Massanutten Mountain Trails 100 - May 2022

Massanutten Mountain Trails 100 - May 2022. 

In early summer 2021, I was waking up super early each day at an Air BnB in central Virginia to go out and run the rocky mountain trails. I woke up every morning excited to see more of what these mountains had to offer. I looked forward to telling my family about them when I returned each day. Then we got to wondering if there was a race in these mountains and thanks to Google I found out about Massanutten Mountain Trails 100.

I hadn't completed a 100 since completing two in the back half of 2016. If I was going to do another one, I knew it needed to be one I had a good solid why to complete, I wanted it to be the hardest thing I've ever done because that would really drive my training. One that drove me to dial into every detail of every mile with one goal; to finish. I told myself if I don't complete this one, I'm not doing it anymore. After a few months of sitting on a wait-list, I was texted by my coach in early January that I was in. With that, I started the journey of training that would finish with a buckle in hand 1000 miles and 100,000 feet of gain later in beautiful Virginia.

With the race being in VA I had crew nearby with my brother and nephews. I mailed them a race packet and a DVD to get them all prepared for the day. I needed a pacer, and after just having such a great experience at Superior 100 chatting with Mindy, it was great to keep the conversation going out here. After many long trail runs with hours of drive time, many treadmill course-specific workouts, and early morning January and February miles up and down tornado hill, race week finally came. I did a really easy start to the week and Friday flew out with Mindy. We arrived with a pretty cram-packed agenda. We landed, and drove the rental car for 2 hours to packet pick up arriving around 5. After getting back to the hotel, getting dinner with Jim and the boys, packs ready, etc, finally the last sleep before the rocks came at around 10pm. Then like the first thunder of a storm, 2:30AM came and we were up and on our feet getting everything ready to drive over. Red bull and protein cookie in hand, I got checked in and ready to go. I was surprisingly not nervous at the start line, I was not thinking about what I had to do to complete 100 miles, I was just thinking about enjoying this time out here and the sun will come up in a few hours, go chat with people, take it easy and safe. I'll see everyone soon at mile 12.2.

So just like that we were off and I was on the trail I'd been over obsessing and thinking about for months. This was a tad bit emotional, surprising me with just an overwhelming sense of wow it's here! How lucky am I to be here, able to do this! I welcomed those emotions and settled into a nice easy jog. I met a super nice jersey gal in these early miles and we shared a conversation for about an hour about the upcoming day. It was nice to get these road miles to the trail done with someone to help keep the pace very conversational. Just like that, we were up the first climb and on the trail. Oh the trial! I've known rocky trails, I've completed 1 rocky 100 but this was different here. This was stuff even on my best days I was hiking.

I had no worries here though, I just took whatever the trail gave me and never pushed it, I knew at some point, probably mid-morning I would have found the rhythm of the rocks and my gate, I couldn't force that, it's just come as I worked through them. I arrived at the first aid station about an hour after the planned time I gave my crew, telling them to throw our all planned times as the trail was dictating so much more than I was able to. This would be the case all through these first 50 miles.

I broke the race down into 8 sections, each section ending in me seeing my crew. I printed handy cards by elevation profile, wrote notes on them, and laminated each section. This first section was done and I started on the 2nd one. A long 21-mile, 5-hour section laid ahead. I didn't make many mistakes on the run but I did here, I rushed thru Aid 1 and didn't refill my gels in my pouch, I learned from this because now I had my 5-hour section and just 2 or 3 gels in my bag. Because of this, for the rest of the day, I started making lists of what I needed to do at Aid on my phone anytime I had a big hike.

