A special edition post - last weekend I hit the road to pace two of my friends on a 100 mile trail odyssey through some twisty, turning, elevation changing terrain. Friday night Alek, Stephanie and I hit the road for Loudonville, Ohio and crashed in our cabin at the Mohican Adventures Campground. Luckily we had a cabin reserved with Joe and Aaron. A third friend from Michigan Craig stayed next door with his wife and pacer Jay. By sheer dumb luck, I got the best sleeping spot in the joint, lower level right next to the fan. This combo kept me cool and plenty of white noise to drown out the drunkards a few cabins down who saw it fit to play rap into the wee hours of the morning.
At 4:30AM I awoke to find the Joe and Aaron gearing up. There was a light rain falling outside. We walked our way to the start line and passed one hell of a freaky light up head of Jesus. I got a pic of it but it does it no justice, it looks way crazier in the dark. At the start line the announcer mentioned today was Joe's birthday, what a way to spend it. The boys got off to their start at 5AM and the rain had stopped - for good. No more rain the rest of the weekend. Just a brutal humid heat awaited later this day and the next.
Alek, Steph and I went back and took a nap after seeing them off. We got up in time to see Craig, Joe and Aaron come through the start finish area all looking good considering the circumstances. It was my first chance to see the people out here running the event in the daylight. These folks were hardcore. Looking at the faces/body language you could see the course was tough. Many of the 50-milers looked defeated after their first lap of ~25 miles.
After seeing the Michigan contingent pass we went out for a 10 mile run. It was a rather unique run, first time I have ever run on a farmers road through the field. When the road stopped at a dead end we stopped and took a break. It was beautiful to see the rolling hills and the different shades of green growing on the various fields. We then turned back and ran through downtown to find a biker rally taking place. TONS of motorcycles and three runners. I don't think we blended in too well but it was cool to see all the bikes.
Upon coming back we downed some food, changed our clothes and got on our road bikes. We rode up to the mountain bike trailhead to see our boys come through. It was getting really hot. Humidity was ridiculous. We checked with the people working the course to make sure our boys had not come through yet. Bad news, they had about ten minutes before.
After getting back to the cabin, Alek and Steph prepared to pace Joe and Aaron on their third lap. They took off around 6PM. The guys still looked good despite the course and the unrelenting heat. After they left I hung out and tried to nap. Eventually I fell asleep and was awoken around 2:30AM. Time for the final pacer (me) to get these guys around the course.
When Steph and Alek got back, they told me they had picked up a third runner Karen and I was to pace all three. The guys looked a little worse for the wear but nothing that couldn't be overcome. Karen looked the best of the group. I was hoping she could set a pace and I could sweep keeping Joe and Aaron between us. Off we went, flashlights in hand. The first 6 miles were the longest 6 miles I have ever run on fresh legs. I only say that because I could see Joe and Aaron were hitting the wall. Both were exhausted and in need of naps. We pushed on and eventually hit our first aid station. Karen had worked her way up ahead of us and came back to tell us some bad news. The aid station was out of food. I could see Joe and Aaron both take this news hard based on body language.
Nonetheless we went up there to see what they had. Both guys grabbed a seat. I took this moment to repack the gear I had in my hand and jam it into my small Camelback. I also topped off the four water bottles I was carrying for the guys. After all this I looked to see what the guys were doing. Both were sleeping. I gave them another 5 mins of shut eye for 10 mins of rest. I hoped this power nap would bring them back to life. I woke them up at the 10 min mark. Aaron looked like hell, Joe looked worse. At this point Joe decided he had come to the end of his journey at the 83 mile mark. That is an amazing accomplishment based on the terrain and heat he endured all day.
Aaron was debating on continuing. I encouraged him to go to the next aid station and then reevaluate. He decided to so we left Joe at the aid station and continued Aaron's journey. I continued to encourage him to drink up and take his endurolyte capsules. I was like the nagging mother-hen. Drink, drink, drink, take these capsules. At some point we passed the firetower on the course. Aaron started coming around and being able to do a slow jog. I was thrilled. With the sun due up shortly I knew we would be in good shape. I have never been moving in the woods from 3AM to sunrise. Its interesting how you start to hear birds chirping and singing just before sunrise. It is as if the forest is waking up and coming to life.
When we hit the Covered Bridge aid station, it had a drop bag. Aaron grabbed some goodies and I swithced into his Camelback which had a bladder. My Camelback was just for holding gear. I topped off my bottles and the lady working the station said we looked great coming up.
Aaron continued to jog the sections that were reasonably flat or downhill. Eventually we made it to the last aid station and I knew we were home free. A short 5.8 miles was all that kept Aaron from the finish line and his well deserved finishers belt buckle. Aaron was complaining of some pain in his left shin. So I broke off from him to retrieve some muscle spray and see if it helped. I headed back to the cabin to find Joe seated in a chair with Steph and Alek cleaning the cabin up. Steph grabbed the spray, I dumped the Camelback and back out I went to run down Aaron. He applied the spray but it had minimal effect.
Regardless we made our way to the end. There were some absolutely brutal hills in the last section. We eventually made our way past a nice log cabin in the middle of nowhere. Aaron said the worst was behind us. With about a quarter mile to go, I ran ahead to see Aaron finish. Just over 30 hours of non-stop movement. What a great accomplishment! Craig had finished a few hours earlier. Karen from earlier in the night came in third overall for women.
It was cool to pace Joe and Aaron on this big day. "Running" 100 miles is a one hell of an accomplishment and a very personal journey. It was great to play a small part in helping the guys on their way. Good work Craig, Aaron, and Joe.
The Mohican trail is in a word - unrelenting. It is absolutely brutal and never lets you rest. Wheels, how you got your mountain bike around that course for 100 miles pushing a 2:1 gear ratio is beyond me. I have much respect for anyone who completes 100 miles of anything on this trail system. It ain't easy!
Pics click here
No comments:
Post a Comment