) Virgil Mountain Summit at 2,131 feet. Lots of up and little down in this section. Also very technical with roots, rocks, and gullies.
Coming into Rock Pile aid station I'm still feeling very strong but hungry. The leaders have already hit the turn around and are heading back through, as you pass each runner coming the other direction there is an exchange of encouraging words, a high five, and in most cases we know each other by name. Covering about 21 miles in around 4 1/2 hours I'm feeling good about my pace. I refuel with some amazing vegan lentil soup and hit the trails again. Section 5 is 5 miles up to Daisy Hollow Rd. At this point I'm mostly running the ups, walking only the steepest sections, and cruising the descents. Daisy Hollow is the turn around point, so I refuel quickly and head back the 5 miles to Rock Pile. Continually seeing other runners coming the other direction, this section keeps me motivated and smiling. 50 mile racers have red bib numbers and 100 milers have black. Mine is red... but I've decided to go for the 100 at this point. I soon cross paths with Johnny, excited to see each other I let him know I'm "bringing home a buckle!!" with words of encouragement I press on.
Back to Rock Pile for more soup ;) I have now made the decision to go for the 100 mile, so I ease up a little, but not too much. I knew I would have plenty of time in the dark and wanted to get as much ground covered in the daylight. Section 7 covers the 6 miles of more technical terrain so I fill my pack and take some food to go and head off to Lift House 5. Now its time to hit the peaks again, just as hard in the reverse. This section I group up with a few other runners. Chatting with people makes this section so much easier, before you know it your back at the aid station. With just 10 miles now to the turn around I stop at Lift House 5 to let Nancy, one of the head volunteers and pacers for the race, know that I'm going for the 100. I had a drop bag at Lift House, so she made sure I had my headlamp, and something to keep warm for when the sun went down, I wouldn't be back at Lift House where my drop bag was for 4 hours, so she wanted to remind me to take what I needed now to be prepared. With more encouraging words I head off again.
Section 9 back to Gravel Pit has the 1.5 mile of paved road going up in this direction now, so I choose a walk run pattern to get up this section as to not burn all my energy. Then into the trails again. With a quick in and out at Gravel Pit my energy is buzzing and I'm excited to hit the halfway and turn around for the 100 mile. Johnny catches up with me and we chat a bit while running. He commends my decision to go for the 100 and assures me that he'll be available if I need anything, knowing I have no crew or pacer its encouraging. Reaching Hope Lake Park again I'm greeted with cheers as everyone thinks I'm finishing the 50, then cheers again after I inform them of my decision and head back out.
At mile 51 now heading to Gravel Pit I'm crossing runners again. Many of them notice my red bib and cheer me on for going for the 100. I'm feeling great at this point super excited for the night running and for the rest of my journey to hit 100. After Gravel pit is when it starts to get dark so I put on my head lamp and gear up for the night shift. Back at Lift House 5 I'm not looking forward to the peaks, but it gives me a chance to really take it easy and absorb some calories while I walk up the peaks. Once at the bottom again I change into pants as its starting to get cold, I already have my arm warmers on. Fuel up with soup and head out for what will become my mental and physical test of toughness. Shortly after leaving Lift House 5 I cross paths with Angus, the leader, and his pacer Nancy. They are cruising, no time to stop and chat just a quick "hello, looking good" and they are gone. (To give you an idea of the toughness of this course Angus had plans to bring in 100 miles in under 20 hours, he barely finished in under 24 hours!!)
