Running The Carolinas

Just A Little Insight

2012-01-27T15:45:00.001-05:00

I haven't been posting on the blog much. Not much to say really.

I have 21 weeks to go until I lineup at Western States. I've paid, finished my eight hours of volunteer service, and mailed all of my paperwork in. It seems much more real now. It's flashing on the radar, but there are still a lot of other planes flying around too. I'm 100% certain of my finish there in under 30 hours. Not being arrogant, but my training is on the right track for it. Besides, is there really any room for doubt anyway?

I'm taking on the challenge of finishing 100 miles under 24 hours at The Iron Horse Endurance Run in Florahome, FL in about three weeks. That was my first 100 mile finish in 2010 and I'm excited to be returning. I think about 50% of the course will be paved this time so it's going to be a different experience. I'm craving some "zoned out zombie" running time on a flat course with no chance of getting lost. It's all about running here - a big change from courses that I normally run though the wilderness with tricky trails to navigate.

The sub 24 hour finish is important to me, but not as vital as the running itself. I'm looking forward to spending time with friends and sharing the struggle of what lies ahead into the great unknown. Pain is guaranteed, but finishing is not unless you want it bad enough. This is not a training run for WS100, this is a race where I plan to lay it all out across the 4 X 25 mile out-n-back route.

On to a different subject - I enjoyed a great run with friends through the 33 mile Laurel Valley course last Saturday. I hope to run it 2-3 more times before WS100 in June. Congrats to Bo and Viktor who completed their first runs through the course. It was great to share some of this experience with them and a few other guys.

Harbison 50K Columbia South Carolina - Sweep

2012-01-09T15:27:00.001-05:00

After designing the website & helping race director Dan Hartley with some of the technical aspects of this race I was excited to finally be getting close to the actual race. The Harbison 50K is a double looper set in the beautiful Harbison State Forest in the northern area of Columbia. This race featured all the benefits of a large & growing ultra marathon race. 182 entrants, several big name sponsors, highly talented racers, awesome runner packets, technical shirts, race pint glasses, and a incredible finisher's medal.

It was great to drive down the night before and hang out with many of the other runners. I was even able to meet a fellow ultralist member Tim Hardy. I was also excited to see my home town of Spartanburg represented by about six runners. I think that may be a first for any ultra that I've ever ran.

About 165 runners showed up for the race on Saturday morning. Dan addressed everyone with some last minute updates just minutes before the 7:30 start.

And at 7:30 sharp all runners were off and running to the forest to begin the race!

I was a little bummed to be sweeping this race in order to meet my eight hours of service requirement for WS100 later in the summer. I just decided that I would make the best of the day and enjoy a beautiful day of time on my feet. The truth be told, I REALLY wanted to run, but its always good for me to give back. And, eh, well - I had to!

My plan was to hang behind the last runner and pickup litter during the first loop. On the 2nd loop I would be responsible for taking down all of the race signs/ribbons and disposing of them at the aid stations.

I decided that I wanted to do some running early on so I would hang out at the aid stations for a while and then run to catch up with the pack later down the trail. This allowed me to get in some fast miles and still serve my sweeping duties.

The last of the runners covered the first 15+ mile loop in just over 4:45. I realized that this would mean a few may not make the cutoff. Sure enough one runner had to be pulled around mile 26 on the next loop, but she was very proud of hitting a new distance record for herself. It was great to be a part of that moment.

I continued on pulling down the course markings and making my way around the 2nd loop. It was great to not even feel tired after doing so much work and movement all day. I think my training is going in the right direction. I was praying that I wouldn't find another slow moving runner who would have to drop out of the race and I didn't.

Sure enough, I was the final runner to finish with a time of 9:37. I felt good enough to go out and do a couple more loops, but decided to call it quits there :]

I'm glad that I was a part of this growing ultra which will surely turn into one of the more popular 50Ks in the southeast. The course was a good mix of runnable sections and hilly technical areas. I would recommend this one as a first time ultra or a quality race for a seasoned veteran.

I also wanted to say a special congratulations to Kiley B. and Sandie C. for completing their 1st ultras!

It looks like I will be doing a Laurel Valley training run in the next few weeks before hitting the Iron Horse 100 in February. Some excellent winter running lies ahead!

189 Days Until I Run Western States 100

2011-12-15T16:16:00.000-05:00

You know I'm a big, burly, basketball shorts wearing, half-bald headed, drama induced trail runner. Its who I am.

Oh yea, and I like to wear weird straps around my head when I run to hold up my nerd glasses too. I'm fairly odd and I talk weird too.

But I do love to run trails and I've made it into my dream race of all time. I'm crazy excited!

The short story leading up to this is as follows:

Graduate College after playing football. Gain more weight and end up slugging on the couch at 315 lbs.
Watch the 2008 Summer Olympics Women's Marathon on TV in Beijing and decide to start running.
Run 100 Feet and nearly die.
Next day run 200 Feet and nearly die.
Continue to do so until I could run 13.1 miles.
Continue to do so until I could run 26.2 miles.
Got bored of roads and "Googled" Trail Running. Signed up for Terri Hayes 2009 Buncombe 34 mile race.
Read Dean Karnazes "Ultramarathon Man" and dreamed of Running Western States.
Fell in love with trail ultras and ran 35 more of them leading up to this post.

Western States uses a lottery system to pick the 300 or so runners each year from a pool of several thousand hopeful entrants. Each entrant is required to complete a "qualifying" race that is suppose to provide some proof that they are capable of finishing WS100.

I submitted my lottery entry for WS100 and The Massanutten 100 lotto. Massanutten is much easier to get into and I found out earlier that I made it into it as well. Of course with only about a 10% chance of getting into WS100 I choose it. Plus, it's my dream race of all time! Oh, and Massanutten looks much more difficult to me. It may be for the best to put it off until later years.

My original goal for this winter was to go down to The Iron Horse 100 Miler in Florida and run a sub 24 and it still is, but it's hard to keep myself from thinking ahead to this summer. I was reminded by a friend that I should not look past Iron Horse and have a bad run there because that will hurt my momentum going into Western States this June. I agreed so for now, its full attention on "The Horse".

I don't want to sound cocky or arrogant when I say this, but I'm not afraid of running Western States. I've only finished two 100's which isn't much experience, but I refuse to let rhetoric or horror stories get in my head about the course. I know there are long climbs, snow, heat, and rocks on the course. That's why I'm going.

I heard story after story from Pinhoti about the huge climb up to Mt. Cheeaha, Blue Hell, and Horn Mt. - The Pinnacle. Yes, these were significant climbs, but I refused to bow down to them and let them consume me.

I'm not going to give in to The Escarpment, the hot canyons, breath taking switchbacks or anything else that stands in the way of me getting to that buckle at the track.

I know this really means nothing from me to just say it without doing it. I did learn from Pinhoti that my attitude going in would dictate my results at the end. That's really all I have to go by.

I will show up at the start line in June in the best shape of my life. I can't call out a finish time because my plan is simple. To run within my means and to enjoy the course. I don't want to push too hard and risk getting pulled at one of the many medical checkpoints. So I will call out a Sub 30 hour finish, guarantee it.

I don't believe in "jinx" or "luck". I do believe in hard work & results.

I'm excited about being randomly selected, but also feel that it is my obligation to train hard and represent the thousands of other runners who didn't get in. Many who are much faster and deserving than me.

I imagine there are still some doubters who would like to see me fail or silently suspect that I will DNF. Just like Pinhoti, I'm gonna prove you wrong again. I'm not gonna get that drama going again, but will use the thoughts to fuel my training spirit.

So I will be looking at this profile map for the next six months. Anxiously awaiting my finest hour to toe the line and embrace the suffering that will allow me to collapse with the buckle in my hand at the finish.

Wearing the basketball shorts....of course.

24 Hour "One Epic Run" Race Camp Croft Spartanburg, SC

2011-12-14T11:24:00.000-05:00

My friend Joe Parker decided to put this race together and it ended up being a much bigger event than he imagined. I remember talking with him two months before this run and he was guessing that maybe 10 friends would show up and run it. Well, it looked like about 90 runners showed up to run! About 20 of them were good running friends and I enjoyed spending some time together on the trails.

Joe just did an excellent job with this race and I would highly recommend it to any runner looking to enjoy a challenging 3 mile loop in the woods.

Training for the Iron Horse 100 in February forced me to use this one as a organized training run. I was still able to enjoy 10X 3 Mile loops in about 7:30. I would guess the elevation of each loop to be around 300 feet. Plenty challenging as the race unfolded. Not only were there hills, but snaky turns and plenty of roots & rocks. I never got bored as the terrain seemed to look different on each loop during the day.

It was very exciting to see our resident ultra massage therapist, Denise, out for her first trail race ever. She was planning on completing a 3 mile loop, but decided to go back out later and make it two! Doubling your distance on that rail is a lot to be proud of.

I started the run in my New Hoka One Ones and after 15 miles my butt was on fire! It's going to take some time to get used to these so I switched over to some Asic Gels. Within 5 miles I was cruising along, not wanting this run to end. It began to get dark on my final loop and I felt absolutely terrific. I had several 2nd thoughts about abandoning my training plan and running through the night, but decided to stay disciplined and stop at 30 miles. I knew that this loop would get much slower and more difficult at night so that made the decision a little easier.

The biggest suprise of the race came as Joe was marking the trail with glow sticks for the night runners. He handed me the phone and Dan H. was on the other side telling me that I had been picked in the Lotto For Western States! I was in complete shock and thought that it was all a big prank until I got home and checked to verify that it was true!

I can't wait to run the Epic 24 again next year and hope to be at a point to go for the full 24 hours.

Pinhoti 100 Mile Endurance Run - The Reckoning

2011-11-08T15:23:00.001-05:00

The 4th Annual Pinhoti 100 is a point-to-point trail run starting in Heflin, Alabama on the unmolested Pinhoti single-track trail. Runners will make their way over the highest point in Alabama while navigating over rocks, through creeks and across beautiful ridge lines of the Talladega National Forest. The course will consist of 80.62 miles of single-track trail, 16.98 miles of jeep road and 4.52 miles of pavement and will finish on the rubberized track in the Sylacauga High School Football Stadium.

I showed up to run & finish this race in 2010, but was forced to end my run at mile 35 because I was caught by the sweepers. I had taken a wrong turn, went way off course and missed the cutoff time at one of the aid stations. I was able to see lots of my friends finish which was awesome, but it left a bitter taste in my running heart. It hurts to dream big and fail, but sometimes that is the only way that you will ever get what you want.

I sat at the finish line watching runner after runner finish their dream race. I was mad at myself for not making it. I didn't just want revenge, I wanted the reckoning in 2011.

Actually, the 2010 DNF crushed me and I went into a downward spin of depression leading to another DNF "Did Not Finish" at The Bartram 100 miler a month later in December.   I then turned to food for comfort and had my blood pressure get out of control which caused even more setbacks. I passed out at work one day and had to be taken into the doctor for evaluation.

So I had to pray, relax, and start over in 2011. I made a promise to myself that I would go back to Pinhoti and finish.  All of my training in 2011 would be about running the 100.60 miles in Alabama which started in Heflin and finished at the Sylacauga High School Stadium Track in the middle of town.

I began my 2011 training with my first 2011 ultra finish at Sweetwater H20 50K in April. I used eight more ultras between then and November to help me train for Pinhoti. I was also introduced to Janice (GUTS President) who is a very accomplished runner and she agreed to coach me beginning in September.

She warned me that we really didn't have enough time to properly train for my best Pinhoti finish and I assured her that finishing alone would be enough. I became a hypnotized zombie with her training plan. No matter how tired I was I always followed the plan for the day. 100 push ups, 100 sit ups, lunges, speed work, back to back long runs on the weekend. It didn't matter, I found the time and made it work. I never once cheated myself out of the opportunity to get better. Some of the long weekend runs went on forever and they were very tough on me. I just kept thinking about how great it was going to feel going around that high school track and getting my buckle for finishing the race in November.

My family and lots of my friends stood behind me as I trained. They assured me that this was my year and I believed it. There were some that didn't think I would make it. And I would like to thank them too because I was thinking of you at mile 85 when my whole world started falling apart. You kept me going, cause' I'm not a quitter.

"It's not revenge that I was after, it was the reckoning!" Hollywood movies often make us think of other parts of our "real" lives. One that Beth and I have always enjoyed is "Tombstone" featuring Val Kilmer as Doc Holiday. So Holiday and Wyatt Earp have the famous gun battle with the bad guys (the cowboys) at the OK Corral.   The cowboys shoot them up good at the OK Corral and now Doc & Earp are looking to hunt them down and finish them off.

