Anecdotes from the Trail

Hot Pockets: Harbison 50K 1.7.12

2012-01-11T17:52:00.000-08:00

Harbison 50K...that's me second in line of this race convoy. The guy in front had a great pace going for the first few miles and we all drafted off of him for a long while. (photo: Ray Krolewicz)

You guys know the comedian, Jim Gaffigan? He's got this comedy routine where he talks about those nasty little microwaveable stuffed crust wrappers called "Hot Pockets". The routine is hilarious and he'll use it as the base of his whole show. Every once in a while he'll just end a bit with a falsetto and meekly sing, "hot pocket". Now, you're probably wondering what the hell does that have anything to do with a 50K in the middle of South Carolina? Well, I'll tell ya, but first let's set up the race a little...

I was going into this race feeling pretty good about it. My 40-miler in December could have been a lot better for various reasons, but for the Harbison 50K, I had the confidence of having a couple of good long runs under my belt. Plus, no screwed up "death" virus a week prior to the race. So, I didn't want to have any expectations, but I have to admit that I was optimistic about what was about to go down on the trails in Harbison Forest.

Dan addressing the crowd.

Rox and I pulled into the start, picked up our numbers, and got ready. There was a bonfire going and folks were gathering around keeping warm next to it. I did get to meet some cool people that I had only known via Twitter or Dailymile, that was Mark and Sam from Grayson, GA and Rob from Atlanta. Great, down to earth guys and I was glad to meet them. While talking to them, Dan, the RD, stood on a stump and gave out some last minute instructions. The course is a two lap run of a 16-ish mile loop. Everyone said the first nine were easy and rolling with the tough part coming on the back six or so. Dan reiterated that same information. Shortly after, we lined up on the jeep road and started off. As expected, Rox took off in front of me. I slipped in with the front part of the middle of the pack and in no time we were on a wide track trail, then a single track trail with everybody falling into place.

Early on, right after the start.

The morning was cool, but the forecast for the day was a high of 70 degrees by 2pm. That was incentive to get done early. Anyway, it was cool for the first lap. I fell behind a guy who had a really nice, steady pace and I stuck with him for the first 6 or 7 miles. At one point I felt bad and even said, "Man, I'm sorry for staying on your heels, but you have a great pace going." He responded with a "That's OK. I just hope I can hold it." So, since he didn't mind that's how we went for a while. Strange thing was that every once in a while, we would run through these odd warm pockets of air. Hot pocket. At first, I didn't think anything of it, but as we kept going through the initial miles, it would keep happening very occasionally. Hot pocket.

Me and Rox before the start.

After we hit the second aid station at mile 5.8, the guy with the steady pace decided to take a nature break. Maybe he was tired of me sticking with him or maybe not, but that was the last of him I saw. I ran with him for about the first 7 miles and I think it would turn out to be one of the key success factors for the day, as my next 20 miles would turn out rather well. As I ran to aid station #3 and then #4, I would again occasionally run into these strange warm pockets of air. Hot pocket.

At this point, I was thinking about the tougher last six miles of the loop. They were coming up, but I felt good and while the trail was easy and rolling, I picked up the pace a bit. Once you hit aid station #4, there's the first significant climb of the route taking a couple of switchbacks up the side of a hill. When I hit it, I was glad to have a change in the terrain and the next few miles would prove to be different from the start for sure. Still, every once in a while...hot pocket. The trail also became more technical with more roots and more rocks. I was slowly catching runners and while they were walking the inclines, I ran them. I would slightly pay for it later, but while it was good, it was good.

Where's the guy in the red
sleeveless going?

A younger runner caught me in this back section and we would rubber band each other for the last miles of the loop. He would pass me on the downhills and I would catch and pass him on the uphills. When we both hit the Spiderwoman Trail section, we both took a slight detour that in the end only added about a quarter of a mile, but which threw me off a bit. Because as soon as I was back on the regular route, there was another runner I had passed earlier in front of me. I didn't understand at first and when I caught him a second time, I asked him, "Did you miss a section back there?" And he was surprised at first, but then he said, "Did you go straight up the rocky section?" Me, "Yes." He said, "You missed a left turn that by passed that part." Me, "Doh!" Atleast I wasn't way of course and a little extra credit doesn't hurt. Meanwhile, I was still dealing with the other guy that was passing me and I was passing him. And you guessed it, every once in a while, we would hit a...hot pocket.

We crossed one last road, climbed up a hill where I passed my "rubberband" friend for the last time, took a couple of turns and with out even realizing it, I was heading into the finish area. First lap in the bag and I felt great! First lap done in 2:33 by my watch. Could it be? Could I, dare say, shoot for a five hour 50K? I stopped at the aid station to refuel and top of my bottle. The cool weather and the strange pockets of occasional warm air, would give way to sunny skies and climbing temperatures. As I ran by Rox's car, I left my arm sleeves. I wasn't going to need them any more.

My friend, Rox

As soon as I hit the single track again, I had caught up to a local runner, Jim, and the two of us would run together for a little while. I thought that maybe the same strategy was playing out as the first lap, where I basically had a pacer, but I would not end up running with Jim as long and he would actually catch me with about two miles to go to the finish. Anyway, we cruised along for a bit and we eventually came up on my friend, Rox. I was surprised to see her and fully expected her to be way in front of me duking it out for first or second female. And although, she was in fourth place, she was not looking like she was having a good day. We caught up to her and I ran with her for a while. I asked if she was alright, and she shook her head. She was having cramps and her stomach was giving her problems too. She was determined to finish the race, but there was not going to be a podium spot for her today. We ran together for a little while and at one point I jumped in front of her and soon dropped her.

After passing Rox, I passed an aid station and was about half way around the second lap. I was feeling good and enjoying the sunshine, but I was starting to feel the heat some what and also my pace was starting to drop. Kind of normal at this point of the race, but I still felt confident. I was still catching runners and I would soon hit the aid station before the beginning of the climbs. I gobbled down some salty potatoes, drank some Coke and tackled the first hill. I managed to jog up it and felt OK. I hit some of the tighter turns and the other climbs and I could feel that it was taking more effort with everyone. By the time I was back on the Spiderwoman Trail, I was paying for my earlier effort and I walked several climbs in this section. No worries, I was still moving fine on the flats and the down hills, so I was mentally OK. After finally reaching the last aid station, I knew that a PR was a done deal. I just had to hang on for the last few miles.

See ya later!

A couple of fresher runners passed me and Jim, who I ran with at the beginning of the second loop, also caught me. I kept them within sight for the last couple of miles, but it was a struggle. I crossed the last road, went up the hill, took the same turns as earlier and recognized that last down hill. I pushed for that last little bit and I could see the blue chute in front of me through the trees. When I came out in the open, I saw there was a log across the beginning of the chute. Is this the finish line? I must have thought that out loud, because a spectator was screaming, "Keep going!" So, I did. I ran to the end of the chute and that was it. Just like that. I looked at my watch and it said, 5:25. Definitely a PR for me! That second lap was slower, but not by that much. A volunteer handed me a pint glass and my medal. You gotta love low-key ultras. No roaring crowds, no PA announcers, no frills at all. Just some nice, decent swag for finishing and off to the gazebo for some freshly grilled cheeseburgers. And no, thankfully they weren't serving any Hot Pockets.

Rox ended up toughing it out and came in about seven or so minutes behind me. She did keep her fourth place female standing.

P.S. Thanks to Dan Hartley and all of the volunteers for making this such a fun event! Check out the Harbison 50K Facebook page for photos of the event or visit the Flickr site. (I stole a few photos from Ray Krolewicz for this blog, I hope he doesn't mind.)

Official 2012 Harbison 50K results.

2012 Harbison 50K: Race Preview

2012-01-05T17:27:00.000-08:00

2011 Start of Harbison 50K (photo by Ray Krolewicz;
taken from Harbison 50K Facebook page.)

We're only five days into the new year and here comes the first race, ready or not. I'm heading to Columbia, SC tomorrow for the Harbison 50K which is on Saturday. I'm looking forward to it. Mainly because it's a new race for me and I always enjoy my first go around with a particular course.
The Harbison 50K takes place in, well, the Harbison Forest State Park, more or less right in Columbia. It's a two loop course. To quote Dan Hartley, the race director...

There are 18 miles of technical single track trails, with the remainder on fire roads, wide trails and stream crossings with plenty of rocks, roots and mud on the beautiful trails of the Harbison State Forest. Although a surprisingly challenging course, with plenty of aid-stations and great volunteers along with lots of hot food at the finish, this is a great 50K for your first ultra! Total elevation change is 4,186 ft.

Compared to recent races, the Pine Mountain 40 and the Stump Jump 50K, it should be an easier one, but you really never know, do you?

Earlier this week, the Southeast was hit with a frigid cold front that I, for one, was hoping would continue through the week. I just do better in the cold. Always have. But checking the forecast for Saturday in Columbia, it's going to be in the mid-40's at the start, but probably in the 60's or maybe the low-70's by the time I finish up. Sounds great, but I wouldn't mind a few degrees cooler for the high.

Anyhow, I feel fit for this race and I had a good long run a couple of weeks ago. One big difference going into this race compared to Pine Mountain last month is I didn't have some freak, death virus hit me with a week to go until race day. That alone is giving me more confidence.

Here's a link to the course map, the course profile and a detailed course description.

Check back after the race for a full race report. Happy trails!

The Good, the Bad and the Not-So-Ugly: Pine Mountain 40-Miler 12.4.11

2011-12-07T11:14:00.001-08:00

High fiving Woody as I was coming into the first aid station.

I ran the Pine Mountain 40-Miler back in2009 and at the time, I provided a play-by-play report then of that race on theblog. So, I thought I’d take a different approach to this race report. I’mgonna break this up for what it was in reality, an experience that proved tobe…the good, the bad and the not-so-ugly.

THE GOOD

As always, the good included an opportunity to trail run inthe woods with a bunch of friends. It was so great to see so many out on thecourse, whether they were running, or volunteering. I’d like to take thisopportunity to thank all the volunteers and specifically to thank Kena (eventhough she was following and supporting another runner, it almost seemed likeshe was supporting me every time I saw her at every aid station), Phillip (whopointed out my bloody nipples at mile 31 and offered sports tape), Kim, Harry, Joel,Jenn, Jason, Rachel and all the other volunteers for the killer support at the MollyhuggerHill, Dowden Knob and Rocky Point aid stations, and to Sarah (the RD) and therest of the GUTS crew for another well organized and supported event. Frankgets special mention for serving up the grilled cheese sandwiches at the TVTower aid stop. Too many friends out there running to list here, but I did getto catch up with many of them post-race at the finish line. A couple of specialshout outs to Laura, Aaron D. and Woody D., it was not to be their day for anyof them as they all DNF’d for various reasons, but that’s how it goes sometimes. We’ve all been there. The beauty of the sport is that there’s always thenext race.

Another good thing about the race was the swag. Everyonereceived a really nice, fleece winter cap and all the finishers took home asporty, fleece half-zip top. That beats a t-shirt any day.

When it comes to the race itself and how the day went for me,my first 24 miles definitely represent the good. I arrived at the start withjust a few minutes to spare to hit the bathroom and pick up my number. I alsorealized when I arrived, that I had forgotten my hand-held water bottle. Notagain! This happened to me at Stump Jump a couple of months ago, but luckilythis time I had a spare one liter water bottle in the car that I had brought for after the race. It would bemy faux football to carry the whole race, but it was a savior. Anyway my buddy,Woody, drove separately, but we both managed to arrive about the same time. Welined up with everyone and after a few words from the RD, we were off. Woodytook off with the leaders and I held back and decided to find a spot closer tothe middle of the pack. Soon we were on single track trail and the peckingorder seemed pretty set since no one seemed overly anxious to pass for thefirst few miles. I really did feel good. I was chatting it up with othersaround me. I met some great people that I would end up seeing all day long,like John from Oak Ridge, TN who was running his first 40-miler, and Elizabeth fromAtlanta, GA who would end up dropping me for good at around mile 33 afterpassing each other several times through out the race. When I ran part of thecourse with my buddy, Doug, a couple of weeks ago, we ran out past the pointwhere the Mollyhugger Hill aid stop would be during the race, which is aboutmile 11 of the course. I remember then thinking that I wanted to be at thisspot two hours into the race and sure enough, that’s what happened. In fact, Ihit mile 12 or so at the two hour mark and I started thinking that a sub-8 hourrace would be doable after all. I ran the course in 7:58 the last time, but Iwas coming into this race a lot less prepared and with fewer long runs on mylegs. So a sub-8 hour race was optimistic. The next couple of aid stops werevery welcome sights because to get to them we had to traverse through tornadodevastated portions of the course, but more on that later. Needless to say, Ireached the TV Tower aid stop (about mile 22) and I was still feeling prettydecent, but the wheels would soon come off.

THE BAD

Refueling on an uphill.

Back in April, a storm and several tornadoes laid waste tothe immediate area in and near the park. Huge sections of forest trees weretumbled over like little toothpicks. Trees were down, uprooted and slashed.Volunteers had obviously spent many man hours cleaning up and chain sawingmiles and miles of the trail. We would encounter the first of these sectionsabout 12 miles into the race and it was a good mile long, between theMollyhugger Hill and Dowdell Knob aid stops. On the upside, because the treeswere down, there were no leaves on the trail. One of the stand outcharacteristics of the Pine Mountain 40-miler is theleaves you encounter on the trail from the autumn foliage and the level ofdifficulty they add on the already technical and rocky trail. In the tornadosections, there were no leaves, but there was also nothing else. I mean no life.It was kind of eerie and depressing to see. And when I spoke with other runnerslater, we agreed that there was like a bad spiritual vibe, a bad energy ofsorts. There were other sections on the course that were just as devastated andI couldn’t help feel the same thing every time. On the way back at around mile30, I was crossing one of these sections for the last time and the sun was out.Even though it was December, it was unseasonably warm and I was already feelingcrappy at this point. Between the sun, the depressing landscape and the mileson my legs, I hit the wall hard. By the time I arrived at the Mollyhugger Hillaid station again around 31.5 miles in, I was walking and I still had my leastfavorite section of the trail left to go.

We all hit the wall at some point, right? I mean it happens to the most experienced ofathletes, the Lance Armstrongs and even Kilian Jornets of the world. But man,there’s no comfort in knowing that and it always sucks. Like I said, I startedto fall apart and at mile 30 started walking without running again and itlasted several miles. I wasn’t injured. I didn’t have any blisters. I felt likeI had managed my nutrition just fine. But obviously some thing just turned offlike a switch inside. Earlier at around mile 23, I had a second wind and I hadpassed several runners that I had shared the trail with for a few miles. I hadtucked my water bottle into my arm and I kept a steady pace. I even managed torun up one of the few decent climbs on the race course and I thought I put somedistance on runners behind me. But when things went south for me, they wentsouth fast. Many of those same runners, now caught me and passed me. After theaid station, we jumped on a white-blazed trail that is a lot less traveled byhikers and the footing was more difficult with the leaves and rocks. I was sofried, that it was all I could do to just put one foot in front of the other.As I walked, more and more runners would pass including Elizabeth who droppedme here for the last time. I wouldn’t see her again until after crossing thefinish. She gave me a smile and a thumbs up and flew by me like I was standingstill. I walked and walked and just tried to stay positive. Now I thought if Ifinished in under nine hours, I would be lucky. But in ultras, many times ifyou feel like crap, you just gotta hang on and some times things can turnaround. And they did.

THE NOT-SO-UGLY

I came off the white-blazed trail and hit the last mannedaid station of the course, Fox Den Cove, at around mile 34 of the course. Ilingered at the aid station and drank and ate my fill. I was joking around withthe volunteers and they were great. At one point, one of them told me that mytime was up and that I had to get moving. I looked at him and thanked him. A signof a good aid station in a race is they know when to push the runners along.There’s no sense in my hanging out and the only way I was going to finish therace was to get a move on. Leaving the station, there was a slight down hilland feeling a bit rejuvenated I tried to jog a bit. It didn’t feel too bad. Ialternated jogging the down hills and walking the up hills until I eventuallycame up on a runner that had passed me earlier when I was really feelingterrible. Now it looked like it was his turn to feel like crap, but he wasmanaging to stay in front of me, the more I tried to catch him. This went onfor a little bit until we crossed a road and started on the final climb of theday. We were both walking, but I was determined to pass him. Slowly I inched upon him and finally passed him. Encouraged by this, I started running up thehill and realized that I could hold the pace. Once on the ridge, I made it a point to put some distance between the two of us and I didn’t look back. Icrossed the final road crossing and the rest of the way was down hill. Just alittle over two miles to go. I was so excited. I ran down the descent and neverreally walked again. The trail soon leveled off and followed a creek back tothe finish. As I was nearing the end, I saw local ultra-legend, Richard Schickahead of me. He had passed me earlier when I was toast. He has also “schicked”me before at the Mt. Cheaha 50K when he passedme with less than a mile to go at that race. So, I thought that maybe I couldreturn the favor. He was getting closer, but as we crossed the last foot bridgehe had about a 20 yard lead on me and the finish line was too close. Hefinished with 8:32:23 on the race clock and I crossed the line at 8:32:34. Ihigh fived Richard, thanked some of theGUTS crew hanging out at the finish and found the nearest spot to sit my tiredass down. Tough race, but I had seen the good, the bad, and the not-so-ugly ofit. I was happy to be done and with my time.

Thank you to Vikena Yutz for the photos!

2011 Pine Mountain 40-Miler blogroll:

Sarah Woerner (femalewinner and new course record holder)
Aaron Dwileski

2011 Pine Mountain 40: Race Preview

2011-12-01T17:38:00.001-08:00

It's Thursday, so only three days left for the 2011 Pine Mountain 40-Miler on December 4th. I am going into this race with a big question mark, my race fitness. My training has been minimal, in fact I've only had two 20+ runs since my last race, the Stump Jump 50K back on the first weekend in October. I should be fine, but I can't help feeling a bit undertrained. To boot, I picked up some nasty virus this past weekend and it had me in bed for pretty much the whole weekend. I didn't run for four days, which is odd for me. I guess a little forced taper rest should do me some good. I've shaken the bug and I do feel better, but we'll see what this means for Sunday's race.

I ran Pine Mountain 40 back in 2009 and I really enjoyed it. You can read my race report: http://anecdotesfromthetrail.blogspot.com/2009/12/pine-mountain-40-miler.html. It's a challenging course on leaves-covered, rocky single track trail following much of the Pine Mountain trail out of FDR State Park. The scenery is fantastic as the course includes some good ridge line running. The most obvious feature of the course are the rocks. Lots of them. They definitely keep you watching your footwork as you progress to the finish.

Here's an elevation profile I borrowed from my buddy, Jason's blog:

I did get to preview the course recently with one of my running buddy's, Doug. We drove down there a couple of Fridays ago and we ran about 25 miles, mostly on the Pine Mountain trail. The leaves were just starting to fall, so I'm sure the trail is totally covered by them now. We ran up to the spot where some tornadoes wreaked havoc earlier this year. I'm sure I'll get to see more of the damage on race day. I hear that the trail is clear of the storm debris now.

Last time, I ran the race in under eight hours. I'd be happy if I did the same this time, but we'll see how I feel on race day. The weather forecast is ideal with partly cloudy, temps in the mid-30's to start and mid-60's by about the time I finish.

I'm picking up Woody at about 5:00am and we are hitting the road. We should get there just in time to pick up our packets and be ready to start. I'm looking forward to it.

"Where's my f@#king water bottle?" Stump Jump 50K 10.1.11

2011-10-03T18:44:00.000-07:00

Coming into the finish at the 2011 Stump Jump 50K. My friend Robin right on my tail. (photo by checkpointphotos.com)

I was standing there in front of Signal Mountain High School surrounded by hundreds of other trail runners anxiously waiting for the Stump Jump 50K to start, when it hit me. "Oh shit! I left my hand held in the car. Crap!" Immediately my mind was racing. "I still have my phone. I could call Stacy (my wife) and ask her to come back.", but that was not a realistic option. Stacy had dropped me off twenty minutes earlier and was well on her way back to the hotel. Besides, by the time she made it back, the race would have started. What was I going to do? The thought of running the whole race without a handheld passed through my brain for a nanosecond, but it was shot down faster than it made its way through my grey matter. There's no way I was going to run 31+ miles on rugged trails through Tennessee without my water bottle. I don't care how many aid stations the race had set up or how amazingly perfect the weather was turning out to be (40's for the start, sunny and no humidity...yes, perfect). I looked around and several of my friends were already in the start group. Others were milling about, minding their own business. Then I saw the Zulu Racing trailer and thought that maybe my buddy, Mike, from Zulu would have a water bottle.

Tim and me before I realized, "Where's my water bottle?"
(photo by Jeff B./Rock Creek)

I jogged over and caught his attention. Imagine it as he's trying to make sure everything is ready for 700+ trail runners to cross his starting mats, I'm bugging the guy for a freaking water bottle. "Hey Mike, you gotta help me out buddy! Would you happen to have an extra water bottle laying around?" He didn't even hesitate and quickly got on to the business of finding me one. He said, "Hold on. I think I may have one in the car." He trots off. There's only minutes left for the race to start. Maybe less. he soon comes back with what would make my day, a cheap, giant 30-something ounce water bottle. The thing looked like a football, but I couldn't have been more excited. Mike asked, "Will this work?" Without even thinking twice I said, "Hell yes! I'll take it." I gladly took it from him and he went back to do his thing while I jumped in line to do mine. Luckily, there was already about a third of the water bottle filled with what I hoped was water (it was).

Runners at the start.

We got through the announcements with Diane Van Deren wishing us all luck and we were off. I didn't care how my first few miles would go. I was just happy to have saved a potential catastrophe. The 11-milers and the 50K runners were split off within the first quarter mile while a helicopter flew over head assumingly filming the start. Soon after, all of us 50K runners were on single track trail behind the high school. I knew these first few miles well from having run the race last year and also from having run stage 3 back in June of the Rock/Creek Stage Races. It's a mostly downhill jaunt to what's called Mushroom Rock. Everyone was finding their own groove as we made our way down. I was thinking of a couple of friends of mine who were running their first 50K, but more on them later.

In last year's race, I went out feeling good and even made it to about mile 26 with thoughts of breaking 6-hours. But the reality of the return climb of those last five or six miles just took it out of me along with the warmer than usual temperatures that day. Today's forecast promised for better results, but I still decided to go conservative for the first half of the race. At the first aid station, just before the steep descent after Mushroom Rock, I filled up my Frankenstein water bottle about two-thirds full. I didn't want to fill it up all the way, because it would weigh a ton. Making my way down, I shifted the bottle from one hand to the other, trying to determine which one was more comfortable. It wasn't going to matter. I soon learned that during some sections of the course, I would have to carry it like a football. Yep, the ultra-trail runner version of the Heismann pose.

We came to the suspended bridge and remarkably traffic was light. There weren't many runners with me crossing the bridge. There were some campers hanging out nearby next to a fire sipping on their morning coffee and I can only assume that they were less than amused with the hundreds of people that were ruining their "one with nature" morning. Oh well! I conservatively walked the climb after crossing the bridge and made my way down to Sucks Creek and the next aid station. Refueled on a banana and some Pringles and continued across Sucks Creek road, up some stairs and then up the single track towards the bluff. This is by far my favorite part of the course. Once you make it to the bluff, you have these amazing rock outcroppings jutting out of the ground to your right and a fabulous view of the valley below to your left. I'm sure if you read my blog report from last year's race there is a similar sentence in there, but it really is beautiful. I found myself running with a couple of other runners and we would stick together until the mile 10 aid station.

Some of the leaders early on.
(photo by Jeff B./Rock Creek)

There were a ton of family and friends waiting at this aid station and you could hear them a good half mile before arriving there. Plenty of cowbells and cheering. It was pretty nice despite not having anyone I knew there. I didn't waste much time at the stop. I refilled my giganto-bottle again, grabbed a few apple slices and took off. I was determined to keep up my nutritional intake for this race, so I was also supplementing my aid stop grazing with GU Roctane gels every 45 minutes or so. I was feeling pretty good!

