Hellgate 2004: Redemption

Mike Day

At the end of 2003 as I was planning for the upcoming year, the The 2004 Hellgate 100K is the race I wanted to finish more than any other. I had just been humiliated by the inagural edition of this tough race. I would have to wait almost an entire year to take up the challenge.

Hellgate is a tough race for four reasons. First, the course is difficult. It has miles of sustained steep climbing, rocky single-track, and punishing downhill. Second, the course is quite a bit longer than 100K: it has been measured at 66.6 miles (coincidence?). Third, the race starts at 12:01 am. Fourth, the cutoffs are not generous in any sense.

The midnight start may be the factor that makes this race so tough. Most ultras involve miles and miles of comfortable, enjoyable running before fatigue sets in. With Hellgate, fatigue has set in before you start. After the dark night, when the sun is low in the morning sky you feel like it should be late in the afternoon, but instead you have the entire day of tough running ahead of you.

Preparation

My desire to beat the Hellgate course helped to drive my 2004 training and racing. As the time grew near, Scott Brockmeier organized a Training Run. When Scott contacted Hellgate Race Director David Horton for information about the course, David offered to lead the first day of the training run and host us at his home. This is a great example of the special person that David Horton is. He creates a difficult challenge and then does everything he can to help people meet it.

Scott Brockmeier, Rebekah Trittipoe, Grattan Garbee, and David Horton crossing Little Hellgate Creek during the training run. Matt Kirk is also there but not visible on the photo..

The training run was critical to my success in the 2004 race. It reminded me just how tough the first 21 miles of the course are. I made some mental notes: eat as much as you can during the night; don't get discouraged early on - the first part of the course is the toughest.

The Race

As race time approached I was relaxed and comfortable with my preparation. My crew for 2004 consisted of my wife Melinda, and our three youngest children: Sam, 12; Thomas, 8; and Kevin, 4. Kevin wanted to start the race with me but fortunately he fell asleep and we didn't have to fight that battle.

Right before the start of the 2004 Hellgate, feeling pretty good.

Hard Nighttime Running

Based on the knowledge I gained from the training run (and also from my ignoble defeat in 2003), I started out fast. This is counterintuitive, but is the correct strategy for Hellgate, I believe. The first seven miles or so are some of the easiest on the course, even though they are all uphill. A big key to success at Hellgate is to run the easy parts of the course as fast as you reasonably can. Most of the course is either very steep or very rocky. So run the easy parts fast!

I was using a heart monitor to make sure I didn't goo too fast. I could tell from my heart rate that I was in good health - despite the fast pace my heart rate was under control and within the parameters I set for a long race.

I had the pleasure of running the first 20 miles with one of my favorite running/training friends, Neal Jamison. Despite "being in good health" both of us had a head cold, and were hacking and snotting all over the course. At one point near the end of the grassy road section before headforemost mountain, Neal coughed up a whole bunch of phlegm. I saw a massive cloud of mist explode from his mouth into my headlight beam and then watched as my breathing caused me to inhale the cloud. Well, I thought, I've probably done the same thing to him several times; hopefully we have the same bug anyway. (This kind of thing happens all the time, but you never know until you are running on a cold night with headlamps.)

I lost track of Neal when I stopped to change flashlight batteries right before the singletrack downhill rock garden that precedes headforemost mountain. I definetely made a good choice of flashlights. I had a good headlamp that I kept on the halogen bulb for most of the night, plus a very bright 1-watt LED flashlight. These two lamps gave me very good illumination and enabled me to run fast downhill, especially on the rocky sections. There was a new moon the day before Hellgate and the night was dark. Bring a couple of good flashlights to Hellgate - you won't regret it.

I saw Neal for the last time as I was going into Headforemost mountain. Coming out of Headforemost mountain. I completed the next section, down to Jennings Creek at a very good pace. This section is very rocky, and I fell several times. At this point I was only five minutes off of David Horton's pace when he tested the course last year, around a 15 hour pace.

Morning Breaks - and I do too

At Jennings Creek I ate some soup, sausage, and a Cliff bar. I drank some Apple Juice. Leaving the aid station I had a really hard time moving quickly. My heart rate was low, and I had to concentrate and push to get my body to move fast enough to elevate my heart rate. This was my body telling me that I should be in bed. As I continued I developed a lot of pressure in my stomach the prevented me from eating or drinking. This is where I started to slow down.

Despite slowing and becoming increasingly uncomfortable I was still moving along pretty good. Gary Knipling and I traded places a couple of times in this section, but he ultimately pulled away from me. I managed to come in to Little Cove Mountain around 45 minutes off David Horton's 15 hour pace. However, I couldn't eat or drink anything because of the pressure in my stomach. The first couple of miles out of Little Cove are easy, runnable sections so I started to move faster and passed several people here, including Gary Knipling and Brad Smythe.

However, shortly after passing these men I started to experience serious stomach pains and waves of weakness dizziness. Brad, Gary, and a couple of other men passed me here. I was now on a difficult single track with very sloppy footing and slowed down significantly. I became worried that I might be suffering from appendicitis or a gallstone attack.

At this point Dan Lehmann and Dave Snipes passed me but I was able to continue into Bearwallow Gap with them. As I came into Bearwallow, I had decided to try some Alka Seltzer and see if that helped my painful stomach. I also wanted Melinda to look me over and put a lot of stock on her reaction to my appearance. I figured if something was going seriously wrong with me I would be pale.

Walking into Bearwallow aid station. I was in serious pain and somewhat frightened.

