100 Miles of Hurt
So here’s a fun way to spend the Martin Luther King holiday weekend - run 100 miles up and down Tantalus trails. It’s fun, say past participants, except for the pain. One minute, ultra-runners Don Fallis and Bob McAllaster are telling me how fun the HURT 100-mile run is.
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One minute, ultra-runners Don Fallis and Bob McAllaster are telling me how fun the HURT 100-mile run is. But the next minute they’re saying,“The first 50 miles is physical and what you train for, but the second 50 miles is all mental and pure pain management.”
“Wait, so how is that fun?” I reply immediately.
The gut-wrenching stories of blisters, bone-chilling cold and pain follow. What it all comes down to, they say, is mind over matter and the will to want to push your body to limits you never thought possible.
“That’s the difference between a marathon runner and an ultra runner,” says Dave Carlsson, HURT (Hawaiian Ultra Running Team) member and entrant in this year’s 100-mile run.
The HURT 100 mile is an annual run through the peaks and valleys of Tantalus. It’s an event for runners wanting to take the next step beyond marathons that originated nine years ago with HURT.
“This is the only 100-mile race in Hawaii, and nationally it is considered to be one of the top three toughest 100-mile runs,” says McAllaster.
The runners must complete five 20-mile loops through the rain forest on what can barely be called a path. The trail is marked by volunteers the day before the race, and three aid stations are situated along the path, each about six to seven miles apart. After the second loop (mile 40), the runners are allowed pacers to run with them, mostly to get them safely through the night.
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“When night comes you’re already about 40 miles into the race, and the darkness really takes a toll on you and will just slow you down,” says McAllaster. “So people have a lot of challenges just getting through the night.”
The run, which begins at 6 a.m. Saturday, takes place on Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend each year. The cutoff time is 36 hours, which gives runners until 6 p.m. Sunday to finish.
And co-race directors Jeff Huff, John and PJ Salmonson are there for all of it.
This weekend, about 100 runners will put their will and endurance to the test as they take their marks at the Hawaii Nature Center for what those who’ve done it say “is a life-changing experience.”
Taking his place for the second time is Carlsson, who to date has completed 34 marathons/ultra marathons and four Iron Mans. Also taking his place is McAllaster, who at 50 years old has completed the HURT 100 five times and is looking for his sixth finish. At 67 years old, Fallis has opted to skip this year, but the 122-mile Badwater finisher says he is considering training for next year’s race because he misses participating in it. By the way, Badwater is an ultra marathon through the deserts of Death Valley in July when the temperature averages 120 degrees.
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If the HURT 100 hasn’t yet made you question the sanity of these runners, let’s just say the difficulty of the course is what really makes this ultra marathon an ambitious feat. Fallis is quick to say that he’s done Death Valley but came short in his three attempts to conquer Tantalus.
“I’ve finished several 100-mile runs, but HURT is so much harder because of the elevation and terrain,“says Fallis.“It’s really physical. It looks like hundreds of snakes because the roots are just constant. It kinda reminds you of when military guys train running through the tires.”
The elevation Fallis mentions is a huge factor in conditioning for the run. The trail is a constant uphill and downhill trek with almost no level terrain. The loop covers three peaks, the Trex Sign, Top of Nuuanu and Top of Manoa Cliffs.
“The first thing you do is start climbing out of the valley, so you start climbing 1,500 feet,” says Carlsson. “Some people think running Diamond Head is pret-
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