Running in the Cohuttas: Double Top 100K 3.3.12

Up the forest road to the top of Potatopatch Mountain at around mile 22 and about 2,500 feet with the Cohutta range behind me.

This past weekend, I ran the inaugural Double Top 100K in the Cohutta Mountains in North Georgia. It was a memorable weekend with a race that had amazing scenic views, perfect weather and great camarederie. As a first time race, it had its hiccups too.

Rox, me and Kelly before the start of the race.

Dodging the storm

The forecast for the race, an out and back course that follows the Pinhoti Trail and a few forest roads, was totally up in the air for days. We were having unseasonably warm weather in Georgia for this time a year, but a cold front was moving in and meteorologists couldn't agree on how exactly it would play out. At one point, it was supposed to rain all weekend, but as race weekend got closer, the media was prognosticating doomsday and in some parts of Tennessee and Georgia, it kind of was just that. I drove up to Fort Mountain State Park, the site of the start, on Friday and didn't run into any bad weather at all. Meanwhile, Chattanooga, just a few miles north, was getting pounded by hail and tornadoes. South of us, a big storm system pushed through the northern suburbs of Atlanta sending people into their homes to hide in their bathrooms. Somehow, we managed to only get a few inches of rain and some strong winds. The 100 milers were set to start at 4:30am and from what I was told, they had a bit of rain to start. Us 100K participants started at 7:00am and the rain clouds were long gone along with the storm to the north and south of us. It was to be partly sunny skies and temps in the high fifties for us. Basically, perfect weather. We dodged it alright. My friends and cabin mates, Rox and Kelly, and I rolled out of bed around 6:00am to the start. Rox had the foresight to reserve a cabin months ago and it was just about a quarter mile from the start and finish. A luxury that we enjoyed indeed.

Running with the pack

After a few minutes catching up with fellow runners, a little over thirty of us lined up for the start. Perry, the RD, made a few short announcements and with out much fanfare, we were off. We stayed on asphalt for a little over a mile before getting on one of the mountain bike trails in the park. Rox was gone with the leaders, leaving me and Kelly to find our groove in the pack. Within the first couple of miles, we would be joined by Bret from Virginia and Bailey from Alabama, and we would soon pick up Larry from Pennsylvannia (turns out many of the race participants were from out of state). The five of us ran about 15 miles of the first 20 miles together. When we came out of the park, we headed down the Pinhotti Connector to the first aid station. This trail is not well traveled and I found myself instinctively removing branches and other obstacles out of the way. I kept thinking that I had to climb up this trail in the dark later that night and I wanted to make that return as easy as possible. There's nothing easy about that trail, but more on that later. Kelly, Bailey and I made it to the first aid station pretty quickly. Not much need to fuel up this early in the race, but I forced myself to get something to drink and munched on a couple of pretzels. By the end of the day, I would end up proud of my nutrition and hydration as I did a good job with both through out the day and it would lead to my having a good day on the trails.

Creek crossing. One of many early on.

After the first aid station, we kept going down until it leveled off at the lowest point of the race for a few miles and about five or six creek crossings. When I ran through here weeks earlier, the creeks weren't much of a concern at all, but with all the rain I was worried that we would have quite the difficult time dealing with them. When actually they were fine. The worst one was maybe shin deep as you can see from the picture I took of other runners. I had taken care that morning to cover my feet in Bodyglide and I wore my Smartwool socks that have never let me down. I would end the race with absolutely no blisters or hot spots, despite running through creeks this early on in the race and towards the end on the return.

