The Madness
Prologue
"We run and race for myriad reasons -- competition, fitness, adventure, challenge, the list goes on. I imagine some, if not most, are like me...I often wonder if I am chasing something or running from something. I suspect it's a bit of both. Either way, run until your heart is full and you can find peace."
-DeWayne Satterfield
Mountain Mist 50K Race Report
Ultrarunning magazine, April 2015 issue
McKay Hollow
As runners, we all know that life has a funny way of intersecting with our running. I realize that sounds a little funny. I certainly recognize that running is part of my life, but I also know that in many instances running serves as a catharsis to deal with life's pitfalls and challenges. I arrived at the start of the McKay Hollow 25K this year with what I can only describe as a heavy heart. I'm not going to bore you with the details, but in some form, I suspect we've all been there. On this day, I needed McKay Hollow not only to serve as a challenging run, but to serve as a mechanism to clear my head and heart and to get me reoriented. That's a lot to ask from the trails of Monte Sano, but a run through the woods has never ceased to rejuvenate and refocus me.
The Race Begins
Besides at least three RD's over the years, the McKay Hollow Madness course has gone through more incarnations than the late Michael Jackson. It started as a trail half marathon, and then for one year it got extended to a 14 mile course, and once it became a 25K, the course still went through a tweak or two. But one thing has held constant -- this race has always been centered around some of the most challenging trails that Monte Sano Mountain has to offer.
Cary Long was serving as the the new Race Director this year, taking over from Blake Thompson. Cary made a few logistical announcements about the course, conducted a quick trivia contest centered around his hemorrhoids, and led us in prayer -- seriously, you can't make this stuff up - from hemorrhoid trivia to a prayer -- welcome to The Wonderful World of Cary, or CaryLand, or DollyLong, you pick......anyway, the race started and we were off!
Start to Aid Station 1, O'Shaughnessy Point, 5.1 miles
We started at the main pavilion in the State Park and after a run down the road and brief sections of the North Plateau Trail and more road, we took a turn down the North Sinks Trail head and the real trail race was underway. I clocked an 8:35 for the first mile, but once we started down the trail, I was stuck in a "runner train" and my pace fell back to 11:20 for a period.
After moving down the Sinks trail, we hit the Logan Point trail and took that to Panther Knob. This section presents a real tough climb on all fours, and for a tall guy like myself, you are pretty much guaranteed a head to rock encounter as you squeeze through a section of climb where you are pretty sure you are not supposed to go. The first year I covered this section of the race I was sure I had taken a wrong turn moving through the stone cuts. Nope, you really are supposed to crawl through, and up this thing.
When I got to the top of the climb, the course goes back to the Sinks trail and down a section of the Mountain Mist trail.
Eventually I made it over to Warpath Ridge and more climbing up to the first Aid Station at O'Shaughnessy Point. I topped off my bottle and grabbed a cup of Mountain Dew (the miracle elixir). I downed a Hammer gel as I made my way down the South Plateau Trail towards the McKay Hollow trail. (And I held onto the gel wrapper until I passed a volunteer who took it from me. Don't leave junk on the trails. That's my sermon for the week.)
Aid Station 1 to Aid Station 2, Monte Sano Boulevard at Burritt, 9.8 miles
Coming off the South Plateau Trail, I took a sharp turn on the McKay Hollow trail which plunges down into ????...you guessed it, the Hollow. Once at the bottom, the trail becomes very muddy. I actually made pretty good time through this section, recalling Rob Youngren's time honored advice -- "Embrace the Mud." I ran with Don Alan Hankins through this section. Don Alan is the RD for Dizzy 50's and has done a great job with that trail race. Chad Woods also ran with us during this section. I busted somewhere along the way and they both kept motoring towards really nice finishes.
I was glad to get to Arrowhead and the Arrowhead extension trail. The extension section is one of the most scenic trails on Monte Sano. It is beautiful single track where you can open it up a bit and really run. I made the most of it. I took advantage of some runners behind me to push myself through this section.
Again, with tough trails to navigate, it is always nice to reach an Aid Station. I dropped another Nuun tablet into my water bottle and got a big handful of peanut butter filled pretzels -- SuperFood.
Aid Station 2 to the Finish, Overlook Pavilion, 25K (15.5 miles)
This next section of the course eventually takes you down the Natural Well trail to the newly revitalized Son of a Bitch Ditch. SOB ditch had been severely washed out with storms over the past few years and was littered with huge, downed trees which made crossing it very hazardous (picture unstable land, susceptible to slides, with huge, downed trees sitting on top of it all.) Over time, the land settled a bit and with the use of some chain saws, jackhammers, and other tools, a local Girl Scout Troop carved out a nice path through the debris -- (I might not be exactly right about that....they may have used hand axes.) So, this year, instead of bushwhacking around the ditch, we were able to once again run this section. Granted, it still lives up to its name.
Besides at least three RD's over the years, the McKay Hollow Madness course has gone through more incarnations than the late Michael Jackson. It started as a trail half marathon, and then for one year it got extended to a 14 mile course, and once it became a 25K, the course still went through a tweak or two. But one thing has held constant -- this race has always been centered around some of the most challenging trails that Monte Sano Mountain has to offer.
Cary Long was serving as the the new Race Director this year, taking over from Blake Thompson. Cary made a few logistical announcements about the course, conducted a quick trivia contest centered around his hemorrhoids, and led us in prayer -- seriously, you can't make this stuff up - from hemorrhoid trivia to a prayer -- welcome to The Wonderful World of Cary, or CaryLand, or DollyLong, you pick......anyway, the race started and we were off!
