Cooperative Living March 2022 - 29

EXPLORE MORE
Ros Hines-High, left, and
Chris Pedi cross the High
Bridge at High Bridge Trail
State Park during the Freight
Train 50K/100K.
Adventures in 2014. He put on his first
race the following year.
" Planning for a race of this distance
Herndon waiting for her just before
the bridge, she started to tear up, but
she cautions me not to tell.
" I know I'm gonn fi nish. And then,
I'm gonna get in my brown chair and
watch TV. Do nothing, absolutely
nothing, " she says. Hines-High will run
again in a week to keep her base
throughout the winter. In 2023, she
wants to run he fi rst 50-mile race.
" That's really a crazy thought right
now, but I have spoken it. Once it's here, "
she taps her head, " and it comes out my
mouth, consider it done. " I remind her
she will have to cross the High Bridge
one more time before the finish line.
" I'm not crazy about that, but I just
got through it, so I know I can do it. "
ORGANIZING AN
ULTRAMARATHON
Preparing to put on a race is as
arduous as training to run it. Race
director Dan Pulskamp is no stranger
to either. He had been
involved in ultra-running
for three years when he
started Virginia
Dan Pulskamp checks on
the progress of the race.
co-opliving.com
and size begins almost a year in advance, "
Pulskamp says, " and I get very little
sleep during race weekend. " The night
before race day, he is lucky to get five
hours of sleep. Race day, he gets about
three hours.
Fortunately, a crew of volunteers
assists Pulskamp with the race. Friends
of High Bridge Trail State Park supplies
him with 10 or so volunteers, and assists
with check-in and the early aid stations,
he says. The Pamplin Area Legacy
Supporters take care of aid stations at
the trail's end and the turnaround.
As a member of the Friends of High
Bridge Trail State Park, Ann Lignon
helps with Freight Train. This year, she
tends to the aid station in Rice, Va.,
where the turnaround for the 50K is
located. It is also both the 8-mile and
14-mile mark for the 100K.
After the race, she tells me, " We
went through two jars of pickles, but
only the juice from one of the jars. I tell
you, people were excited to see both. "
In addition to pickle juice, which
Pulskamp says provides valuable sodium
content, Lignon and fellow volunteers
offered peanut butter and jelly
sandwiches.
Many other locals help out. In return,
Pulskamp supports local businesses
and artisans. " Ever fi nisher receives a
handcrafted piece of pottery made by
Mainly Clay. This year, it's a Christmas
ornament. The top three male and
female runners will receive handmade
pottery, and ft en some adult beverages
from Three Roads Brewing. "
The finish line
for the 50K is
almost in sight.
But the prizes, aid station menu,
distance and bridge are not the most
impressive aspects of the race. " The most
impressive element of these races are
the runners, hands down, " Lignon says.
Hours after I met Hines-High and
her friends on the trail, I see them
stretching at their car, having completed
the race. It took Bremner and HinesHigh
about 10 hours to complete
the 50K.
Lignon is right, I think, remembering
Hines-High's fear of bridges. The
runners are extraordinary. 
March 2022 ● Cooperative Living ●
27
PHOTOS COURTESY
JAMIE WULFEKUHLE-ZAWESKI
http://www.co-opliving.com
Cooperative Living March 2022

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