Laurel Highlands Ultra Race Report
- Rufus Chaffee
- Jun 16, 2021
- 12 min read
PROLOGUE
A long time ago, back in 2019 (which is amazing how long ago that feels), I was planning out my 2020 racing season with the centerpiece being my 2nd Western States Lottery Ticket. With Western States there’s only 400 slots available so all the runners that don’t automatically qualify go into a lottery in which you have to complete a qualifying race to enter (there’s multipliers to level the playing field but it gets complicated there). I’d just finished my first 100-mile race, the Indiana 100, but needed to up my game. The Indiana 100, while fantastic, had also been on a 20 mile loop which provided a strong sense of security and safety. Each loop also provided only 1200ft of elevation so if I was serious about running Western States I had to push myself.
Scrolling through the different qualifying races I came upon the Laurel Highlands Ultra. Set in Western, PA the ultra was over 40 years old, close enough to drive to, and followed the entire length of the 70.5-mile Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail. Over 10,000 feet of elevation, Single track, gnarly in parts, gorgeous along the Laurel Ridge, some years half the field dropped out; this was clearly a destination race. I was intrigued, but then as I started to research it got really interesting.
The website was nothing like most of the other slick ultra websites looking to attract runners, it was very old school and simple circa 2000. There was no button to register or find out when registration opened, no ultra signup or site that handled registration either so I dug a little deeper. It turns out that randomly on a day in the late fall the registration form will appear on the site. You have to print it out and mail it in with a check - first come first serve for the 160 or so slots. You don’t get notified if you’re in, you find out if your check is cashed. Minimal communication or information other than the basics on the site. Obviously I was in.
Over the next few weeks I was able to locate a facebook group of veterans that was helpful in learning more as I obsessively checked the site for the registration form to appear. When it finally did, a ton of “it’s up” messages popped up in the group and it was literally a half hour before my check was in the mail. I was determined to get in and I did. My check cleared a few days later and when I didn’t win a spot in Western States with my single ticket (the races were only two weeks apart) I started planning.
In 2019 I obsessively planned my training, scheduling out weeks, and building towards my goal. I set weekly mileage goals, planned out weeks to back off, and I stuck to my schedule. I also did a lot of road miles to supplement my trail running as I was still converting from marathons and road races to trails, having just started trail running that July. There was a lot I was still learning but as 2020 hit I was in great shape mileage wise but looking back I was nowhere near where I needed to be in terms of strength and running that kind of elevation.
Most everybody knows this next part where all our races are cancelled or deferred. The 2020 Laurel Highlands Ultra was postponed to September, I chose to defer to 2021, and without any races as my target I had to adapt which turned out to be a huge blessing. The entire summer was spent running trails, going on mountain adventures with my new running partner, and just learning to appreciate being in the moment and running for the love of the challenge as opposed to a specific purpose. I learned to take it easy or take a day off when I knew I needed it, how to better read my body, what nutrition worked for me, how to suffer, how to really suffer, and how to suffer to the point you just want to sit and give up but find a way to push through. I was no longer a road runner, I was a trail and mountain runner.
RACE DAY
I was up by 2:30 a.m. for the 5:30 a.m. start about 70 minutes away from where we stayed. Originally I was going to catch a shuttle to the start from the finish line in Johnstown, PA so I’d booked a place to stay there but my running partner Brenda was now my life partner and just as crazy as me (and one hell of a runner) so she actually wanted to come on this adventure with our dogs and crew as well as drop me off at the start. Logistically we hadn’t been able to leave until Friday afternoon so the 7 hour drive meant we didn’t arrive until 9pm so I still had to get to the start with enough time to check in and get ready without feeling rushed.
In the past I might have sweated the details and lack of time to chill but once you’ve gone through enough adversity in training and on the trails you just learn that you’ll figure it out. You plan, you prepare, but you have faith in your ability to survive. My theory on training for these types of races is that you want to put yourself in adversity as much as possible so that you’re ready for it and able to draw from that in the race. The most critical part of my training was doing the Long Sisters out and back in the heat that almost killed me but was also the best thing for me. Honestly, I’ve run a lot of trails including the White Mountains and if you can run Long Sisters there isn’t a trail out there that will intimidate you.
The past two months had been a pretty solid training block for me with 5 weeks of 70 miles and 10,000 feet of elevation so mentally I felt prepared. Something had clicked in my training where I found an efficiency with running, especially elevation, and my mind and body were feeling in sync. Over the last two weeks as I backed off I’d felt my body itching to go, like it was ready. This timing with training aligning with race day doesn’t always happen so I was remaining cautiously optimistic. I set a goal of finishing top 10 and then as I arrived in PA and did the math I also decided that my main goal was to finish in the daylight. With sunset at 8:48PM that meant a finish around 15 hours - I had my mission statement.
