Hellgate 2017 Race Report

After my last race report (Grindstone, a couple posts back) I decided to make this recap *slightly* less long-winded. Hope you enjoy!

Accurate Course Description!

Pre-Race

Last year I crewed for my friend Jeremiah “Bullfrog” Clark. As I helped at the aid stations I ran across a Liberty student named Kaitlyn. Bundled up, all I could really see was her face. Not thinking much about it, I ran into her at Snowflex a couple months later when she recognized me and I didn’t recognize her (awkward!). Fast forward to the summer and I saw her at her other job, Riverside Runners. We reconnected and stayed in touch through social media. After seeing her own plans to run Grindstone in 2018 (!!) I asked if she would be my crew for Hellgate. She responded with something along the lines of “heck yes”, and a plan was hatched. As the time drew near I asked her to pull double-duty: crew and pace. She willfully obliged and we were able to meet twice to run some trails and discuss race-day logistics.

She met me at my apartment around 4 pm on Friday afternoon and we were off for Camp Bethel. Upon checking in, I received my starter shirt

"Things that are HARD to bear are SWEETER to remember" - Seneca

"ACCEPT the challenges so that you can feel the EXHILARATION of VICTORY" - George S. Patton

Dinner started at 6 pm – a delicious meal of chicken alfredo (so good yet so cheesy and heavy), lasagna, and lemonade. I brought my own drink, Bold Rock Spiced Apple Cider… which just so happened to be against camp rules. Whoops! Briefing started at 7:30 pm and in typical Horton fashion included several insults, challenges, and questionable remarks.

"If you don't finish, you're a SISSY!" - Horton

We finished with a door prize raffle around 8:45 pm and I napped around an hour before changing into my Christmas-themed running clothes.

Have a Meowy Christmas, everybody! (Yes, I wore the Santa hat all race)

Along the way over to Hellgate Creek Horse Trailhead, Kait and I jammed to some 90’s and 2000’s rock and alternative music (90’s kids forever)

A little "Numb" by Linkin Park, anybody?

Race

Race started at 12:01 a.m. just beyond the Hellgate Creek Horse Trailhead. I started quickly and saw Alissa. We said hello and she sped off, never to be seen again.

Picture of Alissa. Missing: "No Pressure" tank, mascara, and shorts

I slowed the pace down some and corrected some runners who had missed a turn. The “bad stream” crossing wasn’t too high and I made my way to the first aid station (AS). The section from AS1 to AS2 wasn’t bad at all – a gradual grade up to Pettite’s Gap. On fresh legs I could have run every step but I decided to hike some to conserve energy. Spent some time running with Jeremiah (running for the 2^nd straight year) and he powered on ahead into the long line of cars parked near AS2. I almost ran right past Kait, my personal paparazzi. She filmed me running by and put it on Instagram, I filled up my water, grabbed my goggles (didn’t want Hellgate eyes!) and rain jacket, and I was off to cross the Blue Ridge Parkway (BRPW).

The last time I ran the Glenwood Horse Trail (GHT) from Petite’s Gap was during our Terrapin night training run. That night my headlamp went dim and it was a struggle… tonight the course was marked and my headlamp was strong. Quite the difference! I made my way down the trail, soon to be passed by friends Todd, Alexis, and Kevin on the root-filled single-track. Local legend Marc Griffin fell in behind me and we paused for a second before making the righthand turn to stay on the GHT. Marc paused to ask if it was the right way and we quickly received acknowledgement in the form of a streamer. It was a good thing too – I definitely didn’t want to hit the Goff Mountain Road and Hunting Creek Road intersection (a la Terrapin AS). The trail leading over to Hunting Creek road was certainly harder than I remembered during Terrapin while the climb up Hunting Creek road to Camping Gap wasn’t fun, but a solid okay. I was slightly thrown off as the Camping Gap aid station was on the opposite side of its usual location during Terrapin.

It was my first time running the grassy road all the way from Camping Gap to Overstreet Creek Falls. Man it was harder than I expected! Horton warned us that it would be difficult and I shouldn’t have played it off! I lost a lot of places and spent some time with 2017 Beast Series female champion, Sarah Hodder before she motored on (finishing in a stellar 15:58:16). I crossed the clearing after the grassy road but didn’t realize it until I hit the familiar downhill switchbacks of the Promise Land course. I made up some ground and drank some warm broth at AS4 (Overstreet Creek Falls, moved due to BRPW closure).

See my Strava for the first 18.9 miles: Link

Start - Petite's Gap (bottom) - Petite's Gap (top) - Camping Gap - died somewhere before Overstreet Creek Falls

I hiked the uphill to the BRPW. The snow really picked up and it was much colder… glad I had my handwarmers but I quickly discovered that they’re best designed for mittens, not gloves! My fingertips stayed cold but my palms stayed nice and warm. The next section from Floyd’s Field down to Jennings Creek was by far the worst I felt the whole race. Tired, cold, and feeling like I was sleepwalking in a foggy haze (it actually was foggy), I slowly made my way along the trail to Jennings Creek. As light began to shine I gained more energy and began to pass several runners on the downhill trails. Trying to take advantage of the light I turned off my headlamp. It went well until I fell – twice! – in the next several minutes. I turned the headlamp back on and soon crossed the bridge to the breakfast AS – Jennings Creek. It was a high point to see my friends, grab some food, get some new gloves, and drink several ounces of Coke (which eventually backfired)

Frozen beard, new gloves, and cup full of Coke - yep, this is Hellgate!

