On the top of Rockfish Gap, Afton Mountain, Virginia, I ran (well, walked some of it) my first Ultra, the Inaugural Great Eastern Endurance Run 50-K, September 20, 2003. I felt good and had a strong sense that I would be have no problem covering the distance, since my previous long run this year was 27.5 miles. My goals were: (1) to finish without too much trauma, (2) to have fun, and (3) finish with a decent time, but leave enough in my tank for a good Marine Corps Marathon (MCM) and JFK-50 Miler.
The night before the run, I ate a pasta dinner along with many of the other race participants and spouses and friends who were up for the run. I later found out that “Billy Lese (not to be confused with Bill Turrentine, who I would run near for most of the race) and the Pirates” had better meal, the all you can eat seafood feast at Shoney’s for just $1 more.
After dinner, I went to my motel room 5 miles down the mountain in Waynesboro, where I got my provisions ready. I had a liquid fuel belt with 4 bottles 7 ounces each. I used water in 1 of the bottles and Ultima Replenisher in 3 of the bottles (not the greatest tasting stuff, but since MCM uses it, I decided to try it for this race). I poured 3 sealed bags of trail mix to carry with me for some carb refueling during the race. I made sure my spare nipple band-aids, spare pair socks, toilet paper (just in case) and Succeed Salt capsules were in sealed plastic bags. I put the sealed bags and 2 granola bars in the pockets of many running trunks. I tried on my running trunks just to make sure the added weight of all the running paraphernalia didn’t render them un-wearable. My heart monitor, nipple bandages, body glide, running clothing, shoes and socks, banana, and granola bar were ready go, so by 9:45 P.M. I was ready for lights out, so I could get my 6 hours of sleep. By 3:45 A.M. I was up and eating my banana and granola bar and drinking my water and some Gatorade, getting ready for my ride up the mountain.
I arrived at the starting area at 4:40 A.M. Saturday morning, comfortably ahead of the 5:30 A.M. start. I drank some more water and swallowed my first Succeed capsule. The temperature was in the high 50s and the early morning sky was clear. When I arrived, 100-K runners were informed that the 100-K was canceled, due to a dam break that happened around 10 P.M. Friday evening flooding the a portion of the100-K course and making several of the aid stations inaccessible by car and foot, due to road flooding. The area around the course got as much as 15 inches of rain Thursday and Friday, courtesy of Hurricane Isabel. Nevertheless, Race Directors, Russell Gill and Francesca Conte, were determined that the race would happen. But Mother Nature and imperfect engineering played a nasty trick on a portion of their plans. Faced with the disappointment of the cancellation of the 100-K, many of the runners decided to run the 50-K.
Fortunately for me, one of the 100-K runners who would now run the 50-K was Bill Turrentine (referred to as Bill for the rest of this writing) of Reston Runners and Virginia Happy Trails Running Club. Bill is an experienced ultra runner who I knew would be a good person for me to try to keep pace with. I have run with Bill on several long runs with the Reston Runners, so I knew his pace would not be too fast or too slow.
A little after 5:30 A.M. the runners lined up and Russell Gill gave the command and off we ran under the dim light of a 3/8s moon. Running up the Blue Ridge Parkway in the pre-dawn night light was a pleasant experience. Many stars filled the sky and we could see the lights of the towns in the valley below. My plan was to run easy up the parkway with a couple of walk breaks, due to 600 foot elevation gain in the first 3 miles. The starting elevation is 1,760 above sea level. I ran most of the first mile along with Bill Turrentine. I took a 2 minute walk break around 10 minutes up the hill, gradually caught back up with Bill and ran for 10 more minutes and then took another walk break. I started running again, catching up with Bill again as we hit the crest of this section of the race. Between mile 3 and Aid Station # 1, we had a nice down hill section.