I began this next section hiking up one of the 10 big climbs of the day. I had a fuel notification on my watch to remind me to eat each hour so fairly early into this section I noticed I didn't have the number of gels needed to do one every hour and made a plan to adjust. I decided to make 2 baggies of food at the first Aid Station that'd replace the spring energy gels I forgot. This worked very well, I had pineapple, bananas, and a little candy in each one and stuffed them in my pack. So now I had enough fuel for these miles and more important, I solved it and didn't need to expend energy on worrying about it anymore. The psychological use of energy anything lasting 32 hours is crucial. Being conscious of this and planning things to minimize how much you have to spend can be the deal-breaker. I met a very inspirational gal named Kari (sp) on this section who was completing her 10th MMT100. Talk about amazing!! I chatted with her and 2 other runners quite a bit during this section. They set a great pace and it helped with many of these morning miles flying by. I got to my crew at the end of this section in great spirits. We checked off everything on my list done, which consisted of letting Mindy know we'd need more batteries for the night as with this many rocks I needed my light on max constantly, bug spray, gels, massage foot arch, new socks, roll hamstrings, fill water and calorie drink, more t.p (thx Alo ,🤣), dropped headlamp and jacket from the morning. I think we did all this in under 5minutes like a veteran pit stop crew and I headed back out in great spirits for section 3.

Section 3 was us running up and over the range. For a good mental picture, This mountain range looks similar to the Florida Peninsula, When we started we crossed it & ran north up the west side of it, and now it was time to cross over the ridge and return south on the other side of the range. The rocks made slow-moving but at this point, I had found some rhythm and was over trying to be careful of maintaining dry feet and not wasting time on the water crossing and the mud. Getting this section done put me at mile 37. I had my list when I came in with 2 neat little reminders I probably would have forgotten otherwise. The word "picture", meaning get a picture with Alo and Koobs, my crewing nephews, and the word "card", meaning remember to give your used section card to Alo to keep. I kept all cards in my right pocket transferring over the one section I was running to my left. I needed to offload used ones for easier access to what I was in and there was also a sense of accomplishment In passing the card off upon completion. The other things here were pretty simple, I ate some, refilled water and gels, grabbed my headlamp in case this next section went real slow, rolled out my legs, took 2 Tylenol, and headed out. My spirits were still high and I mentally felt great. Hadn't had any lows at all and was leaving here with my next section finishing with me over halfway there.

Next up, Section 4, I had 16 miles with gain. I started this out with some nice road miles This climb was steep and it was here I listened to a podcast by Hidden Brain called Cultivating your Purpose. This was a great topic as it was very interesting and also not running, it let me be a little distracted mentally without having to concentrate super hard. I met a guy here after the podcast and we had good conversation for about the next hour. The pod had put me in a little different mindset which was great for conversation. The biggest disappointment of this section was that after the climb the downhill as too steep and rocky to be very runnable, making it as slow as the climb up. The last bit of it was on road and I was thinking on my way in that I'd see crew here and then get Mindy for pacing duties at the next one, then to my surprise, since it was after 6PM I could get my pacer here!! I was so excited to see Mindy all geared up ready to go get a whole heck of a lot of miles in the night with me. I was so impressed with her initiative to ask around, find out, get ready, be ready, and optimistically join me for hours and hours.

Now the rest of the day as experienced by Mindy...:

When I arrived at Habron Gap (mile 54) aid station, I knew I would have a long wait before Jeff would be there. I am a firm believer that it is important for a pacer to be rested and alert, so I took about a 45-minute nap in the car. At this point, I still planned to join Jeff at the following aid station, as we had talked about. Out of curiosity, I decided to investigate if I would be allowed to join earlier based on the arrival time at this aid station. When I learned that if Jeff arrived after 6 pm I would be able to join him, I began slowly preparing. As 6 pm approached and he was not there yet, I went ahead and geared up. I kept saying to Jeff’s brother that I was so excited to get out on the trail. I wanted to be completely ready to go if Jeff said yes. Shortly after 6 pm, he rolled in. I do not think he initially realized I was geared up and ready until I told him. He thanked me several times for being willing to start early. While Jeff was getting ready to go, I decided to use the porta-pot. Unfortunately, there was a dude peeing in the urinal, who forgot to lock the door. I am not sure which of us was more mortified. Probably me. Right before leaving, I asked Jim to pick up some Gatorades. For whatever reason, that just sounded right.  