Hiking up to Little Cove Mountain, Jeremiah and Chelsie Viar both passed me. I figured I wouldn’t see either runner again. Nothing really stuck out in this section except for the adorable hunting dogs huddled around AS6 – Little Cove Mountain. In previous years people complained about the Liberty University AS workers but I had no complaints – great food and friendly smiles! After Little Cove Mountain I spent a lot of time running with Dorothy Hunter. Dorothy is one of the first Beast Series finishers and a former student of race director (RD) David Horton. We shared some stories about how he influences people, his quirky yet driven personality, and how he loves seeing people succeed (even if the tactics are a little non-traditional). Her conversation and the snow helped make the Devil’s Trail and creek crossing better than usual. Arriving at Bearwallow Gap (AS7) both Rhonda and Kait were big helps. It was mentally uplifting for me knowing that I was around 2/3 the way done and that Kait would share in the suffering of the final 20 miles.

Bearwallow Gap - Bobblet's Gap - Day Creek - Finish

Here's Kait's strava for the final 20.5 miles: Click

A majority of the rest of the course was new to me.  Both Todd and I agreed that the climb out of Bearwallow Gap was terrible! However I did pass several runners during this uphill and created some separation on the downhill section. Horton says that this section has a lot of “in-and-outs” and he, again, wasn’t lying (why don’t I believe him? Oh yeah. He lies about mileage!!). Reaching the road up to Bobblet’s Gap, it was a long mile until we found some weirdos living out Red Hot Chili Peppers’ "Under the Bridge" at AS8. All jokes aside I enjoyed seeing Gina Gilbert and my BRTR friends before taking off on the downhill to the “forever section”. The section had some good climbs and the snow transformed the wide, leaf-strewn trail into narrow single track. Reaching AS9, Day Creek, I said hello to my friends Mike Pflieger and Missy Bradley before dropping my pack and quickly heading out. All day I knew my goal was to survive and finish under 17 hours. Doing this would enable me to qualify for the Western States 2019 lottery and allow me to worry less at my big 2018 race, Georgia Death Race (GDR). Kait and I hiked away, quickly catching another local legend, Rick Gray. I caught another runner who encouraged me that I could finish under 17. After approximately 1.5 miles my quads tightened up and I felt like slowing the pace. Kait came through clutch with a Campfire S’mores “Honey Stinger waffle” and we made it to the BRPW.

Clutch. Also, so good! Riverside Runners, stock these!!!

Turns out that the climb was only 2.3 miles and not 3. I had new life! I could definitely make a 17 hour finish!! Kait and I took off, well under the pace we needed. Less than a mile into the downhill we saw a familiar face – local runner and friend Amy Talmadge. She had come up the trail to find a runner and pace them in and that runner happened to be me! She basically told me “You’re moving too slow!” so I sped up to keep up with her. Around a mile left in the race, I stopped to adjust my sole (much needed since I had the same shoes and socks on the entire day). Amy, Kait, and I jogged the remaining mile in and I finished in 16:43:28. I shook hands with Horton, posed for some pictures, and received my finisher’s awards.

Ecstatic! ha. see below for how I really felt

How I really felt. Like I wanted to sit down and not move for a looooong time.

The fruit of my labor. That d@*^ bear trophy!

More Patagucci - a Better Sweater!

I couldn’t have done this race without the help of multiple people.

Dr. David Horton (Horton) – Thank you for putting on these races and for loving running as much as you do. It was your running class back in 2011 that was the impetus for my ultramarathon career.

Dr. Horton - Me - Lauren Acker, Co-RD for Dam 50k @ finish line of Promise Land

Dr. Clark Zealand – Thank you for putting on the rest of the Beast Series races and for being another role model.

Kaitlyn (Kait) DiJoseph – You were the race MVP. You did everything I asked with a cheery disposition. Thank you for encouraging me and getting some incredibly high quality videos of my early-morning self.

Can you spot Kait? I can't! Forced smile after the finish (and realizing I left all my clothes several miles away)

Bethany Williams, Kim Weatherford, Todd Thomas, Alexis Thomas, Kevin Corell, Chelsie Viar, Brenton Swyers, Jeremiah Clark, and Alissa Keith – Thank you for “toeing the line” with me. It takes a special kind of crazy to run this race – and all of y’all have run it multiple times!

Just some crazies waiting for the race to begin!

Mike Mitchell, Clifton Williams, Mike Pflieger, Missy Bradley, Rhonda Sprouse, Elizabeth Rosser, Amy Talmadge, Don (Don) Kidd, Blake Edmondson, Neal Bryant, Joe Wilson, Steve Higgins, and all the other BRTR / volunteers – Thank you for sacrificing your time and helping both myself and fellow runners finish the race.

Some of the wonderful volunteers at Bobblet's Gap

Will I do this race again? Yes, but as a “standalone” race. I’ll train hard for it and see how low my time can go.

Thanks for reading!