Holiday Lake 50k++ Race Report

Well, my first ultramarathon is DONE, and out of the way!  After my great performance at the Route 66 Marathon, (before Thanksgiving), I took 2 weeks off for some "easy paced" runs, to stuff my face full of turkey (and anything else of nutritional and non-nutritional value) before I started training for my first ultramarathon, theHoliday Lake 50K++. From the beginning, I approached this ultra as a "chill" type of race...no pressure, just get your miles in, don't bonk and most of all...cross the finish line standing up.  Sound easy for 32 miles?  Sure! :-)  I got the training in, but the "meat" of my training was in the final 6 weeks, consisting of running the Holiday Lake course, running the Rivanna Trail in C'ville, and Wednesday O-Hill sessions with the CAT group.  Pre race dinner:  Lots of carbo-rich foods and my favorite...cheesecake (I wish I got a second piece of cheesecake, instead of the second piece of lasagna).  So many Patagonia jackets in this crowd of ultra-folks...i think it's more than I've even seen inside Blue Ridge Mountain Sports!   After the pre-race briefing (where the theme was "If you don't see yellow tape on the course...you're LOST! And you're stupid." The race director, David Horton, was quite a hoot.  After the briefing, he had a quick Q&A session for any ultramarathon newbies (a lot of us in the room), ranging from topics as what to eat at the aid station, how to keep motivated (Horton's recom:  Walk with a purpose...ie. don't stop), and how to use the bathroom while running (I'm not making that up).  Race morning, pre-race: The start line was LITERALLY outside my cabin.  2 bananas, a clif bar, and some weak coffee (sorry, I'm a coffee snob).  Hit the bathroom one more time...exit said bathroom with 2 minutes before gun time (after the national anthem and a quick prayer by Horton), and we're off!  Race temps:  low 20s, no wind.  Attire: My lucky red hat, my favorite NYC marathon gloves, mittens, 2 long sleeves, armsocks, and shorts. I'm thankful the predicted 15 mph wind wasn't present!  Usually, the next lines of my race reports include mile splits, but not this time.  Race morning, I decided to PUT away the ol' Garmin GPS and just go with the trusty Timex Ironman Triathlon.  I knew the aid stations were about 4 miles apart...so it made for easy math to calculate my average splits.  I wanted to just ENJOY this one. My fellow training buddy TJ  and I were literally the LAST two up the first hill. Horton suggested the night before that newbies WALK that hill, from the start line until we got into the woods.  We took that advice to heart.  It was wall to wall people until 30 minutes in (from being in the back of the pack).    Miles 1 to 4:  Just trying to get the motor going.  TJ and I spilt about 30 minutes in...he stopped for bathroom break...he told me to go on.  Admiring the sunrise as we made our way along the course.    Miles 4 to 8: The course thins out...meeting people along the way...most of the people I encountered had done an ultra or Holiday Lake before.  I realized I'm OVERhydrated.  So, taking a nature break every 4 miles became routine from here on.    Miles 9 to 12 - my fastest 4 mile section.  Can't explain that...many downhills (which later would become uphills).  Doing my best to not FLY down these hills, and risk breaking something.  I decided against taking salt tablets or eating potato chips at the aid stations...rather; I brought pistachios to eat/get my salt intake.  And when I wasn't taking a GU, taking an electrolyte capsule.  The lead runners are coming my way...they're making it look easy.    Miles 13 to 16: I started hearing cheers from across the lake, so I knew the end of the first loop was soon!  The course gets narrow coming in...so I stopped for faster traffic to pass by (and made sure I didn't fall down the side of the trail into the lake).  I went off course very briefly...when I saw the trail I was on went STRAIGHT into the lake!  Thankfully, it was only a few yards of the course.    End of loop 1: 3:06 minutes (cut off for the first loop was 3:45).  In and out, after donning a dry shirt and refilling my Camelbak.    Miles 17-32 are just the loop, in reverse.  With every significant hill on this course, I reduce my speed to a fast walk...and take in some fluids or eat some nuts.  Glen (my traveling buddy, a couple months out from the completion of his 50 marathons/50 states under 4 hours tour), runs this loop with me. He's keep me entertained along the way...laughing....and keeping me from thinking about what madness I'm putting my body through.  I tell him the tricks I've been doing to keep myself motivated on the first loop...and making him aware of a some stream crossings.  We encounter lots of mud on the second loop, which is easily cleaned up by stream crossings.  Sidenote:  I POWERED through a stream crossing...literal gallop through it.  The runner behind me exclaimed "Dude! That was hard core!!!!"  Well...wearing smart wool socks helped!   On the final mile, I catch Kathryn, a fellow C'villian.  I told Glen (and I think she overheard) that once we get to the pavement, I'm putting the hammer DOWN and getting to the finish.  There was an orange marker, stating it was a mile until the finish. I looked at my watch and saw that a 6 hour finish time was out of the picture (I didn't have a time goal in mind....though a 6 hr finish would have been great).   After passing 55 runners during that second loop (thanks Glen for counting...I'm still amazed!), I crossed the finish line in 6 hours 3 minutes (and some seconds).  I wasn't beat up when I got to the finish line...I was surprised! I finished the second loop in 2 hours 57 minutes...9 minutes FASTER than my first loop.  I was shocked.   Things I learned:  - Running without the GPS was a blessing.  Not worried about the pace.  I wasn't chained to technology. I ran by how I was breathing and how my body felt. - Speed really does kill! As does pavement.  The softer surface and slower pace were also a blessing over 32 miles.  - Race week fueling and race day fueling plan: it passes!  Salmon and veggies early in the week and a low carb diet until 2-3 days before the race got the old carbs out of the system, enabling to build up a great supply for race day.    Things that motivated me:    - Friends and family that thought I was crazy for attempting my first marathon 12 years ago...and even crazier (18 marathons later, ha ha) for going for my first ultramarathon.  It was a challenge to break through to the next level.  I know many were cheering for me; despite this crazy goal! - This hymn, which I learned from my days in a Mennonite High School. So appropriate:  It's called Guide My Feet. - Thoughts of my Tita Kelly, my aunt and my godmother  She died last month at the young age of 77.  A massive heart attack.   For 32 miles, I carried a picture with her in my Camelbak.  When I felt tired,I thought of her and her family...and for my extended family, as we continue to grieve. Will there be another ultramarathon for Andrew, you ask? Mmmmmmmm....there is a possiblity. I just won't say the % of that possiblity.  :-)     Andrew Zapanta