Leaving the station, I caught up with another runner who seemed to already be having some trouble. He was walking the uphills, but not in a purposeful way, so much as in an inefficient, "wheels are beginning to fall off" kind of way. I passed him for a moment, but then on a decline, he flew by me and the next guy in front of me like a man on a mission. I thought that was weird and I also figured that there was no way he was going to maintain that pace. Sure enough, about a mile later, we both passed him and I never saw him again. A short while later, I heard a thud like the ground shaking, followed by an "ah, mother f@#%$#r!" I wondered if that was him and that maybe he had fallen and hurt himself. I would never find out. Meanwhile, I fell into the same running pace as this guy from Wisconsin and we were soon joined by another runner, Andrew, from Franklin, TN. We stayed together until the mile 16 aid stop and made good time together. We started chatting and it really helped the miles go by. Both of them had never run this race before and the guy from Wisconsin was running his first 50K. I warned them to save some in the tank for the last five miles. We got to the aid stop and we got split up. Leaving the stop, you have to go up a major climb before settling back into some very runnable ridge line trails and before hitting the dreaded, so-called Rock Garden around mile 18. I had started the race with gloves and arm sleeves, but had taken them both off sooner. However, the wind was blowing pretty good and it was chilly, so I put the arm sleeves back on.

I made it through the Rock Garden and soon came out at the mile 19 aid station. I looked at my watch and I basically had two hours and fifteen or so minutes to finish this thing in less than six hours. I felt good and I knew that if I could just keep my pace for the next few miles, I would only have the two big climbs after Sucks Creek to deal with before the finish. I left the station excited about my possibilites and went on down the trail. I ran much of the next section by myself, which was fine by me. I did pass a couple of guys and that just helped my confidence. About a mile before reaching Sucks Creek again, Andrew and a female runner started catching up to me. I thought I could stay ahead and so I picked it up a bit. Not a good idea! At one point, I had to pick myself up off the ground and fetch my 'football' water bottle that had landed a few yards ahead of me. I had tripped on a root or something, but luckily it was on a soft portion of the trail. No rocks, phew! Anyway, it wasn't long before those two definitely caught up and we made our way down to the road together.

Once back at Sucks Creek, it was just about a 10K left, but with some mean climbing still left to do. Last year, this is where it started falling apart for me and I was determined to not let it happen again. I walked the climbs, but I didn't lose pace due to fatigue. I kept it steady and purposeful. I made it up and over the first climb and quickly found myself crossing the suspended bridge again. Just Mushroom Rock left. I was certainly feeling it at this point, but I wasn't drained and that again boosted my confidence. I once again kept a steady walking pace up towards Mushroom Rock. The female runner that had been behind me earlier on the descent into Sucks Creek passed me and I would only see her again briefly at the next aid station. One foot in front of the other, I just kept chugging up the hill. I saw Mushroom Rock and was happy to hear the chatter at the last aid station. They had beer! It was Stroh's, but who cares. It was beer! I had a shot of that and some other goodies and looked at my watch. I had about 40 minutes or so to get it done under six hours. I better get a move on.

Me, my finish medal and my hilariously, extra-large
water bottle. I couldn't have done the
race without it.

The last few miles of this course feel endless. I felt decent and I was keeping pace just fine, but it still seemed like it was taking forever to get this done. I did manage to catch a couple of other runners, but I was also passed by a few as well. The last little bit is on the XC trails of Signal Mountain High School, so it's pretty manicured. I came out to a road crossing and one of the volunteers there said there was only .8 miles to go. Liar! It was much longer. I kept looking at my watch. 5:55, 5:56, 5:57...there was no way this was only .8 miles left. Finally, I came out on the last bit of road and I knew I was almost there. I did get passed in that last half mile, but only by one other runner. As I made my way into the finish, I almost missed my wife and a friend cheering me on. I looked up at the race clock and saw 6:03 and change on it. Oh well, I tried, but I ended up with 6:03:33 officially. Not bad at all. It beat last year's time by nine minutes. So I was happy! I got my medal and some grub and kissed my wife. Then I high fived the guys from Zulu Racing and thanked them profusely for letting me borrow the water bottle. I would have been miserable with out it, even though it was awkward and it weighed a ton.

Jessica and Amanda with their finisher's medals.

Next I pulled up a camper chair with my wife and others, a cooler full of beer and we cheered other 50K finishers on while waiting for Amanda and Jessica to finish their first 50K. It was fun to see everyone coming in and it was also a good time catching up with other finishers. It was really good to see some fellow GUTS runners, Sean O., Robin, Wayne, Jason (read his race report) and Joel. As well as some fellow Twitter runners like Tim, Cathi and Dan (good sharing a beer with ya, Dan). Amanda came through at 8:29 and then Jessica made it in 9:22. Both of them smiling. I was very happy to see them finish and I was proud of their accomplishment. Here's Jessica's race report.

I really enjoy the Rock/Creek races. Stump Jump 50K has to be one of the most beautiful trail courses in the country. If you have stumbled upon this blog and are contemplating running it, I highly recommend it.

What's next for me? Another visit to the Pine Mountain 40-Miler in December. Stay tuned. Cheers!

Rock/Creek Stage Race: Day 3 Signal Mountain 06.19.11

2011-06-20T14:00:00.000-07:00

All smiles before the start!
(photo by jeff@rockcreek.com)

What a day! I write this and I'm trying to organize my thoughts looking back on not just day three of the Rock/Creek Chattanooga Mountain Stage Race, but on the whole weekend of trail racing. I'm exhausted, but I am not spent spiritually. For me, this has been a weekend of comraderie with other people who share the same passion for a sport we love. It is going to be hard to come down from this experience. I'll try to capture day three in words...

I was sitting in my car parked at the start/finish area in Signal Mountain, TN and thinking to myself, "Well, this is it. Last day of running through the woods with 160 of your new found friends, Javier." While I was putting on my trail shoes and adjusting things, people all around me were doing the same. We were all gearing up for one last day of trail racing. This time on the hardest stage of the three. Nobody seemed nervous really. If anything, the look on people's faces was one of anticipation, maybe even excitement. I know I was. I was doubly excited too, because my wife and son drove up from Atlanta the day before and I knew they would be at the finish to see me in. Best Father's Day present I could imagine, that's for sure.

Before the start of the race, some other friends had come up from Atlanta to participate in this stage and it was good to see them and exchange best wishes with them.

It was overcast to start, but the forecast was for hot and humid by mid-day. Also, a wicked storm blew through the night before which would add a degree of difficulty to the day's stage with tree limbs fallen on the trail and damp, wet rocks through certain sections. I'll get to the rocky sections in a moment.

Once we were all ready, all the runners gathered again to hear some announcements by Randy, the race director. He mentioned something ominous that would stick in my head during the stage. He said, "The technical stuff doesn't really start until mile 9 or so. You'll know it when you hit it." As he said this, he said it with this wry smile on his face. He knew what was in store for us. And with that, he let us go right at 8:00am.

The first part of the course follows much of the same route as the Stump Jump 50K in October. When I did that race last year, I remember the last few miles coming back very well. They almost finished me. It consists of two long climbs. For the stage race and just like the Stump Jump race, the first few miles are mostly down hill past a rock formation called Mushroom Rock and down to a suspension bridge crossing a creek. Then back up a steep climb over a ridge and down again to a road. For Stump Jump, you cross the road to continue on the race route. For stage races, this is a turn around point and you head back the way you came, back up the long climb while slower runners were coming down. After some initial shifting in the order, I got on the heels of a couple of guys from Nashville. They were keeping a pretty good pace and I felt like I could keep up with them. This may have been a mistake, as I later found out.

We made it back to Mushroom Rock in good time and this is where the race route breaks off from the Stump Jump course. We hopped on a singletrack trail that made its way along the edge of a ridge and we would enjoy this for several miles. It wasn't overly technical, but it had enough rocks and tree limbs on the trail to keep you watching your footwork. We had several miles before aid station two, so we just maintained the pace and worked our way ever closer to it. At a couple of points, we saw amazing rock outcroppings where you could look out into the valley below, but we didn't make time to stop and enjoy it. One of the the guys in front of me invited me to get ahead. he said, "Go on, if you want. I don't want to hold you back." And I said, "Don't worry. I'm just trying to hold on. You're not holding me back." Both of them had run the stage last year and they were commenting about how they were going to finish. One of them mentioned that if we finished in three and a half hours that we were doing good. That made me hesitate because in my head I was giving myself less time than that to finish, but clearly I had no idea what was in store.

A couple of the front runners on the stairs.
(Photo by jeff@rockcreek.com)

The trail in this section was rolling with no major climbs or descents, so we made good progress. Soon we reached the aid station. I had to tie my shoe and by the time I did that and replenished my water bottle, the guys I was running with ahd already taken off. I hit the trail behind them, but never saw them again. Earlier, we had passed my buddy, Tim, who was once again easing off his pace. I should have followed his example. I wasn't by myself, there was a runner behind me that I managed to stay in front for some time. The trail between aid station two and three was only a couple of miles long, but they would end up being the toughest couple of miles of all three days of stage racing. Again, Randy's words stuck in my head, this was technical stuff indeed. Most of these two miles involved getting by long sections of rocks. With the storm the night before, much of it was still damp which made me even more cautious in dealing with this section. The difficulty of the terrain and the quick pace I ran for the first nine miles of the day were catching up to me. Hell, it was probably the fifty miles of cumulative running over the last couple of days that were also catching up with me. I started to slow down. The runner that was behind me, was in front fo me before long and I was left alone until we came to a series of stair climbs. Up and up they went and these steps did me in.

Another runner caught up to me on the stairs and together we came into the third aid station. I was wiped out. He was fresh. We got what we needed from the aid station and headed out. We went up a road for a bit following the flag markers. When we came to an intersection, neither of us was sure which way to go, so we went straight. He was stronger than me at this point and got ahead. I was looking for markers after a while but didn't see any and I thought it was weird that we would run on asphalt for this long. I turned around and headed back to the intersection. I turned right and finally saw another marker. I was back on track. I also picked up another runner and and together we were back on single track soon. This runner had been at Western States the year before and she was telling me about her experience. This helped me forget how crappy I was feeling at the time. Down we went and it wasn't long before we were following the trail along side a creek. The trail wasn't as tough as the earlier section, but it still had its share of rocky segments. It also had a series of suspension bridges to cross which were a bit slippery and we had to be mindful of our steps.

The guy that had run ahead of me on the asphalt, soon caught up and passed us. He was upset about the "detour". Actually, he was really upset. My thought was that although I didn't care to lose time going the wrong way, I feel that it's just part of racing. Not much you can do about it.

The female runner I was running with also dropped me and I was again alone getting by on the trail. I was walking anything that remotely seemed like an incline and I was walking through the more technical sections. A couple more runners started catching up and passing me. A clear sign that I was toast. I tried to not think about it too much and take in the beautiful scenery of the trail. It really was spectacular running through the woods, along a creek and the weather was cooperating even though I could feel the temperature rising some and the humidity was high.

I was glad to reach aid station four and I knew I only had a handful of miles to go. The trail became much easier at this point and I just kept moving. I tried to latch on to a couple of runners that caught me, but it was futile. They dropped me too. This was it, I just had to finish my own race. The last couple of miles were endless. I was ready for the finish line. More runners caught me and passed me and I got "chicked" a couple of times in the last couple of miles.

Finally, I could hear the music of the finish line and Randy making announcements. When I came off the trail and out into the open, I turned to the finish. As I came near, I could see my wife and my son with big supporting smiles on their faces. I picked up my step and came through the chute exhausted. I'm not sure I could have gone another mile. I ran really well on the first two stages and for the first half of the third day, but it wasn't pretty for the second half of this third stage.

I high-fived some of the other runners that had finished before me, grabbed something to drink and a seat at a picnic table while my family made their way towards me. I gave my wife a kiss and my son a big Father's Day hug.

Me and my son.

Once I recovered some what, I picked up my finisher's award and my free pair of Smartwool socks. I then took a look at the results. I finished stage three in 4:12. It took me almost an hour and a half longer to finish the 20 mile course compared to stage one's 18 mile course. That shows you just how hard is day three. The cumulative results were also posted...my time for all three days was 10:26:55 and I came in at 37th place overall. Not bad, I was really happy with that. If this was one continous ultra-race, that would have been one hell of a pace for sixty miles at a 10:43/mile.

I had never before run a stage race, but I am really glad that I ran this one. Like all Rock/Creek events, it is an extremely well put together event. I'm already looking to see if there are others like it around the country. The Gore-Tex Transrockies has been on my short list for some time. Maybe I need to figure out how to add that to my race calendar sooner versus later.

I'd like to thank Randy and Kris Whorton for all they do to put these races together and to Rock/Creek for supporting them. I'm looking forward to running Stump Jump 50K again in October.

*Visit the official race blog with updated results and photos for stage race day three.

Rock/Creek Stage Race: Day 2 Lookout Mountain 06.18.11

2011-06-19T19:10:00.000-07:00

Chattanooga Mountain Stage Race Day Two
about half a mile from the finish.
(Photo by jeff@rockcreek.com)

Day two started the same way that day one did, overcast and almost cool. Praise the running gods! The difference being that the humidity had increased over the day before, but the overcast skies would be much appreciated on another long morning of running on the trails.

The course for stage 2 travels through the Lula Lake Land Trust Preserve. It consisted of a five mile loop then a twelve mile loop and then a repeat of the initial five mile loop but in the opposite direction. Along the way, we would experience significantly more climbing and descending than what we did on stage 1.

I carpooled with the race directors that morning, so I arrived much earlier than most of the other runners. I was able to watch the start/finish area get set up while the volunteers showed up and then of course the runners. I was feeling good about this stage. I woke up with not much to complain about from day one's run. I was happy with my performance and I was still wondering if perhaps I had run it too fast. There was only one way to truly find out and that would be once the race started. After much sitting around, it was time to get this stage started. We were off right at 8:00am.

Unlike yesterday, we had almost a mile of gravel road to stretch the field and get folks into place before hitting any single track. This was nice, and it allowed me to feel out my legs and other than a slight tightness in my right abductor, I felt good. It would quickly loosen up within the first couple of miles. We made our way past the beautiful Lula Falls when we arrived to the first bit of singletrack. All of a sudden, I felt this sharp pain just above my right knee, then I felt it again on my shin. I reached down and smacked at what ever it was and I realized that I had been stung by a couple of yellowjackets. A couple of other runners cried out too. Seems we pissed of a nest as we ran by. Not how I wanted to start my race.

This occured right before a very, steep climb that I was familiar with from my experience at the Lookout Mountain 50-Miler last year. In fact, much of stage two's trails are part of that race, so it was familiar to me. Back to the climb, the race organizers set up ropes for the climb and there was a slight bottleneck as runners made their way up. Once at the top of the ridge, we thinned out again. I tried to get into my own groove and I wanted to run on my own, but I ended up running with a couple of runners along the ridge and then on the way down off the ridge. Before we descended, I tried to sneak a few peeks to my left into the valley below. Many of the trails in Chattanooga have great vistas and this one is fantastic. We ran the ridge for a while, descended down a long wide trail, then a single track down to a creek and made our way back to the start/finish area where we would hit our first aid station. First loop done and I was feeling good except for my yellowjacket stings. I had a little swelling, but it wasn't bothering my running. At the aid station, I grabbed a couple of apple halves, downed some Coke and headed off.

The next five or six miles were mostly uphill. The first section appeared to be a really abandoned forest road that was overgrown with small trees and we had to duck in and out of them. Once through that, we crossed a road, ran up a trail with mossy, flatrocks that were a little slick and then hit some singletrack. We climbed but the grade was gradual enough for most of it, that we could run. While we ran, we kept coming across debris that had landed along the trail from the tornadoes that hit this area back in April. There were a number of trees down too and the ones that had fallen across the trail had been cleared by chainsaw. I guess nature has to show who's boss every once in a while.

We reached a powerline cut out and did a short series of zig zags in and out of the woods and the cut out. On the last time we ran back into the woods, we were confronted with a mean climb straight up on single track. This was one of those, put your hands on your knees and push type of climbs. At this point, I was running with a female participant that had caught up to me and passed me, and I tried to keep up with her for a short while before getting dropped. We came back out to the power line section and this time walked up a long climb along the cut out. It wasn't long before we hit the aid station. I was still feeling good, but it had started to warm up and I needed to top off my water bottle. I left the aid station and enjoyed a wide, forest road for a while. I caught up with another runner, Robert Lewellen. Robert is one of the race directors for a new 50K in Georgia that will take place on the Duncan Ridge trail and the Coosa Back Country trail. It's the Duncan Ridge 50K/30K. That race is going to be a beast! Anyway, I ran with Robert for quite a while. Chatting with him made the time go by and we were making good progress. He decided to take a quick nature break and he told me to run on ahead of him. At this point, I was back on the same trail we had come up earlier but enjoying the descent. One of the Texas runners, Dat, that I had met caught me and passed me. He was looking strong.

Down past the mossy, flatrock, across the road again and down into the start/finish area. As I came in to the aid station, there were a number of spectators waiting around for their runners, but they cheered me on in. That was an appreciated ego boost and I picked up my step after grabbing something quick at the aid station. Only one more loop left and I knew it well by now. We ran along the creek, then up a quick incline to reach more single track that would take us back to the another gradual long climb that we had descended earlier in the day. I walked almost all of this until we hit the top of the ridge. I knew that was the last long one of the day and I was glad to be on the ridge again. I caught up and passed a couple of other runners and soon came up on the steep, rope assisted climb down and I was getting anxious about more yellow jackets. I joined a couple other runners who had bottlenecked on the rope and we made our way down. We went past the area where the yellowjackets had been earlier unscathed. Phew!

We were almost done. The rest of the way back was slightly different than the start earlier that morning. Instead of running back on the gravel road, we were directed off of it and made to run alongside a creek. Up and down short three and four foot little hills along the creek. It was tough on the legs. Ran that for over a mile when we then crossed the creek, the only time we truly got our feet wet on the course. Just a couple hundred more yards and there was the finish. Randy was on the mic and I heard, "Here comes number 24, Javier De Jesus, from Atlanta." I gave him the thumbs up and came through the chute. 3:33:34...good enough to crack the top 50.

I grabbed something to drink and got in the creek with the other runners that had finished before me. It felt really good to cool off in the stream and exchange "war stories" with others. After some time in the water I grabbed a bite to eat and got in line for a massage. Tomorrow was to be another day. The toughest yet of the three. I was looking forward to it.

*Read official race blog and find results and photos for stage two.

Rock/Creek Stage Race: Day 1 Raccoon Mountain 06.17.11

2011-06-17T12:29:00.000-07:00

Start of today's stage one with Randy Whorton addressing the runners. (Photo Chattanooga Stage Race Facebook page)

For weeks, I have been worried about the recent heat we've been experiencing in the Southeast. Record number of days in the 90's this month of June and even back in May. I was anticipating three days of scorching, humid, energy-draining trail running during the Rock/Creek Chattanooga Stage Races, but day one couldn't have been any better. We woke up to temps in the 60's and overcast, and even when we lined up at the start it was still in the 70's with the occasional brief drizzle. Not perfect, but way better than expected. Add to that, today was the so-called "easy" day with 18 miles of rolling terrain without much technical difficulty or major inclines and we have a winner! That's all in store for us tomorrow, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

I've met some great people already. There's about a dozen or so, Tejas trail-runners that are nice as can be and I've also met Tim Waz from Bluffton, SC and owner of Palmetto Running Company (thanks again for the shoes and the shirt, Tim!) We all met in the parking lot, exchanged "good lucks" and lined up at the start. Randy Whorton, the race director, made some announcements and we got started at 8:00am sharp. With only about 500 yards of asphalt to semi-thin the crowd, we bottle necked right away on the single track trail. It took some time to settle an order and even then, it was well over an hour of running before I felt like I had found my spot in the pecking order of things. The trail follows along a dam reservoir with over looks into the valey below. At one point early on, you could look over to our left and see Chattanooga below. You could also look across to the site of tomorrow's stage at Lookout Mountain. The first hour of running was just trying to pull back the reins and not get too fast, but it's hard when you get caught up in the excitement. Once things thinned out, this was harder still. Since the temps were comfortable, I wasn't running out of water and I was still able to maintain a good level hydration. We hit the first aid station and I felt good.

The next few miles went by quick with a small stretch on a gravel jeep road. Normally these stretches get hot, but since it was overcast, we were fine. A couple of guys passed me here, but once we were back on the single track, I stayed with them pretty well. Soon, we hit aid station number two. I try not to spend too much time at the stations. One of the volunteers asked me more than once if I needed my bottle topped off, but I still had more than two-thirds of a bottle and I thought I'd OK. He said, "You sure? It's five miles until the next station." Which made me hesitate, but I decided to go on. Luckily, I didn't have to regret my decision.

From here, we had quite a bit of downhill which was quite a bit of fun and then we hit a section called "the small intestine". And rightly so. It was twisty, windy and covered just a few acres with a few miles of trails. It was in this spaghetti of trails that I took a good spill. My foot caught a root and down I went. I was in a train of runners when it happened and only a couple looked back. I jumped up and caught up with them as quickly as I could. My bib number hung by one safety pin the rest of the race.

Runners started showing some strain and many were dropping back. I did a gut check and asked myself if I was going too fast but I was feeling good and decided to just maintain my pace. I caught up to a couple of the TX runners and soon passed them. Pretty soon, we hit aid station number three.

I didn't stick around. I refilled my bottle, grabbed something to eat and headed out. When I exited, a couple of the guys I had been running with stayed behind. I then also caught up with another runner who had passed me earlier on the gravel road and I soon put distance on him. The rest of the way, I spent it mostly on my own with no one to see ahead of me or behind me. This probably lasted for more than a couple of miles which allowed me to settle into a groove and get my breathing to where it should be. I caught up with Tim and he had decided to ease up since this is really a training weekend for him as he's getting ready for the Arkansas 100 later this year.

Nothing like an ice bath in a trash can.

Things were going well, and I knew there wasn't much left to go. I came upon the race photographer and instead of giving a smooth, strong looking runner to photograph, I almost ate it in front of him. I can't wait to see that one. With about a half mile to go, I came upon another trail runner and when I came up behind him, instead of letting me pass, he picked it up. I thought, "OK, I'll stick with ya." But then we came out onto an ashpalt path and I knew we were almost done. I passed him. I thought he was behind me, but when the finish line was in view, all of a sudden I could feel him trying to sprint by me. For a split second, I thought I'd try to sprint in, but then I thought, "That's stupid. We have two more even longer days still to race. Let this guy go." and I did.

I finished in 2:40 and 38th overall. Not bad, but I hope I didn't cash in all my chips. There's still two more stages. I took an ice bath in a tub and got something to eat. I hung out with other finishers for a while and the gang from Texas and then made my way out. I feel good, but we'll see how it goes tomorrow. Lookout Mountain awaits with lots of climbing and way more technical trails. Until then, happy trails!

Rock/Creek Stage Race Preview

2011-06-13T16:51:00.000-07:00

Only four days to go and I'm chopping at the bit to get started at the first stage of this weekend's Rock/Creek Stage Race. It's three days of challenging running on trails in Chattanooga, Tennessee with a couple hundred of my fellow trailrunning nuts. I've run all kinds of long distance races, but I've never had to string three separate consecutive days of it. The concept is very popular in Europe and the good folks at Wild Trails and Rock/Creek thought that it would be fun to host something similar here in the good ole US of A. Thank you Randy and Kris Whorton, the race directors, for adapting the concept here at home!

Each day gets progressively harder. Day one is 18 miles on and around Raccoon Mountain, home of the Scenic City Trail Marathon in May. Day two is 22 miles on the trails at Lookout Mountain and in the Lula Lake Land Trust claiming an elevation gain of about 2,800 ft. Lastly, day three is 20 miles on Signal Mountain and probably the toughest with the first six miles showing absolutely no mercy to the race participants.

Following are the course maps for all three stages and elevation charts for two of the stages:

Day One - Raccoon Mountain, TN - Friday, June 17, 2011

Day Two - Lookout Mountain, TN/GA - Saturday, June 18, 2011

Day Three - Signal Mountain, TN - Sunday, June 19, 2011

Stay tuned to my blog as I'll try to post daily race recaps starting on Friday. If I can figure out a way to record some video, I'll post that as well. In the meantime, check out this promotional video produced by the race organizers:

Chattanooga Mountains Stage Race: 3 Tough Days of Trail Running from Rock/Creek on Vimeo.

Happy trails!

Cloudland Canyon Fat Ass 04.23.11

2011-04-25T18:14:00.000-07:00

At the top looking down into Cloudland Canyon.

I received an email from Randy Whorton a couple of months ago forwarded by my friend, Roxanne, that described a Fat Ass-style race that was planned for April in Chattanooga. Many of the people addressed in the email are the who's who of ultra running in this area, so it immediately peaked my interest. Randy's the mastermind behind many of the Rock Creek races in Chattanooga and after having personally enjoyed Rock Creek events like the Stump Jump 50K and the Lookout Mountain 50-Miler, I figured I had to check this out. Of course, it didn't hurt when my usual running buddies, Woody and Doug, were also thinking of participating. So we all contacted Randy through Rox and got our names on the list. It's been in ink on my calendar since then.

