Horse Shoe Trail - A Failed Attempt

I've really been avoiding writing this post. My adventure didn't go as planned and ended prematurely somewhere around the halfway mark. Needless to say, I haven't been excited to write about it.

The Horse Shoe Trail, established in 1935, winds through Southeastern Pennsylvania from Valley Forge National Historic Park through Chester, Berks, Lancaster, Lebanon and Dauphin Counties until it ends up at the intersection with the Appalachian Trail on top of Stony Mountain about 15 miles north of Harrisburg, my home.  The latest map and guide list the trail's length at 140 miles. The trail is maintained by the all volunteer Horse Shoe Trail Conservancy. My plan was to cover the entirity of the trail all in one thru-run/hike in self-supported fashion meaning I would carry everything I needed and refilling water on the go.

The Horse Shoe Trail marker at the start of the trail.



The days and hours leading up to my adventure were peppered with mis-steps. I was on the AT enjoying my last long run before the big day and I caught a toe on a root sending me face/chest first into the rocky trail. I hit hard with my right hand under me. With a mouth full of leaves and dirt I rolled up onto my butt and the world was spinning.  My ribs, back, head, knees and wrists all felt beaten and bruised. The middle finger on my right hand was badly dislocated and I had more than 10 miles to go back to the Jeep (and that was the short cut). Fast forward to Lowe's Home Improvement parking lot just a few days before my start. I saw that the box was labeled as weighing 81 pounds with the picture of two people bending to pick it up indicating you shouldn’t pick it up alone and I picked it up anyway. With a snap and pop and I had sharp stabbing pains in my sternum and the thoracic area of my spine, the areas that hurt most from the impact with the trail earlier in the month. All the healing progress I had made with my hand seemed to not matter now that I couldn’t draw a breathe without pain. May 22^nd, after a significant train delay I was now in the Paoli train station being told that it would be at least 90 minutes before a cab could take me to Valley Forge National Historic Park. “You can’t expect me to tie up a taxi taking you to Valley Forge at the busiest time of my day”. The Septa shuttle bus drivers gave similar answers so I took off on foot. I had hoped to hit the trail no later than 9:00 am. After a Ranger and a volunteer told me they had no idea where the Horse Shoe Trail started, I found it myself and started my trip at 10:18am. These mishaps or whatever they were made it seem like someone was telling me not to go.

As I headed up Mt. Misery past the old root beer bottling plant, none of that mattered; I was on the trail and moving. I was now on the trip I had thought about, dreamed about and planned for months. I was stoked to be running my own ultra by my own rules. No official start time, no cut-off times and nobody, but me doing it. No race support like aid stations or reliable trail markings either, but I was now having the fun I had in mind. I was taking on the 140 mile Horse Shoe Trail.

For months a section of trail at the 2.7 mile mark had been closed and I was going to need to find a detour around it. Just days before my start, that portion of trail was opened. Great news, right? I arrived in that neighborhood running on a forested road through beautiful new homes and I noticed a sign stapled to a tree reminding hikers and equestrians to stay on the trail and respect the private property the trail was crossing. I read the nice sign and proceeded up the road. A few hundred feet later I realized I wasn't seeing trail blazes any longer so I backtracked  until I found a blaze. Sure enough I should've turned where I read that sign. I saw no blazes indicating a turn, but no worries I was back on track. Little did I know that this would be forshadowing for the rest of my trek.

This blow-down happened right in front of me right after being lost.
Had I not missed theturn originally, I may have been in danger when this massive tree fell.
Always trying to look on the bright side.



Trails are marked by blazes painted on trees, posts, fences, telephone poles, etc. Blazes let you know you're on the trail and where to turn. I spent the next 30+ hours following the yellow blazed Horse Shoe Trail and unfortunately only covered about half of it, because much of that precious time was spent standing or walking around in circles looking for blazes.

Universal Trail Blaze Definitions

The map and guide saved me a few times, but I also wasted tons of time trying to make sense of the trail on paper versus what I was seeing around me. Missing blazes, upside down turn blazes, backwards signs, etc. became the theme of my day and that was in daylight; the feat of following this elusive trail became even tougher in the dark.

Stopped to change into warmer clothing, get out my lights and take a selfie.



Night time also became a different challenge. Not only was I going slowly trying not to lose the blazes in the dark, but now the sleep monster was on my heals.  Yep, I was getting sleepy. I did attempt a nap twice. Once I slept about 20 minutes and woke up because of the cold temperatures. I thought I'd sleep again by sitting on a log and leaning on a stump. I was asleep about 6 or 8 minutes when I felt something on my right hand. At first I dreamt of our girl dog Mollie sniffing my fingers, but instead I awoke to a small Skunk there next to my hand. I calmly stood up and walked away. The Skunk followed for a few hundred yards until it eventually lost interest. I made no more sleep attempts after that. 

I wear a Suunto GPS watch that stores my track and when uploaded, it displays it on a digital map. That track typically looks like a nice neat line across the map. The map from this trek has points that look as though a child had scribbled the line. Those scribbles are funny to look at now, but it was a terribly frustrating experience at the time.  I really only went about 7 miles out of my way, but the time I wasted trying to figure it all out was extensive. That wasted time put me so far behind schedule, it changed my whole attitude towards the adventure to the point that I stopped in Denver, PA. I'll return to Valley Forge and The Horse Shoe Trail with a pack full of lessons-learned and Janice's support and complete it some day very soon.

