Ultimate XC - Jay, VT Edition

July 26, 2008

by Dwight Hartman

Jay, VERMONT - - Wow, where to begin.  This adventure really started last Fall when Chris and I began working through some ideas for races in 2008.  It was about this time that I got the crazy notion to usher in my 40th birthday with a trip to England in January 2009 to compete in the Tough Guy race (a mid-life crisis according to my wife Cathy).  Without much of a racing resume behind me and only a couple of 6 hour adventure races as a member of Acidotic, I knew I wanted to step things up in 2008 in preparation for the Tough Guy.  What we came up with were 3 races, The Frigid Infliction 10-hour Winter AR, The Longest Day 12-hour AR and The Ultimate XC Challenge touted as the toughest 50k in the country.  What I couldn’t have predicted is what an amazing adventure these three races would provide. 

Skip forward to the beginning of June.  With the Frigid Infliction and The Longest Day under my belt (see respective race reports) it was on to training for The Ultimate XC Challenge.  Despite completing the previous 2 races, I was extremely nervous about this one as it was my first ultra distance, and its’ reputation was a little scary.  I was comforted by the fact that Chris had completed the race last year and was going to stick with me through this one.  Nevertheless, every blog or article I read about the race described the toughest race the writer had ever done.  Most of these blogs were written by experienced marathoners and I had never even attempted a regular marathon.  How the heck was I supposed to train for this thing?  With Chris’ guidance, I put together an 8 week training program.  It seemed rather inadequate on paper but I was hoping my base fitness level was higher than usual from doing the previous races.  This is when things started to go wrong. 

Within 2 weeks of training, I had a fairly bad case of achilles tendonitis.  Everything I read about ultras said make sure you arrive at the start as healthy as possible.  So I shut it down completely for a week and began an aggressive treatment regimen.  While I was able to get back to pain-free running, my already inadequate training schedule was now shot.  Chris continued to reassure me that we’d just gut this thing out together.  I did manage to get two 2 hour training sessions in the Blue Hills Reservation outside of Boston which offers surprisingly rugged trails.  I still didn’t think this was nearly enough. 

One week before the race, with a healthy dose of anxiety already in place, I got word from Chris that he had a fever, body aches and a mysterious rash.  He was all of a sudden doubtful for the race.  Two days later it was definite, Chris was not feeling any better and he was out.  I was going to have to do this thing without him.  I remember hanging up the phone with Chris after he delivered the news and there was immediately a huge flash of lightening and roll of thunder and I have never quite had such a sense of foreboding as I did that night. 

Well, if there was anything I learned from the previous adventure races, it was that things are not always going to go the way you planned.  As I headed up to Jay, VT by myself, I was at least looking forward to seeing Ri who was running the race for the second time.  Though I knew he would be running the race much faster than myself, I was hoping to get as much advice from him as possible during the pre race meal at the Inglenook Lodge.  Once again, things took an unexpected turn as Ri’s car broke down just outside of Plymouth, NH.  I would not be picking his brain at dinner that night.  As it turns out, the legend of Ri grew that day as he pushed his car several miles to a gas station, borrowed a friends car and made it up to Jay by midnight.  We exchanged a quick hello as he came into our room at Inglenook and then it was back to sleep. 

I woke feeling rested the next day.  As we prepped for the race, Ri was able to share some thoughts on the course as he remembered it.  Despite the heavy rains of the previous week and all the concerns about the course conditions, the day was starting out absolutely beautiful, though a little warm.  Ri and I headed off for the starting line around 7:15AM for the 8:00AM start.  As all the runners began to gather with Jay peak looming in the distance, I reviewed my race strategy in my head as Chris and I had discussed it via phone on the drive up.  First and foremost, I wanted to stay mentally calm and not get too high or too low throughout the race.  I knew there would be a lot of physical ups and downs but I wanted to remain even keeled mentally.  My mental focus throughout the race would be on just getting to the next aid station of which there were eight, spaced about 4-5 miles apart.  I wrote the mileage between each aid station on my hand in pen as a reference guide.  Nutritionally, I planned to take two Hammer Endurolytes and one Hammer Anti-Fatigue Cap every hour and I set a timer on my watch to ensure this would happen.  I was carrying a camel back filled with Heed which I would try to refill at each aid station.  Food would consist mostly of Hammer Gels and Bars.  

