Pine Creek 100k Challenge
September 12, 2012
The Pine Creek Challenge takes place in the “Grand Canyon”
of Pennsylvania and running the majority of Pine Creek (some 100 miles). For me this will be the longest single stage
race of my life. While I was nervous, I
completed several long runs in the hills of New Hampshire and felt ready.
The race started at 9am (late for ultra standards), you
would have to run fast in order to finish before the sun goes down… I had my
headlamp in my last drop bag and intended to wear it!
Runners assembled at the start line 15 minutes prior to the
gun and the rain began to fall. The race
director told us that it was going to get pretty bad and forecasts called for a
heavy storm with possible hail at 4pm. The
entire course is run on crushed granite and is 10-15 feet wide and the first 31
miles slightly downhill. Due to the
weather and relatively easy course, I decided to take it out a little faster
than normal (9:30 to 10:00 minute per mile pace). I instantly liked up with 2 other runners
named Andrea from Connecticut and John from Philly. Both are veteran triathletes that have been exploring
the world of ultra running for the past couple of years.
I ran with Andrea the first 30 or so miles threw so heavy
rain as john dropped slightly back. Trees
lined the running path and the views were great with the creek sometimes
swelling to 40-50 feet wide and running heavy with all the rain. It was raining pretty hard, but we hit the
26.2 mark at 4:40 and the 50k mark at 5:40.
I knew my pace would slow down running the slight uphill in the dark,
especially wearing wet clothes back to the finish. As Andrea broke away at the turn, I decided
to slow a bit. The rain stopped around
the 8hr mark and I decided to change my clothes at the next aid station… chaffing
OUCH!!! It took 6-7 minutes but well worth it.
From the 30 to 48 miles I ran completely alone, was pretty
cool at first but after the sun went down, it was a little lonely. Just in case I needed a boost I packed an
ipod in my last drop bag grabbed it as I went through the aid station along
with my headlamp. I kept it a pocket
figuring I would need it when I hit my first wall.
At 48 miles it began, my legs started to tighten and feel
heavy. My pace was slowing to a 14 min per
mile pace and I was out of it. Was I
eating enough? It was hard to, after Chile I have learned a couple of tricks
for this though. I grabbed a fresh water
bottle at the last aid station that had 2 bottles of Ensure in it. Yes, Ensure the nourishment drink used by
seniors… I downed the whole 500-calorie bottle with no issues. Put the ipod on, first song was Funky Town,
as the music played I took off and banged out 3 consecutive 9 min miles. Wow, what a difference music makes.
52 miles was another wall, pushed through but I was
definitely getting tired now. It was so
dark. The old trick of stopping to walk,
pick a stop in the near distance and run again when you get to it didn’t work,
there was a fog and visibility was only 5-10 feet. I decided to run the length of 1 song then
walk until the first lyrics are sung on the second giving my legs a brief
break. I managed to do this for 7-8
miles. I hit the last aid station 4
miles from the finish, when I was leaving I saw a runner arrive with no headlamp. It was John from Philly. He was telling me that he as well was running
alone since it got dark and he couldn’t see anything, and said it was pretty
scary. I honestly don’t know how he made
it. For safety reasons, we decided to
run together to the finish. He definitely
showed his ironman attitude by making it that last section.
We hit the finish at 13 hours and 35 minutes taking 8th
and 9th place respectfully. I
am more proud of my fundraising for GRASP, I snagged four 1 dollar per
kilometer sponsors… PAY UP! Very proud of my accomplishment!
