The Brains
Both in their 50s, Chris Scott and Anstr Davidson are committed Trail
Runners who tend towards "ultramarathon" distances (any
event longer than the standard 26.2 mile marathon distance, typically
between 50 kilometers and 100 miles). Chris is President Emeritus
and Anstr is Treasurer of the Virginia Happy Trails Running Club,
VHTRC, a private non-profit organization formed in 1993 to promote
trail running. The pair are known as "class clowns" and
are often the instigators of very long runs.
When Chris learned of the new Massanutten trail,
he immediately called Anstr and suggested a one-shot circumnavigation
was something they just had to do. Both had experienced part of the
route and knew it would be full of rock-strewn misery, but somehow
Chris convinced Anstr to give it a go. In April 2002, the duo set
out on their journey and completed it in a little over a day.
The Brawn
The initial plan for the re-enactment called for a handful of experienced
runners to be tended by personal crews. As the event approached, VHTRC
members Noelle Olsen and Keith Dunn, running groupie Bunny Runyan,
and Lisa, my long-suffering wife, offered to help whomever, wherever
they could, along with Tom Corris, Bob Phillips and Anstr, the coordinator.
Unselfish to the core, the crews spent the better
part of 24 hours making sandwiches, filling water bottles, massaging
legs, and offering clean dry shirts or socks to the smelly athletes
every time they came out of the woods.
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| The start of the ordeal: (left to right) Joe Clapper, Harry Bruehl, Bethany Hunter, John Dodds, Bob Phillips, Scott Mills, David Horton, mystery man, Keith Knipling, Barry Lewis (our Greenworks man-in-the-woods), and Gary Knipling (kneeling).
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Then they packed up, drove frantically to the next access point, set
up, and waited hours for the next flurry of activity.
The Braindead
So who would do this kind of thing?
The group that converged on the Massanutten Trail
for the circuit attempt on September 7 consisted mainly of VHTRC hard-cores
and comprised the usual cross-section found at any ultramarathon race.
Ages ranged from 23 to 58, occupations from student to veterinarian.
All shared a love of the trails, a belief in his or her physical capabilities,
and a mental toolbox loaded with tricks to get through the difficult
stretches ahead. Every starter had completed at least one 100 mile
race; the majority had a dozen or more century-runs under the belt.
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