Hellgate: The Ultra Marathon, by Josh Meltzer

Do you like to run?

Do you like to run a trail marathon?

Do you like to run a trail marathon in the winter?

Do you like to run two back-to-back trail marathons in the winter?

Do you like to run two back-to-back trail marathons in the winter at night?

Welcome to the Hellgate 100K.

On December 10, at 12:01 a.m., 80 ultra-marathon runners line up at the Hellgate Creek Horse Trailhead in Rockbridge County for the third annual 100 km-long trail running race.  It is 20 degrees and the start is filled with nervous energy.  The 53 runners that will complete the race will spend at least the next half of a day running and running and running.

With a line of headlamps lighting their way, Jay Finkle of Roanoke (right in photo) keeps his eyes on the icy trail.  Sixteen hours and forty-four minutes later he will cross the finish line at Camp Bethel in Botetourt County.

“I don’t know if crazy is the right word,” says fellow Roanoke ultra-marathoner Neal Jamison (not pictured) who has run the race all three years, finishing this year in 13:48 and in 6th place overall.

“A lot of people say, ‘Obsessive compulsive,’” Jamison adds.
December in the Virginia Appalachians can bring a variety of surface and weather conditions.  This year, many runners, including Jamison, are using sheet metal screws in the soles of their running shoes to add traction on the icy surface.

“I think that was the big difference between people who were successful this year and the people who weren’t,” says Jamison.  “I saw a lot of people falling, and when you fall on those icy roads it hurts.”

For mental sanity, Jamison says he breaks up the long hours into the sections between aid stations, where he gulps down warm soup, energy drinks, and some solid food if his stomach can take it.

“If you think about running 100 kilometers, that’s almost too much to think about,” laughs Jamison.  “You try not to think about the elements.  You try not to think about the distance.  If you’re lucky you’re running with someone who has similar interests and you just talk about anything and everything.”

“A lot of people call it an addiction,” Jamison says.  “There are a lot of people who run ultras who are recovering addicts to bad things like drugs and alcohol.  And now they’ve found a new addiction which is hopefully a much healthier one.”

Still interested?

For more information go to www.extremeultrarunning.com.

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