(Race Director, Cary Long, yelling at children to get off the see-saws)
We started at the main pavilion in the State Park and after a run down the road and brief sections of the North Plateau Trail and more road, we took a turn down the North Sinks Trail head and the real trail race was underway. I clocked an 8:35 for the first mile, but once we started down the trail, I was stuck in a "runner train" and my pace fell back to 11:20 for a period.
(Trying to find the trail head)
After moving down the Sinks trail, we hit the Logan Point trail and took that to Panther Knob. This section presents a real tough climb on all fours, and for a tall guy like myself, you are pretty much guaranteed a head to rock encounter as you squeeze through a section of climb where you are pretty sure you are not supposed to go. The first year I covered this section of the race I was sure I had taken a wrong turn moving through the stone cuts. Nope, you really are supposed to crawl through, and up this thing.
When I got to the top of the climb, the course goes back to the Sinks trail and down a section of the Mountain Mist trail.
Eventually I made it over to Warpath Ridge and more climbing up to the first Aid Station at O'Shaughnessy Point. I topped off my bottle and grabbed a cup of Mountain Dew (the miracle elixir). I downed a Hammer gel as I made my way down the South Plateau Trail towards the McKay Hollow trail. (And I held onto the gel wrapper until I passed a volunteer who took it from me. Don't leave junk on the trails. That's my sermon for the week.)
Aid Station 1 to Aid Station 2, Monte Sano Boulevard at Burritt, 9.8 miles
Coming off the South Plateau Trail, I took a sharp turn on the McKay Hollow trail which plunges down into ????...you guessed it, the Hollow. Once at the bottom, the trail becomes very muddy. I actually made pretty good time through this section, recalling Rob Youngren's time honored advice -- "Embrace the Mud." I ran with Don Alan Hankins through this section. Don Alan is the RD for Dizzy 50's and has done a great job with that trail race. Chad Woods also ran with us during this section. I busted somewhere along the way and they both kept motoring towards really nice finishes.
(Yeah, I don't know where I am, but that's a photo of me somewhere on Monte Sano. I'm sporting my Johnny Cash, "Man in Black" look.)
I was glad to get to Arrowhead and the Arrowhead extension trail. The extension section is one of the most scenic trails on Monte Sano. It is beautiful single track where you can open it up a bit and really run. I made the most of it. I took advantage of some runners behind me to push myself through this section.
Again, with tough trails to navigate, it is always nice to reach an Aid Station. I dropped another Nuun tablet into my water bottle and got a big handful of peanut butter filled pretzels -- SuperFood.
Aid Station 2 to the Finish, Overlook Pavilion, 25K (15.5 miles)
This next section of the course eventually takes you down the Natural Well trail to the newly revitalized Son of a Bitch Ditch. SOB ditch had been severely washed out with storms over the past few years and was littered with huge, downed trees which made crossing it very hazardous (picture unstable land, susceptible to slides, with huge, downed trees sitting on top of it all.) Over time, the land settled a bit and with the use of some chain saws, jackhammers, and other tools, a local Girl Scout Troop carved out a nice path through the debris -- (I might not be exactly right about that....they may have used hand axes.) So, this year, instead of bushwhacking around the ditch, we were able to once again run this section. Granted, it still lives up to its name.
(A photo of the Troop after fixing SOB Ditch. Thanks, girls! You're each going to receive an SOB merit badge! )
Eventually, the course takes you back to Arrowhead trail and I was able to pick up a little steam again. At this point, Rick Callaway and my running nemesis, Sam the dog, caught up with me. Sam is Rick's trail running buddy and only friend. Sam beat me at Dizzy 50 and I could sense he smelled blood in the water this time as well. This was my longest run since the Graveyard 100, and my legs were already starting to feel like noodles. Sam was just waiting for the right moment.
(Sam -- Don't be fooled by his friendly face. He's a cutthroat racer.)
As Sam continued to breath down my neck, I was trying to pick up my pace down a violently smooth section of trail. At that point it happened, I tripped on the idea of a rock and went down. Sam passed me, shook some drool on me and was about to hike a leg until Rick called him down. Thanks, Rick! Sam put another notch in his little orange running pack.
Forget "STOP PRE," I want a "STOP SAM" t-shirt!
I finally made it to the bottom of Death Trail and started the climb up. Dianna Cioppi, my new Death Trail best buddy was right behind me for the climb. We passed the Happy HEMSI guy who was shouting encouragement to us as we made our way up. He encouraged us to be careful as we got higher up the trail, due to the sheer side of the path, but he said, "You runner's never listen anyway," or something like that. I just thanked him for calling us runners, because we weren't exactly running at that point.
We finally got up to the waterfall and made it across the finish line at the Overlook Pavilion. Overall, it was a gratifying finish. I finished in 3:25:04, which was a McKay Hollow 25K PR for me. It's not the best time in the world, but hey, me and my wobbly legs will take it.
Final Thoughts
I finally made it to the bottom of Death Trail and started the climb up. Dianna Cioppi, my new Death Trail best buddy was right behind me for the climb. We passed the Happy HEMSI guy who was shouting encouragement to us as we made our way up. He encouraged us to be careful as we got higher up the trail, due to the sheer side of the path, but he said, "You runner's never listen anyway," or something like that. I just thanked him for calling us runners, because we weren't exactly running at that point.
We finally got up to the waterfall and made it across the finish line at the Overlook Pavilion. Overall, it was a gratifying finish. I finished in 3:25:04, which was a McKay Hollow 25K PR for me. It's not the best time in the world, but hey, me and my wobbly legs will take it.
Final Thoughts
I started this report with the fact that I came into this race struggling. I can't say it fixed everything, but I do believe in the healing power of a good run, of a hard physical challenge. It can help establish perspective; it can erase frustration, and it is a great and cheap life coach. If anything, the long run is always a reminder of the old saying that life is a marathon, not a sprint. There is so much opportunity in all aspects of life, if you just take the long view.
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