This was just a fun run for those that love the outdoors. Since it was a Fat Ass there is no entry fee, no tee shirts and no awards. There were brats (imported from Wisconsin), hamburgers and hot dogs at the finish. (Just my kind of run.)
It was a great course if you don’t like pavement or the hype of large crowds and money bag sponsors. Of course that assumes you don’t mind rocks, wet feet, hills, climbing over or bush whacking around downed trees, rock scrambles and great scenery.
Another thing I really liked is I didn’t decide to do this run until the Wednesday before. There was no prior planning, no pre race tension and no disciplined training regime. For all of you marathoners there was also no payment of a large entry fee months in advance or a wait for lottery results.
You may ask- How does someone end up doing this at the last minute? Well I had run 20 miles or so on trails the previous Sunday going from Reston to Great Falls just to look at the water hurricane Isabel dropped. (it was spectacular--Great Falls was just a boiling rapid with no falls) I had also run 8 miles along the cresting Potomac on Wednesday before work. You should remember the day it was one of those that makes you questions why you are going to work. Well in my broad general scheme of life and the pursuit of some unknown level of physical conditioning I was looking for something that would jump up my mileage and extend the time on my feet. This was a theme I was following as I prepare to do the Mountain Masochist 50 miler, which is in the middle of October, so doing over 60 miles in 7 days is good. The Masochist by the way is a training run for JFK, but that’s another story.
Ok that’s enough background now for the details of the day.
I woke up between 6 and 6:30, rolled out of the back of my truck which I had camped in at Trout Pond West Virginia. This was the park where the start was. I moseyed up to the bath house said good morning to Steve one of the run directors, brushed my teeth and dressed for the run. I then drove the ¼ mile to the start line in the picnic area and ate breakfast which consisted of a Yoo-hoo, a chicken salad sandwich, a banana, some Gatorade and a can of Ensure just to make sure I had all the nutrients for a balanced meal. I think I liked the Yoo-hoo the best but then again chicken salad was pretty good too.
After signing the waiver and listening to the course instructions my buddy Russ Evans mentioned there was a chance of rain later in the day. I went to the truck and picked up the long sleeve cool max shirt I got for finishing the Mountain Masochist under the 12 hour cut off two years. (one of my favorite shirts)
Then the run started. There was no cannon, no screaming yahoos in the crowd and most of all no crushing mass of humanity. About 35 of us ran to edge of the parking lot, turned onto a trail following the edge of the lake, over the damn, down a hill around the bend, through some slop, through a couple of streams, up a hill, through or around a couple of fallen trees, and then began a long up hill.
I was running with Russ Evans getting the detail from his great finish at the Wasatch 100 when I notice I no longer had my long sleeve shirt attached to my belt pack. Well it was one of my favorites so I turned around to go get it. As I ran against the crowd (if you can call it that) several people said they saw something that looked like a shirt. After running back about a mile I found it laying there in the mud with a couple of footprints on it. Of course they appear to be two right shoes so at least two people stepped on it. Perfect now I had it. I tied it around my waist and proceeded back on course in the right direction.
By the time I reached the first aid station at about mile 8 or so I had passed two people. I was just chugging along in no hurry. On the next long climb I passed several others. The scenery was great. We ran to the top of a ridge and through some clearings where you could see the mountains around you. The sun was bright. You could see the beginning of a colorful autumn in the trees.
I caught up with Maria, a trail friend, as I ran over a board walk into a huge mud pit. The ground was chewed up buy a bulldozer or logging vehicle. Maria says “this is an interesting natural formation” as we slide and slog through the mud. She is always good for a little insight and trail humor. She also asked if I got my shirt, to which I was able to answer, "yes." In case you don’t know Maria, she adopted Woody, a black mutt who ran the first 40 miles of Massanutten Mtn. Trail 100. He ran it with the lead runners. When he got to the party aid station at Gap Creek they tied him up and we started treating his ticks to a good coat of Vaseline. After a trip to the vet for shots and a good check up he now lives with Maria’s family. When I asked where he was she said he was home sleeping. He was saved from the wilderness and now leads a real dog's life. Don’t you wish someone would save you to a dog's life?
