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Greetings! This past weekend I embarked on an adventure
through 66.6 miles of mountain trails in Virginia with among 94 other
runners. The Hellgate race, created by race director Dr. David
Horton, is known for it's extremes...cold weather in the teens at the
start...only 9 aid stations...and a 12:01am start time. The two
quotes on the shirt we were given at registration at Camp Bethel on
Friday night say it all...on the front, a quote by poet, Virgil,
"The gates of Hell are open night and day." On the back, one
of my favorite quotes by Sir William Shakleton, "Fortitudine
Vincimus!" Latin interpreted..."By Endurance We Conquer!"
And by endurance...58 of the 94 starting runners completed Hellgate.
The following words describe my Hellgate adventure! I arrived at Camp Bethel (20 minutes or so north of Roanoke)
around 5pm on Friday with my two crew members, my sister, Meredith and
my friend Alicia. If it had not been for their assistance,
encouragement, and servant hearts completing this adventure would
not have been possible. Camp Bethel had a lot of small log lodges
nestled in the woods, which reminded me alot of my youth camp growing
up. We unloaded my running gear from my car and layed it all
out inside the lodge before the check-in and pasta meal. At
530pm I checked in, receiving my awesome Hellgate T-shirt, water bottle,
and race number. At 6pm all runners and crews walked to the
main lodge where we were once again greeted by Dave Horton. After
a prayer by Dave, blessing the Hellgate feast...we gourged on pasta
with meat and cheese, steamed veggies, Italian bread with garlic butter,
garden salad, and a variety of fruits and cakes for desert. I
sat at a table with some wonderful people all with extensive ultramarathon
resumes. Great food, great conversation, great people. What else
can you expect from an UltraRunning community! When I
finished eating I went back to the "waiting" lodge where I
would begin mentally preparing and organizing my race gear for the next
three hours. At roughly 830pm Dave Horton commenced the race
briefing, proclaiming that Hellgate is "Something Special..."
and that out of all the races he directs, Hellgate is his favorite.
There are several things that make Hellgate so "Special." 1.
The race commences at 12:01am, so all runners run the same amount in the
darkness. 2. There are a total of nine aid stations throughout the
course, which makes a runner more self-reliant. 3. Cut-Off times.
Although you are given 18 hours you are given only 6 hours to
complete the first 1/3 of the race, 6.5 hours to complete the second
1/3, and 5.5 hours to complete the last 1/3.
4. The time of year that the race is ran, which brings starting
temps in the teens, freezing eyeballs, and your water bottle a block of
ice! Words can't describe just how "Special" this
race is until you run it yourself! Some people chose to sleep
before the start of the race, how? I do not know...I was way too pumped,
no way could I sleep if I tried. I began dressing prematurely in
what would keep me warm for the next 17+ hours in the frigid mountains,
but I wanted to see how it all would feel on my body. I wore two
pairs of running tights, with a pair of running shorts over the top,
(this worked well with no problems...but would recommend a pair of
running briefs worn under the tights to prevent chaffing!)
On my upper body I wore a Dry-Fit base layer, followed by another long
sleeved wicking shirt, and then a thick insulated polypro wind blocking
outer layer, and finally my last shirt layer was a Syria Soccer
Jersey that my parents brought back from their first trip to Syria. I
wore this to take them along with me and remember them along the run. I
wore black running gloves on my hands and would carry a water bottle
that was designed to fit on your hand so that it didn't have to be
gripped. I covered my head with a running beanie and a thick insulated
Red Baklava....lit looked like a Red Ninja Mask! But I didn't care what
I looked like, so long as I was warm...and on this night I would be glad
I was the Syrian Ninja! On my waist I wore a running pack that was
capable of holding two water bottles...I only would use one of the two
carriers, as I would be carrying one in my hand. Things I packed
in my running pack included: Advil, Pepto-Bismol, Hand warmers (2),
caffeine tablets, Endurolyte tablets
(Electrolyte Tablets), and Power Gel. I charged my cellphone,
which I would have on me with a hands-free headset for my friends to
call and encourage me along the way. I also charged my IPOD which
would give me additional motivation when running alone through the
woods. I remember being told that there was a stream crossing right
before Aid Station (AS) #1, about 3 miles or so into the race and I did
not want to get my feet wet in ice cold water, so I had what I thought
at the time was an awesome idea...and if it had worked Saran Wrap would
be making Gaiters for a profit! So here was my fabulous idea...I
decided to wrap my shoes, ankles, and calves with Saran Wrap in hopes
that this would prevent water from entering my shoes. The Saran Wrap I
happened to use was the "Festive Holiday Red" which I didn't
realize when I bought it...I basically looked like I had giant red moon
boots on! At least it matched the Syrian, Ninja costume...We had
been told during the race briefing that it was bear season and hunters
would be on the mountain and to be alert...I can only imagine the
reaction of a hunter seeing me come running by on the trail. At
1100pm we all head out to the parking lot, scrape the frost from our
windshields, and caravan to where we will begin the race...some twenty
or so minutes away. I had everything ready...headlamp, check, LED
flashlight...check, everything was in order. We made our way to
the start line where we all sang the National Anthem in unison...waited
for one runner who happened to break their shoe laces and then we were
off into Hell's darkness...the ambient air temp was said to be somewhere
in the upper teens. As I
headed out with 94 other runners I just basked in the dancing beams of
light from headlamps and flashlights…I was here, doing something I was
completely passionate about. The
green chem.-lights were like little green glow worms hanging from
branches and pointing the direction of our path. The
downed trees added another element of specialness to Hellgate, as we all
became trained ultra-hurdlers after the first few miles prior to the
stream crossing…oh yeah, the stream/river crossing, I almost forgot!
Just prior to AS 1 the test of my Saran Wrap Gaiters vs. Ice Cold
Stream…I was sure they would work…about 60% sure then I stepped into
the creak and felt a rush of liquid ice fill my shoe…and then my other
shoe. Ice Cold Stream:
1….Saran Wrap Gaiters…0. Sonnava.
Oh well, lessoned learned…your feet will get wet during this race!
After my feet became wet, I didn’t notice it, and it didn’t
become a factor at anytime during the race. I received phone calls from
two close friends Josh and Chris who encouraged me to go the distance
and let me know they would be thinking of me throughout my journey
through Hell. It was such an encouragement to hear their voices as I was
alone, cold, and in the
woods with bears. Shortly
thereafter my cellphone died…as did my IPOD.
I contribute the frigid temperature to blame for this, as both
were fully charged when I began. One
more thing Hell took away from me, but I couldn’t let that get me
down. My crew members were
not allowed at ASs 1 or 3, so I would have to wait till AS 2 to
get some hot soup from my sister Meredith who was crewing for me. I was
really cold, and wanted soup…instead at AS 1 I refilled one water
bottle with Conquest or ConSlush as it became. From AS 1 to AS 2 it was
uphill on a gravel road for approximately 4 miles.
I remember watching the
flickering headlamps of runners bounce up and down in a twisting line,
slowly crawling up the mountain. The sky was clear, so the moon
Here is a link to the Roanoke Times article of Hellgate...somehow
my sister and I made the article! :-) http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/95204
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