Sunday 18.5er & Updated RT Turnsheet

This past Sunday we did another group training run of the whole Rivanna Trail. Following the post-run-report from organizer Neal:

This morning's loop was a huge success.  11 runners braved the cold temperatures at Riverview at 7am and cheerfully made their way around town on the Rivanna Trail in the counter clockwise direction.  Near the Park (after passing Barracks area) we linked up with four other runners who had started the loop earlier than 7am.  So there was 15 of us in total!  There were a few planned early drops but most everyone finished and finished strong.  The fun continued post-run at Beer Run.  There happened to be a New Belgium rep dinning with his daughters behind us and, thanks to his brief conversation with Jason, graciously offered our group a complimentary round of their new Imperial Coffee Stout, which many of us happily accepted- including yours truly.  It was tasty.

Also, the footing on the trails this morning was the best I have ever experienced on the RT.  Zero mud.  Everything was frozen solid and super tacky.  Three cheers for those low temps!

Having run the loop twice in two weeks with several people  I truly think there are going to be some real surprises time wise come a month from now.  Personally, I won't be that surprised.  There are some strong runners in this group.  But I do think several people are going to surprise themselves.  


Nick created a fantastic turn sheet of the whole loop, so that folks wont have an excuse to get lost in the future: 

This is a bit late for folks hoping for some descriptions this morning, but hopefully it'll still be useful to somebody some day. Also, hopefully, I'll work to incorporate useful bits into the RTF's map - so if you've got comments, questions, suggestions, corrections please let me know. Please don't get mad at me if you get lost while trying to follow these directions. And these are just my notes, not anything official from the RTF.

I'll start at Riverview, and generally go around counter-clockwise, finishing back up at Riverview.

Riverview - River Rd: At Riverview Park, there are two trailheads out of the parking lot, both heading out on paved footpaths. One would be if you continue straight, the way you came in to the parking lot, the other goes off to the right, heading toward the playground area and Rivanna River. You can take either, they both meet up after a short while, and there are some un-paved cut-throughs between them. The trail will be a paved walkway for a few miles, and basically follows the river (which'll be on your right), passing under route 250 at one point. Eventually you'll pop out at a field with some soccer goals set up. You can continue following the trail, or you'll see a parking lot off to your left - you can head up there and turn right on the road that's there (River Rd). If you stay on the trail, it'll go just a short bit through an area with some small trees, close to the river bank, and then there will be signs pointing you to the left. That trail heads up a hill, then runs along a fence at a VFW building until you get to the road (River, same road), on which you'll turn right.

River and Locust: Head up the hill on River, and at the stop sign at the end of River (at the top of the hill), turn right on Locust Ave. That'll head downhill a little bit, and come to a T-intersection. Turn left at the intersection, onto Locust Lane, and then take your first little road to your right, Megan Ct. At the end of that short little road is a sign for the RTF, on the right.

Locust - Holmes: From there, the trail heads downhill for a short bit, to get down to Meadow Creek. Once you get there, you'll continue along with the creek on your right, eventually popping out of the woods into a clearing with the creek on your right but curving left in front of you, and houses up the hill on your left. Follow that clearing, staying between the houses and the creek, with a few hops across some drainage areas as you go. In this section, keep to the right side of the clearing. Shortly before getting to Holmes (the first and only road crossing), the trail and clearing generally veer right, and once they do you'll be able to see Holmes ahead of you.

Holmes - Melbourne: After crossing Holmes Ave, pick up the trail in the gap in the guardrail. This trail follows the Meadow Creek (on your right), with a cleared strip of land on our left. The single track eventually dumps out onto the cleared stretch, and you continue on, keeping the creek on your right. Once the creek turns left, the clearing ends and you go left into the woods, back on single track. This continues for a short bit, eventually crossing under Park St at its intersection with Melbourne. Just after crossing under the road, the single track is closed, and you must go left, up to Melbourne Rd.

Melbourne - Meadowcreek Parkway: Once you get to Melbourne road, looking left you'll see the intersection with Park. However, you want to go the other way, heading instead to the light at the Meadowcreek Parkway. You'll make a right at the parkway to get on the paved footpath following the parkway.

[[McIntire spur: Instead of turning right at the parkway, you can continue straight on Melbourne. You'll go up a hill, and over a bridge across the train tracks. Just after that bridge, there's a Rivanna Trail sign on your left, leading down some stairs, and you'll see Charlottesville High School in front of you (with the baseball diamond the closest thing to you). If you head down those stairs, and stay generally left, there's a patch of trees between the railway and the baseball diamond. You can either hop on a short bit of singletrack in that clump of trees (which quickly comes back out into the grass), or just stay between the trees and the baseball field on a trail that heads down the hill. This trail shortly crosses into the woods, followed at the bottom of the hill by a creek crossing (where there's concrete pillars, so you wouldn't expect your feet to get wet). Continuing to follow this singletrack, you'll eventually get to a spilt where you can go left past a bench, or stay right. If you go left, you'll go up slightly to a paved footpath, which you can take left to get into McIntire park, or take right to cross the creek and get to Charlottesville High (or stay straight to reconnect with the singletrack). If, instead, you stay right on the singletrack, you'll cross under this bridge, and when the two trails reconnect you go right, and cross another creek (where you might, actually, get your feet wet). After that crossing, stay right for the singletrack (or go left, and shortly come to the new paved trail, which will reconnect with the single track after a short distance), and continue following the singletrack through the woods. You'll cross a few small wooden bridges, and eventually get to a cement pad, right near where the paved trail comes back in. Continue on, and the trail will narrow slightly, and head up a little hill, with 250 above you on the left. This trail comes out where 250 and Meadowbrook Heights intersect, with the "Whale Tail" installation of the Art In Place in the clearing. If you continue on, following 250 (with it on your left), you could cross Hydraulic Rd, and then pick up the Rivanna Trail again there.]]