I felt just like Wyatt Earp walking out into that river looking for "The Reckoning" at Pinhoti. Gravely focused on the finish, nothing would stop me!

Ok, now we fast forward to race weekend. Joe Fejes and I decided to split hotel room cost on Friday night and drive down together from Atlanta. Joe has several 100 mile finishes, including two at Pinhoti so I picked him apart with lots of helpful details and strategies. We attended the pasta pre-race dinner on Friday evening and were sleeping before 9:00 PM. As always, it was great to see so many old and new friends at the meeting.

I was excited to meet up with Charles & Psyche just before we headed in to the hotel Friday night and they agreed to let us ride to the start of the race with them at 4:00 AM on Saturday morning. This was great news because we were going to have to ride on a cold bus with about 30 other runners, if not for them helping us out.

The alarm clock went off at 3:00 AM, but I was already awake. I had a dream around 2:30 AM that we had slept in and missed the race. I didn't mind because I felt very rested, even that early in the morning. Joe and I quickly got are race stuff ready and drove Dan Hartley over to the bus staging area. Dan had to ride the bus, but we jumped in the SUV with Charles and Psyche for the 100 mile ride to the start of the race.

The race was a little late starting at 6:12 AM:

So about 140 of us were off and running into the cold / dark Alabama night. Sunrise was about 45 minutes away so footing would be tricky to begin the race. I wore a short sleeve & long sleeve tech shirt, gloves, cap, headlamp, and of course my basketball shorts. I also chose to began the race with my comfortable Asics road shoes. It felt awesome to have this shot again! Today was going to be MY day! Well..actually tomorrow would be my day...

This race has 18 aid stations spaced out about 5 miles apart from each other. My goal was to just make it to the next aid station ahead of the cutoff times. I needed to average at least a 17:50 min/mile pace to stay ahead and I was planning on doing a 15:00 min/mile pace for the first 41 miles.

The sun came up and it turned out to be a beautiful Alabama fall day. 60 degrees with a light wind. Clear crisp blue skies broken up by falling leaves of various autumn colors. I quickly dropped my cool running gear and was thankful to have Mark E. at one of the aid stations to hand it off to.

I stayed steady through the day jogging the downhills/flats and power hiking the up-hill sections. I was surprised to find that I was having problems getting my pace average down to a 15:00 min/mile. It stayed around 15:40 most of the day, but I didn't even worry about it. Just keep moving and live in the moment.

The first 41 miles of this race requires you to run without a pacer. Another goal I had was to just make it to mile 41 (Bald Rock State Park - the top of Alabama) where my crew and pacers would be waiting to help me. This was not an easy 41 miles at all. No major climbing but it nickles & dimes you to death. Lots of 30 foot ups and downs with tons of twists & turns. If you ever get into a running rhythm it rarely last more than a few minutes.

These tough little sections were often broke up with some good laughs with David Ray, Jason Rogers, Dean, and some other friends.

I wore my Garmin GPS watch for the first 41 miles to help me keep pace up to meet my crew:

If you ever run this race, be careful between miles 27 and 41. Many runners including myself had mental & physical low points through here. In addition, this is where I went off trail and DNF'd last year. You are over a marathon into this run and still have about three more tough ones to go so it's very easy to slump through here. I can't tell you how good it felt to run past the area I was pulled! That gave me a huge surge.

The climb up to Bald Rock State Park looks rough on this profile map, but it was really not too bad of a climb at all. It's the first big / tall one below:

It felt incredible to summit Bald Rock State Park just after 4:00 PM! There were several familiar faces at the top waiting on runners and Phillip was encouraging me to run down the boardwalk on top of the mountain to meet up with my crew. This walkway goes across the top of the mountain allowing you a magnificent view out to the west.

Now to introduce my world class crew. These fellas made me feel like the top dog for the rest of the race!

Victor - Crew Chief

Victor is a take charge type of crew guy. He flew up from Florida to help me finish this thing and never takes no for an answer. He was essential in me finishing this race.

Sean - Pacer of Pain

Sean doesn't play on the trail. If you give this guy a time goal you better be ready to meet it or die trying. Sean would pace me for miles 55-68 and then again from 85-100.

Wayne "Weezy" Pacer Who Pulls

Weezy and I have ran a lot together down some dark & technical trails. We already click together and he knows what kind of pace I can hold on any type of terrain. He paced me through miles 41-55 and 68-85. 68-85 were my darkest hours and he kept my mind off of the pain.

Back to the Boardwalk at mile 41 and Weezy runs out to bring me in with the crew.

Of course, the fellas were full of jokes when they saw me come rolling in with my yellow basketball shorts on! Thats OK though, they had a horse on the track and their mission was to keep me moving forward. Victor immediately had my Camelbak hydration pack on me, hot food in my hand, headlamps on ready for the night and sent Weezy and I down the other side of the mountain called "Blue Hell". This was a mile section of boulders and rock hoping fun. It felt awesome to be running this with Weezy!

I said hello to lots of familar GUTS runners like Amanda, Jenn, Tat, Kim, Tom, and several others as we made our way down the road towards the other side of the mountain.

We had a nice stretch of fire roads & pavement to run on into the next aid station where I killed some food! Hot soup, cookies, Gels, a sandwich, and we were back onto the trail heading towards mile 55 aid station - Adams Gap. I remembered this being a big party from the previous year and I couldn't wait to experience it for myself as a runner. I took horrible fall during this section that knocked the wind out of me briefly. I jumped right back up and kept going. I felt horrible, but NOTHING was going to de-rail me this time.

Weezy and I spent this time catching up and we put our lights to work about 3 miles into the Silent trail which was probably around mile 50. I hit a low point near the end of this section and got very hungry. I felt like I was going to pass out as I staggered into the aid station.

Once again, my crew was anxiously waiting to take care of my every need. I didn't even have to talk. They just handed me things. I drank Ensure, a Starbucks Double Shot, some coffee and Sean had cooked some killer hot dog things that really hit the spot.

Within a few minutes they had me back on my feet and Sean was pacing me into mile 56. He had ran these same sections before and knew exactly what to expect. We shared some stories together on the trail and I enjoyed getting to know him better as we made our way through the dark Alabama night. It was during this time that Sean taught me the art of running uphill when you are fatigued. I couldn't believe how easy he made it feel and it was working so well. I took another nasty fall through here, but no real damage was done. Before I knew it he had me at mile 68 where Weezy and Victor were waiting for me again.

My mental capacity was gone as we ran into mile 68 around 11 PM. I was fading in and out of reality. It was a stupor of ultra running that I would learn to embrace for the next 32 miles. You either embrace it and go further into the Abyss or you quit and go home.

I told Weezy that I was in a bad mental spot and he hooked me up with a 5 Hr. energy. This made my mind speed up in a weird kind of way. It felt better, but I still could not really focus on what was happening around me. I think I walked up and took some lip balm out of a ladies hand at this aid station, used it, then handed it back to her. Wooops.

We were now heading up the beast of trail known as "The Pinnacle". If you look at the profile map above, the picture just doesn't do this climb justice. It felt at least 10 times worse than the climb up to Bald Rock. Weezy was asking me about all kinds of stuff. What year I bought my car? Where I went to college? Anything to try and bring me back to reality. We climbed and climbed. I wanted to tell him how bad I was feeling but I was afraid to talk about it. It felt like letting it out of my mouth may allow it to over take me.

I knew that quitting and getting into that warm vehicle would feel 100 times worse than suffering and continuing to battle this climb. I called it out before the race, "If I don't finish Pinhoti, I'm never running another ultra." Keep moving.

Up and up and it got colder and the wind gust grew the higher we went. Before long the wind was completely howling and I was shivering. It began to sound like I was being swept below an ocean of cold trees trying to reach down and sweep me off the mountain. I was scared. Scared of quitting and having to face this struggle for now what was 26 more miles. If Wayne wasn't there I may have dropped at The Pinnacle aid station - mile 75.

We finally reach the aid station after 10-15 steep switchbacks. I see Aaron from GUTS standing beside the tent and I just smile at him, didn't really know how to communicate with a human at that point. Camera flashes go off and I don't even really know where I am.

Weezy sat me down beside the fire for a minute and Kim from GUTS came and sat with us. It was nice to see a friend, but I couldn't say anything to her either. The aid station was cooking up hot egg & cheese sandwiches despite the high winds. I ate one, maybe two, maybe three. Not sure, but I grabbed a whole bag of sour gummy worms and ate them too. Then got a hand full of cookies, chips, and M&Ms and choked them down. WHAM! Instant energy & drive came back into my body. I remember saying "Thank you Lord." when that good feeling came on.

Weezy filled up my water and grabbed me some Gels for the trail and we were back into the night. This is where our friendship really shines. I totally trust the little guy to get me through this. Victor has flown in from Florida, Sean has taken this weekend off for me, and Wayne left his warm house to help me get up and over this mountain to get that buckle. Weezy never lied to me - he told me exactly what was coming next, even if it wasn't good. I don't like any more surprises out here than I have to endure. The warm food and calories lasted a few miles and my mind began to quickly wash away again.

We had 10 very dark and cold miles to run before getting off the trail and into the final 15 miles of fire roads that would lead us into the finish. Weezy said that we will break this section up into two 5 milers so it is more manageable. It worked, but this section took FOREVER to get through. There were loose rocks and tricky footing around every turn. The wind would howl and I would transition from sweating to shivering every few minutes. I was scared again and I prayed for strength. Lord, please keep us on the trail. Give me strength.

At one point through here we saw a runner tucked under a rock. I think he may have been crying. Wayne checked on him and he told me not to look at him and keep moving. My mind had become a complete bowl of mush. The only thought I could focus on was one foot in front of the other. Everything was numb and I didn't really mind it at this point.

I hit my lowest mental point around mile 84 just before we exited the trail at Bull Gap where Sean would begin pacing me the final 15 miles. I slowed to a crawl and just couldn't focus. I was sick of the trail, roots, and especially the rocks. About seven runners past us through here, but I just kept moving forward.

We finally pop out at mile 85 aid station just as the sun is coming up. Never has the sun looked so good. Before I know it Victor has me sitting down and is taking my shoes off. I have had the same Asics Gel road shoes on for the past 85 miles along with my Injinji toe socks. I have 4-5 blisters that have formed / popped then re-formed during the course of this struggle. Victor starts lancing them and it felt great to have that pressure relieved. I asked for my Asics trail runners for the remainder of the gravel fire roads. Various people were running around the aid station doing things for me as I sat there. Victor finally asked how long I had been there and someone said 10 minutes. I literally felt like it had been about 30 seconds. Once again, Victor has me up and running down the road with Sean towards mile 86. Sean looks back and me and says, "these final 15 miles are gonna hurt, get ready."

I thought he was going to kill me. SERIOUSLY. Sean explained that we were going to start running some of these hills. He told me that I was a trained up 100 mile runner and had no excuse not to run. So he began the torment:

"Run 30 seconds, then we will walk 10 seconds."
"Run to that limb overhanging the road, then walk to the plastic bag in the road."

"Run down this entire hill, it's too runnable and we are passing people now."

"You're a zombie killer Sully, look we are about to pass another one, look at him wobbling all over the road."

"Run 45 seconds then walk for 30."

"I'm not going to hurt you, just do it."

This became my world for the next two hours. I tried to think about other things, anything other than running. These fire roads were so boring and there were killing me. We would go around one hill, just to find the exact same one waiting after it.

We finally came to the final aid station at mile 95. The sign on it said 5 miles to go, but I didn't believe it. I figured we had about nine and I began to get mad, but it made me run harder. Sean saw some of our running friends Kena and Perry ahead and he encouraged me that we would catch them if we kept running at least some of the hills. I just kept doing what he asked of me.

We finally went off the fire roads around mile 97 onto this weird earthen dam across a reservoir. I remember Sean saying that it would be a perfect picture and I took a mental one of it. Problem is, now I can't get it developed.

Sean saw some more of our friends Tony and Tatyana ahead of us and he pushed me to try and catch them as Kena and Perry had already went around them. He told me that if I ran hard I could break 28 hours. I didn't believe him, thinking we still had at least 8 miles to go.

I began to feel myself stagger from side to side. It was getting tougher to run in a straight line. Sean expected all running for this final 3 mile stretch and I gave it all that I had. We finally exited the forest and were on the blacktop road heading into the stadium!

