Iron Mountain Weekend
Labor Day weekend is an annual highlight
for me. It signals the end of summer and the beginning of fall. This year I
even had my first pumpkin spice latte (PSL) on Wednesday August 30th,
making fall seem even earlier.
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| Thank you, Krispy Kreme |
If you’re a part of the Lynchburg
trail running community, Labor Day weekend means one thing – Iron Mountain.
Each year there are 16, 30, and 50 mile trail races that start and finish in “Trail
Town USA” aka Damascus, Virginia. It is a favorite both because of price ($25
for any of the three distances) and because it showcases a lot of fun,
technical trail. This year registration opened up on June 1st and it
was sold out by the end of the day June 2nd. (Side note: RD Kevin
mentioned that he might go to a lottery system for next year. Whomp) It’s
roughly 3.5 hours from Lynchburg, so we all drive down sometime the day before.
Friday, September 1
Last year I researched and hiked a
trail called the Devil’s Fork Loop. The highlight of the loop is the crystal clear
waters of a giant pool and neighboring hole called the “Devil’s Bathtub”. I
solo hiked the entire 7ish mile loop last year, only to realize that the
bathtub was an easy 2 miles if I hiked clockwise (CW) instead of
counterclockwise (CCW). This time my friend Jeremiah “Bullfrog” Clark tagged
along. (I bet y’all can figure out how he got his nickname). When we left
Lynchburg the forecast for the hike location (Fort Blackmore, VA) was heavy
rain and winds. We shrugged it off and headed out. As we’re both in good shape,
we made great time to the bathtub. Thankfully, the weather was just hot enough
where the water was swimmable. The water was COLD – I’ll have to go back in the
summer when the temps are hotter. We swam around some and then hiked back to
the car for the drive to Damascus.
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| The larger swimming hole |
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| The bathtub. Look how clear it is! |
We arrived right at 5 pm, making us
the 2nd and 3rd people to pick up our packets and sweet
shirts (well worth the extra $20). We drove the short distance to our “campsite”
– a large field right beside the Virginia creeper trail. I helped Jeremiah set
up his tent (and rain fly, thanks rain) and we walked over to dinner, the Old
Mill restaurant where Sam Price made reservations. Dinner was very fun,
regardless of the length of time it took for our food to be delivered. I
enjoyed the conversation, watching the kids play near the water, and selfishly
admiring how pretty our waitress was. I ate my share of chicken tenders and
finished some leftover catfish. First time I can remember trying it – and it
was pretty good! We walked back to camp, chatted for a bit, set aside our clothes/gear
for the 7 am start before going to sleep.
Saturday, September 2
My phone had died during the day
and I didn’t get a chance to charge it. I relied on Jeremiah to wake me up as
we were sharing his 3-man tent. I slept heavily but I kept having a runner’s
worst nightmare – that I overslept and missed the start of the race. Each time
that happened, I would check my watch and see how early it was, shake my head,
and fall back asleep. I finally woke up around 5:40 and quickly went to the
bathroom (always priority #1 on race day). I ate some Kit-Kats and a Snickers
bar for breakfast before walking to the gazebo that is the start/finish. The
race briefing came and went, and at 7 am us 50-milers were off on the Virginia
Creeper section of the course.
(Next part is race report, skip if
desired)
Todd Thomas asked for my goals the
night before. I mentioned around an 8:00/mile pace on the ~5 mile Creeper Trail
section and an overall finish time of 10 hours. While it was a race, I wasn’t
going to race the course. My focus is on Grindstone 100-Miler on October 6-8;
this race the focus was putting in the mileage and getting time on my feet. I
have one more ultra (Odyssey Running Rampage Trail Marathon) but this was my
last really long run. Back to the race, I fell into step with Anna Evans and
Brenton Swyers around an 8:20ish pace. I felt good and made it to the first aid
station right around 40 minutes. Topped off the water and I was on my way
across the road to the first hill climb.
Right
away my legs felt heavy. I began to worry as I wasn’t even 10% done with the
course and I was already feeling tired. I began to rationalize in my head, “11
hours is more reasonable. Don’t kill yourself”. I continued with the mantra “keep
moving, no matter how slow”. I was climbing at a decent pace, but many people
passed including Jeremiah. It’s always disheartening to be struggling during a
run and seeing people pass you, smiling and cheering you on. It’s at those
times I want to trip them so we can suffer together (that’s the sin nature
talking). Thankfully I hiked along with a couple different people before they
would pick it up and leave. I caught up to Jeremiah and another runner right
before Aid Station (AS) 2, but they took off on a short uphill and didn’t stay
long. I grabbed some food and Gatorade, asking about the mileage. The worker
said 8 miles, the sign said 9 miles, and I had no way to verify as my Garmin
was dead. No time to mope, however, and I pushed up the next climb.
The
section between AS 2 and AS 3 isn’t bad - it has some slight uphills and
downhills. I pushed well on the downhills and flats and I caught a lot of people
near the end on the last descent into the AS. Shortly before the AS, I threw up
for a second time. Neither were major, “lose your cookies” type of vomiting. Coming
in, Kevin Corell asked if I needed water. He refilled my bottle as Gina Gilbert
asked how I was doing. I told her I threw up and I mentioned “stupid catfish”.
Delicious, yet it made me nauseous. Seeing those friends was a major boost and
I was glad that only 2 of the 30-milers had caught me. I hadn’t eaten well up
to that point so I decided to eat better over the next several miles. I ate a
Star Crunch and a slice of pizza as I left, hearing Kevin say Jeremiah wasn’t
far ahead.
AS
3 is where the 30-milers turn around, so I was heading into uncharted territory.
