A New Runner’s Report

Prior to Holy Cowan’s Gap, I had never officially run an ultramarathon. I have, however, backpacked several ultra marathons while Thru-Hiking the Appalachian Trail in 2022. 44, 42, 38 and 28 miles were the biggest 24-hour pushes I had achieved that summer, and 16 to 19 miles was an average day of hiking.

Since completing the AT my love of trail running had deepened, and I’d spent countless hours running the expansive mountain bike trails near my home in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Additionally, I joined The Fredericksburg Area Run Club (FARC) in October. Before that I was running and swimming very often, but sort of inconsistently and without structure. Through the club I signed up for my very first local races and triathlons.

It is also through FARC that I met John Calabrese and Denise Freeman, who told me a lot of wonderful things about VHTRC, which led to me signing up for this race. Going in, I felt very confident in my abilities and training. The race’s elevation profile did strike some fear in me, but only after the run would I discover that it was even more of a sadistic route than I had imagined. Incredible - I love it!

I invited my friend Pickles (John Bruno) to do this race with me. We met on the first week of my AT Thru-Hike, and ended up hiking together the entire way, all the way to Maine. We were both part of a larger group of hikers, a “tramily” (trail-family) of eight in total, calling ourselves the ‘Trouble Bubble’. Pickles became my friend’s trail name. He got this title from carrying a glass jar of pickles in his backpack on his first day of hiking. I got mine (Banquet) from carrying a can of Coors Banquet beer that had a screw-on nozzle. I carried it because I thought it was practical and could be used for my morning coffee, but I guess it was a sight to see me drinking out of it first thing every morning.

During my thru-hike my trail family decided that we were all going to attempt the “Maryland Challenge.” We stayed in Harpers Ferry for a day with the intention of rising at dawn. We started our 42-mile day at midnight at the Appalachian Trail Conservancy in Harper’s Ferry. We loaded up on energy drinks, embellished our bags and clothes with glow sticks and started hiking northbound.

This was one of my favorite days on trail - for sure top five. What I loved most about that day is that it was the only time all eight of us hiked together, in a line, for that long. Once the sun came up we all became delirious and split into different groups, but overnight we hiked 18 miles in a conga line. It took 19 hours to complete, getting to the finish - the Mason/Dixon Line - at about 7pm. {Editor’s Note: What is known in the hiking community as the Maryland Challenge is the VHTRC’s Quad State Quad Buster.]

Afterwards all 8 of us spent three nights and two days resting at the Days Inn in Waynesboro, PA. This is the only hotel where we got both of the rooms reserved for us next to each other, connected by a door for one massive “party room.” I registered for this race partly because Cowans Gap State Park is approximately a 40-minute drive from Waynesboro. Naturally, I insisted that we stay in the same hotel. It sounds ridiculous, but The Days Inn in Waynesboro is one of my favorite places, and I wasn’t going to pass up an excuse to stay there again.

Saturday
Pickles came to stay with me in Fredericksburg, VA, from his home in Chevy Chase, MD, for the weekend. We figured it was easier than trying to pick him up on the way to the race since he was able to take the train easily to my house. I did a six mile run with Pickles Saturday morning. I was super excited to have him in town to get a group run in with FARC. We pushed a solid 7:40/m pace for six miles feeling super excited for tomorrow. It was great having him meet some of my good running friends and see one of my frequent run routes downtown.

I also got a tattoo approximately 16 hours before the Holy Cowans Gap 50k. I had been wanting to get a tattoo commemorating my Appalachian Trail Thru-Hike for over a year now and had a design that I drew myself. The problem I have with tattoos is choosing an artist and booking an appointment; I never get around to it. Jack Brown’s Tattoo Revival in Fredericksburg was hosting a Tattoos for Community event, which was a whole day of walk-in style tattoos with all of the proceeds going to Safe Harbor Child Advocacy Center, a local non-profit. I figured that was a great opportunity. I waited for three hours in front of the store, before the event started at noon, to make sure I was in the first round of tattoos. I did this because I was going to have to drive to Waynesboro later on.

My boyfriend Calvin, Pickles and I drove up to Waynesboro and got Frank’s Pizza immediately upon arrival. I was flooded with nostalgia and was thrilled to find out that Frank’s Pizza was actually good and that I wasn’t blinded with hiker hunger last time I was in town (always take a hiker’s opinion on tasty food with a grain of salt). We stopped at the Martin’s Grocery store and got snacks and the supplies we needed to bring to the start of the HCG, and went back to the hotel. I usually have difficulty sleeping before an event but I was glad to have fallen asleep seamlessly after laying down. I was nice and tired from a morning run, a tattoo, a drive, and lots of pizza.