I love the low-key nature of Fat Ass races and knowing that there were only going to be a handful of runners participating in this run, I was really excited about it. The course was set to start in Cloudland Canyon, a beautiful bluff area in Northwest Georgia, and was to end on the East side of Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga at Randy's house.

Bus ride to start.

Woody picked me up at 4:30am that morning and we headed up to Chattanooga, picking up another friend, Kirk, along the way. Unfortunately, Doug had to pull out almost last minute and couldn't come along. We arrived around 7:00am just in time to get on the school bus that Randy and his wife, Kris had rented to transport us all to the start. I met some great people on the bus, a few runners from Huntsville, AL, one guy who also drove up from the Atlanta area and the rest were all from Chattanooga. There were about sixteen of us total. We didn't see Randy because he went ahead an hour earlier to start marking the course. After stopping at Covenant College near the top of Lookout Mountain to pick up a few more runners, it was a short ride to Cloudland Canyon. Driving in, it was hard to see down into the valley due to the fog, but we would get to enjoy the view a little later on our way back on foot.

Cloudland Canyon

If you ever get a chance to visit Cloudland Canyon near Trenton, Georgia, you should take advantage of it. This gorge area is cut out by the Sitton Gulch Creek and it is spectacular. The state park covers a huge area and the Waterfalls Trail that we would hit to start the race, takes you from the bottom of the gorge along Daniels Creek and by two major waterfalls up to the top.

Great group of runners at start.

The bus dropped us off at the trailhead and after some brief announcements by Kris and a couple of quick photos, we headed out with a very discreet, "OK, you guys can go now.", by Kris. Right away, we were on single track surrounded by newly green forest (it is Spring time) and following the creek upwards. About a mile and a half into the run, we climbed the long 600-step stairway to the top. Nothing like steps to warm up your calves! It reminded me of Amicalola Falls in North Georgia and the long stairway there. On the way up, we took in the waterfalls and once at the top, we enjoyed amazing views into the valley below. You can clearly see the layers of limestone and sandstone along the bluff. It must be amazing in the Fall. So far so good.

Getting ready for creek crossing.

At the top, we took a short overlook trail by some cabins and campers and then made our way out of the park and onto a much more rugged trail, the Backcountry Trail. Now the Backcountry Trail is well blazed with orange markings, but it is obviously not well traveled. The further along this trail we got, the more it was covered in dropped leaves, fallen trees and branches, and overgrown with briars and saplings. We made our way down the opposite side from the overlook and eventually came to a creek crossing. It took a few minutes to find a good spot to cross as the current was pretty strong and the water was about knee deep. I'll always praise my Smartwool socks, no matter how soaked they get they never fail. Anyway, once across, we started slowly climbing back up, but still searching out the orange blaze marks on the trees. The trio of Huntsville runners caught up with us at this point and we would stick together for much of the way from this point forward.

A little blood.

The going was slow because of the lack of an obvious trail on the ground. We would run a few paces, hesitate, look around for the next orange blaze and continue, then repeat. Meanwhile the briars were doing a number on everyone's ankles and shins. We followed the pattern for about four or five miles until we came onto another bluff. We started following blue ribbons and would soon learn that we made a wrong turn somewhere along the line. We hadn't seen any of Randy's flour markings for a while, but we didn't realize it until we ran out of blue ribbons to follow and realized that we were literally in the middle of nowhere with no clear trail or markings to follow. Thankfully, I brought my cell phone and dialed Randy. He came on the line and when I explained what we had done, he was puzzled until I told him that we had kept the bluff to our right and he said that we should have kept it on our left instead. Also, we should have never followed the blue ribbons. Oops! So we gathered up the six of us and headed back to try to find where we turned off and hopefully, pick up Randy's flour markings again. On the way back, we picked up to other runners who had made the same mistake we did. Eventually, we came back to the point where we should have gone in the opposite direction. We probably added about two miles to our day and lost about 40-45 minutes taking the detour. Shit happens!

More killer views.

We came upon another great overlook with wonderful views into the valley below. The scenery is simply beautiful and we were all glad to be rewarded for our efforts with it. From there, we came off the trail and onto an asphalt driveway of sorts. We then turned off of that onto a forest road and through some open fields and eventually dumping out onto a highway. We saw a flour marking on the edge of the road and for some reason we turned left onto the road and began to follow it for a while.

Lookout Scenic Highway

We figured out that we were on Highway 189 and it didn't dawn on any of us that Kris and Randy had made no mention of following a road. We ran on the side of the road facing oncoming traffic and did it out in the open sun. Needless to say, this was my least favorite part of the day, but it didn't occur to any of us to check where we were until we had gone about two miles or so down the road. We kept expecting to see some marker telling us to turn into the woods at any moment. Another phone call to Randy, this time he told us that we should have gone straight across the road and that there were five flour markings showing the way. Somehow we had missed it and it was our bad. I didn't really want to run back the two miles and I was sharing the bad news with Woody when one of the Huntsville runners suggested that we stay on the road because it was going to eventually hit Covenant College and we could hop on the Lookout Mountain Trail and pick up Randy's course from there. All good, but the college was another five or six miles further up the road. Our day of trail running immediately had gained a few miles of asphalt running. Not such a bad thing, but it was clear skies, the sun was out and we were going to miss any water that had been put out for us on the original course. Plus, I was looking forward to revisiting parts of the course from the Lookout Mountain 50-Miler I had done a few months ago which included Nickajack and Lula Lake. Bummer!

View from hangglider launch pad.

There was one highlight running on the road and that was coming upon a handglider launching station from the side of the road. Everything to our left was looking down into Look Valley and there's a drop off a several hundred feet. Handglider newbies and veterans use this launching station to hop off the top and start sailing along the open skies. I tell ya, standing on that launch pad and looking into the valley makes you appreciate that sport. Those guys have some cojones!

Other than that, there's not much to write about for this road running section. We started stringing apart. I ended up running most of the road section with my buddy, Kirk. The girl runner we had picked up earlier at the last detour was picked up by two other runners that had called it a day and hitch hiked back to the college where they had parked there cars and met the bus earlier that morning. Woody and the three Huntsville guys were up ahead and arrived at the college before me and Kirk. We came into the main parking lot at the college, topped off our water bottles and anxiously headed out to find the trailhead for the Lookout Mountain trail.

Lookout Mountain

Woody on Lookout Mtn Trail

I was familiar with this part from the 50-miler race, but even then, we appreciated the help of Mark, a local runner that had started with us that morning but who had also called it a day. He got us on the right trail and it was nice to be off the road. Almost immediately, I felt better now that we had a tree canopy over us again and the trail below our feet. From here to Randy and Kris' house was about ten miles and almost all of it would be downhill. Even though we missed a large section of trail by taking the road, we figured out that we were going to end up with about 31 miles after all. Which made us think that maybe today's course was longer than a 50K and we would later learn this was the case, but more on that later.

Woody and I pulled ahead from Kirk and the Huntsville guys a little bit. The trail along the side of Lookout Mountain is a well traveled single track but it can be a little technical in some spots with plenty of rocks and sharp, sheer drop offs to the left at a couple of spots. We kept running by these huge rock formations and big cliffs with limestone layers on our right. It wasn't long before we started seeing ropes and rock climbing equipment at spots and all we had to do was look up to see climbers enjoying their sport.

Coming down the mountain!

We came to a split in the trail and while we paused to figure out which way to go, the Huntsville guys caught up to us and decided to wait for Kirk who was trailing a little behind. They were debating which way to go but Woody and I decided to take the right trail that continued around the point of Lookout Mountain. They ended up taking the left trail once Kirk caught up to then and they would beat us back to Randy's house that way. Meanwhile, Woody and I made it around the point of Lookout Mountain and started heading down off the mountain ourselves but on the other side. We hit a couple of switchbacks, crossed under a rail line that goes straight up the mountain taking tourists to the top, climbed briefly back up and then descended for good down to a road. We found a stash of water gallon jugs Randy had left the night before and topped off our bottles. I got us to this point from my memory of the Lookout Mountain 50-miler, but from here on we had to check with Randy by phone a few times since we were now ahead of him due to our road detour. With no flour markings to follow, we weren't sure how to finish up the last remaining miles back to his house.

We crossed the road per Randy's instructions and this is where it finally dawned on me that when he says, "It's fairly straight forward from there." What he actually means is, "You are going to bush whack like crazy or make your way through some heavy duty briars or poison ivy." Ha, ha! Man, I think he has a little Dave Horton or Laz in him. Anyway, we ran down what you could barely consider a trail through a bunch of poison ivy until we came upon a slightly more obvious single track, the Glen Falls trail. Once on here, progress was steady again and we came across a really cool waterfall and pool. Woody and I decided to take a break and we took off our shoes and dipped our feet into the greatly alleviating cool water. After a few minutes, we got our shoes back on and continued down the trail. We came out onto a gasline cut out, picked up another trail and finished up the last couple of miles of trail before coming out onto a street that would turn out to be the one that their house was on. Somewhere in that last mile, Woody's Garmin finally died showing 30.6 miles. We figured by the time we got back to the house, we had our 50K in the bag. It took us over seven hours to get it done.

Kris and some of the other runners welcomed us back. We were surprised to see Kirk showered and relaxed, but that's when we found out that the route they took from where we had last seen them was slightly shorter and easier than the way Woody and I had taken. We cracked open some celebratory beers and exchanged some stories with everyone there. We learned that Randy and another runner were still out on the original course and that just about everyone had either taken the road detour by mistake or had cut it short at the college. Kris was super nice to let us use their shower and we hung out for some time on their porch. We were hoping to see Randy return, but we had to get back to Atlanta and had to leave.

All in all, it was a great day of running even though we had that road segment and missed out on a big chunk of trail. We later received an email from Randy explaining that he recalculated the distance and realized that it would have actually been more like a 60K than a 50K, if we had all run the intended route. Oh well, Woody and I were happy with our 31 miles. We'll be back next year to get it done right.

My most sincere gratitude to our wonderful hosts, Randy and Kris. Randy's "straight forward" trail marking and race course were anything, but boring. I also have to put in a nod to our Huntsville running friends, Eric, Rob and Blake, and of course, my running mates, Woody and Kirk. I'm looking forward to doing it again.

Randy Whorton is also the Executive Director of Wild Trails, a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization with a mission to promote the use, protection and expansion of trails in greater Chattanooga. If you'd like to learn more about Wild Trails and how you can support this great cause, check out: www.wildtrails.org.

Duncan Ridge Trail "Fun Run" 03.09.11

2011-03-13T17:32:00.000-07:00

Doug and Woody at the Benton McKaye
and Duncan Ridge trail split.

I started this blog because more than races, I wanted to document trail runs done either alone or with friends that pushed the envelope of just the typical trail run. I still have a long way to go to call myself a true trail runner. There are so many trail runners out West that have access to some of the most rugged climbing, toughest terrain or spectacular scenery in the US. I'll probably never get to experience what they do out there, but I can try. Here in the Southeast, we do have our share of amazing mountain trails. Sure, they're not at 10,000+ feet of elevation, but the grade and the level of technical difficulty is right up there with the best (uh, or worst) of them. A few days ago, I "ran" one of the toughest with two of my regular trail running mates, Doug and Woody. We did the Duncan Ridge Trail in North Georgia.

The Duncan Ridge Trail is a 35+ mile trail that starts near Long Creek at a point where the Appalachian Trail and the Benton McKaye Trail intersect. In fact, it shares the same trail with the Benton McKaye for several miles. It crosses the Toccoa River on a 260 foot suspension bridge and then also crosses state hwy. 60. From there, it goes East where it eventually splits off from the Benton McKaye and then goes along a ridge of several mountain tops and gaps including Coosa Bald. It then connects with the Coosa Backcountry Trail, crosses hwy. 180 at Wolfpen Gap, climbs Slaughter Mountain and finally dead ends into the Appalachian Trail again just South of Blood Mountain. Along the way, it climbs a combined 13,000+ feet with elevation changes between 1,850 ft. and 4,338 ft.

I've had this trail run on my checklist for some time and I was excited that we had finally decided to tackle it. The plan was that we would leave Atlanta early at 4:30am with the hope that we would be on the trail no later than 9:00am. Since this was going to be a point-to-point, we had to take two cars, park one at the base of Blood Mountain near Vogel State Park and then take the other car to Three Forks where the Duncan Ridge Trail started. We managed to make it to the Byron Reese parking lot at the base of Blood Mountain a little after 7:00am. It was raining hard at the time and I would be lying if I said that the rain wasn't concerning. After a quick exchange of gear, we all piled into my Forrester and made our way to Three Forks. To get there, we had to travel several miles of forest service roads, but we finally made it and we were on the trail at about 8:45am. It was raining like crazy.

Crossing the bridge over Toccoa River

Once on the trail, it wasn't long before we hit our first climb of the day. This was to become an all too familiar pattern. I had a hard time in that first hour of running. Maybe I got my heart rate up too fast, but Woody and Doug quickly put a gap on me. It wasn't until they waited for me at the top of the second climb that I was able to get a steady rhythm. The trail was single track and it was saturated. Luckily, it is not well-traveled trail this time of year, so footing wasn't too bad. A few miles in, we hit a long, very runnable (one of the only stretches on the whole trail) section that eventually went down into the valley with the Toccoa River flowing through it. When we made it to the river, we had to take a few pics on the bridge and we grabbed a quick bite. The bridge was built by the Army Corps of Engineers and it was fun to cross. With all the rain, the river was clearly well above its usual water level with lots of white water. This was to be the lowest elevation point on the trail run.

We crossed the bridge and started climbing again. It wasn't too bad, but it was steady. Enough to make us walk for much of the way. We hit a ridgeline for a short bit, then began coming down again. We were surprised to see a couple of cabins and trailers visible from the trail, but soon realized that it was due to being near highway 60 and Suches, GA. We came out on to the road with close to 12 miles on our legs. I don't recall exactly how long it took us to get to this point, but I do know that it would be the quickest 12 miles of the day. What was ahead was going to test our mettle for sure. Although from this point forward, we would enjoy drier conditions with the worst of the rain past us.

Immediately after crossing highway 60, the trail is straight up towards the top of Rhodes Mountain. Who ever blazed this trail did not believe in switch backs. Over and over for the next 17 miles, we would have to go straight up many climbs. The grade at times so bad, that we had to put our hand on our knee and push, just to take the next step. "Running" is loosely defined when talking about trail running the rest of the way. Because even though there was a downhill after every summit, it was the type of descending that made your quads scream with pain.

Crispy fried trail

About four or five miles in, the Benton McKaye Trail split off and we headed east away from it, still going along a ridge with steep inclines and descents. Soon we would pass Mulky Gap and here's where the terrain became interesting. Apparently, there had been a forest fire in the area not too long ago and we ran through a black, charred forest for several miles. Everything on both sides of the trail was just black and sooty. The previous autumn's leaves were all gone and little was untouched by the fire. I don't know when it happened, but at times you could still smell the burnt vegetation all around us.

In this part of the run, we came across a strange knot in a tree that looked like a face. Woody had run much of this trail previously and had alerted us that it was a strange site. We nicknamed it "treeface". YOu can clearly see two eyes, a nose and a flat smile. Bizarre! We left "treeface" behind and we would soon hit the worst of the day's climbs. Doug, who was cranking along with Woody some paces ahead of me, all of a sudden hit the wall. He let me go in front of him and for the next several miles and climbs, I would be turning back to cheer him on. Meanwhile, I was hitting a wall of my own. At a point where the trail met up with forest road 39, we took a moment to gather ourselves and eat something. I had brought peanut butter and honey sandwiches on cinnamon raisin whole wheat bread. Delish! And just what I needed. What was coming would need every extra calorie I could put into my body.

Doug and me with "treeface"

We climbed Wildcat Knob thinking it was Coosa Bald, but it wasn't. I'm not exaggerating when I describe this climb as straight up. Seriously steep climb! Once over the top, we were hoping to see the connection with the Coosa Backcountry Trail which would have meant we had gone over Coosa Bald, but there was no trail connection and after a short stint on a saddle ridge, we did begin the climb to Coosa Bald. Holy shit! This one was rough. Woody was doing fine, but this climb broke me and Doug. We were both seriously struggling. It seem to never end. It just kept going up and up. Remember, we had already done our share of climbing all day, so this one took it out of us. We thought we'd never get to the top. After what seemed like an eternity, we finally saw the granite outcroppings that mark the top of Coosa Bald (4,280 ft.) We didn't stop to enjoy it. We just wanted to get over it and hook up with the Coosa Backcountry Trail knowing that we had a mile or two of easier downhill running down to Wolf Pen Gap where we had left a gallon jug of water earlier that morning when we drove by. The run down allowed Doug and I to get our strength back some what. We arrived into Wolf Pen Gap and sat down to refill our bottles and grab another bite. We were tired. 30 miles into it and we knew we had one last doozy of a climb up to just below the summit of Slaughter Mountain and then an easier section leading up to Blood Mountain.

When we started the day, we gave ourselves eight hours to finish the entire run, but we realized this was not going to be the case. Sitting at Wolf Pen Gap, we were already eight hours in. We gathered our stuff, threw our hydration packs back on and started the climb to Slaughter Mountain. From Wolf Pen Gap, we would go about 1,000 feet again straight up with a couple of small switchbacks. Some where on this climb, Woody noticed that his Garmin died. The elevation charge you see on this page is of the run up until this point. Click here to view what the Garmin captured to this point.

Top of Blood Mountain

Up, up and up until we leveled off some what and soon the trail broke off from the Coosa Backcountry Trail. We knew there wasn't much left until it hit the Appalachian Trail again. Much of the jokes and laughter had stopped much earlier. At this point, we were just wanting to get up to Blood Mountain and down the other side to the car as quickly as possible. Also for the first time, we realized that we might have to run in the dark before we made it to the car. We came upon the Appalachian Trail unceremoniously. We put the Duncan Ridge Trail behind us and the trail on the AT changed to a rockier single track than what we had been running on all day. The approach to the Blood Mountain summit from the southside is much tamer than from the northside. It wasn't long before we reached the stone shelter built back in the 1930's and then soon after we made it to the top at 4,458 feet. The tallest point of the day and also tallest point of the Appalachian Trail in Georgia. The fog and clouds were thick and visibility was poor at the top. There wasn't much to see unfortunately.

We gladly began the descent but it was to be the hardest descent of the whole day. The descents earlier in the day were steep, but the trail wasn't technical in the sense that you didn't have to pick up your feet much. However, the descent off Blood Mountain was not only steep, but you had to step down from large rocks and our legs were pretty chewed up. Adding to this was the mud and overflowing creek water from the rains earlier that morning. Progress was slow which was killing us because we were ready to get it done. It was slowly becoming dark too.

I had brought a couple of headlamps, which I let Woody use one of them. Except he wasn't having trouble with the dark and soon got ahead of me and Doug. When we hit the side trail that led to the Byron Reese parking lot we were thrilled. This was it, the last mile of the day and finally some runable trail. The rain had started again and we did cross some creeks on the way down to the parking lot. One switchback, then another, and we were getting excited again. Finally, we heard Woody "woot!" and we knew were back at the car almost 36 miles later and countless feet of climbing and descending. Ten and a half hours of the
Duncan Ridge Trail left a mark on us.

Doug had brought a cooler with some of his home brewed lager. We toasted, drank and busily changed into drier clothes. Here's my Dailymile post from that evening:

"Epic. Is that too strong a word? Memorable. OK, that's more appropriate. Wow! What a day? Woody, Doug and I ran the Duncan Ridge trail in N. Georgia. "Run" is loosely defined term here. It was more like run/hike/crawl. Mother nature handed it to us with rain, wind and fog. The DR trail is a beast of a trail. We hit insane climbs (13,000+ ft.) and quad-busting downhills. It took us a lot longer than intended, but we got it done. Now we are on our way to a grande Mexican meal and a cold one."

These types of runs is why I started this blog. Thanks to my running mates, Woody and Doug, for another trail adventure to remember.

DNF=Do Nothing Foolish: Black Warrior 50K 02.19.11

2011-02-22T18:30:00.000-08:00

Me and Woody before the start of the Black Warrior 50K

I already wasn't feeling all that hot when the lights went out to go to sleep, but through out the night, I kept getting up and going to the bathroom. More than once, the thought went through my head, "How the hell am I going to run 31 miles tomorrow, if I keep feeling like this?" I don't know, maybe it was self-defeating from that moment on, but there was a part of me that was stubborn enough to line up at the start no matter what. With family life, the opportunity to get away for a weekend to run a race is precious indeed, so I didn't want to miss the opportunity. Not to mention, I love this shit! I love the atmosphere pre-race. I love the excitement of the start. I love the thrill of getting through the crowd and finding the pecking order on the trail. On and on, I love it all.

Next morning, the alarm goes off and Woody and I get ready to go and pack up our stuff. We grab some of the free hotel breakfast (I had some cereal and barely any of it), get the car and hit the road on the way to Brushy Lake National Park near Moulton, Alabama for the Black Warrior 50K. Within an hour, we were there picking up our numbers and going through the typical pre-race rituals.

My stomach was killing me and I was filling weak. I wanted to blame it on the previous night's dinner at Ruby Tuesday's (yeah, there's not much in Cullman, AL), but I knew I had caught something viral and it decided to rear its ugly head this weekend of all weekends.

Woody was looking sharp and he was doing a little sandbagging. "I don't know. I don't really feel fit for this race. I think I might just go out hard and see how it goes." Well, he would do alright in the end.

We headed to the start which was at on a concrete bridge that was where the park road asphalt ended and a gravel road started going up an incline. We were to head up the gravel road on that uphill.

Phillip Parker near finish of the 1992 Western States 100

The race director yelled out some last minute instructions and some one took a minute to let us know about Phillip Parker. Phillip Parker is a local ultra-running legend and he passed away last year. There was a great memorial of sorts back at the starting area with a bunch of news clippings of his accomplishments over 30 years of running including a really cool photo of him near the finish at Western States 100 back in 1992. The race was run in his honor this year. A prayer was said.

I gave Woody a pat on the back as he headed for the front. Soon we were off and up the hill. Right away, I was feeling a rumbling in my stomach. I tried to ignore it and did a few surges up the hill just to test how I was feeling and it wasn't good. People around me were going through the normal shifting of position since we had more than two miles before hitting the actual single track trail.

I was really looking forward to this race. I'd run 50K's in Alabama before but this was a different part of the state. This park is known for its horse back riding trails with most of it single track and some double track. Past participants have always made mention of the mud and the many small creek crossings. There's rolling hills but no major climbs and not much as far as technical rooty or rocky terrain. I would later learn that the mud was pretty vicious. Woody apparently had one of his shoes sucked right off his foot. He noticed it about three strides later and had to go back and scoop his shoe out. Anyway, it sounded like a fun course that allowed for some speed.

As we neared the trail, I started to shake my head and I knew that if I continued I would be in trouble. Sure, I could pull off on the trail and take care of business, but dehydration was a concern. I toyed with the thought of changing to the 25K. Surely, I could run for a little over two hours and be OK. But somewhere on the third mile after only being on the actual trail for less than 10 minutes, I knew I had to call it a day. DNF. Yes, that's the dreaded "Did Not Finish", but in this case I thought it was "Do Nothing Foolish". I could continue, but this wasn't even challenging in that I'll-stick-it-out-even-if-my-collar-bone-is-broken kind of heroism. I stepped aside and let everyone behind me go by.

Woody finishing strong!

It took a few minutes until the trail was clear and I started walking back. The sweepers came up and they were kind enough to stop and make sure I was alright. I just let them know that I'd be OK and that I was going to walk back on my own. Back at the gravel road, I did happen to catch a ride with one of the volunteers returning from one of the other aid stations. And once back at the parking area, I let the finish line folks know that #26 was done. That way, they didn't have to keep track of me. I grabbed some water, took care of business and immediately felt better, but I knew I still made the right choice. I found a spot near the finish where I could enjoy the sunshine and waited for the finishers to arrive.

The 25K winner came in at a blazing 1:44 finishing time and he looked like he could have run another 25K. Turns out that was what he had initially planned to do, but he had run the Mercedes Marathon the week before and changed his mind after feeling out his legs on the course. Most of the rest of the 25K participants finished before the 50K winner showed at just under four hours. Amazing, I can't imagine running a 50K in less than four hours! Not long afterwards, local Alabama ultra-legend Dwayne Satterfield came in for second. Then third place came in. I had looked down for a moment when I heard, "Here comes another one!" I looked up and it was Woody coming around the bend towards the finish! Holy crap! I almost didn't get my camera up in time to snap a shot. He finished fourth in under 4:30. I was so happy for him. Very cool!