I'm not going to bash The Horse Shoe Trail Conservancy for poor trail markings, nor am I going to continue about how badly I was lost. The navigation was on me - period. I'd rather talk about things that went well.



In 2011 the Horse Shoe Trail Conservancy republished their Guide Book and Maps and it's a huge improvement over the old edition. The map is on 10 seperate maps with the key guide book descriptions printed on the reverse side, which allows you to leave the actual guide book at home. As I moved, I kept the current map handy and I found myself using it far more than I've ever used any other trail map. One observation though that should've been a hint is that each map lists it's own mileage, as in each map starts with 0.0 with no cumulative trail mileage and it's only measured East to West. That should've tipped me off that maybe this trail isn't meant to be done as a thru-hike and certainly not in a hurry. The maps are great, but they even contributed to the confusion at some of the intersections where I couldn't tell my right from my left. In any event, if you're doing any of this trail's mileage I highly recommend buying the map set. The proceeds support the Horse Shoe Trail Conservancy.  Note - on my journey I was also beta testing a phone app for the trail conservancy. Although I only used it sparingly in favor of the paper version and in the interest of saving my mobile phone battery, I can tell you it'll be great when it's finished.

May 22nd was a Friday which meant I saw almost no one else on the trail. I did meet two women riding horses somewhere near French Creek State Park in Chester County (excellent bathrooms and the pavilion has an AC outlet) . One of the horse's names was Leon. The woman on the lead horse asked me to greet the horses speaking and with my hand out so they could meet me. I did as she asked not thinking that I'd actually come in contact with them, moments later my lungs were tight and I was itching terribly from my allergies to their histemines. I had actually remembered my inhaler so after a couple puffs I was breathing fine again, but the itching persisted into the next day. The horse named Leon started to turn to follow me and his rider had to correct him. I told her I had a friend named Leon and she replied, "now you have two". The Leon I know doesn't make me itch though, or at least I don't think he does. Stumbling through Hopewell Furnace at night was a neat highlight of the trek. It was pretty spooky running between the old structures there in the dark and I learned that sheep make a lot of noise when they're woken in the middle of the night - yep, scared the crap out of me.

A creek crossing.

The next day I met a fellow named Barry who told me he was one of the trail maintainers. On top of being a nice guy, meeting him was key as he gave me good guidance about three upcoming turns that he was sure I'd miss. He was right I would've walked right by each of those turns he described. A highlight was stopping at the Dutch Cousins Camp Ground. The guide listed them as having groceries and I was interested in a Coke and maybe some non-creek water and they had both. I got three bottles of water and a coke and the nice lady said, "$3.75". I then added a Snickers bar and asked how much it was with that and she replied, "still $3.75, you enjoy your snickers". All smelly and sweaty, I sat in their rocker and enjoyed the good conversation while I refilled my water, chugged my coke and devoured my Snickers. Those were two super sweet ladies, I recommend stopping and at least saying "hi" whether you need to or not. Probably the coolest result from ditching the trail early was getting picked up by some of my favorite women in my life. Janice, her Mom, her Sister Sue and Niece Katie retrieved me from Memorial Park in Denver, PA and we went to Ed Stoudt's Black Angus Restaurant in Adamstown; an old favorite with fabulous food and excellent beer. It's amazing how good company with those you love coupled with a killer meal can make disappointment simply vanish.

As part of my planning, I decided to reach out to companies whose products I would be using on my journey. I promised them I would already be using their gear/products on the trail and blogging about it, and simply put I asked for their support. I can't thank enough, the nice people at Clif Bar Company, Premier Protein, Knuckle Lights, Super Feet, Injinji and Zensah. I use their products faithfully and can't recommend them highly enough. 

Premier Protein for breakfast on the train.



Premier Protein sent me a supply of their protein bars. I really like them before and after an event like this. I also like to use them as somewhat of a meal replacement and alternative to all the other things I eat on a long run. I ate a Yogurt Peanut Crunch on the train and a Chocolate Peanut Butter Bar the next morning for breakfast as the sun came up. Their shakes are also excellent for post run recovery. I've been using Premier Protein since I first sampled their stuff a few years ago.



In my opinion, Clif Bar has gone over the top in producing the right stuff you need for fuel on a long trail run. Clif Bar products were probably most of the weight in my pack. I used their Clif Shot Hydration drink mix in my bottles.

Thank you Clif Bar!

They sent Cranberry Razz (which rules) and Lemon Lime-Aid - both new formulas in pre-measured packets full of vital nutrition and delivering 80 calories. I could write about the Clif Bars, but everyone knows Clif Bars. Not everyone knows their two new flavors though, Berry Pomegranate Chia and Nuts & Seeds; they're amazing. If you already have a favorite Clif Bar flavor it may be in jeopardy, these two have moved to the top of my list. I also ate a sack full of Clif Shot Energy Gels. You name their flavor and I most likely ate it. Gels can become tough to take after hours of relying on their sweet goodness so variety helps me to keep intaking them.  Oddly with all the gel flavors Clif has, somehow Vanilla is currently my favorite. Who knows though, it may get knocked off by Chocolate Cherry, Strawberry or Razz on this weekend's long run. I guess I'm fickle when it comes to gels. Tired of squeezing gels into your mouth? Gobbling some Shot Bloks is a perfect alternative. I found it dificult adhering to the recommended serving size and found myself eating them a pack at a time.

Lunch along the trail.