My eyes began to swell up with tears because I knew that it was coming to an end. A sick, dark part of me wanted it to keep going. To keep the fight alive. To see how far I really could go. The other 99.99999% of me wanted to finish. To get that buckle and lay down on that sweet track in Alabama. To hold it in my hand and know that I had finally earned it. A year had gone by so quickly. Miles and miles of training runs at 4:00 AM. Sprinting around a track with my lungs burning. Sit ups burning my core.

I had to snap back to reality. I was now on a residential road heading into town with some traffic. Cars were passing and cheering me on. Sean continued in front of me urging me to keep moving faster as I shuffled along. I tried to start running fast and I threw up on myself a little bit. It didn't matter.

Weezy and Victor drove up beside us and cheered me on pushing me to finish. One of the town locals yelled out, "honey, you look like you need some advil.". Just smiled and kept going. Was she even really there?

Sean ran ahead as we crossed some railroad tracks and there it was! I was at 100 miles with about .60 to go! I wanted to cry but my body couldn't do it. I was in total bliss.

We entered the back of the stadium before the track and Sean jumped on one of the football tackling sleds and told me to hit it! I thought he was joking, but he insisted. I ran into it and it nearly flung me all the way back to the start line! We both laughed as he led me into the stadium.

There it was. I was about to shove the sword into the beast that had haunted me all year.

Yelling out a big WOOOOOOHOOOOO!!!!

Getting that buckle from race director Todd Henderson at the finish!

And that is how I made it right at Pinhoti in 2011.

Special thanks to Todd Henderson and all of his race volunteers. Also to GUTS and the many members who helped me achieve my goal. Photo credits to: Amanda, Kim, Sean, Psyche, and probably some others.

I had a world class crew and will be forever grateful for their hard work to get me across the finish line.

Running Mad

2011-10-07T15:58:00.001-04:00

I've never really gotten fired up about running. For the past three years I've been a fairly mellow fellow. Sure, I've gotten very excited about races and training runs, but never fired up like I used to do when I played football.

I've approached running ultras as a hobby. A mere way to help control my weight and overall health. It's been a great way to spend some time in nature and relax while still pushing my body a little farther than it ever has been before.

Sure it hurts, but it's mostly a good hurt. A hurt of accomplishment and the satisfaction of completing something difficult. The need arises from having a compulsive personality. Every ultra runner that I've ever met does, at least to some degree or another.

I've made it known to the masses that I'm running The Pinhoti 100 Mile Race again this year. As a matter of fact, in about thirty short days from now I will toe the line with about 100 other runners. This will be the toughest physical challenge of my life - simply to finish 100 miles under the 30 hour cutoff.

Lots of runners hope to finish a marathon (which is 26 miles) at some point in their lifetime. A very admirable goal and I'm certainly not belittling it. I just want to use it below as a comparison to what me and the others are up against. As a matter of fact, most marathon runners will run their 26 mile race 2-3 hours faster than I will run mine at Pinhoti. I would argue that a hard marathon could be harder than running/walking 100 miles. It's just two very different approaches to the sport.

I hope to run my first marathon in the gnarly mountains of Alabama in 6 hours. (26 Miles)
Then run another marathon in 7 more hours. (52 Miles and 13 Hours)
Then run a 3rd marathon in 8 more hours.(78 Miles and 21 Hours)
Then run a 4th shortened marathon of 22 Miles in 9 more hours. (100 Miles in 30 Hours).

I DNF'd last year at Pinhoti (Did Not Finish). After missing a turn on the trail and going off course for several miles I fell behind the cutoff times and was forced to drop from the race around mile 30. I was having a horrible day leading up to this and I would have had to overcome some great odds to finish even if I hadn't screwed up.

Here is the part that has me running mad. I hear the whispers from the shadows of other runners and friends:

"He's not a 100 mile runner"
"He dropped last year, he won't finish this year"
"He's too slow, he will never keep ahead of the cutoffs"
"He's just too big of a guy to run a tough 100 miler, he won't finish"
"When he drops, I hope to use his crew team for my run to help me finish"

I know we shouldn't care what other people say, but lets face it, we do. It has me fired up to run this race too.

The truth is that some people don't want to see you do well. They secretly hope that I DNF again or don't reach my goals. I'm not talking about racing against each other, I'm talking about the type of person who just plain out wants to see you fail. Those folks have me running mad going into Pinhoti. I'm going to run my own race for sure, but I will use their comments to fuel my body when I feel like quitting. My body will be taken off in a stretcher before I drop at that race.

I'm a big guy, especially in the ultra running world. At 6'2 250 lbs. I double the size of several runners (even males). I've even been asked what aid station that I'm working at several times before a race that I was running in. It's funny and eye-opening at the same time. I realize that this causes people to speak out about me a little more. That's fair.

I'm struggling with weight loss. I haven't found the will power to drop these final 50 lbs., but I will. I've shared that struggle over and over again. Its frustrating and I'm just being real here.

With that being said don't count the big guy out of Pinhoti this year. I've paid my dues over the past six months. Several 100K+ runs, 50Ks, long training runs, back to back runs, speed workouts, squats, push ups, sit ups, lunges, and other treacherous feats of fun.

As a final note before I run the race. If I don't finish Pinhoti, then I will NEVER run another ultra marathon again. I'm laying it all on the line for this one and I mean it from the bottom of my heart. Sure it sounds sort of childish, but its that attitude that will push me over the finish line.

62 Miles At Woods Ferry 24 Hour Race

2011-09-07T15:31:00.001-04:00

* I lost my full race report when blogger.com crashed on me so this is a much shorter version *

Terri Hayes put on her 2nd running of the Woods Ferry 24 Hour race in Chester, South Carolina on the first weekend of September 2011.

It was great to see old and new running buddies. A few of which completed their first ultra distance. I would also like to give a big congratulations to Angela Ivory who finished her 300th ultra at Woods Ferry! I see myself as more of a volume runner than a speed racer so I have great admiration for her hitting this goal. If you have a little time read around her blog and you will be even more impressed.

I wanted to finish this one with the highest mileage of any runner. There, I said it. That meant circling the 7.75 mile loop more times than anyone else. I gave it a solid effort, but not 100%. I've had the opportunity to be coached by a well accomplished runner, Janice Anderson, and I didn't want to totally trash myself heading into her first week of training.

The run began promptly at 4:00 PM on Saturday evening. Man, was it hot! 94 degrees with 85% humidity. I was sweating just standing around waiting for the race to begin.

I practically walked the entire first loop with Jason Rogers, Steinberg, Bo, Greta, and a few other friends. My goal was to average 2 hours per loop for 24 hours putting me at 93 miles at the end of the event.

I hit the first three loops at that pace, but things got ugly quickly at night. The trail had a good bit of undergrowth close to the ground and it made running very tricky in several stretches. Every runner had to face this challenge so it was fair. Hard, but fair.

I drank an ice cold Ensure after each loop from the very beginning. I cannot stress how good these drinks treat me during long runs. Mix in a few Starbucks Double Shots, Red Bull, and 5 hr. energies and its game on!

Pizza was delivered in around 10:00 PM and runners enjoyed munching on that. I was surprised to see the course go very quiet during the night. Several runners were planning to return at first light and run hard during the day on Sunday. I'm not fast enough to do that, plus I like being out on the trail for the full 24 hours.

I took a catnap around midnight for 30 minutes in the car which did me a world of good. As I headed out on loop five I ran my fastest split in 1:58.

The sixth loop found me taking another 10 minute nap in the middle of the trail as the sun was coming up. A few runners nudged me to see if I was alive as they passed by. I think I may bring a "Do Not Disturb" sign next time.

It seemed like there were maybe 2-3 runners in front of me as we headed into the final six hour stretch. I was feeling solid on my seventh loop and I hit a good time around 2:05.

Unfortunately, the temps had crept back up into the high 80's again and I started to fade badly. I tried to take short rest breaks in hopes of catching some wind back in my sail for a final surge, but it never came. Instead of pushing myself I just cruised and was able to get one more lap it which made my eighth and final one for the race.

I was very satisfied with 100K (62 miles), but I would be lying if I said I didn't want more. Looking back today, I'm glad that I made the decision to take it easy because I'm having a solid training week.

A very special thanks goes out to Terri Hayes for doing this race. She worked the event herself and spent the majority of the night cooking and putting things out for runners. Dan Hartley and a few others were also key in supporting a 2nd aid station half way around the loop. Thank you!

If you are looking for a challenging loop to run for 24 hours then give this one a shot. It's not the traditional 24 hour event setup with a fast/flat easy course, but you won't be bored either.

I'm looking forward to running the FATS 50K in North Augusta as the final race of the SC Ultra Trail Series for 2011.

12 More Training Weeks Until Pinhoti 100

2011-08-16T11:23:00.000-04:00

Life happens and plans get altered. Runners adjust and deal with it.

The past nine weeks of training were not ideal, but I'm feeling ambitious about this final phase heading into Pinhoti 100.

Past nine weeks mileage totals:
Week 9: 58
Week 10: 100
Week 11: 45
Week 12: 61
Week 13: 51
Week 14: 0 Surgery
Week 15: 0 Surgery
Week 16: 28
Week 17: 50

Overall I'm averaging about 47 miles / week for the past four months. Here is what my remaining 12 weeks look like:

Week 18: 65
Week 19: 31 Pirate's 23 Mile Birthday Run Croft State Park
Week 20: 100+ Woods Ferry 24 Hour Race
Week 21: 40
Week 22: 75
Week 23: 100+ Hinson Lake 24 Hour Race
Week 24: 50 FATS 50K
Week 25: 95
Week 26: 75
Week 27: 40
Week 28: 25
Week 29: 112 Pinhoti 100 Race

If I can pull off these runs over the next 12 weeks that will move my average up to about 56 miles per week heading into Pinhoti. Just where I wanted to be. I'm looking forward to some great fall running!

Laurel Valley 2011 35 Mile Race Adventure

2011-08-15T16:24:00.000-04:00

I've ran the Laurel Valley course seven times & raced it three. EVERY time its an adventure.

This time would be no different.

I was scared going into this race. I don't mean that in a superficial way either. I mean I was literally scared. You see Laurel Valley really only has one entry and exit between its 35+ mile stretch so you better be ready to run it.

After being sidelined for running during the past three weeks I was unsure of where my training would leave me. I dreamed of wild wolves circling around me in the dark wilderness two nights before. My mind was trying to back down. It knew the agony and torment that stood waiting out there.

I wouldn't listen so I packed up my bags and went to run. Actually I went to RACE. My philosophy was plain and simple. Go hard early & often. Rest briefly as I refilled water bottles, but other than that keep going hard all day long.

A little pre-race stuff first -

I met up with C$ and the Weez at Upper Whitewater Falls (The race finish) to leave my car on Friday evening. We jumped in Weezy's Mazda and met up with some other runners at The Rock Bar & Grill near Table Rock. I felt a strange bond with each runner as we shared stories over trout & steak. These folks love to run and obviously love to suffer too. It's strange I know, but that's just how it is. The greater the struggle, the greater the reward.

It was great to see the RD - Claude Sinclair show up on the scene as a lean & mean running machine. Seriously, the man has lost a LOT of weight and it back running again. That was encouraging to all of us. It's inspiring to see someone doing well for himself. Over sixty and sill fighting the fight!

We headed back to the hotel in Easley around 9:00 PM and I was in bed by 10:00. I slept good - no wolf dreams.

The three of us were up and rolling up to Laurel Valley in the Mazda around 4:45 AM Saturday morning. It takes about 40 minutes to drive from there for future reference. Oh, and we stayed at the Jameson Inn.

I was not nervous at all for this race. I think knowing that I have everything that I need on me for the run takes a lot of the anxiety away. I knew exactly what was waiting. I was ready to go get it!

Claude started us off promptly at 6:00 AM and I started near the back of the pack. The first 1-2 miles in is generally uphill and we all went at it briskly with our lights on.

It felt great to be back in the Valley! The sun began to rise around mile four and I knew it was time to start running harder. Weezy, Tom, Doom, Mark and a few others were just ahead of me. My plan was to keep them within hearing distance and slowly pick any weak ones off one by one. Kinda like a wolf, huh?

We ran the downhills to lake Jocassee fairly hard. I felt rested, but could tell that my ankles were not used to the tricky terrain that this trail was offering. I was planning to pick off at least one weak runner on a big climb after the lake called Heartbreak Ridge.

I actually ran by the group ahead of me as they were all filling up water bottles in a creek. I yelled "lets go" and before I knew it they were all hustling back in front of me as I had to stop and fill my bottles.

