Massanutten Mountain Trails 100 Mile Ultramarathon
Where: George Washington National Forest, Virginia
When: May 12-13, 2012
My time: 35 hrs 1 minute 18 seconds
http://www.vhtrc.org/mmt/2012/results.htm
The song which kept me going:
For the beauty of the earth,
For the glory of the skies,
For the love which from our birth,
Over and around us lies.
Christ our God to Thee we raise,
This our hymn of grateful praise.
The Pacers: Pam Monaghan-Geernaert , Michael Holland
The Driver: Phil Regner
The Strategy: to do at least as well as Ali Turfte from last year’s MMT. He and I kept up a similar pace at Grindstone in October. He’s a good friend and trail partner.
The results:
Analysis: I was doing well until Veach. I’m thinking that it’s time to look for another energy drink. I’ve used Accelerade for several years, but since last October I’ve had problem with nausea. It’s actually dry heaves. Habron Gap (around 7 PM Saturday) was the last time I used Accelerade. From then on it was only soda (coke and/or ginger ale) and soup. Nothing else.
Comparison with Grindstone: Grindstone has more total elevation gain (23,200 feet) vs. MMT’s (16,700 feet). However, there are long stretches of very technical , rocky trail on MMT that are more difficult than Grindstone. There is a reason Grindstone has 38 hrs to complete vs MMT’s 36 hrs. It takes more effort. Personally, I like the Friday night start for Grindstone. Running through 2 nights is beats running through 2 days.
Conclusion and Acknowledgements: Pam and Mike, you are the best. I owe you guys. Phil, thanks for the great job as shuttle driver. Fatrumps, you guys are crazy and great to train with. Thanks John Godinet for the pictures.
Nice short concise report Rudy! You are too kind.
Mike, are you thinking about Hellgate this year?
Rudy, you are what runners are made off, determinations, and so gusto, see you on the trails