I'm saving the most amazing Clif Bar ceation for last and these are also new. When you're moving on foot for hours on end and you're intaking gel after gel and drinking liters of electrolyte drink, for me it's important to eat something a little more food-like. Yes Clif Bars, Mojo Bars (yes that's where I got our dog's name) and their Kit's Organic Bars fill that bill nicely, but Clif Bar now has twist top Organic Energy Food packets with some amazing combinations of flavors. My favorites quickly became Sweet Potatoe (200 calories) with Sea Salt and Banana Beet with Ginger (110 calories), but you might prefer Pizza Margherita (160 calories) or Banana Mango with Coconut (100 calories). Thanks to Clif Bar, my nutrition on the go was a big success and to say I ate well on the trail is probably an understatement. 

If you run or walk after dark and you haven't tried Knuckle Lights, I recommend you do. Knuckle Lights are exactly what they're called, a set of LED lights in a housing designed to be worn on your knuckles. Extremely bright on the highest setting, light as a feather and they nearly make just too much sense.

Knuckle Lights to light the night.

Yes, I wear a headlamp, but having Knuckle Lights as well gives added lighting on a different part of your body that can easily be pointed/controlled by your hand. It's tough to describe, but I find the combination of Knuckle Lights and a headlamp to be great on the trail at night. They come in a set of two, but I usually like using them one at a time. On this trek I kept one on my hand and another hanging from the sternum straps on my pack. I've been using them for about a year now and when I'm not running with them Janice likes them for night time dog walking. The nice people at Knuckle Lights sent me a couple more sets so I'd be sure to be able to see where I was going and to help my team who would probably be retrieving me at night.

I've lost count of the number of bouts I've had with Plantar Fasciitis. Last summer after getting another magical injection from my Podiatrist, I added Super Feet insoles to my shoes. I use the orange ones and they seem to provide that added support my over-used feet need. I had used other insoles and stopped because they all acted like sponges when needing to go through water. The Super Feet insoles are either not as absorbant or they simply drain better so I haven't experienced that problem and I've stuck with them.

Nothing like a new pair of Super Feet insoles to make your feet happy!

My current insoles had more than 2,000 miles on them so Super Feet sent me a new pair to ensure I had the support I needed. I have a pair in the shoes I wear to the office as well, I literally don't take a step without them.

I use Injinji socks and Zensah Compression Leg Sleeves and both companies hooked me up with a nice discount so my toes and calf muscles were protected by new socks and sleeves. On the trail I prefer the Injinji Trail 2.0 Mini Crew. I like to have some sock showing out of my shoe and the Trail 2.0 is a slightly heavier weight than their road cousin offering extra protection. I've used Zensah Compression Leg Sleeves (and a bunch of their other products) for a few years now. A couple years ago they came out with their Ultra Compression Leg Sleeves, they offer a higher level of compression and I don't go for a run without them.

At 70 miles I decided to change my socks
and shortly after that I changed my mind and called it quits.



While Premier Protein, Clif Bar, Knuckle Lights, Super Feet, Injinji and Zensah are go-to products for me, I also used some new gear and food on this trek.

For my pack I carried the Ultimate Direction Fast Pack 20 which housed my Platypus 2 liter bladder, 2 Ultimate Direction bottles and everything else I carried with room to spare. I wanted to maintain one single GPS track of my event so I needed some way to recharge the battery in my Suunto Ambit2 S. I used the Powertraveller Powermonkey Extreme. It took me a couple of times of hooking the watch up and figuring out how to carry it to get it right, but it kept my watch alive the entire time. It was heavier than a lot of chargers (I left its solar panels at home), but I knew it would hold the juice I'd need for the long push. I had my Spot Messenger GPS transmittor on as well so my movement could be tracked. Janice used the app on her phone and seemed pleased with it's performance. Along with Injinji and Zensah, I wore my go-to stuff that I typically rely on for the trail; a shirt by The North Face from their Mountain Athletics line, a favorite pair of Brooks shorts with pockets and compression shorts by Under Armor. I knew it was going down to 40° (or lower) Friday night so I also carried the Houdini Wind/Rain Jacket and Pants by Patagonia which probably saved my butt that night. I also had a long sleeve shirt by The North face and light weight gloves by Manzella for the chilly night time temps. The shoes I used were an old pair of Salomon XR Mission, they're as good on road as they are on trail. The Horse Shoe Trail uses so much road, I wouldn't recommend using a true hiking or trail shoe. Wear something that you're comfortable with on both rugged trail and pounding pavement.

Considering all the stuff Clif Bar and Premier Protein gave me, I was pretty well set for nutrition for the trip, in fact my nutrition maintenance was a big success for me over the 76+ miles. To me variety in food during long schlogs like this is key. Along with Clif Shot Hydration drink mix in my bottles, I kept my hydration bladder full of Gatorade (thanks Jason!) which I carried in pre-measured baggies. For Christmas Janice gave me Tailwind Nutrition drink mix. It's amazing stuff, providing 200 calories per mixed bottle. I drank a few of those too, but you need to keep an eye on when and what else you're eating along with that so you don't overdue/waste the calories as you can really only process about 200-300 calories per hour. Janice also got me some new gels as an early birthday present and man are they good! They're Hüma Chia Energy Gels and they were a huge surprise. I eat Chia Seeds on a daily basis so they make perfect sense for me and the flavors are amazing. The first one I tasted was Strawberry and it was better than any Strawberry Preserves I've ever eaten. If I've ever eaten a gel that tasted like something I'd like to have even if I wasn't out running long distance, its Hüma Chia Energy Gels. They were an excellent addition to the supply of Clif Bar gels I was carrying.

