RVTR Christmas Lights run!

Sauna

Cold windy shakeout

Hellgate 100K++ 2025 15:05:44

Pre Hellgate shuffle

This year I knew from the start I was unprepared after running very little trails and doing nothing longer than 20 since October. I said I was going to go in with a "just have fun" attitude and no expectations...but I had no clue what I was getting myself into

I got to camp and immediately started talking to friends checked in. I always try to beat my bib number so when I saw Dr Horton assigned me bib number 11 I knew he had a lot more faith in me than I had for my own race. I told him that I went in with no expectations but I love running in snow so I thought it could be a good year. I had a great dinner with a few friends and then got everything ready to go

When I got to the start I checked in again, gathered what I thought was enough snacks to make it to 50K, and then got a spot on the start. I decided on wearing shorts with a short sleeve and a thermal long sleeve over it since it wasn't currently snowing or raining. I added a buff just to cover my face and neck if I needed it. We sang the national anthem and Dr Horton sent us off with the last piece of advising being "Don't be stupid!" (which I'll never forget when he said "Don't be stupid twins" at the start of my first Hellgate after I led the first climb of my first Promise Land)

The weather leading up to the race for a week was cold and snowy with little rain. So when we all took off into the woods there was surprisingly very little snow. At least the creek in the first 5 miles wasn't very high just very cold. We got to the end of the first trail and checked in with the aid station and started the climb up Petites Gap

The climb up was entirely covered in either a thin sheet of ice, 5 inches of powdered snow, or both. It was very slow moving which was nice because I felt like I was going conservative and I still got to see the line of headlamps stringing out behind us (one of my favorite views on the course). We got to the first major aid station and filled up on tailwind and water, ate some snacks, and got some broth and continued the climb to the grassy road.

The next 18 miles were some of the longest of the race. When I finally got to the Grassy Road I pulled off to poop before hopping onto the road. The whole road was covered in 5-9inches of snow. All I did was follow the carved path the whole way and try to keep blinking to avoid Hellgate Eyes. I had some good conversations with Josh Cromwell and Keith VanGraafeiland and many others which helped pass the time. When I finally got off the Grassy Road I started the long decent down to Jennings Creek. I forgot how many switchbacks there were and it was driving me crazy being able to hear the aid station but not see it anywhere around me. I rolled my ankle once with a couple switchbacks to go, luckily not bad enough to slow me down.

I hit the Jennings Creek AS which was my first place to get to see Ethan Fraize  (my crew). He did a fantastic job of keeping me moving as well as he could through the aid station by having whatever snacks I'd need ready. The only thing I could have gone without was the second light source that Ethan was sure I needed even though the sun was rising (it's funny to look back on Ethan Fraize 😂). I had some broth and other hot foods and grabbed some snacks and went on the way.

The next climb was a repeat of Petites Gap with a little less snow. The sunrise was amazing though! I got to the top and hit the trail and joined in with Erin Kelman and Andre for a few miles which was a nice change of conversation. I started to hit wall pretty hard a couple miles later and got dropped by them all pretty hard. 

The next couple miles were a blur that I can't remember much besides the pain and fatigue. I hit the Devils Trail and Walt K caught up to me. He caught me in the same place he caught me last year before he blew me away. This time he was hurting pretty bad as well especially on the downs. We started to run together to keep each other going.

I came into the Bearwallow Gap AS where Ethan had more food ready for me and I also got some snacks from the AS. I definitely lingered too long here but I needed to give myself a break for a few minutes. I took my hand bottle back ready to fill at Day Creek and dropped off all my lights.

When I got going again Walt had been pushed through by his crew a little bit before so I started the slow climb with just Jared Coccia. A few minutes into the climb I saw Lee Jarvis 🇬🇧 which was a huge mental boost, thank you for joining for a few minutes and keeping me going! Jared and I made it down to Bobblett's Gap and started the long descent to the AS.

Right before we got there we reconnected with Walt and ran into the aid together. We decided at this point that we should just run it in together since everyone as equally in pain. We joined in with a few more runners including a runner from Greenville named Shannon who knew my college teammate. We walked most of the Forever Section and decided as we got close to Day Creek that we would do Rock Paper Scissors to see who gets to cross first at the end. 

As we ran into Day Creek we got welcomed by all my friends at RVTR and it was the best sight all day. We got some broth and candy and sandwiches and talked for a few minutes before keeping moving. Thanks to Drew Kaerwer, Jimmy Hayden, and Zack for keeping us moving and running a great AS! 

We started the final climb with a run walk and then started the long descent. We passed Sam Cohen and a few others and hit the gravel road with 2K to go. I saw the mile to go line and took a breath of fresh air knowing I'm almost there. We ran into the camp and stopped and did a 3 way rock paper scissors and ran it in!

This was by far the hardest thing I have ever done. It was a true Hellgate in all ways. Thank you so much to all the volunteers, Dr Horton and his team, all my friends at RVTR, my crew Ethan, for all they did at the race and keeping me going. Thank you to everyone who was texting Ethan for updates as well. It's a day I'll never forget. It's also my PR for my slowest Hellgate

Congrats to everyone who ran whether you finished or not! It was a hard day but something none of us will forget. I can't wait for next year to go for my Chicken on a Stick!

Thank you Danielle Catron for the delicious snacks and lasagna after the race! Thank you for supporting me even though you couldn't be there in person it all means so much. And thank you too for my favorite race shorts (everyone loved them!). I can't wait to watch you take on your first ultra at Holiday Lake! I love you ❤️

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Jacob Coccia

Hellgate 100K++ 2025 15:05:44

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RVTR Christmas Lights run!

Sauna

Cold windy shakeout

Hellgate 100K++ 2025 15:05:44

Pre Hellgate shuffle

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