From there, the five us hit the first real climb of the day, up this single track trail and onto a forest road heading North. This portion of the route is on Tatum Mountain. We ran down a bit until we found a gate with the race markers that we obviously had to go around and continue on the forest road. This was the gate we missed weeks ago when on the practice run and I was on the look out for it. The five of us were still together with Kelly and Bailey a few yards ahead. We were trotting along when I noticed a single track trail that splintered off to the left with race ribbons marking it, but that was missed by Kelly and Bailey. We called out to them until they finally turned around and came back. We later learned that this same scenario would play out for many of the runners through out the day and at various points on the course. The trail led down to Georgia highway 52 and we ran east on that for about a half mile, the only stretch of asphalt we would be on besides the start, until we hit aid station #2 at the Cohutta Overlook. 11 miles seemed to go bu just like that. I guess it was the company. We were all sharing stories of past experiences, and Bert was letting us know how he was getting ready to run Leadville later this year. Everybody looked like they were feeling pretty good, but of course, it was still early. After the aid station, we got back on the Pinhoti trail for the next 4-5 miles. Along this section is a series of switch backs first going down and then heading back up and over Turkey Mountain. It's a fun, very runnable trail and I found myself putting some distance between me and the other four. Not intentionally, but more because I was enjoying the trail and I was on a pace that was comfortable. Exactly what you want to feel while in a long distance race. We soon arrived at the Three Forks aid station and Kelly and I ended up leaving together and some how breaking up our little group. Kelly and i followed yet another forest road for a little over a mile and then back on the Pinhoti single track for what is probably my favorite part of the course. Lots of pines in this area drop tons of needles and make the trail what a good friend of mine calls "pine straw nirvana".

Kelly coming up the Pinhoti trail.

There was a group of mountain bikers out on the trail participating in a small race and this is where we would have our first "run in" with them. One of them coming down the trail happened to be John Dove, long time local ultra runner, adventure racer and just all around nice guy. He recognized me before I did him. I would have loved to talk to him for a while, but it was race time for both of us and the greeting was brief, but genuine. It was good to see him. We ran into a few more riders coming down the trail as Kelly and I kept climbing up it. We caught up and passed one of the female 100K participants and it was interesting to note how Kelly, probably without realizing it, picked up the pace to pass her. Anyway, we soon made it to the Double Top aid station and I was surprised to think back on how quickly the first 20 or so miles had gone by. The next 20 miles was all on forest roads and it is definitely the toughest part of the entire course.

Chasing Mike

As we were leaving the Double Top aid station, we saw Bailey coming in, but we were ready to go and he stopped to fuel up. As soon as we left the aid station, we passed the trailhead to get back onto the Pinhoti trail. There were a few ribbons leading down the road, but I can see how several of the other runners took this turn without realizing that the course actually followed the forest road. Kelly had run this portion of the course a couple of weeks ago, and she kept us in the right direction. The next four or so miles is just one long ass climb up Potatopatch Mountain. Kelly and I started it together, but I don't know where she find an extra gear, but she started putting a gap on me. Slowly, but surely she got away and after a short while, I could no longer see her. Bailey was too far back to wait for him, so this left me alone on my way up. Along the way, I did catch up with a few other runners including a couple of the 100 milers, and we would exchange "Good job!", but everyone was all about the business of getting up this incline. I did stop at one bend where we had a great view of the range around us. Brad, a 100 miler that I caught up with, shared that we were at 2,500 feet or so at that point. The Double Top aid station we left behind is at 1,830 feet according to the race organizers and the top of the climb is at 3,520 feet. From the bend with the scenic view we would still climb another 1,000 or so feet before the climb was done. Ugh! My hands swelled up from having them at my side for so long and just trying to put one foot in front of the other. Still, I was catching a few others and that definitely kept me going. No sight of Kelly though. She was long gone.

Once at the top, the forest road tees into another one and the race ribbons went to the right, but for some reason this was another trouble spot for some of the others. A couple of mountain bikers that had also made the climb saw that I went right and they called after another runner that had gone left. This runner was Mike Scott and once he turned around, he caught and passed me and I would end up chasing him for the next twenty or so miles. Thankfully, we did have a reprieve from the climb but it was short lived, the next several miles to the turn around point were a not-so-gently rolling rollercoaster of forest road running. I kept Mike in sight but I was definitely feeling the big climb and I was trying to keep my pace. The downhills were starting to hurt too. Bob, another 100K runner, would end up running behind me at a distance for most of this section, but I could sense that he was there and that kept me going too. Coming into the next aid station near Betty Gap, I was realizing that I was doing a good job with my nutrition, but I still took advantage of the food on the table. PB&J sandwiches were a staple of my race diet through out they day, but I also incorporated gels and some squeezable baby food fruit packets in between aid stations. While the baby food fruit packets don't provide much caloric value, they do provide some electrolyte replacement and something different from the more synthetic tasting sports gels.