When Woody came in, we got him something to eat and then he cleaned up. He had a nasty blister that had rubbed raw on his achilles from his shoe. He picked up his tech finisher shirt and we said good-bye to a few people and headed out. Good day for Woody, not so hot day for me. Yeah, I DNF'd, but I did nothing foolish.

GUTS Fat Ass 50K 01.09.11

2011-01-12T18:10:00.000-08:00

Sean Oh captured this great photo of me. Thanks Sean!

A race that's not a race...that's what a "fat ass" race is supposed to be. But you and I both know that's hardly the case. There's always going to be some level of competitiveness, even if friendly. This year's GUTS Fat Ass 50K was going to be a little different. Turns out that after many years of hosting this race from the GUTS club president's house, it was going to a new location for 2011. This year's race was held at Sweetwater Creek State Park.

This would change the race from a four 8-mile loop course to a six 5-mile loop course. The new course would follow the Blue and White blazed trails at Sweetwater and would give us runners a little of everything along the way from winding, single track to technical rocky stuff to sandy, washed out creek beds to gravely, jeep roads. All while running through dense forest and by a beautiful rushing creek.

There is a 50K at Sweetwater Creek State Park every year called the SweetH20 50K and it usually takes place in May. But the Fat Ass doesn't take the participants on much of that race's course including the dreaded Top of the World. I ran that race in 2009 and if you want to catch up on that adventure, click here.

Runners gathering pre-race (Photo by Susan Donnelly)

I rode out to the race with my buddy Woody and we would run much of the race together. We all gathered inside a picnic pavillion at the park that had a nice roaring fire. You see, it was pretty darn cold outside and we were all huddled waiting to get out in it. Suddenly we heard, "OK runners, seven minutes to start. Get ready!" We stumbled on out and bunched up waiting for further instructions. It went something like this, "bla, bla, bla...OK now go!" It took us all a second, but finally someone stepped out and the rest of us followed.

It's funny how quickly everyone fell into the proper pecking order. For most of the race, I did little passing and few passed me. Here's kind of how each loop went:

Loop one: We ran down a road for a short distance and were soon on the Blue blazed trail at the park which is mostly single track going through the woods. I was running with Woody, Ryan and about three other guys from GUTS. We all kind of stuck together on this loop. We passed the mill ruins by the water then headed down towards the creek after climbing down some steep trail and a set of stairs. Then we ran along side the creek on some technical stuff, climbed over a couple of large boulders, passed another creek and a little lake and then started climbing. Now normally this climb is not too bad, but it deserves honorable mention here as this little climb would get tougher and tougher on every loop. It's called Jack's Hill. It's only about a three quarters of a mile, but the grade is just hard enough to sneak up on you. I was able to run up it this time, but it would it take me by the end. We were all still more or less together at this point as we wound our way back on some single track for the last mile to the aid station or start/finish area. We strolled into the aid station, grabbed a couple of PBJ sandwich quarters and Coke and headed back out.

Portion of the trail by the creek. (Photo by Susan Donnelly)

Loop two: Started this loop still with Woody, Ryan and a few others from the first loop but we would break up on the second time up Jack's Hill. Woody dropped me and I some how got separated from Ryan and his buddy. I came into the aid station still feeling pretty good. My friend Spurgeon came in and after quickly refueling, he headed out like a bat out of hell and I somehow knew I wanted to stay on his ass. Woody, who had come in to the station before me, stayed behind changing into some different gear.

Loop three: I got on Spurgeon's heels for the first part of this loop and ultra/triathlete badass Jen Vogel was also with us for the first couple of miles. Jen and I were chatting while Spurgeon was busy putting the hammer down and we were just trying to keep up. We lost Jen some where by the creek and Spurgeon was on a mission. As he put it, "I'm running four loops hard. It's not my fault they made them shorter!" He was referring to the old Fat Ass, of course. On Jack's Hill, I managed to catch up with Spurgeon and pass him. I stayed ahead of him until the aid station. I never saw Woody on this loop.

Loop four: Once again chased Spurgeon out of the station for this loop. We hit the blue trail pretty hard and soon Spurgeon started putting some distance on me. By the time I was by the creek again, Spurgeon was long gone. I was also wondering where Woody was since he's faster than me and I was thinking he would have caught me. Sure enough, right before I started the climb at Jack's Hill, here he came looking fresh as a daisy even after the effort of trying to catch me. He tried to stay with me but it wasn't long before he was putting distance on me too. he got to the aid station before me and waited up to run the fifth loop with me. Spurgeon was just coming out of the station when we cam ein and we would soon catch him again on the fifth loop.

Loop five: Starting to hurt a little at this point. Woody kept saying this would be the worse loop because the sixth loop would be the last one and we would be excited to get it done. It wouldn't be the worst one for me, that would definitely be the sixth loop, but it was good thinking. We ran together for most of the loop except for the last mile or so where Woody went on ahead and I some how had caught up to Spurgeon again. We came in to the aid station together. I was really happy to see my wife and my son who had made it out to watch me finish. I kissed them both and headed out for the last loop.

Me and my family at the finish.

Loop six: By this loop, I was definitely feeling it. I tried to run with Woody but he soon was gone and I ended up doing this loop mostly by myself. Spurgeon had left the aid station before me and I would never see him again. The inclines that were no big deal on the first few loops were taking it out of me on this loop. I was averaging some where around 50 minutes per loop until I hit this one which took me over an hour. I struggled up Jack's Hill and did my best to finish up. I turned off the last bit of trail, up the road and into the finish. There smiling and waiting for me were my wife, my son and Woody. High fives all around!

I later found out that I squeaked into the top ten in tenth place by finishing in 5:41. Not a PR, but definitely one of my better 50K times. A lot of faster GUTS runners either only ran a few loops (a Half Ass) or they were taking it easy in training for something bigger down the road. It was fun to run with friends and especially Woody and Spurgeon.

Kudos to the GUTS gang and volunteers for sticking it out in the cold to host yet another fantastic event! My family and I left the park after changing into some dry clothes and I replaced some calories at Cracker Barrel. Yum, chicken and dumplings! Turns out that's pretty tasty recovery food.

Next race: Black Warrior 50K in February!

Coming Down the Mountain: Lookout Mountain 50 Miler 12.18.10

2010-12-19T18:09:00.000-08:00

Just before the start of the race.

My friend Kena dropped me off near the start with about twenty minutes to spare before the race was set to begin. I checked my gear, put my number on, answered a nature call and lined up with everyone. I saw Roxanne and gave her a big hug to wish her luck. A few short announcements and one of the RD's unceremoniously said, "Go!", and we were off. One hundred and fifty or so trail runners heading out on the Lookout Mountain 50 Miler. So it began.

It had rained much of the week leading up to the race with a couple of days of freezing rain and sub-freezing temperatures. I kept looking at the weather forecast and clinged to the good news of clear skies and above freezing temperatures for race day. Thankfully, the day before was clear and warm enough to where the trail recovered from the water and ice for race day. Except for some spots, it really was not an issue although much of the trail was well covered in leaves and made it hard to make out the rocks and roots below.

And they're off. (photo from race Flickr site)

I tried to layer smart for the race. After much deliberation, I went with tights that morning and was glad I did. I had a singlet on underneath with a short sleeve layer and then a long sleeve top layer. With gloves and my winter cap, that was perfect. I also deliberated on whether to carry a hand held water bottle or to go with a hydration bladder pack. The race organizers had emphasized self-sustainment with the hydration that it was a matter of concern, but I ended up going with the hand held and it turned out to be the right choice. The first aid station was eight miles into the race, but the rest of the aid stops along the way would only be four to seven miles apart. Just enough distance to get to the bottom of my bottle before needing a refill.

The first 22 miles of the course took us on the north side of Lookout Mountain with the first 6 or 7 miles following this amazing bluff with an incredible view of the valley and also Chattanooga down below. We would run with these large rock formations jutting upwards about 50-80 feet on our right, but with these drop offs on the left where if we took one wrong step, well, let's just say that you may not be around to tell the story to your trail running buddies. We cruised along with everyone trying to find their pecking order for the first half of the day. I would end up keeping a local runner, named Kathleen, within sight for much of this section and I would see her quite a bit later in the race. We cruised down the bluff, going below the Lookout Mountain tourist overlook and then making our way down to a gravel service road as we neared the first aid station.

Coming Down the Mountain

As conservative as I thought I was trying to be, my pace was fast. Much of this due to the excitement of the start, of course, and then because of the long stretches of downhill trail. Once past the first aid station, we continued to go down until we ran along a creek for a distance until we eventually hit aid station #2 around mile 15. Now if you take a look at the elevation profile, you would quickly notice that one of the toughest sections of the course was soon to come. After refueling at the aid stop, I paired up with another local runner named Yoli. We ran together for a ways and then we hit the climb. She let me know that the local trail runners had named this climb, "Big Daddy" and there would be no guess work as to why. It went straight up with the trail cutting through a power line section and then through more of the woods, eventually hitting a series of switch backs. Up and up it went with the ridge line getting closer and closer.

Coming out of the tree line, we came out into a clearing and some school soccer fields. After crossing the road, we were back at the start/finish area. I was glad to see Kena and Tom. I rode up with Kena the day before and she was also there to cheer on her good friend Perry who was running the 50-miler. Tom had run the 10K that morning and was now in dry clothes and cheering us on as well. I had not planned to have a crew for this race, but these guys would soon proved to be an improptu crew for me and I couldn't be more appreciative. Anyway, I came in at around 4 hours on my watch and was at mile 22. Needless to say, things were going very well and if I could hold this pace, I would easily break 10 hours. But as usual in ultras, you go out fast and you pay for it later.

I left the start/finish area and headed down the trail on the southside of Lookout Mountain. This trail would wind down towards a creek, come out into a muddy powerline section and then go back into the woods for a long, descent to the Lula Lake aid station at mile 28. For this section, I mostly ran by myself except for occasionally catching a glimpse of another runner some yards out in front of me. It was nice to get in my own groove and not feel like chasing anyone or feel like someone was breathing down my neck. When I came into the aid stop, the sun was out and things were looking good at this point. Scarfed down some boiled potatoes, topped off the water bottle and headed out.

View from ridge. (photo by Perry Sebastian)

The next six miles to the next aid stop would be quite the rollercoaster with several changes in terrain. I followed a creek for a while, then a woodsy, rolling section, then along what look like some kind of bird sanctuary area that spit you out at Lula Falls. Here I had to stop and take in the view. Lula Falls is beautiful and even with the icicles on the edges of the falls, the water was rushing down into the gorge below. From here, I could look up to the other side and see where we had come from down the trail earlier. Leaving the falls behind, I was with other runners again and together we tackled a short but very steep section that some one had laid out ropes for us to use. Past the climb, we would come out on to a ridge with great views. We followed the ridgeline for a couple of miles until we then had to descend again. again, we ended up down by a creek and the trail wound its way along it.

Lula Falls

It was at this point that I started wondering about the lead runners coming at me. Sure enough, within a few minutes here came the leader. He looked really good and fresh. It wasn't hard to guess that he would hold onto to his lead. We exchanged words of encouragement and it would be a while before I saw the second place runner.

Soon enough, I came to the aid station at mile 34. I was hurting a bit at this point. I saw Kena and Tom again and Tom would have a grilled cheese sandwich waiting for me. This dude saved my life the year before at the Pine Mountain 40 Miler and here he was doing it again. That sandwich was awesome! He told me he would have another one for me when I came by next. Just the thing to get me going!

The next section was a 4-5 mile loop that wound back to the same aid stop. It was on this loop I had a bit of a bonk moment. I somehow was running along with kathleen who I had run with earlier in the day and we were both feeling it. The first half of the loop is mostly an incline and that didn't help. Then the second half of that short loop was tricky footing along a creekside trail that someone had named Scrawny Trail, but I swear it had nothing scrawny about it. I was looking forward to getting off this loop and was thinking of Tom's grilled cheese sandwich. I reached the aid station again and claimed my prize.

I was at mile 38 or so. Just 12 or so to go, but now I knew the terrain and I knew that there was quite a bit of climbing left to do. Also, my pace had dropped off considerably from earlier in the race. Still, mentally I was in good spirits despite the tough moment experienced on the short loop. I left the aid station, and Kena and Tom, munching on my sandwich. Once back on the trail, I just focused on timing my running and walking right. I eventually got back on the ridge top and followed it down to the short, steep drop. I once again ran by Lula Falls and was soon back at the aid station at Lula Lake. Ah, just six more miles to go.

I chatted with the folks at the aid stop for a minute while I ate some more potatoes and had some Coke (the best ultra race drink ever, period). When leaving the aid stop this time, I wasn't paying attention and I started running up a gravel road. I was going along for a few minutes when I realzied that we never came down this road earlier on the approach to the Lula Lake aid station. You hate to admit this to yourself after you've been running for so many hours, but I had to retrace my steps until I was almost back at the aid stop again. I saw where the markers pointed up the trail and I got back on course. It sucks to lose time like that but it's all part of the experience.

Just finished and checking out the swag.

Up and up I went. This other runner I had seen earlier caught up to me and passed me and I would focus on keeping him in my sights for as long as possible. Daylight was also starting to fade and it became my goal to finish before dark. I was gonna cut it close. I did alot of walking at this point, mainly due to the climbing. I kept thinking I would come out into the muddy powerline section soon, but with every turn of the trail I would be disappointed. I kept that other runner in view and eventually I could see the clearing. a few more steps and I was out in the open again onto the powerline cut out. The sun was going down and I had to turn on my headlamp. So much for finishing before dark, but I knew I was almost there. The trail left the powerline and back into the woods along the creek we ran by earlier. Another climb and I could see lights. I knew I was close. I looked back and I could see two headlamp beams coming up behind me. I made it my mission to not let them catch me. I pushed on that last mile and I was glad to come out onto the road where the finish area was located. I could see the finish line and I looked back again. I could still see the two headlamp beams but they were still on the trail and a bit farther down the hill. I was good to go. As I neared the finish, I noticed the clock was nearing 10:30. 10:29:50... 10:29:51... 10:29:52... I grit my teeth. 10:29:56... 10:29:57... 10:29:58... Almost there. 10:29:59... Nope. I ended up finishing in 10:30:05.

I was happy with that time. I came in to the race thinking I would run somewhere between 10 to 11 hours and I basically split it right down the middle. Earlier in the day when I came in to mile 22 at around 4:00, I contemplated a sub-10 hour time, but I knew I would pay for the pace on the first half. No negative split on this race. Not even close. Still, I was really happy with the run and I felt that I managed a good race for the most part.

I carried my Blackberry during the race and I shot out a few tweets. It was great to have other tweeps posting words of encouragement. My phone would chime repeatedly during the race and I knew it was another person cheering me on. It really did keep me going. I want to recognize those folks here: @cathicannon @jamieofthenorth @reallynotarunnr @tpcleary @MASlife @ekalifeh @marathondan @OTD_Colonel @julierje @BikeBeerBBQ @KevinSchraer @runnerteri @chamiltongt @hak42 @mogliaiken @AeRoss @oreo_drama @perseid88 @running_drew @PayneDave @twittyRUN @g_monee @ChuckJohnstone @SEB1119 @trailheadmarmot @SamanthaUF @Mountainman60 @jabaugrad @Bamarunner @DarthHelix @runnergoslow @goingforgoofy @octrailgirl11 @nicobrx @masonham @RunAroundATL @jsneads @GeorgiaSnail @runnersl @Dinkruns @Broadwayrunclub @goldentrails @UltraRunnerBren @Runjohnrun @luckeywinters @tradshad @sarahstanley and @laidbacklbc. Thanks you guys!

My friend Roxanne would come in fourth female and finished the course over an hour ahead of me. It was good to see her. She would later let me know that she wasn't in it mentally this time. The great thing about racing is that there's always the next one.

Big thanks to Kena and Tom, they were awesome support! Also props to Perry who ended up pulling out of the race after he rolled his ankle and had to walk on it for almost eight miles.

Lastly, major kudos to the folks at Rock Creek for yet another top notch race. These guys know what they're doing and I recommend any of their races. Oh, and the race swag was amazing: Patagonia tech tee, TNF arm warmers, TNF fleece headband, Lookout Mtn 50 pint glass and even a complimentary race day photo.

P.S. Check out the blog write up by the women's winner, Sarah Woerner: http://sarahsrunsandotherstuff.blogspot.com/2010/12/lookout-50-milerto-run-or-not-to-run.html

And also check out this cool little video the folks at Wild Trails put together about the Lookout Mountain 50 Miler: http://vimeo.com/18450406

Winter Running: Woody's Birthday Run

2010-12-10T17:21:00.000-08:00

On the Art Loeb trail in the Pisquah National Forest area

For some time now, it has become almost a tradition to run as many miles as years turned during our birthdays. In our group of friends/runners, we each have attempted this in the last few years. Of course, this becomes harder the older we all get. Last year I posted on this blog my birthday run for my 39th birthday and earlier this year I posted a run we attempted for my friend, Doug's birthday as well.

Now it was my buddy Woody's turn again. In 2008, Woody and I drove up to northeast Georgia and ran 29 miles from War Woman Dell to the top of Rabun's Bald, the third highest point in Georgia, and back. Even though it was December, we were lucky enough to enjoy very mild temperatures at the time. Although at one point, it seemed like we ran through a monsoon, it was raining so heavily.

Fast forward to a few days ago and we were set back by inclement weather for this, his 31st birthday run. When we marked the day on our calendar, little did we know that we would have record low temperatures in our part of the country.

Woody in action.

Being the birthday boy, Woody picked out the location for his birthday run attempt of 31 miles. it would be the Shining Rock Wilderness in Pisquah National Forest near Brevard, NC. A group of five of us would set out to run and hike the 31 miles of trails that Woody had picked out in this very scenic area.

We left Atlanta and headed up to North Carolina at 4:00 am and it took us over three hours to arrive at the trail head. Once we arrived, we knew we were in trouble due to the very cold temperatures. We got out of the car to get ready, but within minutes, all of us sat back in the car and got our wits about us. It was freaking cold! There was a light snow covering everywhere, but we would soon learn the trail was frozen over too.

After a few minutes and also the mandatory photos, we finally hit the trail at about 9:00am. It was slow going. The week before had seen alot of rain and now this water was frozen over on the trail. There were long segments of it that were completely frozen over with 2-4 inches of ice. On top of that, the first two or so miles of trail from the car to the top of the ridge was a hefty climb. We would be going from around 4,500 feet to the mid 5,000 feet and eventually topping 6,000 feet of elevation. All the while, minding the ice underfoot.

We realized in the first hour that we had only covered about three miles of trail. Granted, we had stopped a few times, but this was slow progress and it wouldn't take a genius to realize that covering the desired 31 miles in this terrain would be a bit ambitious. Still we carried on along the Mountains to Sea Trail until it connected with the Art Loeb trail. We could tell that it was probably some wonderful single track, but not in these conditions. Along the way, we did manage to find a couple of overlooks where we enjoyed some wonderful scenery. At one point, we had a clear view of Looking glass Rock, a large rock outcropping in the middle of the wilderness.

We stayed within the treeline until we crossed the Blue Ridge Parkway and made our way towards Black Balsam Knob (6,214 feet) and Tennent Mountain (6,040 feet). on the approach of these two summits, we were out in the open and facing an incredibly bitter wind from the North. It was a complete catch-22 situation. here we were in this incredibly beautiful setting for trail running with majestic views, but it was too damn cold and windy to fully appreciate it all. We did what we could to trudge through it and manage to get to the south side of Tennent Mountain and out of the wind. We reached the bottom of the trail on the opposite side and had a chance to regroup.

As the day went on and the sun made its way across the sky, temperatures did manage to improve. We ran down a water soaked trail and after a steep climb and momentarily getting off the path, we made our way back to the point where we crossed the Blue Ridge Parkway. A short while later, we were back on the Mountains to Sea trail. The original plan was to continue along some ridge lines that were off shoots of the Art Loeb trail, but we adjusted our route and decided to cut it short. If we stayed out there, we were putting ourselves in unnecessary peril. This was supposed to be a fun run and we wanted to keep it that way. So, we made our way back down the trail towards the car. At one point, we found an overlook we missed on the way out. The wind here was nonexistent and we were rewarded with an amazing view towards the south of the rest of the valley and other Appalachian scenery. it was spectacular. The photos here do not make it justice. We took a break, ate something and took in the view. After a while, we got back on the trail and finished up the run.

A short while later, we were back at the car. We had been out there for just about six hours and only covered about fifteen miles. normally, we would have covered that same route in little less than three hours, but the conditions were such that it was not to be on this day. Still, for all the rough going, we had a great time and definitely enjoyed ourselves. mainly due to the camaraderie (we laughed alot) and the incredible scenery of the Shining Rock Wilderness. We will definitely have to go back up there when the weather is better.

I had brought a bottle of champagne, which I popped open and poured out some for everyone. After toasting, we changed into dry, warm clothes and headed down to Waynesville for some burgers and beer. Woody would make up his 30 miles a few days later, but we had a good time trying to do it in North Carolina. I hope to see that part of the country soon enough.

Winter Running: Aller courir en Geneve (Running in Geneva)

2010-12-10T16:38:00.000-08:00

10-ish Mile Run in Geneva Switzerland.

Yeah, yeah, I know. I've been slacking with my running blog. But hey, you're reading it now, so let me get to tell you some recent running adventures.

Last week, my wife and I were overseas in Geneva. She had to be there for work and I had vacation days to burn, so I tagged along. Neither of us had been there before, or even to Switzerland at all, but we were both pleasantly surprised. Geneva is a multi-cultural, multi-lingual city on the west end of the country which puts it closest to France.

You can't walk a block in this city without hearing atleast three different languages. Very cool! I love the emphasis the Swiss obviously place on pedestrians. There's not a meter in this town that doesn't have a sidewalk and they also cater to cyclists with kilometers of bicycle lanes all over town. We could learn a thing or two over here.

Anyway, while we were there, the city got pounded by some major snow. Apparently, the average high during this time of year in Geneva is in the mid-40's and conditions tend to be dry. However, the average temperature while we were there was in the low 30's and there was snow and ice on the ground the entire week.

Running in Geneva was very enjoyable despite the weather. I was able to experience some really nice urban running including some jaunts along the lake and river that go through the city. I also discovered short segments of trail in a couple of riverside parks. Best of all, because of all the snow, I ran in what seem like a winter wonderland with white landscapes everywhere.

Here are my Dailymile posts for the week:

Monday, November 28: Running in Geneva #1 4.6 mi 00:48 10:26 pace

Day two in Geneva, Switzerland but first run. Ventured for a short run from the hotel and had a slow pace going due to the snow and slush, and because I was not sure where I was going. Some how managed to run by the Palais du Nacions Unites (United Nations Palace) and even happened by the US Embassy. Pretty cool! More ambitous run planned for tomorrow along Lake Geneva. I hope the weather cooperates.

Tuesday, November 29: Running in Geneva #2 7.47 mi 01:08 09:06 pace

Set out to run longer but I'm realizing Geneva is actually not that big. Ran along Lake Geneva and the Le Rhone River for a bit and lucked upon a trail through a riverside park. It's still cold and I had to watch out for some ice patches but all in all, I enjoyed the run. I just need to figure out a way to add more miles on the next one. Maybe tomorrow. Au revoir!

Wednesday, December 1: Running in Geneva #3 7.97 mi 01:16 09:32 pace

I wanted to go further explore the trail system I came across yesterday but we got over a foot of snow last night and it was still snowing when I headed out the door for my run. I figured the trails would be whited out and it would be prudent to stick to the roads. I decided to see if I could get away from Geneva to see what I would find and I was rewarded. I ran through the township areas of Pregny and Chambesy and found wonderful semi-rural roads with great views of white Swiss countryside and little villages. It was a bit technical with the snow but they not only plow the roads here but also the sidewalks. When I made it back to the hotel, I had ice and snow hanging from my eyebrows and beard. Great run!

Thursday, December 2: Running in Geneva #4 9.82 mi 01:30 09:09 pace

Bon jour! Still lots of snow on the ground and I had to watch for some icy patches but it wasn't too bad to run on for the most part, plus it was sunny. I decided to piece to gether some of my previous runs in the last couple of days and add some new parts. At one point I crossed L'Avre River and I had to climb up a trail on top of an overlook that when looking north across the river, I had a great view of much of the city. I only have two more days here and I'm gonna miss it. There's actually a big 10K here on Saturday called L'Escalanade, but it starts at 10am and our flight is at 11am. I don't think I'll make it. That just leaves tomorrow for a run. Au revoir.

