West Virginia Mountain Trail Runners
A Mountain State of Running
Bob Hagan Race Report – Trilogy ’11
Praise God we can run!
I was fortunate enough to participate in the 50K first leg of the WV Trilogy on Friday, 7 October. WV is indeed a wild, wonderful place (wet and wrocky, too) !
This was my 17th ultra overall and the sixth I have run in WV, so I should probably know that WV is the Mountain State for good reason. I think I was happy to believe the qualifier on the race site that said the elevation profile was exaggerated and that the only truly technical parts of the course were on a segment of the 50M second leg. . .no complaints though, this was an awesome run, in any case, it was exactly what I wanted! Since my first ultra at JFK in 2008 and really getting the bug at Holiday Lake in 2009, I have enjoyed the opportunity to challenge myself physically and mentally in some beautiful places.
The beauty of creation has been amazing, but the most profound effect of my ultras has been a vibrant experience of God’s incredible Grace and his unmatched Glory. Being stretched physically and mentally has prepared my heart to be tender and receptive to God’s love in new ways, and to clarify on whom I depend. I know I must do my part in all things, but to be truly successful, I need to depend on God’s provision and I need to ensure that my part is oriented on bringing Him glory. Too often I am the clay questioning the Potter (Romans 9:19-21); the chance to do these events has definitely helped me understand this. It has also allowed me to meet some exceptional people who are living their faith. Friends like Matt (www.wvruncoach.com) whose prayers and support I greatly appreciate! Congratulations to Matt and his bride for welcoming a new generation of ultrarunner with their son’s birth on Friday, too!
As I reflected on Trilogy 50K, two verses I wanted to share:
“Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; our God is merciful” Psalm 116:5
“but, God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” Romans 5:8
The Trilogy 50K was an awesome experience: the people, the event, and the course.
People: I had met both race directors, Adam Casseday and Dan Lehmann, before – impressive men for sure. They are quite a team, great friends and genuinely nice people. Organizing and executing an event like this is extremely demanding of time and attention, but for these men, it is clearly a labor of love. Their families and all of the volunteers at the aid stations and the folks at the Mountain Institute really worked hard to make everything go smoothly. I am profoundly grateful for their efforts and the opportunity they provided – THANK YOU!
Event: I think the 3-day stage format is exceptional – I hope I can give the whole weekend a go next year. Getting on the starting line for day 2 is a real gut check. My hats off to everyone who took on all three events and particularly to the 15 runners who completed all three – very impressive! The Mountain Institute is an awesome venue –at night I think you can see every star in the sky, just a wonderfully beautiful place.
Course: Tough and beautiful and wet and rocky. Mostly trail, which I found fairly technical, but I am really challenged on the rocks – not a mountain goat at all. My feet were wet most of the day, from the wet grass in the first few miles and from the many stream crossings on the route, but it really did not cause me any real problems and the later stream crossings were refreshing. There were several good climbs – made moreso by the essentially straight up trail route. My friend Bruce noted that a few switchbacks would be nice! I greatly enjoyed the AS3/4 area – remote and crewed by horse riders – wonderful cheese quesadillas. Leaving AS4 was my favorite spot on the course, climbing through the meadow of amazing Autumn color at Judy Springs. I had seen this spot in pictures from last year’s Trilogy – wow.
God’s Grace and God’s Glory – Praise God we can run!
Hope to see you on the trails!
Author: Bob Hagan
Fine Folks At Cheat Mountain
A hot night for a race; high humidity; the nicest runners. All nice and polite as they hit our Aid Station twice; many hurting with turned stomachs and beat up quads, but they never directed that toward us.
The runners encountered us as Aid Station # 2 on their way in. They have just climbed 12 miles up a dirt/gravel Forest Road. We are surprised to have three runners as the ‘lead pack’. We get their water/Coke issues taken care of and direct them to finally, trail.
The second group is just a few minutes behind, surprisingly. Last year, Jeremy Ramsay was all by himself in the lead, but not this year.
Now the runners are coming in rather steadily.This is the time where they just want their packs filled up. We are dancing around trying to get to everyone in a timely manner. I curse the new Nathan Hydration Packs, with their weird slide across/clippy thing bladders. These bladders are a pain in the ass. I need to email Nathan my displeasure. I had an old Nathan bladder that had a screw on lid; these are much easier to fill up and reseal than these new ones!
Chris comes through. Chris is a noob. He’s never run a marathon, ultra. Since we’re at around mile 12, he is almost to his longest distance ever (which I would guess is the 1/2 marathon.) You gotta love the spirit that decides to just jump into an all night trail 50 mile race, in West Virginia!
Things settle down. I go and rest in my vehicle. It’s one am. Our lead pack should be back around 230 am.
I set the alarm for 215 am. It’s more resting than any shut eye.
Our first runner comes through. It’s Frank Gonzalez, on his way to the course record. He just wants water and he’s gone.
A little later, Jeremy Ramsay comes by. We tell him he can catch Frank, and he laughs. He is in a good mood and even stays for a cup of hot potato soup before he meanders down the trail.
On the way back, runners are not coming through that quickly.
On their way back, they had 7.2 miles to the next aid station..I stopped dropping the ” 0.2″ early on.
