Duncan Ridge Trail "Fun Run" 03.09.11

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 chart 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

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

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

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

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)

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)

"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)