Kyle V. Kalbach
Pre-race:
I spent most of the week leading up to the event hydrating and resting as much as possible. Ran 3 miles Tuesday , and 2 miles Wednesday. I was feeling rested and ready to run, but still had a lot of nervous thoughts hanging around.
Went to work for a half day Friday. Got packed and headed for Waterville with
Mom and Pops. Got to packet pickup and had my pre-race photo taken. Went to the Waterville inn for supper and had their mushroom and vegetable wrap and the first of many perogies. Stopped at the Little Pine picnic area so dad could check out the creek. Saw a group of four mergansers on the creek. I took some time to make sure my drop bags were all set.
Got to sleep at Happy Acres campground around 9pm Friday evening.
I woke up before my alarm at 3:00 am Saturday after a very restless night of "sleep". Got dressed and applied anti-chafe. I ate a raisin bagel with peanut butter and a banana for breakfast. Feeling ready to go, we left for Little Pine state park around 4am. I arrived at the start/finish and deposited my drop bags at the collection point and headed to check in. Got some coffee and made my way to the line for the restroom. Waited in the line till the scheduled briefing time and made the decision to bail on the restroom sit down.
Randomly bumped into a friend of a friend who works at Little Pine and had given me recommendations for trails to run a few weeks prior. Shout out to Tyoga Running Club for an awesome time on Mount Tom.
Gave my parents both hugs and approached the starting line.
Start to Aid Station 3
5:00 am Eastern states 100 had kicked off after some words from the race director and some cheering for volunteers and spectators. Watching 260 or so headlamps make their way down the road to Little Pine state park campground was a surreal sight.
As we started our first ascent I could sense the excitement in the air. All the anxiety of planning and remembering every detail I could slipped away as I was truly living in the moment. Sometime in that dark accent I got my first glimpse of the indifferent and unflinching reality of Tiadaghton river valley in the form of the first of a handful of ground bee stings.
Hydration and fueling started early here and I was maintaining my one gu an hour
Plan.
As we hit AS1 Ramsey Rd I stopped and topped up my flasks. Both flasks only had water because I forgot to bring electrolyte for the start. Within the first 5 miles my fear that my feet would get soaked due to sweat came to fruition.
AS2 Bonnell Flats came and went and the highlight for me was crossing Pine Creek on the Historic Ramsey Rail Trail Iron bridge. I was warned by another runner to not let excitement get the best of me, and hold back from running this rail trail section too fast in hopes of saving some energy for the climbing yet to come. This also proved sound advice as the bridge was very slick due to the humidity.
As I approached AS3 Lower Pine Btm I was excited to get to see my parents after a pretty punishing 18 miles.This would be the beginning of the end for my feet. An added section up through the wood to the DCNR building was much prefered by me but seemingly begrudged by a few of my fellow runners. Friendly faces from the Lancaster Road Runners Club manned this station. I took some time here to try to remediate the growing blister on my right big toe. To my dismay my foot skin was far too hydrated for the hydrocolloid bandages to adhere. A small section of KT tape and a thorough foot lubing would have to suffice. I also made sure to pick up my emergency flask to help keep myself hydrated.
AS4 to AS7 Hyner Run
Feeling refreshed after AS3 I began to push on. More climbing was on the menu and the heat of the sun was starting to become more noticeable. After a few miles I found myself on a section of gravel double track and thought it an opportune time to fuel. This was the first time I noticed how the heat was starting to weigh on me. As I bit open my salted watermelon Gu, a favorite of mine, the second I knocked it back I began to dry heave loudly and to no foreseeable benefit. After chatting with another runner some time later he mentioned trying to block the sound of my retching from his mind.
This section dealt some spectacular climbing that I was warned would beat you down and demoralize you if given the chance. I stuck to my plan of taking the first 20 or so miles rather easy.
Volunteers continued to be awesome at both AS4 Browns Run and AS5 Happy Dutchman. I tried to spread cheer to some fellow runners saying "Happy 50k!" However they did not seem encouraged by my chipper.
AS6 Ritchie Rd came rather easy, however I knew it was time to get my feet looked at. I was directed to wait under an easy up with folding chairs under it. Medical staff addressed my wounded tootsies with an assortment of tape, spray adhesive, and moleskin. Somehow in the brief walk to the chairs I ended up laying on my side in the stones during this repair. He cut the blister on my right big toe with his shears. I was surprised how deep into the skin he had to cut to get to the fluid. With my toes now looking questionably large I feared they would not fit back into my toe socks. Once my feet were tended and properly lubed I returned them to both my socks and shoes with relative ease. Conversation with the medic centered around my desire to throw my Mafate x's in the trash following this race. I thanked the medic then was helped by a sparkly angle of a volunteer and forged onwards to AS7 Hyner Run. Just over 13 hours in AS 7 was a well needed pick me up. I got to refuel and see my parents again. At this point I swapped out the long sleeves I had carried for seemingly no reason in my pack for my 1.5 l hydration bladder in preparation as some of the longest stretches between aid stations were right around the corner.
