Hellgate 100k: Standing on the other side of the aidstation
The Hellgate 100k was named after the parking lot at the start of the race. What does it take to name a piece of land Hellgate? For those of us in the ultra community around Virginia. The mention of “Hellgateâ€� brings to mind many emotions and images. From the race shirts adorned with quotes such as Dante’s Inferno (“Abandon hope all ye who enter hereâ€� to Rodney Atkins (“…If you’re going through hell, keep on moving. Don’t slow down…â€�) to the stories of the “snow yearâ€� and the “cold year.â€� Hellgate has earned its rightful place as one of the toughest 100ks in the country through crushed dreams, frozen streams and best blood awards.
The race director, my mentor Dr. David Horton, created Hellgate to be a “special� 100k race. And special it has become. The race has grown in popularity so much that application has contains a resumé, so Horton can deem who are “worthy� of a chance of finishing Hellgate. People have written essays and lengthy emails detailing their running experiences and how they apply to the skills needed to finish this race.
Runners gather at the finish line for a “last meal� and prerace pep talk from the legend himself. Around 11 pm a long line of cars leave towards the start line containing the runners and their crews. As the “funeral procession� arrives at the start, a quick prayer is said, a dreary national anthem sung by the runners, watches synchronized to Hortons and at 12:01 am the runners are off. Many will not survive to see the sun rise. In the first three miles, the runners cross a knee deep stream- the first of over a dozen. I think the elevation profile speaks pretty loudly for the difficulty of the course:
With only 9 aid stations, the runner go as far as “9� Horton miles without aid. Those who are moving too slowly for the 18 hour time limit are cutoff at aid stations 4 and 7- deemed incapable of finishing the full 66.6 mile course under the time limit. Over the eight year history of Hellgate, an average of about 40% of those who start Hellgate do not finish.
Last year I was counted as one of the finishers. It was the last race in a series of six ultramarathons called “The Beast Series.� With distances ranging from 31 miles to 101 miles, around 20 people finish the entire series every year. I’m actually the youngest person to finish the whole series.
This year has been different story. I reduced the number of races in the fall so I could concentrate on my last semester of studies at Liberty. In 2009 I ran 8 ultramarathons, this year I’ve ran 4. If you ask any of my math professors, they’ll say this is a great thing!
But just because I didn’t run the races, doesn’t mean I wasn’t involved. At Grindstone 100, I went out two days early to prepare the course. Last weekend at Hellgate I lead a group of fellow college students as head of three different aid stations. I’ve grown to love the ultra community, I think it’s because of the moments of suffering we’ve shared together. I’m not sure anything could strip you down and remove all the facades as quickly as running 50+ miles through the mountains.
I’m not sure what this next season of life with the world race holds in terms of running. I have several races written down that if everything works out perfectly, I’d love to run. Nothing too crazy, everything is under 50 miles. 😀 I’ve been very careful not to establish my identity in my running. So if I get to run, great! If not, it’s ok there will be another time. I have a feeling that I’ll find myself back on the devil trail one day wondering why I ever thought running hellgate again was a good idea. And what kind of an idiot would design this course?
