Hey Intrachewers!
Let me do a brief introduction. My name is Haley Heinrich and I am an elite mountain runner living in New Hampshire. (find me on instagram here)
I tried some intrachew gummy bears during a long run a while back and was instantly obsessed. This led me to connect with Alec and see if I could work with this brand. I have an extremely finicky stomach and need to pound fuel for my long days in the trails and mountains. Intrachew gummies are one of the few foods I trust to get me the energy I need, while also tasting good and not being messy.
I have been running the White Mountain Endurance Race Series this past year, which is a cup format series organized by Aravaipa Running over the course of four races during the summer. After winning the cup in 2024, I knew I had to return.
This past weekend I raced the Jigger Johnson 20 miler (the third race of the four cup in the series), a route that takes you up and over the Osceolas and Mount Tecumseh. This race is right under 6k vert, which is right up my alley, as climbing and descending technical terrain is my favorite kind of racing.
The previous year I had been a little more thoughtful before going into races, by tapering and giving my body proper rest and hydration. This year, not so much.
I was coming off a 15 mile, 5k vert mountain race from the previous weekend called Climb for Climate. It was so much fun, but I definitely did not realize how much of a quad crusher it was. Paired with no downtime and some super steamy days, I knew I may be suffering at Jigger Johnson. I was right, lesson learned.
I got to Jigger Johnson a little later than planned, and got a bit lazy with the warm-up. I did some dynamic stretches, but figured, it’s 20 miles, I can warm up as I go.
About 15 minutes before I ate my pre-race intrachews and sipped the rest of my water.
Now, I did this race last year, and the ladies went out hard. The first 5-7 miles of this are insanely runnable on open dirt trails that slowly begin to ascend and roll.
I got lucky last year, my shoe untied and I had to stop and lost the lead pack of women, unintentionally giving myself a break which saved me from going out too hard. This year, I ran with a teammate for these initial miles and, out of excitement, spiked my heartrate and was drenched in sweat before starting the climb up the Osceolas.
I knew pretty early on I was going to regret that, but sometimes it’s good to play around and see what works for you.
At about 45ish minutes in, I was feeling it more than I wanted to admit. I forced myself to eat a Huma gel (one of the other few foods my stomach trusts). This helped as I began to climb a bit and make my way to the more technical sections I felt confident on.
As I got to the trailhead for Osceola, I felt better, but also still felt tired. I began doing a run:hike and trying to monitor my heartrate. I could not seem to get it down and I was already sweating pretty heavily. I slowed down my climb, ate some intrachews and gulped my water while continuing up.
This climb is pretty fun, but there are some sections where you are using your hands, particularly on a part called the chimney. I felt much more controlled at this point, but slower than my usual climbing. I chalked this up to the previous weekend and not resting enough during the week.
I was able to make some moves and pass several guys, which was nice, but surprising because I knew I was going to struggle based on my current pace.
I finally got to the top and was excited to start descending because I desperately needed to switch up the muscles I was using. I maintained fueling with Huma every 45 minutes and Intrachews in between. This really did help me to start feeling better, until I realized I ran out of hydration and it was still a while until the aid station.
The descent of Osceola is normally one of my favorites; it’s long, technical, but also just kind of fun. Today, not so much.
I was fortunate things were dry, but wow had I forgotten how technical the bottom was. I also forgot that this trail was always one of the busiest.
I was dodging rocks, roots, people and dogs. I was “managing” until turning a corner and nearly running into 2 people sitting in the middle of the narrow trail. I get that there is a need to take breaks, but race or not, could people please not sit in the middle of the trail. I was getting a little dizzy and wobbly at this point, and in trying to dodge them, I fell a bit and smashed my ankle. Fortunately it was not a roll, but it was going to be tender, bruised and bleeding.
Shortly after this, I saw some of my friends who reminded me the aid station was right around the corner. I picked it up as much as I could to get over there to refill my bottles.