The first section is an uphill gravel road. I ran and talked to a couple
runners which helped pass the time. I kept hiking the uphills and running the
flats/downhills, eventually catching Jeremiah and we ran into AS 4 together. His
goal was 11 hours, and as we checked the watches I confirmed that we were on
pace for a sub-10 finish. Instantly my mood picked up, and I loaded up a baggy
with jelly beans and grapes to eat during the next section. Normally I struggle
with fruits during races, favoring chocolates. However the white grapes were
great. Jeremiah sat down to rest for a minute and I took off down the trail.
AS
4 to AS 5 is a gravel downhill, rolling trail, and then a long gravel downhill.
A lot of people dislike this section, but I made up a lot of time. I caught at
least 5 people and I felt that I had good pace on the downhills. Jeremiah had
told me AS 5 to AS 6 is a tough uphill, so I mentally prepared myself for some hard
climbing. I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn’t as hard as I built it up to
be. We even had a really nice view. It had been raining since around 11:30ish so
the trail was getting muddy, but I didn’t mind. I even caught some people on
the uphill (that RARELY happens) right before AS 6 (same as AS 4). I was able
to eat 2 small slices of pizza and some candy, making my stop at AS 6 short. I
left and was greeted with a gravel uphill. Yuck. This section sucked in the
drizzly rain. It wasn’t steep, but it felt like it went on forever. It finally
peaked and we started running downhill and I went into cruise control. A
highlight was passing three horseback riders and their two dogs. A low point
was running over and around all the droppings the horses made on the single
track we followed for the last 2 miles of that section. I hadn’t been “racing”
all day, but this section was the only time I got caught up in the competition.
There was a runner in front of me who was making good pace, but I was clearly
running faster than him. He wouldn’t let me pass, so I sat behind him breathing
down his neck. We made it into AS 7 (same crew as AS 3, just moved a little
down the road) and I hurried to grab my food and beat him to the uphill climb. I
never saw him again.
I
was still on pace for a 10 hour finish, and now I could taste it. We were 37
miles in, almost 75% done. I climbed the uphill well and went back to the usual
hike/run on the rolling hills. I passed several runners, only to trip and eat
it, allowing them to pass me back. I was annoyed but there’s nothing else to do
besides get up, brush yourself off, and keep going. I was cautious for a bit,
but I eventually passed them back before AS 8 (same as AS 2). The crew asked if
I was alright, which I appreciated. By then the blood had dried on my leg and
it was caked with mud. I wanted to stay for awhile but a fellow runner came
through, barely stopping. My competitive nature got the best of me, and I
chased after her. She would run the uphills faster, gaining ground on me that I
would make up with the downhills. Eventually I passed her as she stepped off
the trail to “take care of business”. Running alone, I was pushing too fast and
fell AGAIN. Now I was really annoyed as I never fall twice. I picked myself up
and made it to the last “Aid Station” – a bunch of unmanned water and Gatorade
jugs. I still had some snacks and enough water to make it to Damascus, so I
passed by to the final uphill.
I
hiked up the final ascent, thinking somebody would catch me. Nobody did, but I scared
two hikers when I ran up on them. I made it to the 2 mile sign and started the
technical descent. It wasn’t as bad as I remembered it, but the flat section
after the descent to the road took longer than I remembered. When I made it to
the road I had the confirmation that I would break 10 hours. Nothing is quite
like that, the sweet relief of knowing you’ll make your goal and that the past
9:30+ was worth it. I ran through the town, turning on the Creeper Trail back
to the finish. I was cheered in by Horton (“Did you pass Bullfrog?” “Yes” “GOOD”),
some of the BRTR, and those who stayed after their races as I finished in
9:49:29. I sat for 2 minutes before starting the Iron Mountain Man competition.
I think I did somewhere in the realm of 35 pushups and 35 situps, but as I watched
future participants I realized that I was working harder by touching my nose to
the ground every pushup. Oh well, I was nowhere near the winner. Maybe next
year!
Jeremiah
finished well ahead of his 11 hour goal, around 10:15. We got a picture
together before I went to find a shower.
Unfortunately the showers were closed
so I took my washcloth and towel to the bathroom and did a sponge bath in the
sink and put on a hoodie I bought at Dollar General. We ate dinner at “Hey Joe’s
Burritos” with the remaining BRTR folk before Karl Miller graciously invited us
to hang out at his heated, warm, dry cabin “Lil’ Ponderosa”. We played
codenames and enjoyed some hard cider before camping again.
Sunday September 3
Sunday
we woke up and went to Mojo's Trailside Cafe , an awesome local coffee shop, where
I got the “Trail Magic” drink (coffee + ice cream + caramel) and a killer breakfast of eggs, potatoes,
chocolate chip pancakes, and bacon. We met up with the Gilberts and the Adcocks
and made our way over to Grayson Highlands State Park. We hiked from the
parking area up to Mount Rogers. SUCH a beautiful hike, it really has it all.
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| Wild ponies that let you come right up to them! |
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| PC: Cooper Thomas |
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| The final push to the summit - so green! |
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| Highest point in Virginia - Mount Rogers |
I enjoyed hanging out with Todd and
Alexis Thomas’ oldest, Cooper. He was picking my brain on backpacking – I could
see him through hiking the AT when he gets older. Making it back to the car
around 3 pm we made it back to Lynchburg around 7 pm.
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| Cooper "Monkey" Thomas |
All
in all, it was a GREAT weekend. So much fun, so many memories, and of course
some of the best friends I could ask for. Here’s to next year (and hopefully no
lottery!)
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| 2016 Mount Rogers crew minus Jeremiah |
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| 2017 Mount Rogers crew |
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