Kelly and Rox shortly after
the turn around point.

Mike took off from the aid station and I soon followed. It seemed that would distance himself on the downhills, but I would slowly inch up on him on the uphills. This pattern was the same for several miles. Along the way, we passed Mountaintown Overlook which again had amazing views of the valley below and the Cohutta rage around us. Some where around this point, we were passed by the 100K race leader. He was looking strong. Up and down we went on the forest road until finally, we headed down about two or so miles of downhill running into the turn around point with more of the runners in front of us going the other way. Right before we got there, I saw Kelly coming up the forest road and she was the first female runner I had seen. Immediately, I wondered where was Rox but I soon found out when I saw Rox about thirty or so yards behind Kelly. Kelly was looking really good and I was not surprised to later find out she held her top spot. I would later catch up with Rox myself, but more on that later. I was glad to get to the turn around point. Considering the distance covered, I thought I felt pretty good. Again, my nutrition and hydration needs were being met and other than the pain associated with covering 30+ miles, my legs felt OK and I was able to still run. When we were making our way down the forest road into the aid station, I was concerned about the climb back up, but some where I found a renewed excitement and I think it was the fact that I was passed the half way point and this carried me for several miles. That and the fact that I was now determined to stay on Mike's tail for some friendly competition. It is a race after all.

Smiling at the turn around point. 50K to go!

Back up and over, and then down and back up, past the Mountaintown Overlook, past the Usti Yona aid station at Betty Gap, I followed Mike. The whole time he stayed a good twenty to forty yards in front of me but I never lost sight of him. We did see all of the other runners that were behind us coming at us as they made their way to the turn around point and I realized that we were a relatively small group. I also realized that I never saw Bert and Larry who I had run with in the first twenty miles. The thought crossed my mind that they must have took a wrong turn or they DNF'd or both. I never found out for sure, but after what I learned about people dropping out, I assume that's what happened to them too. Mike and I made the long downhill decent back to the Double Top aid station and I was happy to get here and get into my drop bag. Mike didn't waste much time and he headed out after going thourhg his drop bag and refueling at the aid station. I on the other hand took a few minutes to sort through my things, and figure out how to distribute everything, so that I didn't have to leave anything behind. I put my fresh long sleeve shirt in my running pouch and my headlamp on my head even though I wouldn't need it for a couple more hours. I ended up having to carry my vest and gloves in my hand because I had no where to put it, but I was later glad I brought them and didn't leave them behind. As I was getting my things, Greg who was managing the aid station was catching me up on what had happened with some of the other 100K and 100 mile runners dropping out. Apparently, there were quite a few from this point. Remember I mentioned John Dove earlier, well turns out that he rode his bike up the trail and "rescued" several of these lost runners earlier in the afternoon. I guess they would have gone further, if it wasn't for John.

Bringing it in

With twenty miles left to go, I knew that it was in the bag sort of speak, but in ultra running you never can be sure. Before he left the aid station, I remember Mike saying, "We'll probably hit darkness some where between the last two aid stations." and ended up being right about that. But while there was delight, I was set on covering as much ground as possible. I left the Double Top aid station up the forest road and then finally back on single track trail. It was such a relief to get off the forest road, even if there were still a few miles of it in the last segment. Going up hill, I was feeling the miles and the earlier effort, but down hill running hurt too. Yet although I was tired, my body was reacting well at this stage in the race and I felt that my "engine" was running well and ready to take on the last miles of the race. I came down the single track trail without much to do and I was soon back at the Three Forks aid station. Mike had made it into the station and left before I got there. And as I was leaving to start the climb back up the trail and Turkey Mountain, I saw Bob coming into the station. I was walking the climb, but also keeping a good pace. I stopped half way up the trail to put on my long sleeve shirt and adjust some of my clothing because the sun was starting to set and the temps were also starting to drop. Bob passed me while I was changing and admittedly, I set out to catch him once I got going again. It looked like Bob was trying to put some distance between us since he would jog a bit up the climb, but I thought I could catch him if I just kept up my pace and sure enough, that's what happened. I caught and passed him as we crested the climb and reached the saddle that led to the switchbacks on the other side. Now it was my turn to try to put some distance between us and I started running. To my mild surprise, I was holding the run and it wasn't long before I couldn't see Bob over my shoulder. Mike on the other hand was no where to be seen ahead of me.