It was now time for Heatbreak ridge which is incredible. It throws about 7 flights of stairs at you that go straight up a mountain beside the lake. It is gorgeous and sickening at the same time. As I began to hit the steps I could see the rest of the runners about three flights ahead of me climbing over the first false summit. I was telling myself to stay steady and I would catch them. Never did.

I handled this climb better than I ever have before and felt pretty good at the top. You have to go down a nearly identical pitch on the other side which will get your quads burning in a hurry. I could hear the pack ahead as I worked my way down. They were all still moving well.

I reached down into my new waist pack to grab a gel and suddenly realized that all but a few were gone! The zipper had worked it's way open and I had lost 95% of my food for the rest of the run! With 25 miles to go in Laurel Valley, this is NOT what you want to have happen. You really can't panic because everything "is what it is" out there. There is not a road to bail out on, no cell phone service, and mommy can't come and help you.

I quickly developed a looter / beggar plan. IF I could catch enough runners and ask them for just a little food I would be OK. I still had a few gels and some chews, but not near enough food to fuel me as I was trying to race the remaining miles ahead.

Crazy thing happened right after all of this. I crossed over Toxaway River and there stands Scott H. He has a mini aid station laid out of the ground with gels, powerbars, gummies, etc. I asked him if I could take several items and he was happy for me to do so. Scott seriously saved my race and I'm grateful for him being there. Not sure how he got there, but he was there.

For the next few miles I thought about Ravens. Ravens are friends of the wolf. As a matter of fact they are often seen flying around the their territory. A wolf will never eat a raven because they have feathers and sometimes they will play together. Wolves will often look for food below a raven and a raven will often feed on a animal that a wolf has killed.

It was kinda cool to picture myself as the wolf and Scott as a raven.

So now I have some food and some seriously nasty trail ahead for the next 23 miles. I totally lost sight of the group ahead, but did pass a few runners here and there.

I was running hard and in fear. I was afraid that my lack of training over the past weeks would lead to a 100% collapse of endurance. What if I suddenly just went down and couldn't even walk? What if I had to walk the rest of the course and was out here all night? I decided to put the MP3 player to work and it helped to silence the doubters in my head.

Fast forward 10 more miles and many many more climbs and descents. The run is catching up to me in a big way now. My legs feel blasted. I've developed a weird rash under my left arm. The new waist pack has begun chafing my side and I just took a nasty plunge into a tree. I heard a crack, but I'm convince it was the tree and not my ribs.

There they are at the bottom of the ridge! At least two of them maybe more. This was a race for me and I had every intention of passing as many runners a possible. More importantly I wanted to shatter my best race time on this course of 10:51.

I didn't want to run anymore, but I forced myself to push down the hills and stay steady on the flats. The uphills reduced me to nearly a crawl as my quads were burning on fire.

I caught Tom and we went back and forth for miles. Tom is a tough guy. He was having a "off" day but refused to throw in the towel and walk. I fed off of his tenacity. The more we ran, the quicker we could rest. Just try to keep running.

My food was starting to run very low again around the 28 mile mark. I started to ration what I have out for the end of the run, but I knew that I would crash & burn without enough calories to support running.

Wolves protect themselves in packs. This is when I met up with Susan D. She was having a solid run and seemed to be full of energy. At this point I was just not in the mood for much conversation so I let her do the talking and I tried to contribute the best I could. She offered me two GU gels and they definitely helped put some life back into my legs.

Susan was looking out for runners. I would always hear her ask anyone we passed if they were doing OK, not just casually, but she really wanted to know. It meant a lot to know that someone out in this maddening jungle cared.

I made my way down to Thompson River which marked mile 28 of the run. About a 10K to go after that. At this point I was thinking that I may have to walk the rest of the way in. I had two small sips of gel left and that just would not get me to the finish if I was going to push hard.

What do you know? There sits J-Stien out on the rocks! He has a can of Mountain Dew and I yelled ahead to Tom. He came back the the three of us shared the can together. It was great! What made it even better? He pulled out of second can! The three of us slammed it down quickly and I could instantly feel the sugar and caffeine kick in. My trudge turned into a brisk hike, which then turned back into some running.

We ran hard down to the final stretch - Whitewater River. The final three miles are just ridiculously technical with about 1,400 feet of elevation gain. I was feeling better and had every intention of charging this final stretch. As we made our way up the river, the rain began to fall. The temps must have dropped at least 15 degrees as the bottom fell out. It was raining so hard that I was drinking the rain water. Delicious.

I was gonna catch Weezy on the final half mile climb! I could see him several switchbacks above me as I hurried up in pursuit. I gave it every ounce of energy that I had. I was red lining and right on the verge of a monster cramp in my lower body. I would only back off just enough to keep from locking up.

I pushed and pushed up higher and higher. Passing three runners on this stretch, but still no Weezy.

I was so happy to see the top of the trail head that I didn't care about catching him or not. I glanced down at my watch and saw that I four minutes to make it in under 9:15! Unreal!

The last runner I caught was Mark C. at the very top of the observation deck before the last 200 yards of pavement leading to the finish line. We smiled as we ran into the finish together. Both hurting, but that was masked by the joy of finishing.

Weezy was waiting for me with Christian at the finish. He had beat me in by about a minute and a half. The hunt was over, the race was over. It was time to celebrate a new personal record of finishing the 35 mile Laurel Valley course in 9:13! That would be an hour and 34 minutes faster than my prior best race.

Weezy also PR'd with a 9:11!

I would also like to throw a shout out to Jon Allen who won the race in a staggering 6:05! Simply unreal for your first Laurel Valley race.

This is a race that I hope to run for years to come and will always have a special place with me. If you ever want to see ultra running in it's purest form, come up and be a part of this one.

"Rest" Report - Sitches Are out - Ready to RUN!

2011-08-03T12:03:00.000-04:00

"Life Happens."

"God's ways are not man's ways."

"Everything happens for a reason."

These are familiar quotes and we've all heard them forever. They are all reminders that running is a privilege. A privelege that some don't have and one that I should be more thankful for.

I ran my fastest 50K time ever at Landsford Canal on July 16th. On July 18th I had a 5 X 3 inch section of my back cut out and mailed off to be biopsied for cancer. Wow, what a difference 48 hours can make?

To make a long story short I had my annual skin screening at the dermatologist and he removed two areas to be biopsied. He assured me that they looked fine and he was required to send them into the lab. He simply zapped these two little spots off of me, stuck on a band-aid and told me to resume life as normal.

Great - I was out running that evening. No problems at all and I felt fine.

A few days later I get a call from the doctor stating that a larger sample of skin would be required for lab examination and that I needed to come back in immediately. One of the moles had a strange shape.

Well, I just thought that this would be another little simple "freeze-a-mole" session and I would be on my merry way again in a matter of minutes.

WRONG!

The doctor came in with his scrubs on along with three nurses explaining that he was going to remove a large section of my skin near my left shoulder blade. He explained that it would take 45 minutes to complete the removal and that it was time to do it now.

Dang, that was 45 minutes of torture! I could feel, smell and hear the skin being cut from my back. The nurses also had this little thing that would burn capillaries shut to keep them from bleeding. That should be used on terrorist worldwide.

I'm a wimp.

When it was finished the Doc told me no running or any physical activity for a month. Yea, a month. I immediately laughed to myself and couldn't wait to show him how wrong he was.

He was pretty much right.

It's been 15 days with NO running. Well almost none. I did go out on day three and run. I nearly pulled all of the stitches out after trying to run for two minutes. I retreated back to the car and sulked. Actually, I threw some water bottles around got ill. It just didn't seem right.

So of course this sent me into the dreaded abyss of no running - no exercise at all. It made me angry so I just threw my hands up and quit trying.

Then I started eating everything in sight.

You can see where this is going.

A few days later the nurse called and said I had a clean report with no problems! YES!

I went out and tried to run again. Yes, more blood running down my back after a few minutes.

More stupidity.

Once again, I retreated back to the car. Threw some more stuff around and whined for a while.

So finally I was able to get all of the sutures out on Monday. The nurse told me not to run for a week so you know what I did, right? :]

I went an ran a mile. It hurt a little bit, but no blood came out. So I ran 4.5 yesterday and I will run 6 today. Doc said not to run for another week, but as long as I feel good and don't have blood its on.

The Laurel Valley 35 miler is in 10 days and I don't have time to sit around eating King Dongs wondering what I'm gonna do.

I'm 15 lbs. heavier and a little out of running shape, but I'm healthy. I'm learning to be more thankful for that. Much more thankful.

I'm rested too.

I'm running LV this year as a tribute to those living with cancer. Everyday they get up and face it. God gives them the strength to continue on and they just do it.

Climbing those hot & humid mountains will be a celebration of life and running for me this year.

Thankful to be out there with so many great friends and often sending up prayers for those who aren't able to do so.

My sub 9:00 hour goal is not nearly as important as it was two weeks ago.

Running it is enough.

2011-07-21T13:38:00.000-04:00

Photo Credit: Jim Bickelhaupt

I ran this race in the summer of 2009. It was my 3rd ultra and I swore that I would never run it again. Before I go any further please understand that Claude Sinclair (RD) does a great job with this event - I highly recommend it IF you like road running. If you know me, then you know that I don't really care for it. I'm a trail junkie - cant help it.

Speaking of the race itself. Its a 50K measured out to the inch. You run a short out-n-back in the beginning and then complete 7 loops that are about 4.25 miles each. 1.4 miles of each loop is on a very groomed & flat trail beside the catawba river. So this gives you a total of 9.8 miles of trail and 21.3 miles of road. I would call this a road ultra. Maybe a hybrid by some standards...

With that being said, the goal of the day was not another multi-hour trail race with tough climbs and gnarly trails. The goal was to finally run a 50K under six hours.

Spoiler: I did it! Here is how it went down:

I had absolutely no plan going into the race. I just wanted to run faster and harder than I ever had before. I've made some improvements in my running over the past three months, but had yet to really "race" and see what kind of run I could put together.

After running close to 40 ultra marathons, I've learned that 50Ks are not my strong suit. I do better on 50+ mile races where endurance becomes more of a factor than speed. Either way, I still felt that a 5:59 50K (or better) was in my grasp and it was just one of those little goals that eats at you.

I've often thought about my first 50K ultra race in Virginia Beach during the giant Nor'easter of 2009. I sprinted to the finish line only to find myself 12 seconds shy of my goals at 6:00:12! That was a good race for me in those conditions, but it stung to miss my goal by only 13 seconds...

So Saturday morning rolled around and I found myself lined up with about 40 other runners beside the beautiful Catawba River in Lancaster, SC. Claude fired his cannon of a rifle at 7:00 AM and we were off and running!

The first little out-n-back on the course is uphill. I would normally ALWAYS walk the uphills during an ultra, but not today! CHARGE that baby! It felt very weird starting out with a 10:00 mile/mile pace. I ran even harder coming back down the hill to finish the little out-n-back before the seven loops began.

Greta and I were running together and catching up on the latest running news. I thought it was smart to stick with her since she has had a lot of road running experience. I felt like we were flying, but there were still several runners going much faster.

We finished the first loop in about 42 minutes, quickly filled our bottles up and headed back out for loop 2 of 7.

We charged the hill again without any problem. I was feeling on top of my game and I had a good feeling that today would be sub 6 day. Wow, still a LOT of running to do though.

We both ran loop two together and took a quick pit stop at the aid station. Greta had to grab something from her car and I took back off up the hill for loop 3 of 7.

Once again, I ran the hill hard and got to the top. This is where I met Robert Crosby. Another Laurel Valley runner and we briefly chatted. I passed him and Greta caught back up to me - she asked me if I realized that I was running a 8:40 min/mile pace?! Woooooaaa! I couldn't believe that!

I decided to slow back a little bit and at least stay around a 10 min/mile pace. I needed to maintain a 11:30 min/mile pace to finish under 6 hours. Seemed simple enough at the time.

I chatted with several other friends during this stretch and ran the 1.4 mile trail section with no problem for the third time. I was drinking my full 20 oz water bottle on each 4.25 mile loop and downing two full cups of Gatorade at the aid station each time. I followed that with a hand full of aid station food and one SCap.

Things got tougher on loop 4/7. I ran half of the hill, but had to walk some of the 2nd half. My quads were beginning to burn and I could feel the previous 18 miles that I had just ran. I kept thinking only 13 miles to go - keep running - don't worry about the clock - keep running.

After the hill I ran the rest of the loop and felt horrible as I came into the aid station. My stomach was feeling weird and I wanted to walk. I grabbed a few ginger cookies and sipped some Coke. I walked for about thirty seconds and started feeling sorry for myself.

