Calabrese Corner - Waterfall 2024

Background

The last time I ran the Waterfall 50k was in January 2021. I really enjoyed it but I always seem to have things going on that weekend. I had plans this weekend, too, but I had a lot of unfortunate things occur during the week, and I unexpectedly was able to run both MMT Training Run 1 and Waterfall.

[Editor feels compelled to add a note at the bottom of this 2024 report, as John’s 2021 WTF race was fairly epic, and the race report for WTF 2021 appears to still be under construction. Look for the 😁 note at the conclusion of this report.]

MMT Training Academy Run #1

I’m not going to do a full report here, but I’ll give some highlights:

The weather was wild; I feel like we had all seasons during the course of the run.

Tony Taylor and I both had a rough day. Both of us had stuff going on, and we were lucky to just get it done.

This, I believe, was my first time running Massanutten Training Academy Run #1 and, for anyone considering, it’s a very long day. I had to be up at 2:30 AM to get to the parking area, then Tony took myself and 5 others to the start area in his van, then after the training run was over, I drove Tony the half hour or so back to his van.

So, as hard as this run is, it’s an early day and you need to lookout for others carting people to the start.

All around, the MMT Training Academy #1 is a great run to use to get stronger early on in the year. Also, by transitioning to WTF50k, you have the option to run again the next day if you need more work!

Waterfall 50k

I’m not going to lie. immediately after Training Academy #1, I really did not want to do Waterfall. I don’t care who you are, how fast you are, or how tough you are, etc., after you finish the training run you have those thoughts. [Editor’s Note: Unless you are Barret Stanton.] The only reason I was motivated enough to get up for Waterfall is I needed it. I had gone through an extremely rough week, and I needed to work things out in my head and just relax. I was really stressed out all week and I just had to do it to let go of everything and fix myself up right.

Race Morning

I didn’t get much sleep Saturday night, but compared to pre-Academy run on Friday night, I got to sleep in more, since WTF doesn’t start until 8 am. That’s like life-changing hours of sleep!

I had all my stuff ready the night, before so I was ready to roll.

The drive was excellent. I listened to podcasts on football, getting myself hyped up for the NFL playoff games and I ended up running with an equally crazy sports fan.

Charlie Poffenberger

My buddy Charlie, who I ran with at the Redeye 50k, was there! We talked for a minute, then I dropped off my firewood (common aid assignment) and water and said hello to all my buddies.

Go!!

Bur rounded us up and we walked across the street to the start. Bur snapped a picture, gave us some last minute words, made sure a few runners who had not checked in were present, and then away we went.

Struggling

I wasn’t feeling great initially, but I pushed to go as fast as I could, because the initial first mile or so is runnable. I knew that when I got to Waterfall and the technical spots it was going to be extremely hard for me to move after doing the training run yesterday so…

Waterfall

I moved pretty good going up Waterfall (at least much better than I expected) and it didn’t take as long as I anticipated. With that said, I wasn’t cocky because I knew the second time climbing this section of trail was going to be rough.

When It Gets Miserable, Talk Football

I started really struggling as we crossed Kerns, and Charlie and I talked football a lot on this next portion. Luckily, because there are so many playoff storylines, we were able to really pass some time out there. I then got a second wind and we both really picked it up when we finally got to the downhill on Jawbone.

Is That You, Santa?

I started hearing a bell while I was running downhill; it got closer and closer. I turned and said: “is that you Santa??” And there was the cutest, fittest dog I’ve ever seen, running crazy fast. It was Deb Cawthorn’s doggie, Q! Charlie and I ran with Deb, Jimm Ouellette and Cara Mason into the first aid station at Gap Creek.

Virginia Happy Trails Running Club Uses Grey Poupon

The Bligans are awesome. VHTRC volunteers are just the best, but the problem is there are so many great ones! So I am never able to just single out one person. It’s just an amazing amount of love out there.

Charlie and I crushed some Turkey sandwiches. I drank some Dr Pepper and ate some Indian cookies. I’ve paid a lot of money for some races, and VHTRC events crush them; it’s not even close.

Thank you Aid Station 1!!!!

Snow!!

Didn’t see this coming, but we got a lot of snow falling after the visit to Gap Creek. It wasn’t sticking much, but the snow flakes came down pretty hard over this next section. We stayed with Deb’s crew, and Larry Huffman was there with us now, too. We talked about bears for awhile as the snow fell until we got to something I wasn’t ready for …

We Have To Do What??!

