Subject: 2002 Vermont 100 Mile Race Report (Very Long) Part #1
From: Byron Chikinda <byronchik@shaw.ca>
Date: Fri, 26 Jul 2002 14:34:05 -0600

VERMONT 100 MILE ENDURANCE RUN - JULY 20, 21 2002


We flew to Montreal Quebec on July 17, 2002. The plan was to spend a day
in Montreal and then drive down to Vermont for the 100 mile race. We
didn't even unpack our bags and headed out the door for a run from the
hotel up Mt. Royal. It was 28C (82 F) and with the humidex, 38C (100 F).
We hoped that we wouldn't get this heat and humidity for the race. This
was a good way to loosen up and get rid of some nervousness about the
100 mile race. This was Joy's first time in Montreal and she appreciated
the history of this beautiful city as we looked down from the top of Mt
Royal where Jacque Cartier gazed over the scene in1545.  We ran for an
hour and were very wet and hot by the time we got back to the hotel.
Thunderstorms rolled in that night and it was great fun watching the
lightning.

It was about 3.5 hour drive to Woodstock Vermont. The border crossing
took a few minutes. All they did was look in the trunk and ask a few
questions. We had passports and I am sure this helped get us through the
border quickly. There are a lot of security checks done before issuing
passports these days.

The countryside changed from flat farmland to rolling hills to mountains
the further we drove south. The architecture of the old buildings was
wonderful as we drove through Quechee, Taftsville, Woodstock and South
Woodstock. We stayed at the Grist Mill House which had been restored
into a bed and breakfast that is on the National Register of Historical
Places. It was built in 1779 to grind grain for local settlers. Peter
and Carole Pickett, the Innkeepers, were wonderful hosts, and Peter
cooked great breakfasts for us each morning. The Grist Mill House was
also a 5 minute drive from the start of the Vermont 100 miler.

Friday we drove to the start of the race, Smoke Rise Farm, for the
medical check-in. It was a beautiful farm set in the Green Mountains.
There were four barns and several houses. We walked by the pig-pen and
saw "Blessings", the pig. "Blessings" had several bright green 3 foot
exercise balls to play with. We did the weigh-in and had our blood
pressure checked. My blood pressure was very high . oops . I shouldn't
have had two large cups of Peter's very strong coffee 30 minutes
earlier. We spent the rest of the day exploring the country side, and
checking out a few spots on the course.  Then we headed back to the farm
for the pre-race briefing and drop off our drop bags. Since both of us
run Ultramarathons together, we have no crew to support us and rely on
the race staff getting our supplies to the correct aid station.

The pre-race briefing started an hour late due to the record 300 runners
in this year's race. The pre-race meal was very good with the usual
selection of salads and pasta. Joy had a Ben and Jerry's dark chocolate
- cherry ice cream bar. I asked Joy if she liked the ice cream.
"Organism on a stick" was her reply.  The girl sure loves her chocolate
and . we leave this one alone!

We headed back to the inn to set out our clothes and try to get a few
hours of sleep before getting up at 2:00 AM. We had to be at the
check-in at 3:30 AM as the race started at 4:00 AM. The course has total
climb of 14,160 feet and total descent of 14,160 feet. It had about 75%
dirt / jeep roads, 23% trails and 2% pavement. There was also a 100 mile
horse race staring an hour after the runners and 50 mile horse race that
started in the late afternoon and continued into the night.

We arrived at Smoke Rise Farm at 3:15 AM. The grass field where we
parked was very slippery as it rained most of the night. I looked up and
it was clear with an incredible view of the stars. The farm was very
busy as runners checked in, a gentleman in a tuxedo played a grand
piano, people worked on the horses, etc. About 5 minutes before the
start of the race, there were fire works. Then the race started with the
sound of "Chariots of Fire" playing in the background from the gentlemen
playing the piano. We followed the long line of bouncing lights into the
darkness. There was no way to pass other runners as the road quickly
turned into a very muddy trail heading up over a mountain. You learn
very quickly that people here don't believe in switch-back trails or
roads. They draw a straight line over a mountain and that is the route
of the trail or road. This made steep climbs and descents on the trails
and roads very tough on the quads.