Meadowcreek Parkway - Railroad: Continue on the paved pathway, with an eye to your right to hop back on singletrack. If you end up going uphill on the paved pathway, you've gone too far (but the two meet up again, so it's ok). The trail here stays basically along the Meadow Creek (on your right), and there's a short steep hill to get you back up to the paved pathway when the two meet again. The singletrack and paved path meet at a large bridge for the parkway (above the trail) with a smaller footbridge for the paved path off to the right. If you were to go right on the paved path, it would wind its way uphill, eventually ending at the intersection of the Parkway with Rio Rd. However, to continue on the Rivanna Trail you do not want to do this. Unfortunately, at the intersection of the paved path with the singletrack, under the bridge for the parkway, what you do want to do is somehow find your way to the other side of the railroad tracks. Standing on the paved path, with your back to the singletrack, you'll be looking at the bridge for the parkway. Just past that is the train tracks, at the top of a quick hill, and the creek is on your right. The creek passes under the train tracks through a culvert, and generally the water is not more than 2-3 inches deep, and the creak bed is even. Alternatively, steep trail can be found which goes up the steep embankment to the railroad tracks and back down the other side. Unfortunately, neither of these options is condoned.

Railroad - Brandywine: If you should happen to find yourself on the west side of the railroad, north of the creek (looking away from the railroad, the creek is on your left), the trail follows another cleared strip of land, which has a few bushes and things planted. After a little wooden footbridge (the second), you find yourself on the creek bank of the newly completed creek restoration project. The trail is not well defined here, and the footing is a bit uneven and over a netting, but you just want to follow the creek. It'll cross a paved pathway, running perpendicular to the creek at one point - going right would take you to Greenbrier Dr, going left would take you across the creek and to Jamestown Dr (where you could follow brown RTF blazes back to Charlottesville High, if you wanted (quickly: Jamestown becomes Lester Dr, which T's at Kenwood. Turn right on Kenwood, follow it around to the right, up a hill, then turn left on Melbourne Rd)). However, to follow the RTF loop, continue straight, with the creek on your left. Before long, you'll get to the three-way intersection of Brandywine Dr (going left, or straight-right-ish) and Greenbrier Dr (going right, sorta back the way you just came).

Brandywine - Hydraulic: At the Brandywine/Greenbrier intersection, the trail continues in the cleared strip of land, sort of like where Greenbrier Rd would continue, if it didn't end at that intersection, with the creek still on your left. A few hundred yards down that strip, look for a rock-hop creek crossing on your left, which has a cable strung up between the trees to aid your balance. You want to cross the creek here, and then veer right (so that the creek is now on your right). The trail moves a little bit away from the creek at this point, with woods on both sides of you (and houses up your hill on the left). There are no real trail intersections here, although some re-routing as the creek restoration project was in progress has provided some options at one point. As long as you're continuing on with the creek on your right, houses up the hill on your left (and aren't getting in people's yards), you're still on the right track. Just before the trail gets to Hydraulic, you can either go left, and up a quick hill to get to the road, or stay right, pass over a short rocky section, and then walk through a tunnel underneath Hydraulic Rd.

Hydraulic - Morton: After crossing under Hydraulic Rd, continue on the singletrack (creek on your right), coming to a set of stairs which take you up to near the intersection of Hydraulic Rd and 250. At the top of the stairs, go right, following the concrete sidewalk, until just after crossing the bridge, where the trail turns left and heads down to the creek where it passes under 250. Underneath 250, you'll be walking on some cement blocks which are starting to deteriorate, so watch your footing. After coming out of the tunnel, the primary (green) trail basically follows the creek (now on your left), eventually coming to the RTF tool shed (which will be on your right) near the Meadowcreek gardens. An alternate (brown) trail will branch off to your right, but reconnects with the main trail before the RTF shed. The trail is close to the creek after the shed, and parallels a gravel driveway. The two come together at Morton Dr.

Morton - Barracks: Turn right on Morton, and continue to the light at Emmet St (the intersection where Bodo's Bagels is). Cross Emmet, and continue straight on Earheart (Cavalier Diner on your left, Asian market on your right). Near the end of that little road you'll see a sign on your left for the RTF, at a wooden bridge. Crossing the bridge, the trail continues for a few yards and then crosses a chain link fence at a gate. The gate is rarely locked (though it is, occasionally). Once in the fenced area (if the gate wasn't locked), turn right and follow the gravel path. While you're still in the boundary defined by the chain link fence, there will be a right hand turn leading you out of the fenced in area, which you should take. Just after coming out of the fenced area, you'll cross a little wooden bridge, and will see a road ahead of you (or to your right, depending on how quickly you look for it after you get off the bridge). Go out to the road (Cedars Ct), turn left, and follow it to its intersection with Barracks Rd. The trail continue straight across Barracks Rd from this intersection.

Barracks - Leonard Sandridge: At the trail head off Barracks, you'll go up a short flight of stone stairs, and then the trail goes to the right. It veers left shortly after that, then right across a wooden bridge (which can be fairly slick in wet conditions), and left again. It then follows the creek (on your left), for a little while. When you get to another wooden bridge (with "monkey bars" overhead), you can cross it and go left to hop off the trail at UVA's "The Park" at North Grounds. Alternatively, you can cross the bridge and go right to follow a spur trail, which connects with the main trail again in about a tenth of a mile. The main trail, however, doesn't cross this bridge (the monkey bars bridge), and simply continues on with the creek on your left. After curving to the right, it then does cross a different wooden bridge, this one with some flower pots built in. The trail then continues on a sort of gravel access road, eventually going up a short hill at a land bridge over the creek. The primary trail, at this point, continues straight. [[However, you could cross the land bridge. If you did, you'd come to the intersection with the trail from the monkey bar bridge (coming in from the left), and would also have the option of going right, to follow the trail up the hill. This trail is marked with green RTF blazes, and is parallel to the primary trail, which stays lower, and closer to the creek. If you decide to take this trail up the hill, the trail is easy to follow, and staying right at all the trail intersections will keep you on track.]] The primary trail and the alternate (hilly) route meet back up after a few tenths of a mile, and then continue on until a short steep climb up to Leonard Sandridge Rd.