Friday, December 3: Running in Geneva #5 5.72 mi 00:53 09:15 pace

Last run in Geneva. Woke up to the coldest temps yet this week and this caused the stuff that melted yesterday to freeze. Footing was tricky. I did wipe out once but luckily with no consequences. I decided to go back through Pregny and Chambesy this morning. Tried a couple new roads and was pleasantly surprised with an awesome overlook where you could see Lake Geneva and even the Alps in the distance. Pregny is also an area where many embassies are located. I ran by the good old US of A, but also ran by the Russian, S.Korean, Chec Republic, Bulgarian and Cuban embassies. I'm sure they are all a buzz today with the Wikileaks news. Anyway, great week of running in Switzerland. I hope to be back some day...maybe the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc, wishful thinking.

All in all, it was a great week. I would love to go back in the summer and really take advantage of some alpine trails for running. Who knows, maybe one day I can make it back there for the infamous Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc. That's Mont Blanc right smack in the middle of the photo to the left. It is about 20 minutes outside of town by train. Until then, I will look back fondly on a nice week that allowed me to switch it up for a bit and get away from the routine. Au revoir!

Rollercoaster of Love (Stump Jump 50K 10.2.10)

2010-10-03T16:09:00.000-07:00

"Rollercoaster of love. Say what? Rollercoaster, Yeah (ooh ooh, ooh ooh) Rollercoaster of love. Can you get off our love rollercoaster?" ~The Ohio Players

Me, Doug and James at start of Stump Jump 50K

Why am I opening with a song lyric from a song first made famous by The Ohio Players and then The Red Hot Chili Peppers? Well, it all started as a joke. You see, James is not a fan of the Red Hot Chili Peppers music and before the start of the Stump Jump 50K, Doug and I were doing our best to stick an annoying song lyric in his head. "Rollercoaster of Love" ended up being the song that would come up the most. But then, it actually got stuck in my head as we lined up with 800 other trail runners at the start of the race and it would be an appropriate theme for the day.

I have a love for trails and the Stump Jump course although not comparable to ultras out West in elevation changes, it still offers some challenging climbs and downhill descents. Thus earning the label "Rollercoaster of Love". So allow me to further describe my roller coaster ride.

The course starts at a middle school at Signal Mountain, TN, and we got there with a little time to spare. It was James' first 50K and needless to say, he was pretty excited and anxious at the same time. Doug and I were trying to keep him calm and told him to just run his race. Doug on the other hand had signed up for the 50K, but unfortunately had been dragging knee trouble for the last week or so and decided to run the 11-Mile option instead, which was the right choice for him. Race started at 8am sharp.

The first few miles were part of the school's cross country trails. We winded around the campus for a while and then descended towards Mushroom Rock. Here's where the fun really began.

Coming down the hill next
to Mushroom Rock

A sharp descent from Mushroom Rock lead down to a cable bridge that we all used to cross a creek. The sign over the bridge said "Maximum 20 Persons". We were way more than that. In fact, if I have one complaint about this race is that it took a very long time to thin out the crowd. For the first 16 miles, basically half the race, I was always in a bit of a trail runner convoy and much of the trail is tight single track too. But I am getting ahead of myself. We crossed the bridge, then came up to the top of a ridge with another long descent on the other side. We would painfully revisit that on the way back. "Rollercoaster of Love..."

We hit the first aid station and I was feeling good. My buddy Phil was there waiting on some other GUTS runners and it was good to get some encouraging words from a friendly face. Quick plug for Phil, he just came back from running his second 100-miler at Cascade Crest (congrats Phil!) We crossed a road and started climbing up to another ridge. This time we were rewarded with a fantastic view of the Tennessee River on our left and these amazing, I'm guessing, limestone rock walls that went up 20-50 feet at various points to our right. Next thing I know, we passed the aid station at mile 10 and for the next 14 miles or so, would stay on mostly very runable singletrack trail.

I was in a line of runners when we came upon a jeep road with a bit of a climb to the aid station at mile 16. Since it was about fifteen or more of us, we slightly overwhelmed the station. I took advantage of everyone refueling and continued on the trail once again after downing a couple of Cokes and some peanut butter filled pretzels before anyone else got moving. The trail leading away from the station had a considerable grade for about a half mile, so I had to hike most of it. "Rollercoaster..." Around mile 18, the trail is covered in sizable rocks and you have to watch your footwork while getting pounded a bit, but by now I was glad to be partnered with two other runners on our own and we kept a good pace together.

The Mile 20 aid station came up rather suddenly. I refueled quickly and moved on. I was still with my new running buddies and we made a quick descent before coming back onto trail that we had already run on, but in the other direction. Which meant that we got to enjoy another view of the Tennessee River and saw all the same rock formations from before. We did take a short misguided detour at one point, but we luckily caught ourselves and were able to get back on course. At this point, I was starting to feel the effort of the day some, but I was enjoying running with our small group.

We came off the ridge and descended back to the road we crossed earlier. The aid station at 24 miles was a welcomed sight. I knew we had two considerable climbs coming up and so I did take an extra moment to rehydrate and get something in my stomach. I looked at my watch and realized that a 6-hour race was doable. However, I would soon learn that the climbs in the next three miles would put a bit of a hurt on me.

First climb slowed me down more than I expected. Some of the guys I had been running with got up the hill quicker than I did, but I would reunite with them at the top. Once we got over the next ridge line, we descended quickly back to the cable bridge. The next climb took even more out of me. This one was the climb back up to Mushroom Rock. By the time I came to the aid station at the top, I was really feeling it, but I was glad to hear that we only had a little over 3 miles to go. But they would end up being three really looooong miles. I could see one of the guys I had run with earlier up ahead for much of the way and I would soon catch him with about 2 miles to go. Meanwhile, I was "chicked", not once, not twice, but up to three times in the last two miles. Oh well! Those ladies that passed me had more in the gas tank than I did.

Coming up to the finish line at Stump Jump 50K

I came out of the woods and off the trail for the last bit of road down to the finish. A welcomed sight indeed as the sun had come out and now without the cover of the tree canopy, it was a little too warm for my taste. I crossed the finish line at 6:15. Not the 6-hour mark I had calculated earlier, but not too far off. I was happy to get it done.

Quick note to share, if you like race swag this race has it. The night before at the race packet pick up, I received a cool Patagonia race shirt, a pair of Skullcandy earphones, a pair of Smartwool socks along with some other goodies. Then once you cross the finish line, they handed out medals and a cool North Face fleece headband.

Doug was waiting at the finish and after getting some food, we stuck around for James. I wasn't sure when to expect James, but I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised to see him when we did. He crossed the finish at 7:39 exhuberant and really excited. I was really happy for him and glad to hear that he had truly enjoyed the experience, his own "Rollercoaster of Love". Congrats James and welcome to the world of ultrarunning!

It was also good to see so many GUTS buddies at the finish. Roxanne (she was #2 female finisher!), Sally (no slouch herself), Spurgeon, Sean B., Sean O., Wayne, Steve, Tyson, Robin M., John Dove, Johnny Buice and others. We missed Jason, but he came in a bit later.

The day ended with beers and burgers at the Terminal Brewhouse in downtown Chattanooga. I really enjoyed the "Rollercoaster of Love" at Stump Jump and I'm already thinking about the next one. Maybe it will be back to Chattanooga for the Lookout Mountain 50-miler. We'll see how things pan out in the months to come. Happy trails!

(Check out James' account of his day at Stump Jump 50K: http://thearcoftime.com/?tag=2010-stump-jump-50k or Jason Roger's at http://bestpacescenario.blogspot.com/2010/10/stumpjump-50k-10210-race-report.html)

Chatooga River 8.15.10

2010-08-18T06:24:00.000-07:00

Woody, me and Doug at trailhead

It is hard to believe it has been over six months since my last blog entry. It's not like I haven't had anything to write about. Quite the contrary. I have ventured on a couple of good trail runs with friends in North Georgia, ridden a beautiful century ride at Lake Tahoe, ran some miles on a legendary pilgrim route in Northern Spain and enjoyed a few weekend runs near home. However, my trail race calendar has gone through several revisions and a few cancellations with much of it due to work and family. That's just life. You have to prioritize. But I have a couple of races coming up in the Fall and I am ready to get this blog back into gear.

I'm running the Stump Jump 50K in October and I am considering the Lookout Mountain 50-miler in December. With those races in mind, I have slowly been ramping my mileage back to what it was earlier this year. This past weekend, I joined my usual running mates, Doug and Woody, to head up to Sumter Forest National Park in South Carolina to hit a 23 mile loop consisting of the Chatooga River trail, Fork Mountain trail and Foothills trail. Woody researched and found the loop and it would turn out to be a fun day of trail running.

We headed up there early on Saturday morning in an effort to get on the trail by 8:30am. We woke up to overcast conditions with the threat of rain, but it would turn out to be the best possible forecast. The cloudy conditions pulled down the triple digit heat index we have been experiencing in Atlanta this Summer and as a result, we actually got to run in temps in the 70's for almost the entire run. Unreal.

Anyway, we made it to the trailhead which is near a fish hatchery off a creek that leads into the Chatooga River. We got started at about 9:00am. The first few miles were great, as we were mostly following the creek down stream and the trail did not have much climbing. What it did have was alot of storm debris, hanging branches and rooty trail. It made for some tricky foot work while having to watch our heads. We soon came upon one of my favorite parts of the run, a 40' tall rock wall off the trail that extended for about 100'. This thing was really amazing to see and the picture here does not do it justice. It was a great site.

After playing tourist and taking a couple of pics, we kept on the trail and we came closer and closer to the Chatooga River. The Chatooga River is the state line boundary between South Carolina and Georgia. So it was kinda nice to think that we would be running in South Carolina and having Georgia just on the other side of the river. When we made it down to the river's edge, we took the trail to the right knowing that we would be making it around the loop to end up at this very same point later in the day. If we thought the trail was rooty along the creek, it really got technical along the river.

We passed a couple of campsites and saw a few campers who had spent the night down by the river. Everybody's always really cool when we go by giving a friendly wave and a nod. We would stay on the Chatooga River trail for about three miles while nearing Ellicott Rock. Ellicott Rock is a marker which corners the three states of Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina. Pretty soon, we would head East and straight up what would be the worst climb of the day. Not a bad climb, but just a hard climb when having enjoyed several miles of mostly downhill and flat running since we left the car. A couple of switch backs and a couple of hundred feet and we were suddenly on a completely different type of trail than the one running along the river below.

We ran mostly single track trail along rolling terrain. Now clear of the rooty trails, we were making good progress. But we quickly learned that this trail is not as well-traveled due to all the spider webs across the trail. At first, Woody and I were taking turns at the front but we would keep hacking away at these webs or having them break across our face. As we complained about it, Doug would make fun of us by meowing. Insinuating we were a couple of pussies, but he would change his tune when we threw him out to lead us for a few miles. Wasn't long before we were meowing back at him. He did manage to dodge a couple of shoulder level webs that would end up still getting me or Woody. Bastard. It became a running joke through out the day when ever someone bitched about the webs. "Meow!"

The Fork Mountain trail saddles North Carolina and South Carolina. Eventually, we would come out on Route 107. There was another trail head at the road that hit the Foothills Trail. Before heading down that trail, we busted out some sandwiches and took a little break. The mist was weird, we were soaked but it was appreciated as it kept the temperatures down. After some calorie replacement, we took off down the Foothills Trail.

I don't know what was my deal, but I would end up on my hands or on my butt a few times during the run. One time because the ground gave way under my right foot. Another time because I slipped on some mud. And yet another time, out of poor clumsiness right near a little creek crossing. This, of course, triggered more "meows" as I bitched while getting up. These guys don't cut any slack.

On the Foothills trail we came across another impressive landmark, a 50' waterfall right off the trail. Another reason to love trail running!

After a few miles we actually crossed the road that led down to the hatchery, the trailhead and our car but we had more trail still to cover and kept going. Short time later we would begin descending in a major way. This is always fun especially when the legs are tired. Woody pulled away and Doug and I just tried to keep up, dodging trees and watching our feet as we went down for a couple of miles. Soon we were down on the Chatooga River again.

The water looked to good to pass up. We only had a couple of more miles to get back but took advantage of a small beach area to get in the river. Ahhh! It felt amazing. The cool water after almost 20 miles was just what the doctor ordered. We stayed in the water for about a half an hour before putting our shoes back on and finishing off the run.

It was good that we only had a couple more miles to go as all of us had run out of water. I went through my entire bladder in my North Face light pak and one hand held. Plus for the first time all day, the sun was breaking through the crowds. Good time to wrap this thing up.

Once back at the car and after a round of high fives, it was time to change into some dry clothes and make our way to Clayton, GA for some major calorie replacement.

Another good day on the trail. I can't wait to get a few more of these in before the 50K in October. Happy trails!

Fun in the Snow

2010-02-10T17:16:00.000-08:00

While I write this, most of the east coast is completely paralyzed with the worst blizzard in decades. I'm hearing about record snow fall in Washington DC, Virginia and Maryland. Here in Atlanta, we hit some chilly temps today, but remain dry and snowless. I was easily able to get my run in this morning with my dog.

A week and a half ago however, I did have some fun in the snow. I set out with some friends on a birthday run for my buddy, Doug, who turned 31. The original plan was to camp at the Standing Indian campsite near the AT up in the Nantahala Forest just over the stateline into North Carolina and then hit 31 miles of tasty trails comprised of a couple of loop trails and a portion of the AT. A bad weather system was forecasted for the weekend, so we skipped the camping part and got up early on Sunday instead and drove up. Good call on skipping the camping as the area got dumped with 5" of snow and temps were down in the teens at night. I like to camp, but no reason to freeze like a popsicle unnecessarily.

Anyway, Doug, Woody, Roxanne and I got up there early on Sunday morning and the place was a gorgeous winter wonderland. Stunningly beautiful with snow everywhere and just enough ice on the trees to make the whole place seem crystalline and delicate. I was excited about the run and was looking forward to a day of running and hiking some great trails. Part of the itinerary included two big climbs, one of them up Standing Indian mountain at 5,500 feet. I know, not a big deal by Colorado standards, but pretty hefty for us here east of the Mississippi.

We couldn't take the road down to the campsite area due to ice, so we had to park the car off the road and run a mile and a half or so down to the trail head. We would hit the Park Creek and Park Ridge trails first which formed a 10-11 mile or so loop, mostly following a couple of creeks but with a couple of pretty good ascents and a brief ridge line portion. At first, I was having fun, but it wouldn't be long before I was having some trouble. The snow was fine, although in parts, I underestimated the added effort it took to run through it. And the trail itself was actually very easy to follow even with the snow. But my stomach was giving me problems and I was falling behind the rest of the group. Rox, Woody and Doug were looking strong and having a blast.

At one point, we did have some good laughs when we needed to cross a rather wide creek but no one wanted to get their shoes wet. I found a log that cut across and walked along it to the other side. When Rox gave it a whirl, she stepped in the water and with the cussing coming out of her mouth, we couldn't help but chuckle. Doug and Woody made it across sans wet shoes.

As we finished up the loop, I realized that it wasn't my day. Here I was in a beautiful setting with good friends on a fun run, but I just wasn't in the game. I was having stomach problems and even worse, some doubt about finishing up the run. I didn't want to be a drag on the rest of the group, so I gave Doug some of my water and gels and split off from them back to the car. They in turn began the trail that led to Standing Indian and the climb up to the top.

The rest of the story from my perspective is rather uneventful. I got back to the car, changed into drier, warmer clothes and headed into Franklin, NC for some food and a clean bathroom. I came back to the same spot and ended up having to wait only a couple of hours. Woody texted me from the top of Standing Indian and let me know that they were coming down the same way they went up and coming back to the car. Good call, because at the pace they were going, they would not have made it down and run the rest of the planned course, AT and all, in time to be back by dark.

When I heard about the climb up and the view from the top, I admit, I was pretty envious. I didn't know that they would end up coming down and calling off the rest of the run or who knows, maybe I would have been a bit more adamant with myself to push on. We definitely want to go back later this year and check it out again. But all in all, it was a good day and I did have fun. I definitely know, Rox, Woody and Doug had a good time as you can see from the photos below. I ended up running about 13-14 and they got in a little over 24 plus the summit of Standing Indian. Happy Birthday, Doug (and thanks for letting me use some of your photos here)!

twenty.ten Fat Ass 50K

2010-01-07T15:17:00.000-08:00

I can't think of a better way to start the year than doing it on trails with dozens of friends enjoying what we love to do most, trail running! The epitome of low-key "races", this year's GUTS Fat Ass 50K will go down in history for four specific things: the cold, the company, the shirt and the Moon Pie.

The Cold: Holy shnikies was it cold! Even though I had just spent two weeks over the Holidays in frigid temps, waiting for the race to start when it was in the teens, sure made me think twice. I know all you people up North are thinking, "What's the big deal?" But we're just not used to it down here in the ATL. Average highs in early January tend to be in the forties or even low fifties here. So it was in the teens before the race and I don't think it warmed up much during or after.

The first bone chilling experience was the "shuttle" service from the off-site parking. It was a pick-up truck! You've never seen anything until you've seen 8 or 9 trailrunners freezing their asses off in the back of a pick-up truck in 18 degrees weather. Brrr! Once at the race start, everyone huddled around each other until it was time to get going. Things did warm up during the race, some where into the mid-20's. Someone say "heat wave"?

Luckily, I do better in cooler temps than warmer ones. I was one of the few, the proud, wearing shorts during the race. I think the blood capillaries in my knees are just now coming back. My compression sleeves on my calves were more for protection on my skin versus any compression benefit. Gloves, hat and proper layering up top kept me comfortable for the race.

The Company: At the starting line, we were all kind of staring at each other when someone happened to say "go!" It took a few seconds to register, so we heard a second "Go!" It was such a discreet way to start the race, that all of us almost missed it, but we finally got it going and took off. My first couple of miles, I ran with Spurgeon. Spurgeon was also in shorts, so we shared in that initial agony until our legs got numb. We maintained a pretty good pace and we were keeping the lead pack within a few dozen yards. I soon realized that I wasn't going to be able to keep this up. I told Spurgeon I was going to let up on the pace and he dropped me without any trouble.

I ran by myself for a while until somewhere towards the end of that first loop, John Dove and another runner caught up to me and we all ran together for a while. Eventually, it was just me and John as the other runner also moved on ahead. I would end up running with John for the next two and a half loops of the race. I was honored to run with John, as he is a longtime ultra-runner and fellow Ironman, and we had plenty to talk about. John kept me laughing with his jokes and we shared stories about his past adventures at ultra classics like Western States, Hard Rock, Vermont and Massanuten. We also talked about our dogs, families, cycling and triathlons. Running with John made a good chunk of my race just fly by. I lost him when he stopped to talked to Rob Apple and Susan Donnelly, while I ran on down the trail. I finished the last loop by myself, but I really enjoyed the miles shared. Good company!

The Shirt: So you run 31 miles and you'd think there would be some kind of special moment at the finish, right? Nope. I came in from my last loop, checked in with the time keeper and proceeded to take advantage of the mac n cheese some one brought, opened a can of PBR and caught up with some of the other runners that had finished before me. No fanfare, but that's OK. I was enjoying the food and even the PBR when someone handed me my race shirt. Yep, they had race shirts this year at the Fat Ass. Who would of thought? And you know what? It's easily one of my favorite race shirts I have ever gotten. Simple, discreet, but with a "phat" ass design. Check it out on the right. Pretty cool, huh?

The Moon Pie: Remember Moon Pies? Those chocolate covered, gooey marshmallow-filled cookie sandwiches that most people associate with RC Cola? Well, turns out they are pretty popular amongst several off the GUTS runners. Some of which have just been named to a new sponsored ultra team, Team Moon Pie. The folks at the Chattanooga Bakery, that make Moon Pies, sent a giant Moon Pie for all to enjoy.

This thing was the size of a pizza. Spurgeon delivered it and he placed it on the table that morning with a big, wicked grin on his face. That thing was just about wiped out several hours later as each finisher took a good chunk of the Moon Pie.

There you have it. The twenty.ten Fat Ass 50K. I didn't really mind the cold, I enjoyed the company, loved the shirt and took part of the giant Moon Pie. Happy Trails!

Photo credit: I stole the photos above from Janice Anderson's Facebook page and Beth Blackwell.

On Down the Trail...Leaving 2009 Behind

2009-12-30T07:34:00.000-08:00

Figure that I would join in on all the 2009 recap or review reports and write one of my own. Last year, so much of my training revolved around the Ironman that I got pulled away from what I really love to do, trail running. Don't get me wrong, I am very proud of calling myself an Ironman and enjoy competing in triathlons, but for me, trail running is what I truly enjoy. 2009 was an opportunity to re-embrace this love. The year saw me run four 50K's, a 40-miler, a road marathon and many, many miles on the trails.

I started this blog earlier this year to share my experiences on the trail. Most of the time, I report on my races, but I don't normally report on the other many long distance trail runs through out. The photo on the right is of me at the foot of Amicalola Falls. My running buddy, Woody and I ran 21 or so miles that day from the Falls to and over Springer Mountain along the AT approach trail, Appalachian Trail and Benton-McKaye Trail. Great scenic run and one I hope to repeat many more times. The other photo is of me and Woody at the top of Springer Mountain on the same day. This is symbolic for us as we have yet to complete our goal of running the entire Appalachian Trail section in Georgia. We tried twice earlier this year, but for various reasons, mainly due to weather, we couldn't complete the journey. However, we learned alot from the experience and we also enjoyed the camaraderie that comes with running miles together along long stretches of trail. We hope to be back on top of Springer Mountain in 2010, but hopefully as the crowning moment of our third attempt at finishing the Appalachian Trail in Georgia. You can read about our second attempt here.

It would be difficult to pick any one race as my favorite race this year. Everyone of them had something unique or special about it. The GUTS races, Fat Ass 50K, Pumpkin Butt 50K and Pine Mountain 40-Miler are always fun for their low-key nature and because usually there are a ton of friends in the race as well. PM40 gave out some great swag too! The Mt. Cheaha 50K was epic due to the heavy rains the night before the race and the precarious creek crossings as a result. Of course, it also has "Blue Hell" with which to contend. The SweetH2O 50K also had a significant river crossing, but its the power line hills and this year the heat that made that race a tough one. If I had to pick one of the bunch, I would have to select the Mt. Cheaha race. I felt great that day and enjoyed the challenges along the course. By far, my worst race this year was my lone road marathon at the Country Music Marathon in Nashville. The heat kicked my ass and made me finish well off my usual marathon time by over 40 minutes!

One highlight of 2009 was my trip to Colorado to hike and climb Mt. Elbert and Mt. Massive. We climbed both "14'ers" in a weekend and I was blown away by the experience. It was my first time visiting Colorado and I can understand why people fall in love with this state and the beautiful Rockie Mountains. I may not be able to return in 2010, but I hope to return many times in the years to come.

So what's in store for 2010? Well, I still plan to focus on trail running. My year starts off again with the GUTS Fat Ass 50K and then possibly Mt. Cheaha again. Hopefully, we'll tackle the Georgia AT in April, but that is yet to be confirmed. Later in the year, I'm looking at Stump Jump 50K in October and the Lookout Mountain 100K in December. I'm also on a team for the 200-mile plus Southern Odyssey Relay race in October. No 100-miler planned for 2010. That may have to wait until 2011. I logged almost 2,000 miles in 2009 and I hope to hit that and farther in 2010. I'm looking forward to it.

However, 2010 will also see me get back in the saddle and riding my bike. I have rejoined Team In Training, this time to train and ride for the America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride at Lake Tahoe in June. I've neglected my bike in 2009 and I have my cross hairs squarely on completing both the century ride and my fundraising goal for the team. If you would be so kind, please consider supporting by visiting my fundraising page, www.tinyurl.com/javisride.

The happiest event for me of 2009 had nothing to do with running or any sport. The happiest event of 2009 was the birth of my son, Ivan. My wife and I are blessed with a wonderful, healthy son and we have begun the longest endurance event of life, parenthood. Good stuff!

So with just days left for 2010, I wish all a very Happy New Year and that the new year will be as good or better than 2009. I look forward to sharing my new adventures with you from the trail and beyond. Until then, cheers!

Pine Mountain 40-Miler

2009-12-07T19:53:00.000-08:00

Back in the 40's, Franklin D. Roosevelt made Warm Springs, GA and neighboring Pine Mountain his home away from home. He would first come here to treat his polio, but soon fell in love with the beautiful scenery of the Appalachian foothills. Today this area is maintained by the state and called FDR State Park. When visiting, it's not hard to understand why FDR loved it so much. Even in the late stages of autumn, the area boasts a certain mystique and beauty.