It's now after 11:00 pm and I've been up since about 5 am, I'm feeling alert and strong. About halfway through this section the fatigue starts to hit me. I'm no longer passing runners coming the other direction so its just me, the trail, and the coyotes! I am so tired my running is more of a shuffle. It seems to be taking forever to hit the next aid station, but I've been reduced to a brisk walking pace. At 75 miles in to the race my body is starting to shut down. I'm now feeling pain in my left knee on the descents, so I struggle to get through those. At one point I find myself so tired my eyes cross, then shut, then I trip... That wakes me up instantly and I realize at this rate I'm never getting to Rock Pile, let alone the finish. I pick up the pace and start jogging the flatter sections and some of the easier ascents, moving faster helps me stay awake as well. There are tons of sounds coming from the woods, at one point my head lamp shines right into the green eyes of what I assume was a coyote. Off in the distance I see the flicker of a light and think I'm at Rock Pile!! So happy. But no, it's the head lamp of Shane, 2nd place runner, about an hour and a half behind Angus. I ask him how far to Rock Pile... he says about 50 minutes. With a thanks and good luck I head off into the darkness alone again. I'm getting closer. I hear some shuffling behind me. I turn around to find another runner catching up with me. It's Jerome, I move to the side to let him pass, but he says "no go ahead, its nice to have some company" I agree!!! Happy to have someone to chat with and keep me awake we jog to the next aid station together.
Finally at Rock Pile I opt to actually sit down and eat and rest a bit. I ice my bum knee and just zone out. But not too much resting, it will be hard to get back up. The aid crew members fill my pack for me and offer me all the goods they have. I stick with the soup and away from the candy. Jerome heads out on his own, I thank him for the company and wish him luck. Back on my feet gearing up to head out here comes Jimena, lead female and 3rd overall, bouncing into Rock Pile with her pacer(husband). With only one water bottle in hand and a huge smile on her face I am in complete awe of her energy. When she sees me she comes running up to me and gives me a big hug, introduces me to her husband. She tells me I'm looking great and expresses her excitement and amazement that I'm out here doing the 100. Jimena does not sit down and rest, only grabs a few twizzlers and refills her water bottle and moves on. Her positive energy gets me going again. Off to Daisy Hollow in a jog. I'm feeling energized and good now. Knowing that I will start passing some runners heading to the finish is motivating as well. And soon enough I run into Kelly Wilson. Kelly was the female winner of Virgil Crest 100 the last 2 years in a row out defending her title. In 2nd place for female, 4th overall she seems set on catching up to Jimena. A quick hello and her and her pacer head off. Now I start going through in my head the other racers that I will be running into on there way back to Hope Lake. I realize that I'm in 3rd place for females right now and probably close to 7th overall. I'm not super competitive by nature but I definitely want to hold onto that 3rd place. I keep up the steady pace and soon I hit Daisy Hollow. To my surprise Johnny is up there waiting for me. He is too beat up from his race at the 50 to pace me at this point, but seeing a friend out there really rooting for me brings my spirits right up. I lingered at Daisy Hollow a little too long chatting but eventually headed off for my last 25 miles of the course. Now I'm buzzing, my second wind has hit me. Quickly trotting back to Rock Pile I cross paths with Yukiko and her pacer/husband. Now I know I really need to run smart if I'm going to keep 3rd place female. The descents are still jarring on my knee so I choose to run as many of the ascents as I can and go slower on the descents. Complete opposite of what I did for the first 50, conserving energy by walking the steep hills and making up ground on the flats and downs. I think this is a good strategy for me, and its my only option at this point. I don't want to focus on who's behind me, so I let that thought fade into the trails.
This section back to Rock Pile is really technical and I need to focus on one foot in front of the other, not tripping, and not falling off course!! And I really mean not falling of course. There is a good stretch here that the trail runs right along a steep drop off. I know that if I had a pacer at this point I would be moving much faster. 2 sets of eyes navigating the trails would make running in the dark so much easier. And just someone to talk to and keep me awake would be nice :) But I'm alone, and will have to deal with it, so I'm just moving a little slower. A quick pass through at Rock Pile setting off to Lift House 5. I'm getting so much closer!! In about an hour the sun will be coming up. With a lot of up and down in this section I'm slowing down again, and with my legs slowing down I start to feel sleepy. My mood is still very positive, there is a lot of pain in my body at this point, but the excitement of finishing this major journey has put a huge smile on my face.