EARLY MILES - DON’T BLOW IT
With a final goodbye to Brenda, Brody, and Pemi (our two dogs), I set out with the other 49 runners in the first wave with a “Ready, set… go” from the race director. The first 8 miles of the race is basically uphill with two good sized climbs of about 600+ feet over a mile and then the big climb of 1200 feet in a mile and half. On their own that’s no big deal, but at the start of a 70-mile race it is critical to approach that elevation intelligently and conserve energy. I knew I was going to feel strong and want to run those inclines, but I reminded myself over and over that I was going to hike at whatever point my body told me I was working too hard. This turned out to be almost immediately but I was encouraged to find myself in the front of my wave with three others. This allowed my competitive side to accept what my brain was calculating.
Easily hiking the first incline we started up the second which I actually found to be a more gentle runnable elevation that didn’t take too much effort. I was able to make good time up and over the second climb without much difficulty with the exception of a small off-course detour of about 15 yards. Hitting the big climb I continued to preach patience and just clicked off the steps, texting an update to my friends and family, and thinking about what I was going to eat when I got to the first aide station at mile 11. A brief mental celebration at the top, saw that it was 2900 feet of elevation in the first 8 miles, did a quick mental inventory of how I felt (strong), and started running again.
The first aide station gave me a chance to check my position (4th in my wave) and grab a few bites to eat (Reeses Peanut Butter Cup yum) but I was in and out as quickly as humanly possible. My goal is always as little time as possible at aide stations. I’m incredibly task oriented so it just feels like wasting time and I figured it was where I could also make up some ground on other runners. Lastly, later in the race the longer I spend at an aide station the more difficult it will be to leave. Relentless forward progress at all times.
MILES 11-40 OVERCONFIDENCE REIGNS SUPREME
The next aide station was at mile 20 so that became my new focus. It’s never the whole race in my mind, it’s small attainable goals. 9 miles to my drop bag where I would restock and then two six mile sections to where I would see Brenda and the pups for the first time. There was a short bonking crisis from mile 15-18 when my legs felt spent but some coke/ginger ale and pb&j brought me back to life and I cruised all the way through these miles feeling smooth and strong. At that point I was running top ten with a time of 3:48 to the 20 mile aide station.
After 20 miles of calm and quiet which helped me center, I put my headphones in and used the music to hit my rhythm (more on my headphones later). Miles 20-40 were smooth and strong and just clicked off with ease which was encouraging (7:01 at mile 35 with 6800ft of elevation). I was staying on top of nutrition, salt, and keeping my stride consistent and efficient. Based on my split times I reached mile 32 aide station at 6:18 (2:29 for that stretch) and was again in and out of each station as quickly as possible. After another restock at mile 40, complete with a couple slices of pizza, I left feeling confident. I was up to 9th (including relays so probably top 5) and it was just 6 miles to the next station. Piece of cake, right?
Of course, this is where the heat kicked in and it started to fall apart.
MILES 40-57 ONE FOOT IN FRONT OF THE OTHER
Mile 43 was a turning point. I missed a turn and probably went an extra half mile as I tried to figure out where I was and how to get back. The heat started to kick in which always affects me, and the first doubt began to creep into my brain. I started having flashbacks to only being able to hike the last 20 of my 100 mile race due to knee pain, and being out on the trail forever. I envisioned my friends and families disappointment as it took me longer and longer to complete sections, having to face Brenda at an aide station looking defeated, and having to write a race report about how I DNF’d for the first time (tossing different titles and themes around in my head). What I wasn’t aware of, however, is that the heat was affecting everyone.
Ultras are as much about attrition as ability. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other. When I arrived at the mile 46 aide station it was 9:31 into the race, I had covered that last 16 mile section in 3:13 and I was at a super low point. The thing is, you can quit a million times out on the trail just don’t do it at an aide station. It was critical I kept my plan to be in and out as quickly as possible. Grab the bag of ice Brenda thankfully had to take with me, that’s going to be critical to keeping my core temperature down; more calories in the form of cold disgusting pizza, chug a glass of pickle juice, ignore the nausea and force it down, don’t stand around, don’t look at the other runners, just get back on the trail even if you’re just walking as you eat. I also made the critical decision of adding my hand held to go with my vest bottles since I knew it was 11 miles to the next aide station and I couldn’t afford to get dehydrated.
