Hellbender 100 Race Report 2025

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.

This year’s field was incredibly deep and competitive, much more than when I previously ran it. I knew I’d have my hands full out there but also hoped I’d be able to share more miles on the trail as compared to my largely solo previous runs.

Start to Mile 55

While the field was stacked, no one seemed to want to lead it out, so I found myself in the front as we turned off the road onto single track. Go big or go home.

PC: Schreiner Trail Photography, Pete Schreiner

Leading off the race, I guess?
PC: Schreiner Trail Photography, Pete Schreiner

After a short climb out of camp, we hit several miles of flowing, smooth single track. I felt fantastic and tried hard not to run too fast. No one wanted to pass me, so I carried on setting the pace, knowing there were a bunch of crushers somewhere behind me.

We popped onto a road briefly before the first major climb up Kitsuma. My legs wanted to go, and I had to consciously throttle back to keep my HR in check. We had a lead group of around 5 runners all pretty close together. Dawn slowly broke as we climbed with some beautiful views of the surrounding mountains.

As we approached the top of the climb, a mountain biker was coming down. “Are you guys the last of it?” he asked us. Ooh, bad news buddy - you’ve got about 200 more people coming. Poor guy.

Shortly after the top of the climb we hit the first aid station. I let a few guys push ahead and filled a water bottle. Next up was the gradual 4-mile descent on the paved greenway.

Just chilling at the first aid station
PC: Schreiner Trail Photography, Pete Schreiner

I though this section would be boring, but we had some stunning views of the surrounding mountains as the sun came up. I settled into ~7:30 pace with Sam Haagenson, Miller Groome, and a bunch of other speedy dudes.

Enjoying sunrise while blasting down the greenway trail

I took the climb up Bernard conservatively with about 6-7 guys ahead of me now. We had a long way to go, and I settled into all-day pace. Bernard was a newly built trail, and it was another great one.

Towards the top, I needed to pull off the trail to go to the bathroom. This unfortunately became a regular theme, and I think I had some sort of minor stomach bug. It wasn’t a major issue, but it was an annoyance and probably made nutrition a bit tougher.

Nathan Stanford caught me on the road. We had met back at the 2022 Hellbender, and it was fun to share miles with him as we descended to Graphite, an aid station we would hit at mile 19, 55, and 87.

I was already WAY up on splits at Graphite, hitting mile 19 in 3:06 vs. my planned 3:33. I quickly resupplied from my drop bag with help from the great volunteers. Next up was the 6 mile, 3600 foot climb up Heartbreak Ridge. This is part of the original Hellbender course and one of the sections I was looking forward to the most.

I felt amazing on the climb, moving much faster than I expected. I linked up with Chris Brand, who ran an incredible 11:27 and 3rd place at the recent Hellgate 100K. We stuck together on most of the climb before he pulled away towards the top, and I enjoyed the great company.

It has always been dark when I’ve been on Heartbreak Ridge, so I had to stop for a pic

After summitting Heartbreak, we had a 5 mile gradual descent on the Toll Road. We had frequent warnings this stretch was highly technical and would run slow. Well, it was totally fine. Sure there were some rocks, but 10 minute miles were pretty chill.

I rolled into Long Gap Aid at mile 30, now over an hour up on splits. I called Jen and paraphrased Sam from when he crewed me at Tor as I came into the first life base an hour ahead of plan: “it’s ok, I’m just fitter than I thought I was.”

Feeling great at Long Gap # 1
PC: Schreiner Trail Photography, Pete Schreiner

Next up was the out-and-back to Greybeard, the course high point at 5,400 feet. The trail was a bit denser and more technical through here. The first part of the climb was gradual and still runnable with a steep climb to the summit in the last mile and change. I was in 9th place when I hit the summit, which had an incredible panoramic view.