We went up and down very long trails trying to avoid the really muddy
spots. The sky was getting lighter and we put our flashlights away. At
3.8 miles we ran into Densmore Hill aid station. This station was
unmanned and the runners lined up to fill their water bottles. We ran
with Dave Harper. He paced the oldest finisher last year for 78 miles!
No wonder he decided to run the entire 100 miles this year. Dave
finished in 27 hours 45 minutes.

We were running on dirt roads and it was 1.7 miles until the next
unmanned Beaver Pond aid station (5.5 miles). As we climbed up a steep
mountain road, we heard. It was the first pack of 5 horses running at
break-neck speed up the road. I was shocked at the pace they were
running! The riders appeared to be having as much fun as their high
spirited mounts as they raced up the hill past us. The horses were
already lathered and breathing hard, but they were clearly enjoying
their morning sprint. I couldn't imagine how they would not burn
themselves out from this exuberant warm up, considering they were to
cover 100 miles by the end of their race, the same as us. Over the next
hour most of the other horse passed us at a much slower pace.

We continued running along the dirt road and headed down hill to Happy
Valley aid station (9.6) miles, another unmanned station. We filled our
water bottles and took our Succeed caps.  There we met Dennis Hardacker
who finished in 26 hours 53 minutes. We continued running downhill on
our way to the town of Tafsville. We ran through the first covered
bridge, probably the only flat section on the course to the Taftsville
aid station (12.2 miles), then traveled up a long hill on a dirt road.
Along this section we heard a very strange sound, like a metal twang
coming from the pond beside the road. We discovered later this odd sound
came from bull frogs! After an uphill climb into South Pomfret aid
station (14.4 miles), an unmanned aid station, we filled our water
bottles and headed out. We headed over the top of a mountain and down
into Pomfret aid station (18 miles). This was the first aid station that
crew could drive in and can meet runners. There were a lot of cars
parked on the side of the road. We saw Paula Humpage who was crewing her
husband Tony, who was doing well. Paula generously shared her sunscreen,
which we had both neglected to pack in our drop bags, and with the clear
sunny sky, Joy would have burned to a crisp! (Thanks a million, Paula!).
I picked up some sports bars and a camera from our drop bag and out we
headed down a dirt road. The next long uphill section (do you see a
pattern here?) on trails was a very pretty part of the course with lots
of shade.

So far everything was going well. We both were hydrating and eating
regularly. Our pace was slowing a bit as the day got warmer. It was
clear and looked like it was going to be hot and humid.  We headed down
a hill and there was Top House aid station (21 miles).  From here it was
another uphill out of the woods to a spectacular view of the Green
Mountains. Some of the trails looked like we were the only ones to use
them. On this section, we saw broken branches, likely from the horses
and riders who had preceded us. After we ran down yet another hill and
into Harvey's aid station (23.3 miles) we made our way down a very long
downhill on trails and then roads to Stage Road aid station (27.7
miles). This was another aid station where crew have access to the
course. There were many handlers and runners milling about the tables.
Joy was starting to have problems with the heat and we decided to slow
down the pace. We ran up and over another mountain on trails and came
out on a highway to Route 12 aid station (30.8). As we trudged along,
Kevin Sentes ran past us, and asked  how it was going. Kevin was doing a
quick 40 miles doing garbage pickup. So far all he had found was one
plastic bag. Joy was not looking good. I suspected something else was
bothering her as she has a look of pain on her face. She said it was
just the heat but I was sure she wasn't telling me everything.

After Route 12, we headed up another mountain onto open fields and then
a heavily forested area. Here we met Betsy Kapiloff. She did Badwater
last year in 47 hours 9 minutes.  For those of you who do not know,
Badwater is 135 miles from Badwater, Death Valley to Mt Whitney. We
congratulated her on this incredible achievement and, after chatting for
a couple minutes, we continued running up the mountain. After the top of
this mountain we started to run downhill and into Vondell Reservior aid
station (32.7 miles). Joy was starting to struggle now and was having
problems with her right shin and ankle.  It looked like an old injury
had flared up again. We thought this had healed, as it hadn't bothered
Joy for several weeks.