The listed mileages may not be accurate any longer, but it's still a cool sign.



I know this blog post turned into somewhat of an infomercial , but I know I find it helpful when others share their experiences with products they've used and I also really wanted to say thanks to the ultra cool folks who helped me out. I'll return to Valley Forge and do this again. I will run it like an ultra, meaning I won't be carrying a 20+ pound pack, and I'll take Janice; my trusty loving crew with me. I'm sure having Janice along will help with navigation as well and who knows, sitting down for 15-20 minutes to rest at night in a car may also make me Skunk-proof. I've got other plans to work out, but I'm looking to be back on the trail the first weekend in August after Janice's State Softball Championships  - stay tuned.





4th Annual Chiques Challenge - Race Report - Run Then Kayak (& this year I added a swim stage)

August 9, 2014

The Chiques Challange is maybe the most fun event I've ever done. Run 4+ miles and then get in a kayak and paddle 2+ miles. It's hosted by the Susquehanna Valley Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Center and billed as a race, but having fun is encouraged and the only true requirement. With only a few awards given, there's competition, but it's low key at best.

This is the fourth year I've participated. Since its inception, the event has fallen on the same day as Janice's family reunion so we've made the Chiques Challenge part of the family day. Having 5 of us run and kayak two years ago, until this year we never had less than 3 of us participating. We've also taken it even less seriously than the event hosts probably expect. Once in the kayak, our fastest runners would wait somewhere on the river while the rest of the paddling family members catch up. We would then paddle to the finish line together. We carry squirt guns in our boats as bilge pumps. Those "bilge pumps" of course double for a fun time squirting one another as we go down the lazy Susquehanna. After our first silly appearance in 2011, we dubbed ourselves as Team Squirt Gun. We had also made it tradition to finish in numerical order. Yep, you could be sure to leave us off the list of "game facers" who had shown up for their beloved PR's.

This year was unfortunately entirely different. Becky (the fastest runner of Team Squirt Gun) is in Arizona, Grant (who claims he's faster than Becky) is in Nashville, Katie (our Pitt nursing student - kept it quiet <from me at least> that she would be in town for the weekend), Janice (said she'd have to walk it and she claimed that "nobody ever walks the Chiques Challenge") and  with all that said, that left me to carry on the tradition of our family participating (and I almost didn't get registered).

THE RUN:

Having my registration accepted(even a week after the registration had closed) I decided since I was going it alone this year, I'd try to complete it as fast as possible. My events of choice are ultra trail races, measured typically in hours and dozens of miles and "fast" really isn't something I ever consider. This day to make Team Squirt Gun proud and say thanks for letting me register so late, I'd give the "fast" thing a shot.

The run isn't but it feels mostly downhill. The run starts at the Marietta River Park back off of Vinegar Ferry Road. The course is on paved surfaces, running along the Susquehanna River on the Northwest Trail and then the streets of Marietta to the Marietta Boat Launch. My watch measured it this year as 4.29 miles. I ate too many hot wings Friday night, I got out of the house late and I felt rushed/slightly tired already when I finally got off the school bus shuttle at the start line.

I decided to start off comfortably and wind up my pace to something that felt sustainable. I started my watch, but never looked at it, and running solely on feel I finished the run portion in 32:40. I passed a bunch of folks and didn't get passed so I felt pretty good about the first half of the challenge. There was only one runner I was chasing who I never caught and he was wearing an orange shirt (fore shadowing).

THE PADDLE:

Arriving at the kayak staging area under 33 minutes, there were still a lot of boats there. I was happy that my bib number 80 put my boat out on the end of the last row, making it quite easy to grab my paddle, PFD and kayak and take off towards the launch. In the transition I saw that I passed at least two others, but stalled at the water's edge, I couldn't get my life vest on. It's required that you wear it so I struggled to get it over my shoulders and as a volunteer approached to help, I finally got it on, but it wouldn't close. Off I paddled leaving one guy struggling to wiggle his boat into the water and passing another and still chasing the guy in the orange shirt just a few boat lengths ahead. I passed a few other paddlers, figuring I'd work as hard as I could until my deltoids imploded and I'd simply finish by drifting. I noticed that the fellow in the orange shirt had taken a line farther "river right" and I wondered  why he was over there seemingly adding distance to the finish. I also noticed that I was catching and passing boats and now I could only see a few kayaks between me and the finish line.

I was approaching a swift spot and I could see a woman stuck on a rock. As she wiggled free, I saw the orange shirt guy come in from the right having effectively avoided this tight spot. I thought, "cool, I've cut the corner on him and now I'm right behind him". As that thought fleeted, I entered a chute which added speed to my boat and shot me right at the rock where the woman had been. The Susquehanna River is excellent for recreational kayaking, it's wide, flat and lazy with nothing more than little ripples here and there. I've paddled on the Susquehanna River and this particular area many times. The difference today was that I was paddling as fast as I could. When I typically see a hazard, I'm going slowly enough to easily get around it safely. Along with my excited paddling, the little pinch of rocks that caused the chute also added speed and I was shoved swiftly right into the rock, striking the left side of the bow of my boat and I was rolling over in what seemed like seconds. My boat took on a little water, but I was able to get back in and in no time, the next rock was rolling me right back over again. Now I was in a bit of trouble. I've had training in water craft rescue, but now I was the one needing help. As I was bouncing  off rocks, I was trying to keep my head above water and fighting to keep my boat from swamping and I heard a voice say, "get over to this eddy and you'll be able to get back in". At the start line, we were reminded that volunteers from Chiques Rock Outfitters and Shank's Mare Outfitters would be on the water as guides and help should any of us need it. A woman standing next to me told me her husband had capsized during last year's race. All I could wonder was who the heck capsizes on this mellow river at this mellow event?...and here I was... The voice guiding me to the eddy was one of those volunteers announced at the start. I told him my boat was swamping and asked if he could help me. He was quick to remind me that my PFD should be secured (he was oh so right). This savior helped me to empty most of the water, right the kayak and get me back in. While doing all that he also adjusted the strap on the life vest so it actually clipped (it's my vest - I'm not sure who wore it last, but they were definitely tiny).

