It’s only temporary

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As a junior in high school a physics teacher once asked the class which was heavier; a ton of lead or a ton of feathers. I’m not going to admit what my first guess was but strangely enough I remembered being asked that question this past weekend while running the Vermont 100 Miler. The Vermont race is often described as ‘an easy one hundred’. The comment is almost a daft as thinking there is a difference in weight between a ton of different materials!

Each event of this kind has unique characteristics; Vermont has hills and lots of them. Nothing particularly mountainous and much of the running surface is hard packed. But the downhill sections are tough on your legs and warm humid temperatures mean that the runner has to carefully manage their intake the entire way. There is nothing easy about this race, but it has a great atmosphere at the start/finish and out on the course, maybe that is want deceives some people to ‘remember’ it as easy!

And so it was that barely 24 hours after finishing her first 100 miler in a time of 25:54 and 5^th in her age group, Loopy sent me this email; “I know I said only once. But you were right, I am without consciousness already in my head saying when I do this next time…  By the way, when do we sign up for Hellgate 100K?? :)”  Such is the allure of long distance running, whatever hardships are experienced along the way; it’s only temporary.

The Vermont 100 has a long tradition; the 2009 event was the 21^st running of the race. It is held in conjunction with a 100 mile horse race and is centered in a rural setting surrounded by runners tents and  the riders RV’s come mobile stables. Facilities are sparse and cell phone coverage is limited. Loopy, Sandy and I formed the running contingent of this year’s group, while Ultra, Guthrie, Bounce and Loopy’s family formed the support team of handlers and pacers.

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They were also joined by Forrest and Suds late on Saturday. After check in and pre race brief, there is a pasta supper and we are soon off to grab as much sleep as possible. Around 2 am a car alarm awoke the campers and while is wasn’t our car I couldn’t help getting up to check that someone wasn’t actually cheery picking car contents while we slept. What seemed like a few moments later more sounds filled the field, was that a herd of cows being driven down the lane? No, it was Ultra away in the land of nod doing a great impersonation of a cow herder! We’re safe, back to sleep.

Two-thirty AM and it’s time to rise. Before too long we’re gathered in the marquee at the start drinking coffee and eating bagels. There are looks of nervousness on a few faces, tired looks on others but overall there is a buzz of anticipation. The previous day, we had been told to expect thunder showers during the race. It had rained most of the night and was showering now, but it was warm enough for short sleeves. A lunar month, disorientated by the flood lights bounced around the tent landing on runner after runner. Was this an omen of good fortune or a sign that we too would soon be dazzled by external forces? After a 10 second count down to 4 AM, we crossed the start line and headed off into the darkness.

The dark soon peels away as the sun rises. The early sections roll up and down but the going is generally run able. Now is a time for patience and good pacing, it is easy to go out too hard and suffer later particularly during the heat in the middle of the day. It is over 20 miles into the race before the first aid station where handlers are permitted. I notice Ultra, Bounce are there. Guthrie provides fresh bottles and I’m off once again. I’m grabbing 2 sometimes 3 pieces of PB&J at every aid station and remember Downhill saying that during ultras she eats so much she gains rather than looses weight and wonder if I’ll do the same! But my stomach seems to cope well on regular food and drink from the beginning and I’m running well. I pass a sign that reads; “Keep out, bull in field. Even if you think you can make it across in 10 seconds, don’t. The bull can do it in nine!”

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The aid station at Camp 10 Bear is a key hub in the course. From here you do a loop that brings you back before setting off towards the finish. You first pass through at around 47 miles. It is also a weight station and pacer collection point later on. My weight is good and I head out, the mid day temperatures are rising and parts of the next section are open to the sun. The forecasters got it wrong with their prediction, the weather has turned into a clear sunny day. I’m running a ‘easy’ (only because it was flat) road section when I feel a tear in my right calf. During my first run after WSER three weeks earlier I pulled the same muscle and after intensive massage therapy thought things had eased. The discomfort was a sharp pain to begin with followed by stiffness with each step that caused me to favor my left leg. It seemed manageable, I could still move quite well but as the miles passed my left sole started to blister on the down hills. I reminded myself several times that it was only temporary and plugged on as best I could.

