I was excited to return this year to the Hellbender 100 in
North Carolina. It is a graduate level,
rugged, wild course with over 25,000 feet of climbing in the Black Mountains. The views are stellar, and it features 5
climbs of more than 3,000 feet, which is unique for an east coast race. You go through different altitude / climate
zones as you go between 1,500 and 6,600 feet with spring at the bottom and
winter up top. This year also featured a
summit of Mount Mitchell, the highest peak east of the Mississippi.
So as usual I forgot all of the hard parts and talked myself
into round 2. Unfortunately, this time
the forecast looked bleak with rain and thunderstorms called for most of the
race. I was a bit nervous about the
extended sections above 5,000 feet and what those would bring. But there wasn’t much to do other than pack
some raingear and warm clothes!
I drove down with speedster Chris Roberts, and soon enough
we were off into the night at 4:30am.
Smiling faces from the Happy Trails crew at the start line
Start to Curtis Creek
We cruised along the 5 mile road section. It was raining and we got soaked through pretty quickly, but at least it was warm. The leaders were sandbagging the early miles, so I ran with the lead pack, and we averaged just over 8 minute miles.
We quickly hit the big 4,500 foot climb up to Pinnacle and got to work. I really didn’t want to push too hard too early, so I let the top 5-6 guys take off ahead and settled into a rhythm. I synced up with a guy who had also run last year, and soon we had a trio. It was awesome to have some good company to pass the early miles.
The rain kept up, and we hit some really foggy sections that made it tough to see very far ahead. My legs felt a little more fatigued than I would like, but I figured it was early in the race and didn’t worry too much about it. Soon we hit Pinnacle and sadly had no views from up top this year. Ah well. I could picture it in my mind, and it was glorious!
I planned to go smooth and steady on the 11 mostly downhill miles and ideally come into Curtis Creek 5 minutes up on last year’s time. I got passed by a few people and was at the back of the top 10. My pace was fine, but around 20 miles my stomach / nutrition started feeling off. I’d been on top of calories and fluids so wasn’t sure why and figured I’d try to sort it out at Curtis.
I came into Curtis right on schedule 4h25min into the race, but I wasn’t feeling nearly as strong as I did last year.
Curtis Creek to Colbert Creek
I tried to fuel up at Curtis and grabbed my poles for the monster climb up Snook’s Nose (that’s what they told me it was called – it’s possible they were just messing with the Yankee).
I felt worse and worse going up, and my stomach was going more and more off. Why was this happening?! I took 2 S-Caps 15-20 minutes apart, which did the trick last year on this climb. But no dice this year. The climb mellows out a bit towards the top, but I was going super slow. I finally made it to the Parkway and just sat down for a few minutes to try and regroup.
There was a bit more climb up to Green Knob and then a tough, steep descent down to the Mountain To Sea trail (newly added this year). I was surprised no one passed me going up Snook’s Nose, but a guy caught me on the tough descent to the Mountain to Sea trail. This new section was easy rolling terrain, but I totally fell apart here. I threw up a mile or two before the aid station and was really struggling. One or two more guys passed me here, and I finally staggered into Neils Creek.
I was in super rough shape here. Most were moving fast through this aid station, but I sat down and prepared to spend whatever time it took here until I felt better. I was only 32 miles into the course! I needed a serious rebound to have a shot at finishing. Another 68 miles seemed impossible, but one thing at a time …
The aid station crew was amazing here. I told them I felt terrible, and they were just so helpful. I got down some ginger ale, soup, and a little container of mandarin oranges in sugary water. I managed a bit of solid food and was slowly starting to turn around. After 10 minutes of refueling, I was back in the world of the living and got out of the aid station after 12 minutes there. I was super grateful for the awesome volunteers at Neils.
