Helvetia Mountain Trail Race (10K)
1st Place/36:55
(725ft elevation gain/strava)
1st Place/36:55
(725ft elevation gain/strava)
History: The race is held in conjunction with the 96th Annual Community Helvetia Fair. In 1998 Jody and Dan Lehmann with the help of friends and neighbors organized this event in their small Swiss mountain community of Helvetia. It was their first attempt at race directing. The run/walk has never outgrown the village but continues to bring about 75 runners to enjoy the simple beauty of this spot in southern Randolph County. All proceeds go to benefit the Helvetia Community Fair Association.
Course: The 10k run is a challenging mix of paved road, dirt road and mountainous trail. The course follows a portion of the route the original Swiss settlers used when first coming to the area in October 1869. You will be crossing creeks and enjoying beautiful views. The first 2 miles are flat along the banks of the Buckhannon River. The next 2.5 miles is a gradual climb of 750 feet along Upper Trout Run to a scenic hilltop, hence the name Mountain Run! The last 1.7 miles quickly descends Zumbach Road back to Helvetia.
Race Recap: That course explanation is pretty accurate but this year we had to deal with hard rains from yesterday that made the course muddy and turned the hardest section (4-4.6 miles) of the course into a flowing downhill stream (we were running up it). 3/4 of this race is off road dirt road or trail with the other 1/4 (first mile (flat), 2-2.5 (gradual uphill), and the last 100m (gradual downhill)) pavement.
My plan was to get out solid but be cautious for the trail climb. I got out in 5:17 feeling very relaxed and planning to hold that pace for the next mile. The next mile started slow though with roughly .30 of the mile being on a muddy four wheeler grass trail with a good bit of rocks. I hit two sections during that stretch where my foot went ankle deep in mud/water. Once off that section it was slightly rolling (more up) dirt/gravel road which I didn't hammer like I had planned but even coming off that first .30 of mud/grass trail around 6:20 pace was able to work the mile split down to 5:47. The next half mile was uphill but paved so I was running close to 5:40s until hitting the dirt/gravel road which started to get steeper and steeper but I hit the 3rd mile in 6:00. The dirt road continued to go up and up during the most part of the 4th mile but the footing was good being dirt/gravel still. Around mile 3.5 we made a turn going past Dan and Judy's house and this was when the race got really tough. Footing stayed mostly good but the hill got steeper and I hit the 4th mile in 6:36, which I was happy with. The next 1K was flat out tough for me, the course was entirely rough rocky muddy double track trail at this point. This section was hurt the most from the rain as it was a free flowing downhill stream and we even had a muddy stream to cross, but mostly it was tough to get a good line with all the rocky terrain and your going up. I ran way to slow during this stretch and paid for it with my total time. I reached the top (roughly .6 into the 5th mile) at 9:30s pace. I hesitated just a bit at the top but once I saw it was all downhill I stepped on the gas. I finished off that mile in 7:36 making up some good ground in the less than half mile of running to turn that mile into a good split overall for how tough it was. The 6th mile was entirely downhill and I hammered while still keeping things in check (I could have went harder) but I knew even a 4:30 mile wouldn't get me the course record. I hit the 6th mile in 4:53. The last .17 was finished off at 4:35 pace to cross the line in a sprint.
My plan was to get out solid but be cautious for the trail climb. I got out in 5:17 feeling very relaxed and planning to hold that pace for the next mile. The next mile started slow though with roughly .30 of the mile being on a muddy four wheeler grass trail with a good bit of rocks. I hit two sections during that stretch where my foot went ankle deep in mud/water. Once off that section it was slightly rolling (more up) dirt/gravel road which I didn't hammer like I had planned but even coming off that first .30 of mud/grass trail around 6:20 pace was able to work the mile split down to 5:47. The next half mile was uphill but paved so I was running close to 5:40s until hitting the dirt/gravel road which started to get steeper and steeper but I hit the 3rd mile in 6:00. The dirt road continued to go up and up during the most part of the 4th mile but the footing was good being dirt/gravel still. Around mile 3.5 we made a turn going past Dan and Judy's house and this was when the race got really tough. Footing stayed mostly good but the hill got steeper and I hit the 4th mile in 6:36, which I was happy with. The next 1K was flat out tough for me, the course was entirely rough rocky muddy double track trail at this point. This section was hurt the most from the rain as it was a free flowing downhill stream and we even had a muddy stream to cross, but mostly it was tough to get a good line with all the rocky terrain and your going up. I ran way to slow during this stretch and paid for it with my total time. I reached the top (roughly .6 into the 5th mile) at 9:30s pace. I hesitated just a bit at the top but once I saw it was all downhill I stepped on the gas. I finished off that mile in 7:36 making up some good ground in the less than half mile of running to turn that mile into a good split overall for how tough it was. The 6th mile was entirely downhill and I hammered while still keeping things in check (I could have went harder) but I knew even a 4:30 mile wouldn't get me the course record. I hit the 6th mile in 4:53. The last .17 was finished off at 4:35 pace to cross the line in a sprint.
Awesome Helvetia Mountain Run coffee mug and dinner for 2 at the local restaurant for awards topped off a great day! I can't for next year and hopefully a good run at the course record.
Strava Data: http://www.strava.com/activities/194461541
Official Results: http://www.wvmtr.org/events/helvetia-10k-mountain-run/helvetia-10k-mt-run-and-2-mile-walk-2014/
Strava Data: http://www.strava.com/activities/194461541
Official Results: http://www.wvmtr.org/events/helvetia-10k-mountain-run/helvetia-10k-mt-run-and-2-mile-walk-2014/