The Pine Mountain Trail begins in FDR Park and extends 23 miles mostly along a ridge. The trail is known for its diverse terrain, crossing creeks, climbing up and over ridge tops and traversing past oak, hickory, pine and maple trees. Many sections of the trail are also known for the degree of technical difficulty. The trail is littered with protruding rocks made even more difficult in the fall by the leaves covering the trail.

The annual Pine Mountain 40-miler put on by GUTS uses almost the entire trail and adds some adjoining ones. This year's race was held on Sunday, December 6th.

I arrived at Kelly's house at 4:00am and we quickly hit the road. Even after having taken the wrong interstate and making a small detour, we still managed to arrive at the park around 6:00am. We picked up our race packets and waited in the car with the heat on. It was a chilly 28 degrees. Other runners were also arriving and beginning to gather. At 6:50am, we got out of the car, met up with everyone and soon walked up to the road where the race would start. It was barely dusk as we stood there listening to last minute instructions. Something in the instructions stuck in my head, "You road runners are probably going to hate this course, but all you trail runners, you are going to love it!" That's all the motivation I needed to hear. I was ready to roll and soon we were off!

We ran a short segment of asphalt before we hit the single track trail going through the woods. Another running buddy, Robin, ran along with me and a few others. Robin was just off of winning the Pinhoti 100 miler a few weeks prior. It was good to run with her although it wouldn't be long before she ran up ahead and left me behind.

The initial part of the race takes you up onto a ridge by the FDR Overlook. The sun was peaking over the horizon and the views were already spectacular, but there was no time for sightseeing. I hooked up with a small group of three other runners. The guy leading the "train" had a heavy accent and was a cross between Ernest ("Now what I mean, Vern?") and that mumbling guy on King of the Hill. Anyway, they were setting a pretty good pace and every once in a while they would pull ahead and then I would catch up. We kept up this rubber banding action through the first aid station at Fox Den Cove (5.9 miles) and through the next aid station at Mollyhugger Hill (10.8 miles). We came down a long decline off a ridge and were about to cross a road in the park, when I saw Robin. She apparently had decided that she wasn't up for the full course and was turning around. We encouraged each other as I ran by.

After seeing Robin, we began a long ascent. The trail here was increasingly rocky and the guys ahead of me started hesitating more and more with the terrain. I thought they were being just a tad too cautious and I decided to make my move. I found a spot along the trail and passed them. I was actually surprised how quickly I pulled away, but was glad to be on my own and set my own pace.
I was also glad to see the Dowdell Knob aid station (13.5 miles.) I took advantage and scarfed half a turkey and cheese sandwich while washing it down with a Coke. You haven’t tried a Coke until you’ve tried it in the middle of an ultra race. Amazing! As I left the aid station, the guys I left behind were making their way in. That would be the last I would see of them. Heading down the trail with sandwich still in hand, I saw another friend, Beth and she said, “Go Javi, you’re looking good!” I replied, “Tell me that on the way back.” There was more than half the race still left to run.

I somehow managed to get into no man’s land. It’s a weird part of an ultra race where you don’t see any runners ahead of you or behind you. It was just me and the trail. Also, I was amused to see signs occasionally on the trees that read, “Safety Zone, No Hunting”. It made me wonder if I should have brought my orange running vest.

Soon I came up on the aid station at Rocky Point (17.82 miles), appropriately named I might add. My spirits were high and I was feeling pretty good. I grabbed a PB&J, downed some Powerade, thanked the volunteers and continued down the trail. The next section of trail would change considerably from everything I’d seen so far. It soon came into a creek bed that I would have to cross several times. The vegetation was different too. I managed to keep my feet dry and just kept on pushing. I was excited to get to the next station since it would be after the midway point. However, it seemed like it took forever to get there. I guess I was starting to feel the miles.

After some time, I finally saw the tip of the TV tower that marked where the next aid station would be. I picked up my pace and was glad to see my buddy Tom greeting me at the station. I was looking through the items on the table. Cookies, pretzels, potato chips all in abundance, but nothing sounded good. When all of a sudden an aluminum tray filled with grilled cheese sandwiches was put in front of my face. Nirvana! Maybe it was the miles on the trails, but that was the best tasting grilled cheese sandwich I’ve ever had. Onward!

It was only a couple more miles to the next aid station and mostly down hill, so I had a good pace going. Once at Rocky Point aid station, I topped off my water bottle and continued down the trail going back the way we came earlier in the day. The next few miles were uneventful and I eventually came into the aid station at Dowdell Knob. I was just about to leave the station when I turned around and there was Kelly. I was surprised to see her. We left the aid station together and I would soon realize that I was going to have a hard time riding her coat tails. She was running strong and steady, even on the climbs. I hung with her for about three miles and then saw her quickly leave me behind. It was fun to run with her while it lasted. I wouldn’t see her again until the finish.

Once again I was by myself. After the next aid station, I was sent down a different trail we hadn’t yet traveled. This was to be the toughest portion of the race for me. This white blazed trail was extra treacherous with even more leaves covering the trail and the rocks beneath. Plus it was very undulating, so I couldn’t keep a good pace. It was only 2.5 miles to the next aid station, but I thought I would never get there. Of course I did, but it seemed like an eternity.

Once there, I refueled and chatted with the volunteers. I realized that I only had six or so miles left to go. All of a sudden, my melancholy mood from the last few miles changed to a much more positive one. I thanked the volunteers and headed out like a horse to the barn. My feet were sore from the rocky terrain, but I was pushing ahead and making good progress. There was one more hefty climb to tackle and I was soon at its initial slopes. I chugged ahead, walking up the hill and putting one foot in front of the other. As I made my way up, I was slowly coming back onto the ridge we were on that morning, this time under the full light of day. Great views!

At the top I came upon the last aid station. This one was unmanned, but water is all I really needed, so no problem. I crossed another road and enjoyed the long descent down the other side of the ridge. This was it, I could feel the end was near! My pace picked up when I realized that I could still make it under eight hours. Down the trail I went. Beth, who I ran into earlier at an aid station, was waiting on the trail for her husband. It was good to see her and she told me that the finish was just minutes ahead. That pushed me even more. A few more turns on the trail and then I could just make out the camp area through the trees. Next thing you know, I was crossing a foot bridge and running across an open field straight for the finish. As I stomped on the orange spray painted line, I saw the clock which read, 7:56:16. Sweet, I was done and made it under eight hours!

Kelly was there to greet me and so were some of the other runners. It was good to be finished and I was soon enjoying some chili and a beer. Why else would you do an ultra, but for the food at the finish? I’m sure FDR would approve.

I borrowed a couple of pictures taken by Beth Blackwell and Amanda Tichacek, I hope they don't mind.

Other Pine Mtn 40 reports:
Beth Blackwell
Susan Donnelly

Wayne Downey
David Ray
Joe Reger
Jason Rogers

Pumpkin Butt 50K

2009-11-02T17:34:00.001-08:00

Five 10K loops. Sounds easy enough, right? Now throw in 950 feet of vertical climb on each loop. Well, now its getting somewhere. And if that wasn't enough, throw in a pumpkin on the fourth loop and you have yourself one interesting race. But wait, it gets better, hold the race on Halloween, make sure there's rain, fog, mud and wet leaves on bald granite and now there's a helluva race!

That describes this year's Pumpkin Butt 50K, held yearly by the fun folks of the Georgia Ultrarunning and Trailrunning Society (GUTS). I barely beat the cap of forty runners by getting my application in just days before the race. I didn't feel confident that I would complete all five loops. My running in September had been pretty good with solid mileage, but October saw very sporadic running with the coming of my newborn son. I barely got a 20-miler in a couple of weeks before the race. Still, I'm registered for the Pine Mountain 40-miler in December and if anything, I needed to treat this race as a training run. So, the idea was to go out conservative and see how I felt.

Up and at 'em early on Halloween morning and I made my way to the race. The day was looming dark and dreary with the forecast of rain. However, it was eerily warm although it would cool off as the day progressed. I arrived at the race site, checked in with the race crew and caught up with everyone as they arrived. The great thing about small, low-key races is the intimacy of the event. Everyone is chatting it up and exchanging predictions for the day. The set up looked promising with plenty of food, snacks, drinks and of course, pumpkins. Each race participant is obligated to bring a pumpkin. You see, the course is five loops and on the fourth loop, each runner draws for a pumpkin. You might get lucky and draw a tiny pumpkin or you might get unlucky and draw an 8-10 pounder. When I was at the super market the night before picking out my pumpkin for the race, I wanted to create good karma, so I picked a decently sized 1.5 pounder. That karma would come back to help me.

After a few short words from GUTS president, Janice Anderson, we were off. It was still dark as we entered the park and hit the trail, but soon it would lighten up. It was raining too, so plenty of puddles and mud along the trail. There was a small group that quickly got ahead while I was just trying to get into my groove. A buddy of mine, Darren, caught my stride and the two of us would run together for a good part of the race.

Within a couple of miles of easy, rolling terrain, we hit the first climb. It has a steep start before easing up a bit. Then you hit a patch of rocky terrain where you have to really watch your footing. This part is called Pigeon Hill. Once you get through that, an even steeper climb begins with a bit of a switchback as you make your way up the west side of Little Kennesaw Mountain. At this point, you are taking your first walking steps in earnest. When you summit, you are welcomed by a pair of Civil War-era cannons. Experiencing the climb first hand, I imagined how tough it was for the Union fighters to get up the hill while being fired upon from above by the Rebel troops. Anyways, this wasn't the end of the climbing, after another lower summit, there's another hefty climb to the top of Big Kennesaw. At the top, visibility was poor due to the fog. On a good clear day, you can see the Atlanta skyline, but not today.

I felt good on my first go at it. Darren was still with me over the top. We were on trail all the way until you get over the top, then you take the asphalt access road back down off the mountain. As I was making my way down, another buddy, Spurgeon, caught up and passed me. He was joking that if I heard rumbling cannons, it wasn't Civil War ghosts. It was the chili he had for dinner the night before. Ha, ha. He was also telling me to hit the tangents on the way down. Made sense, think cycling tactics. You gotta cut the right line to shorten the distance through the curves coming down the mountain. Almost at the bottom, you hit the trail once more to go the last mile or so of the loop. And you're back at the start.

As I was coming in, I counted who was going back out for their second loop. You alternate direction on each loop. I tell ya, the verdict is still out for me on which direction is more difficult. Anyway, I counted who was going back out and who was at the aid station when I arrived. Turns out I was eighth (?!?) place. One of the guys who had arrived before me was in costume as the Pope. Of course, I had to beat the Pope. Also, Darren, came in ahead of me too. But I replenished with some pretzels and refilled my water bottle and got out of there for my second loop with Darren ahead of me in 6th place.

So back the way we came. After a bit of trail, we were going up on the asphalt road to the top of Big Kennesaw. Obviously not as technical, but a mean climb nonetheless. The worst grade is in the middle of the climb with the last third evening out some, before a final steep push to the top. I could see Darren ahead of me for the entire climb, but I caught him near the top and was passed him by the time we got to the top of Little Kennesaw. The descent off Little Kennesaw in this direction is very rocky and rooty. I was having a little less trouble apparently than Darren and was able to put some space between us. At the bottom, I caught up with another one of my buddies, Jon, who was dressed as a giant whoopie cushion. He had a very fast first loop, but look like he was having trouble with this second loop. Maybe it was the custome. So now all of a sudden, I was in 5th place. Couldn't believe it. But I knew that Darren had the legs to catch me, especially once we got off the technical portion of the trail.

Sure enough, once I arrived back at the aid station. Darren was right behind me. We left together for our third loop. We ran together until we were back at Pigeon Hill going in the same direction as the first loop. Darren decided to walk this part and I felt like I could once again pull ahead. As I made my way up, I came across a strange site. Adult men playing with remote control cars on the rocks. Weird to me, but I guess no stranger than a bunch of people going up and over a mountain several times for the hell of it. We'd see them again on the last couple of loops.

Now on the third loop, the legs start to definitely complain with each climb. I made it to the top of Little Kennesaw with Darren still behind me, although he was catching up on the saddle trail to Big Kennesaw. Another summit and back on the road down. I tried to remember what Spurgeon told me, cut the straightest line possible off the mountain. Quads were burning on the way down, but I made it back to aid station feeling relatively good. Ate a couple of sandwiches and then it was time to draw for my pumpkin. I reached into the hat and came out with #34. Turns out #34 was a dinky little pumpkin. Sweet, that good karma coming back for me! It fit nicely in my Nathan gear vest. I was hands free for the rest of the race. I left the station as Darren was drawing for his pumpkin. It would be a while before I would see him again and I wouldn't need to worry about him for the rest of the race. You'll learn why in a bit.

Fourth loop...ugh! Here we go again. The thing about this race is that the start/aid station/finish is at the lowest point of the course. Every time you head out for another loop, you can expect to be mostly climbing for a good while. So, back up the asphalt road to the top of Big Kennesaw. I was relieved by two things, 1) knowing this was the last time going up in this direction and 2) I would catch Nils close to the top of Big Kennesaw. That put me in 4th place! I remember thinking, "Shit, you gotta hang on Javi!" I pushed to put some distance between me and Nils, but I was thinking that he would catch me. Nils is a much stronger runner than I am, but this day he never would catch back up.

After passing Nils, I hit the tops of both summits and hurried down Little Kennesaw and then Pigeon Hill. The climb down hurt with every step, and the rocks were extra tricky now. Still, in my head was one mantra, "Keep it moving!"

About a mile from the aid station, I saw the first place runner. Then a huge gap before I saw Sally in second place as I neared the aid station. Next in line was Spurgeon and for a brief moment I thought maybe I could catch him. As I passed by him, I joked that I would try and he said, "Just keep movin' and you most likely will." Not the case. Anyway, I came into the station, ate a bit, topped off my water bottle and thanked everybody there. Out for my last loop!

Back out on the course, I saw everyone that was "behind" me, it was a while before I saw Darren coming up the trail. "I was wondering about you. What happened?", I said to him. He smiled, turned around so I could see his backpack. He had one of the largest pumpkins in his pack, probably a 10-15 pounder! No wonder I left him far behind since I last him. He had to carry that big ass thing, while I lucked out with an itty-bitty pumpkin.

This time the climb up Pigeon Hill was extremely slow and painful. I kept looking over my shoulder thinking surely someone was going to catch up at any moment, but I remained on the climb totally by myself. That also meant no sight of Spurgeon and Sally in front of me either.

Nearing the top of Big Kennesaw, you cross the road that you take to go down. As I was going across, I heard Sally coming from my right as she had already begun her descent. I yelled, "Sally, I'm not going to catch you now." She replied, "Not much left now. Hurry up!" And that I did. Topped Big Kennesaw for the last time and made my way down. While I was descending, I was thinking back on the race. Here I was originally thinking that I wouldn't finish all five loops and now I was trying to hold onto fourth place. How cool is that? Still, no time to reminesce. The job wasn't done. The run down also hurt, but I knew it was almost over. I looked at my watch and realized that I might just do this in under six hours. Holy crap, I needed to step up! As I got closer to the finish, I felt the pressure of beating the watch. Half mile to go, watch read "5:55". Surely, I could squeeze out a ten-minute mile to finish this off. Luckily, most of the way was down hill. I ran my ass off and my legs were screaming. Off the trail and just a few hundred yards left to go..."5:58". Almost there! Turn the bend and I could see everybody. Just a few more yards... I ran in and while the time keeper was recording my time, I repeatedly asked, "Did I beat 6 hours?" He looked up and said, "Yep, 5:59:49." Wow, just made it! And I was officially fourth place!!

As exciting as that was, there's not much celebration. A pat on the back with a "Good Job!" and that was it. I picked up my free prize, a cool pair of wool GUTS socks and proceeded to get a beer and a plateful of BBQ. Gotta love low-key ultra-trail races!

(Thanks to Rahn for the pic of me on the trail and the photo of the cannons.)

P.S. Check out my buddy, Dave, and his blog for another take on the same race:
http://seedadrunrundadrun.blogspot.com/

or Beth's version:
http://lifeafter40isgreat.blogspot.com/2009/10/pumpkin-butt.html

Birthday Midnight Run

2009-10-02T19:45:00.001-07:00

I have heard of now many people who have run their years worth of age in miles on their birthday. One friend of mine ran his years worth in hours; putting in a 90+ mile run in 26 hours on his 26th birthday. Although, not quite that ambitious, I still liked the sound of the challenge of completing the same number of miles as years of age on my birthday. So the idea stuck in my head.

With my birthday on the horizon, the original plan was to hit the Duncan Ridge Trail. One of the so-called toughest trails east of the Mississippi, the DRT is a 32 or so mile trail that intersects the Appalachian Trail twice in north Georgia. Back in July, seven of my running buddies attempted to complete it, but only two did. Granted it was a hot day, but it definitely proved the ruggedness of the trail. I wanted to try it. However, recent torrential rains that dropped over 24 inches in the Atlanta and north Georgia area, quickly made us have to reconsider the idea of running the DRT. Mainly due to the fact that one end of the trail is only accesible by forest road and all the rain would have made getting through the mud impossible. so the back up plan was to run about 39-40 miles on the Appalachian Trail, starting at Woody Gap and traveling southward to Springer Mountain and then back.

We then had to ditch the idea when I learned about my dad having to go into see his cardiologist for a procedure on the day we had set aside to make this birthday run. I almost cancelled the whole idea until we came up with yet another alternative that would allow me to get my b-day ultra run in and still be there for my dad. Instead of running up in north Georgia on the Friday we selected, we decided to run over night at a local state park through the night. Not quite the same bragging rights, but it would still accomplish the goal of getting my birthday miles in. It would mean sacrificing that night of sleep, but it sounded like fun to me and my running buddy, Woody. I did run 9 miles that morning, however, this was before I realized that I would be running through the night that evening. I was committed to getting in the 30+ run in with one run.

I gathered all my gear together, water bottles, hydration pack, food, headlamps, fresh batteries, extra clothes, etc. I picked Woody up at about 10pm and we made our way to the park. On the way, we stopped to get coffee knowing we would need it and also discussed where the best place to park the car would be. We didn't want to park it in the usual spots of the park, because we wanted to avoid any unneeded attention by park rangers or area police. We found a quiet spot in a subdivision about a mile or so from the main visitor's center at the park. Entrance to the park and the trail was a little over a mile away. 11pm, time to get on with it. Just like that, we were off!

We soon encountered a problem, a bridge on the road towards the park was out due to construction. Normally, the bridge goes over a railroad track, so we had to back track a ways to find access to the rail bed and run on that to find a way out on the opposite side of the road. A little bush-whackin' later and we were on the other side. This set us back about 10 minutes, but we were not going out to beat any time.

Visitor's center is at the north end of the park. There is a trail that begins at the center but the ranger's quarters are also near by. So we had to run down the road past the entrance and parallel the park until we could get on another trail entrance that connects with the park's trail. Fired up the headlamps and for the next eight hours or so, we would be running on park trails for the most part. One thing you get right away when running in the dark with a headlamp is this unusual feeling of running with tunnel vision. It takes a little while to get used to it, but once you do, your peripheral still suffers. Careful to pick up our feet over the roots and rocks, we got into a groove and within the first couple of hours covered quite a bit of miles.

Being used to running at this park in the day time, it was a completely different experience running it at night. The park trail crosses a couple of local roads. In order to disctract attention, we would turn off the headlamps as we neared these roads to cross. The trail was quiet and for the most part, we were covering alot of ground with out much trouble. The night was moderately humid and in the open fields there was a low lying fog. At one point, we noticed a couple pair of gold dots in the trees and quickly realized that it was two pair of deer eyes. The white tails ran away and from that point forward we would see several pairs more through out the night, always hoping they were deer and not coyotes.

We were both carrying our own water with a bladder hydration pack and a couple of hand helds. With the humidity, it was important to stay well hydrated. Luckily at one end of the park, there's a water fountain which allowed us to top off our hand helds. A couple of times, we stopped to eat a sandwich or take a gel. It was important to stay well fueled too. Pace was easy going and although there are several good inclines in the park, we stayed away from taking the trail that goes over the top of a couple of substantial summits. The run was about getting the miles in. that was the goal.

Towards the last couple of hours, we were definitely walking more. Woody had more legs than I did, but he was being a friend and keeping with me. Great pacer! In order to cover the miles we needed, we had to double up on sections of the trail. Sounds simple enough, but sometimes covering the same ground is discouraging. Particularly hard when we were getting closer to the car and then have head back out the opposite way. Regardless of the self-inflicted cruelty, we were enjoying the run and counting down the miles.

We noticed that the glow in the sky was slowly, but surely, changing to daylight. We were on the trail on the way back past the visitor's center. Soon that was it, we were done with the trails. Out on the roads, civilization had come to life. Commuters were making their way to work and we were wrapping up an all night run. I'm sure our idea of fun, was their idea of crazy. I guess it's just all perspective. We backtracked along the train tracks, made our way back to the other side of the downed bridge and in no time were back at the car. Mission accomplished!

Neither of us carried a Garmin, but knowing the distances in the park and calculating the various trails we ran and the distance back to the car, we called it 39 miles. If we are off, it's only by plus or minus a mile or so. Eight plus hours of running and it is safe to say we got the distance in. Also, recall that I ran nine miles that previous morning, so all in all, I got almost fifty miles of running in within 24 hours. Not shabby.

We changed into dry clothes at the car and cleaned up some. What next? How did we celebrate? Breakfast at Chick-fil-a. Chicken biscuit, hash browns, coffee and a chocolate shake. Too much reward for my birthday miles.

By the way, my dad did great with his procedure and I was able to be there for him along with the rest of my family.

Two 14'er Weekend in Colorado

2009-06-22T19:18:00.000-07:00

First I need to clarify, I am not an experienced climber and I am certainly no mountaineer. My friend Mike is preparing to climb Mt. Ranier in July and he was setting up a few "training" climbs. I knew that I wanted to try my hand at one. So, I threw out the idea of joining him and he agreed. Originally, I was going to join him and others on a climb of Mt. Cloudpeak in Wyoming. However, Mike suggested tackling a couple of 14'ers (peaks of 14,000+ feet) in Colorado, Mt. Elbert and Mt. Massive, instead. We could do them in one weekend due to their proximity. I took him up on the idea, a date was selected and it was set.

Mt. Elbert stands at 14,433 ft and is the second highest peak in the lower 48 states after Mt. Whitney in California. It is considered a Class 1 hike, meaning it is relatively easy by mountain climbing standards. Mt. Massive stands at 14,421 ft and is considered a Class 2 climb, making it slightly more difficult than Mt. Elbert. Both peaks are the two highest peaks in Colorado and are part of the Sawatch Mountain Range. Leadville, CO is only a few miles away from both peaks.

I flew in to Denver the night before, where I met up with Mike, whose flight arrived just 30 minutes after mine. A co-worker of Mike's, Gavin, had also flown in for the weekend's adventure and since he arrived before either of us, he rented an H3 and picked us both up. Once in the car, it was Leadville-bound. We stopped for pizza just outside of Denver and then made it to Leadville late in the evening. After picking up a few food supplies, we unceremoniously hit the sack. Wake up call was at 5:00am.

Day One: Mt. Elbert, June 20, 2009

Gavin had already climbed Mt. Elbert on another occasion, so his plan was to drop us off at the trailhead and go tackle Mt. Huron, another 14’er some 20 miles away. He was to come back and get us after his climb; a part of the plan that should have been thought out a bit more, but more on that later. Mike and I were at the trailhead of Mt. Elbert’s North Trail and ready to start right at 6:00am.

The North Trail starts at 10,040 feet, almost twice as high as the high point back home in Georgia, Brasstown Bald. Altitude was already giving us a bit of a headache and it was yet to be seen how it was going to affect us on the climb. For now, we felt pretty good and excited to get going. The trail is about 4.5 miles to the summit with a total elevation gain of 4,700 feet. It starts rather gradual for a mile or so to a trail junction with the Colorado Trail (Leadville 100 runners in August will go down this section of the Colorado Trail) and then begins to climb as it nears the tree line. The weather was cooperating with partly cloudy skies but we were concerned that it may turn for the worse. We reached the tree line at 11,900 feet keeping a good pace.

