“It is through pain that one arrives at pleasure” –Marquis de Sade
I’m not 100% sure what to think of this year’s Hellgate. It went well, kind of… it went alright…it didn’t go too well but it also went amazingly well. It was almost exactly the same as last year, with just a few differences. If I would’ve written a race report last year, I would have just deferred you to it instead of writing another one.
The last few months have been very different. Crazy. I took a month pretty much off after Grindstone 100 in October, started working at Kroger, doing a bunch of school stuff, started to think about what to do after graduation (to no avail), and ran about a month and a half of 50-60 mile weeks, getting faster and working on night running (which is easy cuz the sun goes down before it even comes up). So I think I was pretty well rested but still in decent shape for this. Also, there was some pressure for sure. I wanted to win really badly. I wanted to get a course record. My standards were high. Horton gave me the number 1 seed. I was excited.
The last few months have been very different. Crazy. I took a month pretty much off after Grindstone 100 in October, started working at Kroger, doing a bunch of school stuff, started to think about what to do after graduation (to no avail), and ran about a month and a half of 50-60 mile weeks, getting faster and working on night running (which is easy cuz the sun goes down before it even comes up). So I think I was pretty well rested but still in decent shape for this. Also, there was some pressure for sure. I wanted to win really badly. I wanted to get a course record. My standards were high. Horton gave me the number 1 seed. I was excited.
So anyways, the VTULTRA crew rolled into Camp Bethel Friday night, reading a temperature of 62 DEGREES IN DECEMBER WHATTTT!! It was hot. After the prerace briefing, etc, we went to the race start and I walked into the woods and laid down on the ground and actually slept for an hour! Good start. When I woke up, I started to get psyched. Guess who was there?? DMACK, all the way from California, Butch, Jonathan, Henry, Adrienne, Hannah, Afro Dylan, Josh, Kristen, Leif, Robbie, Lauren, so many friends.
Me, Danny, and Jordan lined up at midnight and Horton said go and then we went and we ran and I ran with Brad Hinton (who won the Beast Series, total badass), Jordan, and Nicolas Dubuget, fresh off the plane from FRANCE. We were running pretty chill the first 2 miles until popping off the trail onto the first fire road climb. Nicolas is insane at running uphill. We ran together for a while, talking about France and America and other stuff. I stuck with him all the way up to the 1st aid station, where Horton yelled “5 minutes ahead of course record!” This early, that was fast. But I felt really comfortable. I grabbed gels, bottles, went straight through and down the trail downhill. I was in the lead, feeling good, and moving really well. The next climb is the biggest one in the race, and one I knew well, all the way up to Camping Gap. I was moving really good, but guess what, here comes Nicolas raging uphill and destroying me. I usually pride myself on uphills, but Dubuget is a 2:20 marathoner and a damn good climber. We got to Camping Gap still 4 minutes ahead of course record. At this point Nicolas started running 6 minute miles on my least favorite part of the course and I couldn’t do it. Bro’s fast. This is exactly where Ryan Paavola took off on me last year.
Now, this is where Hellgate got hard. I started to feel, not BAD, but not GOOD. Decent, I could move. But I wasn’t rolling. The rest of the entire night was a blur. I went down to Jennings Creek, I went up and down and up and down all the way until the sun came up. I saw deer eyes looking at me from the woods. I saw creek crossings and trees and rocks and leaves and trail and fireroad and I ate food and drank water and Tailwind and my foot was getting blisters but I didn’t care that much and I ran. I didn’t really think about anything. I grinded.
Now, this is where Hellgate got hard. I started to feel, not BAD, but not GOOD. Decent, I could move. But I wasn’t rolling. The rest of the entire night was a blur. I went down to Jennings Creek, I went up and down and up and down all the way until the sun came up. I saw deer eyes looking at me from the woods. I saw creek crossings and trees and rocks and leaves and trail and fireroad and I ate food and drank water and Tailwind and my foot was getting blisters but I didn’t care that much and I ran. I didn’t really think about anything. I grinded.
Usually, when the sun comes up in a race I get a burst of energy much like a photosynthetic creature. Saturday, I floundered on the Hell Trail and grinded to Bearwallow. I ran. I ate, I drank, I grinded, I didn’t think about much. It was fun, but it also wasn’t. I was feeling badish but goodish and I was moving decent. And then it was over! I crossed the finish line in 11 hours and 12 minutes, about 1 minute slower than last year and 20 minutes behind the amazing Dubuget. Most of the race was a blur. I didn’t really stop at aid stations, I didn’t talk to anyone, I did pretty well but not as well as I hoped but it was FUN.