Sunday (HCG Race Day)
To say that I have never been nervous before a race, to me, seems like a cocky thing to say. I’ve found that whenever I get cocky with my running, bad things happen ; injuries, spills, cramps, shin splints and more are always waiting for me whenever I get too big for my britches. However the gut feeling in my stomach pulling up to Cowans Gap State Park at 6am confirmed that up until this point, I have not dealt with nerves too much. Or at least not to this capacity. On our drive from Waynesboro to the State Park in the morning I realized I had not printed out the waiver that was emailed to me. In such a nervous state that my boyfriend could not talk me out of, I used my phone and wrote the entire waiver on to a notebook paper and signed it just in case. Absolutely mental moment. We arrived at the park and of course there were plenty of turn sheets and waivers printed for us. I was really pleased with the vibes of the parking lot and pavilion. It felt like exactly what was advertised on the sign up page; a Sunday morning run club meetup… but for a 50K.

The start of the race was an immediate uphill for a couple miles; it was fun being a part of a group of runners lightly speed walking uphill. I focused on listening in to all the conversations and camaraderie, and staying at a comfortable pace with them. A little after the second mile the uphill grade started to get less intense so Pickles and I picked up the pace. Before the race, I reminded Pickles a lot of how we need to focus on our pacing and relax for the first half of the race. We have a tendency to push each other to be faster, with each of us wanting to outrun or out hike the other, a great dynamic for the trail. Maybe not so great for both of our first Ultra Marathons. Once we were up on the ridgeline we ran about a 9:30/mile average from miles three to eight. I was completely aware of how quick we were moving while It was happening, but we were having a blast running together.

We got to the first aid station at mile seven. I had a small cup of coke, two pieces of cold, salty potatoes on a toothpick and candy. Before the aid station I had a Huma gel and a Maurten drink mix. At this point in the race both of us were feeling super confident and kept the pace pushing.

We arrived at the second aid station. After refilling my water I snacked on a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and peanut butter stuffed pretzels. The volunteers told us about the next stretch of the route and let us know we had 3.2 miles to the next aid station at the Pavilion where we had started. I was excited to get to the next aid station because it was the halfway point of the race. I knew that I needed to get some electrolytes in before the second half (I had Liquid IV in the car) and also I was starting to feel the early signs of chafing and wanted to apply some Aquaphor for comfort. Mile 11 to Mile 18 was the most relaxed part of the route; it was easy rolling hills in the bottom of the valley created by the two ridges that the race went on.

I completely missed the third aid station. If I had studied the route more specifically and not just the elevation profile, I definitely wouldn’t have made that mistake. We were supposed to get to the lake and cross a bridge and pop over super quickly to the east side of the lake. Then run right back over the bridge and continue on the trail on the other side of the lake and to the north loop of the strange figure-8 route. Not even a quarter mile detour. Needless to say I ran right past the junction and continued on past the pavilion aid. I kept running for about a mile and some change. We were running by campsites and recreation areas on the lake. I was keeping my eye out for the pavilion. Eventually we got past the lake and after about a quarter mile from the water I knew something was wrong. I looked at the folded up map in my pocket and realized our mistake. I panicked and stopped to weigh out options with Pickles.

We ultimately decided to turn back, We backtracked about 0.6 mile when we realized we were still probably a mile out from the aid and realized it wasn’t worth it. Pickles was unbothered as usual but I was starting to stress as my chafing was amping up and I knew I was missing out on a crisp seaberry Liquid IV. So we turned back again and continued with the rest of the race. We added on approximately 1.4 miles because of the backtrack but at least it was during the easiest portion of the route.

We continued on to the fourth aid station, 17.7 miles in, which was an unmanned table with a giant water cooler, a time sheet for us to sign, and nothing else. Totally understandable considering there was the midpoint aid station three miles ago. I unfortunately was really starting to feel myself start to get depleted and was counting on snacks. I cameled up the best I could here and had my last gel and granola bar for a snack.

We continued on. I knew some brutal uphills were coming and was hyping myself up for them as we approached. As soon as we started the first switchback-less climb up the side of a mountain my quads started to burn. I told Pickles he could go in front of me as I could tell he had more in him at this moment and he went ahead. I stopped for a breather on the way up. Then I stopped for seven more breathers. This was going to be a rough one. Pickles totally left me in the dust on the first of the climbs. I figured I might catch him soon, so I kept at it.

At this point a runner I chatted with in the first few miles of the run caught up with me. We chatted for probably 3 miles. (mile 20-23)

I am not sure of his name. He is from Springfield, Virginia, has run a lot with VHTRC, was wearing a lightweight short sleeve plaid hiking shirt, I believe that he was 2-4 places above me on his finish. We chatted about running, VHTRC, beer, hiking, and food. After enough talk of food and beer my new found running friend correctly assumed I was starving and kindly gave me an almond butter packet, which honestly saved my life.

We eventually got to the 5th aid station. Which was such a relief for me. I was doing very poorly on my nutrition and was also feeling quite drained from my lack of proper electrolytes. The friend I made was much more lively than I and had some soda and a light snack before promptly moving on, saying he was feeling good. I however was in no such state. I had probably 4 small glasses of icy coke. At least a liter and a half of water right there, peanut butter jelly, Rice Krispie’s, candy, and pretzels. I asked the volunteers how far ahead my friend Pickles was. After describing his features they told me that no one matching that description had come through. I dragged my feet leaving that aid station because I was hoping Pickles would just appear out of the woods but he did not. Instead Jason (I believe that’s his name) came running down the fire road we were supposed to leave on. He had missed the left turn to Aid Station 5 and ran all the way back to the unmanned Aid station 4/7 and came up the fire road to Aid Station 5, which was a wild detour. So with no sign of Pickles, I started on to the last set of major uphills, feeling a solid 4/10.

