40 Miles in West Virginia- a Race Report

In an impulsive moment in early spring, I signed up for this race after getting a bit overconfident about my training. I ran the Pittsburgh marathon (felt great), did little until a training run on the first half of the course (felt great), then pretty much stopped training. Life got in the way, and I only managed some shorter runs: a few 8-10 milers and very few other runs and my strength training was non-existent. Could we just call this an extended taper? Fast forward to race week and I was getting nervous. On one hand, I thought if it wasn’t too hot and I could get through 30 miles, I could gut out the last 10 (I don’t think ‘normal’ people have thoughts like this, but you ultrarunners understand, right?). On the other hand, AM I TOTALLY NUTS??? WHO TRIES TO RUN 40 MILES ON CRAPPY TRAINING?? So, I decided to enjoy the first half and then if I didn’t feel like going on, it would still be a fun weekend with friends. Some of you (Michelle, Megan) thought there wasn’t a chance in hell that I’d quit, but I tried to make it clear that this was a real possibility and I was OK with it.

To WV
It’s been 3 years since I’ve done this race and arriving in Canaan Valley reminded me why we keep coming back to do these things. It was great to see many of our WVMTR friends and feel that ultra-scene vibe again. Paul, Erik, and I had a nice dinner with Amanda, Bill, Joe, Lorrin, Eddie, Tony, and Mark and then headed back to the room to get ready. Erik slept well but I didn’t. The morning was uneventful and we got to the start as it dawned.

The Weather and the Trails
We discussed the weather forecast in the car on the way to the start. A line of strong storms was supposed to come through then the humidity was to lift and we would have a nice day. Well, the rain started by mile 2 and continued for hours. There are many reports out there about the weather and trail conditions so I won’t belabor this point. The rain felt nice and the temperature was great. It was eerily dark under the canopy in those early miles. The weather itself wasn’t the big story— it was the effect those storms had on the trail conditions that made for an epic day. The trails turned to streams, mud, and more mud, and water crossings that are typically benign became quite dangerous. On the trails themselves it wasn’t uncommon to be knee deep in water. This is a tough race in good conditions; the wet, muddy conditions just made it that much harder.

The Race
I started off with Cathy and Tony and we were in the normal line of runners on the singletrack trying to find our own paces. We all settled into our own rhythms and made our way up the early climbs. Joe had started off easy and caught up to me before AS 2. He was taking it slow, and I was moving well on the early climbs so we could stay together. We couldn’t help but constantly remark on the trail conditions. It was, in a word, insane. We discussed how jagged rocks are tough enough to run on, but cover them with 6 inches of murky water and they become impossible. We yearned to SEE the rocks again. We got through AS 2 only 15 minutes ahead of the cut-off, then to AS 3 also just 15 minutes ahead. The water crossing before AS 3 was very tough for me—I fell in the fast moving water and was helped across by another runner, who I (overdramatically, perhaps) said I probably owed my life to. After that scare, we got to AS 3 (Hi Michelle, Megan and Bill!) and continued on through some more crazy hard rain and wind. We got up to the road (Hi Lorrin, Paul, Eddie, Erik and Jim!) and then to AS 4, still 15 minutes up on the cut-off. The sun peeked through at this point and the breeze was nice. I still felt good. Joe was moving better but didn’t seem to mind holding back. We got to AS 6 (mile 27) only 15 minutes ahead (but only 5 minutes ahead of the old cut-off of 1:30 PM). This was a little discouraging because I thought we’d be able to make up some time on the road- but I just didn’t have the legs. As an aside, I think Joe and I running together helped both of us stay positive. When one of us slipped into negative thoughts, the other put a stop to it. So that was good- I don't know how well I would have fared being all alone out there!

We turned the corner onto the trail, right into 30- 40 mph headwinds. It was muddy and boggy again, so slow going. Within the first few miles, I realized I was slowing down. ALOT. I told Joe that I thought I reached the limit of my training. And by about mile 30, I told him I was thinking of stopping at 32 and getting a ride back from Pam. Thanks so much to Joe for being super-encouraging… he didn’t get all 'you can do it, don’t quit' because I think he understood how I felt and he knew how tough it was out there. He said even if I only did the “HS 50k” it was still a great accomplishment, but he thought I could finish (and had time) if I wanted to. I urged him to go on but he thought he’d stay with me until AS 7, but Cathy happened upon us right after this discussion. She was moving well but said she was also feeling the conditions. She had made up time on the road to catch us but didn’t seem like she wanted to go ahead.

Joe decided to pick up his pace and took off. I told Cathy to go in front and I thought I’d see if I could keep up. Running with her gave me some renewed strength and a burst of energy and I was able to keep up. When we got to AS 7 (Hi Pam!), I didn’t even think about stopping. We grabbed some aid and rolled right through. We had about 2:40 to do 8 miles, which included 4 tough miles and 4 easier miles.

We ran as much as we could, hiked the ski slope, down the buttslide, passed a few guys, and onto the road and to AS 8. We adopted a run/walk regimen to get through the roads. We ran anything that was slightly down, walked anything slightly up and then ran 2 minutes/walked 1 minute on the flats. This, along with our chatting, made the time pass and before we knew it, we were turning into the resort. We knew we’d make it under 12 hours. I had said to someone earlier it would be frustrating to make it 30 or 35 miles in those conditions then NOT at least be an official finisher and get the damn shirt.

The Finish
I was never so happy to get to a finish line (with the possible exception of Baker Trail 07) and see my guys and my friends and then go celebrate our finishes. What a day! Truly epic conditions—this is one to remember! We’ll be back next year!