MIRACULOUS FINISH AT THE 2006 MOUNTAIN MASOCHIST 50-MILER!

 

            The race taunted me for years ---- you can’t finish me, you can’t finish me……!! Finally, on 4 November 2006, I ran the Mountain Masochist 50-miler and finished under the 12-hour cut-off.   I ran 11:56:53, just enough to earn the coveted finisher’s award.  It was definitely the toughest ultra I’ve ever run, and I’ve finished two 100-milers.

            I started running ultras in 1999 when I finished the JFK 50-miler in November of that year.  It was very hard, but I finished in a little over 10 hours.  Since it had a 14-hour time limit I was never worried about not finishing.  I had also heard of two other 50-milers in the general area where I lived ---- the Bull Run Run in Manassas, VA and the Mountain Masochist near Lynchburg, VA.  In 2001, I ran Bull Run Run and had a terrible experience.  I twisted my left ankle severely 3 times by mile 20 and had to power walk the rest of the way.  I finished in 12:20 and was worried about the cut-offs since it has a 13-hour time limit.   Since Mountain Masochist has a 12-hour time limit, very strict cut-offs, and much more elevation gain (9,000 feet) than either JFK or Bull Run Run, I figured there was no way I could finish it in less than 12 hours.  But during the next couple of years, three of my running friends finished it and told me it wasn’t “that bad.”  So I kept thinking about it, but always put it off.   I did several other ultras.  I ran JFK a total of 5 times (PR of 9:37), and did a 100-miler at Umstead, NC, (2004) and another 100-miler at Old Dominion Memorial (2006).  Yet the Masochist kept “bothering” me ----maybe I could do it.  I finally decided this August to find out once and for all.  The older I got the tougher it would be, so if I was going to try it, the sooner the better.

            I trained well, running every weekend on a very hilly local 5-mile trail (the Noland Trail), and worked my way up to six loops three weeks before the race.  I ran a weekly mid-week hill workout (running up and down one hill from 8 to 28 times).  And I always ran with a heart rate monitor to keep me at or below my aerobic threshold.

            On race day at Masochist I felt I was as ready as I would ever be, except for some tendonitis in my right Achilles.  It was a cold dry day (starting temps in the mid-20s rising to mid-40s by afternoon), but that was good for me --- I do much better in cold, dry weather.  I  started conservatively and felt physically great at the first major checkpoint (mile 5.7), but when I found out I was only 5-6 minutes ahead of the cut-off I got very worried.  The first miles were all on blacktop road and I was already close to the cut-off!   Now the real trail would begin.  For the next three checkpoints it was the same story, 5-6 minutes ahead of the cut-offs.  So I tried to pick up the pace a little, and I started asking folks near me who had run it before whether a finish was at serious risk.  I started feeling a little better when I increased my “lead” to about 8-9 minutes at the next aid stations.  But by far the biggest boost I got was when Tom Sprouse (a 16-time finisher) told me there was “nothing to worry about” ----- I was sure to finish on time.  That gave me a tremendous psychological lift, and I stopped worrying until I hit the final checkpoint at mile 43.  I made it there at 3:30 pm, 5 minutes under the cut-off.  That is where most people are “pulled” who don’t finish.  At that point I knew I would be allowed to complete the race, but I also figured it would be over the official finish deadline of 12 hours.  Although I had two hours to do the last “7” miles, I knew the “real distance” was actually 2-3 miles farther (Horton miles, thanks to the Race Director).  And they would be over some narrow trails and steep hills.  So I kept pushing, but resigned myself to missing the 12-hour time limit.  At the last aid station (mile 47.1) I had 45 minutes left, but I figured I actually had 3.9 miles to go.  It would be close.  Finally, when I came to the “1 Mile to Go” sign (which we were told was accurate), I saw I had 12 minutes left.   I increased my pace drastically, giving it everything I had, since I now knew I could beat the 12 hour cut-off.  I “flew” down the road that last mile, crossed the finish line, got my handshake and finisher’s award from David Horton, and rejoiced!!  I had run the last mile in under 9 minutes --- I had never done that at the end of an ultra before.  It felt like a miracle that I finished.  So many things came together to allow me to succeed:  my many hilly trail workouts, always using a heart rate monitor, the cold, dry weather, veteran runners like Tom Sprouse who gave me renewed confidence, my Achilles tendon not bothering me at all, and the quality of the race support throughout.  My legs actually felt stronger as the day progressed.   And so far my recovery has been amazing --- better that after any marathon or ultra I’ve done. Why did I wait so long to run the Masochist?!   I’m so glad I finally did.  Will I do it again?  I said “never again” right after I finished, but who knows!

 

                                    George Nelsen