After about 20ish miles of the Rim to River 100 last October, Dominick Borreggine found himself more comfortable on the trail after the sun rose. In the New River Gorge at 6 a.m., it’s still booger holler dark occasionally spooky. Once daylight arrives, things improve. Borreggine cruised along, counting the runners returning on a short out-back section as they passed.
He was seventh or so, by his count, which was good. Then, fifth place, fourth place and third by the next aid station at Mile 30. But just a third of the way into a long day and night, Borreggine knew to keep his emotions in check. Follow the plan, he reminded himself repeatedly. Stay focused, stay cool, don’t do anything crazy and just let things come as they may.
“On the way to mile 52 at Hawk’s Nest I caught the second-place guy and then got to the aid station,” said Borreggine, a recruiter for the Army Recruiting Command at Redstone Arsenal. “I told my family who was there helping me to maintain positivity, don’t talk about it, just get me in-and-out. A guy passed me at that aid station, but I caught up him before Mile 58. Then, when we were on a downhill blacktop section, I stormed downhill to the mile 58 aid station, changed my shoes and socks, took off and never saw another runner.”
Borreggine won the race in 18:29:18, more than 30 minutes ahead of his nearest pursuer. His time was eighth-best in the race’s five-year history. He wasn’t the only local finisher, either. Lindsey Shady of Huntsville finished 65th in 26:39:12, and Christy Scott of Owens Cross Roads was 118th in 29:29:17. Martin Schneekloth of Huntsville was 157st in in 31:07:00. The West Virginia event had 188 finishers last year.
Wait, Who?
Borreggine originally is from the Pittsburgh area. He transferred to Redstone Arsenal in summer 2023 and trains at Monte Sano State Park. If you run on the park trails, you’ve maybe seen him. He admits he hasn’t dived into the local running scene, yet, having focused primarily on training.
Like many trail runners, he grew up as a kid playing in the woods with friends. With age came road running events short and long, along with life events big and small. Several years ago, he said, he reconnected with the woods and trails. He wanted to get back to dirt, rocks, roots, snow, mud and all the fun.
“Years ago I was doing a station in eastern Kentucky that bordered West Virginia and met my coach, Josh Laker,” Borreggine said. “I was at a random race there just to get the Army’s name out there. I ran with him a few times after that, and that spawned me getting into trails. In 2021 I told Josh I wanted to do a 50K and he said I should do a 50-miler.
“I’d never done that, and hadn’t even thought about it. But Josh said, “You’ve done a marathon, right?” and I had done several of them. He said a 50K was just five more miles, so I might as well challenge myself to do the 50-miler. We started training and I was hooked.”
Rim to River training last summer involved about four months, Borreggine said, starting in July. Athletes train in all conditions, and Pittsburgh isn’t exactly an icebox in summer. But hitting the Monte Sano trails on weekends in three of the hottest months of the year was eye-opening.
“The training plan was about a 4-month program and it was pretty ruthless,” he said. “I hadn’t trained for a race in Alabama in summer so it was quite an adjustment with the heat and humidity. I had to adjust the plan sometimes for the weather. It was trail running on weekends and other training during the week. My program was time-based training instead of miles, which was more flexible. I logged more than 1,000 miles in training, and more than 150 hours.”
Rim to River Win
Borreggine got to West Virginia last October two days prior to the Rim to River morning start. He’s a big fan of the New River Gorge trails, which are some of the most scenic yet challenging for even veteran runners.
This weekend he’s competing in the Cabin Fever 50K at the New River Gorge National Park. It’s one of three events in the Rim to River Endurance Company “New River Gorge Trifecta” series. The others are the Rim to River 100 and Falling Water 100K.
Meeting him and his little dog Taco there were his father, daughter, nephew and sister. They hung out, made final preparations, enjoyed visiting and kept Borreggine focused.
“They all are a huge inspiration for me,” he said. “I wouldn’t be able to do the things I do with ultrarunning if it wasn’t for them and my coach. They met me at six different aid stations to help with my bottles, vest, restocking with food and snacks. One big thing I learned about doing the longer distances is you have to eat throughout. Along with keeping you going, it minimizes time at the aid stations, so you can get in and out.”
After taking the lead at about Mile 58, Borreggine was in full cruise control.
“It turned dark again and became a little tricky,” he said. “I tripped and fell once, and what caught me was a giant thorn bush. That was the only big spill. I didn’t have any wildlife encounters, either, which is rare. It was the first time on a 100-miler that I didn’t have any encounters … figure I would see some deer or maybe a bear up there but I didn’t.”
Running for more than 40 miles alone in the woods may sound challenging for some folks. But for Borreggine, it was peaceful and exactly where he wanted to be. Barring something crazy, he’d finish in the darkness with his family there cheering him on. That’s exactly what happened, too.