Melinda got me a cup of water and I put 4 Alka Seltzers in the cup and drank it. My stomach started to feel a tiny bit better, but more important, the drinking didn't cause me to get dizzy or make the pain worse. Melinda said that I looked just fine. At that point I stopped worrying about my stomach, even though it still hurt.

Gary Knippling eating a Kings Lunch at Bearwallow Gap. Gregg Geerdes photo.

I noticed that Gary Knipling was sitting right in front of me and that the remains of what looked like a Kings lunch were strewn over the ground in front of him. There was an empty Yoo Hoo can, some other can, some bags and wrappers. Gary kicked the stuff out of the way, thanked the volunteers, and started up the hill. I didn't see him again until the finish.

The three youngest Day children running around the Bearwallow Gap aid station.

The crew was having a great time waiting for me at Bearwallow Gap. In fact, the three boys loved the entire adventure. They were able to help runners, throw sticks in fires, roast marshmallows, play in the woods, and run around. On the way home after the race, all three of them said they wanted to come back next year.

Keep Moving

After fifteen minutes at Bearwallow Gap, I continued on. I was starting to feel better, but still weak. Graham Zollman and Wes Fenton passed me, but I passed another man and soon I caught up to Dan Lehmann and Dave Snipes. I started eating a snickers bar and part of a Cliff Bar. I was coming back. For the rest of the race I had to sip water and nibble on food, and I was able to eat and drink just enough to keep me going.

I came into Boblett's Gap with Dan and Dave. I was able to drink a can of Red Bull and I grabbed some Pretzels and took off. I ran the downhill section and then got onto the single track. At this point I almost caught Jaret Seibert, but he pulled away. I passed Zach Gingerich, who obviously had an injured leg and was unable to run downhill.

The single track coming into Days Creek is one of the prettiest parts of the course. There are maybe six or seven small creek crossings. I was very happy to come in to Days Creek and see my Crew. The boys were sitting by the fire. I had Melinda pour some apple juice into my CamelBack, and then I poured a can of Red Bull into it. I figured the mix would get me home. At this point I knew I was going to defeat the course and I became emotional.

Some of David Horton's students were manning the aid station at Day Creek. I knew one of them, Shane, from the Masochist training run earlier. He is a fine young man and Melinda said that the young men at this aid station were doing extra things for the runners and helping out in every way they could. All of the volunteers at this race did the extra things before, during, and after!

Finishing

The last section involves one of the longest, steepest climbs of the course. You go from a low-evelation aid station up to the Blue Ridge Parkway and then down to the finish. As I walked up the hill, Zach Gingerich, the young man with the injured leg, passed me. He was able to walk very fast uphill.

All the sections of the course near the Blue Ridge Parkway have numerous small freshwater springs. The springs are things of beauty: you couldn't create a prettier spring if you tried to. Near the top I stopped to drink some water from a spring. As I climbed back up to the trail I saw a man in a white shirt walking up the train very quickly. I had no idea who it was. He looked like Graham Zollman but I couldn't tell for sure. Plus Graham had passed me three hours earlier.

Cresting the Blue Ridge Parkway, I passed Zach Gingerich once again. He was in pain - downhill was difficult due to his injury. I told him that he had 3 1/2 miles to go and that he could walk in with plenty of time to spare. He doubted me but kept on going. Now I started to run fast downhill. I wanted to come in under 17 hours and I didn't want to get passed.

I continued to run down the dirt road, and pretty soon it turned into a paved road. Then I saw the "1 mile to go" sign. Then I looked back and saw the runner behind me, so I really started running as fast as I could. Soon enough I turned into Camp Bethel.

Finishing the 2004 Hellgate. The dark figure on the road behind me is my son Sam, trying to keep up.

Upon entering Camp Bethel, I saw the young members of my crew playing on the lawn with Evan Jamison. Suzanne Jamison was also there. As soon as the boys saw me they started running along side me. But I didn't know how far the runner was behind me so I kept running as fast as I could. As I came into the finish I saw Melinda and David Horton. David grabbed me and gave me a big hug when I finished. He told me he knew how much finishing meant to me and how glad he was to see me finish. That was such a great feeling.

In less than a minute the runner behind me came into the finish and I could see that it was Graham Zollman! Apparently he was sitting at Day Creek when I left and started up the hill shortly after me. If I knew that the runner behind me was Graham, I would have slowed down and run in with him. But then neither of us might have broken 17 hours.

Two minutes after finishing. In the background are Graham Zollman and David Horton.

At that point I gave Graham a big hug and said to him "If I start talking about this race for next year, please talk me out of it." However, within a week both of us would be planning to run this race in 2005.

A Tough Race?

Hellgate is a very tough race. The course has only ten or so easy miles - the first seven and the last three. It starts at midnight and you must run the hardest part of the course in the dark. The cutoffs are not generous: you have to keep going. There are long sections without aid. In both years the race has been held many experienced, fit, and tough athletes have DNF'd this course.

After the race I saw Mike Mason, who ran the 2004 Vermont 100 along with me and a couple of hundred others. Mike said "you know, I think this race is harder than Vermont." I agree. The difference between a 100 miler like Vermont and Hellgate is that Vermont gives you miles of easy, pleasant running with lots of aid. There is a very real enjoyment factor and you don't start to hurt until very late in the race. Hellgate, on the other hand, offers no easy, pleasant running. It is a challenge from the first minute to the last.

Although I completed three 100 milers this year and set some new personal records, no race has given me the satisfaction nor the confidence of Hellgate. For that I thank David Horton. He has given us a tough challenge, yet one that is within reach of the average ultra runner who works extra hard and pays the price.

Before and after. Hellgate is a very tough race, yet it is within the reach of middle-of-the pack athletes who are willing to pay the price.