Leonard Sandridge - Old Ivy: Cross Leonard Sandridge, and cross the wooden footbridge to continue on the trail. There are no trail intersections in this next section to worry about, just continue on until you get to the next road crossing, which is Old Ivy Rd. The final hill before Old Ivy can get quite muddy.

Old Ivy Rd - Ivy Rd: Unfortunately, there's another train track in the way of what you want to do to follow the trail. If you were to cross Old Ivy and then turn into the second driveway (for Ivy Stacks, not UVAs Printing and Copying Services), and then follow that driveway straight/right, then just before it went left behind the building, you'd be able to look across the train tracks at the light which is the intersection of Ivy Rd and 29. Just next to the fire station, across Ivy from where you're standing, is where the trail picks up. You might even see a little trail leading you across the tracks and down to the road. The shortest road detour at this point is to turn right on Old Ivy, cross over 29, left at the stop sign, under the train tracks, and then a left at the light onto Ivy Rd.

Ivy - Fontaine (O-Hill): If you find your way to the fire station, on the south side of Ivy at its intersection with 29, the trailhead will be on your right (looking at the fire station, from the road), ducking immediately into the woods. From here to the next road is one of the longest uninterrupted sections of trail, if not the longest. Largely the trail is well marked, but there are numerous side trails to distract you (and you're certainly welcome to wander). If you are following the trail (which parallels 29 (in a windy manner), generally off to your right) and come to an intersection and see no trail blazes, turn right, and you'll be set. You may end up on a side trail briefly, but will connect with the RTF loop in short order. Eventually the trail comes out to Fontaine Ave, with the research park across the street (entrance at the light up the road to your left), and route 29 to your right (over Fontaine Ave).

Fontaine - Stribling: The trail picks back up directly opposite Fontaine Ave, in a patch of woods. It winds up a hill, and then back down, in an area with lots of evergreens, and a nice soft surface. Owing to the lack of undergrowth, the trail may seem ill-defined at times, as it meanders through the trees, but it's usually pretty easy to follow. On its way back down the hill, you'll end up crossing a fence on a wooden ladder. The trail then climbs back up to the road, and you want to continue on the road down the hill. Just after crossing a creek on the road, look for the trail on your left. Head down the embankment, and follow the trail, which keeps the creek on your left. There's a spur to your right that will take you up the hill, and comes back in and connects with the main trail just before the trail crosses the creek. At the creek crossing, the creek will head through a tunnel under some railroad tracks, and you can either rock-hop across, or walk across the black pipe. On the other side of the creek, the trail continues through a bamboo grove, and you should watch your feet for bamboo that was cut a few inches above ground level. The trail comes out to Stribling Rd, which is a dirt road, in sort order.

Stribling - Sunset: At Stribling, turn right to go under the train tracks, then take an immediate right on what appears to be (and is) a gravel driveway. Take another immediate right onto the trail leading down into a grassy field. The trail generally follows under power lines, and then hits the gravel driveway again. When it does, turn right on the driveway, and then look for an immediate left to continue on the trail, before the driveway crosses a little wooden bridge. The trail then makes a left to follow the creek (on your right), and in short order goes right at a rock hop to cross the creek. On the other side of the creek, you go up a short little hill, and then the trail goes left (where the power lines overhead continue straight). The trail then follows the creek (now on your left), and just before coming out on Sunset Ave there's a small creek crossing with a rock hop (but the main creek will still be on your left).

Sunset - Azalea Park (on roads): At Sunset Ave, turn left and follow the road. It will eventually come to a bridge with some barriers that only permit foot traffic. Cross the bridge, and continue straight on Sunset Ave (the trail DOES NOT turn right and go into the woods again here). Continue up the hill on Sunset, eventually taking your first right on Brunswick Rd. Follow green RTF signs along Jefferson Park Circle (basically clockwise along the east half of the circle), and then onto McElroy. Continue down McElroy, and it will eventually hook around to the right, where you want to turn left on Middleton Ln. Cross Old Lynchburg Rd on Middleton Ln, and then make your first right on Mobile Ln. Then look for a narrow pathway on your left, between the first two houses (or second and third, depending on where you start counting from). The trail then turns right on the paved footpath and continues downhill. Just before the paved footpath pops out in Azalea Park, look for the trailhead on your left, where you can continue on some singletrack before entering the open fields of Azalea Park. This trail will come out near the community gardens.

Azalea Park - 5th St: At the end of the (newly) paved parking lot, with the community gardens in front of you (and Moore's Creek to your right - which you'll basically be following until it hits the Rivanna River, almost back at Riverview Park), a gravel driveway continues along the gardens. Follow this driveway, with the gardens on your left. At the far end of the gardens the driveway goes left, but the trail turns right, down an embankment to the creek. The crossing at this creek has some cement pillars and some rock hops, and a short, steep set of stairs at the far end. At the top of the stairs, turn left and follow the singletrack, with the creek on your left. This will eventually take you out to a clearing, and you want to basically aim for the far left side of the clearing. Near the end of this clearing, watch out for a bit of a pothole in the ground! At the end of the clearing, the trail continues underneath 5th St, through a culvert with loose sand footing.

5th St: After crossing under 5th St, the singletrack continues away from the road for about 10 yards, and then turns left on an old paved path. It then crosses a wooden bridge and makes a right, continuing as single track through a short section of trees, and then a bit of grass and weeds, with the creek on your right. The trail pops out behind a gas station, and crosses Bent Creek Rd, continuing to follow the creek. After crossing the road, you continue under some power lines, and at the third power line the trail heads left, up the hill to 5th street (a trail does continue straight, but this is not part of the Rivanna Trail). At 5th street, turn right, cross Harris at the light, and stay on the sidewalk along 5th. At the bottom of the first hill the road crosses a creek, and just after the creek crossing the trail turns right, taking you away from the road.

