Hells Hills 50 mile
🎶 I’m only happy when it rains 🎶 Before long races, Julie and I scroll through the Sirius channels to make sure the last song we hear before getting out of the car isn’t a crappy one, because you risk getting it stuck in your head for the next several hours. Sometimes you can replace it in your head, sometimes not. For the 3-loop Hells Hills 50 miler, I had a nice R.E.M. song for loop 1, but it was replaced by a song from Garbage - Only Happy when it Rains - in loop 2. Loop 1 started in the 5am darkness, in some nasty, humid, stale air (dew point was about 70 - yuck). Steve Moore, Matt Smith, and I took off together, with me in front as the singletrack started. As one might expect, it was a slow start, but after a few miles their headlamps started drifting back. By the time I hit the first aid station after mile 6, I couldn’t even see them. I usually run better races going my own pace versus pack-pace anyway, especially in ultras, since everyone (including me) has personal