Leaving the aid station, I began asking Jeff how he was feeling. He said he had felt overall good all day but that the rocks were making for an added challenge. He said his stomach had stayed right all day which was a big deal. The first 3 miles of this section was a long slow hill climb that switched backed all the way to the top. We chatted about friends, and I took some video clips to send to Matt Randle and Crystal Foust. Both had been asking how he was doing, and I finally had some cell service. Around 5 miles into this section, we came across a guy laying on the trail. He said, “you’re the girl who opened the porta-pot on our friend.” Yes, yes I am. We continued through this section maneuvering quickly through the rocks and streams. As night began to fall, we switched on our lights. Not long after turning on our lights, Jeff’s began to dim. We stopped to change batteries in his headlamp only to discover it would no longer turn back on. We did everything we could to figure it out, then I remembered I had tossed my headlamp in my pack. Good thing I did as Jeff used mine for the remainder of the race. I used my Kogalla which lights up the universe. As we exited this section, we were asked by some crew members if we had seen a guy in yellow shorts. We said we were not sure then it clicked in my brain, and I asked the guy if he was the one, I walked in on in the porta-pot. He said he was, so I was able to tell him about his runner laying on the trail and that he said he was fine just resting. At this aid station, Jeff spotted the Gatorade. He said that sounded really good. We both quickly refilled and headed back out. 

The next section started very marshy. About a mile in, we came across a guy adding in some course markings. He said some runners had missed the turn and ran extra miles, so he was trying to prevent that from happening to anyone else. Within a quarter later we began to climb. And climb some more. It was a very steep and very rocky section. Jeff kept apologizing for climbing so slow. I kept telling him it did not matter how long it took, only that he kept moving. He dealt with some nausea, and I could tell it was mentally beating him up. I reminded him that we would have a long downhill soon and he would be fine. Once we began to descend, he started picking up the pace. We kept hitting sections of standing water and shoe sucking mud. There was no way of keeping our feet dry. We were talking about the runners who had taken a wrong turn when someone came running up on us quickly. We offered to step aside but he said he was the one who was fixing the markings and that he would stay with us to the aid station. He was fun to have along as we discussed different skill sets each of us have, like Jeff and I both being people who like numbers. Jeff told him about the game nerdle, but I do not think he was sold on it.  At the next aid station, we both refilled with more Gatorade and I got Jeff some noodle soup. This aid station was quite the party with strobe lights and such. 

Once again, we started another section with a long climb. Jeff talked about how he did not think he would still be doing this if I had not been there. That having me there was motivation to continue, but it was getting really hard. I told him about a conversation I had with a friend recently about how alternative our lifestyles are; that we do hard things. The rest of the race when Jeff would say he was tired or that it was hard, I would say “but you are going to finish, you know why? Because my friends do hard things.” We also chatted with a guy who had attempted this race in the past but did not finish. Then it was canceled due to Covid, so he really wanted this. This section took several hours. While the climbs were not as steep, they were very long. Eventually, we hit a road section that lasted a few miles. We ran a decent amount of these miles, though we were both getting hungry and wanting real food. We arrived at the next aid station where Jim refilled us and said the boys were sleeping. We knew we would not see them at the next aid station as it was no crew access, so Jeff filled up on food and fluids, and off we went. 

This section was only a few miles, but it was all uphill. Jeff struggled with feeling sleepy, so I played 20 questions. When we finally made it to the aid station, Jeff wanted to sleep for 5 minutes. So, I had the world's BEST sloppy joe and stayed warm by the fire. When it was time to go, I woke him, handed him a sloppy joe because more people needed to understand the goodness, and off we went.  

