May 30, 2015
Burnsville, NC - The US Skyrunner Series launched in 2014, challenging Americans to some of the most difficult racing found in our vast landscape. Although Gabriel had signed up for the Kendall Mountain Run, he was unable to make the trip and the series passed him by.
2015 brought a new series and some East Coast options. And so, Gabriel entered the Quest for the Crest Vertical Kilometer with sights on racing US Mountain Champion, Joseph Gray. As his training evolved with trips to Big Round Top and a final session at Colonel Denning State Park, Gabriel felt he was ready for a legitimate assault, regardless of who would show up in the Black Mountains.
Race morning brought chaos. Gabriel was surprised to see Matt Lipsey there. Matt had destroyed an unprepared Gabriel at Glacier Ridge about a month back, so this would truly test if his training was progressing. Jason Bryant also showed up, and there were a handful of locals, including the defending champions.
The Quest for the Crest VK was a 3200ft climb in 2.7 miles. The course record was 46-minutes, and Gabriel didn't really know what to expect in a VK, as this would be his first. There would be half mile sections at 50% grade; long steady climbs, and some scrambling. Gabriel prepared his mind.
The gun went off and Joe Gray and Matt Lipsey burst into the lead on the 9% road climb to the trailhead. Gabriel was immediately in about 5th-8th place but unconcerned. He knew there would 40+ minutes of running ahead of him. Within a half mile, Gabriel had moved up into third behind Lipsey, and quickly passed Matt and set his sights on Joe Gray. Gray was strong. Each stride was powerful and purposeful and Gabriel began to lose ground on a steady 15% grade climb up the mountain, but he felt he was distancing himself from the pack behind him. This would be Gabriel versus the mountain. Joe Gray would be above the clouds today.
And so Gabriel dug in, with a mantra provided by his wife, "be strong." This would be a course for the strong. Each step he ensured he was going up, with as little power-hiking as possible. This was a race. He moved and moved. After 20-minutes, he was wanting the finish line, but he knew there was another 20-minutes left so he powered on. Thankfully, the summit came in 42:00 (Gray had passed in 36:00), and he was relieved with what he wanted: a top three finish in the VK.
He stopped, tied his shoes (with Lipsey passing him back on the descent), and started down the mountain. There were two races within one and Gabriel had no interest in the Quest for the Crest 10K because he did not want to risk injury descending 3000+ ft in over three miles. He ran controlled and somehow ran well enough to stave off a charging Jason Bryant.
It was a great trip, a great day on the mountain, and Gabriel now knew he strengths and weaknesses. All would be addressed in the months to come...
