I returned this year for my fourth Hellbender 100 miler, one of my all-time favorite races.  After the devastation of Hurricane Helene, this year’s course would be largely different.  While I love the original course, I was looking forward to exploring some new mountains and trails. 

This edition featured ~19,000 feet of vert compared to the original 24,000 feet.  There would still be plenty of steep, technical terrain, but I figured the course would run about 1.5 hours faster.  Previously my best time was low 25 hours, so I built my splits for 23.5 hours.

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Recovery went surprisingly well after Tor this year.  With only 2 weeks of training, I was able to run 2:58 at the Marine Corps Marathon.  I had a huge base for Tor and was able to layer some solid speed on top. 

I signed up for the Devil Dog 100K in Prince William Forest.  I hadn’t run it before, but I have run the OSS CIA 50 miler many times, which covers most of the same trails.  I also coached several athletes at Devil Dog last year.

The route has 3 laps primarily on single track trail with about 6,000 feet of vertical.  It is largely runnable with some punchy, steep hills and a few sections that are quite technical, notably the South Valley Trail.

I looked up historical results and set an ambitious goal of trying to break the course record of 9:44.  That seemed like a big stretch and would take an amazing day, but it was a fun and motivating goal to chase. 

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Southern States is a 200-mile, point-to-point route on the Pinhoti Trail through Georgia and Alabama.  I signed up for the inaugural year, excited for a new adventure. 

With my return to Tor des Geants in September, I was looking for a 200 miler in the first half of year that fit with the family schedule.  While Tor went well, it was my first time going past 30 hours.  I felt I left some time on the table with sleep management and multi-day nutrition.  Plus, another 200 miler under my belt might make me less terrified at this year’s Tor.  Sure, I’m sure that will work.

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In a break of tradition, I decided not to do a full race report for HURT.  It is a beautiful event with a warm and vibrant community.  However, a course with 5 laps that each contain loops and out-and-backs within the jungle rainforest may not make for exciting reading.  There were roots, there were rocks, I went up steep climbs, I went down steep descents. Overall, it went well, and I was happy to finish in 11th place in 27 hours.

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2023 was another amazing year in this crazy sport.

At the start of the year, I set the out-and-back FKT on the Bull Run trail and was pumped to hit a 7min PR and finish in 3rd place at the Terrapin 50K.

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I’ve become quite fond of the Aosta Valley over the years.  Since Tor des Geants last year, a little part of it has stayed with me.  When looking for a pre-UTMB training race while in Chamonix, I was excited to find the Vertical Trail Courmayeur 60K.  Not unlike Tor, it looked rugged and tough with 36 miles, 15500 feet of climbing, and lots of time spent up over 9,000 feet.  Was it too challenging of a course to be optimal training for UTMB?  Most definitely.  But it would also be a whole lot of fun.

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My intent for 2023 was to try some new races, and that left me looking for a 100-mile race in April / May with 20,000+ feet of vertical.  The new 100-mile distance at Canyons was an intriguing option, featuring 24,000 feet of climbing, a taste of the Western States Trail, and a 4,000 foot net uphill course.

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