I reached the aid station at Cohutta Overlook and there the volunteer was enjoying a Dogfishhead 90 Minute IPA and I joked that I would love to have one. It sounded so tasty! But I had my own brew goodness waiting for me back at the cabin near the finish and I think that snapped my attention to the job at hand. After leaving the aid station and covering the short segment on Highway 52, I was back on the Pinhoti trail and I picked up a runner that was in front of me, a guy named Chris from Florida. We ran together and covered the next few miles rather quickly and soon had Mike in our sights. We steadily caught up to Mike and by the time we were back on the Tatum Lead forest road, the three of us ran together for just a short while. I pushed on with my pace and while darkness settled around me, I soon found myself by myself with two headlamps bobbing up and down in the distance behind me. This boosted my confidence and I worked hard to keep that distance or widen it. I reached the single track trail again that descended down into the valley where the creeks we crossed earlier laid waiting for me.

As I reached the bottom, I saw the light of a headlamp in front of me and I wondered who it was. Soon I realized it was Rox. I caught up to her and it was good to see her. She encouraged me and I pushed on past her. The creek water felt good when I reached the first crossing and I didn't mind getting my shoes wet. After the first couple of creeks, I came out into an open field where all of a sudden I lost the trail among the tall grass. It took me a second to realize this, but I stayed focused and looked around to figure out my situation. I saw another headlamp to my left and I ran towards it. It was my buddy, Brack, and he had been roaming this field for about twenty minutes trying to find his way back on the trail. We tagged together and headed towards our right along a tree line and then we saw two other headlamps ahead of us through the trees. It was Rox and Chris. We bushwhacked through the trees and across a creek to get to them. Thankfully, we were back on the trail. We all ran together for a bit, but soon Brack and I left Rox and Chris behind. Before long, we were at the last aid station. It was like a lighted oasis in the dark. The volunteers cooked me up a grilled cheese sandwich and while I waited, I munched on some cold pizza. It all hit the spot! All that was left was the last big climb up the Pinhoti Connector. I grabbed my grilled cheese sandwich and Brack and I headed up the trail. Munching on my sandwich, we made progress up the climb. The darkness had definitely settled in and we had to really watch our step. The Pinhoti Connector is covered in leaves and of all the single track trail we had been all day, it was the most technical with loose rocks and down branches all over the trail. Combine that with the grade, and this was easily the hardest part of the course other than the big climb to the top of Potatopatch earlier in the day. It took a while, but we finally made it to the entrance of the park. Only about three miles left to go.

Brack and I entered the park and settled into a pattern of walking then run-walking the rest of the course. We did almost make a mistake when the trail intersected with the gahuti Trail, but managed to stay on the correct route. As usual, the last couple of miles seemed to be endless. Anticipation stretches the last miles out, it seems. After some time, we reached the park road and then the lake where on the other side we knew Perry was waiting for us. Making our way around the lake, we soon started to see the finish line tent and the Xmas lights hanging from them. Even though we were excited, we didn't really pick up our pace much. We were happy to just trod around the lake and finish up the race. Looking behind us, we couldn't see any headlamps, so we knew that we wouldn't be caught by anyone. Soon, we saw Perry's smiling face adn when we reached the tent, he congratulated us and handed us our finisher's Double Top 100K coins. Kelly was there waiting for us too. She told us that she had finished an hour earlier and that she had won the women's race. I was so happy for her. Brack and I finished in 14:03 and were 6th and 7th respectively overall. I exceeded my expected finish time by about an hour, so I was very pleased with my finish and pleasently surprised by my position in the race. I later learned that there were more drops and that only about 20 or so finished the 100K course.

All finishers received this cool coin at the finish!

I high fived Brack and thanked him for sticking with me for the last couple of miles and hugged Kelly. We waited for Rox to finish and while waiting for her, Chris arrived first about ten minutes behind us and then Mike, who I had chased for many miles earlier in the race, came in shortly after him. We were starting to get worried about Rox when we saw a headlamp and from out of the shadows she appearred. Apparently, she had taken a wrong turn with about a mile to go and spent ten minutes or so retracing her steps. We were glad to see her and she was even more glad to finish herself. After a short break, Kelly, Rox and I headed to our cabin for a much deserved shower, food and a change of clothes.

