2021 Hellgate 100km++ — Will to Run

The Hellgate 100km. The race where David Horton talks 140 people at the end of a long year of racing into lacing their shoes back up and setting off into the Blue Ridge mountains at 12:01am in the middle of December.

I must admit though, there is something about this race. It took me 11 years after my first ultra to run it for the first time and another 3 to come back. But it is growing on me, and I have a feeling I’ll be back again next year if Horton lets me. Maybe it is the small community and the Cheers vibe where everybody knows your name. Maybe it is the love that Horton and the volunteers put into this race. Maybe I’ve lost too many brain cells from running so many ultras. Whatever it is, Hellgate truly is one of a kind.

After nervously waiting all day, we finally gathered at the start line amidst stars and headlamps in cool but not cold conditions. The frantic European style start seems to have hit Hellgate, and the race went out hot! I cruised along easily, got my feet wet at the mile 4 stream crossing, and started up the long road climb. I really love this section. Headlamps snake up and down the trail, and it’s fun to be in the mountains in the middle of the night while still feeling fresh.

We got a hint of what was to come as we went into and out of layers of fog, mist, and clouds. After cresting the climb, the next trail section was wet and covered in a nice assortment of rocks and wet leaves. Visibility was near zero in some sections as you went into the fog, and I just tried to stay upright. It wouldn’t be Hellgate if it was easy!

After more gnarly, slippery single track, we popped out on the next road climb. We were only 12 miles in, but I unfortunately started seeing signs it was going to be a long night and day. I had been running a very reasonable pace, but my legs were just shot. My hip flexors and adductors were super tight, and it was painful to run uphill or run over rocks. Not a good sign with 55 more miles to go. Our car bike rack with 4 bikes fell on my knee the Sunday before the race, so maybe that threw things off? Maybe I was just banged up after a big year of epic races? Maybe I should just quit whining and get on with it? Right, off I go!

I would have loved some company on the trail, but I was solo all through the rest of the night, and the pain increased as the miles went on. On the bright side, my nutrition was fantastic, energy was good, and I wasn’t remotely tired. I tried hard to ignore my legs and enjoy the magic of the mountains on a winter night.

As I got to mile 30 and the Jennings Creek Aid Station, things were not looking good. My legs already hurt so much, and there was so far still to go! The documentary “14 Peaks” features my new favorite human being, Nims, in his quest to summit all 14 peaks over 8,000 meters in 7 months. I kept thinking of his words as he summitted a mountain that no one thought could be climbed that day: “Giving up is not in the blood, sir. It is not in the blood.”

So onwards I went out of the aid station and up the next climb. For 5 miles I continued struggling, but I started to feel slightly better around 35 miles and was moving a bit better. Daylight breaking certainly didn’t hurt and was a nice boost.

I came into the Little Cove aid station at mile 37 feeling better than I had in a while. I chugged some Coke and stocked up on a huge amount of grilled cheese for the trail. Did I mention Hellgate aid stations are amazing? I was running well again and hoping I was back on track for a decent finish.

I bumped into Erin Kelman on this section, and it was great to share a bit of time on the trail with him before he sped off for yet another impressive Hellgate finish. Then we hit the notorious Devil Trail with knee deep leaves hiding rocks ready to twist your ankle.

I was in good spirits and figured I was close to Bear Wallow aid station based on my GPS watch. I was hungry and looking forward to fueling up there! Well sadly my GPS had gone haywire earlier, and it took almost 30 minutes longer than I was planning to get to Bear Wallow. I was a little out of it and stumbled up to the aid station, hoping for some hot food to revive me. There were no veggie options for hot food (burgers and chicken soup only) and the other food just didn’t look appetizing. I could have still taken my time and made it work, but I left the aid station very under fueled, making my first mistake of the day aside from not brining my “ ‘A’ legs”.

I was struggling on the climb out of Bear Wallow and was spiraling downhill fast. Why exactly did I sign up for this race again? I took in whatever nutrition I had on me and trudged along towards Bobletts, the mile 53 aid station. I kept hiking and shuffling and mercifully hit the aid station at long last!

I came into Bobletts ready to eat all of the food. I had 3 quesadillas, 2 cups of ginger ale, a huge stack of Pringles, and cookies. After stuffing my face, I grabbed 3 more quesadillas and 2 pierogis for the road. Boom, that’s how it’s done.

My legs were NOT happy coming out of the aid station. I knew it would take 1-2 miles for the calories to kick in, but I forced myself to run anyway. I was able to get back to 10 minute miles and eventually started to feel more or less ok as the calorie bomb kicked in. Well, aside from the intense pain in my legs that continued getting worse!

I did the math and calculated that if I could keep it together, push hard, and avoid any more mistakes, I could probably get under 14 hours. Not quite what I could do on my best day, but a solid time that I’d be happy with. Horton warned us not to miss the turn from the road to the Forever Section, which would make you eligible for the Stupid Award. I was looking for the turnoff, but what did I do? I missed it. Huge sigh.

I backtracked and after .6 miles hit the turn that I had missed, so I added another 1.2 miles. Well sub 14 now seemed impossible. I ran into Jana as I returned from my fun detour, and it was a great boost to see her rocking it so well, and she went on to nab 5th place!

I decided to push as hard as I could in the Forever Section and then see where the chips would fall when I got to the last aid station. I muscled through a pretty good split and hit Day Creek at 12:48 with 6.3 miles and 1200 feet of climbing left. I really didn’t know if sub 14 could be done in my broken state, but I sped through the aid station and decided to give it all I had!

I dug deep into the pain cave and ran up most of the 2.5 mile, 1200 foot climb. I passed two guys on the way up, encouraging them that sub 14 was in the cards if they kept pushing. I crested the top at 1:20pm and was relieved that, barring disaster, sub 14 was going to happen.

The last downhill was, well, very hard. But as Horton told me after the race, did I expect it to be easy? I gave it everything I had to finish in 13:53. I was so happy to be done! I chatted with Horton, and he said I might win the stupid award for missing the turn onto the Forever Section. Well at least there’s that.

Hellgate brings together many from this crazy community every year. It also has a way of bringing out the best in all of us. I can confidently say that I gave it everything I had in the 2021 edition. A huge thanks to David Horton and all the amazing volunteers for making this special race happen. Until next time!

PS - I focused more on the experience vs. providing specific, helpful race information. For anyone planning to run it in the future, I highly recommend Sophie’s “How To” on Hellgate or just give me a shout!