"your're just not a fast runner"
"you don't really have what it takes to get under 6 hours"
"this should just be a training run, why push it?"
"you're still gonna finish with a good time if you walk"

SHUT UP little voices!

I put those voices to rest with some running into loop 5 of 7. It was becoming a struggle to maintain any type of decent pace. Even on the flat areas.

At this point I was tyring my best to keep Robert in sight. I had told him that I was trying to break six hours and he agreed that we should both be able to do it. I felt that keeping him in my sights would increase my chances.

The leaders of the race had just lapped me twice and it sent me into a complete tailspin. How can they run so fast while I'm struggling so much? Just look how effortlessly they are running! It made me jealous and then mad. My pace would increase and then I would fall back to a walk.

Around mile 24 I decided that I would never be able to break six hours today. I'm too tired and hurting too bad. I began thinking back to running the rugged 35 mile Laurel Valley course backwards last Friday night. My legs felt like two iron anchors attached to my waist.

Forget the PR of sub 6, I just want to finish and get off this road!

I walked for a few minutes and began to think....you know I got up at 3:30 AM this morning then drove over an hour for a chance to break my record. I'm currently on pace to break it, but I'm gonna have to run in order to do it.

Man I don't wanna run right now, but I think I want the personal record more than my legs are hurting me!

By this time Robert had gotten about a half mile ahead of me and I ran hard to catch him. I got him in my sights and had to walk for a bit to let my legs rest.

I ran into the aid station with two laps to go which was roughly 8.5 miles. I had one hour and 58 minutes to run it. I didn't even try to do the math, I just ran the 7th loop as hard as I could go. Yep, I had to walk the entire hill, but I walked it fast. As soon as I hit the flat areas I broke into a run.

I put my MP3 player to work with some nice tunes to help me zone out. My legs were absolute toast. Every step was tough, but I knew that each one would get me closer to my record.

At this point I had caught up to Robert as we were about to finish the 7th loop. He was spent too, but still able to run fairly well. I told him that I planned on following him for this final lap because I knew that he would run it well. We both got in and out of the aid station quickly. I looked at my watch and I had 63 minutes to beat my best 50K time. 4.5 miles in 63 minutes? I'VE GOT THIS!

We ran the entire hill this time. It was a slooooow run, but we managed it fairly well. My legs were burning like a fire as I crested the hill to the flat road.

Keep Running!
Keep Running!
No Walking!
Keep Running!

I ran down to the trail entrance off the road with 1.4 miles to go. I looked at my watch and it read 5:33. I had 27 minutes to cover 1.4 miles. I could have walked that if I wanted to! This made me feel even better.

The closer we got to the finish, the faster we ran. The trail finally opened up onto a concrete walkway that lead into the finish area and we were in a full sprint.

Claude read out my time as I finished - 5:48! Whooohoooo!!!!

It felt excellent and horrible to break six hours. I was very proud of myself, but my body was completely shot. It was all that I could do to drag myself up to the car, change clothes, and plop down into my car for the drive home.

Of course I'm excited to have finally reached this goal. Now I'm wondering if I can run a 5:30?!

On a side note, I haven't been able to run for five days since the race. I've had a 5X3 inch area of my back cut for biopsy and I currently have a heap of stitches in it. I'm taking advantage of this time to rest for a week or so with no running. I've been training very hard for the past three months and rather than get depressed over this "unplanned" rest, I'm going to use it to my advantage and be ready to start another tough training segment soon.

Thanks again to race director Claude Sinclair and all the volunteers for putting on the Landsford Canal 50K! I will always remember it....

"Reverse" "Easy" Laurel Valley Night Run

2011-07-11T11:36:00.000-04:00

I get excited about some ultras and then there is Laurel Valley. I'm not quiet sure what it is about this 33+ mile stretch of trail, but it always calls me back for more. Then when I'm about 20 miles into it I swear it off forever. Then I'm back a few months later and the cycle continues.

I had thoughts of doing a 26 miler (In-Out) over the weekend, then Weezy talks some of us into doing Laurel Valley at night. Oh yeah, and backwards. I knew I was on board with him as soon as he mentioned it and before long I was standing in front of the sign with my gear on ready to go!

Christian, Lester, Weezy, and I were the runners this time. Our plan was to run from the gravel parking lot at Whitewater Falls all night and finish at the Laurel Valley parking lot as sunrise.

We were off and running the technical / downhill stretch to Bad Creek at 8:30 PM sharp. I felt that we could make it through this first four mile stretch in the final hour of daylight and we did.

We were all covered with humidity & fog within three minutes of running. I've never felt the air this soupy in the mountains. At times visibility was reduced to 3 feet during the night due to fog and moisture. I even had to hold my headlamp down to the ground to see through some of the valleys.

The first 6 miles heading towards Thompson River went by quick. It was hard to believe how easy this run was, when this is normally the "beat down" spot coming from the other direction.

I was shocked when we made it to Horse Pasture River in 2:57! It has taken me 4-5 hours to cover this section going the opposite direction. Ok, so 2:57 for 11.7 miles is not very fast, but these are FHT miles at night.

I was running behind Weezy just after Horsepasture when he missed a 3 foot long Copper Head by about 1 inch. I watched it quickly slither away into the ferns and I don't think he even believed me when I told him what happened.

The first real climb didn't take a toll on any of us up from the river and we were making great time running through Bear Creek.

I enjoyed running this one lighter. Both physically and with my gear. I decided to leave my pack at home and carry two handheld bottles with a waistpack. I was a little nervous trying this for the first time, but I'm really glad I tried it. It was much cooler and easier to run with. I must have dumped cold water on my head two dozen times through the night.

The waist pack was always easy to work with and I think it helped me run better.

Christian pulled way ahead through this section and the three of us continued to run well. We were even able to run some of the slight uphills which felt nice for a change.

I'm thinking that we ran down to the Canebrake Boat Access sign by 1:30 AM. About five hours into the run. This marks the halfway point in the run.

We took a 10 minute sit down break here. As we all turned our headlights off I couldn't believe how dark it was. Lester was eating a sandwich as Weezy dropped his batteries and light. They almost landed in the lake, but it didn't matter because it was broken anyway. Thank goodness that we had a backup light and he was able to use it.

We all new that the trail was about to get very tough. With the Heartbreak Ridge climb coming and the forest service road heading up from Jocassee.

There were a few quiet campers asleep in their tents as we ran around the perimeter of the lake heading toward the steps. We had met up with Christian at the Toxaway Bridge as he had gotten off course a few times and wanted to be sure he was back on track.

The steps were not as hard for me going this direction, but they still beat us down. Then came the access road climb.....

Christian goes way off course here and meets up with a bobcat just off the trail. He said that it had no intentions of retreating and just kept coming towards him. He frantically started calling out for the rest of us and we could hear him about a quarter mile up the mountain. We yelled back for him and he was able to quickly backtrack and get back on course with us.

This section took the wind out of all of our sails....

I knew that we still had about 11.5 miles to go and that were probably going to get tougher as time went on.

The running gets much easier after you make the climb out of Jocassee. We were able to put together some decent miles along the fire roads heading to Laurel Falls. We got there around 4:00 AM and still had 7.7 miles to go.

Most of these miles would be a gradual uphill with a few steep sets of stairs thrown in for fun.

We were all nearly delirious from sleep deprivation through here. Christian was running all over the place. The guy must have ran down about every spur trail that he found. It's a great time for a tough training run, but after working all week and staying up on Friday these runs become very difficult towards the end.

Christian and Lester moved ahead of Wayne and I as we settled into a quiet rhythm beside Laurel Fork Creek. This section is so beautiful and lush. Thousands of ferns and a tropical river flowing right through the middle of it. You cross about 10-12 bridges through here that wind you through a maze of thick vegetation and small waterfalls.

After getting up at 6:00 AM on Friday morning, working all day, driving two hours to run, running 8 hours, and being awake for 22 hours straight my mind decided to "check out" for a while.

I began to believe that I was a early settler roaming the mountainsides for gold. Were there Indians out here looking for me? Who had the rites to this land? If I found the gold, how in the world would I even be able to get it out of here?!

It was a LOT to think about when suddenly I saw ***STARS****!

BAM - I ran directly into a downed tree that was hanging at forehead level across the trail. It knocked me to my knees and back to reality. I screamed out something and Weezy stopped to look back at me. He had the look of a deer who just heard a human in the forest.

I did have a little lump on my head, but not much blood and I was fine.

4.7 miles to go from Virginia Hawkins falls and we just wanted it to be over now.

Laurel Valley always stretches itself out at the end of the run. It doesen't matter which direction you go.
2 miles = 4 miles.
4 miles = 10 miles.
Plain and simple.

We looked like zombies trying to climb up some more stairs and the trail began to climb. I shoved a few more shots of gel down in hopes of getting some energy, but it really didn't even do me a bit of good that I could tell.

I was tired of running, sweating, thinking, walking, climbing, eating, and moving. I just wanted to sit.

I wanted it to be over so badly. I kept telling myself and Weezy that we were so close to finishing. Then another turn would come and it just kept going on and on and on and.........

Finally after what seemed like forever we came to the wooden stairs that would take us down to my car in the Laurel Valley Parking lot. It was excellent to see Christian and Lester there waiting for us with a cooler full of food and drinks.

Weezy and I finished in 10:20 and Christiand and Lester finished around 10:05. This was one of the best runs that I've ever had. Yes, it was tough, but that is what we were looking for.

I enjoyed running with these fellas and enjoyed sharing this experience with them.

I've walked away with a lot of confidence going into my 77 mile run on 7/30.

I feel sick to even say it, but..

"Can't wait to run Laurel Valley again!"

Chattooga 50K 2011 Race

2011-07-06T16:21:00.000-04:00

I can't believe that this was my 3rd time running Terri Hayes' Chattooga 50K race, but it was. It was a typical South Carolina weekend. Hot, Humid and Hazy. That's just what I've come to expect for this race.

I've been directing all of my training towards the July 30th running of the Foothills Trail and finishing The Pinhoti 100 Mile race later in the year. This would setup Chattooga as a great training run. Since I was scheduled for a 100 mile week I went up and ran about 20 miles on Saturday before the race from Cherry Hill up the Foothills Trail to Fish Hatchery.

I gotta admit - I was a little nervous about putting in 20 mountain miles before a tough 50K like this, but it didn't seem to phase me at all. I wanted to run both Saturday and Sunday at a solid, even pace.

I ended up finishing the race on Sunday about 35 (8:28) minutes slower than last year, but I was excited to do so with 65 miles on my legs from the previous 6 days of running. It's weird, but I actually felt better after running Chattooga this year then the previous other two. Much better as a matter of fact.

Here is a very brief breakdown of the race:

As always it was great to see my ultra running family. We all gathered around Terri for race instructions about 10 minutes before the race. Terri is well known for her long courses and this one is no different:

Winding Stairs Trail is the first section: 7 Miles
Big Bend Trail: 3 Miles
Chattooga River Section: 10 Miles
Downhill past aid station and back: 4 Miles
Chattooga River Section Again: 10 Miles
Big Bend Trail Again: 3 Miles

Total: 37 Miles

I ran a very even pace for most of the race. Hitting 9-10 min/miles on the downhills and walking some of the ups and technical areas at a 15/16 min/mile pace. I never pushed hard - just concentrated on staying steady.

I took a SCap every hour and tried to drink 40 oz. per hour. I stopped sweating (early heat exhaustion warning) for about 10 minutes near the finish so I had to walk and cool down for about 30 minutes. The heat was beating down by then and it was starting to take a toll.

Another added bonus after the race was to enjoy a hot shower in the brand new bathrooms! This made the drive home much better.

I really appreciate Terri putting on these great local ultras and thanks again to the volunteers who make it happen. Many of these folks stood out in the heat for 12 hours or more to allow us to play in the woods. I'm truly grateful.

I'm aiming for a 50K personal record at The Landsford Canal 50K on July 16h. My time to beat is 6:00:12.

Etiher way, I'm keeping my eye on the prize. July 30th - Foothills Trail 77 Mile FINISH!

Photo Credits: Susan Donnelly

Review: Weeks 1-8 Training for Foothills Trail & Pinhoti 100

2011-06-14T16:50:00.000-04:00

I'm often hard on myself with training. Most runners are.

If I'm not then it probably won't get done. At least not right or even close to being right.

I've decided to be "seriously fun" with my training for now. I'm getting in my miles, but still keeping it fun. This is a hobby - not a job.

