Trail runner Spotlight: David Riddle

David Riddle crosses the finish at the 2013 Mt. Mist 50K setting a new course record with a 3:36! Photo: Eric Charette

I first heard of David Riddle when he won the Stump Jump 50K in 2011. I ran that race too, and when I arrived at the finish line and learned that someone had not only set a course record, but had also gone sub-four for the first time in the race's then ten year history, I was blown away. Soon after that, it seemed that I would read about David every where. As you'll read below, he had quite a year in 2012. Then a couple of weeks ago, I would once again run a race that David would win and also set a course record with a 3:46! This year's, Mountain Mist 50K in Huntsville, AL.

I had a chance to ask David a few questions and you can read his responses below. I'm grateful to David for taking the time for this Q&A. He's an amazing runner, and a humble one at that despite his accomplishments. You'll be hearing a lot more from this guy in the future.

Hi Dave, How did you get into the world of ultras and trail running and what motivated you to do so?

I started running competitively many years ago on my 7th grade track team.  I continued racing on the track, roads, and cross-country courses, gradually improving as I progressed through high school, college (at Auburn), grad school, and then post-collegiately.  After college, I tried for a few years to qualify for the US Olympic Marathon Trials, but they lowered the standard from 2:22 to 2:19 around that same time.  Although I was able to win the 2009 Rocket City Marathon, my 2:26 finishing time and PR left me far from the trials standard.  I grew up just outside of Huntsville, and had moved back after college to begin my career as an aerospace engineer.  The passionate ultra runners living in the area (think Dink Taylor, Dewayne Satterfield, Rob Youngren, etc.) started rubbing off on me, and it wasn't long before I was running on the trails.  I jumped into a Fat Ass 50k as a long run one day with that attitude that I could drop out whenever I felt like it.  I never dropped and broke the course record.  I guess my personality just meshes really well with the running lifestyle.  Trails and ultras were just another way to continue enjoying the sport and improving myself.

You just came off a course record setting win at the Mountain Mist 50K. How do you feel about this win and given this year's muddy conditions, do you see yourself coming back to Monte Sano for yet another record attempt on hopefully a drier course?

I feel really great after the win at Mtn Mist this year.  I think that was my best race in almost a year.  It's a huge confidence boost and shows that I have a great combination of strength and speed right now.  I don't think the muddy conditions affected me too much. The trail was actually drier than I was expecting.  It could have been a very different experience for those father back in the pack as the trail tends to get chewed up quickly, but it was in pretty good shape for me.  I plan to continue coming back to Mtn Mist simply because it's basically my hometown 50k, but breaking my new course record is going to be really tough.  I'd also like to get a 10 year finisher jacket, so you'll see me running in the Mist again.

Riddle and Henshaw lead the pack at the
'12 IAU 100K World Championships.
Photo: Darryl Schaffer 

You raised a lot of eyebrows in 2011 when you won and broke the 17-year old course record at the JFK 50 and then earned the top American spot at the 2012 IAU 100k World Championship. Describe both of those experiences.

Breaking the course record at JFK was a surreal experience.  I really hadn't even dreamed that I could run that fast.  It was just a very special day where all the ingredients came together perfectly and I ran an amazing race.  Having the chance to run down Michael Wardian in the last few miles of the race allowed me to push my body to a place where I couldn't have gone without some external motivation.  That race gave me a new level of confidence that I could compete against some of the best ultra runners in the country, and it also taught me to stop placing limitations on my abilities.

The 2012 IAU 100k World Championship race in Italy was another great race for me.  I knew I was in excellent shape going in, but I wasn't completely sure how fast I'd be able to run.  I started the race uncharacteristically fast and really got caught up in the international competition early.  I didn't back down though, and just tried to hang on as long as possible.  It started to unravel for me with 20k to go, but I was able to hold it together enough for a 5th place finish and top American spot.  The 100k hurt a lot more than JFK, but I was really proud of how I handled the pressure and toughed out a strong finish.

In your first 100 miler attempt at last year's Western States, you came in 11th with a sub-17 hour finish. Do you have plans for another 100 miler any time soon? If so, what will you do differently, if anything, to improve upon your Western States finish?

Riddle at '12 Western States.
Photo: Dusty Davis

I don't currently have any plans to run a 100 miler this year.  I was really pleased with how my first 100 miler turned out at Western States, but my biggest limitation is my lack of trails and terrain to train on for a big mountain 100 miler like that.  I gave it a go last year, running some longer, more mountainous stuff, but it's clearly not my strength.  I plan to get back to my specialty and run more moderate 50 milers and 100k's this year.  I think one day in the future I will run a hundred again.  I think I can make huge performance improvements at that distance by adjusting my training and dialing in my nutrition.  I've already mentioned lack of elevation change in my current training, but also I don't do many super-long, slow runs that would help my 100 mile ability.  And having your nutrition right is so much more critical in a 100 mile race than it is in a 50 mile or 100k.  If I can really get my fueling figured out, I think I could run a great 100.

What's in store for you and racing in 2013?

My racing schedule for 2013 is a mess right now.  I am traveling a bunch over the next few months both for personal trips and work, and just haven't been able to schedule any races in the near term.  I've been wanting to do the Chattanooga Stage Races for a while, so I am hoping to do that one and then I'm on the US 100k team again.  That race was supposed to be in South Korea in October, but South Korea had to back out just a few weeks ago.  The race is supposedly still on, but they are looking for a new venue to hold the race around the same time frame.  That's a tough question to answer, because I really just don't know. 

What would you recommend to someone doing their first 50K?

It's hard to make general recommendations for a first 50k, as my advice could vary significantly from person to person depending on their experience and ability level.  But, typically I'd like to see someone who has a couple road marathons under their belt.  Then, assuming the 50k is a trail race, I'd highly recommend this person get some decent mileage on trails similar to the race course.  I think many road runners underestimate how different the trails can be, and allowing the body to learn how to be dynamic on the trails is very important.  I don't think a first time 50k-er needs to boost their mileage a lot over what they'd run for a road marathon.  And if this person is spending a good bit of time on the trails, then their weekly mileage might actually come down.  Total training time becomes more important than straight mileage when preparing for a trail 50k.  Finally, I would caution a first timer to go out very conservatively in their race.  A tough trail 50k like Mtn Mist can easily take 1.5+ times as long to finish as a road marathon even though its just a few miles longer.  For this reason, you can't afford to bonk, so the beginner needs to go out easy and eat steadily throughout the race.

Thanks Dave. Good luck this year!

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You can follow David on Twitter at @rundavid1 and check out his blog at http://riddleruns.blogspot.com/.

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

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 baby bottle on steroids, 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 earlier. 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!

Rollercoaster of Love (Stump Jump 50K 10.2.10)

"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)