While flopping against rocks I watched as boat after boat passed me by and all I could think of was, "so much for going fast". Now I was back afloat, the guy in the orange shirt was long gone and my left shoulder and right side felt like I had been playing football instead of being out for a lazy paddle. Now instead of seeing only six or seven boats between me and the finish, all I could do now was dread how far I still had to go. My pity party ended quickly and I decided to go back to paddling as hard as I could and I did eventually reach the finish line at Columbia River Park.

I was officially 20th place with a total overall time of 1:03:27(32:40run/30:47kayak) - the fellow I was chasing wearing the orange shirt finished 4th/8 minutes ahead of me... Oh well...

The Event:

I can't say enough about how much I owe the young fellow who helped me out of peril. I did find him later and thanked him again, but I still felt foolish and embarrassed for being so unsafe and placing us both in that predicament.

This year the Susquehanna Valley Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Center's event was poorly attended and their disappointment was evident. The field is limited to 150 and this year only 80 registered with 74 participating. I can't say "thank you" enough to the volunteer who got me out of that watery jam, but I can blog about the event in hopes of a bigger field for 2015. I plan to field as many of my crew as possible next year. If you're looking for a truly fun event next August,come down to Columbia and have fun at The Chiques Challenge, I highly recommend it!

Fun Tech Note:

For the first time I had a reason to use the multi-sport function on my Suunto Ambit2 S watch. Set up prior to the event, with the simple press of a button, my running and paddling were measured as two separate efforts combined to make up the multi-sport event. (The sad part is seeing the time gap at about the mid-point of the paddle where it's evident that I was going nowhere for several minutes while floundering on the rocks.) There's always next year...

Laurel Highlands Ultra Race Report - 2014 - 70.5 Miles of Smiles



The Laurel Highlands Ultra seems to have become quite the popular event, selling out quickly with rumors of needing a lottery in the future. To make matters more urgent, it's now been given its overdue props by being added to the Western States 100 Endurance Run's list of qualifying events. I ran it last year. I finished, but with a terribly bitter taste in my mouth. Janice, my loving, loyal and overly reliable crew/life-mate had a horrible day driving in those mountains. I had enough things go wrong that I turned my day on the trail into a suffer-fest as well. Back in December when registration opened, Janice didn't know it, but I decided I needed to return to right those wrongs and have the fun in The Laurel Highlands we should've had last year. I'd do it one more time and give the future running of this storied event to the fasties attempting to be chosen for Western States.


LOGISTICS:

Even though Dakota Jones doesn't think too highly of our mountains here in the East, The Laurel Highlands are nothing to take lightly. The roads commonly have extra lanes on the steep climbs so trucks can make it, cell signal is nothing more than a battery sapping dream in most places and resupply of any kind is sparse at best. In case you didn't notice, I'm not talking about the trail, I'm referencing just some of the pain you have to go through driving while crewing. Last year so many things went wrong for Janice while chasing me, I decided this year I would take an overkill approach to giving her the information and support she could rely on to get through the day. This year, the GPS had the aid station coordinates preprogrammed to eliminate reliance on smart phones. I purchased a Spot Messenger and I planned to send her a message with my position with two miles to go before each aid station. That way she wouldn't be guessing my arrival times. That would also allow her to hopefully get some sleep while waiting at the finish line. She had multiple paper maps and printed pages of addresses of food and gas locations in case the electronics let her down. I also didn't forget to refill the gas tank after dinner this year. Janice also claimed bedtime was too late last year so we got dinner done earlier and cut out our tourist visit to look at the falls (we did not however cut out our visit to the Christian W. Klay Winery next door to the hotel). Instead of after dinner, Friday morning I did stuff like mixing GU Roctane, prepping hydration vests and a crew bag. She stressed that last year her fatigue made her an exhausted mess by the time I finished. Hopefully this year with precautions in place, I'd be the only one too tired to function at day's end. We did repeat a couple things that worked well last year: we ate at Fabrizi's, and stayed at The Lodge at Chalk Hill.

Pop Robin delivering dinner above our deck at The Lodge at Chalk Hill



AID STATIONS:


Last year, we went with a two vest system that worked so well, Janice more resembled an Indy Pit Crew than the typical ultra crew. I would arrive at an aid station to find Janice waiting with a full hydration vest, dropped the empty vest while she'd put the new one on me and off I went. Efficient right? Well yes, but maybe too efficient. I was flying through aid stations, in some places forgetting to eat and just not benefitting from a few moments of stopping. I also did not swap vests with her at the first aid station which proved to be a mistake so this year every time I'd see her we'd swap whether I was empty or not. Last year I saw a woman pass me more than once and I wondered, "why am I seeing her again?" I didn't remember passing her, "where'd she come from?" It dawned on me, she was actually taking a brief recharge break at aid stations, heck I even noticed she was dressed differently; she was changing clothes. Last year at mile 57 I simply changed socks and felt like a million bucks so this year on top of actually pausing at aid stations, I had a complete change of clothes(including shoes) in Janice's crew bag.