The race started fairly promptly after a quick word from the Race Director, Dan Desrosiers.  He reminded us that there was a new, very steep ascent of Jay Peak this year, a new brook running section and extreme amounts of mud due to the weather the previous week.  He also warned us of the high water levels in some of the rivers.  I tried to start up front to avoid the heavy bottlenecking that Ri described in the early single track sections.  As the horn blew, I saw Ri for the last time that day as he started out fast in front of me.  The course quickly came to a steep wooded knoll that required rope assistance to get up.  I did manage to avoid the heavy back ups in this section.  As the course leveled out, it became very muddy.  I heard other racers who had run it before talking about how this section didn’t usually have this kind of mud.  It wasn’t long before the runner right in front of me lost his shoe as it was sucked off in the deep mud.  The first Aid Station (AS) is an absolute blur to me now, I can’t remember a thing about it other than I didn’t spend much time there.  Shortly after AS one, we came to the first stream section.  I absolutely loved the river sections.  The water felt great on the legs, it was beautiful and interesting, and I felt a bit in my element from years of wading rivers while trout fishing.  This did not mean it wasn’t challenging as you had to work and focus hard not to slip and a lot of extra energy was spent maneuvering about the rocks.   I was also disappointed to see that the water has washed the aid station mileage off of my hand.  Not such a great idea afterall.  There were two large 50 foot culverts that we had to climb into and run through with rushing water working against you.  I found this particularly fun.  

By mile seven, we were at AS2.  This was one of two aid stations where you could have a drop bag with change of socks and shoes if you wanted.  It also began the climb up and over Jay Peak.  I opted to changed wet shoes and socks here for the climb up Jay.  As I sat and changed as quickly as possible, I also took in the beautiful surroundings including the intimidating Jay Peak.  I was able to run for a short distance up the slope but it wasn’t long before the steepness of the double black diamond trail had reduced me and all the other racers I could see to a hike.  It was a steep leg burning climb to the top but the scenery and views were spectacular.  I also had a chance to talk with a couple of other racers who agreed that this years route up Jay was indeed much steeper.  Once at the top, I checked into AS3, took in some fuel and refilled my camel back.  I was feeling quite good.

Everything I had read about the descent of Jay Peak said to take it slow or else you would pound your quads into silly putty.  I actually enjoyed the descent and it went by very quickly.  Before I knew it I was at the bottom and AS4.  I tried not to linger here as I knew there was a cut-off time to make AS5 by the five hour mark and some tough terrain lay ahead.  As I was leaving AS4, I felt pretty good despite having just gone up and down Jay Peak.  My quads were not too shot and there were no signs of cramping or blisters.  This feeling good thing did not last long however.  Within 10-15 minutes of leaving AS4, I started to feel nauseous and light headed.  I couldn’t figure this out at first as I thought I had been good with food and fluids up to that point.  The nausea got to a point where even the thought of drinking any HEED or eating anything sweet (gel/bar) made my stomach turn.  The next five miles were some of the toughest of the race for me do to feeling like this.  This section of the race between AS4 and AS5 was defined by bushwacked/machete-chopped single track with lots of mud and then more stream running.  Because of how I felt, it was harder to enjoy any part of this section.  But, I kept calm and kept moving forward only with more walking breaks now.  My pace did slow quite a bit.  At some point in the middle of this section two things began to dawn on me.  One, I realized my nausea and light headedness was due to being dehydrated.  Despite my best efforts early in the race, I apparently did not take in enough fluids.  Second, I remembered that there was a cut-off time of 5 hours to make AS5.  As I made my way down what seemed like a never ending stream section, I kept expecting to see AS5 at every turn only to be disappointed each time.  Checking my watch with much more frequency, I got a little concerned as the five hour mark quickly approached.  I kept telling myself that I didn’t come all this way to be cut off at mile 19.  Finally, AS5 came into site and as I pulled in Dan the Race Director was there letting us know we made the cut-off by five minutes.  At the time, I had no sense of how many people were still behind me, I was just glad to have made it.  Dan also reminded us that there was a 7 hour cut off to make AS6 and the next section was particularly tough.  In other words, don’t dilly dally here at AS5.  I did need to address the dehydration and I filled my stomach with pure water. As I headed out of AS5 the water was sloshing uncomfortably in my stomach. 