I’ve never come back from such a low point in a race or puking so early on. I really didn't know what would happen from here but tried hard to stay positive After a flat section we hit the Mount Mitchell trail and started the 6 mile, 3600 foot climb to the high point of the race. I was moving well and kept the calories going in. I actually felt better and better as the climb went on and was back in competitive mode.
I passed 8 people going up and regained all of the spots I had lost. Mount Mitchell summit was incredible, and I was thrilled that the clouds broke in time to give us some epic views. There was an aid station here in this little cabin with a fire going. I was feeling strong again but had the dreaded Crest trail section coming up, and it would be a long 9.5 miles before next aid.
The Crest trail is insane. For about 5 miles it is a crazy steep, rock and root covered adventure course. There were ropes to use going down some drop-offs, and there is not much running to be seen up there. That said, I think I moved well all considering and picked off a few more runners.
We finally turned off the Crest Trail, but the the first part of the downhill is a steep mess and possibly even more un-runnable! Finally we leveled out for a few miles and came to Colbert Creek. I miraculously made good time from Neils and was back in 8th place 12h30min into the race. Giddy up!
Highest peak east of the Mississippi
The rain and cloud coverage finally lifted enough for some nice views up on the Crest trail
Colbert Creek to Neils Creek
I struggled to find solid food that looked appetizing at Colbert and fell back into nutrition issues. I ate some Cheez-Its, sipped some Coke, and had a granola bar going up the big climb to Buncombe Horse Trail, but I was feeling worse and worse. We crested the climb and had 3 miles up around 6,000 feet through the bog / swamp trail until the next aid station.
I bumped into a guy I had run with earlier, and we basically walked this whole section until next aid. He was struggling with dead legs and talked about planning to drop. I was pretty miserable at this point, so that sounded like a good idea to me.
We got to mile 57 in a rough head space just as dark was setting in. It was getting cold up on the ridge so I threw on some layers and sat by the fireplace. This was a remote aid station that was hiked in, so dropping really wasn’t an option. I ate some food and got increasingly cold until I realized I simply had to keep moving.
I felt OK for 1-2 miles and then crashed hard. My stomach really hurt, I didn’t have enough going into my system, and I was getting sleepy. I tried laying down for a few minutes to pull things together, but it didn’t really seem to help. The next aid station was mile 65 and was mostly downhill. I just wanted to get there so I could drop and end this nonsense.
I had lost all fight and plodded slowly down the mountain, stopping every so often to just sit on a rock. Halfway down the climb I started getting passed by quite a few runners, and I stumbled into mile 65 in a sad, sad state. I immediately sat in the chair by the fire. Please can I just stay here all night? The aid station folks were super energetic and positive. I couldn’t find much that I felt I could stomach, but those mandarin oranges went down pretty well, and I stuffed one in my pack.
While I wanted to drop here, it was another remote location and those volunteers were just so peppy. I figured it would take less time to hike the 6+ miles to the next major aid station than hang around to convince them to let me drop out here. So off I went – sigh. My stomach still hurt a lot even when walking, and I was getting super tired as well. In a new all-time low, I spotted a berm on the side of the trail and laid down for a nap. I didn’t set an alarm and honestly didn’t care. I figure I laid there 10-15 minutes when I woke up as another run came by. I stumbled out, and he asked if I was OK. Ummm … no? He said to just keep putting one foot in front of the other, which seemed infuriatingly sensible.
I actually felt marginally better after the nap and managed some slow running. Even with the power nap in the ditch, I actually made better time on this stretch than I initially anticipated and rolled into Neils creek the second time around a little after 1am.
I was actually disappointed that I felt ever so slightly better (though still terrible). That would make dropping out all the harder, and I REALLY wanted to drop. I sat in a chair and no fewer than 4 volunteers started taking care of me like a pit stop in the world’s slowest NASCAR race. One volunteer filled my bottles and emptied trash out of my pack. One kept running back and forth getting me whatever food I wanted. Two volunteers helped me change my shoes and socks, wiping down my feet in the process and putting Gold Bond on. One guy just stood there shining a head lamp on our little pit crew so we had enough light.