After a quick snack break, we hit the trail again out in the open and headed up the slope towards the mountain’s northeast ridge on a series of switchbacks. The terrain was grassy and mossy and we ran into a bit of mountain wildlife, some birds and a couple of marmots. Around this time, a couple of trail runners came up the trail with a Dingo dog. They passed us like nothing. I was jealous. I would love to hit these beautiful trails with my running shoes and my dog, Lilly, but first I would have to spend a few days acclimatizing for sure. Anyway, we would see these guys again on their way back down.

When we reached the ridge, we were around 12,500 feet. I was feeling OK and keeping pace, although it was obvious that I wasn’t moving as quickly as I normally would. I’ll blame the altitude. Mike thought we were making good time and we steadily kept forward momentum. Even though we hit the trail early, we did pass several folks on our way up. It appears that due to the relatively “easy” climb, many locals routinely go up this mountain. After a while on the ridge, the trail ascends steeply by some rock formations and to the right of the ridge. We soon saw the trail runners making their way back down. The one in the lead did stop for a second to chat and we learned that he was from Boulder. Very cool. Continuing upwards, I was breathing heavy and I could feel my heart beating in my chest. Still, we maintained and soon came to an opening were we would get our first glimpse of the snow capped mountain range on the opposite side of Elbert. The view was amazing!

The rest of the climb was covered in snow. No trail to follow except for the tracks left behind by other hikers. The snow felt crunchy and footing wasn’t much of an issue. With about 500 feet left to go, we came to a flat area where you can see the summit ridge off to the left. I was excited to see the summit and anxiously began crossing the ridge towards it. Once there, there was another hiker taking some mandatory photos. I offered to take one of him while Mike looked around and took some of his own. The hiker then reciprocated and took a couple pics of us. I was blown away by the view. Luckily, the weather was cooperating and we could clearly see the rest of the mountain range around us. Just stunning!

At the summit, there is a thick wooden stick that has been shoved into the ground claiming the summit. On it, one can read names and dates of others who came before us. Unfortunately, we didn’t have a pen to add our own names. Other hikers started arriving while Mike and I finished up a couple of sandwiches we had brought. It was time to make our way down. In the distance, we could see some heavier clouds moving in, so we knew we needed to get moving. It took us four hours to reach the summit, it was soon evident that it would take a lot less to get down.

It didn’t take long to get back past the snow. We noticed that traffic going up was thickening. We were glad that we had begun our hike so early. About a third of the way down, we were hiking in fog. We could see the trail but nothing of the valley east of us. Our toes and quads were feeling the descent. We passed a couple of guys that we saw earlier on our way up; they were still climbing but looked a bit dehydrated. We chatted with them to check on them, but they seemed to feel like finishing. So we continued our way down.

Soon the tree line was back in view and we were below the clouds. It started sprinkling as we took a moment to grab a bite to eat and put on our rain jackets while chatting with a woman who was waiting for her husband to come back down the mountain.

Feeling good about our accomplishment, we still had a couple of miles to go to finish the job. We were looking forward to meeting back up with Gavin and thought of him in his own 14’er adventure. As we made our way through the trees and back to the trailhead, the rain intensified. Surprisingly, there were still people making their way up. We reached the trailhead and the parking lot and no sign of Gavin. Cell coverage was very limited and we couldn’t reach him by phone. We did the only thing we could think of, and that was to continue hiking along the forest road. This part was quickly going to become the least fun of the day. Trudging down the forest road getting soaked, we started sticking our thumbs out to passing SUV’s in hopes of a ride. After a couple of miles, someone finally did stop. A man and his son picked us up and they were heading back to Leadville themselves. Once within cell phone range, we called Gavin and learned that he had just finished his own hike. He was to meet us back in Leadville.

Gavin had left us that morning and drove to Mt. Huron. His hike was to be a couple of miles shorter than ours and his target summit was at 14,003 ft. Because of his later start, the rain that hit us on our way down from our summit, hit him on his way up. He made the decision to cut his climb short due to the worsening weather.

Mike and I were exhausted but excited. 14, 433 feet! No matter the difficulty or ease of the trail, getting up to that height on foot, especially when I live at around 950 feet, was no small feat. I was already looking forward to day number two and our second 14’er attempt of the weekend.

Day Two: Mt. Massive, June 21, 2009

It rained all night and it was still sprinkling in the morning. The alarm clock went off at 4:00am. We were hoping to be on the trail by 5:00am. As we met up in the parking lot, we learned that Gavin was not feeling well and that he wasn’t going to join us. Even feeling crappy, he was a trooper and gave us a ride to the trailhead.

The way to the Halfmoon Mt Massive trailhead (10,400 ft.) is reached by much the same route as the Mt. Elbert North Trailhead except you add on another 2.5 miles of some of the ruttiest forest road in Colorado. I am not normally a Hummer advocate, but it would prove to be a very useful vehicle to get through this road. Finally at the trailhead, we said our goodbyes to Gavin, gathered our things and began our hike in the sprinkling rain.

The trail was wet and in spots a bit muddy. There was a creek to our left that was roaring from all of the rainwater and melting mountain snow. About a half an hour into our hike, it finally stopped sprinkling. The morning was chilly but once the rain was gone, we could tell that it was going to improve considerably. As we made our way along the creek, we noticed the mountains around us were covered in fresh snow. Soon we came out into a meadow and the view was awe inspiring. We were surrounded by mountains and incredible scenery. The trail at this point was considerably easy which allowed us to really take it all in, but that was soon to change.

We came upon a sign where the trail split and we took the trail to the right, where from this point on, it would begin to climb considerably. We passed a section of rugged rocks where it was obvious a crew of volunteers in the past must have worked their asses off laying down rocks as steps. Once pass this first rocky section, we continued up the trail along mossy and grassy terrain. We hit a few switchbacks and slowly came closer and closer to the first patches of snow. Below us, we could see a couple of hikers steadily gaining on us. Looking up, we couldn’t see the summit, but we could see that there was plenty of snow and a long way yet to go.

At some point, we lost the trail. Most likely it wound under some snow patch and we just couldn’t follow it. Plus there were no tracks to follow from hikers ahead of us. We decided to go up a slope that seemed as the most obvious route to where we needed to be. This is when the hikers behind us caught up with us. They were a couple of guys from Ft. Collins that were making a second attempt at summiting Mt. Massive. After chatting with them for a bit, they took the lead and quickly widen a gap.

As we made our way upwards, we came to another rocky section. Remember, we lost the trail, so we were simply going by feel and from where we thought we needed to go. Plus the Ft. Collins guys were "blazing" a route that we began to follow. The rocky section became steeper and we literally began to climb using all fours. Mike was getting ahead of me, as it seemed that the altitude was definitely affecting me more than it was him. I was also being a lot more cautious getting over this rocky, steep section than he was. Soon, the difficulty of this section became worse due to snow and ice. I was becoming concerned that we wouldn't make it past this.

We continued to steadily climb. Our route had brought us up the south west face of the mountain. Soon, we were able to look down the east face, as other hikers were making their way up a different route. Once past the rocks, the wind picked up considerably and we had to get passed a patch of ice where I didn't feel completely comfortable of the footing. I was very careful as Mike looked on ahead of me. From here, we could see the first of three fake summits and the saddle that led to the true summit. Every step was laborious for me and I had to take big, bottom-of-the-diaphragm breaths to feel right. We made it past the rocks and now it was simply crossing the saddle at around 14,300 feet. The wind was screaming! The view to the north and west was incredible with nothing but snow-capped mountains for as far as the eye could see. Incredible!

I was worn out, but I knew we were almost there. We hiked the ridge past the false summits and finally made it to the true one. I had to take a moment to catch my breath and just look around. Mike was there and so were the two Ft. Collins guys. We congratulated each other, took pictures and took it all in. You could see the mountains to the north and west. You could also see Mt. Elbert which we had climbed before. To the east was the valley and you could see Leadville in the distance. 14,421 feet, baby! Awesome!

But as always, summiting is only half the job. We had to get down. Mike and I knew we didn't want to go back the way we came for those last 1,500 feet. So, we made an effort to stay on the trail on the way back and see if we could figure out an easier way down than the route we took to the top. We came across another hiker that informed us that we needed to follow the ridge a bit longer to stay on the Halfmoon Mt Massive trail. And he was right, except once again we came up on snow that covered the trail with no obvious route to follow down. However, Mike decided that it was time for a little glissading, a technique where you slide down snow on your ass while keeping your legs straight out in front of you and ideally using a climbing axe to self-arrest, if needed, but we used our hiking poles. Turned out to be alot of fun and after three separate sets, we knocked off about 1,000-1,500 feet in a matter of minutes.

Next thing we knew, we were back on the original trail among the mossy slope of the mountain. It was in the bag and the hardest part was over. We soon reached the meadow we were in ealrier. Mike and I both looked up at the mountain in respect, thinking how surreal our experience had been at the top. We reached the tree line again and it wasn't long before we were back at the trailhead. Gavin was there, all smiles, and welcoming us back. We were glad to see him and wished he had felt good enough to join us that morning. Still, the experience was amazing. Two 14'ers in two days! It took us almost five hours to summit but only two nad a half to get down. Go figure.

That's the story of my Colorado weekend. An experience that I will never forget. I hope one day to go back and either climb some other 14'ers or tackle some of those beautiful trails with my trail running shoes. Who knows, maybe even trying the Leadville 100 some day.

SweetH20 50K

2009-06-01T18:36:00.000-07:00

The SweetH20 50K is only three years old, but for one reason or another, this was the first time I had an opportunity to do it. And I jumped on it! I’ve run at Sweetwater Creek Park several times. I’ve run along the very technical sections. I’ve climbed the hills. I’ve covered the rollercoaster ride of the power line sections. And I’ve been to the “Top of the World” before. But this would be the first time to do all those things, and then some, in a race with about 200 fellow trail runners. Sweet, indeed!

After the Country Music Marathon last month, I was very happy to get off the asphalt and back on the trails. My running in May was a matter of recovering from the road race and gladly getting the feel of the trail under my feet again. My friends, Woody and Roxanne, and I came out to Sweetwater Creek Park a couple of weekends before the 50K to get 18 miles or so in and get a preview of the course. The weekend before the 50K, Woody and I went up to Amicalola Falls and ran the AT approach trail to Springer Mountain, ran a little extra credit on the Benton McKaye trail and covered about 20 miles. I felt pretty ready for the 50K and I knew I would enjoy it much more than the road marathon.

Race day morning would start with my alarm clock going off at 5:00 am. I got dressed, grabbed a quick breakfast and my things and headed out the door. While I was on my way to the race, I thought of a friend, Tony, who was supposed to have started running from his house at 2 am to the start for a 28 or so mile warm up. Turns out, he made it and not only that, he managed to complete the 50K in a little over 8 hours (he da man!) Anyways, I arrived at the park and picked up my bib number. The fun thing about a local race is all the friendly and familiar faces. I ran into fellow blogger, David Ray, which if you haven’t checked his blog out, go to http://seedadrunrundadrun.blogspot.com/. There was some excitement about ultra-legend, Dave Horton, participating in the race. I missed his talk the night before at the pasta dinner, but I did get to say “Hello” to him as everyone began to line up for the start.

After a few last minute announcements by Johnny, the race director, we were off! Thankfully, most of the first couple miles were on the road, this helped thin the crowd out a bit before we entered the first trail. Not long after being on the trail, we hit the first obstacle of the race, a concrete lake drain that was pretty slippery and more than one almost ended up on their butt. This was also the first time of many that our shoes would be soaked. Then came a significantly rocky section where everyone first slowed to a walk. It was going to be a long day.

We ended up back on pavement for a short while as we somehow ran back by the start of the race. After about 30-40 minutes of racing we would get back on the trails for good. Sweetwater Creek Park has sections of trail that are significantly technical. We came up the “blue” trail, down a set of wooden steps and past some waterfalls to run along the park’s “white trail”. The roots and rocks in this section make it for cautious progress, but I was feeling pretty good. I knew that one of the tougher sections of the course was coming up, the dreaded “Top of the World”.

Just beyond the boundary of the park exist trails that are on private property and that connect with a section of power lines that test a runner’s mettle every time. We hit these trails by following and crossing a small creek and going up the first of several serious climbs on the course, straight up to a ridge, over rocks and a fallen tree. Once on the ridge, you go back down and then back up several more climbs. The last climb in this series rewards the runners with an aid station, but not without passing a spray painted message on the climb that read, “Think what the 2nd time will be like.” Premonition words. Another climb from here and you come into an opening that provides you with a view that goes around for miles. We were on “Top of the World”. There someone has somehow placed a little swinging double chair to enjoy the view.

Then you hit the power line hills. Ugh! Out in the open, the beautiful sunny and blue skies were not pleasant. And the up and down of the power line hills shred the quads and do a number on the toes. But with a grin and a little determination, you get through it.

Soon, we were back inside the park trails and headed up the ‘white” trail towards the “yellow” trail loop. As you arrive, an aid station awaits to top off on fluids and get a PB&J and some Coke. Gotta love trail race aid stations! Across a metal bridge, the “yellow” trail loop has a doozy of a climb. As we came back down towards the metal bridge, we would run left and away from it on a forest service road that would take us to another smaller power line section, again outside the park. Once over this, we would hit a steep downhill that was on barely traveled trails. In fact, the closer we got to the bottom, the less of a trail that you could see. It might be why as I type this, I have poison ivy spots all over my shins. Once at the bottom, we arrived at the river crossing.

The river was up dramatically due to all the recent rain, and the current was moving too. The crossing is rope assisted, but for safety, race organizers asked all runners to cross the river one at a time. So we all got bottle necked here. Luckily, every one had a sense of humor about it and patiently waited their turn. After about ten minutes, it was mine. I grabbed the rope with both hands and made my way across. Halfway across, it wasn’t too bad. It was the second half that would prove a bit tricky as the water got deeper and the current a bit stronger. Once out of the water, the difficulty was the steep climb back up to the trail.

Once on the trail, my friend Kelli was there to cheer some friends and she got a few pics of me coming up the trail. It was good to see her and get some encouraging words as I went by.

It wasn’t long before we were running down the “blue” trail again and came out into an area where some of the runner’s cars were parked including mine. I unloaded my running pack and hydration bladder at my car and got back on the trail with just my water bottle. At this point, there was only 10 miles or so left. Next up, round two of the power line hills.

We came down a long descent to arrive at an aid station. The guys at this aid station get major kudos because they had everything: sports drink, water, plenty of food and ice. The only way to get all the stuff there was down about a half mile length of trail and up/down 200 ft. or so elevation. All of the materials had to be carried on foot. And they did it all with a smile. I made sure I thanked these guys for their efforts.

From here, you cross a short wooden bridge and then down the same trail as before to the power line sections. We hit much of the same hills as in the earlier portion of the race. Except this time, the heat had turned it up a notch and the sun beat down on you hard. Needless to say, the climbs were that much more difficult this time. Remember the spray painted words earlier? They were still there. Funny guy, whoever left that message.

Another friend of mine, Kelly, was running her first 50K. I would see her at points along this section as she wasn’t too far behind me. She later explained to me that there was a point where she thought she was a bit lost since she didn’t have anyone in front of her as a reference and she was shouting for some help. I had heard the shouts, but couldn’t make them out and didn’t know their intention. Luckily, she found her way.

So after some grueling climbing and descending, we were finally on the home stretch. I refueled at the aid station at mile 27; I figured I was home free from any more climbs. I was soon to learn how wrong I was. Cruising along the creek trail and heading back towards the waterfalls we saw earlier in the race, I saw that the race markers seem to go sharply to the left. This was to be the big surprise of the race and the cruelest climb of them all. There was no trail, but the markers clearly went sharply up and up the hill. Remember, there’s 28 miles already on the legs. The only way up was by walking and grabbing onto small trees along the way. Once at the top, the course went right and flattened out. It took a moment to get the heart rate back down and catch my breath. My legs felt like jelly.

After a bit more bush-whacking, somehow you got dumped back out on the “blue” trail. It was a matter of placing one foot in front of the other for the last few miles. I passed the final aid station, calmly ate another PB&J and had some fluids. Just another mile and a half to go. I heard what I thought were fire crackers and I figured they were being fired by the race organizers as the runners arrived at the finish. I later learned that it was actually a local sheriff firing range. I’m glad I ran with a bright orange shirt on.

Finally, I could hear the murmur of the crowd hanging out at the finish, even though I couldn’t see it. The last couple hundred yards or so of the race follows a road and then you take some wooden steps off to the left and up a short hill climb. There’s the finish. Wow, another 50K in the bag. I did it in 6:13 and change. Not a bad day’s work, considering all the challenges. I was surprised by my wife, Stacy, who had decided to come out to the park and see me finish. It was a very appreciated surprise. I got a kiss from my wife, a finisher’s hat from the race and then a plate of BBQ pulled pork with some sides. Nice.

You gotta love trail races because everyone hangs out after they finish and cheer on remaining finishers. I love the camaraderie! I was there to greet Kelly as she finished. She had dealt with some cramps on the mean climb at mile 28 and she was happy to finish. I was proud of her and all of my friends that finished that day.

The first few months of 2009 has simply been one race or run adventure after another. The SweetH20 50K is my third 50K of the year. Funny enough and looking ahead, it may be my last one for a little while, as Stacy and I are expecting parents and it is yet to be seen how that will affect my race schedule. I have another adventure in June, traveling to Colorado to hike two 14’ers with another friend, Mike. I can’t wait. Until then, I’m going to run some trails this summer and try to get back on my bike too.

After two 50K's, a couple of ultra runs on the AT and tons of daily trail miles, it's time to retire my Cascadia 3's. Already have a new pair of Cascadia 4's to break in. Sweet!

Country Music Marathon

2009-04-29T19:54:00.000-07:00

Back in 1999, a friend was training for the Chicago Marathon as a first time marathoner. At the time, I thought two miles was a long run. Yet, there was something about my friends training and determination that sparked my interest in the marathon. October came and she ran the marathon and had an incredible time. I was more than impressed and I started to consider trying a similar adventure for myself. Coincidentally, I lived in Nashville at the time and they had just announced the inaugural Country Music Marathon to be held the following April. That was it. I had to do it.

I joined a local training program and soon enough, that two mile long run became four, then eight, then twelve…you get the idea. Next thing I know, I was in my start corral at the race. The gun went off and I have to say, that I haven’t stopped running since.

Fast forward to 2008, I heard about the 10th anniversary of the Country Music Marathon and I just had to sign up. Today, I am an experienced marathoner, ultrarunner and Ironman. Things have changed a lot for me in the last nine years and I figured that by running this year’s race, it would bring it all full circle for me.

My wife, Stacy, and I drove up to Nashville the day before the race. We checked in to the hotel, passed through the Expo and had dinner with friends at a great local eatery. Four-thirty in the morning came awful quick after a restless night of sleep. My things were laid out as usual. I had taken the time to pin my bib number the night before. The D-Tag timing device was securely fasten to my running shoe. I got dressed, grabbed my water bottle and kissed Stacy. Downstairs, the hotel was smart enough to provide an early breakfast for the marathoners. After a bite to eat, I headed out and made the mile or so walk to the stadium where shuttles were waiting to take runners to the start. My buddies Woody and Doug, who we met up with the night before for dinner, were planning on meeting me there to take the ride to the start together. With the crowds however, we totally missed each other. The shuttle ride wasn’t too bad, a bit crowded but we made it to the start rather quickly.

The race has grown considerably. The first year I think there were around 8,000 runners, all in the marathon. A couple of years later, the race added the half-marathon option and that’s how today there are over 31,000 runners. So, coming off the shuttle, all you could see was people everywhere. There’s something about these big production races that is becoming unattractive to me. I guess, I am getting used to trail races where there are only a few hundred runners or triathlons including the Ironman, where at the most there are 2,000 participants. So, I was feeling a bit claustrophobic.

I went to my corral hoping to still see Woody and Doug. The sun was making its way over the tops of the buildings and the temps were already starting to climb. It was going to be hot one! I managed to meet up with Woody and Doug and the race got started.

First couple of miles, I tried to keep up with those guys and I knew it was a bad idea when I saw the splits were about 7:30 pace. It wasn’t long before Woody and Doug dropped me. At mile 2, I spotted my wife in the crowd, gave her a quick wave and kept on. I slowed down to a more manageable 8:30 clip and kept repeating a mantra in my head, “Take it easy. Treat this as a long run. Don’t overheat.” The Country Music Marathon is known for its hills. The race organizers have revised the course several times over the years in an effort to lessen them, but there are still plenty of them on the route. Anyway, we ran through Music Row, the part of town where many of the record companies, recording studios and music publishers are based. You have to wonder just how many dreamers have come to this town with nothing but a guitar and never catch a break. Of course, every once in a while somebody makes it big.

Through mile 8, I was feeling fine, although I started to get concerned about the heat. This initial section is an out and back, so you can see the elites run by on the way out and then see the rest of us mortals on the way back into downtown. Somewhere in this section, I saw a guy in a full on bear mascot costume. I later learned that he finished the half marathon in about two hours. Unreal.

At mile 11, the half marathoners veer off the full marathon course. It was nice to have the crowd thin out some. At mile 13, my pace was maintaining, but I could tell it was not going to be my day. I have run this race four other times and this is the part of the course that I don’t enjoy. It’s all office park that is in a part of town difficult for friends and family to get in and cheer. No shade, no cheering crowds and plenty of black top. Even the greenway portion along the river was tough. The one positive was the trademark bands all along the route.

At mile 16 and after a quick pottie break, I knew I was decently hydrated and that was the good news. But things were starting to deteriorate and my pace was falling off. I walked up a lengthy hill around mile 18. Out of the office park area and down 8th Avenue, I got some pep back in my step. I had a laugh when I saw the back of some guy’s shirt that read, “My friends told me it was 2.62 miles.” Mile 19 sees the full and half marathon courses meet up again for about a mile, a long mile up a hill. From the top of the hill, you can see the stadium where the finish line is located.

I spotted Stacy again around mile 20 and stopped for a second. She had timed it just right and I appreciated the smile and kiss. Just a 10K to go. No problem, right?

Another out and back into Shelby Park awaited. I saw Woody on his way to the finish line when I was making my way into the park. I was surprised to see him, but I later learned that he didn’t have his best day either. After seeing Woody, my miles were getting longer and longer. I made it into the park and came across an aid stop giving out ice. I put some under my running cap and that definitely woke me up a little. Still, my pace was definitely not holding up.

The last two miles of the course is through an industrial part of town. I could see the stadium over the tops of the warehouses. As I got closer, I could hear the announcer. I was ready to get this one over. Came around a bend and I could see the crowds. Country Music Marathon has a final turn about 300 yards from the finish, so you can’t see the banner until after the turn. As I made the turn, I picked it up a bit. I heard my name from the crowd and once again spotted Stacy. Gave her a wave and stepped it up. I crossed the finish line at 4:14:41 by the clock, but 4:10:54 by my watch, a good 40 or so minutes slower than my normal marathon time but mission accomplished.

Another marathon under my belt and this one was well earned. I took full advantage of all the finish line goodies, especially the ice soaked sponges. Took the mandatory “medal picture” and I made my way thru the maze and came out to where Stacy was waiting for me. I was glad to be done.

Nine years after my first marathon, I have participated in dozens of races. As tough as this race was for me, I will always appreciate the fact that I started running. It has changed my life and running this race did indeed bring it full circle for me. However, I think I am going to take a break from road races for now. I have a trail 50K coming up at the end of May and I can’t wait.

Mount Cheaha 50K

2009-04-05T18:56:00.000-07:00

I realize the event in this blog entry is out of order chronologically. However, since I have been slacking in contributing to my new blog and the event was just a little over a month ago, I decided to go ahead and write a race report…

Saturday, February 28th started at 5:30 am when Woody and I hit the road on our way to the Mt. Cheaha 50K race in Alabama. The race was scheduled to start at 7:30 am CST. The hour gained by the time zone changed allowed us to sleep in our beds in Atlanta, get up early and make the drive. The drive wasn’t too bad until we crossed the stateline and the rain started. It was raining buckets! Once off the interstate, it took us a bit longer than expected to arrive at Mount Cheaha State Park. The plan was to catch the bus to the start and the bus was scheduled for 6:05 am. It was about 6:00 am when we arrived and parked the car.

Woody and I walked into Bald Rock Lodge thinking that we were late and about to be rushed onto the waiting buses, but we found all the runners just patiently hanging out and chatting amongst each other. Turns out the buses were down the hill stuck in some mud and it would be a while before they would make their way up to the lodge. Meanwhile, the rain continued outside. All the rain was going to swell the various creeks and rivers along the race route, but more on that later.