Had to stop for a selfie at the course high point

I wondered how many people would be close behind me as I retraced my steps? A lot. There were 15-20 people close on my heels. It was fun to see lots of friends and the runners I coach. Sam was right behind me, and I told him to catch me. I was confident he would and looked forward to the company.

At a tricky stream crossing. I was trying to chat with Pete but realized I’d better pay attention, or I’d be in the water …
PC: Schreiner Trail Photography, Pete Schreiner

Phew, made it across
PC: Schreiner Trail Photography, Pete Schreiner

I came back to Long Gap at mile 38 and got ready for the next loop that would take us back to Long Gap for the final time at mile 44. This is where the first low moment hit. I had to pull off the trail yet again, and I also felt like I was bonking a bit.

On the scramble up to the summit, Sam and Anthony caught me with Barret just behind them. The timing was perfect, and it helped snap me out of the funk. It was great to have some high-energy company, and I was able to reset things a bit.

View from the top of the scramble on the Montreat section

Sam and I worked together on the climb back up Toll Road coming out of Long Gap 3. We were moving well with a mix of powerhiking and uphill running. I stopped to pee and take a gel, and Sam was gone. Out of sight. He never looked back and dropped the hammer from there to the finish, working up to 3rd place and an unbelievable 20h27min!

Towards the top, Anthony and Barret caught up to me, and we worked together on the big descent down Heartbreak. I felt great on the descent except for another stop to pull off the trail, and we made good time down to Graphite # 2.

I was blown away by how well things had gone so far. I was now 1.5 hours up on my splits and still feeling good. I worried I was going too fast, but I felt in control and right where I should be. I resupplied at Graphite and changed shoes from the Saucony Edge to the Adidas ASUs. It was time for my shiny shoes. Barret took a minute here (planning to catch us), and Anthony and I set off.

Graphite # 3 to Kitsuma # 2 (Mile 55-76)

I had a strong climb coming out of Graphite as we ascended Star Gap. I had to pull off the trail on the Star Gap descent, which happened too many times over the next section back to Camp Grier.

We hit the Jerdon Fire Road, and Anthony and Barret soon caught me. We worked as a team for most of this section, and the company was great. I felt like I wasn’t moving as fast as I wanted on this section, but we were doing ok and still hitting decent splits.

There were crazy landslides on this section from Hurricane Helene, unreal devastation. We diverted from the fire road onto another new trail section that eventually brought us back to the road just before the aid station.

I was not feeling good and was struggling with the GI issues. I asked the aid station volunteers if they had Imodium, and amazingly they did. I probably should have stayed longer here to get in some solid food, but nothing looked appetizing.

I pushed ahead down the road, figuring Anthony and Barret would catch me soon. Peter also caught up with the group, and all three guys caught me and were moving well. Peter and Anthony launched into high gear and took off like rockets on the next uphill. Barret gapped me as well.

I had quickly gone into full on bonk mode and was totally depleted. My stomach felt completely empty. I was dry heaving, but apparently there was nothing in my stomach to come up. I moved way too slowly on the easy trail, and several other runners caught and passed me like I was standing still.

I told the four runners I coach that they had to be absolute steel going into Camp Grier at mile 68. Since it is the Start / Finish, it’s the easiest place to drop. Of course I hit my absolute low moment just as I got there.

It was no problem though. With two Tors in my back pocket, this low moment was nothing, or at least that is what I told myself. It was just a matter of how fast I could turn it around and get the last 50K done.

I felt truly terrible though and knew that I needed a serious reset. I came to the aid station and told the volunteers I was not doing well and needed some time. I sat down and needed food, but nothing was appetizing. My empty stomach had shut down completely. Luckily I had enough experience to know that I had to force something to restart my system.

I choked down some bean and cheese quesadilla and got a plate of chips. More runners were coming in and passing me. The aid station volunteers were trying to gently nudge me out, but I knew that rushing this aid station would be a fatal mistake.

After about 15 minutes, I had eaten enough food, and it would just take some time for the calories to kick in. I got my bag packed and nighttime gear ready. I put some chips in a baggie to go and trudged out of camp.