We continued to climb for about two miles then made a right turn past a one room cabin built of stone. It had a small window and a tin roof. It was out in the middle of nowhere and had a sign with a phone number and rental information. I was thinking how great it would be to be stay there for a weekend or two. I also noticed a sign that said “Spring” with an arrow to the left. As I ran buy it I thought boy that water probably would taste pretty good. Unfortunately I didn’t go back to check it out. If I had I wouldn’t have run out of water two miles later.
We then hit a really nice down hill trail which had 1-2 inches of water running down it. It was great if you don’t mind wet feet. The bottom was flat rocks and sand. There was no slippery surface or shoe sucking mud. Running down the middle was easier than trying to jog side to side out of the water. This trail lasted for about a ½ mile and the water was crystal clear. It felt good on the feet.
Then came one of the rock sections. It was close to unrunnable.. Going rock to rock, boulder to boulder, I heard what sounded like water rushing through rapids. I stopped to check it out and found out it was really running under the rocks. You could not see the water because it was deep under the rocks but you could sure hear it. Now this must be what they call a lost or sunken creek. (Cool) Well enough investigation, time to move on as I am probably a little over half way to the finish.
A little later I ran out of water and about 40 minutes after that I came to the aid station at mile 18. They had beer there but since I had run out of water and felt I was dehydrated I did not ask for one. Instead I drank 3 cups of water 2 cups of Pepsi, and ate some potatoes with salt, Frittos and part of a PP&J. As I am munching, one of the volunteers said the next uphill was not as bad as the last one. Well, I thought, great! I didn’t think the last one was that bad. (Wrong)
I guess the volunteer had not done these two hills back to back like we are. The next hill was not as long but it was a lot steeper. About half way up I thought- Should have taken a beer with me. We finally crested it a few tough miles later. This is where two younger petite people passed me. I remember the girl was just a real non-stop chatter-box. I hang with them for about a ½ mile and elected to drop back into the peaceful solitude of me and the mountain. (yakity yack! How can people deal with that?)
As I got close to the top you could see the Big Schloss, which was a rock outcropping on top of the mountain. It was about 100 feet high and above the trees. We got to traverse around it then cut back for ¼ mile and go on top. I had just mentioned to another runner that this course had everything except a rock scramble. Well this was the first of three scrambles to come. The view was spectacular to say the least. There was a wooden bridge over a crevasse on the way to the top. It was built by some motor cycle club back in the 60’s. They put their name and the year on the floorboards. As I crossed it on the way back down I wonder how they did it and how many beers it took. (should have carried one with me)
We continue on a good trail and two great rock scrambles. One of them went up 30 feet or so. It was real climbing. About half way up I picked up my right leg up and grabbed hold of a large rock pulling up through a really steep section. My right hip flexor cramped half way through the push to get up to a ledge. There is only one thing to do keep pushing and maybe it will go away. Well once I got the leg straight and leaned back to stretch it, it was ok. Then we continued to scramble and hop rock to rock for about a half mile. We are on the backbone of the mountain with views all around. What a great course!
Well off the hill we came to aid station 3 at mile 23. That leaves 9 miles to go. Exiting the aid station one of the volunteers said you just pick up the dirt road run down for two miles and make a right onto a yellow trail. I don’t think they knew what they were talking about as the road dropped for a 300 yards then steadily climbed for what felt like 3 miles. That was OK though as when walking up hills on a dirt road you had scenery all around. I noticed the Big Schloss on a mountain in the distance to my right. It’s hard to believe we were there a short time ago. (probably an hour ago) You could see a lot of the course you have been running. (Cool)
Then right onto a yellow trail which was wide, soft and down hill. I zigzagged around in the woods, went through several streams, past the spot where I picked my shirt that morning back to the lake and the finish. I had decided since I already had run 2 miles further than the course why should I run the last two miles. It was beautiful in these woods so I took my time and enjoyed what was left of mother nature for the day.
You may ask what was my time. Well it was over 8 hours which is what I thought I could do it in. But it was under 10 (I think.) Remember this was not a race but an adventure; so, who is keeping time anyway?
I Grabbed a Pepsi and a Brat and ate them as I went to take a HOT shower in the campground. Just think, real food and a hot shower after a run, near the finish and no standing in line or herding through a chute. Then back for more Brats and a beer. All this only an hour and half from home.
Is life great or what?