Todd, the race director, was doing his best to appear calm and was handling the delay well. The runners in the lodge were patiently waiting as the clock was ticking on by and the buses were still not arriving. Woody and I were able to kill some time by meeting and talking to some of the other runners. One of them being an experienced ultra-runner named Rich. Turns out, Rich was the originator of a legendary race back home called the Battle of Atlanta. This urban ultra consisted of meeting at the top of Stone Mountain at sunrise, touching the geological marker and making your way across Atlanta and northwest to Kennesaw to the top of Kennesaw Mountain. It was a low-key race of 30+ miles that demanded runners to be self-sufficient. Rich had organized the race during the 90’s with the last one back in 2003. As he put it, it just became too much work. Anyway, Rich made a comment that would end up being prophetic later in the day. He said that his experience in ultra-racing allowed him to catch less experienced runners every time and he would prove this to be so.

It was finally announced that the buses were making their way up the hill to the lodge. Everybody topped off their water bottles, made one last trip to the bathroom and headed out side. The two school buses pulled around and we all piled in. The ride to the start was rather uneventful with everyone just checking their things and encouraging each other. The rain had stopped and the sun even peaked out through the clouds. A bit later, we arrived at the start, a spot off of highway 77 where the Pinhoti trail intersected. Sweet, we were finally going to get the show on the road (or I should say, trail.)

From here, the course takes us on the Pinhoti Trail, the Skyway Trail, Chinobee Trail and a couple of forest roads. The race ends at the top of Mt. Cheaha back at the lodge. Along the way, we could expect several ridge climbs, creeks, one rope assisted river crossing, waterfalls, rocky trails and around mile 28, a hellacious climb called Blue Hill, or as some call it, Blue Hell.

Music was blaring from someone’s SUV as we all lined-up under the start banner. Todd got on the mic with a few last minute instructions. The race started and we were on our way. Immediately, we were squeezed into single track trail and at first it was difficult to gain positions. Eventually, things would begin to spread out and everyone would find their spot along the course. The first few miles to the first aid station took us through leaf and pine needle covered trails soaked with several puddles from the night’s rain. At first, we would all try to avoid the water but it was soon evident that this was a futile effort. There is a significant climb in this first section and this helped to spread the crowd out even more. Soon enough, we were at the first aid station.

Woody and I were sticking together and we were both feeling pretty good at this point. The aid station was set up on a forest service road right before a train crossing. We made it through the aid station without much of a delay and quickly made our way up the road and back on the trail. Apparently, a train came through after we had passed and delayed some of the other runners.

Once back on the trail, we made our way up a series of climbs. Turns out Rich had been in front of us and we made our way passed him with a wave and a pat on the back. He just smiled and gave us a nod as we went by.

The trail made its way up a climb and dumped out onto a forest road. We ran along the forest road for several miles. The rain had created ruts of mud and we made our way around them. We passed some other runners and it seemed that all was going well. Personally, I wasn’t feeling the climbs and I was looking forward to the creek crossings. However, we would soon learn that the previous night’s rain had swelled the creeks considerably.

We made it into aid station #2, loaded up on some PB&J’s, refilled water bottles and headed up the hill. We were now back on the Pinhoti trail and making our way up onto a ridge. At the top, we were rewarded with a fantastic view even though visibility wasn’t at its best. The trail was pretty rocky on the ridge and we had to watch our footing. Still, we made good progress and for a little while at least, it seemed that Woody and I were the only two runners on the trail. The trail crossed a forest service road several times and as we made our way off the ridge. We would soon arrive at aid station #3 at Adams Gap.

To get to the aid station, we had to run a short segment off the trail where the runners ahead of us were coming at us. We saw the first female and she was looking strong. Needless to say, we would not see her again. I shoved some roasted, salted potatoes in my mouth, took a few swigs of Accelerade and headed back out. We would soon split off the Pinhoti and get on the Skyway trail.

I took the lead for the next few miles and this is where I started to feel less than 100%. We had picked up another runner and we made our way along the trail like a little convoy. I could tell that I was holding up Woody, but he was letting me stay in the lead as we wound our way along another ridge and more rocky trail. We pulled into aid station #4 around mile 18 and I couldn’t be happier. As I was refueling and trying to get my strength back, Woody was itching to get moving. The guys at the station warned us of the coming creek crossings.

Back on the trail, this time Woody was in front. The gap between us started to grow and it wasn’t long before he was well ahead of me and out of sight. The other guy we had picked up in the last section would end up leaving me too. I was on my own for the rest of the race.

I came upon a couple of creeks and sure enough, because of all the rain, the water was more than knee deep. My shoes got soaked but my Smartwool socks were holding up just fine. The cold water actually felt good too. After a couple more climbs, I made it down a hill and I could here rushing water. Soon enough I was at the bank of a river. Normally, the river is rather tame and barely deep enough to get your knee caps wet. But today, it was to prove a tricky crossing even with the assistance of a rope. I clipped my water bottle and grabbed the rope. I was halfway across when I slipped and went in chest deep. The water gave me a rush of adrenaline and I quickly came back to my feet and finished getting across. A photographer was on the other bank and would capture the moment. Once across, it was a short jog along the bank to the next aid station.

After 22 miles, you appreciate a smiling face and encouraging words and that’s what the folks waiting at the aid station offered. Appreciative of this, I refueled once again and wondered how far ahead was Woody, even though I wouldn’t see him again until the finish. At this point, several of us were hurting. Some of the runners I had passed earlier were now catching and passing me, while I was passing others. I would soon catch up to a friend, John, who was having some issues with cramps. I was surprised to see him as John is an experienced ultra-runner but the cramps were really giving him a hard time. While we rubber band each other several times, we passed some spectacular water falls. Another fellow Georgia runner, Reagan, passed us both and she would end up being the second place female.

The trail ends up on another forest road and this was a less scenic part of the course with a long straight away and a slight ascent. I could see Reagan in front of me by a couple hundred yards, but I would never catch her. John ended up catching up to me once again and we ran together for a few miles while the course went from packed dirt road to an asphalt road. We were on the asphalt for a short while and we came into a park where the next aid station was waiting for us at mile 28. I knew that Blue Hill was next and I was anticipating a tough climb. I would underestimate the difficulty. More roasted salted potatoes, a Coke and I thought I was a new man. John tried to stay with me as we left the aid station but as soon as the climb began, he would get ahead. I guess his cramps weren’t that bad after all.

Whatever description I make of the climb up Blue Hill, it will not do it justice. There was no running at this point. Just grab tree limbs, place your hands on your knees and climb up a wall of rocks. That’s the best I can describe it. After almost 29 miles, putting this climb at this point of the course is just plain evil. And I wouldn’t have it any other way. I finally made up to the top in what felt like an eternity. The final miles were no where as difficult but the climb took it out of me for sure.

At the top there is about a half mile of asphalt and then we get back on trail and a short climb. Some where along this point I heard a runner coming up behind me while I could hear the music of the finish line ahead of me, it was Rich. Damn it, if he didn’t catch me right at the end. I moved aside as he went by with a smile on his face. I gritted my teeth and made my way up the trail then road to the finish line. Todd, the race director, was waiting under the finish banner and congratulating all the finishers. Some one handed me a cool technical shirt with the race logo and the word “Finisher” on it. How cool is that!?

I went inside the lodge, grabbed some pizza and found Woody. He ended up putting over a half hour between us. I guess I paced him pretty well for the first half of the race. We hung out for a while, refreshed and changed into drier clothes. Everyone was tired but content with the accomplishment. Mount Cheaha was conquered!

So there it is…my second 50K of 2009. Next up, the Country Music Marathon in Nashville in late April and then the SweetH20 50K at the end of May.

Georgia Appalachian Trail Fun Run

2009-03-18T19:21:00.000-07:00

The idea sprouted from Woody's head back in October. It blossomed when he shared it with me and Doug to run the entire section of the Appalachian Trail that resides in Georgia. The full 2,100+ mile trek formally begins at Springer Mountain in Georgia and ends at Mt. Khatadin in Maine. The Georgia portion is only 76 miles. 76 miles that undulates between 2,500 feet at its lowest point to almost 4,500 feet at its highest. Southbound would be the chosen direction for the run, as it would be the "easier" direction. Close to 28,000 feet of climbing and a bit more of the same in downhills. That’s almost up and back down on Mt. Everest. Daunting.

Background

Doug, Woody, another buddy, Andrew, and I first attempted the run back in January. The original plan included a night stay in a rented cabin and dividing the run in two sections. We were to start at Blue Ridge Gap which is just 3 miles from the NC/GA stateline and the last spot in Georgia where the trail meets a forest road only accessible by car. The plan was to run North, hit the stateline and then make our way South to Springer Mountain. The whole route would total about 80 miles. We had everything figured out: drop bags, pacers to come up on Saturday to help run on Sunday, overnight stay, food and water but ultimately, we weren't prepared for the weather. It all went as planned for most of the first day until we passed Chattahoochee Gap. Night settled in and a snow storm began to drop a few inches. May not sound like much, but those few inches, combined with very cold temperatures, put the kabash on the run. We made it 44 miles and arrived at Hogpen Gap, where we had to call our friends, Jon and Lane, who were at the cabin waiting to pace us the next day to come get us. Running in the cold is OK, but when your feet are wet and then frozen, it's no fun. So we had to postpone the idea for another day. That day would come again in mid-March.

Second Attempt

It wasn't long before we had a new date and a new plan. Saturday, March 14th and Sunday, March 15th became the target weekend for the run. This time we would try running through the night and have a crew follow us along the way. We would start at Deep Gap in North Carolina, once again run southbound and end the run at Springer Mountain, whole journey totaling just over 83 miles. We designated nine aid stops along the way.

The original running line-up changed slightly when Andrew decided he would come up late on Saturday to run with us from Hogpen Gap. In his place, our buddy Jon filled his spot. My wife, Stacy, and several others signed up to crew with a few of them planning to pace us during sections.

Deep Gap, NC (4,600 ft) to Blue Ridge Gap, GA (3,020 ft) - 9.9 miles

We chose Deep Gap because it could be reached by a forest service road and it was the first point we could enter the trail on the NC side. We learned the week before the run that the forest service road is closed from mid-October to mid-March. Woody called the park rangers in NC and confirmed that the road would be opened on Monday after our run...bummer. We left Atlanta at 6:45am, a bit later than we intended. The plan was to try to be on the trail by 9:30am hoping the gate on the forest service road would be close to the trail. When we arrived, we found the gate is about a mile in off US 64, but five miles from the AT. This meant Springer Mountain would now be about 88 miles away. Two men in another vehicle pulled up about the same time. They were locals helping emergency units respond to a call from a hiker on the trail needing rescue due to a blood sugar problem. Clay county EMS and park rangers were already up on the trail looking for him. Although concerned for the hiker, we were excited as our journey was about to begin. Stacy dropped us off and we were on our way.

A note on the weather, we knew that the weekend called for cooler temperatures and a bit of rain. The bit of rain would be more than that by the end of the day, but more on that later. When we started our run, it was cloudy with a misty drizzle and temperatures in the 40's.

We passed the gate and hit the forest road. It was very soft and somewhat muddy due to the weather. We could see the tracks from the rescue vehicles. The forest road started to climb almost immediately. About 45 minutes in we were amazed to see an ambulance. There was a park ranger near by and he told us they had to use a wench three times just to get it to this point. We kept going and finally came to the point where the forest road ended. There was a pick up truck there with no one inside and with several decals proving the owner was a fireman. We didn't see any white blazes indicating the AT but we had to choose from three trails, two with blue diamond blazes and one unmarked. We weren't sure which one to choose and apparently missed this in our hiking guide books. We tried the unmarked trail first and after about five minutes down the trail realized that it was a dead end. Then we tried one of the blue blazed trails and ran down it for almost 10 minutes. No AT to be found down this trail, so we turned around again. Finally, we went up the only choice we had left and just a few yards up the hill was the AT. A welcomed site as we probably tacked on about 2 miles plus the five coming up to this point. Anyway, we were finally on the AT. Next stop Blue Ridge Gap.

A couple miles down the trail, an ATV was coming towards us. We figured it must be part of the rescue team and sure enough, the driver of the ATV was carrying a passenger, the affected hiker. He stoped as we let them by, and asked where we were heading. We told him we were heading south and he looked at us oddly and asked, "Where are your packs?" We didn't tell him we were running it and just mentioned that we had a ride waiting for us past the stateline. After some encouragement to the hiker, we moved on, hoping that we wouldn't have to experience something similar first-hand. We came across another ATV and several members of the rescue team a mile or so later. Once past them, we didn't see anyone for a while.

Things were going as planned and everyone was feeling good. Because of the mist, visibility was poor off the ridge. We couldn't see what would normally be fantastic views. However, we were in good spirits and quickly closing in on the stateline. Right before Bly Gap (3,840 ft), we stopped at this bizarre shaped tree, took some photos, Woody posted to Twitter from his phone and we carried on. Soon afterwards, we came to the part of the trail where a sign says, "NC/GA". This meant a couple more photos. I received a call from Stacy and learned that she had met up with another friend, Nancy, as planned and they were now waiting for us at Blue Ridge Gap, just three or so miles from where we now were. Most of the trail from here is down hill so we were making good time. The first of many thru-hikers were appearing on the trail. Many AT thru-hikers begin their journey from Georgia to Maine in March to beat the hot summer months. It was strange to think that what these hikers were covering heading northbound in their first week, we were attempting to cover heading southbound in less than two days.

After passing a few more thru-hikers, we came across a bizarre little "greeter" someone had placed off the trail. It was a stuffed animal wearing a hard hat with a sign, "Boo-boo wishes y’all Good Luck thru-hike". We got a good chuckle from it and had to take a few pics. Shortly after, we came down the hill and into another forest road crossing, Blue Ridge Gap. Stacy and Nancy were waiting for us with coffee and munchies, a welcomed sight! Another vehicle was there helping some thru-hikers, a young girl and two guys, father-son duo from Maine. First section and 17 miles in the bag.

Blue Ridge Gap (3,020 ft) to Dicks Creek Gap (2,675 ft) - 5.8 miles

Coming out of Blue Ridge Gap is a bit of a climb but once over the ridge and across Plum Orchard Gap (3,100 ft), a long and steady drop begins on the way to Dicks Creek Gap, the second lowest point on the Georgia AT. This section is short and we knew we would see our crew soon. So we took it easy, hiked the climbs and ran the downhills. We made good time and almost surprised our crew. They had just set up a tarp and had begun boiling water for soup on a camping stove. The soup was incredibly revitalizing. The morning drizzle and mist was starting to sink in and the soup warmed us up. Thru-hikers had also arrived and were resting before tackling the hill we just came down. Someone had left a case of Coke and beer off the road and the thru-hikers were helping themselves.

Doug had begun to have stomach troubles before arriving at Dicks Creek. He thought that eating something would settle it, but it was to be a lingering issue for him down the trail. Once fed, we grabbed our gear and helped Stacy and Nancy put a few things back in the cars. It was time to cross US 76 to continue our journey. Second section complete and 23 miles behind us.

Dicks Creek Gap (2,675 ft) to Tray Gap (3,841 ft) - 12.2 miles

The next 12 or so miles are some of the toughest on the trail. The biggest challenge on this section is Tray Mountain (4,430 ft.). But before we hit that evil climb, we would have some work to do. The trail out of Dicks Creek Gap immediately begins an ascent up to Powell Mountain (3,840 ft), a climb of over 1,100 feet in just a few miles. Needless to say, it was slow going and not much running at this point. Once over the top, the trail eases up a little as we made our way into Deep Gap (3,350 ft). The weather was still a bit misty and overhead it was cloudy, but it would end up being the best weather of the day. We took turns at the front and made decent progress, considering the climbing involved. There were two more significant climbs before we finally made it through Addis Gap (3,300 ft) about 5.5 miles after our last aid stop. From here, the trail feels like a roller coaster, going up and down between 3,600 and 3,800 ft. As we were nearing the climb to Tray Mountain (4,430 ft), Doug let us know that he most likely was not going to continue. He was not comfortable with his stomach issues and on top of that, he was beginning to have trouble with stiffness in his legs. The rest of us were saddened by this decision and we hoped that when we arrived at the next stop, he would recharge his batteries and continue with us.

The climb up Tray Mountain is not a steep one, as the trail makes a series of large step climbs along the ridge to this point. However, we had already been on the trail for 30+ miles and at this point, any incline was tough. We reached the summit of Tray Mountain and did not stick around except for a photo or two. Unfortunately, the view at the top was nonexistent due to the clouds and mist. We regrouped and began our descent, knowing that in just a couple miles down the hill, our crew was waiting for us at Tray Gap.

When we came off the trail into the open at Tray Gap, there was no one there. All kinds of thoughts flooded my brain, I was wondering if I had given Stacy wrong directions, or worse, if something happened to her and Nancy. To make matters worse, I could not get any signal from my cell phone.
We knew the trail hit the same forest road just another mile down the trail. Perhaps, they would be down there. To our relief, this was the case. Once again, soup, coffee and smiles from Stacy and Nancy to make us feel like we hadn’t just covered 35 miles. Doug didn’t change his mind and at this point, he decided to pull off the trail. After a change into dry clothes, Woody, Jon and I headed off to tackle one of the tougher challenges on the trail, Rocky Mountain (4,017 ft).

Tray Gap (3,841 ft) to Unicoi Gap (2,949 ft) - 4.4 miles

Leaving Doug behind with the crew, we hit the trail and soon came across Indian Graves Gap (3,120 ft). This meant the start up Rocky Mountain. The climb is not particularly long, but it is steep with footing being an issue. There’s plenty of bald granite and the rain made it slippery. We were glad to make it to the top and had a long descent in front of us. The sun was beginning to settle and we knew that by the time we made it down and into Unicoi, it would be dark. It was time to turn on the headlamps. We ran down without much issue except for our eyes adjusting to the lights. Coming into Unicoi Gap, we actually beat our crew there, although they soon arrived. At this point, we had logged close to 40 miles.

We helped the crew set up and enjoyed some munchies and more soup. If you’ve never tasted a real Coke after 40 miles, you are missing out. It hits the spot. At this point, the temperature was beginning to drop. The drizzle would soon turn into rain and our adventure would take on a more somber tone. We put our packs back on, crossed US 17/75 and got back on the trail.

Unicoi Gap (2,949 ft) to Hogpen Gap (3,480 ft) - 13.8 miles

Blue Mountain tops off at 4,020 ft. The trail coming out of Unicoi Gap begins ascending to Blue Mountain almost immediately. This section of the trail is very rocky and with the rain and darkness, it was to be very slow moving on this section. Woody was having some trouble with a stiff knee and he tried to loosen it up. Jon and I were feeling OK, although our wet clothes and the cold temperatures were definitely having on effect on us. We finally made it over the top of Blue Mountain, but there were more rocky sections to get through. At one point, I was leading, Woody was in the middle and Jon was trailing. We were probably about 20 yards apart from each other, when all of a sudden we heard a terrible scream. I turned around and saw Woody’s headlamp disappear in the other direction. We could barely see Jon’s headlamp and he continued to scream in pain. Woody and I made our way back to him. Jon was complaining about his knee; it seems that he fell on the rocks and banged it pretty good. Woody and I feared the worst and thoughts of carrying Jon out were going through our heads. Luckily, his knee was sore but he could walk and eventually still run on it. We had a good scare though.

I knew if we could get to Chattahoochee Gap (3,520 ft), that we would soon have a long, steady downhill where we could get some good running in and make up some time. We passed the gap with no further incident and went up a short climb. Soon we were on the downhill which was the point back in January where we began to have trouble with the snow. This time instead of snow, it was rain. It wouldn’t stop and it seeped in to our clothes. It also became very cold. The rain was affecting all of us, but it was taking its toll particularly on Jon. Jon has blood circulation issues due to his diabetes and he was losing feeling in his fingers. Also, we were running out of water because of the slow progress going up Blue Mountain. We crossed Low Gap (3,032 ft) and had another 4 miles to go until Hogpen Gap where Stacy and some fresh troops were waiting for us. Earlier in the week, I had asked these guys to bring a sack of cheeseburgers for when they met us at this stop. All I could think about were those cheeseburgers. Meanwhile, Jon’s condition was getting worse. We did not run much on these last few miles to Hogpen Gap. We were marching along in somewhat of a down mood. Suddenly, we saw two headlamps coming our way. Two of our friends, Luis and Roxanne, had decided to venture up the trail to come towards us. Talk about lifting your spirits! They were a blast of renewed energy and we finished the last mile or so with their help. As we made our way off the trail, we could see several sets of headlights and our friends, Luis, Anna, Roxanne, Andrew and Stacy, welcoming us. It was good to see them! We were freezing and immediately got into cars with coffee and hot chicken broth. 54 miles traveled so far on our tired, wet, frozen feet at this point.

Jon was done, although he eventually ended up being OK once he got some hot food in him and dry clothes on. Woody and I were coming back to life and began to prepare to hit the trail once again. I was excited because we would have fresh legs join us. Andrew, who had run with us back in January, and Roxanne, an experienced ultra-runner, were going to help us from here on out. I downed two cheeseburgers with my broth and changed into a new set of dry clothes. It was still raining outside, but I was feeling better and ready to go. I jumped out of the car with Andrew and saw that Roxanne and Woody were also ready. We had to head down a bit on the road before finding the trail.

Hogpen Gap (3,480 ft) to Neel’s Gap (3,125 ft) - 6.4 miles

Getting out of the cars, brought me right out into the wind and all that cold hit me like a ton of bricks. I had three violent shiver spasms, but I kept moving. Woody was having the same problem plus his hip flexor was bothering him. He decided to go back to the car. While Andrew went to check on him, I followed Roxanne. Roxanne and I struggled to find the trail for a second, but once Andrew was back, he guided us up the right way. We learned from Andrew that Woody was going to sit this section out and see about joining us at the next stop. That left me to complete the journey. Even though I had Roxanne and Andrew with me, I have to admit that it did affect me some to not have my adventure partners on the trail with me. I shrugged it off and just stayed focused on following Roxanne. Andrew brought up the rear. On the trail, the cold wasn’t bothering me as much and I was able to get into a comfortable pace.

The rain was a factor for sure. The trail was full of water and it seemed that we were running through a creek. Due to the wet conditions, my feet were getting waterlogged. We hit two big climbs on this section Wildcat Mountain (3,730 ft) and Cowrock Mountain (3,852 ft). This second one was unbelievably steep and I had a hard time getting up it. Once over the top, we began a long downhill into Neel’s Gap. Roxanne and Andrew were incredible. They kept me going with encouragement and jokes. I really needed it. This down slope seemed to go on forever and I thought we would never get to Neel’s Gap and the rest of our team. Andrew pointed out some lights in the distance and said we were almost there. At Neel’s Gap, the famous hostel/outdoor gear store, Walasi-yi, sits right on the trail. I knew that once I was on its stone paved path that I would be back in the warmth of a car with soup in my hand. The rain was still pouring down and when we finally arrived at the store; our crew was all either asleep or trying to stay dry and warm in the cars. I got into a car and tried to warm up. Andrew got in the same car and Jon was in the front seat. I took off my socks and shoes and saw that my feet were swollen and waterlogged for sure. I was feeling the 60 miles I had run and hiked all day. Andrew asked me if I was planning on continuing and told me he would join me if I did . I wasn’t sure. My feet were not in such good shape. I knew that we had the toughest climb of the day yet to come, Blood Mountain (4,458 ft), the tallest point on the AT in Georgia. I thought about Doug, Woody and Jon and wished we were all doing it together. I thought about our crew toughing it out and supporting us at the next few stops, the last 20 miles of it on muddy, very wet forest service roads. I thought about my wife, Stacy, who had been such a trooper crewing all day and into the night. I thought about the almost 30 miles still to go to Springer Mountain. Finally, I looked at Andrew and told him I was stopping here.

It was five o’clock in the morning. I had conquered 60 miles of the trail, Jon and Woody 54 miles and Doug 35 miles. We had given it a hell of a try. Even though we did not finish what we set out to do, I still had a great time with good friends. I wrote earlier that completing the trail along with its elevation changes would be climbing and descending Mt. Everest (bare with me, I know it’s not quite the same). The point is Sir Edmund Hillary didn’t reach the top of Everest on his first try either. We just need to regroup and one day we will enter the trail again in North Carolina and end up at the top of Springer Mountain without doubt. Just need some kind help from the trail weather gods.

My gratitude to Luis, Anna and Nancy for being crew extraordinaire. To Roxanne for pacing. To Andrew also for pacing and for being a part of the adventure from the very beginning. To my wife, Stacy, for putting up with this crazy idea, crewing all day and night and supporting me. And to Jon, Woody and Doug, you guys rock! Cheers and happy trails!