I still didn’t feel great and wasn’t out of the woods yet. I tried to keep a steady stream of calories going with chips, soda, and gels. The ship was slowly turning, and I passed a runner with his pacer. On the climb up Kitsuma, I popped in some tunes and set to work.

I rolled into the Kitsuma aid station finally feeling alive again. I had some solid food and took some soda and chips for the road. I was back, and it was time to hammer.

Graphite # 3 to Kitsuma # 2 (Mile 76-Finish)

I willed myself to run 9 minute miles on the greenway. I had found a nutrition combo that was working and would see me through to the finish: 1 bottle Hyle, 1 bottle soda, 1 bottle water, chips, and gels.

I pushed the climb hard up Bernard, continuing to move back up in the field. After the rolling section, I managed some 10 minute miles on the descent. At Graphite, I did my usual resupply, and they also had some amazing potato soup.

On the Star Gap climb I felt I was moving well, but the split was a bit slower than I would have liked. I had been hoping to go sub 23 hours, but that was looking questionable. I resolved to run nearly everything to the finish.

I ticked off some good miles and continued moving well. I wish I knew what place I was in or who was ahead of me to chase. The live tracker wasn’t working for many of the runners, so it was difficult to tell.

I got into Jerdon aid station on schedule, filled one bottle, and raced off. Sub 23 was in the bag, but I kept on pushing. The Salt Gap connector trail went on forever. Lots of runners were coming into Camp Grier at mile 68, and it was great to share encouragement with everyone.

I cranked up the pace and ran hard to cross the finish line in 22:39. Shannon Howell had just won the women’s race two minutes before, finishing in an incredible time. We had shared some miles back at UTMB in 2023, and she’d helped pull me through a low point. It was great to see her crush this one. I finished 10th male, which I was happy with given the stacked field and imperfect day.

It was a much faster course, but I was happy to take home the special Hellbender sub 24 award!

This has been an interesting one to unpack. It was a good race, but I can’t say I’m fully satisfied with it. Here are a few thoughts after thinking on this one for a few days:

I loved the new course. Beautiful views and lots of runnable trails with some steep stuff sprinkled in. This route makes a great 100 miler in its own right. Or you could have a killer 68 mile race and skip the repeat loop from Camp Grier. All that said, the original course is for sure more in my wheelhouse and skill set.
I think my pace was about right in the beginning. While I was ahead of splits, my HR was in check, and it felt controlled. I still had plenty of running legs at the end of the race.
The stomach issues weren’t fun, and I had to pull off the trail 12+ times. I managed it as best I could. It’s a good reminder to have Imodium with me. It seemed to help after mile 63.
I need to incorporate solid food earlier in 100s. I didn’t have any until mile 68, and it was too long fueling only on gels / powders. The same thing happened at Rocky Raccoon. I should start introducing some solid food around 50K.
Bonks happen in 100s, but I’m happy with how I managed this one. I’ve learned there are some problems you can’t solve on the trail. Taking the time at Camp Grier was essential and saved the rest of my race.
From the 2014 Grindstone onwards, I ran most 100 milers without crew or pacers. This was important experience to build for races like UTMB and Tor, which require significant self-sufficiency even with a crew and do not allow pacers. Crew and pacers are incredibly valuable though, and it makes a big difference when you are trying to push the boundaries and get the most out of yourself. Crewing and pacing were key to the outcomes recently at Devil Dog and Rocky Raccoon. I will definitely aim to have crew and pacer support at Old Dominion.

Overall I’m happy with the race and proud of it, but I am far more proud of the four athletes I coach who all crushed it out there, with two of them landing on the podium! So fun to see.

Huge thanks to the Run 828 Foundation and the many volunteers for pulling off this incredible race. It is hard to imagine everything they had to do in the wake of Hurricane Helene. I can’t wait to come back soon for Hellbender finish # 5!