I had no idea we had to climb Duncan Knob. I got really confused. I was thinking “I didn’t do this in 2021 and prior. Did I screw this up or something?” (Q later confirmed that Bur changed the course in 2023) [Editor’s Note: Bur took out a climb to the Jawbone overlook at the end of Kerns, and added this Duncan Knob climb and rock scramble instead, at the top of the climb from Gap Creek to Peach Orchard gap. Great view and from all appearances a well received change to the course. 😉😏]

Charlie was a saint for waiting for me here. I’m the worst climber. I’ve done races like the Barkley Fall Classic and Manitou’s Revenge, during which you have to do stuff like this, but I’m pretty much the worst.

We went all the way to the top and back down and it took a lot of time but I’m glad we did it.

Actual Running!

Going through Duncan Hollow after our descent from the knob, it was really nice to be able to run again! We picked up a runner named Kate Fletcher. We all talked about races and stuff, then I had to fall back. I caught up to Charlie and he was definitely stronger than I was headed to Waterfall. This portion did not involve as much talking, since I was just struggling to keep up.

Carol!

Charlie and I caught up to Carol Cohen about a mile from our second climb up Waterfall. We talked a lot about just getting over COVID. It was good to vent some about the rough week I had. We talked about COVID and just having to be stuck inside and forced to rest. Both of us were happy to be outside.

Not Again

Alright, this is definitely what I was dreading doing: Waterfall on tired legs. I didn’t do too badly on it. Though I did struggle, I stayed moving steady. We lost Carol here. When we got to the top I was extremely happy and tried my best to immediately start jogging and carry that momentum to the road.

Actual Running

I was happy to be on Crisman Hollow Road, but I don’t like running the road with aggressive trail shoes. With that said, we were kind of close to cutoff, so we went pretty fast down the road. I knew this was going to mess me up later, but the main thing was getting the cutoff.

Massanutten Visitors Center Aid Station

Just like the first aid station at Gap Creek, we had amazing food options at the Visitors Center. It was really cold here, and I wish I could have stayed longer, but I felt pretty cruddy from pushing it on the road and then standing in the cold. We said our thanks and headed out.

Struggling Big Time

This next climb up to Bird Knob flat-out kicked my ass. Charlie went ahead, and I just couldn’t keep up. I struggled mightily until I got to the actual climb closer to the top, and then I just shuffled the best I could. Charlie went the wrong way at one point, so we were able to link back up. About 10 minutes later or so Carol caught us. She was flying at this point, so I told her go ahead. We couldn’t keep up with her, but she definitely helped get us going faster.

Watch Out For Turns

The last 7 miles or so you really need to be careful in this race. There are some turns that if you are on autopilot you can easily miss. I get crazy paranoid during this final portion of the race.

Charlie and I took the left off the road and commented on how the sign at the trailhead had fallen over on the ground. It’s really easy to miss this one.

We went into the climb up purple, and I was just really tired. The long day yesterday really had me beat at this point. Charlie and I got to the top and started the downhill, then got to the other left turn onto the pink trail there that you could easily miss, but we got it.

Autopilot

I don’t remember much of the next few miles, but at some point Kate came out of nowhere and said she had missed one of those turns back there. She went ahead but we told her to be ready to make a right on orange that sneaks up on you.

Darkness

We were just about there when we ran into Stephanie Dempsey. It was good for us to run with someone new, so we talked about races and stuff, and just about anything because we were right there.

Finish

We emerged from the woods and were greeted by Q. Bur then gave us the best sticker in ultrarunning, and then we ate some delicious soup around the fire. It was really nice. We all needed to go, but it was really cool to share war stories real quick and joke around.

Jeff Best

It was really nice of Jeff to take care of us all weekend at both runs. I wish I could have helped him. I was dead, but he had so much stuff to put away. I really am going to make a push to be a better volunteer this year. The people that run all the VHTRC events are awesome, but I have more respect for the volunteers. It’s a hard, selfless job, and they make these runs work. All the volunteers are the winners out there. Solid gold.

[Editor’s 2021 Race Note:
😁There had been snow ahead of the race in 2021, which made for quite a fun day on the trails for those who turned out. John opted to take his race to a completely different level, despite the snow, running in sandals! He was having your typical snowy sandal run through about 24 miles of the race or so, as one does. He then made the bold choice to secure the Furnace Tourist Award for that year’s race. In other words, he blew past the turn at Browns Hollow on to the Pink Trail, and instead continued down the Roaring Run or Purple Trail. All the way down to Catherine’s Furnace (hence the Furnace Tourist). To his everlasting credit, rather than just mope and trudge back uphill to pink and then on to the finish at a slow pace, he recognized that he was going to finish way behind everyone else, and he felt bad for the RD having to wait for him well after dark. His sense of urgency and hustle got him back to the finish less than 40 minutes behind the penultimate runner, and the conscientious way that he focused on moving strongly in order to self-extract quickly earned him a deep appreciation from the race volunteers waiting on him in the dark at the finish.]

Photos