I have six weeks until the 77 mile Foothills Trail Run and twenty weeks until Pinhoti. That sentence gets my attention because I'm finishing them both strong this time.

Here is how my first eight weeks have went...

I've dropped 38 pounds and I can tell a huge difference in my running from that alone.

Planned Weekly Miles        Actual Miles
Week 1:     32                               32
Week 2:     60                               60
Week 3:     37                               45
Week 4:     45                               58
Week 5:     42                               42
Week 6:     45                               34
Week 7:     100                             97
Week 8:     35                               28

I feel that I'm right on track with a 50 mile/week average.

Over the next eight weeks I'm going to continue my weight loss and mix in a LOT of hill running.

Ups & Downs. Roads, Treadmill, and Trail. I need them badly.

I feel very comfortable jogging flats and slight grades so it's time to face what has been my weakness. The hills.

Speaking of hills, I'm really looking forward to running one of my favorite ultras - The Chattooga 50K on 6/26. I'm approaching it as a training run, but it will be fun to see where I'm at with my training by then.

Laz's Backyard Ultra Marathon - Whatcha think?

2011-06-09T15:42:00.000-04:00

I'm a subscriber to the Ultra Running Listserv through Dartmouth College which probably has close to 3,000 members on it. Laz (Gary Cantrell) is putting on this uniuque event who is also the Race Director of The Barkley Marathons. Most likely the world's toughest footrace.

The format of the race definately has my curiosity peaked. A date has not been announced yet, but it sounds like it may happen sometime in the fall. I doubt that I will be able to work it in with my son playing fall Football, but I will go if I can.

Here is the format and the original email from Laz:

listers,

so the other night i was asked;

"are you having a race in our yard again?"

at first i thought it might be a rhetorical question, like the oft repeated;

"are you really trying to find that dog a home?"

but i decided i should give it some thought...

which didnt take long, because i am not a big thinker.

i thought this could be the opportunity to try something a little different,

a race under a format i have fantasized about for many years...

a "4-mile" race.

here is the concept:

i can lay out a really cool, but not especially challenging, 4 mile loop course around the farm.

at 7:00 am on saturday, we would start a 4-mile race around that loop.

at 8:00 am we do it again

at 9:00 am we do it again

and so on.

the deal is; you are in the race until you fail to finish a 4-mile loop in an hour, or you fail to toe the start line for the next hour's race.

the winner is the last man (or woman) standing.

the race goes until only one man (or woman) is left.

standings would be graded in a hierarchy:

1) total number of 4-milers completed within the hour limit

2) cumulative time for those 4-milers

is there anyone besides me that would find this an intriguing challenge?

laz =

-----------------------------------------------------

Personally, I find it very intriguing and thought that you may too.

Black Mt. Monster 24 Hour Race For Awesomeness

2011-06-07T12:34:00.001-04:00

When you race for Awesomeness you gotta bring the "A" game with you.

Without sounding like a complete sandbagger, my "A" game is most runners "C" game, but still......I knew that I had to lay it all out for this one. I've been training hard, losing the weight, sleeping, eating greens. You know all of that stuff, so it only made sense to go run myself directly into the hot, hot, hot Black Mt. ground.

I was very certain that if the race went even "OK" that I could get in 24 5Ks. That would mean one 5K every hour which is how long one loop around the course is. That would be about 75 miles. One hour 5Ks? That sounds VERY slow huh?

Before I get too far ahead of myself it took some effort to make all of this even a remote possibility. Jason, Christian, Weezy, Joe, and Mark drove up from Georgia to crash at my place on Friday night before the race. Christian hauled everyone in the ultra-mobile (Excursion) and we had so much gear crammed in it that we had to bungee a table to the top of it. I figure that we had 6 ice chest, 300 lbs. of gear, and 1200 lbs. in human souls.

We grabbed some good Japanese food on Friday night - got to bed by 10 PM - then were on the road towards Black Mt. by 6 AM on Saturday. Gotta throw some props out to Beth (wife) for the homeade chocolate chip cookies and leaving with the kids for the night so we could stink up the house.

Chillin the night before...

The race has a strange 10:00 AM start. I'm guessing that this allows runners time to setup their gear and get settled in before the race, but not sure. Well, anyway, it is what it is right?

I didn't enjoy having to lug all of our aid 100 yards down to the race HQ before running 24 hours, but there really is no other way to accommodate everyone. I only complained once and we all pitched in with the hauling. We got our base camp setup and had about 45 minutes to rest before the race began.

I knew temps could approach 90 during the day so I dressed in all white. Weezy and I also agreed to implement the cold ice towel strategy. We stuck about six white cotton towels in a cooler of cold ice water and could stop and cool down with it when things got hot. I opted to wear mine like a sheik, but more on that in a bit.

Excitement was building before the start and I enjoyed watching all of the runners get their stuff setup. Some had massive tents with boxes of stuff. Others had a little duffel bag and a chair. I was one of the Biltmore House types with a eight foot long table full of food, drinks, and gear. May as well have it if you need it.

Everyone setting up & getting ready for the Black Mountain Monster...

When I was unpacking after the race on Sunday I laughed when I found a mirror in my box. A mirror at an ultra? Man, I must be getting softer. I'm proud to say that I never used it during the race either.

Finally, lets get this thing started! The RD calls all runners up for a quick pre-race briefing at 9:50.

The course is marked well, but watch the turns. - CHECK
It's gonna be hot so run smart - CHECK
Make sure the lap counter gets your number each time - CHECK

All loops must be completed to count. No partials - CHECK

On your mark......get set.........GO!

When a 24 Hour event begins you are so excited that it seems you should start running fast, but you don't. At least you shouldn't. I started with a walk for the first quarter mile which led to a 13 min/mile pace for the first loop. Walking any/all hills and jogging flats and downs.

Knowing that I was going to be spending the next 23:59 hours on this loop, I BADLY wanted to like it. I knew that taking care of myself for these first 12 hours would probably have a big impact on how my final 12 hours went.

I still cannot believe how much variation of scenery and landscape has been crammed into this 5K loop. It is seriously like running in a huge dome that has been built like a house. You make a sharp right and there is a little side trail beside the softball field. Then a quick right and you enter a paved walkway. Then another quick right and you are running through a designed field of ferns.

This goes on with about 15 different little "outdoor rooms" until you exit back into the waiting room which is race headquarters.

This is going to be a lot of photos, but I want to show you the course. There are a ton of sharp turns and cutbacks throughout the entire loop. I will continue on with the race after these shots...

You begin here at the clock. It actually counts the 24:00 hours down, instead of up from zero like a typical race. This is NOT a flat course. There is over 300 FT. of elevation gain per loop. If you ran 100 miles here that would be right at 10,000 FT. of elevation gain.

Then a little more grassy field running and you are back to the start line for a complete loop.

So now you know what it looks like.

I knew that I was going to run the full 24 hours and have a great race after the first loop. It didn't take too long to complete a full circle and I enjoyed the feeling of posting 3.1 miles each time around.

I ran the first two loops in about 1:45 and was just sort of getting a feel of the place. It began to heat up some going into loop three so I grabbed a ice towel out of the cooler. I was going to just wash off with it, but decided to slip it under my visor and wear it sheik style. I heard a lot of jokes about me wearing it while out on the course, but didn't care cause' it kept me cool the entire day.

I swaped it out for a new one during each of my daytime loops:

It did get hot during the day. As you can see in the pictures there are several parts of the course that leave you exposed to open sun for several minutes at a time. I'm guessing the high was around 88 with fairly high humidity. There were times during the day when the wind would blow and it felt heavenly.

I ran about 13 loops during the first day which ended up being close to 42 miles. These were fairly easy miles for me as I walked all uphills and jogged the flats & downs. Ocassionally picking up the pace on some sections just to offer my body a little variety.

It was always fun to complete a loop because race headquarters would have some music blarring over the loud speakers. I was treated to music by George Michaels, Wham, Steve Miller, Pearl Jam, and some great Jazz music. I always hoped for a good song to be playing because it would always be stuck in my head for the next loop!

My goal for this race was really just to keep moving for the entire 24 hours, but I had also thrown out that 84 miles would be great to pull in if possible. I knew that the real race would begin at night after the first 50 miles and fatigue started playing it's dreaded mind games.

As the sun was setting I was excited to see Wayne and Mark at our aid station. We had been seperated on the loop for most of the day and I enjoyed catching up with them about how their run was going. The three of us decided to head out into the night portion together in hopes of staying stronger as a group.

Since this is only my 2nd 24 hour event I'm still trying to learn better strategies. I definately enjoyed the comfort of knowing that the two other guys were there, but felt trapped at times if I wanted to back off the pace or run a bit faster. The three of us stuck together throughout most of the night and went through some tremendous mental battles. While looking back, I think it may have been better for me to stay with the group at this particular event since the chair was begging me to sit in it after each loop.

I would hit a low point and Wayne would hit a high point. Then vice versa. The two would collide and then we would all get quite. Mark eventually pulled away from Wayne and I and we settled into a slow rhythm of more and more walking.

Psyche and a few other runners joined in with us around 3:00 AM and I was quickly entering Zombie Land. It was becoming more and more difficult to answer questions or even remember where I was on the course.

I started playing little games in my head. Thinking that we were all pawns on the Race Director's game board. He would move hills around for us to make it harder then put them back where they belonged on the next loop. One time he even turned the 5K loop into a 15K loop as I was certain that we had done it three times that only counted as one!

Like three grumpy old men - Wayne, Mark, and I exchanged words. Nothing too bad, just general fatigue and frustration stuff. I had noticed a lot of food went missing from my coolers and supply during the race and it was driving me mad. I was sharing my frustration with the other guys as we completed a loop and sure enough, someone had even taken my chair! I slammed my water bottle into the ground and screamed out in anger. All that I could do was laugh when I saw it sitting about 10 feet away from where I was standing.

Wow, this was going to be a very difficult night. Not only that, but when the sunrises at 6:00 AM, I'm still going to have four more hours to go.....

Well, there was no need worrying myself with those thoughts. Just keep moving and things will work out.

At 5:00 AM, which was 19 hours in at 68 miles the wheels feel off. Wayne and I were both reduced to a power hike and we started running the numbers in our head. Well, trying anway.

We figured that we could cover a loop per hour and walk away with about 85 miles. Yea, literally walk away.

My body and feet were holding up great until we had to start walking. Then blisters quickly started forming and even the smallest root or rock would nearly bring me to tears.

We ended up finishing four of the loops and the pain grew exponentially each loop. As the sun finally came up the morning sun was already begining to heat up the course again. We stumbled our zombified bodies up and down the loop and just wanted it to end, but it wouldn't.

We finally finished our 25th loop around 8:30 AM and knew that we could get one more loop in before the race ended at 10:00 AM. Neither one of us even thought about sitting down and quitting at this point. Our minds outwilled our bodies and we kept moving.

Christian jumped in and paced us for this loop in his Crocs. At some points he was even walking backwards talking to us. He had ran 54 miles during the 12 hour event and already paced Jason Rogers in for his 100K too.

We were moving slow, but we were moving. That final loop seemed to take a week to finish, but finally there was the finish line and the clock ticking down with about 25 minutes left on it.

Christian insisted that Wayne and I run across the finish line and we did. It was tough to do for even 20 feet.

Most of the runners had already broken their camps down and left by now and there were just a few tents and canopies left standing. Of course, the GUTS canopy was still up and the faithful few cheered us into the finish.

I stumbled down to my chair (yes, it was there!) and collapsed in it. I put my head into my hands and cried for a minute. So glad that it was over, but so emotional to have won the fight. I think my final mileage was around 81 miles, 26 loops.

I had to force myself to get back up after a minute or two because everyone was ready to get on the road and head home. It was a struggle to pack all of our gear up, but we did and enjoyed a post race meal together at Cracker Barrell.

This race solidified my love of ultra running. Especially the runs over 50 miles.

This is a very organized and conducted race. If you are on the fence about doing it or supporting it then you need to go ahead and get involved now. You will be glad that you did.

Here is what I'm taking away from this event:

I took 1 SCap each hour along with other sodium in my food and I was fine.
I drank 30 ounces of liquids per hour - good move.
The wet - white towel over the head may look stupid, but it works great.
I'm changing back to my Maximum Protection Drymax Socks. They work.
Ensure and foods with Ginger in them will help keep you in a long race.
I cannot sit more than five minutes during a race or I will likely drop.

Thanks again to all of my friends, the Black Mountain Volunteers, and everyone else who made this a quality ultra race!

