Cold Comfort

The Empathy Run, The FEAR Run, The Moongate/Floodgates/Watergate Run, The Purgatory Run. Whatever you call it, this training run by any other name would still ache the sameAs has been mentioned elsewhere, whenever fearless Bimblers venture into the wilds to run races no sane person would run, I tend to plan a long arduous training run, to try and feel a little bit of what they are going through. For example, the 40ish mile Mohawk/AT loop is a perfectly good training run for Western States empathy as is Curly’s Trail Marathon for Wasatch. Note to Mr. Bimble: I never thought until just now how tough YOUR Grand Slam attempt was on ME!

At any rate, the Hellgate 100K is certainly deserving of Empathy, and I was greaty Relieved that I hadn’t done anything truly crazy, like enter the race. Hence, FEAR (Forrest’s Empathy And Relief). They say that misery, er, I mean empathy loves company, so I “advertised” the run. This yielded a surprising level of interest, perhaps most enthusiastically from Suds, who, when informed some of the run might take place under the full moon, coined the name Moongate. Once on the course this morning, after record December rainfall yesterday, the Floodgates and Watergate (it was a controversial training run) names seemed appropriate. Finally, why Purgatory? Well, this run was clearly not in the same class as Hell(gate), nor could I claim it to be Heaven(ly).

Somehow after several thousand BS postings, more private messages, and endless phone calls, the plan solidified into something with the consistency of Jello. Starting at 12:01 AM seemed like a good idea (huh?) to coincide with Hellgate, and running 28 miles seemed like a good idea (who the heck is in charge here?) because it allowed for convenient places to place cars, well, not really. So, regardless of the plans, what really happened out there?

At 11:30 PM on Friday, Downhill’s Family Truckster (any Chevy Chase fans out there?) and John’s vehicle were positioned at Rte 66, even as Jiffy’s van and my truck were positioned at The Bluff. Downhill ferried Ultra, John, Joann, Chase, and Sam to Millers Pond, while Suds did the same for Jiffy, Ruby, and me. Downhill then bravely and selflessly volunteered to return home, to her nice quiet house, and sleep deeply and long with the phone by her side to offer emergency transportation should any ill befall any Bimbler. Just past midnight, we headed out for a long morning on the Mattabesset Trail.

The full moon was amazing. Headlamps were quite optional, and running along in the dark by the light of The Long Nights Moon was somewhat surreal. Fortunately, the extreme wetness of the trail, and the challenge of the fast, wide, and deep water crossings kept us from getting too giddy. I had never run the Mattabesset Trail east of Mt. Pisgah, so I truly enjoyed the new scenery, which truly was quite visible. Pausing atop the Mica Ledges to look down into the valley was awesome, with farms and houses brightly lit by the incredibly bright moon. On into Rockland and towards the Broomstick ledges, we realized that we would be a little late for our scheduled rendesvous with the Bimblers doing the second half of the run, so I TXTed IGGY. Occasional TXT messages from Guthrie were enthusiastically shared among the group, which otherwise seemed quiet. I attribute the quiet both to the awe felt by all reagrding what we were doing and seeing AND the fact that we were finding the going very challenging.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally, a little more that 1/2 hour behind plan, we met our second-half Bimblers at the Bluff: IGGY and Snobody. Jiffy, Suds, John, and Joann worked out a plan to get back home via complex car swaps and circuitous routes, while we all enjoyed fine coffee served in an elegant fashion by IGGY, and race supplement courtesy of Mr. Bimble. I do believe mistakes were made here at the base of The Bluff, but solutions were found. For various compelling reasons, Ultra, IGGY, Snobody, Chase, Sam, and me proceeded, by car and truck, to rte 17 to start the second half. Very wet feet and a cold drive got me shivering uncontrollably, but we worked through that problem.

We then set out north and west from rte 17 on a part of the Mattabesset trail very few Bimblers know, and with good reason. By the way, those stories about the northern part of this section being closed due to stray bullets from a nearby range make no sense. By time you get there, you may be BEGGING for a stray bullet. The moon was peeking behind some cloud cover a bit, but eventually returned to the “on” position. A little later on the ridge, we got to watch the sunrise on the east side of the ridge while we watched the moon set in the west.

We got across rte 68, and proceeded along the ridge to the top of the abandoned ski area, which the four of us remembered from Sweeney’s fateful run last winter. We then pressedon to territory known only to Ultra. We finally achieved our goal of the Family Truckster at 9 AM. A late and very hearty breakfast in Durham followed. As will pictures, I think?

Some observations:

Great company, thanks to all who took part

Great motivation, thanks to all who took part, planned to take part, and the Hellgaters.

Great stretch. WIth the possible exception of “The Spring Loop”, it is rare for me to get outside my “comfort zone” except at some races, and even then, not too often. It is good to scare yourself once in a while. I did today.

Great learning experience: I wanted to know what “running all night sans sleep might feel like. I have an idea now. and 36 hourd into my current “day”, it is not all fun and games. Also, I learned the real risks of cold/wet feet, and stopping at an “aid station” for too long. I almost bailed on the second half of the run, and I think I know what I did wrong.

Thank you all. I think we should do something like this again.

Wow, look at the length of this post. This post made possible through the generous support of Caffeine.