HS40 June 16, 2007
Heather Griffith

  God, this race was so awesome! I just cannot say
enough about it. First off, the mountains are the most
beautiful place I've ever ran in my life and I can't
wait to run the Rattlesnake 50K and other races in WV
and VA, and also to come back again next year for this
race! 
  The lodge couldn't have been any more perfect a
place to stay for this race and it was just so
wonderful to be able to relax soon after finishing! My
legs were beat up, but my ankles may have been worse.
I woke at 10:40 p.m., after easily getting to sleep at
8:00 p.m., to find just how sore I was and to "try" to
walk to the bathroom. I was basically holding onto
objects to be able to walk right then. I lie back down
thinking, "God, it would be nice if I could go back to
sleep soon. There's no way I'll get back to Louisville
on this kind of sleep and then be able to work!" So it
only took me MAYBE 20 minutes to doze off again! I
ended up sleeping 10 1/2 hrs, but good thing cuz then
I had to stay up for nearly 24 hrs (once I got back to
Louisville, had to work til 5:30 a.m.)! 
   On the race...it started out quite flat actually
and I thought, "This race was supposed to be tough!"
Oh but then, one HUGE climb and the decent after being
brutal, then the rest of the run was just plain
brutal! I might have mentioned to you already that is
why I chose the course...the difficulty of it was
supposed to be high level! And it was...really
terrible! I seek out these types of races though, and
go from one great challenge to an even greater one. I
have 6 more races I will complete this year, all
ultras. I will run 2 50-milers 2 weeks apart in
September, which will be really tough for me. Then my
longest race yet will be the Hellgate 100K in
December...yes, I do plan on running it even though
it's supposed to be cold weather...one thing I really
don't like but makes the race even tougher! 
  I do have to mention I could not have gotten through
the last 14 miles so smoothly without my new friend
Ron Bierman. He was just amazing the way he stayed
w/me the rest of the way and we had some great
conversations out there, even stopped for a view of
the beautiful scenery a few times, to distract from
the incredible pain I'm sure we were both feeling! We
were even able to help each other stay on the course,
and not wonder off somewhere else that looked like a
better path! He's the only reason I didn't fall in
between those boulders! I mean, it's my first time
ever crossing boulders and it was a scary experience!
So we ended up crossing some of them together, which
brought my HR from maybe 120 down to 90! 
  Anyhow, I could have definitely stayed at Canaan
Valley longer, and look forward to coming back and
putting my body through this pure torture next June!
Happy Running.