State Number 42
– Hatfield-McCoy Marathon v2.0
South
Williamson, KY
9 June 2018
The Hatfield-McCoy feud was a violent, long-running
battle between two clans who lived in what is now coal mining country along the
Tug River on the West Virginia/Kentucky state line during the late nineteenth
century. While few may know all the
details, in the USA the term “Hatfield's & McCoy's” is a familiar
metaphor between feuding neighbors, families, or even the successful lives of “Waylon,
Willie and the boys” in Luckenbach, TX. It
ended long ago and today it’s the theme of an annual festival in the Williamson/Matewan
area, of which this marathon plays an integral part. For the second time, I feel honored to play a
small role in this yearly commemoration.
I’m going to attempt to spare you from excessive dramatic
expressions of how much I enjoy this marathon, but based on the title of this review,
it might not work.
I can say with most marathons, it’s usually a “one and
done” event – glad to get in and glad to get out. But I cannot say that with
Hatfield-McCoy. There’s something about
it – the scenery, the friendliness, the challenge, the volunteers, the history
– that draws me to repeat this marathon.
If it just wasn’t so difficult to get there.
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| "Almost Heaven, West Virginia, Blue Ridge Mountains..." |
I had two main objectives for this race. First, I wanted to run up the entire length
of Blackberry Mountain without breaking my stride, a hill 1.25 miles long with
a rather steep, but steady, incline, and from what I hear and experienced, a
lot of people walk it. On my previous attempt,
I made it to the top without walking, but barely. The notorious hill is longer than what it
seems.
Second, I wanted to finish this tough and demanding race faster
than my 2014 time – 4:59:30. I desired to
challenge my time goal while simultaneously having fun during the race, taking some
photos I failed to do the first time around, and just enjoying the setting. The way I see it, the earlier I finish, the
more likely there will be food and drink left at the finish line. Priorities are priorities.
Let’s back up for a moment. This review should not be construed as a déjà
vu moment. I’m not attempting to rewrite,
amend, clarify, modify or change anything about my original marathon review of
H&M.
According to the rules and guidelines of the 50-States
Marathon Club (in their own words):
“If a race starts in one state and ends in another, it
may be counted once for either the state where it started or where it
ended. If the same event is run on a subsequent year, the race may be
counted for the other state.”
As mentioned, I ran this race in June 2014 (State No. 10,
simultaneously becoming an official member of the 50-States Club), but I was caught
up in a dilemma, deciding which state to count, West Virginia or Kentucky? The decision to count West Virginia hinged on
the fact that marathons in that state are not very plentiful – compared to
Kentucky. Moreover, traveling and trekking
in and around “God’s Country” can be a little time consuming and problematic. Thirty-two states and four years later, I can
finally count this marathon towards the commonwealth of Kentucky. Who knew I would ever come back to run this
marathon a second time.
So, why am I doing this marathon again? Perhaps the best answer, it WAS to be
combined with Indoor Insanity Marathon (Winston-Salem, NC), paving the way for
an exhausting double marathon weekend. But
when the indoor facility’s air conditioning system became defective, the race
organizers decided to ultimately cancel the event. What a disappointment! Besides, I had no doubts or misgivings about
running H&M a second time.
After an agonizing six-hour delay due in part to a faulty
engine part (I guess the pilots noticed an illuminated “check engine” light
during their pre-flight check) and shuttling back and forth from gate to gate,
terminal to terminal, we finally departed LAX on a replacement plane for the
long direct flight to Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU), arriving
shortly after 2315 EDT.
If our carry-on bag hadn’t been gate checked, we would’ve
packed up and driven back home, forfeiting our trip. The infuriating and frustrating Delta
Airlines experience was enough to piss-off the good humor man, to put it
lightly. Enough said on that experience.
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The beautiful four-hour drive to Pikeville took us
through Mt. Airy, NC, Wytheville, VA and through the heavily forested scenic
backroads of Appalachia into the coal region of Pike County in eastern
Kentucky. What immediately grabbed my
attention are the massive highway and railroad excavations revealing precipitous
cliffs exposing ancient horizontal layers of interbedded limestones, sandstones
and shales. What fascinating engineering and geology.
We arrived at our destination hotel in Pikeville in time
for a cool and refreshing swim in their sparkling pool. The weather was sunny, quite warm and muggy
with a tropical clammy feel. The warm
weather had me concerned and uneasy about marathon day – I don’t do well with
heat, humidity and hills.