The AS5 to AS6 section would turn out to be one of the most interesting sections.  The good news was that all the water I took in really helped and within 20-30 minutes the nausea and lightheadedness gone.  I felt strong again and had a great second wind.  This part of the course had some very challenging river sections.  This river was higher and faster than previous rivers and offered more technical rocks, deep pools and waterfalls.  I saw a lot of people go down hard in this section, including one racer who slipped and was swept over a four foot waterfall.  She was OK but very lucky to be.  Then came the beaver pond.  This was incredible and hard to describe at the same time.  Try to picture a maze of tall reeds (over your head) with a narrow trail of knee to chest high muddy water formed by the local beaver damn.  But, this water was not stagnant.  Due to all the rains the previous week, this beaver pond water actually had a current to it.  Underfoot, the mud was like ice causing you to slip on every other step.  In addition, there were hidden logs and branches tripping you up.  While some did not like this section, I thought it was totally fun.  After the beaver pond, it didn’t seem to take too long to get to AS6/mile 24 where I made the 7 hour cut-off with plenty of time to spare.  Here, I took in lots of water again and was able to eat some Goldfish (a great suggestion by Chris due to their salty vs sweet nature).  I also decided to change socks again as I had managed to avoid even one hot spot to this point (Go WrightSocks!).  With no more time cut-offs ahead, I knew the only thing stopping me from surviving this race would be some physical breakdown over the final 9 miles. 

The next section was defined by a very long, gradual uphill in an open grassy field.  This felt very tedious and hot at this point in the race but I tried to enjoy the views offered by the open field.  Then it was back into the woods for more mud over back woods roads and single track.  At this point it was just about getting one foot in front of the other.  The legs were feeling pretty tired but I managed to avoid any muscle cramping (thanks, I think, to the hourly Endurolyte regimen I was maintaining).  It was great to see AS7 knowing there were only 5 more miles to go.  AS7 had salty boiled potatoes which tasted SO GOOD!  I ate way too many of those, took in a bunch of water and headed off for the final 5.  We were told at that point that AS8 was just 2-3 miles and was an unmanned station with water.    

The last section was the most tedious due to the tired legs, the aches and pain that were starting to creep in, and the relatively uninteresting terrain.  There was one large sand pit to climb but then it was a lot of nondescript wooded single track and open corn fields.  I skipped the water at AS8 and just kept moving toward the finish.  I looked at my watch and saw that I was quickly approaching 9 hours.  Knowing now that I was actually going to finish this thing, I really wanted to break nine hours.  After another very muddy section, I finally broke out of the woods and there were signs of civilization.  I knew the end was near and I picked up the pace a little.  What a great feeling to see the finish line appear and as I crossed, I saw 8:55 on the clock.  I did it.  I finished my first Ultra.  Muddied and tired, I had just completed 33 miles of tough terrain and it was a great feeling.    

I did not see Ri at the finish as he had to get his friends car back, but he left a note on my car letting me know he finished the race in 6:37.  Holy Crap!  He is The Man!  As I was to learn that night at dinner with fellow racers and over the following days reading the race blog, the course changes and conditions had made for a very challenging course this year.  Most everyone who ran the race in prior years, logged slower times by up to 30-60 minutes.  Of the almost 300 racers, there were about 80 who did not finish due to injury, health or not making the time cut-off.  This has been the topic of much controversy on the race blog as many were not happy about the high number of DNFs this year.  Going into the race, I had set a goal of 8 hours.  Hearing about the difficulty of the course made me feel better about my 8:55.  Not that I was disappointed with the time.  I was psyched to finish and really had an amazing adventure that I will never forget.  I do have a great appreciation for Ri’s abilities as he crushed his previous time on such a tough course.

So now I will take some time off from training and enjoy the rest of the summer.  Come October, I will start training for the Tough Guy, having gained a lot of confidence from completing my first Ultra.  Good luck to all who continue to race in 2008!      

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Ultimate XC

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