Dan Barger was kind enough to send over this write up of his win at the Massanutten 100 Race Report. Nice looking shirt Dan! Look for him to have a great run at Western States in June.
My most recent result at the Massanutten 100 started not on Saturday May 15th at 5:00am but actually over a year ago in mid January at the HURT 100 2009 in Hawaii. The Hawaiian experience left me motivated. The 2nd place to Geoff Roes left me a bit hollow (Geoff went on in 09 to notch many 100 mile wins and course records and ultimately the Ultra Runner of the year) I was a couple hours not minutes behind but yet my run yielded the 4th fastest time in ten years of the race, still I felt empty. Later in the year, after some training, The Plain 100 in Washington came along with 2nd place finish, both the winner and I broke the course record by over and hour. These two runs ultimately had a hand in the Massanutten 100. I was fiercely motivated to get a handle on my uncanny ability to let possible wins slip away. These opportunities come around more infrequently than I would like but when they do it is a tough gel to swallow. I had run twice before in Virginia but at the much calmer Old Dominion 100. The Massanutten 100 takes place in the Front Royal area, deep with the history of our civil conflicts and the rocks, ahh the rocks. They grow the rocks different in that area of the US and more of them. The race runs generally in a figure eight pattern with the southern most loop measuring about 20 miles. The hills are not all that massive between 1300 and 1800 feet in height but there are allot of them and evenly distributed throughout the course all the way to the end.
The 180 runners hit the trail section about 3.5 miles into the day, the rocks helped ease us all into the day and for me, a rev limiter of sorts. Hitting our crews at 12 miles (Edinburg Gap) brought everyone to the first long section (20 miles) without crews. Uneventfully arriving at Elizabeth Furnace (33 miles) allowed us to turn back to the South. With four major climbs behind all the runners were thoroughly warmed up by this point. The crystal clear skies were heating up, ultimately to about 80 degrees but the humidity was not an issue. At Veach gap (41 miles) all the runners had a long 9+ mile section, half way through aid station personnel had indicated that there would be an unmanned aid station in five miles, this was not to be and most runners suffered a bit through this dry ridge section. With a mild setback and tanking up on fluids at the 50 mile point I departed on the second half of the race, it was 1:14pm.
A fellow ultra friend of mine Karl Metzler who had won the year prior told me that because they were running the course in a slightly different order i.e. the last 30 miles was now the first, he felt it would allow for easier going late in the race. As I eased into the last 30 miles like and old man eases into a warm tub of water I remembered what he had said and figured he must have been talking about some other race. The hills were consistent the last 30, tough. Regardless of weather you are at the front, in the middle or at the back the last 30, flat or hilly always require some extra concentration and effort.
As dark began to fall I took a few minutes to watch the sun set while I was perched high on a rocky ridge, I thought about all the runners making their way along different parts of the trail and what a fantastic day it had been. With a little luck and a few more hours I should be able to put the cherry on top of what has been a fine day.
There was not a second that went by without my mind repeating over and over in my head, watch your foot placement, my peripheral vision overwork for the day constantly picking out where to step, the continuous monitoring of the bodies metabolic levels in an effort to maintain the very fine edge that is often traveled along with hydration and blood sugar. As I made my way to the top of the last climb at 97 miles (Jawbone) I took a few minutes to chat with two runners making their way to the visitors center and carefully picked my way down the rock strewn and leaf covered trail to the dirt road which would lead me to the finish line. Runners would filter in all day trying to make the 36 hour time limit. In the end it was “Magic” for all who toed the start line. Good on ya.
In Adventure
Dan Barger
New resident of Auburn, Ca.
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