We came to the aid station. Virtually no one was stopping, so I proceeded to bear right onto Rt. 610, a gravel road, which takes you down to the tiny town of Sherando. This road had a few ruts and places where a little water left over from the heavy rainfall was running across the road. Since it was not quite dawn, I had to be careful and watch my footing running down this road. Also, I had to resist running it too fast, as I wanted to conserve energy for the rigorous trail section of the run yet to come. Gradually daylight came and the road and my watch became easier to see. Soon we were in the valley and came into the Town of Sherando and Aid Station # 2. This is the lowest elevation on the course, approximately 1,450 feet above sea level. A water and Gatorade break, then off I ran up Rt. 664 to the base of the Torry Ridge Trail and Aid Station #3. My heart rate was averaging in the mid to high 150s and I was running comfortably, not too fast. Nonetheless, my time to this point, 10.7 miles into the run, was 1:25, an 8 minute per mile pace. I thought this was fast, but I was feeling good going into the trail section.
From the aid station we entered the Torry Ridge Trail. I was just behind Bill as I had caught up to him when we came into Aid Station #3. There were several runners just ahead and several behind us. We were able to run the first few hundred feet of this trail, but gradually the trail got steeper and most of us starting walking, with an occasional run when the trail switch backed and the climb was less steep. This was a single track trail so passing other runners was difficult and for the most part, we kept bunched up in the same order we were when we started our ascent of Torry Ridge. A couple runners wanted to run the hill so we let them pass. A couple others were going slower, so they let us pass. In a few places the trail was covered with water, but you could avoid the water and mud by detouring above the pools. This trail was more mulchy/mossy than muddy, so my shoes did not get caked with mud. After a mile in which we climbed 1,100 feet, we came to the ridge and trail more or less flattened out. Somewhere near the top, I felt a sting in my right elbow area. Apparently a bee had stung me. Fortunately, no stinger was left in me, so the effect was a minor irritation.
For the next 3 miles there were areas where we could run the trail. In a few places, there were fallen trees across the trail, so we would have to jump over them or duck under them. Most of these trees had fallen in previous storms, as there was not much wind damage from Hurricane Isabel on this side of Blue Ridge, just lots of rain. In some places, the trail was very rocky and difficult to run on. I would walk or move slowly over these areas. The trail along the ridge had some uphill areas as well as some down hills. I would catch up with Bill and then drop back. Eventually Bill pulled ahead of me. A couple of runners passed me in this section. I passed several who were walking more then me on the trail. For the most part, I was running alone. At one point I thought I had missed the right turn to go down the mountain, but soon figured out I was still on the right trail, the Blue Loop. I carried a set of course directions with me, so I stopped and read them. Coming off Torry Ridge I needed to take a trail that went off to the right. I ran past this trail, but within 2 seconds looked below and realized that I had missed the turn. So I turned around and proceeded down the right trail to Sherando Lake. A number of other runners had missed this turn and ended up taking the wrong trail down to Sherando Lake. As it turns out, the distance of the wrong trail was equal to the distance of the right trail, so the race director decided not to disqualify the errant runners.
I came down the trail to the Sherando Lake Aid Station and the midpoint of the race. I smiled for the cameraman as I ran the last part of the trail before the aid station. Bill was leaving the aid station as I arrived. I took a Succeed Capsule and some water and electrolyte drink and refilled a couple of the bottles on my water belt. I asked the volunteer to check my bee sting, she verified that it looked like a sting, but said she didn’t see any stinger. She offered me ice, but I declined, as my mission was to finish this race. I ate a couple handfuls of trail mix and part of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, thanked the volunteers running the station and off I ran.
At this point the water overran the road, so my feet got a bath crossing this section. For the next half mile or so, the course followed a road around the lake. Soon I came to the trail that would take me back up Torry Ridge. I ran up the first part of this trail but soon I was alternating walking and running, depending on the steepness of the trail. By this time I could feel the temperature rising, so I knew running in the nice, cool weather in the early part of the day was past. Before too long I caught up with Bill and followed him up the mountain. At times Bill would go faster and pull away and other times I would catch up. Eventually we came to the end of the loop and rejoined the trail that we used coming towards Sherando Lake. We crossed the same fallen trees and rock fields we had crossed coming the other way. Eventually we came to the place where the path descended down to the Torry Furnace. Again we caught up with several other runners and several caught up with us on this section. I would stop at times to let the speedsters go through.
