Rainy commute

FOS commute

Afternoon Run

Morning Run

West side (+jr)

The Hellbender 100 miler has captivated me since we first moved to Asheville. I am beyond grateful for the team it took to put on the race despite the effects of Hurricane Helene. I met all my goals for this race and came in just over 23 hours and ~10th or so overall. 

We were fortunate with good weather and started off quick. I pushed to near the front early to get good positioning for the single track. The first climb up Kitsuma was manageable and I tried not to overexert myself. As it tends to happen, I had to go to the bathroom, but was able to make it to the port-a-john at the first aid. The next few miles were spent zooming down the pavement and trying not to shred the quads. The morning glow was impeccable. 

One of my favorite parts of the day came next on the climb up Bernard Mountain during sunrise with layers on layers of Mountain Laurels in bloom. After Bernard mountain, I descended to the first crew aid station at Graphite and arrived ahead of schedule but Lex and my mo managed to get me out of there quickly with a nice ice bandana. I spent most of the day stopping at all streams and trying to cool but I did not see any others do the same? No other ice bandanas. It was nice weather, but sneaky hot and humid. 

The climb up heartbreak ridge actually did not kill me. Running down the toll road was also less terrible than expected. I met other runners and used conversations as a distraction. Long Gap Aid Station came up quick and I began my first out and back up Graybeard Mountain. I took this steady and tried to keep gas in the tank. We collected toy salamanders at the top! After the first out and back, I was sent over Rocky Head and Lookout mountain which was nasty at mile 40. I tried over and over to focus on the shuffle and just getting in some 15 min miles. 

After a last stop at Long Gap, I suffered my way back up the toll road and then had fun descending heartbreak. I love that trail! This took us back to Graphite Aid Station where I got cooled down and picked up my first pacer, Kayla! The gels were not tasting very good at this point but I tried to consistently eat and drink. I think I covered the first 50 miles and 12k vert in around 11 hours. We were on pace. 

Kayla distracted me from the pain of Star Gap and Jarrett Creek Road with stories of her children and dreaming of future races. Jerdon mountain took forever to appear, but the aid station was the best yet so was worth the wait. After Jerdon, we made our way back to Camp Grier and I cursed the mountain bike trails that ripped my quads to pieces. 

At Camp Grier, I continued my trend of tylenol and voltaren to ease the pain in my IT bands and quads. I picked up Justin to pace and we were off. Justin got to deal with my low points as we entered the night and I questioned existence and if Kitsuma really has a summit. We repeated parts of the course to Graphite and I was lucky enough to run into friends Connor and Maddie Jacobsen who were volunteering. I felt better coming into graphite after some downhill road sections and was motivated to make it under 24 hours!

At Graphite, I had some essentials and advil and picked up Brian to pace. This was the home stretch. We took Star Gap steady before spilling out to Jarrett Creek again. Again, Jarrett Creek lasted forever, but we were inspired by all the runners on their first loop and that kept our spirits high. We saw Brian G. at the Jerdon aid station and they ushered us forward with just over 5 miles left to go in the race. At this point, I was hurting, but knew I had sub 24 locked in. On the descent from the aid station, I was passed by a runner whom I had been leap frogging all day. I decided to match his stride and when we were narrowing in on the single track, I laid down the hammer with some 8 minute miles and didn't look back. I ran scared with Brian for the last 4 miles pushing for all I had. and ignoring my quads. I was quite amazed with how fast we were moving. We made good progress and my headlamp died with 2 miles to go, so I put on a back up and sent it on those frustrating mountain bike trails. It was incredible to finish so much faster than my goal!

Nutrition: started out at 80-90g carbs per hour, faded hard from mile 40 on. Mixture of SIS, Precision, Spring, Skratch, Gu Roctane, water, salt pills qhr during day
Fluids: Probably ~500 ml per hour
Vest: Two salomon vests for the vest swap
Shoes: Salomon Thundercross into Hoka Tecton X3
Poles: Leki - carried with the entire time - good choice 

Thanks to everyone who made this happen but particularly Lex who lets me run so much and is the best crew chief!

⛰️ Kitsuma Peak (963 m) • ⛰️ Bernard Mountain (803 m) • ⛰️ Licklog Knob (963 m) • ⛰️ Graybeard Mountain (1,635 m) • ⛰️ Rocky Head (1,225 m) • ⛰️ Lookout Mountain (1,146 m) | 🌐 summitbag.com

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Boone Marois

Hellbender 100

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Rainy commute

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