5th - Jordan Park: The trail away from 5th street follows the cleared strip of land, with the creek on your right (at the moment there's construction vehicles at this trailhead). There's a little wooden bridge over a drainage creek at one point, and the trail (and clearing) goes to the right from there, with houses up the hill on your left. Shortly after this, the clearing goes around to the left, but the trail veers off to the right down a little incline, and then turns left to follow the creek (still on your right). After a little bit the trail meets back up with the cleared strip of land, but then in about 100 yards there will be a wooden footbridge to your right, and the trail will hop back into the woods. Eventually you'll come to another rock-hop creek crossing, and then pop out at Jordan Park.

Jordan Park - Avon: The trail stays on the edge of the clearing of Jordan Park, keeping the park on your left. As you get closer to the road (6th St SE), look for the trailhead ahead of you, a bit on the right. Singletrack takes you between the creek and a collection of mobile homes. Just before coming to another road (Avon), go left to go up to the road. There, turn right and take the road as it crosses the creek, then cross the road. There's a trailhead just a few yards up the hill, shortly after the metal guard rail ends.

Avon - Riverview Park: Follow the trail away from Avon, back down towards the creek, and then along the creek (now on your left). At one point the trail makes a sharp right, away from the creek, and then a slight hairpin to the left, heading up a hill. Toward the top of the hill you may find some trail intersections, but following the green blazes will keep you on track. Taking trails which head left, down the hill, will take you to a bridge, which you can cross to get into Quarry Park (this bridge is being replaced, so this crossing may not be available at the moment). Following the green blazes, and skipping Quarry Park, the next road you come to is Rt 20. The trail crosses under Rt 20 at this point. After this, you just continue following the creek (on your left), eventually crossing under Moore's Creek Ln (for the water treatment plant - you may notice a smell in this section), and then coming to an apparent dead-end at the train tracks. This is the wet part. Cross the creek, going through the water, under the train tracks high overhead. On the far side, the trail goes up the hill slightly, and then around to the right. In about a hundred yards the trail goes left up a little hill to put you on E. Market St. Turn right on Market, then take your first right on Riverside Ave. After going down the hill and through the road narrowing, the entrance to Riverview Park is on your right.

Thanks both CAT's, Neal & Nick, for adding to our great (trail) running community!

Happy Trails, 

Christian 

The Pinhoti 100 and/or 40

First off, congratulations to Neal Gorman on his win at Pinhoti! You can read Neal's account of the race at his blog- http://www.nealgorman.com/.

Now for my account:

To make a long story short, I dropped at mile 40 of Pinhoti. For the full story, read below:

***

When I signed-up for Pinhoti, I knew there was a good chance I’d be heading down for the race without a crew or pacer. To account for this, I slipped into a lone wolf training mentality. I wanted every run to be an exercise in mental toughness, fully owning a decision to cut a run short or forcing myself to press on towards my goal mileage. I trained hard (and I think smart) and gained a level of fitness I’ve not previously known in my running. Strong runs at Martha Moats Baker and a solid 12/22/28 back-to-back-to-back at Sugar Hollow/Sherando/Priest-3 Ridges had me feeling confident. I added a few more solo long runs during September and October and by taper time I was ready to go.

Pre-race prep was good. Both Friday night and Saturday morning I was eerily calm. I’m usually pretty amped up/nervous immediately before a race, but I had zero nerves this time. I felt I had trained hard and I knew I could go the distance. I wasn’t aiming for one of the coveted Western States qualifying spots, I was just going to run my race, so I didn’t feel I had anything to worry about-I knew I could cover the distance.

The race started and I fell back into a very conservative pace with a huge mule train of runners. The pace was slower than I felt like going, but I wanted to make sure I went out slowly, so I held my spot in line for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes, I really felt like spreading things out a bit, so I passed and started to run my own pace. Eventually, I caught glimpses of Mike Mason rounding switchbacks up the trail, and I decided to latch on. Denise Bourassa (who won the women’s race and set a big CR) and Mitch Pless joined as well to complete our foursome.

Our group rolled together at a still conservative pace. The trails undulated similarly to the stretch of the RT between Ivy and Fontaine and the running felt easy. It was a beautiful morning and I was loving being out on new trails and looked forward to a full day in the wilderness. I was most excited that my finicky stomach was feeling solid! I was almost afraid to acknowledge that, but I couldn’t help but feel excited that perhaps this would finally be the day that my stomach held strong…then everything changed.

Somewhere around mile 20 I felt the first rumblings of nausea. I had been on top of everything fueling wise, so I thought I had perhaps taken in a few too many calories, which I’ve done before. I decided to hold off on putting anything further in my stomach for about 15 minutes to see if that settled things down. It didn’t. Taking an s-cap often made things come around a bit when this happened, so I did that. No dice. I forced in more calories and that only made things worse.

Pulling into the mile 27 aid station I was happy to see Cristina and her parents who made the trek down to crew for me. We swapped out bottles and they filled my pack with some water. All I could muster to the inquiries of how I was doing was that I thought there was about to be a whole lot of puking. I was right.

Out of the aid station I walked for several minutes, trying to get my stomach to settle. I popped a ginger pill, pulled off the side of the trail and proceeded to puke like crazy. Of course I felt way better after puking and I thought it was a good resetting point. I let my stomach rest for another 15 minutes, walking and running easily and I then started rehydrating and slowly getting more calories in. I then made two discoveries- I couldn’t really stomach my mixed powder drink and my pack was only filled with 10 or so ounces of water. This was the longest section of the race and we’d been warned by the RD to carry at least 40oz. of fluid or else we’d be in trouble. I stopped for a minute and considered turning around and going all the way back to the last aid station to fill my pack with more water. I opted against backtracking and pressed on. 