Getting turned around and dropping out

I couldn't have asked for a better day or race. As challenging as the course is, I still found it enjoyable and what I liked about it the most was the change in landscape and especially the amazing views. For much of the course, you get frontline views of the Cohutta Mountains all around you. I know that when Perry designed this course, he wanted it to be challenging, but he also wanted people to really appreciate it for how beautiful it is. In the original plan for the route, there was a section of the Pinhoti trail at Bear Creek that was supposed to be a part of the course, but due to restrictions from the National Park Service, these trails were off limits to the race and an alternate route was designed along forest roads. With that, it is still a beautiful course with an incredible array of different vegetation including awesome, green lichens along one section of the Pinhoti trail and scenery that rivals any on the east coast. The route also has its drawbacks, however. There are several turns that are easy to miss and even some that can lead the participant astray. I, personally, did not have any major problems on the course, but a good part of that was because I had come out weeks earlier to preview the first 20 miles and also I was running with others that knew the course as well. There were two or three turns that were questionable and that I was glad I had either some one with me or that I had the route map the race organizers provided with me.

During and after the race, I heard of many who dropped out simply because they had taken a wrong turn, missed a turn or just went down the wrong way. There was an entire group of ten or so 100 milers that went ten miles out of their way on the Pinhoti Trail before finally realizing that they were off course. Some of the 100K participants also made the same error and then dropped once they made it back to the Double Top aid station. Yet another small group of 100 milers went down too far on the Tatum Mountain forest road and missed the single track back to the last aid station. Local forest emergency services were called to find them and once found, the race was temporarily suspended. Causing about two or three of the 100 mile runners to drop out because they were stuck at the Cohutta Overlook aid station. Of the 80 or so participants that were registered for both races, less than half finished. With most having dropped mainly from disappointment of having gone too far in the wrong direction. I feel bad for those participants and I can sympathize with their frustration, but at the same time, I feel that this is part of our sport. The race organizers took steps to provide all the tools to successfully navigate the course including sending a detailed document two nights before the race with every trail, forest road, aid station, elevation points, etc. They also held a race meeting the night before where these details were presented and every participant was provided with a route map inside a ziploc baggy. The course was marked with blue/white and blue ribbons and occasional signs. I agree that the ribbons were sparse in many sections and for a couple of turns, hard to see. Which was the problem and they certainly were difficult to find in the dark during the night. I provided what I hope was constructive feedback to the race organizers that for future races, the reflective orange survey flags would work best. All in all, it's a bummer that so many missed out. It really was a good course and the race has potential to become a classic on the Southeast race calendar. All inaugural events have kinks to work out and I hope the people that walked away frustrated will look back and realize that given the opportunity to do it again, they would line up at the start with other enthusiastic runners. I know I will. Even classic races like Western States have their route troubles, the 2011 race comes to mind when Killian Jornet, Nick Clark and others ran off course for a few miles in the early stages of the race, but still finished it. In the end, that's ultrarunning. That's our sport.

2012 Double Top 100K race results

2012 Double Top 100 blog roll:
http://www.ultrakrautrunning.com/2012/03/race-report-2012-double-top-100.html
http://blog.rockcreek.com/archives/rockcreek-race-team-member-roxanne-zobavas-race-report-from-the-double-top-100k.html
http://blog.rockcreek.com/

archives/rockcreek-racer-john-browers-epic-epic-report-from-the-double-top-100.html

Inaugural Double Top 100: Race Preview

Coming down the Pinhoti trail into the Cohutta Overlook.

More and more, there are a growing number of ultra-distance events popping up around the country and its nice to see that is also the case here in Georgia. And it's also good to see more races beyond the 50K distance too. This weekend is the inaugural Double Top 100 in North Georgia. A 100K and 100-miler race that takes place mostly on the Pinhoti trail in the Cohutta Mountains. In the words of Perry Sebastian, the race director...