We continued downhill and our pace was getting slower, although I
usually don't get concerned about this. In any race, our most important
goal is to finish together and finish time is not that important. We ran
through the Lincoln Covered Bridge and into the aid station that has the
same name (36.1 miles). Joy sat down in an attempt to cool off and rest
her shin & ankle. After a few minute break, I got ice for Joy to put
under her hat and we were on our way. We had only gone about one mile,
starting the climb up another mountain, when Joy began to really
struggle. There was a stream beside the road and I convinced her to take
off her shoes and lay down in the stream. I had hoped that the cold
water would help reduce her core temperature, and numb her sore shin.
She laid down and let out a scream! I asked "Cold enough for you?" After
this break Joy looked better, so off we went. This was another very long
up hill. Joy was getting slower and slower. She started to talk about
dropping. I said "We are still well ahead of the cut-offs. Why not keep
going until Camp 10 Bear aid station?" Bottom line is not just heat, but
her shin was getting very painful. She could no longer run the
downhills. At Barr House aid station (38.4 miles), Joy decided to drop.
The injury was getting worse, so Joy thought it would be better drop
before is got to that point where it would be a prolonged recovery. We
have a couple running friends who pushed through with injuries and were
unable to run for up to 3 years. We both know the misery our buddies
have suffered, both physically and emotionally from having to give up
running, and a race, even a 100 miler, is never worth that price! I felt
terrible for Joy, but it was the responsible decision. I gave her a
kiss, made sure she has a ride back to Smoke Rise Farm, and I carried on
down the road.

I continued running up hill and into a field. The heat was starting to
get to me and I slowed down. After Lillian's aid station (40.6 miles),
at the top of the mountain, I had to reevaluate my goals. Sure, I wanted
to finish, but without my best running buddy I needed to focus on
another goal. A volunteer mentioned that I was in 252nd position. I
decided to try to finish in the middle of the pack at 150th, so my goal
was to try to pick up a 100 spots. Joy and I play a game when doing our
training. The other runners are prey and we are wolves. The idea is to
hunt down the prey by passing them. Every time I saw another runner I
growled and picked up the pace. This may sound nuts, but it kept me
motivated.  I kept this game to myself and always gave the other runners
a encouragement.

After Lillian's, it was a long downhill to Jenny Farm aid station (42.6
miles). At this point, the road met a Highway and continues in a long
uphill on pavement. Boy, was it hot on the pavement! I felt like I was
doing a death march. After about a mile, I headed back onto a dirt road
and into a key aid station called Camp 10 Bear. We had the pleasure of
running through this aid station twice at 44.2 miles and 68.2 miles. A
volunteer mentioned it was 92 F (33C). She also mentioned that they were
getting a lot of runners dropping out due to the heat. I was worried
about Joy and hoped she made it back to Smoke Rise Farm. She is a very
determined runner and this was a very difficult decision for her. Such
is the nature of this sport Ultramarathon. It has a very high DNF (did
not finish) rate as it is a brutal and very demanding sport.

I caught up to Dennis and Dave. We decided to stay together and
encourage each other. The next 24 miles where going to be very hot.
After another mountain, we arrived at Smith's aid station (46.5 miles).
Dennis and Dave mentioned our next challenge was a charming little
section called Agony Hill.  A very appropriate name because it was
straight up the mountain in the hottest part of the day. I noticed the
Maple trees are all attached with plastic hoses tapped to their trunks
to gather maple sap.  We ran down the mountain into Pinky's aid station
(48.7 miles).  Dave was having a tough time with the heat decided to
stay there for a while. Dennis and I continued to Birmingham's aid
station (51.7 miles). A volunteer congratulated me on being in 199
position. Oh well, at least I was gaining spots rather than loosing
them! Dennis decided to rest here and try to get his body temperature
down. The heat was getting to a lot of runners. The flies were getting
bad. I sprayed myself with insect replant. I also started eating Tums as
the heat was upsetting my stomach.   I waited for Dennis, but he told me
to go on as he would be a while. He did not want to DNF like last year.
I headed out, running through a field and into the woods.