Hellgate is a special race. Horton makes it hard, it’s supposed to be hard and crazy and grindy and it challenges you. And it’s not all about winning, or setting a PR. I would have liked to win, I would have liked to gone faster, because challenging yourself and knowing you can get faster and stronger and tougher is something I love about this sport. But it’s really about challenging yourself against the mountains, and the landscape, and not other people or the clock. It’s about becoming a part of the world around you in order to experience it fully. It’s about suffering your way to being a better person, and giving yourself a real challenge that you might not even finish. It’s about the PEOPLE who come to support your race during FINALS WEEK, staying up all night and drinking mountain dew just to see you for 5 seconds and not even be heeded. It’s about everyone in the race putting themselves in the mountains for a whole day, in the heat, in the hills, in the water, it’s about the new friendships made and the bonds made to existing friends.
Hellgate is a special race. Horton makes it hard, it’s supposed to be hard and crazy and grindy and it challenges you. And it’s not all about winning, or setting a PR. I would have liked to win, I would have liked to gone faster, because challenging yourself and knowing you can get faster and stronger and tougher is something I love about this sport. But it’s really about challenging yourself against the mountains, and the landscape, and not other people or the clock. It’s about becoming a part of the world around you in order to experience it fully. It’s about suffering your way to being a better person, and giving yourself a real challenge that you might not even finish. It’s about the PEOPLE who come to support your race during FINALS WEEK, staying up all night and drinking mountain dew just to see you for 5 seconds and not even be heeded. It’s about everyone in the race putting themselves in the mountains for a whole day, in the heat, in the hills, in the water, it’s about the new friendships made and the bonds made to existing friends.
I found out I could feel bad and still grind my way to a really good result, and keep moving forward when it sucks and I’m tired and my foot has blisters wahhhhhh. Life lesson: suck it up bitch you’ll be fine. Move forward. Chyeah. I think I was still a little tired from Grindstone, from working a lot, from school, but that’s life. Suck it up. Get better.
And whoa!! Here’s Jordy in 3rd place about 20 minutes back with a huge PR!! This guy is a huge inspiration, he’s done Hellgate 9 times now, he selflessly gives his time to everyone he knows in order to help injuries, to say suck it up (in a nice way). What a guy. Congrats Jordy.
And whoa!!!! Here’s Danny Luciani, finishing 16th in his first race over 50k! Killin it. Trained a lot with this boy, finishing Hellgate is huge. Good boy.
And mega props to Nicolas Dubuget, who ran his first race in the United States and crushed it. Dude stopped for 10 minutes at each aid station and ate French stuff and then sprinted to the next one and ate French stuff and sprinted to the end in an amazing time. Super nice guy. Now I have someone to chill with in France.
Thanks Horton for once again putting on an amazing experience in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Hellgate is special. Everyone reading this should do it. Thanks crew for putting up with me and feeding me pepperoni and gels.
And whoa!! Here’s Jordy in 3rd place about 20 minutes back with a huge PR!! This guy is a huge inspiration, he’s done Hellgate 9 times now, he selflessly gives his time to everyone he knows in order to help injuries, to say suck it up (in a nice way). What a guy. Congrats Jordy.
And whoa!!!! Here’s Danny Luciani, finishing 16th in his first race over 50k! Killin it. Trained a lot with this boy, finishing Hellgate is huge. Good boy.
And mega props to Nicolas Dubuget, who ran his first race in the United States and crushed it. Dude stopped for 10 minutes at each aid station and ate French stuff and then sprinted to the next one and ate French stuff and sprinted to the end in an amazing time. Super nice guy. Now I have someone to chill with in France.
Thanks Horton for once again putting on an amazing experience in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Hellgate is special. Everyone reading this should do it. Thanks crew for putting up with me and feeding me pepperoni and gels.
2015 wrap-up: Hellgate capped off an awesome 2015. 6 ultras, 2 wins, 4 top 5’s, over 3000 miles, 600 hours, 600,000 feet of elevation gain, countless good times and friends made.
Winter break is for recovery, for mountain biking and hiking and climbing and SKIING. California, Arizona, and Colorado await.
2016 is gonna be ball-so-hard time. I have the stoke for the spring stoke already. Holiday Lake 50k, Mt Cheaha 50k, Georgia Death Race , Promiseland 50k are already on the calendar. I’m gonna run way too much and I’m gonna love it. Here we go.
Winter break is for recovery, for mountain biking and hiking and climbing and SKIING. California, Arizona, and Colorado await.
2016 is gonna be ball-so-hard time. I have the stoke for the spring stoke already. Holiday Lake 50k, Mt Cheaha 50k, Georgia Death Race , Promiseland 50k are already on the calendar. I’m gonna run way too much and I’m gonna love it. Here we go.