THE RUN:


The Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail has plenty of climbing and much of it's worst ascents are in the first 9 miles. There's a climb at mile 6 that much resembles a couple of hills I train on here at home. When I'm training at home, I charge up them in a strong power hike and I figured why not do the same on this climb? Well, when I'm "charging" up them at home, I don't have 60 more miles to go. That little stunt last year put me in such debt the rest of the day, the struggle just to finish was nasty. On top of the physical mess I created, last year my brain was fried as well. That nasty struggle mostly existed between miles 35 and 46, so on top of conserving on those early climbs. At the 32 mile aid station I had learned of all of Janice's problems on the morning and that weighed heavy on top of my own problems. I knew I needed to do something different this year in those middle-miles to keep my head out of a straight jacket.


2014

Checked the weather a week prior to the event, 78° High Humidity & Thunder Storms was the forecast. I thought, "oh boy it's going to be hot this year". In most of Pennsylvania, pouring rains filled the week leading into the event. Even Friday night in Ohiopyle an impressive storm drenched the region and with it came a wonderfully cool forecast for Saturday. In fact the temperatures in the 60's much resembled last year's which were quite pleasant placing worries of heat firmly in the rearview mirror.


The new visitor center in Ohiopyle is now complete, so parking at the start was much easier than last year and like last year we were greeted with a misty morning fog, but thankfully all the storms had bid us farewell. Even in the 5am darkness, the rapids and falls at Ohiopyle were a powerful sight to see (and hear) with the recent influx of rainfall. It was cool to see Bryon Powell with iRunFar ("here") at the start line, I was hoping I'd get a chance to meet him, but oh well it didn't happen. Check-in/number pick up was easy and at 5:30am after a prayer for all of us we a simple "go".

The rain swollen Youghiogheny at Ohiopyle.



Trotting easily through Ohiopyle on about 3/4 mile of road, I felt odd like it was going to be one of those runs that takes me a forever to get warmed up. My knees felt grumpy and my breathing was a mess, but I at least know to just ride it out because both will settle. Todd Lewis passed me like I was standing still right at Wilderness Voyageurs. Knowing that our finishing times are often similar, I wondered, "wow, just how slow am I going?" I talked myself out of concern remembering my plan to cruise easily up the mountain as a plan to have a better day later and I relaxed. I watched numerous folks attacking those climbs wondering if I'd see them later. I never did feel good until the check point at 19 miles so perhaps my inability to get warmed up was a blessing in disguise because arriving there 13 minutes slower than last year was exactly what I was looking for.


At the 11 mile aid station I met Janice and swapped vests, ate food even though I didn't feel hungry and she sent me on my way. I was already drinking a lot of GU Roctane and into my hourly Gel/Electrolyte Capsule schedule and a salt tablet every other hour. I felt like I should worry about the cut off at the 19 mile check point, but I wasn't as slow as I thought. Besides, along with Janice, the effervescent Leon Lutz was there as well; so I knew if they tried to pull me I could sneak out while those two discussed the matter in depth with the check point boss (just kidding). For those who don't know my girl Janice or Leon, getting supported by or just running into personalities like theirs in a difficult event like this one can be an enormous shot of positive mojo. They don't even charge for the love they exude - pretty cool!

PB&J - MY FAVORITE!



Another PA runner Ben Mazur was there crewing for Todd Lewis and I ran into him at the 26 mile Seven Springs Ski Resort Aid Station. It very cool to see a familiar face there considering Janice would be skipping this one, waiting for me at the next. Todd had breezed through there way ahead of me, so Ben was just chilling at the aid station - I reminded him that he had passed me near there last year, his iPhone App was talking to him as he went by me. Approaching the aid station at 32 miles, three or four 50kers swept past me. Those kids were cookin'! (along with the 70.5 mile race there's a 50k as well and team relay events in each distance - so four races in one really) The aid stations at this event are staffed by caring and knowledgeable volunteers who refuse to let you go with unmet needs.  While I don't recommend it, the well run, well placed aid stations and the ability to use drop bags at two later locations allow runners to go without a crew. This is a difficult trail that no matter how you look at it, it's 70 miles long, Janice has crewed for me both years and if for nothing more than piece of mind; having that support is invaluable.



An aid station open for business & buzzing.



Well, I guess I couldn't get through a blog post without complaining about runners who babble loudly while running. This event had them too.


I learned something here though:


1. When runners are talking(yelling), if you're behind them they're not as loud. 
2. I also learned (especially later in the day) I'm not alone when it comes to being annoyed by those who clamber on loudly about mundane crap while they're running.


NOTE: Janice will tell you, I talk way too much and it's probably true, but when I'm in the forest, the forest is why I'm there - I'm not there to hear about your kid's bad grades, your expensive new mountain bike that almost got your thrown out of the house, the fact that your cat can't have bowel movements without having Vaseline on her butt, etc. (or any of that other stuff that if any runner ever reads my blog and recognizes my examples will probably get me punched at the next run).