Also gonna throw congratulations out to Joe on winning the race with 111 miles (I think?). Coach Rick hitting the 100K in 12 hours flat and coming in 2nd. Jason Rogers with his first 100K. Mark & Weezy for grinding it out all night. Christian hit 54 miles in the 12 hour and then got up Sunday morning to pace for six more miles. Kim chewing up close to 40 miles after being injured and Amanda killing her distance PR. There were many more....

I had to change batteries in my Garmin during the race. Here are the two sets of Garmin Data from the race:

Thoughts Heading Into Black Mountain 24 Hour Race

2011-06-01T10:24:00.000-04:00

I will be running the Black Mountain Monster 24 Hour Race for Awesomeness this weekend. I like running events that support a cause and this is definitely a worthwhile endeavor with proceeds going to the Red Cross, The One Day Program, and local Summer Camp Programs. With the course being about an hour from the house, $50 registration fee, tech shirt included, and just an "awesome" time, this one is really a no-brainier for me.

Seriously, from reading over race reports from prior years this event seems to have all of the ingredients to become a very popular race. It features a very runnable 4K loop, live music, excellent staging area for camp/aid, bon-fire, indoor movies, and seems to be very friendly for families to roam around as runners compile miles.

There are several different ways to run this event. They offer a 12 or 24 hour solo run option. Also a 12 hour solo night run option. Or you can run the event as a relay team. I will be curious to see what the ratio will be for ultra runners : relay runners. Either way, it should be a nice boost to get a herd of new runners on the course heading into the night portion.

I've never ran any type of race like this so it should be interesting to say the least. I've always enjoyed loops because you can focus solely on running without having to worry about navigation.

Saturday promises to be hot with highs near 90 with humid air. Here is my strategy going in.

Setup a ice water cooler with white hand towels inside. Keep a cold one under my visor and alternate them during each loop. I picked up this tip from the GUTS crowd at Landsford Canal two years ago and it works great.
Try to drink more calories instead of eating them. I always seem to have better runs in the heat when I stay away from a lot of solid food. If pizza shows up I'm definitely eating it, but I'm gonna try to drink cold calories to stay in the game - especially during the day.
2-3 SCaps / Hour. 20-30 oz. of water / hour - maybe more if the pipes aren't running well enough.
Attempt to maintain 13-15 min/mile pace from the very beginning until the end. This means starting out stupid slow. Nice fit for me.
Transition to cushy road shoes after 12-15 hours. The dogs will love that kind of break.
Bring several changes of clothes to help prevent chaffing.

There is a strange twist to this race that is going to make the whole experience unique. The event begins at 10:00 AM on Saturday so this means that it ends on 10:00 AM Sunday. The sun is rising now around 5:30 AM so this means that I will still have 4:30 hours of running after the sun comes up on Sunday morning. I'm sure it will be easy to quit then, but I'm going to try and prepare myself now to keep moving through that challenge. I don't have any concrete mileage goals, only to move steadily for 24 hours.

Nearly all of my running friends will be at this one which always gets me fired up. Can't wait to get out on that loop with everyone and have some fun...

Laurel Valley Training Run - SMASHED IT!

2011-05-17T10:54:00.001-04:00

Running has been great lately. Why? I'm losing weight (25 lbs. as of today), eating right, resting, running, and then repeating. I don't think there is a magical formula - just that.

Someone thought we should do a LV run on 5/14 and it come together nicely. The runners were D-Ray, Weezy, Mark (Biz-Mark-E), Dan, Doug, Psyche, Charles the rappin pirate, and Nick.

Most of us met at Whitewater Falls (the finish) and drove to the Laurel Valley Parking area (the start).

All photos courtesy of Weezy. Thanks for lugging your camera for 34 miles!

I always enjoy seeing the Laurel Valley Rd. sign. You know you are about to have your world rocked, but for some reason you just forget how much! This is the official race course of Claude Sinclair's Laurel Valley Whitewater Race and several of us were looking to fine tune ourselves in preparation for the real race in August.

So here the four of us go up the final gravel drive to the start of the run.

It was fun to hang out with everyone for a few minutes before the run. We met up with Psyche and Charles here too.

The run was unfolding like this: Dan, Doug, and Nick were running together. David, Mark, Weezy, and I were running together. Then Charles and Psyche got a little bit of a late start and followed in after us.

The first mile was crammed full of jokes as we climbed up the first set of stairs and hills. This course doesn't waste much time before it starts working hard on your quads. However, after the initial 1.5 mile of climbing you are given the opportunity for about 7 miles of great running on moderate flats & ups. I thought I heard Charles and Psyche several times through here and I kept hoping they would catch up. I was looking forward to spending some trail time with them.

Feeling great at Virginia Hawkins Falls!

We churned through this section pretty hard and I was silently scared to death. I've never ran this trail this hard and I knew that the 2nd half was absolutely brutal. Oh well, just keep following Mark and Weezy. We will see what happens. I was hanging with David and catching up with him. It's been way too long since I've enjoyed a good D-Ray run!

I began to feel a little bit taxed through some of the flat parts of this section. We were running at least a 10 minute/mile pace through this area and we all agreed to push the pace while we could. So we did. I felt like we were setting ourselves up for a huge disaster, but I didn't really care - it felt great to run. This is normally the beginning of a story that ends with me crawling like a slug for the final 10 miles of a run.

We agreed to our first water stop at Rock Creek - about 9 miles in. The fun & games still continue....

The four of us were still on our "A" game as we headed towards Lake Jocassee. I was still feeling that we may have pushed the pace too hard and I knew that we would soon find out as the course was about to get much tougher. Mark and Wayne were blazing through the flats and downhills - it was tough to keep up.

Nutrition during my running has been on my mind lately. I thought that I could choke down about 400 calories/hour by taking in gels and perpetuem solid chews. I found that I was able to get down about 200-250 calories/hour instead. I took 1 Scap/hour as well. This plan worked great for me - I especially like E-Gels.

The Toxaway Bridge crossing came in no time. This bridge is about 13-14 miles into the run and is known as "the point of no turning back." If you make it in this far and feel good you keep going. If you are hurt, then you turn around and climb back out.

We were all feeling strong here so the run continued as planned. I knew that "The Valley" was about to begin her beat down upon us. As you run around the perimeter of lake Jocoassee you enter the Canebrake area which is where the real challenges begin.

This sign Marks the beginning of many tough climbs.

As a matter of fact, the climb after this sign is the most difficult on the course in my opinion. There must be at least six false summits on it. It is about six feet wide and just goes on, and on, and on...

I normally dread it, but today I felt like getting after it as hard as I could. I focused on keeping my back straight and churned up it at an even pace. Slow, but even. We all gasped for air as we took it on and eventually stopped for water at this stream near the top...

This is a special place for me on the course. A place where I passed out on a hot July day and lost my glasses. Then woke up to find the contents of my pack thrown all over the ground. A place where I swore off running altogether during a Foothills Trail Run at 2:00 AM. And a place where I fell in love with running while sweeping Laurel Valley for the first time.

This day it was a place where I found some untapped energy and felt like running! I'm not sure what happened here, but I felt like running the rest of the course as hard as I could go. I did have a gel and some extra food, but other than that nothing out of the ordinary. From here on, I knew that the rest of the run would be great.

The rest of the run was excellent for me! We were all on pace to set personal records for the course. Weezy began to have some stomach issues around the 20 mile mark, but he just kept pushing. He is a tough cat!

The river looking beautiful...

I kept up with my Gels and Solid Chews every hour, making sure to follow up with a S-Cap as well. At this point I did get a little behind on water so I started chugging it in order to catch up. This normally makes me sick, but not today.

Climbing out of Horsepastuer River

We continued pushing on. Once again, there are a few climbs past here that are just brutal. Mark was looking fresh and I just stayed close to him. I was able to run parts of the trail that I never have before. It felt incredible to open up my stride on some of the flats and downhills!

Thompson River was the next stop along the run...

Weezy was having some tough stomach issues, but he just kept pushing hard. David was definitely feeling the hills, but his positive attitude made up for any pain that he was in.

From here to the finish at Whitewater Falls is about a 10K (6 Miles). Of course, there are a couple more climbs just to keep you honest. I started to fade a little through this section and I was tired of eating. It was a chore to choke down some more food and water, but I made myself do it.

A cool wind began to blow through the whitewater valley and it poured down rain with the sun shining up above the trees. It was a surreal sight that just topped off a great run. We eventually stood face to face with the final 1000+ foot climb.

Mark was still moving great so I insisted that he push on ahead. I just zoned out and took it one step at a time. This was a bitter/sweet time for me because I new that my best ultra run EVER was coming to an end, but I was ready to rest!

The final set of trail stairs finally came and I was delighted to climb them and finish!

My best Laurel Valley time had been 10:54 in August 2010. Today I ran it strong in 9:45!

Wow, it always feels great to finish on the observation deck! Here are several pictures of the finish.

All four of us posted our best Laurel Valley time. My hat (visor) goes off to David for running LV this hard on his first time - very impressive!

Enoree Passage 40 Mile Race - 2011

2011-05-02T15:58:00.001-04:00

This was the 2nd year that Terri Hayes has put on The Enoree Passage 40 Mile Trail Race. This is the 1st of five ultras in her 2011 South Carolina Trail Series.

I ran this one last year in 9:13 and was surprised to find how tough it ended up being. Enoree is not exactly what you would think of as a highly technical trail run with huge climbs, but the course nickles and dimes you with climbs from start to finish. Most of the course is shady, but there are some exposed areas along the lakes that will bake you on a warm May day.

Mark & Weezy drove up to stay with me from Georgia on Saturday evening and we ate like big dogs. We had lots of laughs and got to sleep early.

5:00 AM came quickly as it always does on Sunday morning.

There seemed to be about 70 runners at the start line as we all quickly pinned our numbers on before the 7:30 AM start. As always, these ultras are like a giant homecoming of friends and family. I always look forward to seeing everyone before a race!

I've had more and more runners introduce themself to me as a blog reader. I'm always encouraged by this and it makes me feel great to help someone take their first leap into the ultra world! I met four runners at Enoree who were running their first ultra and who had read over my race report from last year. All four finished too!

This course is ran as 20 miles out-n-back. About a half mile is ran on pavement and the rest is forest road and single track.

Runners have the privilege of crossing three Earthen Dams, three lakes, a huge metal bridge over the Enoree River, and several other scenic areas of trail.

Ok, enough of that, here is how my run went.

I began slowly in the back of the pack and fell into a 11 minute/mile pace for the first few miles which are mostly downhill and easy running. It was fun to run with Psyche and Charles since I haven't seen them much lately.

Weezy and Mark took off ahead of me and I figured that I would see them after the 20 mile turn around.

I felt excellent running into the first aid station around 5 miles. I quickly grabbed some cookies and water then hit the trail again. Lynne and I jockeyed back and forth for the next 20 miles which was fun.

The next ten miles was fun running, but uneventful and I rolled up and down the small hills of Enoree. At this point I began to get a little tired as I approached the turn around at mile 20. I saw Mark returning from the turn around who was looking strong. It was great to see lots of the leaders blazing down the trail several miles ahead of me. Always motivating!

I finally reached the 20 mile turn around point around 4:30 and took full advantage of the aid station. I downed several cups of Mt. Dew, ate some boiled potatoes, chips, and grabbed a hand full of oreos to munch on as I left.

I ran into Jason Stienberg and Wendy here and had the privilege of running with them for the next five miles. Jason took a nasty fall due to a leg cramp around mile 24 and we helped him get up and into the aid station. The heat and humidity was taking us all by surprise.

At mile 27 my stomach took a turn for the worse and I was reduced to a walk. As the weather gets warmer its tricky to find the balance between just enough fluid and too much. I was obviously on the "too much" side of the equation and felt that I would have to get sick soon which did not make me happy.

Lynne offered me some ginger chews and went ahead and the trail running. I wanted to run so bad because my legs felt good, but just couldn't stand the nausea. I ate the ginger chews for about 15 minutes and felt better.

I slowly worked my way back into a run and before I knew it I was running into the final aid station at mile 35. I noticed that I had about 1.5 hours to cover the final 5 miles and still finish under 10 hours. A goal that I wanted to achieve.

I ran the last five miles as hard as I could go. Even running some of the smaller hills. My legs were on fire from pushing so hard late in the run, but it felt good too.

Wendy, who had stayed back with Stienberg caught up to me with about 1.5 miles to go. She flew by me up a hills and there was no way that I was going to hang with her. That still energized me enough to run into the finish.

