All about the Run Thru Hell

The name of this race is both literally and figuratively true...

Literally: The race takes place in a small town named Hell, Michigan (population: 266 according to Wikipedia, though I have heard there are 73 permanent residents), about 60 miles west of Detroit. Apparently it's the only town in the USA with such a name too. There are conflicting stories about how the town got its name, but the most known story goes somewhat like this: A man by the name of George Reeves settled into the town with his family and built a mill and a general store. When officials from the State of Michigan came around in 1841 to ask him what he wanted to name his town, he replied "I don't care, you can name it Hell if you want to." And the rest is history. Some of you non-Michiganders may have heard about this town on the news on June 6 because they had a huge party to celebrate the occasion...check out more about the town of Hell here.
Figuratively: It all starts when you get close to Hell because, since it's a small town, there's only a couple of roads that go to it and they're only one lane both ways. A lot of runners make the pilgrimage here every year, so you can imagine how backed up the roads can get if you're a little behind schedule. Once you get there, you're directed to park your car in a makeshift parking lot which also doubles as a horse farm, so when you get out of your car and walk to pick up your race packet, you're doing your best not to step in horse manure. If you're one of the unlucky few to wait until race morning to register, you might have to wait a bit. The race is scheduled to start at 8am, but by the time they corrall everybody into the starting area, it tends to be almost 8:30 before the starting gun goes off. Wanna go out fast and get a good start? Think again...the first approximately 3.5 miles are on narrow dirt roads, which makes it very difficult to pass slower runners, especially in the first mile.

This event offers a race of 4.8 miles and race of 10 miles and it doesn't help that the two races start at the same time. The two races follow the same course until the 10 milers heed the directions of a guy dressed up as a devil and take a right turn around mile 4. I have run the 4.8 mile version three times, with my best race coming last year. It had to be one of the best, if not the best, races I have ever run. The course is VERY hilly, but I went into each hill with the attitude of attacking it and fighting through it. It must have worked....I finished in 29:35, which doesn't sound too impressive because it's a 6:10/mile pace, but it was good for 2nd in my age group and 18th overall out of 1,039 people. I lucked out too because 10 of the 17 people who finished ahead of me were in the 15-19 age group! Another unique aspect of the race is that awards go five deep, and the sixth place person in every age group gets a special "horse's ass" award....which is pretty much a trophy of a horse's ass.

This is my first time taking on the 10 mile course, and from what I hear and see from past results, the 10 miler is a LOT more competitive than the 4.8 mile race. The course boasts their version of Heartbreak Hill around mile 7, and when all is said and done, I hear that the hills on this course easily add 3 minutes to your usual time for a 10 mile race.

What about my knee? Well it felt markedly better on Wednesday and I ended up doing 4 miles on the elliptical yesterday just as a precaution. It was nice workout...not too easy, not too hard - just right. I really think I'm gonna be ready for the race tomorrow. It's gonna be real nice too, the low tonight is supposed to go down to 50 degrees under clear skies...perfect racing weather :)

Goals for Saturday:
1) Consistent splits or, if everything feels good, negative splits
2) Under 1:05:00
3) Keep my mom's Highlander from smelling like horse poop