Rim to River 100 Mile and the Second Mountain

I’ll start this blog trying to answer the question of why did I sign up for this. Well it’s been a rough year in many ways. I have worked like a dog at work not having taken a vacation day since before Covid in early March. I have been struggling also with some personal issues which have taken its toll. Every single event either I was signed up for or organizing has been canceled. As a small business owner of Two Rivers Treads we have faced the Covid challenge and are persevering- thank you in store and online customers! I’ve run over 100 marathons and several ultramarathons in my life yet have never attempted the hundo (trail runners term for 100 mile run).  But to really finish a 100 miler you need a deeper “why”.  The Second Mountain would not become apparent till 2am the morning of the race (see end of blog).

I had not even heard about the Rim to River 100 event until August when my co race director Katie Thompson mentioned quietly that she was training for this event but not to tell anybody about it since she wanted to keep it close to self. She was describing the event and the scenery and the fact that it was the first hundred miler in West Virginia. I have visited the New River Gorge and rafted the river so I knew of the beauty of this place. The race was to be held along the trails of the New River Gorge with 13,000 feet of climbing and descent start to finish so it was a legitimate hundred mile trail race.

So after maybe 24 hours of thinking it over I went to the website and hit submit! I tossed it out to my running friend James Munnis who was also in pretty good fitness, had a little down time as an airline pilot (grrr the effects of Covid), and with no event to do. Within 24 hours he also hit submit. So we were committed.

The joy of trail running is the company you keep and our trail running tribe is expanding in the region. I quickly acquired a large cabin for ourselves and friends with a hot tub so at that point we were really committed and already making food and beverage plans. Katie’s sister Meg was attempting her first hundo and Sarah’s boyfriend Ryan was the seasoned vet. Along with the runners, fellow trail enthusiasts Suzy Munnis, Bill Bondurant, Corey Thompson, Sarah Hodder, and Chrissy van Hilst volunteered as trail support.

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The Training Plan

How do you train for a 100 mile race when you really don’t have much free time? As I told my friend Chrissy who would be my pacer for the last 23 miles: “I have been running for 40 years so maybe that’s good enough”.

My first weekend long trail run in mid August ended up not turning out too well when caught my foot on a root while running in sandals on the Appalachian Trail resulting in a compound fracture through the joint space of my second toe. Fortunately from my life in medicine I knew that most standard medical advice for sports injuries was not based in science or even experience so jettisoned the textbook opinion to put my foot in a boot for six weeks. I pulled out my carbon fiber shoe stiffener that I had saved from surgery in 2000 and within a couple days I was able to continue jogging with a taped up foot and the plate -relieving any stress to the joint which was immobilized.

 

Broken Toe but not broken spirit- keep training!

This ended up being the only hiccup in my preparation which consisted of daily morning one hour runs before work and a 2 to 2 1/2 hour weekend long run. My longest effort was running the virtual Boston Marathon mid September on the Freedoms Run course with good friends James Munnis and Laura Bergmann. James and I also put in a 17 mile trail run in Crater Lake Oregon while on a military trip. This gave me a chance to test out some shoes which were a bit more cushioned then I was used to but in hindsight a smart decision over 100 miles of often rocky and rooted trail.

The threat of Covid and cancellation was constantly looming over the event.  With three weeks before it seemed like it was a go as we were assigned one of 20 starting waves of 20 people.  Two hundred people spread out over 100 miles of trail seemed like safe social distancing to me.  100 mile rookies James, Katie , Meg, and I requested to be in the same wave. This would be the only time we would see Katie and Meg until the turn around. The ladies left James and I rising the first hill.

The evening before the race was James and my traditional favorite pre-race meal of ribeye and red wine. Then off to some restless sleep praying to return safely for more sleep in 2 days. Being a novice hundred mile runner this was indeed a two day event.

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Race Day

Race morning was a glorious day with near perfect conditions for November in West Virginia. It was cool and crisp but was to warm up later to 70° with sunshine. Being of lean body type one of my biggest concerns was what I would do if the weather was cold and wet and how to keep warm for 30 hours while moving. With perfect conditions that was one factor off the table. So no excuses now just keep the plan of moving forward.

I had not given much thought about the course or looked in detail about where the hills were; probably that is a good thing when starting out on 100 mile run. You just go from one aid station to the next. There were three places that our friends could meet us (mile 26, 55, and 80) so those were the key spots to get to and break up the race.

Miles 1 to 26 and Cunard Station

We started the race as the sun was just coming up and explored 13 miles of trails around the ACE Camp property in Fayetteville. A beautiful overlook is the Concho Rim which was Mile 8 station later to be mile 95 station. They teased us with what would be available at mile 95 with beer and pancakes but hard to get excited about that now.

My friend James pulled me back from a wrong turn at about mile 13 and I am in eternally grateful for this. A few people had taken the same turn I did only to go off course for several miles before realizing their mistake. In true ultra-running they call this “bonus miles” (a term new to me).

