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By Renee Bouquet
 Billed
as one of the largest ultras in the country, the HAT Run had
397 starters and a great field of tough competitors. The two
loop course consists of mostly winding single track through
forests, across streams and rivers, and over lots of hills.
The terrain was challenging and includes leg breaking hills
like the one deemed "Mother Hill". The weather was
cool (40's), cloudy, and slightly damp with a forecast for
showers that never showed.
I had a strategy to stay slow at the start
of the race and save some energy for a strong finish. It turned
out that I didn't have a choice. With 397 people, the race
directors were smart enough to start the first mile on a road,
but even 1 mile on the road is not long enough to thin out
the crowd for the single track. When the trail dove off into
the woods, I immediately found myself at the back of a long,
slow, frustrating train. I did my best to keep calm and remind
myself that I had a long way to go...be patient. Nothing is
worse than passing a ton of people in the beginning only to
have them pass you right back near the end. So there I stayed.
Finally after 30+ minutes, the pack thinned
out in a nice open field and I was able to set my own pace.
Soon the course dove back into the woods and back to the relentless
onslaught of the HILLS. The steep ascents and descents took
a toll on my legs so I found myself talking to a few people
along the way to take my mind off the pain. It seems as soon
as I was alone again, the painful reminder was back. Thankfully,
there was one reprieve in the middle of the loop on a bit
of flat dirt road.
I managed to finish the first loop in tact
and found Rob waiting for me. His race wasn't going so well.
On the first river crossing he stepped on a slippery rock
and did a face plant into the river. With a bloodied, swollen
knee, and a painful ITB, he had to bail after the first lap.
Regardless, he turned out to be great support crew both mentally
and physically for me as he refueled my bottles and sent me
on my way with lots of encouragement.
 The
second lap turned out better than the first. I found my rhythm
and was able to maintain a comfortable pace. To my surprise
I even started picking off people! With enough gas in the
tank to run up the last hill, I managed to finish with Rob
cheering me on in under 6 hours (5:53) It was a far cry from
the 5:00-5:30 that I would like to have finished in, but considering
the level of difficulty of the course, I couldn't complain.
I finished 164 out of 354 (43 DNFs).
http://www.hatrun.com
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