When I hit the aid station, I refilled 3 bottles because I knew my hydration was bad and I was likely going to start cramping. I also had to stop and retie my shoes that refused to stay tight, and would be my downfall once I started descending Tecumseh. I chugged a bottle of Ultima to hopefully replenish more electrolytes during my downhill stretch of dirt road to the Tecumseh trailhead. The water was nice and cold, and everything I needed in that moment.
As I made a quick left hand turn to head up Tecumseh, I remember taking a deep breath and reminding myself this was the last solid climb.
This trail is deceptively steep. There are runnable sections, but several false summits. I ended up passing a friend around here who encouraged me. I could tell he was suffering and honestly, same, just not quite as bad.
I was trying to do bursts of running here and there, but after passing him I could feel my calves starting to get crampy and decided to walk.
I normally have an advantage on the climbs, but today did not feel like that. I started to hear someone moving behind me and spotted another runner who was catching up. I was jealous of the strength he had left for this climb, but tried to stick with him. It was nice to have some company for a bit until he blew past me to the summit.
Tecumseh is the shortest 4000 footer in NH, but man it’s still stupidly steep, especially after so many miles in.
As I reached the summit and began to descend, I remembered this punchy little up-down that I had to do before truly starting the descent. I normally try to run this section, but my legs were crampy and I took my time. I also ran out of hydration, again, which shouldn’t have been possible, but clearly I like to make things more difficult for myself.
Once back on to the main trail, I did what I call “scary feet” down the rocky stairs that seem to never end coming down Tecumseh.
“Scary feet” is from the Monster’s Inc. movie. I can’t recall the exact scene, but I know it’s practicing quick fast steps, almost as if you're tip-toeing quickly. This sounds a little crazy, but when you're on the verge of cramping, picking up your feet and not tripping over rocks, it is a game changer.
This did the trick and somehow, though slow, I was able to avoid cramping down this steep, gnarly descent.
I finally spit out onto the road where I would then do a lollipop, back onto the runnable trails I first started on. I felt incredibly grateful to be down off the technical stuff, but here I was back on my least favorite, the runnable.
I let my body relax and go on the downhills, not pushing, but just letting gravity work in my favor. On flats I maintained an okay pace, but nothing too speedy. The small uphills left, I felt like I was crawling, but I reminded myself if I kept moving, I was doing enough. I knew I was almost there, but somehow managed to take a wrong turn and instead of heading back on the road, I added about .5 miles up a hill. My GPX led me one way, but the course markings confused me and I was delirious. I’m embarrassed to admit I did this exact same thing last year.
This did ignite some adrenaline, so at least I was able to pick up some speed. I also then, somehow, caught up to the speed climber. I knew we were very close as we were going through a tunnel we had gone through in the beginning. I heard people cheering and that was enough to give it everything my body had left. It wasn’t much, but I was able to sprint through the finish out of pure determination to be done.
I was sweaty, dehydrated and going to pay for this later, but I was done.
I jumped right into the water, ate some delicious ice cream, and did not pee for several hours (yikes), but I finished and learned quite a few lessons.
Note From The Editor:
It's not everyday we get to hear from an elite runner. It's amazing to understand how much of a mental battle it is out there. Every decision counts when seconds matter.
Haley has been instrumental in getting Intrachew to where it is today. We have a thriving community of runners who use and love our gummies through mainly word of mouth, and that all started with Haley and runners like yourself who are reading this email.
Haley has been instrumental in getting Intrachew to where it is today. We have a thriving community of runners who use and love our gummies through mainly word of mouth, and that all started with Haley and runners like yourself who are reading this email.
So, to celebrate this and Haley's 5th win and counting on the season, we want to extend a 15% discount on your next order when you use HALEY15 at checkout. Every order we get, Haley will receive an additional $10, so let's get those orders flowing!
Reminder, that's:
HALEY15 for 15% off.
HALEY15 for 15% off.
PLEASE go follow Haley @probslost on instagram