The course took on the feel of a rollercoaster with more up and down on
trails and dirt roads as I ran into Tracer Brook aid station (54.9
miles). I was very hot, tired and feeling nauseated. I loaded up on
water and ate some peanut butter and jam sandwich pieces. It was a long
uphill by Mt. Gilead to Prospect hill, ~ 1,000 feet over the next 3
miles. I made it into Prospect Hill aid station (58.1 miles), an
unmanned aid station. I did the usual drill: I filled up water bottles
and ate a little (part of a sports bar).

The next 2 miles were downhill into the happiest aid station: Cox's (60
miles) (AKA Margaritaville). There were many vehicles as crews can drive
in and meet the runners. They are serving Margaritas! They certainly
were a happy bunch!  Nice to see some smiling faces as I went on my way.

It was twilight and I was running over the top of a mountain. There was
a little old lady walking in her yard with a shotgun and looking up at
the sky. At least she wasn't pointing it at me! I ask her, "Expecting
trouble?" She replied, "Looking for a Great Horned Owl. It killed my cat
last night. I don't care if it is a protected species, I'm gonna get it
tonight!" A mile down the road, a vehicle with three lights in a
triangular shape was driving toward me. It looked like a train! As it
approached, I saw it is an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) with the driver
running two very big hunting dogs on a lead.  Then another one with two
dogs, and then a third one with a single dog. Finally, a fourth
all-terrain vehicle came at me with three dogs on a single lead! I asked
at Brown's School House (aid station 62.8 miles), what is with the
hunting dogs. They explain that these people are "ponying" the dogs,
training them to run and hunt Bear. I said, "You sure have interesting
folks living in these hills." The gentleman replied, "We surely do!" It
reminds me that this is one of the bonuses of running ultras far away
from home: interesting people and a diversity of lifestyles. From here
it is 5.4 miles downhill to my second visit to Camp 10 Bear (68.2
miles).

I really motored down these roads and made good time to Camp 10 Bear.
There was the most beautiful sight in the world .. Joy! She came out to
ensure I saw she was OK and that I would run the rest of the race
without worrying about her. Joy had pulled my night running gear out of
the drop bag and had everything ready for me. What a treat, since I am
not use to being crewed. Paula and Barbara were also there, waiting for
their husbands, so they decided to help me change shoes, fix a blister,
etc. Someone mentioned that I have three people attending to me. Barb
replied "Oh, this is just Byron and his harem!" I got on my jacket, put
on my head light, kept a hand flashlight and headed off into the night.
Paula's husband, Tony Humpage, finished his 1st 100 miler in 27 hrs. 45
minutes. Unfortunately, Bob's feet gave him problems and he had to drop
at Bill's (83.4 miles). One of the volunteers mentioned that I was in
170th position.  I just changed my socks, but kept my Nike Humera shoes,
which were great! I ran Rocky Racoon 100 miler is these and they lasted
very well.

I crossed the highway and headed up another dam trail over a mountain!
Man, I was sooo tired of running up mountains! Oh well, I decide to keep
a positive mental attitude, as I love running at night. It was cool, I
could see the stars, and hear the wild life at night.  I followed a
runner and his pacer up the mountain. The runner said "Aren't you the
guy who blasted by me before Camp 10 Bear?" I had fun with this
gentleman for the rest of the race. We passed each other several times
before I finally got him half a mile from the finish. He was good prey!
His pacer asked if I had run Vermont before. I said no, but this has to
be the best marked course I have ever run. He mentioned something about
hoping that I didn't get lost, and I picked up the pace. This was the
highest point on the course at ~ 1900 feet.

