The race website describes it as one of the premier ultras on the east coast. I haven’t run any races or ultras outside of PA so I can’t attest to that statement, but I would say it is difficult and going into the race I was feeling nervous about my ability to finish the race within the 19 hour cutoff.
I felt more nervous the day before the race, but luckily come race morning when I woke up nerves were minimal and I felt ready to tackle it as I had my pack set to go and even slept in the clothes I was going to wear to run to avoid one other task to have to tackle race morning.
Now I am not a newbie when it comes to ultras. This was my 11th ultra, three of which were 12 hour events (all Labor Pain 12 hour in Reading, PA) and I had covered distances of 50, 50, and 55 miles respectively in those events. While WEU would be another 8.8 miles further, it was not the distance aspect of the race that concerned me. It was elevation profile that lead to doubts I had. WEU has ~24,790 ft of net elevation change whereas the 55 miles I did at Labor Pain was only ~13,000 ft. That’s a big difference and being my quads and hip flexors got very fatigued on prolonged climbs at a 50K tuneup race 6 wks prior to WEU, I was worried about the same on the hills for this race.
This got me to thinking though and I laid out a couple "rules” for myself and got them in my head the week or so leading up to the race. What I did was look at the race as just getting from aid station to aid station. While I knew to carry fluids and nutrition with me for in between aid stations, it was just breaking the race down to a series of small ones that made it so much simpler. Can I run 4.3 miles? Yep! Now how about 6.0… and 5.6… and 3.4? Yep. Yep. And yep again. It seemed like a good plan going in and it worked race day. Breaking down race into segments was just easier for my mind.
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| Photo of the Start/Finish area taken the day prior to the race. |
I started out at the start line somewhere in the second half of it. I did speed up some on the road section at the beginning but didn’t want to get too caught up in things. About a half mile into it, the course turns to the trail and uphill right of way. I slowed down to a fast(er) hike like everyone else and up we went. There were two really rocky and technical sections early where you were essentially standing and waiting until those ahead got moving. I just took it in stride, letting my heart rate lower. Overall there was a lot of climbing to get to that first aid station at mile 4.3.
I always let the terrain dictate my pace (another rule I had) and I feel I managed this well too. If it was an uphill then I slowed so as not to push myself too much (especially early in the race) and I would use downhills to my advantage when I could. I say this for two reasons. Some downhills were very steep or technical and then late in the race my quads were feeling fatigued and I had a more difficult time tackling downhill running.
There wasn’t big sections of fairly flat running but one of them did come between aid stations 1 & 2. This was a nice break from the long uphill to aid station 1. The problem however was how wet it was! This was any overwhelming theme throughout the entire race—mud, muck, standing water. Some spots I felt like I was traversing a bog or marsh. Many spots were ankle deep at least. It dried out some approaching aid station 2 and it was fun hearing the noise and cheers ahead as I approached the aid station. It was much more action and bustling than aid station one. Things went smooth and going out of it there was a dirt road section that eventually lead to going over a neat old one lane bridge and from there runners turned right and ran a trial along the Loyalsock Creek. Personally I really enjoyed this section. It wasn’t overly technical but did go up and down to break any monotony.
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| The iron bridge after aid station 2 (crossing over Loyalsock Creek) |
After crossing the road running parallel to the creek, it was uphill to aid station 3. I started to feel fatigue in my legs during this long climb. I actually felt a little just after crossing that bridge. I slowed at tried to do an assessment of how I was feeling because I was only 3+ hrs and less than 15 miles into this race. I had a lot more to go!
I got to aid station 3 okay and felt better. I made sure to drink at every aid station as well as fill up my main bottle while grabbing something to eat and headed out. My philosophy for aid stations at this event was as follows: get what need, maybe take just a little minute break or so to stretch, but then get going. I didn’t want to linger and lose time. As long as I got my hydration and nutrition, I was good. I carried some of own food with me so I felt confident even if I didn’t grab too much.
Two of my other rules by the way were “drink before you’re thirsty” and “eat before you’re hungry”—in that order!
One aid station worker said while leaving “it’s downhill now to the next aid station.” It wasn’t. There was still a fair amount of uphill to go. Their form of amusement I guess. It was too bad though and eventually it was all downhill and sections I was familiar with from prior times hiking in that area. Runners made there way back to the river and came out at the Park Office and we crossed the road to aid station 4. A fair amount of people were there cheering—and this definitely helps!
I grabbed a ham and cheese wrap and boy did that hit the spot! That was the best aid station food I’d found yet! I ate a little bit of other stuff while getting my bottle filled as usually and knew what was ahead—uphill!