After 10 minutes of this treatment, what the hell was I going to do? Say “thanks for all that – I’d like to drop now please.” From here it was 28 tough miles, and it was the point of no return – it would be all or nothing. In my current state that might take 10+ hours and be a 31 hour finish. I really couldn’t wrap my mind around this, but somehow I stood up, thanked them profusely, and started walking out of the station. Will, what are you doing? And why?!
Neils to Finish
I certainly felt better coming out of the aid station, but that hadn’t lasted long after the last few aid stations. I had been passed by tons of people over the last 10 miles and in the aid station and dropped back to about 25th. As I made the 2+ climb to the Blue Ridge Parkway, I was making OK time and passed two guys on the way up. Then I started to get really tired and was falling asleep on the trail, swerving back and forth. Can someone remind me why I left that last aid station?
We crossed the Blue Ridge Parkway and had an easy 2 mile descent before the nasty Leadmine Trail section. I started jogging, and then it happened. My legs loosened up. My stomach had settled and felt great. After the last 20 slow miles, my legs practically felt fresh. I kept speeding up, and my pace dropped down to the 7s. Good god, I felt amazing!
Just like that the dark times were over and not to return. We turned onto the Leadmine Trail, which we had run in the other direction early in the race last year. It has 3 miles of short but insanely steep sawtooth climbs / descents. It was brutal last year on fresh legs. But I ran this part like an animal and blew by several more runners.
I was now back in a racing mindset and wanted to see what I could salvage. If I could get to Curtis Creek by 4:30am and then have an amazing last section, I could maybe go under 29 hours. That would still take running the last 18 miles 30+ minutes faster than last year, but it was a good goal to motivate me.
We turned off Leadmine, and I ran hard down the steep trail to Curtis Creek. I charged into the aid station absolutely on fire. I somehow managed to get there at 3:43am and way ahead of schedule. After a short refuel, I was back on the road and running fast. I ran all of the first 4+ miles through the flat section and first part of the uphill, and I picked off two more runners. This climb goes on forever, but I kept charging up as fast as I could. I caught up with a bunch of the runners I’d been with earlier. They were happy to see I had come back to life and had some kind, motivating words for me.
We hit the Blue Ridge Parkway and had the short downhill to the last aid station. I got in and out
quickly for the last climb back up to Pinnacle. Dawn was approaching, and I felt really strong. It felt so good to have turned around my race from where I was before. I hit the top a little after 7am with 7+ long downhill miles to the finish.
Sub 29 was now in the bag, and I figured I had an outside shot at sub 28. I pushed hard on the technical stretch of the downhill. When trail mellowed, I really opened it up and was running 7-8 minute miles. It was an amazing experience to fly down the mountain at the end of 100 miles, and I charged into the finish in 27:53. I took more than an hour off my time for the last 18 miles from last year, and I had been moving pretty well last year. I passed 15 or so people from Neils on and clawed back to 8th place.
This finish meant a lot to me. I had to dig so deep and found something I hadn’t ever seen in myself before. The only time I attempted to run the same 100 twice (Grindstone 2014 / 2015), I DNFed the second time. Having already finished the race before took away some of the fire needed to get through a bad patch. I found a different motivation out there this time. My big focus this year is UTMB, which I have also run before and which went very well last time. It was on my mind that if I couldn’t finish Hellbender, I might be set up for failure at UTMB. I instead increased my confidence going into UTMB, but I do hope to have a better day out there!
Hellbender 100 is a very special race. It is a unique and beautiful course. Aaron Saft is a truly top notch race director and one of the nicest people you will ever meet. The volunteers are unparalleled, and I really don’t think I would have finished without all they did for me. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
I highly recommend running Hellbender, though make sure to train hard and know what you’re getting into!
Matching pair of the sweetest belt buckle out there!
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