As the sun starts coming up the trail becomes more runnable. Now I have another issue, I'm stopping to pee much too frequently, and when I set out jogging at a good pace I get extremely nauseous. My nail beds have turned paper white, which is a sign of serious dehydration. I don't get it, I've been drinking regularly and keeping my nutrition up, and taking salt tablets at a mostly regular rate. The only thing I changed was adding gu brew in my camelbak at the last aid station instead of just water hoping the calories would boost my energy. No, instead its not agreeing with my body, and its completely flushing me out. (Note to self, never change nutrition, especially mid race!!!) Soon I'm not just peeing, everything is coming out. But what am I going to do? I can't stop running now. Next strategy is run 1 minute walk 1 minute. I know the up and down heart rate is burning my energy but the nausea sets in with too much consistent running and I just can't walk the entire way back. I will have plenty of time to walk when I reach the peaks at the next section.
At Lift House 5 I refill my camel back with just water and the nuun tablet that had been working for me since the beginning. I need to eat something, but nothing is appetizing at this point. I choose soup again, this time pumpkin. Its actually really good, so I help myself to 2 servings and take a couple turkey sandwiches for the climb. I had also prepared for the climb by finding a good walking stick in the last trail to help power up the hills with. And it does help, using my upper body to really propel me up the peak is a good strategy. But I still have to get down, and thats a problem with my knee. I know I will finish, I have plenty of time with a 36 hour cut off to make it even if I have to walk the rest of the way. But still in the back of my mind is that 3rd place female finish that I don't want to loose. My stomach if feeling much better after some water and food. At the top of the peak I'm ready to head down, so I turn around and start trotting down backwards!! It's working beautifully. I couldn't be happier, I'm covering serious ground with no pain by running the downhill backwards. Back at Lift House 5 I find my drop bag and grab my emergency water bottle filled with about 500 calories of carbo pro. I knew if I had stomach problems the liquid calories would help me to the finish, and with just 10 miles to go its exactly what I needed.
No stopping now, I just grab a handful of pretzels and head out running. With the hardest sections behind me now I know I can suffer through the rest at a steady jogging pace and with little walking. I'm loving this right now. Its the hardest thing I've ever set out to do, and the most painful by far. But nothing can bring me down now, I'm smiling, loving the trails, and making my way to the finish. Coming into Gravel Pit I only stop to give them my bib number and assure them I'm feeling great and move on. with 5.4 miles of the easiest stretch to the finish I see no point in stopping to rest with the finish so close. I'm running fairly consistent again until the pain in my knee comes back. I manage to block it out for a while, but soon have to alternate run / walk again. But it's ok, I figure I'll do this for a little while that way I can really run into the finish. I crest over a little hill and see a runner in the distance. I can't possibly be catching up to Jerome again, he passed me hours ago. It's a runner coming towards me!! It's Johnny! He's come out to pace me to the finish!! With a quick hug we set out together to the finish. He encourages me to keep it easy and comfortable, only about 2 miles to go. We continue in the run / walk fashion.
Soon I can see the lake. With a short jaunt around the lake to the finish I'm almost in tears realizing what I'm about to accomplish. Johnny tells me this is my race and he'll see me at the finish. He cuts through the grass with his camera ready to capture my finishing moment. 3/4 of a mile to go I'm really running now. There is no pain, only triumph in my endeavor. Even from 1/2 mile out I can hear the cheers from the finish line. My new friends that I've made along this journey are waiting for me at the finish shouting my name and I start going even faster. The adrenaline is pumping, the smile on my face is huge, I'm laughing and almost crying all at once. I run through the finish at 31 hours and 14 minutes.
Greeted with hugs from everyone including Jimena and Kelly Wilson, and some of the other top finishers I feel honored to now be a part of an elite group of endurance athletes, I'm a 100 mile finisher!! And I'm bringing home a buckle! Not only was I humbled by the trails in this race, but I take with me a feeling of accomplishment, new friends, and the knowledge that if you set your heart and mind on doing something you absolutely can do it!!! I will definitely be racing more 100 mile ultras in the future so stay tuned for my next adventure in ultra running.