AS8 Dry Run to AS10 Tomb Flats
Leaving Hyner Run was some familiar sections of trail which was encouraging to know where I was and what to expect. I thoroughly enjoyed this part of the race. Getting to do these classic Hyner 50k sections in a cool part of the day was an absolute treat, even the "V". I joked with other runners about not having to go back through the section like you do during Hyner 50k. Another runner behind me in one of Hyner's steep descent mentioned he was feeling a little wonky to which I replied "feelin a little wonky donkey"? He proceeded to sing the wonky donkey and coming to the conclusion that his nephew and my niece both love when the donkey farts at the end. This was a great moment of levity deep in the race that brought a smile to my face.
Around this time I got to talking with another runner from York, Pa sporting a Ten Tough miles shirt. He advised me to try to stick with a group through the night sections. I did heed this advice for the most part, but did run some long portions alone in the dark. Navigation got much less taxing once the headlamps came out, due to the reflectors on the flagging. The heat of the day was behind us but the temps lingered on the higher side all night. Tomb Flats and more importantly my shoe change, fresh clothes, and a tooth brushing awaited. All I had to do was wade through the creek slip sliding on the rocks and going up almost chest deep to get there. I got changed and once again made my way to the medical tent to get my feet looked at. The medics did what they could including rewrapping my heel blisters, but the damage had already been done. 63 miles in feeling refreshed and hopeful the shoe change would help, I pressed on yet again.
AS11 Cedar Run to Checkpoint Hackett
The long sections in the dark were unrelenting. Somewhere in the remaining darkness I turned my headlamp off briefly crossing some double track to see one of the most stunning starry skies I have ever seen. That moment was truly magic. I also had my headlamp battery die in a much denser area leading to an impromptu lesson in knowing where your gear is and how to use it when you lose one of your senses.
With a fresh battery installed I was mobile once again. The sunrise was much welcomed somewhere on the long branch climb between Cedar Run and Blackwell.
My only navigation hiccup happened just above AS12 Blackwell. The trail continued across a road with a confirmation flag. I kept running down grade and quickly became aware that I did not have any flagging. I decided to back track to the road where I last thought I had flagging. Once I reached it I confirmed that it crossed the road and continued on. At this time I encountered another runner coming backwards up the trail. His skepticism matched my own and we once again returned to the flag at the road. Feeling confused we pressed on again. He informed me a group he was with was ahead and had checked GPPS and insisted we were on trail. We finally found one short flag hanging high directly above the trail. Reassured, we continued. At this time I felt pressure to keep my small buffer on cut offs. So I proceeded to ignore my screaming feet and bomb the remaining descent into Blackwell. I refilled on fluids, took in some ginger ale, and took a Strawberry Uncrustable for the road. One of the awesome volunteers kept me moving by forcefully telling me to go, and so I did. Leaving for Sky Top around 8:28am. That volunteer single handedly helped me get to Sky Top approximately 34 minutes before cut off. Blowing the airhorn outside Sky Top was a rather fun sidequest.
The section from Sky Top to Barrens felt as though it would never end. My stomach was starting to not tolerate water or tailwind. Every sip caused my stomach to flip and gurgle. I was also starting to notice the heat of the day much more.
The Ice bandana was working wonders during this section. Barrens to checkpoint Hackett was more a long battle of fatigue, foot discomfort, and heat sickness.
Checkpoint Hackett to the Little Pine
Climbing through the final three miles I found myself with a group of runners once again. A volunteer/hiker pointed out two rattlesnakes just off the trail at a large boulder step down. I was too mentally fatigued to see where he meant, and only got to see them from another racer's camera roll later at the finish. As we began to descend I started doing some math on our slowed pace, and once again made a decision to ignore the pain signals my feet were sending and bomb my way to the finish. I passed everyone I was grouped with and took off. Only one other runner stayed on my heels through the descent. I passed another handful of runners as the trail opened up to the start finish area.
As I stepped into the grass the cheer of the crowd ahead drew me in. I could finally see the finish and ran with everything I could muster. I crossed the finish in 35 hours and 10 minutes as the 100th finisher completing my Pennsylvania Triple Crown and my first 100 mile race. The emotion of finally being done overwhelmed me and almost brought me to tears. I gave both my mom and dad big hugs and made my way to a chair to finally rest.
Conclusion:
I set out at the beginning of this year with one goal. That goal was to complete the Pennsylvania Triple Crown to honor the memory of my friend James Miller. Without whom I would have never found this crazy awesome sport and a community that loves and serves one another fiercely through some of God's toughest and most breathe taking environments. Thank you to the race directors, volunteers, and family and friends that make this community everything it is meant to be.
~Kyle V. Kalbach
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