Like the last race I ran though, I found good company in another runner and he couldn't have appeared at a better time as a young guy named Victor, who I learned is a middle school teacher in Erie. Our paces became joined just after the 32 mile aid station and the friendly banter for the next miles was just what the doctor ordered. We didn't talk loudly or continually and we talked to amuse ourselves, not to hold conversations that belong at Starbucks. Running with him was like having a pacer and it was right where I needed one. These were the miles that chewed me up last year. I told him how I struggled there last year and every time we approached another dreaded hill, it really wasn't that bad. I was benefitting from my conservative start and my mental state stayed level and I was getting through with little suffering. We were in and out of the 38 mile aid station at the same time, but he needed to pull off to answer the call of nature and planned to perform some basic toenail maintenance at the 46 mile aid station so I never saw him again or more importantly thank him properly for pacing me through the mental-mess miles - I'm sure he had no idea how much he helped me.

Oh look, another hill.





The beauty of The Laurel Highlands Trail is immense and difficult to describe and unfortunately most of it is missed when running. Ferns line much of the trail and the further went north, the ferns seemed to increase to monstrous sizes. The trail sneaks through boulder piles, around a lake, right through Seven Springs Ski Resort and over The PA Turnpike. There's a section of side-hill that cuts across the face of a hill lined by ferns and they seem to grow parallel to the ground beneath them. So imagine that there are ferns on either side of a trail on the slope of a hill, they're above and below you and because of the way their frons hang above the earth, they create optical illusion that makes you think you need to lean with them (maybe I was just hallucinating) - in any event, I made myself focus on trees; knowing they were indeed growing vertically/no more leaning required (I'm sure not a single reader at this point believes I have an ounce of sanity left - you really do have to see it for yourself). I've read the trail guide and I know I missed so much of it's beauty, so I plan that the next time I visit I'll be carrying a camera, wearing a legit backpack and taking days instead of hours to complete its 70 miles.

An ancient cemetery along the trail.



I can't talk about the trail without this year mentioning the mud. It rained across Pennsylvania most of the week leading up to the event. Friday as we headed into Ohiopyle, we had a local radio station on that was announcing an approaching damaging storm. The commentator described down pours and damaging winds and they were now on their way to the area. So just like last year, when we checked into the hotel, it was pouring and man did it pour! All that rainfall combined with the Friday afternoon grand finale guaranteed 70 miles of mud on Saturday. Some of it was slippery, some of it was puddles and some of it was that ankle deep stuff that pulls at your shoes as you slop through it. I was following a guy up a steep climb who had zero traction in his Hoka's and kept slipping. I passed more than one runner sitting on the ground putting their shoes back on after retrieving them from the mud that had just removed them. One runner, who this was his 8th running of the event, said this was the muddiest he had ever seen it. Yes, mud is part of it, you  have to expect it to some extent. The Salomon Speedcross shoes I wore were perfect for those conditions so I thankfully kept the mud at mostly an amusement level.



In the 50's, I was slowing slightly, walking the steeps, but mostly still running. I did begin to recognize runners I remembered leaving me on those initial climbs. Unfortunately, one of them was Todd. We weren't far from the 57 mile aid station, he was walking and told me he had bonked, needing some solid food. I moved on knowing that Ben would be waiting for him up ahead. I could to give Ben the heads up to make sure Todd could refuel and keep going. Soon I ran into Danny Mowers(not running it this year) instead and he was looking for Todd who was past due. I gave him the details and he was off to find him. Janice was waiting at the aid station and I told her that I agreed that dry clothing was a good idea. The breeze had cooled the air and wet muddy clothing was beginning to bother me in a cold kinda' way. She was happy I saw it her way and when I told her I'd also like to change my shoes, she replied confidently "I have them too". While changing, Todd and Danny strolled in. Janice had found the Sheetz (convenience store) that apparently time had forgotten and she had chicken tenders. I had one and she offered the same to starving Todd. With just a shirt change he was out of the aid station well ahead of me. Sitting down and taking my time to change everything except my compression shorts turned into an excellent break from the perpetual movement. I added a light wind jacket over a sleeveless and I was back on the trail, encouraged that it still wasn't quite dark yet.

Smiling, I know I only have a half marathon to go.

Dry clothes at 57 miles.



One last gulp of Coca-Cola while Danny Mowers chills
and waits for his next friend to arrive.



I soon realized I forgot two bottles I wanted to carry, but decided I'd be fine without them(my only real mistake on the day- I think). Not much longer and I saw Todd again and he was sort of stopped talking to another runner. When I passed he reached out and said hello and I almost lost my balance(klutz). I was anxious to reach the gas line road and the next aid station at mile 62. Just knowing I would be soon be under 10 miles to go had me stoked to keep moving as quickly as I could. I did soon reach the road and the aid station. In the darkness at the aid station I recognized Charlie Ellis requesting a grilled cheese to go and he reminded me that he told me he'd see me later. Charlie had introduced himself to me on the big climb at the beginning of the day, telling me he not only read my blog, but remembered me finishing last year and recognized me this year. I was astonished by all three facts. Through much of the next miles we stuck together with another runner keeping our distance from a pair who were a talking machine up ahead of us. Charlie ducked into the ferns for relief and not much further I was eaten by a climb at the 65th mile. I felt spent. Charlie caught back up and passed with ease and I couldn't match pace with the other fella either. I was now in bumbling and stumbling mode, tripping over everything. My stabilizer muscles were fried and my lack of any existing coordination seemed much worse in the shadowy darkness. Charlie had spoken of a sub-19 hour finish for us and I watched as that became more and more unrealistic for me. Before too long I was surprised that I caught back up to the other runner who I eventually learned his name was Marvin and he was from the Baltimore area. He was now in the same condition, hoping the finish line would come to us. I promised him that I had probably tripped over 2,000 rocks since we had parted company. We laughed off our struggle together and found our way through the rocks to the finish. He had said at one point, "I'm barely moving" and approaching the finish I told him I'd give him space so he could run it in alone. When I said run, I think he thought I was nuts. He finished and got his hand shake and 70 mile post trophy from the race director and I followed shortly after. Our running day was done.