Leaving that aide station every fiber of me wanted to turn and go back for about 2 miles. The loneliness of knowing 11 hard miles lie ahead, miles you might be at the bottom of your well for, and even then you had another 13 beyond that to the finish was tough to ignore. But I just kept moving forward. Mile 47. Mile 48. Run where I could, hilke the uphills, force myself to start running again, work through the occasional nausea, keep a critical eye on urination and sweating for safety, remind yourself that most of the elevation is behind you. Ok mile 50, nice! Mile 51, we’re closer to the next aide station than the previous. Ok, running more now. Did I just pass somebody? Wait, is my earbud stuck in my ear?
Yup. I managed to get the rubber ear bud to my wireless headphones stuck in my ear and then wedged it deeper into my ear canal with my finger as I tried to fish it out. After about ten minutes of hiking and working at it, I gave up and started to wonder if I should go to the ER or if I should finish. I didn’t feel discomfort, it was just annoying, but I also didn’t want to do real damage. I decided to ignore it and hope Brenda had tweezers at the next station. Also this was about where it started to turn around again as the trail was trending downward and I began to feel strong again.
Mile 55 was a clear turning point and as I felt the temperature and my body cooling, my strength returning, and running took less effort. So when I arrived at the mile 57 aide station I knew that I’d finish, it was just a matter of how long it would take. They also had tweezers so the earbud was extracted. A couple more glasses of coke, forced down a gel because I still had nausea and no appetite, and I was back on the trail. 5 miles to the last aide station and then 8 miles home. Just a little 13 mile run in the woods.
MILES 57-70 THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WALL
The beauty of trail running is that we all are competitive but we also work together. A relay runner was consistently trading spots with me. He’d pass me on uphills and I’d pass him on downhills. He was struggling some but still offered to pace me in which was incredibly generous but I had to decline. For one, I didn’t want to ruin his race and I knew I was going to make it in, for second with the majority of the remaining course downhill I was determined to outright beat him (which I did).
Mile 62 aide station. 13:26 into the race, and that grueling 16 mile section took me 3:55… but I was almost done. Some veggie broth was a godsend, I was mainly drinking calories at this point, and I switched to all water instead of electrolytes. I was at the point that I knew I would get through so nutrition was less critical and I just wanted to have cool, clear, tasteless, water to drink. In and out like clockwork, I was the fifth non relay runner through the station but with the wave start I wasn’t sure where my actual place was. I was also closing in on daylight so I needed to really push to meet my goal.
I’d never reached the other side of the wall, I’d heard stories of it, but the miles before and after this station was where I caught my first glimpses of it. I was able to run smoothly, I was tired but able to push some uphill. I was no longer overheated. The only thing slowing me down was waves of nausea that I had to walk off before continuing. They’d come and go so I just kept setting goals to keep me going (“ok, up at that tree I start running again”) and giving myself permission to hike when it was necessary.
The last two miles were all downhill and reaching that point I could smell the finish. My legs were more than a little tired so I had to focus so as not to trip and injure myself. The downhill wasn’t incredibly steep, but there were rocks and enough hazards that one false step or loss of concentration could lead to a damaging fall. I could see Johnstown at different points, I came across people who were out hiking the start, there were signs of civilization.
Mile 69. I was on the last mile which can be a bit emotional as the awareness of the mental and physical effort hits. In many ways this is why I run these races. The feeling of elation and accomplishment as I get to the finish and realize I did what I set out to do. All of a sudden I was running between two celebratory streamers and the finish line was in front of me. In an odd way the finish line always feels anticlimactic. Like there should be fireworks, explosions, a live band blasting rock and roll, a crowd that explodes in applause. Something that signifies you’re done in an epic way because it takes a while for your mind and body to put that all together after pushing.
In the end, however, I crossed the line to Brenda’s smiling face and congratulations from a few spectators and the finish line attendant. I was handed the trophy that resembled the mile markers that had been taunting me along the way. I texted a final update to my friends and family and we walked back to the car recounting the war stories of being on the trail and the trials and tribulations of her day crewing. It was a perfect moment.
I crossed the finish line at 8:36 p.m.,15:06:40 into the race. 70.5-miles with 11,000+ feet of elevation and in the daylight at 5th overall (top runner over 40). It was definitely my most challenging race and one that I am very proud to have finished and will be able to draw from in future races. The race was also very well run, excellent communication from the race directors, and outstanding aide station support. A huge thank you to Brenda for crewing me and to my friends and family for their support.
GEAR FOR YOU NERDS - Salomon Sense Ride 3 shoes, Naked Running Band, Ultimate Direction running vest, Cliff Shot and Spring Energy gels, Tailwind and Scratch electrolyte drink.
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