We arrived at the Belfry gymnasium around 1630 for packet pick-up and
to partake in their complimentary pre-race pasta dinner held in the Belfry High
School cafeteria for all marathon and half marathon participants. I had a choice between marinara or meat
sauce. Remembering what had happened at the
pasta dinner at First Light Mobile (State No. 9), it wasn’t a hard decision to
make – I opted for the plain marinara sauce.
Superstitious? Maybe, but I didn’t
want to chance it.
Following our dining experience, runners enjoyed the
attention-grabbing and informative H&M skit featuring “Devil Anse” Hatfield
and Ran’l McCoy. It’s an annual
tradition for these actors, recounting the tale of the notorious feud. In a cafeteria setting, the acoustics were less
than ideal and there was too much annoying feedback with the microphone
system. However, I do appreciate the
enlightening experience and education. Four
years ago, we watched the skit in the comfort and acoustically friendly setting
of the school’s auditorium.
This great event features a full marathon and two half
marathons. One half is the “Blackberry”
half and the other is the “River Road” half.
The Blackberry begins with the full and ends in Matewan while the other
begins in Matewan and ends in Williamson.
Runners may do the full, one of the halves or both of the halves,
earning a special double medal.
The marathon ends in the small enclave of Williamson, WV,
so runners are encouraged to park in Williamson and ride the event’s shuttle
bus from Williamson to the start line in the Food City parking lot in Belfry,
KY, a quick two-mile ride. Food City is
also the title sponsor of the marathon.
The kind folks at Food City are awesome and welcoming people. Not only does Food City provide spreads of water,
bagels, bananas, cantaloupe, watermelon, strawberries and grapes for the
runners, they also allow runners inside the store to socialize in air
conditioned comfort, use the restrooms or just to get out of the elements
before the start of the race.
June weather in this part of the state is typically hot
and humid, like a wet blanket with just a touch of a mist. Coupled with the course’s unrelenting hills, runners
can quickly fatigue, dehydrate or simply run out of energy. But fear not, there are aid stations every
mile to placate anyone’s thirst or nutritional needs.
My concerns for the day grew by the minute as I wandered
the parking lot, but I found that talking with fellow runners temporarily eased
my mind from the anxiety. At first, my
goal was to break five hours; then, just to finish in under six hours. With the temperatures expected to hover
around ninety degrees, I reassessed my goals and decided just finishing will
make me happy.
About ten minutes before seven o’clock, the race director
summoned runners to begin lining up at the start line for some pre-race
announcements and the singing of our National Anthem. Devil Anse and Ran’l stood ready at the start
line each clutching their double barrel 12-guage shotguns waiting for race
director Alexis to signal the shotgun start (literally).
It was time, Devil Anse and ol’ Ran’l raised their guns
pointing into the foggy steamy sky each simultaneously firing off a round, and
the race was underway.
The first half: (9:03, 9:01, 9:44, 10:13, 10:16, 10:18,
12:37 [stopped to pet the dwarf horses], 11:37, 9:14, 11:10, 10:07, 12:56,
12:53)
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| Race start |
One of the awesome things about the H&M Marathon is
that the race organizers craft “Welcome Back” signs for all the returning
runners and place them at various locations along the course route, which I
think is a real cool and clever way to honor and recognize returning runners. Knowing this ahead of time, I become
attentive once on the course keeping a sharp eye in order to locate my “welcome
back” sign. Would I see mine?
The first aid station was located at Marathon Mile 2 and
was well-stocked and well-run by super friendly volunteers. I was already drenched in sweat and looked
forward to drinking several cups of water and Gatorade.
The next four miles consisted of varied rolling terrain,
but nothing too difficult, but I relaxed my pace and huddled in with the
ten-minute pace group (4:22 finish time).
I knew that time goal would be unattainable, but I wanted to hang on as
much as possible to conserve some energy for the upcoming hill climb.
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| Profile of Blackberry Mountain |
As happy as I was to not be running up the mountain
anymore, the run down the steep gradient on the back side was actually harder for
me and I’ve accepted the fact that I'm not a great descender. I know the mechanics of descending a hill and
letting gravity do its job, but that's a hard thing to do when you're literally
running down a steep grade. Anytime I
got some decent speed, I felt like I was going to blow out my ankles, a knee or
go careening down the steep mountainside due to loss of balance. Fortunately, neither happened, but I felt that
the descent hammered my quads a little too much.
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| Road up Blackberry grade |
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| On my way. |
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| Blossom on the left |
I continued on down Highway 1056 passing by several
markers commemorating the feud or some other major incidence. As the heat kept rising, it gave me a reason
to stop and read the historical plaques.