We had some downhill road for a bit, so I kept my light turned off if I could as I was worried about losing battery on the trail. When we hit the trail again, it was a steep climb. I did everything I could to keep Jeff alert. He kept saying he was sorry for going slow and I kept reminding him that I had one goal: get him that buckle! He also kept saying I was the most patient person for putting up with him. It is funny how extreme we tend to think things are while we are exhausted and delirious. Nothing about it was requiring patience from me, just hope for him to keep moving and get that finish. As we were getting closer to the picnic area aid station Jeff began hallucinating. He has some mild hallucinations during the night where he would tell me he knew something was not what he was seeing. But as daylight broke, it became very real. He saw buildings, tents, and wild animals. In between these moments, Jeff would fall asleep walking. I kept an eye on him as much as I could, occasionally clapping or asking him questions to keep him talking. We also made attempts at singing now and then, making up our own words to different songs. As we approached the Picnic Area aid station (mile 87.9) I told him I thought it would be a good idea for him to sleep. He asked me how long and I told him 10 minutes. At this point, he was too tired not to go with whatever I said. I told the volunteers he needed a chair to sleep in, and they put him in an anti-gravity chair, and I watched the time. There was a guy there who told me sleeping was for the weak and I was not doing my job if I was letting him sleep. I initially shrugged him off, but he continued, saying I should be keeping him moving, it is a race after all, and my job is to keep him awake and get him to the finish line. Finally, I told the guy that I am a firm believer that 10 minutes of sleep will allow him to move at a minimum of 2 minutes per mile faster for the final stretch and he will feel better while doing it, and that to me was enough. I further told the guy that Jeff was my runner therefore it was my decision and not something he needed to be worrying about. I woke Jeff at 10 minutes, and he popped up ready to roll. 

As we took off for the next section, with only one aid station remaining and Jeff feeling refreshed, we cruised. The nap was the right choice. We laughed, sang, and had a blast. This section was just shy of 10 miles with a very significant climb. It was getting hot again and we both were running out of fluids. Still, we were in high spirits knowing we were near the end. Once that brutal 4-mile climb was over and we began to descend again, Jeff told me his feet were hurting and that he wanted to change his shoes at the final aid station. I almost suggested not taking the time, but then I remembered it was mostly pavement those last 3.5 miles and fresh shoes were probably a good idea. When we got to Gap Creek (mile 96.8) we refilled fluids, got his shoes changed, grabbed handfuls of food, and headed out. 

As we left the aid station, I was eating Cheez-its. I told Jeff I had forgotten how much I loved Cheez-its (I ate them like a week before) which led into about a 10-minute conversation about Cheez-its and how they are the perfect snack. With the end so close, I worked on power walking as much as I could to encourage Jeff to keep pushing too. He kept asking me why I was walking so fast and why we even cared anymore. The longer this went on, the loopier Jeff became. He told me he was certain his dogs would be at the finish line waiting for him. I just agreed. Then he told me that my horses might be there too but that I cannot take them on all the trails here so I should be aware of this detail. I once again just agreed. He repeated these statements to me a few times, while in between telling me how much better his feet felt with the shoe change. I would say “that’s good then you should be able to run here” and he would respond with “I can but that doesn’t mean I need to”. Then I would tell him to run so he would run while still telling me about his dogs, my horses, Cheez-its, and his feet. As I watched the distance pass, I was starting to realize that he may be able to get in under 32 hours. Finally, I decided it was time to fill him in on why I was pushing him so hard. I told him if he ran the remainder of what we thought was about 1.5 miles without walking, he could hit sub 32 hours. So, he began to run slow. A half-mile went by. Then a whole mile. Then as we were nearing the entrance to the start-finish, I noticed the flags turned us at a different spot. With less than a half-mile to go, I told Jeff he needed to run faster just in case it was long. So, he did. All the while I was watching my watch and telling him how many minutes he had remaining. At 9 minutes to go, I thought we were solid with .35 distance ahead of us. Then at 4 minutes to go we hit the distance that equated 100 miles for him with no finish line in site. I told him to run faster. I continued to count down. I continued to tell him that finish could be around any corner. Three minutes to go… two minutes to go… one minute… 30 seconds…. Time ran out with no finish line in front of us. At that point we decided he did not need to kill himself to be just over. We slowed to a walk with some running here and there. About a mile past where we thought the finish was, we finally broke out of the trees to see it in front of us. Jeff continued to walk until I told him he was obligated to run the rest. He finished in 32:12. 

I have said many times that while it may be impressive to watch the front runners at 100-mile races fly across that finish line, I find it more inspiring to watch those who gut it out. Those who come from the Midwest with no relative terrain to train on and get that buckle. Thank you, Jeff, for allowing me to be part of this!

This hundred-miler was such a great experience, ty to everyone who played a part. Happy trails.