In 2015, I competed in the 8 hour version, doing two laps. Last year, I signed up for the full race, and ended up racing for around 12 hours in brutal heat to complete three laps. This year, my goal was to do as least as much as last year, but if I was was being real with myself, I was hoping for four laps. Good news -- perfect weather, combined with some nice folks on the course to keep me company resulted in 4 laps during the 24 hour period of the race.
For 2017, Shale Hill's 24 hour event was casual, but still packed a punch. There were multiple divisions: mandatory obstacle completion, competitive and journeyman 24 hours, and an eight hour option. The competitive eight hour allowed people to qualify for the Obstacle Course Racing World Championships (by doing two laps and finishing top five in age group) and the competitive 24 hours let people qualify for the OCRWC 24 Hour Enduro Championships in Australia in 2018 (again for top 5 in age group). For me, I had already done my OCRWC qualifications for Canada this fall, and I had no plans to travel to Australia in 2018, so Shale Hill's event was a chance for me to challenge myself. With this in mind, I elected to run the non-competitive journeyman category.
The 24 hour event began at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday. For the $150 fee (a bargain!), Friday and Saturday night camping was included. I opted to spend Friday night in Western Mass where my boyfriend, Ben, cooked me a fantastic dinner, and where I could sleep in comfort. I got up bright and early Saturday morning at 6:00 a.m., to make the drive to Benson, Vermont. I arrived at Shale Hill a little after 8:30 a.m., which gave me ample time to check-in and set up my tent.
About 50 people were onsite for the event, and probably half of them were NE Spahtens. This meant that friends abounded. I checked-in quickly with Jill, co-owner of Shale Hill, with fellow race director, Rob, and then was lucky enough to have teammate Amy help me pitch my tent. From there, I headed over to the 9:00 a.m. racers meeting where Rob told us about the rules for the self-supported race. There were a couple of special things to note about penalties (irrelevant to me since I was running the non-competitive penalty free journeyman division) which changed each lap. The penalties started as marked along the course -- mostly 30 spiderman push-ups, went to half the amount marked for lap two, jumping jacks for lap three, and so on. The race was to be self monitored with racers using the boards in the bar to check in and out, thus tracking their laps. Additionally, to mix it up, the third lap was to be run in reverse, with the obstacles done in reverse as well! As with the previous year, racers in the general 24 hour race were allowed to run for the first hour obstacle free. Unlike in 2016, I had planned for this by bringing my favorite trail sneakers, Altra Lone Peaks, and by setting a goal. In the extreme heat last year, I had made it just past the loom and to the hay bales, which I had to complete. This year, with perfect temperatures in the low 70s for a high on both Saturday and Sunday, I hoped to make it about 4.5 miles into the 10K course and past the 19' rope climb, a couple of obstacles past the hay bales.
After getting the scoop at the racer's meeting, I headed over for a quick team photo and then back to my tent to organize for my first lap. It was in the upper 60s, and, with an hour of running and five water stations on course, I opted to not take my pack. I should be back in under two hours for sure.
(photo credit: Vice Rhee)
A little before 10:00 a.m., Rob announced that we should make our way to the starting line. I headed over and at 10:00 a.m., we were off. The first hour of running went quite smoothly. The weather was nice, and, being prepared to run, I was in a good place physically, gear-wise, and mentally. This was much better than last year when the hour of running was kind of sprung on us at the race. At about 10 minutes before the one hour mark, I realized that if I ran fairly hard, I might make it past the wheel barrow carry, two obstacles past my goal. I increased my speed and passed right by the wheel barrows right before the klaxon went off to signal that we were to start completing obstacles. I was extremely pleased to make it 4.7 miles into the course and well passed both where I finished the run last year and my goal.
After recovering by walking the wheel barrow loop, I jogged over to my first obstacle of the day, the ladder walls and then the monkey bars. Rob had said that we were all to attempt the uphill monkey bars -- women half way and men all the way. On lap one, the uphill monkey bars were my only failed obstacle, as I made it past some of the other obstacles that often challenge me and had fresh hands for the Tarzan ropes. I finished lap one in just over 90 minutes.
It was around 11:30 a.m. at this point. Having had an early breakfast and running for the past hour plus, I was hungry, so I headed back to my tent for a sandwich and to change into my OCR shoes and grab my pack. By noon, I was back out on the course for lap two, my first complete obstacle lap.