I hit the dirt roads again and it leveled off before a very long
downhill. This was the best part of the course. It was absolutely
magical running. I was running long downhills, with almost a full moon,
a mist covering the ground. I looked in the grass fields and they
sparkled with gold lights twinkling on and off, as crickets chirped in
the background. At first I thought it was my imagination, but I soon
realized the sparkling lights were fireflies!  If I hadn't looked in the
fields, I would have missed them. It was like running through the Bayou
in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" ride at Disneyland. Life doesn't get
better than this! I only regret that Joy wasn't able to experience that
magical moment. This was worth traveling 2000 miles to see!

I ran up another uphill and into Goodman's aid station (72.8 miles). It
was suppose to be unmanned, but a gentlemen was there helping the
runners. I asked about the fireflies and he mentioned that he had never
seen so many fireflies in the last 24 years when he moved to Vermont.

I continued running on dirt roads. I still saw fireflies and the mist
was getting thicker. I could also see my breath, so the temperature must
have been dropping. The course was marked with green glow sticks for
runners and red glow sticks for the horses. These really looked spooky
in the mist! After running, you guessed it, another damn hill and there
was Cow Shed aid station (75.9 miles). I filled up with water, ate a
little food and started running downhill. I was starting to feel very
nauseated. I couldn't eat anything and I could only drink a little
water. I tried a sports drink and almost got sick. I couldn't run now
because the nausea was getting worst. This was really too bad, because
my legs and cardio were very strong and I had been passing a lot of
runners. I saw a large sign on the side of the road: "The next 0.25 mile
is a quiet running zone". I thought "You've got to be kidding ." What a
Race Director has to do to keep the locals happy! Yes, I held back on
the urge to yell "Yahoo!" (All kidding aside, it was very gracious of
these folks to allow us to run through their property.)

It was long downhill to Yates Farm aid station (78.9 miles). After
forcing myself to eat a drink a little, I continued running downhill. At
the bottom of the hill, there was an intersection, but no glow sticks!
All the other intersections were very well marked with at least 4 glow
sticks. I used my flashlight to try to locate the pie plate marker, but
I could not find them. I ran down to the right for a couple of minutes,
but still didn't see any glow sticks. I turned back, ran past the
intersection and found a glow stick about 0.5 miles down the road. It
looked like vandals had taken down the glow sticks and pie plate
markers. It was a long 3 miles to Ashley aid station (81.9 miles). I
didn't need to fill up with water, as I hadn't been eating and drinking.
The nausea would just  not go away. I had been taking Tums and
Pepto-Bismol and they helped a bit. What I really needed was some sleep
and my eyes kept on closing. I was shuffling along a road and just
closed my eyes for a few seconds. Next thing I knew, I was hitting
branches and I almost fell into a stream beside the road! I drank some
caffeine gel and make a mental note to keep doing it until the
sleepiness disappeared.

Next was an uphill through a field. I could see the glow sticks, as they
were about every 200 meters on the trail sections. After going through
the fields, I headed up a steep trail section and into Bill's aid
Station (83.4 miles). This station was in a barn filled with many
volunteers. They weighed me, as part of the medical check. As I had
hoped, they didn't take blood pressure here, because I was sure it would
be very high after just completing a very steep trail section. The
volunteer said I looked great and I headed out. I went by a parking lot
where the crew members had parked their vehicles. On to another long
down hill and then I started going up "Blood Hill". I wondered how this
hill got its name. There was a very loud party going on at a house on
the course and I hoped the trail didn't take us near it. I was in no
mood to deal with a bunch of drunks! As I ran off the road and into a
field, the trail took us just below the party. I ran by it and hoped
they didn't see the runners. I can imagine they may have been
responsible for taking down the glow sticks. There were three
significant climbs to get over Blood Hill. Each time I thought I was at
the top at the start of a downhill, there was another uphill section. I
came out of the trail section and back on to roads. As I past a runner,
he mentioned that this road goes straight, but be sure to take the road
to the left. I came up on the intersection and there were no glow sticks
or markers. I hoped that the runner was right as I took the left road.
It was almost 1 mile before I saw another glow stick. It looked like the
vandals had been at it again. I hoped none of the other runners got
lost. Near the top of Blood Hill, I saw what looked like a UFO! There
were two intersecting strings of red lights with a circle around it,
glowing above my head. As I ran on, I discovered it was only a
communication tower. Man, I need to cut down on the caffeine gels!