The ginger pill had stayed down (I could tell by the warm feeling in my stomach), but my stomach continued to get worse. I ran out of water and walked almost the entirety of this stretch to the next aid station. When I finally made it to the mile 34 aid station, I parked myself in a chair hoping to turn things around.

I sat in that chair for a long, long time. I took tiny sips of water out of a Dixie cup trying to get something to stay down. A nurse in the aid station really wanted to give me an IV, which I repeatedly declined. I don’t think I was that bad off, I think she just wanted to give someone an IV! After about 20 minutes in the chair sipping cups of water, I stood up, ready to walk the entire 5 mile climb up Mt. Cheaha. I took three steps out of my chair and was immediately forced into the bushes to puke everything back up. Back to the chair.

At this point runners were streaming through the aid station. I didn’t care at all. All I wanted was for my stomach to feel better. Again, I felt better after puking, so I stocked up water and some oranges and started up Cheaha.

I walked the entire climb at a mere shuffle. It sucked. When I reached the top of the Cheaha I saw Sean Andrish. Sean was great and tried to rally me, but I wasn’t having much of it at that point. I saw Cristina and co. when the mile 40 aid station mercifully appeared. They had bottles ready to go and I waved them off, handed my pack off and told them I needed to sit down and try to get something to stay down.

Cristina sat with me on a rock in the shade. I again slowly sipped some fluids. Then I crouched in the leaves with my head between two boulders puking profusely. I told Cristina I can keep doing this, but I’m not going to make it much farther on this routine. I hadn’t kept anything down in over 4 hours. The day was already hot and it was on its way to 86 degrees.  I saw zero reason to put myself through that fate. I walked to the aid station captain and made it official, my day was done.

I was comfortable with my decision to drop at that time and a week later I still feel the same. Now I’m just dealing with the frustration of coming to terms with my stomach and going back to square one to try to figure things out.

Update on CAT Activities and Fun

It has been awhile (July!) since we have written anything on this blog, but the Charlottesville Area Trail Runners have been busy training, racing, pacing, and having fun!  Below, we post a collection of short write-ups by CAT members on what we've been up to for the last four months.

Before turning to the write-ups, here's a list of the great training runs we now have going each week.  Note runners of all levels are welcome at these outings and that we have a "no drop" policy, in that we wait for everybody. So come out whether you are fast or slow, and new or old to trail running:

The reason we do the Thursday Happy Hour run.

• Sunday Sixer.  Starts around 8 am from a variety of locations, usually within the city limits of Charlottesville. This 5-7 mile run is a great way to meet new members of the group on the weekend without joining a longer mountain run.  These days, these runs are usually headed up by Nick Hamblet or Barb Shenefield (see Barbara's write-up below).
• Tuesday Pantops Run.  Starts at 6 pm from Frost Montessori School. Runs up trails on Pantops mountain, usually lasting 4 to 9 miles, with a decent amount of climbing.  The usual run organizer for this run is John Gulley. A headlamp or flashlight is required for this run during fall and winter months.
• Wednesday No-snooze Run.  Starts at 5:30 am from Slaughter Recreation Center.  This is a 4-6 mile hill-training run, utilizing the ups and downs of Observatory Hill (O-Hill) trails to do hill repeats and hill fartleks.  The usual run organizer is David Smith. A headlamp or flashlight is required for this run during fall and winter months.
• Thursday No-snooze Run.  Starts at 5:55 am from McIntire Park (West) in the parking lot near the softball field. This is a nice recovery run for those doing hills earlier in the week. This 4-6 mile run winds its way in and around roads and trails connecting to the Rivanna Trail.  The usual run organizer is Nick Hamblet (see Nick's post below). A headlamp or flashlight is required for this run during fall and winter months.
• Thursday Happy Hour Run.  Starts in the area of 5-6 pm time from Whole Foods Market as a recovery or Thursday double run, lasting 4-5 miles on the nearby Rivanna Trail.  The run finishes in about an hour in time to enjoy outdoor live music, pitchers of beer, and food at Whole Foods Market on Thursdays.  This run is sometimes weather and schedule dependent, so check in with the CAT email list each week to see whether the Happy Hour Run is a go.   

Now, here's what has been happening in the CAT world over the last couple of months:

Sunday Sixers
by Barbara Shenefield


Barb Shenefield (far right) and Sunday Sixer runners


Recent Sunday Sixers have explored the Old Mill Trail alongside the Rivanna, down to the remnants of Charlottesville's Industrial Age locks, canal and aqueduct. Or ventured into our newest State Park, Biscuit Run. Recent wildlife sightings: Eastern Box Tortoise; Golden Orb Spiders; Red Fox.

I enjoy hosting this run when other CATs are off conquering mountains. My version of the Sunday Sixer is an in-town, or close to town, trail run. As is always the case with the Sunday Sixer, pace is easy. We wait at intersections if you are hanging back - maybe it's 'cause you're busy talking :-). Personally, I like to introduce people to area trails and to the pure joy of trail running. It's being close to nature. It's being easier on your joints than the road is. Some may not feel comfortable on the trails alone. So join us Sundays at 8 am.

No-snooze Thursdays
by Nick Hamblet

No Snooze Thursdays: Damn they're early - and they're still not as early as Wednesday's version! We've been meeting at McIntire Park pretty regularly for a few months now for this morning run. We started with 6am, but moved the start time up a few minutes to 5:55 so that folks with kids had some extra time to get back. Darker mornings have accompanied the start of the school year, and, in fact, for the last few weeks it's still been not quite light when we finished.

Nick Hamblet (2nd from L) with other CAT runners

We've had a good crew out for these runs, and I want to thank Chris Engel and Christian Dahlhausen for being so consistent in coming out each week. We've settled into a nice regular loop, heading out from McIntire toward the "Whale Tale" Art in Place installation along Rte. 250, running back behind the elementary school and through Greenleaf Park, then hitting the hill up Oxford Road before heading back down on Blue Ridge Road to pick up the Rivanna Trail behind the Bodos on 29. From there, we take the RT to 250 and either head back along 250 for a 4ish mile loop, or keeping going on the RT around to Brandywine (or further when they weren't doing construction) before heading back to McIntire park. 