I also made sure I told them 7 miles to the next AS..not really what they wanted to hear, but I wanted to make sure they grabbed some calories with full water bottles before they left us. Only had to scold a few about water bottles. Food I left to their discretion…made sure they knew what we had, tried to push some things to them.
A shorter race (like 50 milers or under) is different than a 100 mile AS. I only had one person sit down during this 50 miler, and she was attending to a blister. Of course, there were AS workers sleeping in the other chairs, so that probably helped lol. But generally, during a 100 mile AS, I will literally put the cup of soup/hydration in a runner’s hand…and they will generally try to intake some of it.
This year’s Cheat Mountain 50 miler was HOT and humid. I put on long pants and a sweater and didn’t really need it. The temps, even at 530 am, was not that cool. Runners were still coming in, totally sweated up at 5am in the morning with stomach issues. They didn’t want to eat much, and I tried not to push. Next year, if I am working the same AS, I will have chicken broth along with potato soup, to try and coax some folks to eat.
The back of the pack was huge this year, maybe 15 to 20 folks rolling in within minutes of each other.
All very pleasant. Really, I can’t think of another AS that I have worked where folks were so nice. They mentioned how they couldn’t run downhill any more, that they couldn’t eat, nothing sounded good; but it was not whining complaining. All runners thanked us as they headed out.
Oh, and our newby Chris?? He revisited us! We remembered him, got him some water and food, and sent him on his way to his first ultra finish. I am pretty sure this is
Christopher Bates 26 M 12:39:49.8
Congratulations Chris! Great finish at a tough 50 mile event! Hope to see you at many more!
Author: Kim Love
Highlands Sky 2011-Bob Haithcock’s 21 Reasons
10 Reasons why I shouldn’t run the 41m Highlands Sky Trail Race ever again:
- I don’t do well in the summer heat and humidity….
- I don’t like rocky trails…
- I don’t like muddy, rocky trails…
- I don’t like rocky, muddy, rocky trails…
- I always lose my lunch as I approach Aid Station #6…
- I always cramp up really bad as soon as I hit the Road Across the Sky Section…
- I always lose at least 3 toenails due to those rocky trails (4 this year!)…
- No micro brew to found at any of the aid stations…could open up a brand new award category…
- That stinging nettle gets you no matter how far back in the pack you are…
- 400 miles is a bit far to drive for a 40 mile trail race, though both take about the same time now (must be that slower damn car)…
11 Reasons why I’ll be back to run the 41m Highlands Sky Trail Race next year:
- The scenery is spectacular…
- The course is challenging and completing it leaves you with one helluva sense of accomplishment…
- The volunteers are the greatest…
- Love that feeling as you cross that finish line with Dan snapping your humble picture…
- Micro brew pre-race and post-race (thanks beer guys)…
- The butt slide is back and muddy as ever…
- Competition and camaraderie of fellow trail runners you run with throughout the journey that day…
- A pitcher of IPA at the Purple Fiddle Saturday night listening to some awesome music and all is well in the world once again…
- Great breakfast at Flying Pigs for the ride home…
- Backwater Falls
- Nobody puts on a better race than Dan and crew….thanks Dan and his merry band of volunteers…
Highlands Sky 2011-Jennifer Cochran
here’s my two cents:
“I finished!” That’s my sentiment as I sit to write this race report on Thursday. It’s amazing that a few short days ago I was traipsing the wilderness known as Dolly Sods. For some it may seem a rather simple, yet profound statement, “I finished.” For me, it meant three years of watching and waiting to run again. Between back pain that haunted me for months and 2 c-sections, I didn’t know if I would set foot on the Highland Sky course again. With many prayers and the Lord looking over me, I began my comeback after my second child, Sarah, was born. I still struggled with back pain after my first baby, Daniel. I just didn’t know if I would be able to see what I had previously seen for the four years that I ran Highland Sky. I could vaguely remember how beautiful everything was but to actually be in the moment made this year even better.
Don’t let me knock being an aid station worker. I truly enjoyed that experience as well, giving back to the run, that has made my life better and richer than before. Did I mention that my first year of Highland Sky, I met my amazing husband? The first year of the run, he was volunteering, as was I. Fast forward 9 years and I was back to run my 5th Highlands after training with my two young children. They had many a training run (and naps) in our double stroller complete with their fruit and cracker snacks and juice cups.
So that leads me into the actual race report. I loved the beauty of the mountain laurels growing. Seeing the mist as I approached Roaring Plains Trail. Following the markers out to the road. Seeing the vast stretching of the road across the sky. Being lead into the meadows past Aid Station #6 to be greeted by the large rocks that peer down over the Valley. Somehow this year those rocks didn’t seem so big. Maybe I was better trained than I thought? I hit the Butt Slide section with gusto and slammed Freeland Road. That last little section between the church and the Resort still didn’t seem short though. I heard the voice of my friends, Adam and Bradley, telling me to keep running. It was another incredible moment in my life to top the hill at the very end and run into the finish with the voices of my many friends calling out for me as I crossed the finish.
Thanks Dan and all the volunteers for another incredible year. I will be back. I hope not as long as last time!
Jennifer