As I ran along, Blood Hill aid Station (88.6 miles) just in sight, I
tripped over something on the road. It was a sleeping runner! "What the
hell are you doing sleeping on the road?" He replied, "I just needed a
few minutes sleep. I knew if I fell asleep on the road, someone would
trip over me and wake me up. Thanks man!"  Yes, Ultramarathoners are a
strange breed! Where else would I find fireflies and sleeping runners on
a road! At Blood Hill Station, I drank a little water and headed down
the road to Jenneville aid station (90 miles).

After walking and running, the nausea hung around for hours.
Eventually, I started to feel a little better. One runner (Steve
Michael) had been sitting at the aid station for 45 minutes. Steve
finished in 25 hours and 28 minutes. The heat of the day had really
gotten to him and he was thinking about dropping. I talked to him for a
few minutes, trying to encourage him to keep going. With 10 miles to go,
it was the home stretch. I wished him well. One volunteer gave
instructions to a pacer on how to get to Smoke Rise Farm 1 mile away.
"What!  The finish line is one mile away!  "Oops" said the volunteer. "I
forgot that I am not suppose to mention this in front of the runners.
You have 10 miles to go and it is that way."  Swearing under my breath,
I quietly got back running. After 10 minutes I heard foot steps behind
me and it was Steve. We ran most of the remainder of the race together.
I really enjoyed his stories about running Western States 100 miler
three weeks ago! Even though the temperature at Western was hotter, he
found the heat and humidity today much harder to handle. I am sure he
was also feeling tired from running two 100 milers so close together.

We climbed up another damn hill and there was Gary T's aid station (92
miles). I filled up on water and we continued going uphill. We passed
some friends of Steve's who also did Western States. They also had
problems with the heat and humidity. At the top of the hill we ran into
Desmore Hill aid station (94 miles). After this aid station, we headed
back into the trails we had run earlier in the day. The trails were
still muddy and we had to be careful with the footing. Steve ran ahead
on the downhill section. My quads were thrashed and I could not keep up.
I ran through the last aid station (South Woodstock 96.1miles). I had
toyed with the idea of running to the Grist Mill Inn to wake up Joy, but
sanity prevailed and I focused on finishing this race.

It was time for what I call the "Big Push". Forget about eating and
drinking: Just run like hell and finish! I passed about 10 runners in
this last section. It was a long uphill trail that seemed to go on
forever. Finally over the top, I headed down and saw the farm. I was
almost there! But noooo. I see a tree with 15 markers on it pointing up
the hill!!! This had to be someone's idea of a sick joke! I begrudgingly
started up the hill and looked back to see other runners were also doing
the same. After going up a few hundred meters, I came back down and saw
another marker. There was the farm again, but we had to go up again!
Damn, this was cruel and unusual punishment. They made us go all the way
to the top of the hill and finally, we got to run a long steep downhill
cross a road and to the finish line with that wonderful neon sign.

I finished 112th position, in 25 hours 27 minutes.  I beat my goal as I
picked up 140 spots in that last 60 miles. I was glad I finished, but I
don't really feel elated. Without my wife, best friend and running buddy
Joy to enjoy it, it had a very empty feeling. Steve walked over and
shook my hand. He thanked me for my words of encouragement that helped
him finish. I thanked him for the company and wished him well.

In summary, this is a great race, well support and marked. It is very
challenging with it constant up and down. The scenery is spectacular.
Yes I would run it again. I want to find out if that lady got the owl!


Byron & Joy Chikinda
byronchik@shaw.ca (home)
780-288-2728 (home)
780-903-1588 (cell)
Edmonton Alberta Canada