Rim to River 100: race website | results
October 26, 2024, in New River Gorge, near Beckley, West Virginia
100 miles, 12,000 feet of climbing, 82% finish rate
After Hallucination 100, I didn’t have another race lined up this year. Then one day I got an email inviting me to register for Rim to River 100, which was taking place in five weeks.
Rim to River is a West Virginia 100-mile out-and-back race that’s only in its fifth year but which has exploded in popularity. It sells out quick, and next year they’re moving to a lottery model. I had hoped to run it in 2024, but by the time I remembered to register—nearly 11 months ahead of the race—it was already sold out with a long waitlist. As half a joke I added my name to the waitlist and completely forgot about it.
I couldn’t miss the opportunity, so I booked a room at a po-dunk hotel and planned to take a long weekend for a seven-hour drive both ways. My friend Gen was excited to pace for me—she’d join for 10 miles, from 52 to 62.
Race morning came soon enough. At no point was I nervous—I guess I’ve done enough of these now to know what to expect. Does that mean it’s time to do a 200?
It was another day where pretty much everything went well. My only complaint was that something was up with my ankle from the start. I stopped a couple times in the early miles to try to loosen the joint, to no avail. The sensation was that I really wanted it to crack, but it was jammed. I was worried that this might flare up and cause a DNF later. It never did, but it is proving the slowest part of my body to recover. It’s now nearly a week out, and my ankle is a little swollen and bruised still.
The course was beautiful. The first fourteen miles were on the Ace Adventure Resort lands, and then about 35 miles were within the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve. Lovely views of the river, sheer rock, trees and bridges. And what a beautiful time of year with all the changing leaves.
Around mile 35, I fell into step with two guys, Carter and Will, who had been chatting, and I joined them. Eventually Will took off like a jetliner down a hill and we never saw him again. But Carter and I stayed together and talked on and off for the next 15 hours, growing the strange and deep kind of friendship that happens during an ultra. It was Carter’s first 100-mile and he was doing amazingly well.
Not much went wrong, and when it did we strategized. Carter’s pack started leaking, bringing on the chafing and making him cold, but I had an emergency foil blanket. My lamp ran out of batteries but Carter had an extra. To think, if either of us had been alone, these were the kinds of things that could end a race.
As usual, we have no idea how much we are holding each other together.
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| Crossing Arbuckle Creek at mile 14, trying not to get my feet wet |
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| Typical view of New River from early in the race |
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| Approaching Long Point |
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| Selfie at Long Point, around mile 40 on the course and a popular tourist destination within the National Park |
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| My friend Gen and me getting ready to set out from mile 52 |
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| Carter and me at the finish line |
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| As usual after the race it took a few days for my brain to reconnect to my body, for reasons physical and psychological |