Note: this course was marked incredibly well for 100 miles of trail but unless you are paying close attention it is easy to miss an arrow especially with 54-year-old eyes.

A beautiful place was crossing the New River in the Thurmond at mile 17 on a rail bridge.

Between miles 10 and 26 there is about 1000 foot net elevation loss so caution and holding back is critical, at least that is what the experienced ultra-marathoners told me and I trusted them.

The final 8 miles into Cunard was a beautiful rail trail along the river and one of the few completely flat sections of the course….ahhhh.

At Cunard Station it was great to see our friends Bill, Suzy, Chrissy, Corey, and Sarah. We downed some broth and some magical bacon (the best ultra-fuel IMHO)  which my friends brought.  James and I then headed up to the climb to Arrowhead and the next aid station.

Mile 26 to 55 on to Ansted

The one fun thing about these long trail runs is that you meet people and strike up conversations. You find yourself within a little group and James and I found ourselves amongst five or six runners going about the same pace and rhythm. It’s also wonderful that no one is really worried about split times or GPS speed they are just trying to stay in tune with their effort as well as hydration and fueling needs. I was just enjoying being outside and off the grid doing what I really like to do which is walking and running trails.

The aid station at mile 35 called Arrowhead was a fun one “wo”manned by a group called The Trail Sisters. They had music, good spirit, some delicious broth, and a quesadilla which was a suitable late lunch.  As much as we wanted to hang out with the trail sisters we did not spend much time here and got moving since we wanted to get to Long Point before sunset.

The view from Long Point is postcard. Here is a picture of James and I from the overlook.

In one hour it would be dark as we hustled down the steep descent into Fayette Station (mile 48). The station sits right below the New River Gorge Bridge but due to the darkness you could only see a little shadow of the bridge. You could hear the river loudly as we were now down at river level. This aid station had magical bacon which is my favorite trail food.  A recurring theme for me is being a bit down and bacon appearing bring me back to life. James did a shoe and clothing change here and I grabbed a headlamp for the long climb up to Ansted and mile 55.

After a long 2 mile climb, which seemed to never end, led us into the mining depot Ansted which had a small party atmosphere (of course appropriately social distanced). This was the second time we could see our friends and they took great care of us with coffee and a warm change of clothes to go out into the dark and cooling night. My friend Bill even purchased some squeeze guacamole which was a wonderful satiating toping for bacon and an all-night hike. After about 3 cups of coffee James and I extracted ourselves from our warm chairs got back to moving. It was about 10 PM at. The next time we would see our friends would be at sunrise.

Ansted Back To Cunard To Mile 80

What goes up must come back down and we had a steep 1000 foot descent back to Fayette Station. We joined forces with our new trail friend Hilary Eppley who is a chemistry professor on sabbatical living in Indiana. This was her first hundo attempt too and she would be my hiking partner along with James for the next 12 hours.

Hiking on trail in the middle of the night is something I’m not used to and I found it slow and difficult. Even with my awesome UltraAspire light I managed to continue to strike my toes on roots and rocks as well as the occasional ankle roll. Every time I struck my toe on another rock my foot screamed back at me louder. But you kind of shake it off and keep moving and promise yourself to pick your feet up better. My UltraAspire waist lamp lit the trail up even on medium power. My night gear was also good with the base layer of Xoskin, a long sleeve light fleece top, and my trusty ON jacket which had served me well at the cold and wet Boston marathon of 2018. For my feet I had switched at 55 from the Altra Torin plush to a pair of Altra Superiors which were a little big for me but this felt good as my feet were starting to swell a bit.

 

One of the most treacherous parts of the course was the night decent down Kaymoor Miners Trail. Thank God there was a good quality hillbilly stick on the side of the trail which helped me pick my way down this steep incline without falling. Hillary had good quality hiking poles. If there is next time I do something like this might bring a pair of poles.

The sun was coming up as we started to approach Cunard Station the second time and the push for home. At about mile 77 we were greeted by James’ wife Suzy and my friend Chrissy. Neither had given much thought of actually pacing the last 23 miles of the course with us until the day before the event when we brought it up and it seemed like a good idea at the time. So we grabbed pacer bibs, had them sign the waiver, and they were committed! So thankful they did as having a companion these last 20 plus miles just to make sure you stay on course, tell an occasional joke, and keep you moving is priceless. Initially Suzy and Chrissy  were under some kind of delusion that we would actually be running fast these last 20 miles so at first were a bit gun shy but we reassured them this certainly would NOT be the case.

Cunard To The Finish

We hit Cunard about 8:30 in the morning knowing we had six hours to complete the final 20 miles. This might sound like a long time; but with fatigue, trails, and the threat of taking a wrong turn, it does not leave a lot of margin. We downed some more coffee and guacamole and on we went.