I was greeted with a sign at mile 25 of the race saying “THIS WAY. YES, ACTUALLY. THIS WAY.” Which was directly up a stream on the side of the mountain. I was very amused by the sign and actually enjoyed trudging through the water for a moment but was soon brought to my hands to the ground and started a slow crawl up the trail. I was blown away, to be completely honest, I had only ever seen this grade of elevation a handful of times on the entire Appalachian Trail. Mostly in New Hampshire and Southern Maine. I wasn’t surprised that this grade existed, I just realized that no one would ever hike up a mountain in this fashion, especially in Pennsylvania of all places. This was the work of some evil trail runners.

I got myself all the way up by completely cussing out everyone involved with Holy Cowans Gap (I love y’all). I got to the top of the ridge and went right back down some on to a fire road. I knew what was ahead of me and I was completely dreading it. The next sign I saw was just “Turn Right Here” and was once again, for the 4th time, faced with a sadistic detour directly up. Much shorter than the other climbs, but it was a perfect cherry on top of my scrambling before. I knew where I was physically and immediately started a slow crawl. No shame out here! Just myself and this last hill. Each climb before this one took a severe chunk of everything I had in me. On this fourth climb I had nothing left to give really. I basically collapsed, not even 0.1 mile up. I laid flat on my back on this incline and just focused on breathing and existing. Not even 10 seconds into my meditation both of my quads locked up in a charlie horse. My body yearned for the electrolytes I ran past hours ago. It was a strong dull pain and I just wept on the ground for the duration of it. My legs eventually relaxed and I stopped crying and I realized I had hit a wall harder than I ever have before this.

On the Appalachian Trail, quitting was basically impossible for me. There were times where I was stressed about finances, or homesick, or too tired to imagine going on, but I could never look at the people I was with and say I was going home. If I were to say I was quitting one day, my trail family likely would have restrained me until I realized I didn’t want to quit anymore. Not a lot of brutal walls for me on the AT. Just a long-ass summer I never wanted to end.

Here, however, I was completely alone in the mud, about a mile away from an aid station where I could promptly say, “I am not running anymore,” and sit down and eventually eat all the food I wanted to, and sleep. The only stake in this race was my Strava post, and at this point that was nothing to me. I stayed there in the dirt and laid with the comfort of quitting. I thought about my last days before Mt. Katahdin, the finish line of the AT. Five and a half months of hiking left my body feeling broken and decayed. I remember the feeling of depletion everyday waking up and going to sleep for the 282 miles through the finale of a state: Maine. The last few miles of this race I felt worse than that. I didn’t know how that was possible. I thought about going home after I finished the Appalachian Trail. I remember how it felt for my dream to be over and completed, and the depression that came from returning to the real world after the trail. Ultimately my post-trail depression is what led me to trail running, which in turn, a little under two years later, led me to this race, which led me to this wall on mile 26. I knew if I went home with a DNF I’d feel some of that same depression creep back in and I have done everything to be free of that feeling. I had to continue!

I turned over and continued crawling up. I made it to the top and had a small celebration for completing “the worst of it” with still 5 more miles to go. I basically threw myself down the last steep descent. Technically I was running, but if you’re familiar with the old internet flash game QWOP, I imagine that’s probably what I looked like. I got back to the aid station. With limited brain capacity I told the volunteers, “I feel rough” and completely forgot to ask about Pickles in the brief moment I was there. I just grabbed a Gatorade before continuing my slow jog, not wanting to lose momentum for the end. I got to the last aid station, the unmanned one from earlier and drank more water. By this point I had just under three miles to go and I basically walked for two of them. I did make a game out of jogging the sections where sun had a chance to be shining on my fresh tattoo, but that was it. For the last mile I gave everything I had to run to make sure I looked cool approaching the finish. I finally got to see the turn I missed earlier in the race and laughed to myself about the mistake as I crossed the finish line.

Once I finished running I immediately made my boyfriend shuttle me to the camp showers. Pickles crossed the finish line not even 10 minutes behind me. He got turned around on the first loop of hills. After we were washed off we spent some time at the pavilion recovering all of our burned calories with a lovely barbecue that the club put on. Pickles and I shared our experiences about the brutality of the second half of this race. I spent some time talking to the Race Coordinator, Stephanie. I also made friends with Claudia, and her partner over a couple of burgers.

I am super thankful to VHTRC and all the volunteers that put on this race. I wish I could have chatted with more runners while I was there. But based on who I spoke with, I can for-sure say that VHTRC is full of my kind of people. I couldn’t be more pleased with how my first Ultra Marathon went and I am grateful such a wonderful club like this exists in the Mid-Atlantic. I look forward to more runs like this, and I have already signed up for Furbutt's Backyard Ultra. Happy Trails everyone. Thanks for reading.