I now have bookends (with Rick Freeman, Race Director)



Janice collected me promptly and I asked her if she had gotten my last Spot message or any sleep. She said "no" to both. Knowing we were now to somehow get to Pittsburgh to visit Niece Katie, I asked, "so what's our plan?" She said, "let's go to Katie's!" Janice had already had one highly caffeinated coffee drink from the Sheetz with the chicken tenders and she was ready to go. She had also gotten ice and the beer in the Jeep was cold! She drove and I enjoyed an ice cold celebratory Yuengling Summer Wheat. After one more stop at a Sheetz for another high octane coffee drink we were in Pittsburgh in no time flat. After such a long day, it was great to see Katie. I was embarrassingly filthy so it was especially great to see her shower...that showerhead is amazing, but that's a blog post all its own(I'll let Janice write that one - she installed the shower head after all).



This year's trip on The Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail was magical. It was so good that it makes me forget the pain of the previous year. Sure I finished 30 minutes faster than last year and that's cool, but most importantly I feel I ran much smarter and we had a good day. Janice was as usual the highlight of my day. Knowing that I'm running in beautiful mountains with her waiting for me at each checkpoint makes me smile. That was pretty much my theme on the day. I caught myself smiling all day long - pretty good sign that you're either really enjoying yourself or you belong in an institution. All the smiles on the volunteers faces made it easy as did seeing new and familiar smiles, like Leon, Todd, Ben, Danny and meeting new ones like Charlie, Victor and Marvin. And when you cross the finish line at whatever hour you arrive, Rick Freeman the Race Director is there waiting for you and he's smiling too.



The smiles continued into Sunday at lunch with Katie at The Porch in Pittsburgh.



My only real let down of the day was a technological one and I didn't really let it bother me. At the pace I'm able to maintain over this type of terrain and distance, it's difficult to find a GPS watch with battery life long enough. I've been wearing the Ambit2 S watch by Suunto, it's an excellent device with different level GPS settings to provide longer battery life. The pinging of the satellites is what saps the battery so lessening their frequency allows the battery to go longer. The downside of that is that the watch is reaching out to space for a position update less frequent thus rounding off corners, etc. The result being that, yes my watch stayed on all 19 hours, but when I stopped it, it thought I had only traveled 63.42 miles vs. 70.5. No big deal, it's more important to me to have an unbroken track and time than the perfect distance. Besides, the little cement mile markers along the way tell the real tale. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend a Suunto watch and I'm confident that some day they'll make a watch with longer battery life for us slow guys.


If you can travel 70.5 miles up and over mountains in less than 22 hours, then I greatly recommend this top notch challenge. No other event has given me anywhere near the sense of accomplishment as The Laurel Highlands Ultra.


Note: I find it funny to learn that now that this event is a qualifier for The Western States 100 Endurance Run (one of the most respected ultras in the world) finishing Laurel Highlands under 20 hours is qualification to enter the lottery to run it. I've never qualified for The Boston Marathon which if you believe the media is every runners Mecca, but now I've qualified for what I consider a truly big deal...sadly most of those misguided media folks have probably never even heard of Western States. [No, I have no plans to enter, but it feels good to know...]


Stuff I used:

Salomon Speedcross 3 Shoes
Salomon XR Mission Shoes
The North Face GTD Sleeveless Shirt (2)
The North Face Better Than Naked Wind Jacket
Brooks Rogue III Running Shorts (2)
Under Armour Seemless Compression Shorts
CEP Compression Calf Sleeves
Zensah Ultra Compression Calf Sleeves
Injini TRAIL 2.0 Midweight Mini-Crew Socks (2)*
Headsweats GU Energy Labs Race Cap
Headsweats iRunFar.com Race Cap
Headsweats iRunFar.com Supervisor
Nathan Performance HPL 020 Hydration Vest
Nathan Performance Endurance Hydration Vest (discontinued)
Suunto Ambit2 S GPS Watch
Spot Messenger GPS Transmitter
Body Glide Anti Chafe
Body Glide Skin
GU Roctane Ultra Endurance Drink
GU Roctane Gels
GU Electrolyte Capsules

*Injinji socks were a change for me for this year and I'd be remiss to not mention them. Last year I wore DryMax and Darn Tough socks and all 10 of my toenails were damaged and eventually lost. This year with Injinji, I have one toenail that's a little sore, but I attribute it to toeing a large rock in full stride. Injinji socks work, try 'em!

Fun photos from Janice's day crewing:

Old School/New School

Whaaat?

The other covered bridge...

You lookin' at me?

LWood?

Cool rock.

~4 ultras in 4 months - time to take a break!
~ nothing more for me till The Susquehanna Super Hike in September
~ NEXT STOP, THE BEACH!~

Obelisk Head