Damaging my health over a marathon is not in my set of playing cards, so
a brief respite every so often was something I needed to do.
The next three or so miles consisted of gently rolling
sections of two-lane roadway with irritating cambers in some areas, then
through a narrow one-lane roadway and across the Michael Justice Memorial
Bridge spanning the Tug River into Hatfield territory, Matewan, WV and the site
of the Matewan Massacre brought on by a dispute between the coal miners and
union organizers in the 1920s.
The course led runners on Matewan’s Main Street hooking
around to Hatfield Street, thence onto McCoy Alley leading to the half marathon
split (also the end of the Blackberry half and start of the River Road half). As runners approach the split, one has the
option of passing through the finish line and ending it with an official half
marathon to your credit or continue on to the end in Williamson. With the blazing sun, heat and the stifling
humidity, it wouldn’t surprise me one bit if some marathoners chose to end it
in Matewan.
I crossed the half split in a time of 2:19:29, hoping for
a sub-five marathon, but as time passed, my hopes for such a time continued to
dim and fade away.
The second
half: (14:04, 15:18,
16:39, 13:05, 14:23, 16:43, 17:35, 17:17, 17:14, 17:08, 16:17, 17:21, 15:07,
13:36 projected pace [final 0.38 mi])
Marathoners continued on through the streets of Matewan,
through the floodwall and back over the river into Kentucky’s McCoy territory and
down a one-lane asphalt road (River Road). The journey along River Road was a very quiet five
miles with practically zero traffic with a few houses or dilapidated trailers visible
from the road. Runners were thin and
spread out now that the half marathoners were fortunate enough to conclude
their race.
Lots of folks took the time to sit out in front of their
homes or along the roadway watching and cheering all that pass by. Shade was plentiful along this part of the
course and the cool air radiating from the Tug River provided somewhat pleasant
running conditions. Knowing what was
ahead of me, I relished my time in the shade and it delivered me with the
energy needed to keep plugging along, albeit a slow pace.
The continuous rolling hills caused my legs and ankles to
begin feeling fatigued. I took a couple
of acetaminophen tablets to take the edge off my current pain levels and to
give me a little boost. Over the course
of the day, I consumed enough fluids and electrolytes to prevent the discomfort
of cramping.
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| The swinging bridge |
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| Bridge decking |
As a “veteran” of this marathon, I knew what was in store
along this section of roadway. After
about a mile of this gravelly and muddy section, the road ended spitting out
runners through a hole in a fence entering the Tug Valley Country Club golf
course at Marathon Mile 18. Runners then
paralleled one of the par four fairways along a rough but paved golf cart path leading
up to the legendary swinging bridge over the Tug back into West Virginia, a
signature part of the course. Not
surprisingly, the course seemed void of golfers – likely because of the
weather. The moisture levels of the
fairways caused the dew point and humidity levels to rise considerably. Along with the exposed sun, the intense heat
index felt was enough to pierce my soul.
Personally, I believe the wood-plank decking of the swinging
bridge makes for serious tripping hazards, especially up and down the two steep
approaches. Once off the bridge, I
stopped at the aid station to munch on some delicious fruits and goodies and to
restock my gas tank with ice water and Gatorade. The staffers were so nice and friendly and
were impressed I traveled all the way from California. I wanted to stay and talk with them, but I
needed to move along.
With a sense of revitalization and renewed energy from my
nutrition stop, I hit the cart path once again, passing down a steep hill,
under a pair of railroad trestles and back up a similarly steep hill that
wrapped around a course maintenance building onto a local roadway.
Near Marathon Mile 19, runners approached another bridge
leading back into Kentucky one last time.
I again stopped at the aid station for some water and fruit. As I crossed the bridge, I seriously wanted
to throw myself over the bridge railings into the cool waters of the Tug to end
the misery! I felt exhausted and the
thought of seven more miles squashed my morale.
By now, at the Marathon Mile 20 mark, the sun was out in
full force, it was really hot, and the shade vanished as quickly as it came. I’ve been steadily losing time and I soon
realized that a sub-five marathon was likely not in the books.
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| I'd call them design demarcations of geometrical characteristics between two or more entities, not flaws. |
In the meantime, I dreaded for what lied ahead – the
“McCoy Hill” at Marathon Mile 23. This
hill is touted as the last major incline of the course and seems to come at the
worst possible time. It goes without
saying, I slowly walked up the hill while baking in the sun at the same
time. For me, it was a miserable
experience and when I reached the summit, it was rejoice time. I could “relax” and “enjoy” the final 5 km.
