July 21, 2007
Catherine's Fat Ass 50k

We camped in a pickup truck a couple of miles from the starting line. This would be Amy's first 50k race. She'd done the distance on a fun run and had paced me for 40 miles at Mohican, but this course was a beast, as is anything at Massanutten. We started with a level section which gradually turned into a climb. We were making good time, especially for so early in a run. I generally go out conservatively but pushed a little harder on that day.

We soon made it to a steep climb, a flat bit and then a rocky climb up toward Bird Knob. I was familiar with this since I'd done this run in 2006, and on the Massanutten Trails 100 in May. We ran with Gary Knipling and David Snipes. Gary is a bit older and is pure entertainment. He is far from shy and loves to make any kind of comment without any worry of what others think. He isn't always politically correct but again, he is pure entertainment.

At the top of the climb, a couple of overlooks afford a fantastic view of the valley below. From here, it's almost level but extremely rocky. Amy had no trouble with the footing. The footing is what makes the Massanutten area so difficult for runners. There are many tough climbs but step placement is the real challenge of the area.

We got to the first aid station quickly. After fueling up, it was down a dirt road for a good while to the next station. The road continued along a mountain stream with multiple cascades. We ran with Margie Hughes. The road turned and headed up for a long climb. At this point, we passed a couple just out sightseeing, driving along the river. The woman stated "You people make me sick", just audible enough to be heard under her breath. We took no offense to offending her by doing something athletic. Slovenly behavior can sometimes be offensive to me.

We took our time and hiked much of it up to the aid station. A man hollered that this was a run, not a walk, so I sprinted up the hill to the station. Amy called me an idiot doing that but I've gotten used to people calling me names for little bursts of speed.

The trail started out easy, then followed a stream bed full of boulders. We crossed it many times. This is the prettiest part of the run. Large boulders and ledges rise on either side. We increased our lead on the group we left back at the station. We both seem to do best on the more rugged sections. Soon we were back on ordinary trail and took a right onto the Massanutten trail. This is where it started to heat up.

The sun beat down and the trees provided only partial shade. I kept saying there was an out and back trail coming up on the right. My estimate of distance was a bit off; way off. Amy got tired of my false estimates. She'd heard them before so she was a bit leary of them anyway. We did make it to the out and back which climbed moderately to a lookout. On the way back, we made good time and it was mostly downhill to the next station. One runner skipped the out and back section but we still passed him up and didn't see him again. This was a relaxed race but it isn't cool when somebody cheats on the course.

We repeated a section of road and came to a confusing intersection. We figured it out and made it to Catherine's Furnace, where smelting occurred from the 1840's to the 1860's. The purple trail started next to the furnace. This trail starts out deceptively easy but gradually becomes steeper. The temperature wasn't all that high until the climbing kicked in. Less tree cover led to discomfort. The trail got steep and we still had over two miles to go on the climb. The start of the switchbacks is where Amy kicked it into high gear and I had trouble keeping up with her. After struggling for several miles, she was now leading the way. We broke away from the group we were with and put an awful lot of space between us and them.

The trail became more rocky as we continued. Several more switchbacks and we were at the top of the ridge. The downhill was quite steep and covered with pine needles and rocks. This led to a road and then to the last aid station. Beyond the station, lay the anthill road. The anthills are several feet across and each one seems to be larger than the last.

The last few miles are the same as the first few in reverse. We ran well over the rocks and entered the steep rocky downhill we traversed in the morning. With weary legs, every step is precarious. WE made it through and continued on some more downhills. No one was in sight until the last mile, where we passed a young runner and finished in 7:16. I took five minutes off of my 2006 time and Amy finished her first 50k race.

Raging Bull