The course got steep quickly at this point and lead up to a vista that looks back down on the creek and beach. What was most interesting on this section was seeing the downed trees from a tornado in April. Lots of destruction took place and quick minor re-route due to damage. It was just mostly unrelenting uphill—a few downhill sections with niceties like water cascading over rocks—that made up this short segment to aid station 5 at the beautiful Canyon Vista!
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| Canyon Vista! So beautiful! |
Canyon Vista is one of nicest spots on the course in my opinion. I just like the lookout—seeing the hills gentle grade to the valley, some from the left and some from the right. I ate only a little at this aid station. I did get patched up a some as I had slipped at one spot and had two superficial scrapes on right leg and when I asked an aid station worker about having something to clean it off she had me sit down and helped to clean and bandage it.
I rolled out of there and headed for more. To be honest I don’t remember much about the section between aid station 5 and 6. I recall it being mostly flat with minimal ups and downs and that weaved around quite a bit but nothing really stands out. What I was focused on is still taking things easy and remembering to properly refuel at the next aid station. This would be important because from aid station 6 to 7 was the longest stretch between aid stations—8.1 miles. I knew, especially if it was hot, I’d being drinking a lot and there was climbing involved in that section too so I figured I’d take at least 2 hrs for that section.
Aid station 6 was rockin’! Ahead of it were 3 guys yelling and using a safety cone as amplifier that you hear probably 10 minutes before even reaching them! It had a festive atmosphere for being out in the middle of nowhere. I drank a little more than usual because of the aforementioned long stretch ahead ate some food. I had freezy pop which tasted sooo cold and delicious! That really hit the spot as by now the temperature was starting to rise and it was getting hot!
The section between aid station 6 & 7 did take a long time. There was climbing and descending involved and more mud and muck. The temps didn’t ease either. It was getting hot. Quite a bit of hiking took place in this section. In reality the whole course involved a lot of hiking but by now for sure.
Upon getting to the top of High Knob us runners were now past half way and coming up on the first aid station with a cutoff. Cutoff time was 5:00. I hit that aid station just minutes past 3:00. I felt good knowing I was hitting this early. In studying the aid station planner document on the race website I saying that if you just hit the cutoffs you will have to speed up the rest of way and each time it only got harder as the pace decreased each time. I used the bathroom at this aid station for the first time did some true stretching to try and loosen up the muscles a bit as I was now out here for 10 hrs with many more to go. I left the aid station at 3:14.
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| View from aid station 7 (High Knob) the day after the race |
I was warned by another runner that the section coming up had a long down hill and then one of most brutal climbs. She was right! I had to take the downhill cautiously as my quads were starting to feel it. The downhill wasn’t technical or steep but just enough to let you know it took muscle control to avoid go too fast. After reaching the bottom was stream crossing and this felt very good on the legs, cooling them down. It was one the widest stream crossings (maybe 40ft???) and no stone to tip toe across—just trudge through it. Like I said it felt good.
Now for the climb! Yes it was steep and long and unrelenting. Then toward the top it was more of the mud and muck again—all while trying to now go uphill in it. Traction was poor and it made you feel like you would loose most of your power. Luckily I had my trekking poles along for the race and it really helped for this climb as I passed a few other runners on the climb which made me feel good. I reached the summit and then there was a downhill to aid station 8 with another stream crossing directly before the aid station. I made it through without slipping—it was deeper and on an angle—and as soon as I did the people gathered there started cheering for me. It was much appreciated and a boost.
I didn’t really see much I liked at this aid station but I did eat half a grilled cheese sandwich and maybe something else but I didn’t spend much time here and moved on. The next aid station (#9) was water only that was 4 miles away and then the next true aid station (#10) another 4 miles after that. I just chugged along, hitting the climb out of there and moving on down the line. This was another section I don’t remember much about. I passed a guy soon after aid station 8 and then saw no one for miles until coming up on a couple. I was glad to see someone again. It does feel lonely at times if no one is around you out in these long races. I caught up to them at the water stop but they left before me as I ate some of my own food. After going through more mud, etc I eventually caught up to them and they let me pass them as the female told me I looked faster than them. In reality I did like passing them as the next aid station had another cutoff and I wanted to get to it as quickly as I could since it was a gentle downhill to it. The cutoff was 9:00 and I wanted to hit it by 7:30 to give me extra time for finishing the rest. That aid station would be mile 50 and I know it would not get any easier so the earlier I could hit it the better.
