The Old Dominion 100 (www.olddominionrun.org), the highly respected and 
second oldest 100 mile ultra marathon in the US, is a grueling test of 
endurance, strength, strategy and faith.  This past Saturday, beginning at 
4am, in its 30th anniversary year, I put myself up to the test.  What began 
Saturday as foot race through the roads, ATV trails and hiking trails of 
Woodstock, Fort Valley and mountains of George Washington National Forrest 
turned into a battle with an oppressive early summer heat wave.

My wife Gaby and I arrived in Woodstock, VA on Friday afternoon.  The 5pm 
pre-race meeting on Friday was mandatory, and turned out to be enjoyable as 
well as informative, humbling and inspiring.  After the meeting and sorting 
out my nutrition drop bags for the next day we dropped by a local restaurant 
for a quick meal and it was lights out by 8:30.  I was up the next morning at 
2:30 and we left for the start at 3:35.  The race start and finish was 
located at the Woodstock fairgrounds half a mile away.  Gaby drove me to the 
fairgrounds and hung around for the pre-race moments, which included a moving 
prayer by one of the race director brethren, then start.  Just standing there 
waiting to start the sweat began to roll.  The early morning humidity was so 
thick you could almost see it in the air.  4am came and went and we were off 
for a loop around the fairgrounds track, through the town, out the 
surrounding countryside roads and up our first ascent into the mountains.

Many hours later, between miles 40 and 50, I began developing symptoms of 
dehydration.  At the first medical weigh in the scale reported I had lost 
five pounds.  Not wanting to end up a DNFer I vowed to consume as much water 
as I could at each aide station, including top off my two hand held bottles 
(which I was doing sort of doing anyway).  Shaded temperatures were in the 
high nineties and the reported heat index was in between 104 and 110.  The 
sun was shining full blast, the humidity levels were high and there was 
virtually no breeze to cool things off.  Back to the scale thing, if I lost 
or gained too much weight percentage wise I would be yanked from the race.  
Fortunately from mile 50 on dehydration was no longer and issue.

The entire course consists of 14,000 feet of climbing and 14,000 feet of 
descending, with the second half consisting of way more steep and rocky 
terrain.  I finished the first half in just under nine hours and with my 
dehydration issue under control I was looking forward to digging deep and 
hammering out the second half with a solid finish.  I was after all in 3rd 
place at this point and only 45 minutes behind the leader.  Soon after the 50 
mile marker a very painful anterior tibial tendonitis surfaced in my right 
shin.  It hurt to run.  It hurt to walk.  I had no choice I though.  
Finishing was the only option.  So I kept going.  After 25 miles, a few aide 
stations and a thunder storm I maintained third place and was only an hour 
behind the leader at mile 75.  At this point I stopped for the second of two 
mandatory medical weigh-ins at the Elizabeth Furnace aide station.  Plus two 
pounds.  I was good to continue.  My shin was painful and swollen though.  
The Doc checked it out and said if I wanted to continue it was up to me.  
Again, there was only one option: finish.  I inhaled a peanut butter and 
honey sandwich, a few other snacks, two Tylenol and hobbled back to the 
trail.

The next stage, climbing Sherman’s Gap, was vicious.  I was advised to get 
up, over and down this mountain before sunset to make my life a lot easier.  
Thank goodness I did but it took a lot out of me and by the time I reached 
mile marker 88 in the dark, sporting my nifty running head lamp, another 
runner was close on my tail.  He had a pacer run with him though from mile 
75, as did the lead runner.  I opted not to run with one, even though a kind 
runner at Elizabeth Furnace with fresh legs offered his services.  I wanted 
to do this on my own.  This was the only part of the course that allowed a 
pacer because it was very technical and most people would have to complete 
the entire segment at night.  Race directors did not want lone runners 
getting lost, injuring themselves or both.  By the way, it was also on this 
portion of the trail in pitch black that I abruptly stopped myself running 
down hill as a rattle snake slithered across the trail in front of me.

Shortly after leaving the 88th mile marker aide station I was passed.  I was 
now in fourth position.  No big deal.  Immediately after being passed and 
like a dummy I some how missed a clearly marked turn and ran ¾ mile off 
course.  I realized I was going the wrong way when I no longer saw the night 
glow sticks dangling from trees marking the path every quarter mile.  At that 
point, I wasn’t positive if I was even off course because I heard there was 
chance of local teenagers snatching the glow sticks here and there- and at 
that brief stretch I was on a country road, which made the idea seem 
possible.  Still though I had to make sure so I took the risk, turned around 
and ran back to try and find where I missed the turn.  Fortunately my better 
judgment paid off.  I found the turn and was back on track but unfortunately 
not before wasting precious energy running an extra 1.5 miles of hilly 
country road.  Either way, this was the beginning of the end for me.

At this point my body had enough and my mind was the only thing working 
properly.  The last twelve miles consisted of steep inclines followed by a 
long, steep and quad punishing descent back down into Woodstock.  I continued 
drinking and continued going to the bathroom often- in the end I realized I 
probably drank too much over the second half of the course, but it was better 
than not enough I figure.  The last 12 miles gave the three front runners in 
front of me even more buffer as my aide station splits became longer and 
longer until I finally finished Sunday morning at 2:18am- earning a 
respectable fourth place finish at 22 hours and 18 minutes. 

Out of 49 starters only 22 finished under the allowable cutoff time of 28 
hours.  And only 12 of them “buckled” in under 24 hours.  Ultras usually have 
a high DNF rate but this race’s DNF ratio was way higher than normal.  
Conditioned and seasoned ultra athletes and Old Dominion buckle veterans 
simply could not make it work in the heat.  Even during my stint with 
dehydration I worried my body might be shutting down and that I might not 
make it, but fortunately for me I was able to turn it around.  The same 
obviously did not pan out for others.  From what I know some runners bodies 
shut down early or half way through and others did not make the cut off.  
Others may have been yanked at weigh-ins, I am not sure.  I spoke with my 
coach, Gill (www.badtothebone.biz), and he attributes my success to following 
a plan and not making rookie mistakes (nutrition, hydration, electrolyte, 
pace wise).  I agree.  This was my first 100 mile ultra and my goal entering 
the race was to finish with a silver race buckle.  I won a buckle and am very 
excited and grateful I did.  Plus, it will make an excellent addition to my 
wardrobe.

The race itself was beautifully organized and fun to be a part of.  The race 
directors and volunteers were very helpful and friendly I couldn’t possibly 
have expected or hoped for anything better.  And my spunky, usual-suspect pit 
crew, consisting of Gaby, my Mom and sister Joan, continued to out do 
themselves with generosity, support and love all along the way.  Myself and 
no other racer, finisher or non finisher, could have participated without the 
selfless giving of the race crew, volunteers and their own support crews.  I 
am a big fan of the ultra run sport culture which enthusiastically promotes 
co-athlete support, great and friendly attitudes, sharing of ideas and 
knowledge, compassion and busting ass.

Thank you everyone for reading my race report.  And, yes, I will definitely 
compete in more ultras in the future.

 
Neal Gorman
Washington D.C.