2025 Report

Report — compiled by Keavy Baylor

It was a beautiful spring day for the start of MMT Training Academy Run 3. The Stanton’s always seem to shepherd in spring with this final training run (save for the Chocolate Bunny), as it sinks in for many of the runners that this warmer weather means MMT100 is right around the corner.

Ted Bielawa, who’s running MMT100 this May, and the other runners started the day on Orange through Duncan Hollow, which was uncharacteristically not too wet and muddy, and was illuminated by a fantastic bright moon and clear sky. The runners could instead focus on watching the sky lighten as the sun rose and they started the climb up towards Peach Orchard Gap.

Next up was a quick descent into Gap Creek, then up Jawbone and across Kerns Mountain, before runners could bomb down the most runnable descent of the day, on Crisman Hollow Road, before reaching the Thibodeaus’ awesome Aid Station 1 at the old Massanutten Visitors Center at mile 13.6.

Ted’s ultra runner fuel creativity was on full display here as he made an ultra taco (sandwich?) of mini pancakes and hot dog bites.

Fellow runner Kevin Jordan and the others next ascended Bird Knob and were treated to great views from the overlook at the top. He recounted that the giant anthills that line Ant Road seemed smaller this year than last.

Once over the crest, Roaring Run Trail (more infamously known by many as “the Purple Trail”) turned into a deep leafy mess and then…the blowdowns. Crewing and pacing Reverse Ring in February, Ted was sufficiently prepared for the blowdowns on Big Run after hearing several of his friends complain coming into Camp Roosevelt, but here the MMT3 runners enjoyed an appetizer of things to come. So many tree tops had snapped off this winter and now littered the trail.

The descent down Browns Hollow (the “Pink Trail”) was smooth for Kevin, with minimal blowdowns. This brought the runners to the Route 211 AS2, which fueled runners with pierogis before the final leg of the day through Big Run to the finish at Camp Roo.

After crossing Route 211, Kevin and the other runners had a smooth run on the white-blazed connector trail before the hellish journey across Big Run began. Many trees were down, covering the single-track trail and forcing runners to go over, under, and around the trunks and branches (Gaylord style, in Ted’s words). James Coyne had more fun than most in this section, speeding through it as the first finisher of the day and treating the blowdowns like an obstacle course. Most runners arrived at the finish line with numerous scrapes and cuts on their legs, or in Gaylord style…a broken wrist.

Kevin gave special kudos to the lone hiker with the tiny handsaw who was cutting away some of the blowdowns. More trailwork to come before MMT! [Editor’s Note: The annual MMT 100 Trail Work/Party is set for May 3, 2025. Plan to join us!]

Once hitting the lower runnable section, the runners sprinted in the final 10K to the finish. The closer they got to Camp Roo, the faster they ran, knowing that Chef Jeff Best was waiting (and cooking!) at the finish.

Our volunteer of the year extraordinaire cheffed up some delicious jerk chicken, tomato soup, and his famous grilled cheese for our finishers coming through all afternoon.

Photos

Results

Aid was provided at the following locations:
Aid 1, Visitor’s Center - 13.6 miles
Aid 2, Route 211 Lot - 24.5 miles
Finish, Camp Roosevelt - 35 miles

And here is our usual admonition regarding the “results” below… Bear in mind: this is not a competitive event. No one treated this as a competitive event. These should not be considered “competitive event results.” The times 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 helpful for volunteers to see the range of times that runners take to cover certain sections.