This is a beautiful course with amazing scenery and unique flora. You will run by numerous inspirational overlooks, traverse the rolling switchbacks of Turkey Mountain, between the Double Top Mountains, pass by scenic overlook at headwaters of Bear Creek, and run the ridgeline encircling Cashes Valley. The course leaves Ft Mountain State Park and follows the northern section of the Pinhoti Trail until it joins the Benton Mackaye Trail. Runners opting for the shorter run (100k) will turn around and return down the Pinhoti Trail. The 100 mile runners will be treated to the vistas of Flat Top Mountain, Fowler Mountain, and Bear Den Mountains before turning around near Bushy Head Gap to return to Ft Mountain. Runners will be given 34 hours to complete the course.

I signed up for the 100K and I'm really looking forward to it. Since Harbison 50K in January, I have been able to maintain a good weekly mileage and have had quality long training runs, including a preview run in late January on the course of the Double Top itself.

I drove up to Fort Mountain Park near Chatworth, GA with my friend, Rox and there we met several other future race mates also looking to get some miles on the new race course. Fort Mountain is the start of the race and is also the site of a wonderful Fall trail marathon called, Mystery Mountain Marathon ( a must-do, put it on your calendar!) Perry couldn't be there, but his right hand person, Vikena Yutz and volunteer-extraordinaire, Tom Wilson, were there to get us situated and going. Kena ran with us and Tom met us along the way at the designated future aid station locations along the course. Some of us were running 20 or so and others, myself included, were looking to get in about 40 miles that day.

I think you can appreciate the grade of the
Pinhoti Connector from this photo.
This is looking up with the runners
coming down the trail.

The original course runs about 5-6 miles in the park before heading out of it, but for today's preview run, we only did about 3-4 in the park and then Kena led us out of the main park entrance immediately onto the Pinhoti Connector. This little trail is a seldom traveled, very unmanicured trail that goes down in a steep grade. All of us were flying down this hill, when it dawned on most of us that this "fun" downhill trail will be a death march climb for the 100K runners, and especially the 100-mile runners, as all runners will hit it with about 5 miles left in the race. It's about a mile and a half from the entrance of the park to the bottom of the Pinhoti Connector where it hits the first aid station (or last if returning), and that's gonna be a long one when finishing.

Anyway, Tom and his big smile welcomed us and we were all still more or less together. Once off the Pinhoti Connector, we hit a forest road for a while and then hit a series of creeks that will be early on in the race, about 8 or 9 miles into the race. When we crossed these little streams back in January, they were pretty shallow even though a couple of them were about shin deep. It's been a little bit of a rainy week here in Georgia this week with more to come tomorrow and race day, so it's going to be impossible not to cross those creeks without getting at least ankle deep in water. I'm sure my Smartwool socks will hold up.

Cohutta Overlook. I'm afraid the view isn't gonna be much
better on race day either, but on a clear day it is spectacular.

After the creeks, you are on single track for a while, then forest road up near Tatum Mountain towards the Cohutta Overlook off Highway 52. Rox and I were running with another GUTS buddy, John, and we actually took a bit of a detour, but we managed to get where we needed to be and meet up again with Tom at the overlook. After the overlook, there's a bit of asphalt along highway 52 that we'll have to run on race day for about a half mile and then we get on the Pinhoti trail and it is single track all through and over Turkey Mountain and its windy switchbacks from there. At the bottom of Turkey Mountain is aid stop number three, Three Forks. After that is another 1.5 mile or so of forest road before getting back on more single track up to the Double Top aid station. This is where we turned around for the preview run and headed back. Beyond this point is where the more serious climbing is for the course. There's about a 2,000' difference between Three Forks aid station (mile 14.3) and the Cohutta Corner after the ‘Usti-Yona aid station (mile 24.4) with tons of ups and downs in between. It'll be smart to be conservative for the first half and get through this stretch feeling good. Then enjoy the descending on the return. Always being weary of that Pinhoti Connector at the end. Perry estimates there is about 10,000-11,000 feet of elevation gain/loss on the 100K course.

John and Tom

On the preview run, we turned around at the Double Top aid station and only ran back to the Cohutta Overlook. Ending the run at about 28-29 miles for the day. We were running out of daylight and half the group had turned back much earlier. leaving me, Dan, Kena and Kia to get the additional miles in. even though we cut it short, the preview run gave me a good perspective for what to expect on the course, which was runnable single track despite some of the climbing and except for the Pinhoti Connector and more forest road than expected. The lack of real technical terrain will be a bonus and should allow for some decent times on the run.

