2020 Report

Below are the compiled times for the second Massanutten Training Academy run for the 2020 winter training season for the MMT 100 Miler. It was fairly cold at the start (temps in the mid-20s), but the day broke sunny and it gradually warmed into the low 40s, so it made for a fantastic winter’s day on a dry trail.

47 runners braved that early (5:15) meetup time at Camp Roosevelt for their shuttle to the start at the northern end of the Fort Valley at Signal Knob. After a briefing for the gathered runners in the Signal Knob parking lot, they clicked on their headlamps and trotted out of the southern end of the parking lot at exactly 6:05 AM.

As in 2019, all the runners who started this beautiful run finished under their own power! A 100% finishing rate for a 30 mile winter’s training run in the mountains is too perfect. Well done to all the runners.

Listed below are the running times for each of the 47 participants, including the check-in times at the two aid stations that volunteers manned along the route. The 30-mile training run route generally mirrors the second third of the MMT 100 run course. Elapsed time is shown for each of the three run check-ins.

Bear in mind: this was NOT a run. No one treated this as a run. These should not be considered “race results.” If you saw all the photos that some of the runners took while up on the ridges, you would have no doubt that no one was racing … The times detailed below are provided for informational purposes only. This can help others who pull the route from the event site and run the course self-supported, so that those runners can approximate times. It can assist those considering this training run in future years to estimate their own run times. And it is very helpful for volunteers to see the range of times that runners take to cover certain sections.

This was Guy Towler’s first year in charge of this Training Academy Circus, and big thanks to him for a job very well done! Former MMT #2 hoss Dave Woll volunteered, which provided a nice safety net for Guy (not that he needed it!) - Dave covered the aid at Veach Gap (8.5 miles into the run). Quatro Hubbard provided aid at the trailhead for the evil Habron trail climb (21.1 miles). Manning the finish and dishing out some gourmet eats was Katie Burke. A big thanks to crew who were out to support their runners and who pitched in to great effect and with great energy and humor at the aid stations.