Things were starting to go downhill though—and I mean more than just the terrain. Gone was sun and I could hear thunder in the distance. I also had a stomach that was starting to feel not so good—something that I’m not used to and isn’t normal.
I hit the aid station when I wanted to. Coming up on it I saw a porta-john and that was my first stop after checking in. Having taken care of things I felt mildly better. I’m not sure what happen really—perhaps I was not eating enough. It didn’t help when I saw minimal at this stop too that I liked. I had some watermelon (something I ate at many of the aid stations) and filled up my water bottle.
I didn’t screw around much because the thunder was more frequent. I left this aid station feeling defeated. Although ahead of cutoff I didn’t feel good, a climb was ahead, and the sky didn’t look good. For the first time in the race I felt like I wasn’t going to finish. I felt like I could cry really. 50 miles of good racing just to see things slip away. Things were going to get tough now until the next true aid station. The next actual aid station was water only and 8 miles to the true aid station. Darkness would also set in, slowing things down as one can no longer see as well for each step you’d take.
Heading out a guy told me “You got this.” My reply was “I sure as hell hope so!” He responded with another, “Come on, you got this! I finished my piece of banana and set out not knowing what lies in store.
Things did turn worse—and it didn’t take long. Upon the climb up from there it started to rain. I stopped to get my headlamp out of my pack (something I should have done at the aid station) because it was getting dark quickly. It didn’t take long before the rain turned to a heavy rain. It was narrow section of trail and it was difficult to see with the rain coming down. It was mostly a game of staying in the middle of trail. Upon getting to the top there was some mild confusion. There was a flag at the corner of a fenced in area and that was it. I didn’t know which way to go. I turned right to follow the fence only to quickly see a headlamp coming my way. That runner said no that’s not the way. We backtracked and together saw another flag on a gate at the fence. We both were puzzled but as soon as he opened the gate I saw a flag inside. Seemed very weird but we went inside and soon saw another flag assuring us we were indeed on course. By now it was a complete downpour. There was more slop to run through and this were just downright nasty. Every square inch of me was soaked. What concerned me the most was how cold the rain was—I was concerned I might even get hypothermic if for some reason I had to slow too much. Soon there was a loud crack of thunder. We were both running fast through here as it was an open area with no cover. We made it to the far gate and kept going after getting through it, and soon came up on some other runners.
That runner sped up and I settled in with the new runners as I was slipping a lot and could speed up safely. The rain was still heavy but not quite as bad. It was nothing but weaving and winding and a slick mess. A lot became a blur at this point. Again I had doubts I would make it. I knew an uphill section was coming and my pace would slow. How tired would I be? Would I get cold? Honestly it was an emotional roller coaster. This weather (the storm) was making already bad course conditions even worse.
There was nothing else to do though than plow on. The rain was starting to slow and I never did get cold for any extended period so mentally I felt better—just a little anyway. I just kept on going, know I had to get to that final aid station 12 ahead of schedule to have any chance of finishing.
I was at the back of a group of runners and just trying to keep them in sight, which I did. Then came yet another stream crossing. While only 10-12 ft wide it was moving rapidly and almost knee deep. I took this cautiously while hoping the others didn’t gain much on me. I definitely didn’t want to slip crossing this stream. I made it across with success! Upon catching up to the others it was only 2 of them. In awhile the guy in front of me said something and I asked him to repeat it. He said this was the last long climb. This was music to my ears. I felt if my legs can just hold out for this then maybe there's a chance I can get to the finish. At one point on the climb the lead guy stopped and the other waved me on saying I looked stronger. The lead guy was another 100K rookie like me but the other guy had done it before. I guess he was sticking with him. I went on and actually gained ground on them.
Luckily the rain total stopped by this time. Another good sign I thought to myself. One less thing to deal with. It was not easy though. It was just more slop and mess to trudge through. I didn’t even care at that point. Everyone had a hard time seeing where they're stepping as it was truly dark now and your feet were already wet. The climbing hadn’t stopped either but it did greatly even out. I eventually was catching up to 2 other runners, a husband and wife, right around the water only aid stop. I didn’t even stop. A guy sitting in a truck was jotting down racers numbers. I yelled out “77” and just kept moving.
Right at a road section I caught up to the other 2 runners for good. I asked if they minded if I stuck with them and they didn’t care. They were very friendly and we navigated the short flatter section together to aid station 12, again wet and sloppy. Upon come to the end of that trail we saw strings of light—the final aid station! A few other runners were catching up to us too. Almost at the end of the trail we heard clapping and cheering. They likely saw our headlamps the wife said.