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| The two men runners cannot wait to see. |
I finished with a time of 5:52:30. Much slower that what I had hoped for, but at
least I beat my six-hour time goal I had made for myself soon after the half
split. I finished the second half with an
unbelievable time of 3:33:01 – but I’m OK with it.
Distance:
Marathon (26.2 mi) – my Garmin clocked it at 26.38 mi
Date: June 9,
2018
Bib No.: 4
Weather at
start: 61°F, cloudy, muggy, no breeze
Gun time: 5:52:33
Chip time:
5:52:30
Average
cadence: 137 steps per minute
Average pace:
13:22 per mile
Overall rank: 148
of 228
Gender rank: 85
of 113
Division rank: 15
of 20
Elevation: 1,201
ft gain / 1,165 ft loss
Half split:
2:19:29 (10:39 pace)
Average finish
time: 5:34:39
Standard
deviation: 1:22:44
Age graded
score: 40.72%
Age graded
time: 5:11:29
Garmin splits (unbelievable): 9:03, 9:01, 9:44, 10:13, 10:16, 10:18, 12:37, 11:37, 9:14, 11:10, 10:07, 12:56, 12:53, 14:04, 15:18, 16:39, 13:05, 14:23, 16:43, 17:35, 17:17, 17:14, 17:08, 16:17, 17:21, 15:07, 13:36 projected pace
[final 0.38 mi]
I was immediately handed a towel soaked in ice water
which I immediately wrung out over my pounding head and face to cool my
internal furnace while I sat down for a few minutes to gather my thoughts
before receiving my finisher medal. A
medic asked me if I needed assistance, but I told him I just need a minute to
take a load off while a few other runners needed to be carted off to awaiting
ambulances for medical treatment. It was
definitely super-hot, with a nearby bank marquee displaying a temperature of 96°F.
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| Note the temperature! 98 degrees!! |
I was pleased to meet my so-called time goal, and even
more excited that I had plenty of time to relax, grab my Mason jar finisher’s
award and chowing down on a delicious BBQ pulled pork sandwich, sweet juicy
watermelon and drinks. Just too bad the
Mason jar wasn’t filled with some locally produced moonshine – I could have
used a drink.
The H&M Marathon is a fantastic race, but can be very
difficult and challenging. Runners really
are made to feel welcome by the locals as well as the organizers and
volunteers. It has just about everything
you could need (unless you thrive on big expos, massive crowds and big entry
fees). The only drawback is that it
takes some effort to get there, but well worth it. You even get a great history lesson thrown in at
no extra charge! Booking a room early is
usually a must, as lodging in the Williamson/Belfry area is limited and the
nearest hotels are thirty minutes away.
If you like to sleep on cots, runners are even permitted to camp out at
the Belfry fire station for a nominal charge.
We flew into RDU for one main reason – to complete a
double marathon weekend with North Carolina.
But, that was not to be, so we had to supplement one activity for
another. Our supplemental activity? How about some whitewater rafting on the New
River! Sure, it may be not as strenuous
as a marathon, but it’s a much cooler strenuous activity in another way.
My wife and I stumbled upon “Adventures on the Gorge”
during our marathon visit in 2014. We
decided to partake in the gravity zip line adventure which was an awe-inspiring
and exhilarating experience. But, as we
drove down the narrow canyon roads of the New River Gorge to swim in the New
River, we witnessed several rafts full of thrill seeking individuals wrapping
up their whitewater adventure. We second
guessed ourselves and wondered if we should have done that instead of zip
lining.
Fast forward to 2018.
Now with a second chance, we were armed with the perfect opportunity to
indulge ourselves with a whitewater rafting trip.
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| Note the words "Hanks Last Stop" on sign |
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| View of the gorge. New River Bridge in background. |
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| Fayetteville. Had to stop here again for some pizza pies. |
Vickie, the bus driver, dropped us off near the hamlet of
Thurmond, an old mining and railroad town, on the banks of the New River, about
sixteen river miles upstream from the take-out base area. The road to Thurmond passes by the Skyline
Drive-in just outside of Oak Hill, WV, the
place where Hank Williams was found deceased in his car on New Year’s Day 1953.
After our six-hour whitewater adventure complete with a
delicious lunch, including an unplanned rain and thunderstorm thrown in for
good measure, it was off to a rather cool destination in rural North Carolina,
Mt. Airy.
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| Andy's house |
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| With Andy and Opie. |
It takes me back to a simpler time in life, a time during
my childhood days of living in a small town.