(photo credit: Paul Jones)
The first half of lap two ended up being a bit of a struggle. For whatever reason, I was kind of "out of it." I felt unfocused and a little spacey, despite the amazing weather and the fact that I felt I was fueling appropriately. Races had their ups and downs, so with that in mind, I persisted and kept moving. After about the half way point of the first lap, at the traverse wall, I began to spend some time running with other racers, chatting, generally feeling better. I finished lap two in a respectable time at 3:39 p.m. with only four failed obstacles -- bad attitude (better known as Devil's steps), the parallel bars, the uphill monkey bars, and the Tarzan ropes. I made it across the pond traverse, along the entire five panels of the great traverse wall, across the balance obstacles, up the firemen's pole and had success with countless others of the almost 80 obstacles that make up the course. Though journeyman is a do-what-ever-you-want division, I was playing it pretty strict, and doing all the carries and obstacles. My thought was to be as strict as possible based on my personal preferences. I love how everyone can do their own thing in journeyman and make it their own race.
The main excitement of lap two came towards the end at the penultimate obstacles, the warped wall. I had just run up the wall when I noticed a wasp to my left. I'm not one to panic, and certainly wasn't going to get into a state about a wasp while hanging over twenty feet from the ground my my fingers. "Ignore it, and it will go away," I thought. No such luck. The next thing I felt was my left tricep being stung -- ouch! After concentrating on not letting go and plummeting to my death, I made quick work on getting myself over the top of the wall and down the rope to ground level. Once back at the barn, the EMT, Sandy, was kind enough to rub some Purrell on the sting to make sure it was clean...clean-ish. (I turned down his offer of Benadryl, not wanting to sleep for the next 48 hours -- I had a race to run.)
Having done about five hours of intense fitness, I was a bit tired when I got back from lap two. I opted to spend around 90 minutes in my tent refueling and getting really ready for the next lap. I had to do at least three laps after all -- I couldn't do less than last year!
I headed out for lap three at around 5:00 p.m. Knowing that it would take me around 3.5 hours, I took my pack and a headlamp. During the third lap -- the backwards lap -- I met up with fellow NES, Taylor and Stephanie, and ended up running part of the course with them. I felt pretty good on lap three and followed them in the competitive division rules, even opting to do the penalties. Running the course and doing the obstacles in reverse definitely mixed things up. It was fun to slide down the coffins or the firemen's pole. It was interesting to climb up the ramp and go down the rope for the rope-ramp. Running the course in reverse also meant that some of the familiar way points along the course were reverse. I had to constantly keep checking myself to figure out where I was. Running in reverse was a fun mental challenge and a great way to mix it up. I had been dubious about running the course in reverse -- I am a person who likes routine -- but it was nice to tackle the last part of the course, which I consider more challenging, at the onset. I hope that this is a change that Rob sticks to for 2018. During the third lap, I felt fairly good and had very decent obstacle completion, failing the four obstacles from the previous lap, plus the zig zag, the tire swing, and the flat monkey bars.
I got back to the main area at around 8:30 p.m. I had finished in the dark and was completely tired. I had finished three laps, meaning that my goal of keeping up was last year was complete. I decided to call it a night. I headed back to my tent, had some food, and was asleep by 9:15 p.m. However, before going to sleep, it nagged at me that I could do better than last year. I knew that I was too tired to go out again at the moment, especially because I'm not a night person. First light was at around 6:00 a.m. With that in mind, I set my alarm for 5:00 a.m. Could I bring myself to do a fourth lap?
At 5:00 a.m. the sound of my alarm roused me. I was tired and sore. I was also determined. If I did four laps that would be just about 25 miles -- over 24 miles in 24 hours, it would be better than last year; I had to do it! I snagged a snack, got dressed, and by 5:24 a.m., I was checked-out and on the course, running solo in the black with only the bob of my headlamp to keep me company. After around half an hour on course, while in the middle of one of the many fields of Shale Hill, I was able to see the light start to peak above the horizon. What a welcome sight.
(photo credit: Vince Rhee)
Lap four was two experiences rolled into one. When I challenged myself to go out for lap four, it was with the understanding that I was tired and would take advantage of my journeyman status. While I covered the entire course, the plan was to avoid some of the more draining carries and focus on the obstacles. I quasi kept to this, jogging the half mile loop for the log slipper carry sans-log. Everything else, I did in earnest. And everything, I mean everything was hard. I was bruised and sore, my arms had trouble extending, and my fingers were like the claw from that machine in Toy Story -- they couldn't open or close fully and were kind of bent. By the time I made it about 3/4 of the way through the course, I was spent. It was all I could do to keep moving. From the new obstacles, the Russian table, and onward, jogging was all I could do. Making it back was my main priority. I failed obstacle after obstacle after obstacle. When I saw the final stretch and the anaconda I was beyond relieved. I wound my way up and down the burn, climbing the walls as well I could, until I was able to jog up the final hill and ring the bell. I was done. Shale Hell 2017 was in the books.
No place challenges and rewards racers like Shale Hill. It's a place where everyone is friends and the owners know your name. The obstacles at Shale Hill are the best, without compare. It's a place where you can set new goals over and over again -- there is always room for improvement. So the only question is this: Do I try for five laps in 2018?