Josh and I at the start.
Saturday was the Hyner View Trail Challenge, my 2nd round with the crazy beast. I talked my boyfriend, Josh, into signing up with me shortly after we met, and a friend of mine, Brittany, and her sister, Hannah, had also signed up. I'm not going to lie, I didn't really "train," other than a few hikes over the past year, a few hills, and a few runs. With my stress fracture, I honestly didn't think I was capable of much more.
Lie.
Team pink!
We actually ran the first downhill section from the starting line to the bridge, trying to get in between the runners and the hikers so we wouldn't get stuck on the Cliffhanger, the first section of the trail that transects the side of the mountain. Despite our best efforts, we still got stuck at a few standstills. When we hit Humble Hill, I had totally forgotten just how rough that hill was. Throughout the rest of the day, my crew would joke about how I have Hyner PTSD - I didn't remember the hills being quite as bad as they really were, lol. Humble Hill knocked the breath out of me and I could hear my heartbeat in my ears, but I was so impressed with our time making it up the first climb. My recovery time was way better this year than last too. We hit the view, 4 miles in, around 10:45, not even 2 hours in, way faster than last year's time.
We stopped to refuel and use the bathroom and took off on our first downhill. We ran as much of it as we could. I took a tumble at one point when I realized I was running way too fast to stop on the terrain we were on, so I had to do a pirouette off the trail over a log, lol. Brittany lost her footing at one point near the bottom and dove head first into the ground, scaring the crap out of all of us. We hit the first major aid station, 5 1/2 miles in, at 11:15, still way better than last year.
The crew at the 3rd aid station.
The middle portion through a hollow was a nice recovery spot. Good conversation with fellow hikers and shallow creek crossings made this the most enjoyable section for me. We hit the top of the 2nd hill with at about 1:00 and took off on our second downhill, which was, for me, the most miserable part because of little loose rocks that we couldn't quite run over. I knew I should enjoy it because the next uphill was going to kick my tired ass. As we started up the 3rd, I was puttering out, my legs didn't want to move, but I just kept thinking about how the faster I got up this hill, the faster I would be done with climbing. At the top of the 3rd climb, the SOB was harder for me than last year. Last year, it was covered in mud, this year, it was dusty and loose. I will say, though, that there is nothing better than the feeling of hitting the top of that last hill!
By this point, I was experiencing a burning sensation in the bottom of my feet that I've never experienced before. It felt like I was running the whole thing in ill-fitting high heels. The fire got worse with every step and quadrupled the minute my feet hit pavement. As we hit the last two miles at Huff Run, Brittany and Hannah were a bit ahead of me and Josh. Knowing that I could run this downhill, I told Josh I was going to run ahead because I couldn't take the burning anymore. I ran through every creek, every puddle that I could find to ease the pain. As I came out of the woods onto the last stretch of pavement, I was reading to take my shoes off and finish barefoot, lol.
We headed up the last tiny hill to the finish line, realizing that we were still under 7 hours. I tried to run as fast as I could, but it was like running with 50 lb. boots on through mud. My foot hit the timing pad right at 7 hours flat, 2 hours and 3 minutes faster than last year.
I have to say, I was so impressed by the organization of the race, the course itself, and the comraderie and support of my fellow hikers and runners. I am blown away by the athleticism of the ultra runners. Forget your Olympic athletes, these people are insane. Running 50ks in 5 and 6 hours over this crazy terrain. I have no words for much I admire them. Well, not just them, but anyone who had the balls to tackle Hyner, whether it was the 25k or the 50k. I think they need to wear capes when they compete in these events.
Maybe I'll wear one next year...