These mornings will be getting colder, but hopefully we can keep on No Snoozing through them. It hurts getting out of bed that early (for me anyway), but once you're out there, you realize just how great it is to start the day with a trail run with friends.

Catherine’s Fat Ass 50K, July 24, 2012 

By Drew Krueger

My memory of the 2011 running of Catherine’s was pretty simple: It was HOT! The heat overshadowed what was otherwise an absolutely top-notch event. So, when Catherine’s 2012 was held under cool, drizzly July skies, I couldn’t have been happier!

VHTRCers and CATs at Catherine's 2011

The weather for the day alone was a fantastic respite from the oppressive heat and humidity. Add in the option to run 30 miles through the mountains with friends and enjoy an unsurpassed post-race party, and for me, Catherine’s 2012 hit the pinnacle of what trail running is all about!

If you haven’t been to a VHTRC fat ass event yet, make it a priority to do so next year. The events are top-notch, and a whole bunch of fun!

More info: http://catherinesfa50k.blogspot.com/

Martha Moats Baker 50K, August 11, 2012

By Drew Krueger

As trail runners living in central Virginia, we are blessed with an abundance of great trails to explore. We all have our regular, pound it out, sections of trail, but we also have our special spots. For me, TWOT (The Wild Oak Trail) is becoming that special place. It’s the scene of my lowest point in running-struggling up the Little Bald climb during Grindstone in 2011. It’s also the scene of one of my highest points in running-cruising down the Little Bald Climb during Grindstone in 2011! I have also done a few solo runs on sections of TWOT, a few runs with friends on TWOT, and I also ran the Martha Moats Baker (MMB) fat ass, which takes place on parts of TWOT, in 2011. 

I absolutely loved running MMB in 2011. It’s a fantastic course, and it’s just special being out there. I anxiously signed-up to run MMB again in 2012, and was happy I did! 

Christian (L) and Drew (R) at the 2011 Martha Moats Baker 50K

Leaving the TWOT lot, Neal Gorman, Josh Finger and I climbed together up Little Bald. The morning was cool with a nice breeze, and it simply felt great to be out in the mountains on such a great day. It was one of those great days of running where no moments really stick out as the great moment of the day, instead, it overall was just one of those great days.

Neal, Josh and I all ran together into the Dog Grave Yard aid station. After the aid, Neal suggested we pick-up the pace a bit and shoot for a sub 6hr finish. I laughed at Neal’s suggestion, having run MMB in 7:50 in 2011, while running slowly and relaxed. We were informed that the course record (CR) for MMB was 6:56, so a sub-6 finish certainly seemed ambitious. At any rate, we hammered the next section to the third aid station, dropping Josh during that stretch.

Once we hit the arduous climb up Groom’s Ridge, I knew I needed to pull back a bit and try to push in some calories for the last bit. Neal kept on the pace and set a blistering CR of 5:36, while I came in ten minutes later at 5:46. We had to cruise back to Charlottesville immediately afterwards, so we unfortunately missed out on the always great post run festivities.

More info: http://www.vhtrc.org/news/mmb50

CAT Summer Social, August 25th, 2012
by Christian Dahlhausen

"CAT" Abby joined for a trail run

Setting up Pavillion #2

To celebrate fellowship on the trail and having most of the humid days behind us we organized a summer social at Walnut Creek Park. We started off early in the morning with group runs (naturally) on the park's trails. Showers were predicted that day, but it stayed dry for most of the morning. Despite the weather forecast (we are trail runners after all) we had great attendance across different pace and distance groups. Following the run we socialized with drinks, potluck-style breakfast, brunch, and BBQ, and shared stories from the trail. We even attracted some roadies for this relaxed event. It's fantastic to have such a great running community in town to share friends & fellowship with.  This will certainly not be the last social and we are looking forward to keep it going! Happy trails.

Re-fueling at the potluck after the runs

The Best and Worst Grindstone 100 So Far! October 5-6, 2012 
by Marc Griffin

Editor's Note: On October 5th, starting at 6 pm, Marc ran his 5th Grindstone 100 mile race

My training this year has been great, I have been running faster and felt stronger than ever going into Grindstone!  My goal this year was to finish under 30 hours, which I have never done.  Even if it was 29:59:59 I would be happy.  So the night before the start, I stayed up late and slept in the morning of, got up, and went to the pre-race briefing at 1pm.  At one point Race Director Clark Zealand asked all the rookies to stand, there were a lot of first-time 100 mile attempts happening this year, I hope all had a positive experience.  From there, Clark called out the names of this year's door prize winners and I actually won a pair of Patagonia shoes!  So far, 2012 Grindstone was off to a good start.  I went back and set up my tent and got things all set, and then laid down just to close my eyes and get off my feet for a little while.  I knew sleeping was out of the question this close to race time since the nerves were already kicking in.  

Aid station worker at Lookout Mountain

Well before I knew it, 5pm came around. I got up, dressed, and got ready. In a blink of an eye it was a few minutes to 6pm.  I walked around, spoke with some people, and then the countdown began.  The first 5 miles we mostly ran since these are probably some of the easiest trail miles of the race.  The first aid station came and then the test of endurance started.  The next two climbs were tough, Elliot’s Knob and Crawford Mountain.  I felt great and climbed with ease.  I ran with Bill Potts for most of this and I felt very comfortable.  Soon Bill turned it up a notch and left me in the dust.  This is where I started running with Alex Hall and another gentleman.  The three of us stayed together until the turn around and had some good laughs.  Not sure if the jokes and comments were that funny or if it was because we were on a 7 mile climb up Little Bald at 3am in the morning.  I got to the turnaround still in darkness, which I have never done before.  I am usually two aid stations back when first light hits, so I knew I was way ahead of my previous splits. I was running really strong and was actually on pace for 26 hours at this point.  