I think Perry's intention for the future is to get more of the race on single track, but much of that I understand is still pending permission from the various authorities along the way. The 100 milers will get to "enjoy" some additional climbing and they will also end up on the Benton McKaye trail for a good stretch before their turn around point at Hudson Gap.

Weather forecast for Saturday is rain and highs in the 60's with low's Saturday night in the mid-30's. Dressing for this will be a challenge as it is expected to be some what balmy and warm at the start in the high 50's. Luckily, I don't mind the rain when it's not too cold, and hopefully it will blow through by the end of the afternoon and for the last bit of daylight I will enjoy on the course.

There's a little over 80 runners signed up split up pretty evenly between the 100K and the 100 miler. It's gonna be a bit lonely at times on the course, but at least we'll be able to see each other after the turn around point.

I'm hoping to cover the course in around 14-15 hours, but you can never know what to expect. Check back here early next week for a full report and if you're up for it, send me a tweet during the day on Saturday. I'll have my iphone with me and every time it chimes, I'll know some one out there is virtually cheering me on.

Course maps: 100K Map 1 100K Map 2
100K Course Point Chart

Hot Pockets: Harbison 50K 1.7.12

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

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

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

I ran the Pine Mountain 40-Miler back in 2009 and at the time, I provided a play-by-play report then of that race on the blog. So, I thought I’d take a different approach to this race report. I’m gonna break this up for what it was in reality, an experience that proved to be…the good, the bad and the not-so-ugly.

THE GOOD

As always, the good included an opportunity to trail run in the woods with a bunch of friends. It was so great to see so many out on the course, whether they were running, or volunteering. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all the volunteers and specifically to thank Kena (even though she was following and supporting another runner, it almost seemed like she was supporting me every time I saw her at every aid station), Phillip (who pointed 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 Mollyhugger Hill, Dowden Knob and Rocky Point aid stations, and to Sarah (the RD) and the rest of the GUTS crew for another well organized and supported event. Frank gets special mention for serving up the grilled cheese sandwiches at the TV Tower aid stop. Too many friends out there running to list here, but I did get to catch up with many of them post-race at the finish line. A couple of special shout outs to Laura, Aaron D. and Woody D., it was not to be their day for any of them as they all DNF’d for various reasons, but that’s how it goes some times. We’ve all been there. The beauty of the sport is that there’s always the next race.

Another good thing about the race was the swag. Everyone received a really nice, fleece winter cap and all the finishers took home a sporty, 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 with just a few minutes to spare to hit the bathroom and pick up my number. I also realized when I arrived, that I had forgotten my hand-held water bottle. Not again! This happened to me at Stump Jump a couple of months ago, but luckily this time I had a spare one liter water bottle in the car that  I had brought for after the race. It would be my 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. We lined up with everyone and after a few words from the RD, we were off. Woody took off with the leaders and I held back and decided to find a spot closer to the middle of the pack. Soon we were on single track trail and the pecking order seemed pretty set since no one seemed overly anxious to pass for the first few miles. I really did feel good. I was chatting it up with others around 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 from Atlanta, GA who would end up dropping me for good at around mile 33 after passing each other several times through out the race. When I ran part of the course with my buddy, Doug, a couple of weeks ago, we ran out past the point where the Mollyhugger Hill aid stop would be during the race, which is about mile 11 of the course. I remember then thinking that I wanted to be at this spot two hours into the race and sure enough, that’s what happened. In fact, I hit mile 12 or so at the two hour mark and I started thinking that a sub-8 hour race would be doable after all. I ran the course in 7:58 the last time, but I was coming into this race a lot less prepared and with fewer long runs on my legs. So a sub-8 hour race was optimistic. The next couple of aid stops were very welcome sights because to get to them we had to traverse through tornado devastated portions of the course, but more on that later. Needless to say, I reached the TV Tower aid stop (about mile 22) and I was still feeling pretty decent, but the wheels would soon come off.

THE BAD

Refueling on an uphill.