It was already 10:15, only a half hour before final cutoff! This was going to be tough! As in really speed up tough. No major climbs anymore but still some ups and downs. I grabbed my final piece of watermelon for the race and while eating it a volunteer asked me what I needed. I told him nothing. “How about water?” he asked. I told him have enough water and that I didn’t need anything more.
He said “I’d get leaving in the next 3-4 minutes if you want to finish this.” I didn’t plan on staying long anyway but something about that statement ignited me. I told him “Just show me where to go!” I got turned around at the aid station and was sure which direction to go. He quickly pointed me in the right direction along the cars and turn left to get back on the trail.
I took off. This was it. Now or never. Do or die (so to speak.) I was going to have to speed up and work hard to get to the finish before the cutoff but I had a lot of determination in me at this point. I might have been out there for over 17 hrs but no way was I going to give up. This section wasn’t too bad at first. The course was on a dirt road then for awhile and made for picking up the pace easier. It then headed back in the woods and the course became tougher again, more technical with it seeming like the reflective flagging becoming farther away and wondering am I on course. The technical section didn’t last long but it didn’t get any easier. The course followed something resembling a fire road I guess (unpaved obviously) and that was a mess. My poles definitely came in handy helping propelling me forward as with every step your foot slid and slipped and lost traction. My legs were tiring fast with every slip. And it seemed to just go on and on. I didn’t study this section of course map much and in my head I kept thinking the course map was different. I felt disoriented and unsure of how far I had to go yet. I thought I was moving fast but my watch was just ticking away..11:00… 11:10… 11:20.
Now doubt crept in again. Here I was 40 minutes before final cutoff and I didn’t know how far I had to go yet. My GPS watch died at the 12 hr mark and I was now just relying on a digital watch and math in my head. I figured if I could average ~16 minute miles for the 5.9 miles to the finish from that aid station 12 I’d have just a few minutes extra which I would need for the technical descent right at the end. At this time I came up on 2 more runners with one more coming up on me too. The two ahead of me were looking to see where the next turn was, which I had no idea. All I know is we weren’t to it yet.
Within minutes a great sound came out of nowhere! I could hear the Creek! Loyalsock Creek that runs by the Start/Finish area! Almost immediately, we came up where the trail bears left to descend. I looked at my watch—11:34. 26 minutes to make the descent and the a quick run through the park area to the finish! I had little doubt the descent would take that long and I felt like finishing was within grasp.
Again it wasn’t easy though. I slipped once making a turn on just a mild descent and went to my knees. That was a wakeup call not to get out of control for the steep part of the descent. I took the rest of the descent cautiously, twice letting to other runners pass. I didn’t want slip and get hurt just a half mile or less from the finish. I made it through the tough part, legs holding out and got down to where it flattens out. I saw I had about 12 minutes left and it felt great. One minor descent then under the bridge and through the parking lot. Finally I could see the string of lights on the ground they had laid out and all the lights at the finish line. I just kept running strong right up to the finish line and I did it!
A quick glance at the clock and I saw 18:51 something. I didn’t care what the seconds were—I just finished a 100K!!! Of course everyone was cheering. A few others finished before the cutoff and I cheered them on, knowing just minutes before how good it felt!
It felt so awesome to finish it! It felt like a battle. A battle with the elements. The mud, the muck, the slop, the heat, the rain, the hills, the dark. I probably looked like a mess and was very tired but I indeed did finish this beast called Worlds End 100K!
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| Belt buckle finisher medal |
My official finish time was 18:51:34. I know that isn’t impressive, but I will definitely take it! I was 92nd out of 97 finishers, next to last male finisher, and last in my age group.
You know what though? As tough as it was I loved it. I had doubts I could pull this off, but with determination, I was successful. I managed things as well I could and ran my own race. I did the best I could on that day and that all anyone can ask for.
I really owe a lot to my trekking poles with this event/course. I know for a fact I would not have finished had I not used them the entire race. They helped me tremendously with climbing, aided in balance many, many times and eased downhills late in the race. Most of all they really helped me power through that last stretch to the finish were I was using them on all grades as I was in such a hurry to try reach the finish before the clock ran out.
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| Here's what the shoes looked like post race. |
So I guess the ultimate question is: would I do this again? I can say without a doubt—YES!!! While exceptionally challenging, I really did have fun do this race. Many of my ultras so far have been a multiple loop course, so I think a race like this with a single loop—and such beautiful scenery throughout—made for an experience where there was no monotony.
I also like pushing myself to see just how far I can go and what I capable of. I have another 100K in mind... I have a feeling it just a matter of time before I sign up!
