Pre-run-We came up to do the “1^st leg” of this adventure in late September of ’06. I remember going over the logistics and directions and knowing that, although me and my partner (Stottlemyer) had SUPREME map reading and navigation skills (we just got lost a few weeks earlier in our own back yard of Kanawha State Forest), I was gonna end up in a random “holler” of Randolph County. And that made it that much more AWESOMER!!!!! I couldn’t wait till next year to do the whole thing.

Day one-We pulled into Mill Creek, Jamming to RUSTED ROOT. This is where I met up with some runnin’ buddies I haven’t seen in a while, and met some runners I’ve heard a lot about but haven’t had the opportunity to meet. Like John Logar  and his cool dogs, Maple and KOA. We arrived at the official “start line” of day 1 and took a few pictures, then everyone took off like ninjas. We waded through two wildlife plots which consisted of 10’ tall weeds. At the top of the first climb, we took a picture of Lehmann giving Potts a piggyback ride, and then took off on Whit Meadow trail, one of my favorite sections of the trip. After the first aid station, Dennis and I stopped to stretch and discuss our “game plan” of how to pace for the rest of day and the next three days, then he said “hey, Ashley and David should be about 20 minutes behind us, why don’t we take a nap at John’s shelter”. This sounded like the greatest idea since sliced bread. At the last Aid station, Jody and Jennifer were there. Apparently they didn’t get Dan’s memo about letting the runners make their own food, and not to wait on them hand and foot. Jody L. made the best peanut butter sandwich I’ve had since 3^rd grade. Before we left, Ashley and David came through and they were both out of water. David ended up staying and Ashley joined Dennis and I for the stretch. She was jumping around and talking, and didn’t sound like she just ran 20+ miles. We finished and ate a bunch of pizza and subs, and somehow found room for the ice cream.

Day two- We took off in the morning from Laurel Fork Campground and ran by some cows through the thick fog. Then, knowing this was going to be the longest day, we jumped a fence and took a detour to make it an even longer day. But that’s ok, this is the first time I’ve seen the Sinks of Gandy, and we got some really good pictures. We crossed over the Eastern Continental Divide and eventually hit the first aid station. Although we thought nobody would eat the pizza left over from last night, everyone started eating it like a pack of rabid wolves. We came to Big Run, and headed up the appropriately named “Cardiac Hill”. Then went through a nice field, where is saw the biggest purple thistle flowers I’ve ever seen. Then we bushwhacked up a steep hill to reach the forest road leading to the summit. This is where Tony and I started running together. We arrived at the Aid Station and saw Duct Tape everywhere!!! I knew you could use duct tape for a lot of random stuff, but people were putting it on their toes, feet, blisters, and Potts put a ½ roll on his back to prevent rubbing of the camelback (aka the Man Bra). We got some pictures from a mom and 2 kids with Skunk skin hats. We hit Huckleberry Trail, which had a rock or two in it. We went by a big blue tarp in the middle of nowhere, and an 8’ tall rock Cairn. The guys were waiting for Tony and I on top of some rocks with a spectacular view. Dan gave me instructions to take down a yellow Montrail ribbon, which I decided to put on my head for the Rambo look. I tried to talk Tony into tying some Orange ribbons on his arms to look like everyone’s favorite WWF Wrestler, the Ultimate Warrior, but it didn’t work. After a looooong downhill full of nettle and Huge waterbars, we reached the 3^rd Aid Station. I had another famous Logar peanut butter sandwich. After looking for brook trout in Brushy Run, then a few miles of Rt. 33, we saw Seneca Rocks, and I thought we were there; then mike Stennes drove by, and I thought we were there; then I saw Ashley and Jody with some water, and I thought we were there, then I saw some cabins and we were there. We ate some of the Wolpert’s tasty pasta and homemade bread.

Day three- Dan said the initial climb of this day would be tough. We got to the lookout platform by Seneca rocks and it looked like we were nearly at the top, then we got on a Gas Line Right-of-way, and I saw Joel, Adam, and Bill way ahead. The top of North Fork Mountain looked like Machu Picchu. The amazing view of Seneca Rocks below, and Germany Valley, made the climb seam almost easy……..almost. After reaching the top, I saw a tent…..huh?? I was thinking, surely they didn’t just hike up here and pitch a tent….that would be crazy talk. Then I started to wonder what they would think by seeing over a dozen people cresting the hill, with waterbottles, duct tape, and blue hoses connected to their shirts. After getting passed again by Charlie, Kim and Dennis after they took a wrong turn. I don’t know who was leading them........ The north fork trail was awesome, then the down hill through the farm. The local cows left us many presents on the dirt road through the pasture. After reaching the 1^st aid station, most of us changed to our roadie shoes since the next 16 miles or so were ALL pavement. The 1^st section of this was a pleasant semi-shaded road, Reeds creek I think it was. Then we got in the sunny section of road around Upper Tract. Dennis (being the history buff he is) said “hey, there’s one of those white signs, lets go read it”. It told about a fort that got attacked by a bunch of Indians, and they killed all the Americans in it. Later Mrs. Young told us that they stole a treasure and hid it in the hills, and it has still never been found to this day. I thought of what the headlines would read if Dennis and I would find it….”RUNNERS ABANDON 120 MILE RUN, TO SPLIT BOOTY FOUND IN THE HILLS”. So, somewhere along the side of the road, Dennis managed to hurt his ankle and I managed to not work up an appetite to eat solid foods at Aid Station 2. We went up and down and up and down…Saw a sign that said “PLEASANT VALLY” but we didn’t go down it. We ran into a guy with cycling equipment circa 1972, rode in the back of the Logarmobile and ate some of the best food of the trip at Camp Young.

 Day Four- after waking up from the coldest night of the trip (glad I brought my 20 degree sleeping bag), We took off to from Fort Seybert up a foggy road. About halfway up the big Shenandoah Mountain, I heard Randy or Potts or Charlie say “ok, up to that tree” this is where I began the longest fartlek of my life. Up the mountain we would run to a certain point then walk a little while, then go again. Once we got to aid station 1, we started doing 8 minutes on and 2 minutes off. This seemed to work pretty good. I did notice how quickly everyone moved through the aid station, I think Lehmann didn’t break stride and threw some water in his face and kept going. Charlie stopped to take a POO, and came behind us a few minutes later doing the “Charlie shuffle”. After a long runnable section, we hit 33 and went to the last Aid Station. I remembered thinking “its only 4 miles of mostly downhill, so I’ll take only 1 bottle of heed. ½ way down the mountain I started getting pretty hot. I considered squirting HEED on my head to cool off, but kept going. Then a few minutes later I felt like my head was on fire….so I squirted a few ounces of MANDARIN ORANGE HEED on my head. It was refreshing for a few minutes, but then I realized how STUPID an idea this was. Luckily the “finish line” was only a mile away. Soon it was over, with a cannonball in Brandywine Lake……What an adventure…..Thanks to everyone who made all of this possible and participated.

Mike Dolin
A.C. Finisher

September 2, 2007