20 Years of Highlands Sky
Highlands Sky 40. My tenth finish, first 60-69 female and a new AG record. There may have been tears at the finish line.
I’m so grateful to Dan and Jody Lehmann for establishing the West Virginia Mountain Trail Runners twenty years ago, and along with current Highlands Sky race director Adam Casseday, and their amazing volunteers, staging such a tough, beautiful and legendary old school mountain ultra. Point-to-point through the Roaring Plains, Eastern Continental Divide, and the Dolly Sods Wilderness, HS40 is a relentless, muddy, technical march to the finish line party at Canaan Valley State Park. It’s famous as a “40 miler that runs like a 50.”
This year I paid homage to the VHTRC legend Vicki Kendall, who set the HS40 women’s 60-69 age group record of 9:59:47 in 2013 at age 60. Vicki was one of my first ultra friends and mentors. We completed the Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim crossing of the Grand Canyon together in 2005, and she convinced me to join her on sketchy night runs in the Massanuttens more than once. Vicki doesn’t run trails anymore, and I miss her. We all do. But she’s everywhere on the Highland Sky 40 50- and 60- age group record lists, and she was in my thoughts all day as I pushed towards the finish, ultimately lowering her stout record by 25 minutes. I remain humbled and grateful to strong ultra women like Vicki for setting the bar high so that we can follow behind, dream big, and bring out our best. [Editor’s Note: Vicki Kendall is THE Vicki who was responsible for the holiday classic that has come to be known as Vicki's Death March.]
And cheers to the many VHTRC and Charlottesville Area Trail Runner friends who gathered this weekend to experience the incredible beauty and challenge of this course, to share stories of “the old days” and to pass on the traditions and culture of our sport to the newcomers. We are so lucky to have this community. Long live the Blue Train!
Editor’s Notes:
Most of the Blue Train in attendance gathered ten minutes prior to the start of the race for the photograph below, taken by HS40 race day photographer Andrew Rhodes (see his finish line photos here).
Top VHTRC finisher, and second overall, was Paul Jacobs, with a sparkling time of 6:28:47.4 (that’s right, HS40 believes in precision timing!). First to the finish among the VHTRC’s many women in the race was Stephanie Gardner, with a time of 8:51. Full 2023 race results are posted here.
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