Our final day included walking around “Mayberry” seeing
Floyd’s Barbershop (I even planned for a haircut, but “Floyd” was out on
vacation), Opie’s Candy Store, Snappy Lunch and the Andy Griffith Museum. I even hopped into the motorcycle sidecar
Barney acquired for the department.
It’s not hard to create
a scene in my mind watching Barney yelling, wielding the “Big Iron” attached to
his hip, absent one bullet, of course, at the town drunk, Otis, as he is once
again arrested for public intoxication.
We left Mayberry in the early afternoon for a two-hour
drive to Raleigh to catch our Delta flight back to LAX. This time, no delays at RDU; however, our
early arrival into LAX was met with a thirty-minute delay sitting on a taxiway,
sweating in that stuffy aircraft air waiting for a gate to open. Just our luck. I learned one thing, arriving early doesn’t
pay off.
LIKES / WHAT
WORKED:
- Great course throughout Eastern Kentucky coal country and surrounding communities.
- The two men depicting Devil Anse and Ran’l and enduring the sun and heat near the finish line high-fiving runners as they cross the timing mats.
- Very well organized event from the expo (even though it is small) to the multiple aid stations along the course.
- Super friendly volunteer support and residents, some using their hoses to spray runners with cold water.
- Medical support along the course and at the finish line.
- Thank you to the medical professionals concerned about my well-being at the finish line.
- Hats off to the great spectators displaying their support!
- Mostly shady course for the first sixteen miles or so.
- Easy parking in Williamson.
- Nice event shirt and a finisher’s keepsake Mason jar to store moonshine.
- The finish line food, BBQ sandwiches, drinks, watermelon, bananas, cantaloupe and water.
- The race organizers not cancelling the marathon due to heat indexes and black flag warnings.
- FINISHING!!
DISLIKES / WHAT DIDN’T WORK:
- No, I did not see my “Welcome Back” sign 😩, but my wife found hers 😊.
- The heat and the humidity. I know, those are some elements that cannot be controlled.
- Hot and exposed for most of the second half of the course.
- Street pavement conditions – abrupt edges and muddy gravel sections of River Road over the second half.
Final thoughts:
I love visiting
God’s Country and the Williamson area. I
can argue that this race is still one of the best races ever and I’ve run some
spectacular marathons. Of all the
marathons under my belt, there is literally no competition in my mind. I’m glad I came back again this year because
it firmly cemented my feelings that this is undeniably one my favorite marathons
by far. There are a lot of good races
out there, but in my personal view, this is probably the most fun you’ll have
running 26.2 miles – putting aside those extreme meteorological conditions.
It is evident there’s history between the two families,
and that alone is enough to lure history fans interested in seeing the places
the feud made famous. Running this
marathon is a great way to do just that since the course leads runners into
regions where some of the feuding incidences happened. For history fans like myself, this is an
unrivaled quality because you’re getting a personal look at the setting where
some of the most famous Kentucky/West Virginia events transpired. I think of this marathon as a quick-paced
history tour.
The H&M Marathon is a small low-key “hidden treasure”
and is a spot-on description the race director Alexis and his dedicated team of
volunteers do in the heart of Hatfield-McCoy feud country – except that no
feuding takes place, just running. I am
blown away by generosity of all the people who came out to cheer or volunteer
to hand out course-side treats like watermelon, grapes, oranges, bananas,
candy, sponges and rags dipped in ice water, ice water/chips, pickles and even
fried chicken.
I don’t know what it is about the course, but you’re just
surrounded by mountains, and everything is so green, and at the start, there’s typically
this kind of early morning fog that appears like it’s shrouding the mountains
in a clandestine manner.
Usually, June
weather in the Tug Valley is hot and humid.
With the area’s unrelenting hills, there are water stops every mile
either to cool or nourish your inner self.
Even though my finish time certainly reflected the heat related
struggles I had throughout the second half of the marathon, somehow I savored
each and every mile. There is no time
limit to complete the marathon and the course remains open until the final
runner high-fives “Devil Anse” Hatfield or Ran’l McCoy.
Yes, getting to
Williamson does take some effort, but once you arrive, you’ll be in for a treat
– a diamond in the rough, so to speak. The
race organizers and all the volunteers are incredible. The course is both beautiful and interesting,
and you get a lot of really unique special touches that you just don’t get at
the bigger marathon events. Whether
you’re a Maniac, Fanatic or a Fifty-Stater or just want to do something
different, run this race. It's worth the
trip and see how far you can run with a stolen pig.
I think
hillbillies are actually pretty smart, because they live in a setting way more
scenic than I do. Just saying.
One must
remember, be in by dark and if you see a pig, look the other way.
Onward and
upward!
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