On the return trip, things were going well until mile 60ish.  Then the wheels fell off!  I was chafing badly and things just shut down.  I made it into North River Gap aid station (AKA, the TWOT parking lot), and was very happy to pick up my pacer, Christian Dahlhausen.  Just standing there in the parking lot, my legs were shaking and throbbing.  This is the closest in 5 years of running Grindstone that I almost quit and went home.  

 

Things were bad, but Christian got me out of the aid station and we started up the next big climb.  This climb up to Lookout Mountain is one of the worst of the race, it is steep and long and comes at mile 67ish.  We got up and over and Christian got me running when I didn’t want to.  Every slight downhill or flat he said,  "Lets go!", and made me run.  Boy, at that moment I was hating him!  But, this was the best thing for me and Christian did an amazing job.  So we headed down Dowells Draft trail and I started to feel better, so we picked it up.  We were “flying” down the trail at one point and Christian asked if I wanted to know how our pace was, I said sure and figured we were running at least 8 minute miles or better, but he told me it was an 11 minute/mile pace. They sure felt faster to me…lol.  So we hiked and jogged and climbed back over Crawford and back over Elliot’s Knob.  I actually got to climb Elliot’s Knob on the way back in the light this year, again I have never done this before, it’s usually dark way before the last aid station.  Boy is this an advantage, the trail is very rocky and to do it in the light makes it so much nicer.  So we get down near the bottom of Elliot, which is relatively flat, so I start jogging, thinking I am doing at least 10-12 min miles I look over and Christian is just walking beside me like its nothing.  Your perception sure is off after running for 26ish hours. 
Finally, we make it to the last aid station and there is only 5 miles between me and finish number 5.  Those last miles are the rockiest, most technical and long five miles of my life.  After kicking every rock on the trail we make it back into camp and around the lake and in to the finish.  Usually, when I finish around 30 hours, it puts me in at around 1am or so.  This year it was nice because there were people at the finish and spectators to cheer me in.  I think I need to run this race faster every year!  My finishing time….28:07:20, over two hours faster than my best time.   

I was so happy, I hung around the finish for a bit then started to get cold so I walked up got showered and off to bed.  I woke up the next morning, saw a few people just finishing up in the rain and got some breakfast.  This year because it was the 5^th year of Grindstone and 5 of us have done it and finished each year, Clark gave us a special buckle.   Not sure I could wear it because it is so big but it sure looks great, like I said, it was my best Grindstone because of my finishing time but my worst since I don’t think I have suffered like this in any of my previous attempts.  This year I went for it, it was a risk but I wanted to try. Heck, if I didn’t have that bad spell from miles 60-75, who knows I could have shaved another few hours off my time!  

Thank you Christian for getting me to the finish thanks Bob, Drew, Sofie and Neal for cheering me on and giving me advice!  Bring on number 6!

Grindstone Pacing, October 5-6, 2012

By Drew Krueger

When Neal Gorman told me he was thinking about signing-up for Grindstone, I immediately volunteered to pace him for the final 36 miles, if he was interested in having a pacer. Neal took me up on my offer, and I eagerly anticipated cruising the back roads along the Va./W.Va. border all night following the action of the race until it was time to start my pacing duties.

Neal came in second place! The race itself is Neal’s story to tell, so I’ll leave that up to him.

Neal has 100 milers figured out. I don’t have any distance figured out! Needless to say, I was excited to hang with him and see how he does it, and what, if anything, I could pick up for watching him race this distance.

Neal certainly didn’t need me along for the ride. I didn’t have to spur him on, tell him to toughen up, or anything of that nature. My pacing duties more or less felt like we were out on a training run together, talking about anything that came up, with me occasionally giving Neal estimated distances to the next aid and describing upcoming sections, where I could.



The fastest four at Grindstone 2012 (Neal 2nd f.r.)


Neal ran a heck of a race, and afterwards it was fun to listen to Karl Meltzer (famed 100-mile racer and Grindstone 2012 winner) and Neal talking about how the race unfolded, neither of them sounding like they had just busted their tails for the better part of a day, shattering the old course record in the process!  








Sophie Speidel also has a great Grindstone report from pacing the women's 2012 winner, Jennifer Nichols. See here.

CAT Jenny Nichols (L)

Hot TWOT, October 13, 2012
By David Smith

Because of all the great things I had heard from my fellow CATs about TWOT (The Wild Oak Trail) training runs and races, I was really psyched to try a run out for myself.  As others have written above, the TWOT area is home to a lot of VHTRC events, including the (cold) TWOT 100, Hot TWOT 100, Martha Moats Baker 50K and the Grindstone 100 miler.  TWOT lies in the mountains of the George Washington National Forest, on the western side of the Shenandoah Valley, just north of Churchville, VA. The official TWOT 100 (the "Cold" TWOT) is run in February and consists of four 26-mile loops of the entire TWOT.  Most runners opt to do only one loop, so that it turns out to be a one-marathon distance training day in the mountains.  I signed up for the Hot TWOT, run at the beginning of October of each year.  Long time VHTRCer, Dennis Herr, is the race director for both TWOTs and he was wonderful to finally meet.



David (2nd from L) at Hot TWOT 2012



CAT members Christian Dahlhausen and Kate Stephenson also ran Hot TWOT but started at 7 am and cut their run a few miles short to get back early to Cville.  I started at the official start time at 8 am with the "bigger" group, consisting of about a half dozen of us. The race took place on a beautiful fall day, with sunny temps starting in the 40s and climbing into the 60s.



To put things quite simply, TWOT consists of a lot of climbing.  Over the course of the day, I was reminded of that Escher drawing in which a square stair case appears to be going up forever.  Although the course was a loop, it seemed to consist mostly of going up, I think. The climbs included Big Bald, Little Bald, and steady ups and downs over Grindstone Mountain. Actually, besides the climbing, the course was great. It involved a lot of ridge running and I like running on ridges, but it did mean following a lot of mountain contours up and down, up and down. As it turns out, there were also some big descents, many of them quad-bustingly steep. 

I finished in around the time I guessed I would finish, 7 hrs and 42 minutes.  Importantly, I finished with that endorphine-enhanced peace I get from running long in the mountains on a beautiful day.  Nothing can beat that!