Back in April, a storm and several tornadoes laid waste to the immediate area in and near the park. Huge sections of forest trees were tumbled over like little toothpicks. Trees were down, uprooted and slashed. Volunteers had obviously spent many man hours cleaning up and chain sawing miles and miles of the trail. We would encounter the first of these sections about 12 miles into the race and it was a good mile long, between the Mollyhugger Hill and Dowdell Knob aid stops. On the upside, because the trees were down, there were no leaves on the trail. One of the stand out characteristics of the Pine Mountain 40-miler is the leaves you encounter on the trail from the autumn foliage and the level of difficulty they add on the already technical and rocky trail. In the tornado sections, 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 runners later, we agreed that there was like a bad spiritual vibe, a bad energy of sorts. There were other sections on the course that were just as devastated and I couldn’t help feel the same thing every time. On the way back at around mile 30, 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 feeling crappy at this point. Between the sun, the depressing landscape and the miles on my legs, I hit the wall hard. By the time I arrived at the Mollyhugger Hill aid station again around 31.5 miles in, I was walking and I still had my least favorite section of the trail left to go.

We all hit the wall at some point, right?  I mean it happens to the most experienced of athletes, 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 started to fall apart and at mile 30 started walking without running again and it lasted several miles. I wasn’t injured. I didn’t have any blisters. I felt like I had managed my nutrition just fine. But obviously some thing just turned off like a switch inside. Earlier at around mile 23, I had a second wind and I had passed several runners that I had shared the trail with for a few miles. I had tucked my water bottle into my arm and I kept a steady pace. I even managed to run up one of the few decent climbs on the race course and I thought I put some distance on runners behind me. But when things went south for me, they went south fast. Many of those same runners, now caught me and passed me. After the aid station, we jumped on a white-blazed trail that is a lot less traveled by hikers and the footing was more difficult with the leaves and rocks. I was so fried, 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 dropped me here for the last time. I wouldn’t see her again until after crossing the finish. She gave me a smile and a thumbs up and flew by me like I was standing still. I walked and walked and just tried to stay positive. Now I thought if I finished in under nine hours, I would be lucky. But in ultras, many times if you feel like crap, you just gotta hang on and some times things can turn around. And they did.

THE NOT-SO-UGLY

I came off the white-blazed trail and hit the last manned aid station of the course, Fox Den Cove, at around mile 34 of the course. I lingered at the aid station and drank and ate my fill. I was joking around with the volunteers and they were great. At one point, one of them told me that my time was up and that I had to get moving. I looked at him and thanked him. A sign of 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 the race was to get a move on. Leaving the station, there was a slight down hill and feeling a bit rejuvenated I tried to jog a bit. It didn’t feel too bad. I alternated jogging the down hills and walking the up hills until I eventually came up on a runner that had passed me earlier when I was really feeling terrible. Now it looked like it was his turn to feel like crap, but he was managing to stay in front of me, the more I tried to catch him. This went on for a little bit until we crossed a road and started on the final climb of the day. We were both walking, but I was determined to pass him. Slowly I inched up on him and finally passed him. Encouraged by this, I started running up the hill 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. I crossed the final road crossing and the rest of the way was down hill. Just a little over two miles to go. I was so excited. I ran down the descent and never really walked again. The trail soon leveled off and followed a creek back to the finish. As I was nearing the end, I saw local ultra-legend, Richard Schick ahead of me. He had passed me earlier when I was toast. He has also “schicked” me before at the Mt. Cheaha 50K when he passed me with less than a mile to go at that race. So, I thought that maybe I could return the favor. He was getting closer, but as we crossed the last foot bridge he had about a 20 yard lead on me and the finish line was too close. He finished with 8:32:23 on the race clock and I crossed the line at 8:32:34. I high fived Richard, thanked  some of the GUTS crew hanging out at the finish and found the nearest spot to sit my tired ass down. Tough race, but I had seen the good, the bad, and the not-so-ugly of it. I was happy to be done and with my time.

Thank you to Vikena Yutz for the photos!

2011 Pine Mountain 40-Miler blog roll:

Sarah Woerner (female winner and new course record holder)
Aaron Dwileski 

2011 Pine Mountain 40: Race Preview

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

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!