Coming into the Torry Furnace Aid Station, I looked at my watch. At this point, I had been on the course for 4:08, so it took approximately 2 hour 43 minutes to cover the trail section. I drank some water and electrolyte drink and refilled 2 water bottles. I figured I had enough time left to be able to finish the whole course in 6 hours. But I also knew that there was 5 miles of continuous uphill between the town of Sherando and the crest of the Blue Ridge Parkway. I enjoyed the next 2.6 miles running back towards the Sherando, but my leg speed wasn’t quite as fast as it was earlier in the day. Bill had left the aid station a minute ahead of me and that gap remained for the run back to the next station.
When we got the Aid Station, my watch read 4:33 with the next 5 miles uphill. I ate some more trail mix and peanut butter and jelly sandwich, drank some fluids and swallowed another Succeed capsule. By now it was after 10 A.M. and the day was heating up. I walked for 2 minutes after leaving the aid station. One runner passed me and was off to the finish. The road crossed over the rain swollen South River and I started running again, up the hill (mountain to us East Coast Flatlanders). I ran for about 5 minutes, then took a 2 minute walk break. Then I ran for 4 more minutes then took another 2 minute walk. I saw 2 other runners who were doing the same thing. Eventually I passed them as I ran the next 11 minutes then I walked 2 minutes and eventually arrived at the final aid station as my watch read 5:16. Two other runners (not the ones I passed on the hill) caught up at the aid station. One commented that he would have to work the last part to finish under 6 hours. I drank some electrolyte drink and water and off I ran.
I soon was walking again and decided that I would walk a good portion of the uphill and run the downhill fast in the (now fading) hope that I would still be able to break 6 hours. I walked for over 5 minutes. Another runner had caught up with me, but he took a walk break, too, and as I neared the crest of the hill I knew I needed to get going. So I started running and left that runner behind, not seeing him until he finished, a minute after me. The rest of the course was downhill. I passed mile marker 3, about 3.2 miles from the finish line at 5:36:40. I was picking up leg speed, but I knew I had to run 7:20 miles to break 6:00. I passed mile marker 2 at 5:44:30 and kept at it, getting to mile marker 1 at 5:51:50. Could I cover 1.2 miles in 8:10? Nope, I covered it in 9:04, finishing right at 6:01 (officially 6:00:54), good for 44th place out of 160 or so finishers. Francesca, the race co-director, cheered loudly and put the unique, ceramic race finishing medal after I crossed the finish line. Bill Turrentine had finished about 6 minutes and 3 places ahead of me.
I had given it a good effort and was satisfied with finishing my first ultra and my first (longer than 5-K) trail race. Even though I walked a lot during the last 5 miles of uphill and didn’t quite break 6 hours, I was able to run reasonably strong at the finish. While this one had more road and gravel road running than trail running, the trail part was extremely challenging and difficult. Assuming, they have this race next year, I plan to do it again. I met my goals of (1) finishing without too much trauma, (2) having fun, and (3) finishing with a decent time. I expect this experience will help me with the Marine Corps Marathon and the JFK 50-Miler. From what I experienced, the other runners were helpful and respectful of one another. It was good to see several members of the Reston Runners and more than a few of the Virginia Happy Trails Runners at this event. I am grateful that Bill Turrentine was running in this race and I am thankful that Russell Gill and Francesca Conte, the race directors, went ahead with the 50-K even in the adversity of the aftermath of Hurricane Isabel and the eleventh hour washing (flooding) out of the 100-K. I would say it was a great inaugural running of the Great Eastern Endurance Run.
Ed Cacciapaglia