The miles rolled by and instead of runners overtaking me because I perceived my pace had slowed, I was passed by riders. I’d exchange greetings with the riders and then breathed what smelled like equine flatulence that lingered in their wake. But with each passing of a horse and rider rather than another runner, my resolve to press continued. Into Camp 10 Bear for the second time, I briefly run against a flow of runners on their out bound leg. At the aid station I meet Sandy who is being attended to by Bounce. She and I met at the same spot last year, she didn’t make the cut off on the return and I hope that with her support she can make it today.

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More miles roll by, I’ve settled into a sort of limping run and a brisk walk on the single track sections where the horses have chewed the ground with their hooves. In places where surface water had collected from the previous day’s rain; they have left a think sticky mud to add to the ‘fun’. I get passed a couple of times but also pass others, so feel that I’m holding my own. Once pacers join the race runners who had previously seemed out of it can become rejuvenated and I fear I could start to get overtaken more frequently. Two girls appear from behind running strong, one is clearly a pacer, and I latch on to them for a while until Bill’s, the final weight check point. It is still daylight and we are 87 miles into the race.

After Bill’s it seems that there is a lot more single track. The horse marks make the going tough and the fading light just adds to the difficulty. On more than one occasion I take a line I thought was dry only to wade in ankle deep mud. But it’s only temporary, I’m through the final aid station, there are just a few miles to go, the expected stampede of fresh paced runners hasn’t materialized, my hobble has become more pronounced but I’m still moving. More single track, more mud, but I can hear the finish line and the glow sticks urge me forward. ‘Are you a runner or a horse?”, shouts a voice in the distance. “Runner!” , I shout back and I burst into the field towards the finish.

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It was great to discover not just Guthrie, who has once again been an inspiration throughout the day, but Suds and Forrest waiting. As I sit recovering, my feet throbbing, I can also sense an air of excitement with the two guys. They are looking forward to bimbling into the darkness and find their other friends to cheer them on. It is great to think they drove over three hours for this sleepless pleasure! For me though, I just want to rest and get my feet out into the fresh air. Back at the tent, I remove my shoes to reveal for the second time in a few weeks wrinkly white sore feet. It is great to feel cool air and Guthrie kindly gives them a wipe down (only because I couldn’t reach that far down) before we head for our sleeping bags.

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Meanwhile Forrest and Suds manage to locate the others at various locations and experience running at night with the aid of chemlights. We hear Loopy arrive back at the tent, but in the dark and our fatigue don’t get up, she quickly departs to the B&B her where her family is staying to rest in clean sheets after a warm shower. The new day breaks, Forrest and Suds return with news that Sandy is through Bill’s and we estimate she will cross the line around 9:30. As we make our way to the finish, it was great to see her and Bounce walking up the hill after finishing in 29:24! Bounce recounted stories of Sandy sleep walking, but maybe he’ll write about that himself – I don’t think we’ve ever had a race report from a pacer before. 😉

The predicted rains had held off and provided bright skies for most of the day, at times the views had been spectacular; the Vermont countryside is very pretty. Each time I passed a house next to a pond or lake, I thought of Shellygirl and Lefty and imagined them sitting in the yard waving at me passing by. I imagined their wished for weekend retreat turned into Bimble Central during the VT100 weekend. Tents in the yard, tired bodies in the pond and sweat art on the deck, but with thoughts like that I bet they never reveal the exact location!

Congratulations to Sandy for keeping at it, congratulations to Loopy on her first 100 – the first of many perhaps! Heartfelt thanks to Ultra, Bounce, Forrest and Suds for coming along for the ride and keeping us going. The memories from weekends like this will last forever. There were some tough moments but they don’t count because after all is said and done, they were only temporary.

To view more pictures, click here.

Click here, for full race results.