The course was an out and back so we got to repeat the nice 8 mile stretch along the New River which was flat and soft and a nice reprieve after smashing into roots and rocks for much of the night. James and Suzy would break into an occasional run and I would try to do the same but noticed as soon as I started to try to run my heart rate went from 115 to 150. So quickly abandoned any thoughts of running the last 20 miles. Much could still go wrong to keep one from finishing even though it seemed so close.

At about mile 89 we hit Ace Beach Aid Station. It’s funny my toes and feet were swelling so much that the toe socks were constructing my toes in a painful way so I traded socks with Chrissy who had standard socks. That is friendship at its finest- trading smelly socks on the trail. With the looser socks my feet felt a bit better for the long climb back up to Concho Rim and mile 95.

Even though we came down this trail early morning the day before you never notice how steep it is until you try to go back up it a day later. The 6 mile stretch took us over two hours.

One benefit of having the fresh mind of a pacer is they can do some thinking for you. My feet were really hurting at this time and I felt like a change of shoes might just mix it up so Chrissy texted Bill to meet us at the easy access aid station at mile 95 for a final shoe change which would be priceless. The condition of my right big toe was a bit of a horror show but we cleaned it up a bit and put on a fresh pair of Torins, the same ones I had used to help pace my friend Travis to his first JFK finish last year (needed all the good karma one could muster).

One would think that 5 miles would be kind of a victory lap after 95 miles but this was not the case. The gentlemen at the aid station gave us a bit of questionable intel and boosted our spirits by saying it was just “a bit rolling” until the finish. Rolling I guess by his definition is straight up a mountain which is what it felt like for 4 miles until a steep downhill to the finish. The trail markings seemed pretty spaced out at this time (or we were moving pretty slow) but it was nice to have Chrissy there reassuring me that we were still on the right trail. Taking a wrong turn at this point would be unrecoverable mentally and physically.

Coming down the final hill I did decide to jog a bit that’s captured on this short video. Happiness is finishing a 100 mile trail run in the company of friends.

 

 

Reflections- The Second Mountain

Before this race I was listening to a podcast on endurance events like this and an important thing is to have a “why”. I really wasn’t sure what mine was but for some reason before this trip I grabbed the book off my shelf called Second Mountain by David Brooks. I had trouble sleeping the night before and I always sleep better if I read. Restless at 2am I opened it up and read the introduction. Everyone in life as their mountains and valleys. This year for many reasons life seemed like a deep valley but I know there are wonderful things on the other side and new experiences. Just must keep going, serve others, have faith, and climb the second mountain

So maybe finishing this hundo is the start of my second mountain with new experiences and adventures and challenges yet to be discovered. I told myself several times during this run that I could not quit as I was starting the ascent of the second mountain. If you too are in the valley this year think about your second mountain and start the climb. Find friends to help you along the way. That is my message.

A Little CGM (Continuous Glucose Monitor) and Step Data

I am a low carb athlete and so it was interesting looking at data from continuous glucose monitors during long exercise.  Fuel for this event was mostly electrolyte (UCAN Hydrate and Endure), coffee, broth, protein and fat (magical bacon), with occasional cheese quesadilla and salty mashed potatoes.  The little bump in the morning on day 1 was a handful of berries on the way to the start.  The larger spike at 90 miles on day 2 was a shot of Coca-Cola but this was much needed at the time .  The trained body makes energy.  My health app shows the 16000+ calories burned but I probably put a bit over 1000 calories into my body over these 2 days.

 

Recovery

Recovery from a hundo is a different experience from a marathon for sure. Monday morning I woke up and could hardly put any weight on my right ankle. That pain disseminated over 2 to 3 days but then the pain started accumulating in my shin area. There is a fascia casing called the anterior compartment and there was a lot of tension and even some bruising in this area. Super tender to touch. I suspect all of the downhills caused some muscle breakdown in this region which manifested after a couple days. With some compression this is starting to feel better now and starting to go on some walks but not running again until everything is completely pain-free. Respect recovery is the principal we all must follow.

To do something like this again? I always seek out new challenges and adventures and I’m sure there will be more adventure ahead but I’m not sure that for my 54-year-old body 100 mile races are a healthy endeavor. I certainly will be pacing and supporting others who want to achieve this goal.

Team Success!

Congratulations to my cabin mates who all met their goal for this race. Ryan Kidwiler came in just over 23 hours. Katie Thompson just over 25 hours and her sister Meg Roque not far behind. James Munnis(age 55) and Suzy put a little gap on me in the last 10 miles and finished in just under 31 hours and I made it home with a little bit of time to spare in 31 hours 30 minutes to get my belt buckle. Hilary also finished under 32 hours as did local friends Manuel Ramos and Casey Fisher. The rockstar of the day was local ultra legend Mikala Shremshock who was second female in 23 hours!

Many many thanks to the race director Bryant Baker and his amazing staff of volunteers

http://www.rimtoriverendurance.com/

Good luck to all running the JFK 50 this weekend .  For some course intel here is a blog I wrote in 2016 after the JFK.