Final notes on HellBender100 Finisher "Babybulb".

May 15, 2023, 3:13 PM

My Son Will (1991 CU & '94 UGa-Law Grad and now age 53) called today after having 1-1/2 days to reflect on & share his thoughts on the most difficult & arduous event he'd ever participated in.

He's been a casual & competitive runner for 25 years which included the Iron Man, The Spartan, 100 K's, mountain runs where one takes turns to push a disabled Vet in a wheel chair up & down paved roads, etc..

but this Ultra 100 Mile Marathon for graduate-rated runners on the Black Mtn/Mt Mitchell course is considered the Super Bowl of all the 100-Milers on the East Coast due to the peak being 8860 ft above sea-level and highest East of The Rockies.

Will was more than challenged as I learned today (and I had feared such since it was apparent that he was struggling with his times) in that he couldn't sleep for 2-3 nights before race since he was so geared up and the day before race he developed an unusual head & chest cold! OMG~

Still, he made it the 1st 50 miles to the Mt Mitchell peak having climbed a combined 24,000' in a slow but repeatable 17.75 hours but after that he vomited and got weak on the down circuit which is actually harder since it's slow going & tough on the knees & glutes.

It was then a running friend pacing him felt he had over-mixed his electrolyte drink with too much powder and needed to go with plain water for awhile, which helped.

The heat, humidity, age and maybe even the Covid & jabs were working negatively on him, as well as the chest cold causing his lungs to not be as efficient as was needed in the high altitudes.

Still, he struggled on..for 39 hrs, 42 min, 37 sec towards the finish line and under the 40 hr mark of disqualification and not joining 37 runners who had already retired.

Bretfsu, I and some other TigerNetters who had been tracking him for many hours ..with Will (#189) being one of many scores of runners and showing up on a trail graph on our cell phones as an orange blimp on a long winding trail..

did not know he'd successively finished 17 minutes & 23 seconds before the 40 hour disqualification time since the GPS data was flawed or late pin-pointing his real position and it looked like from that data that Will might not make it after training 7 times over 2 months at various locations on that mountain, driving from Charlotte area on off hours or week-ends.

I was so heart-broken that my Boy, now a middle-aged Man, was going to fail in a race that he strongly felt he could succeed in, maybe clocking in at a respectable 32-36 hour time since most runners were in their 20's, 30's & 40's.

But, at about 18 minutes before the closing bell, with bretfsu & I both seeing him still a long mile short of the goal line and it was obvious to us from watching the slowly moving image that Will was totally spent.

But, just then Ironman Tiger t-mailed us that the time sheet had Will finishing a minute earlier and then TheCURing07 stated the same great news..

so I went to the time log and saw where my Boy had not given up after a grueling 39+ hours over 2 days but instead that beloved TiGER had finished just before dusk..sick, weak & beat and in last place..

which to me and probably to him was as good as it comes to winning since he won our hearts for being a true competitor & champion!

And at that moment of seeing he was declared a finisher my heart burst in pure joy & jubilation..as I feel bretfsu's did too, since we two & other TigerNetters had skin in the game in time, interest & worry and also high hopes of success.

Thx again to "my" run pacer friend & encourager "bretfsu" who was really into it all and was a rock!

Will let me know today that he was also proud of himself and wished he'd know so many Tigers were watching, praying for & wishing him across the finish line.

And, he's elated that the last place finisher got the exact same trophies & gifts as the1st place winner (a wooden plaque shaped like state of NC and a metal belt buckle with both having the Hellbender100 logo, 2 pairs of shoes, cap, T, bag of coffee, etc).

Oh, his feet & ankles are so swollen even 1-1/2 days later that he can't get into regular leather shoes. Hope he didn't go to the courthouse on business this morning in bedroom slippers or those Clemson Orange track shoes!

Go TiGERS - Jeep ROCKing, like WiLL!

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Couple of things ...

Re: Final notes on HellBender100 Finisher "Babybulb".

Total Congratulations to him, and to you as a proud dad.

I personally cannot comprehend being mentally tough enough to subject your body to such stress,(or even WANTING to!) But, I have learned over the years that runners, or fitness junkies in general, are just a breed apart.

I will offer a cautionary tale, though. We had two really dedicated runners in management out at the chemical plant where I spent most of my career. Both these guys were your typical slender, wiry runner types. They would run five miles every day during LUNCH HOUR. And I mean RUN, not jogging. Both of them are dead now, having died without ever getting to enjoy much of a retirement. In both cases, genetics overcame fitness. Maybe that's why they ran, they knew the deck was stacked against them.

I wish your son a long and happy life, running, or torturing his body in whatever physical fashion he so chooses. The fact that you are already an old fawrt says he may have hit the genetic lottery, hope so for his sake!

Final notes on HellBender100 Finisher "Babybulb".

Couple of things ...

Re: Final notes on HellBender100 Finisher "Babybulb".

Yep ClemKWA..off about 2,140 ft of altitude. Thx~

Total Congratulations to him, and to you as a proud dad.

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