It felt great to run down the final half mile of trail and into the finish. There was a huge table of food and drinks waiting with lots of friends.

I even enjoyed my first post-race massage from Denise. If you haven't gotten one of her massages you really need to. I can tell a big difference in my legs today.

Well, once again Terri Hayes put on a great race and fun day on the trails. I'm so thankful that she puts so much time and effort into these events. The volunteers were awesome and waited on us runners all day long. Thank you!

Sweetwater H20 50K - FINISHED IT!!!

2011-04-19T10:07:00.001-04:00

This was my 2nd year running the Sweetwater H20 50K (5th year for the race) put on by the Douglas County Rogue Runners (DCRR) and Johnny (RD). Not to forget some high energy volunteers who made it a very special day.

I rode down to Georgia on Friday and stayed with my buddy Weezy the night before the race. We chowed down some great Mexican food and were in the bed at 10:00 PM to ensure lots of rest.

After a short hour drive to Sweetwater Park about 250 registered runners (race filled up) lined up to begin the race. Pictured above from left is me, Jason Rogers, and Weezy. The race is widely known for its two river crossings and due to heavy storms the night before the course had to be changed. This changed included removing the river crossings from the challenge. I think lots of runners were a little bummed about it, but it was for the best.

The race began promptly at 7:30 and we were off and running. The first mile section is ran on pavement and gives plenty of space and time for runners to seperate and fall into their correct positions. I ran this section very slow and decided that this was the day for me to finish a race and not blow up. I found my friend Jason Rogers and decided that I would run with him for a while.

After a paved 2 mile warm-up run the course promises everyone that they will have wet feet. You lower yourself down a 10 foot incline and cross about 30 yards through a spillway from the lake. The water was moving very swiftly this year and it was a bit slick on the bottom. Everyone (including me) always looks so goofy navigating through here. None of us train to run through a spillway and its always a good laugh.

Of course when you reach the other side you have to pull yourself back up and onto the trail. So after only two miles in your feet are soaked.

I was feeling great through here and still buzzing off the excitement of the race. It was a blast to joke around with Jason and some other runners as we made our way towards the river section of the race. I've realized that the social aspect of ultra running is just as important to me as the running itself. We work so hard to train and get in shape for this stuff. It's OK to enjoy other's company while you are racing.

We went down a very technical/rocky trail that took us to the river. This is a tricky section to get through, but it doesn't last long at all. And once your through it the views and terrain beside the river is incredible! Soft & sandy rolling little hills as you hear the water raging beside you.

We reached what would have been the river crossing and there is no doubt that race official made the correct choice in shutting it down. The river looked like it could be a class 4-5 rapid and it would be way to dangerous for fatigued runners to cross.

We ran a lot of this section with David who I met at FATS 50K and Pinhoti. It was great to pace with him and share some of the old war stories that we had from the prior year.

After my previous four months of general running burnout I was really hoping that Jason R. would be able to pace well and that we could stay together today. For me it was all about getting a solid 50K finish under my belt and I knew this would be easier with a friend.

This course is deceptively easy for the first 6.5 miles. Wow, then the fun really begins! You begin to leave the river portion and enter what the race calls TOTW - "Top of The Word". See the entrance to TOTW here:

So we ran through this section in good spirits and came to the 2nd aid station of the day. I grabbed several GU gels and a couple P&B sandwhich squares and hit the trail again. I was very impressed with Jason R. He looked very strong. I knew that we would both take a beating in the next few miles. At this point I knew that we would both finish this race, but I had a dread looming over me for how I would feel during the 2nd loop.

It was now time to enter the toughest part of the course: TOTW. Since this is a 2 loop course you have to do it two times:

As I crawled up the final hill in this brutal section, I heard Weezy give me a yell from up above. He had already made the climb and we heading back down towards the river which was about 2 miles ahead of me.

Jason and I met up with Lynne during this section and she was slowly working the up and down climbs along with us. I invited her to join in and pace with us and she took us up on the offer which was great. Jason and I looked like her personal body guards going down the trail!

We hit the aid station at TOTW and then begin to make our way back down to the river. There are a few treacherous sections through here that will burn your quads as you go straight down!

I was surprised how easy this section was! Sure, I was moving slow through it, but I still felt great. I kind of thought that would change soon when all of the work caught up with my legs, but for now I was fine. I was even more excited to see Jason R. still pacing strong with me. He was great company along the trail.

So the three of us kept working away towards the end of the first loop...

We hit the half-way mark at about 16.50 miles and were still moving well. I think we all three dreaded running the paved mile section alongside traffic, but shifted the conversation elsewhere. At this point I hit a low point mentally. I began to doubt that I could do another loop since my longest training run over the last three months had been 16 miles. I just fed off of Jason's & Lynne's positive energy.

Before I knew it we were crossing the spillway again and making our way down to the river. Lynee crept ahead of us on this section and we never caught up to her again.

I hit an even lower mental bonk along the river. Jason was pulling me through this section! I just wanted to walk but he kept running and I kept behind him the best I could. I forced myself to keep laughing and joking around. There was no way that I was going to quit today.

We finally hit the aid station along the river around mile 20 and I felt a little better after getting some Coke and real food in me. We both agreed that we could finish under 9 hours and that became the goal for the day.

TOTW section came and I cannot believe how well we navigated it. We slowly moved up and down the big climbs but didn't stop one time! This gave me a TON of confidence and I was able to turn the mental corner of doubt in my mind. I've been battling for this edge for the past 4 months and to finally get it was incredbile!

TOTW aid station had some Papa John's cheese pizza and of course I grabbed a piece to eat as we left. This gave me a HUGE power surge and I was ready to take off!

I knew we only had about 4-5 miles to go and the major climbs were behind us. At this point we met up with well known ultra runners Susan & Rob. It was nice to spend a little time running with them before the eventually moved ahead...

Jason and I passed a few other runners as we headed closer and closer to the finish. We seemed to actually be getting stronger as we got closer. Finally we were in the half mile home stretch and we ran hard into the finish line.

It was great to finish with so many friends cheering us on! Psyche, Charles, Mar, Thomas, Weezy, Tom, Kim, Kena, Perry, Sally, Marty, Victor, Phil, Dan, Dean, and many many others.

I was blown away with how strong Jason R. ran and was ecstatic to have finally finsihed another ultra! Man, it was a great day in Sweetwater Park.

Thanks again to Johnny and all of the hard working volunteers who made this such a special day.

I'm very excited about running the 40 Miles at Enoree Passage in a few weeks. I hope to spill this momentum over to that event as well.

Weight Loss Contest? You wanna be thin and a better runner, right?

2011-04-13T15:11:00.000-04:00

So there is lots of smack talking going on leading into The Sweet H20 50K this weekend in Lithia Springs, GA. Thats good - I think there should be. This seems to be the type of event where runners try to "race" and not just run.

In the midst of all the trash talking a weight loss challenge was brought up and started on Facebook. You want in on the action? Come on and join in. It officially starts up on 4/18 and I'm sure the details will be ironed out then. A percentage based contest format will probably be used to make it fair.

So far a 16 pack of a E-Gels from Crank Sports is up for the winner.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/group.php?gid=106622436040089

Sounds like a great way for me to actually win something for a change!

Spring Fever - Here is the plan...

2011-04-04T15:27:00.000-04:00

Running just gets more exciting when things start turning green on the trails. Yes, I do enjoy a frosty 20 degree morning run, but bright sunshine at 72 degrees? You can't beat it.

Running seems easier when you see the forest coming to life all around you. Little varmits crawling and hoping around and even more people out on the trails enjoying their beauty. Heck, I even like the unleashed 120 Lb. German Shepard that "would never hurt anyone" as it lunges towards my neck.

I'm about to be slapped silly at The Sweet H20 50K on April 16. Yea, I'm feeling OK with these 15-20 mile runs, but I'm not quite ready for Sweet. Thats OK. I need it. I need to hurt and suffer. I need to snarl at the one hill after another that will be served up.

I will swear off ultra running again as I lose my lunch on those huge powerline climbs and it will be awesome. Then I get to do it again on the 2nd loop.

Eight week game plan:

Suffer through Sweet H20 50K with a huge lack of training. I deserve it and want it.
Push the envelope farther at Enoree 40 miler on May 1st. Yep, it will probably be a physical suck-fest too.
Do some crewing/pacing at The Massanutten 100 miler.
Bust out two more high mileage training weeks and FINISH The Foothills Trail on May 20th.

I have tons of motivation to get that monkey off my back. No excuses.

My rule is this: I cannot signup for anymore 100 mile races until I finish The Foothills Trail.

Its going down May 20th.

Happy Spring Running to the rest of ya...

I just run.

2011-03-16T15:41:00.000-04:00

Last night I was busting it hard on the treadmill in the bonus room above my garage at home. As I kept hitting the big "+" button which increases the pace I was getting closer and closer to a 8 mile/min pace. I suddenly realized something.

I don't run because I think its good for me or healthy.

I just run.

I like how I feel when I plan a run, when I'm getting ready to run, when I'm running, and when I finish running. I think I like them all equally.

I don't care if its a mile or 100 miles, I just like it. Although I do find myself drawn to the longer runs.

Not once do I remember thinking, "I need to run so I will be healthier."

If I didn't run then I would probably be the fat, bald, back-hair guy in the gym walking around in a tank top and those loose fitting circus pants. Yea, my chest & arms would be kinda buff, but the rest would be mushy.

Interesting.

With that being said I'm super pumped about running 34 on the Foothills Trail with a group next weekend. This will be my first ultra distance since The Seashore 50K on 12/18 (3 months ago). Seems longer than that for some reason.

Even more time to think about stuff like this.

Want to run a "Fun Run" 50K on The Foothills Trail?

2011-03-01T09:54:00.000-05:00

My friend Dan Hartley wanted to put on a 50K race on the Foothills Trail, but it could not happen due to land permit issues. Instead a group of runners will gather to "fun run" about 33 miles from Bad Creek to Oconee State Park. There are no fees and you are 100% responsible for yourself out on the trail. This is not an official event with permits, insurance, timers, and aid stations.
We are planning on a sunrise start from the The Bad Creek Parking Lot around sunrise (6:30 - 7:00 AM) on Saturday March 26th. We will probably work together to get some aid dropped out before the run. Let me know if you are interested and I will put your email in the loop. Or join the Foothills Trail Listserv Here.

How To Run A Ultra Marathon?

2011-02-28T13:39:00.000-05:00

It's been back to the basics for me lately.

2-3 miles / day through the week and then a 10-15 mile long weekend run.

I forgot how much I love training and builing weekly miles. I will be back up to a total of 30 miles this week and it has been a great reminder of how persistent training can take you the distance you want to go.

Some have asked how to run a 50K. Well here is the secret that I've found.

Start moving if you haven't been excercising much. I would even suggest that you consider a couch to 5K program to help build up a base of miles. Just Google it and a ton of them will pop up.

1. Run 2-3 miles per day Monday - Friday. Make one a little faster run and one on some hills.
2. Run 10-15 miles for a long weekend run.
3. Increase this mileage by 10% every week until you are covering a total of 30-40 miles per week. This means 20-25 miles during the week and up to 20 on the weekend.
4. Take Sunday off or another day in the week. Take two off if you feel injured or sick.

This formula has worked for me only this time I'm trying to run the entire long runs without walking. Hills and all of the tough parts.

You can increase this formula up to 60 - 70 miles per week for a hundred mile race or adjust it for anything in between.

Concerning food and water when training: Eat when you are hungry and drink when you are thirsty. This works for me, but then again I'm not training to win a race either, just push my body and have fun. You can eat the fancy race food. I do when I want to feel more like a runner, but in all honesty a pack of cheap crackers gives me the same fuel as a pack of gel.

Most of all - HAVE FUN! For 99.99999% of us this is a hobby and not our job.

I'm excited about covering a 50K in four weeks in preperation for the Spring / Summers Ultras.

See you out there soon....

Checking out Laurel Valley for the 2/5/10 Foothills Run

2011-01-29T12:08:00.000-05:00

I headed up to the Laurel Valley Parking area to check out trail conditions after the latest round of winter weather. A group is planning to run the Foothills Trail next weekend (possibly me too) so I thought it would be wise to cover a small portion of the trail and see how it looks.

The 5 mile stretch from the parking area to Virginia Hawkins Falls is in excellent condition. All of the snow and ice has melted and the trail was even dry. I could tell where recent maintenance had been performed as there were a few freshly cut trees beside the trail.

Everything is a "go" in my opinion, depending on how the weather holds up for the next six days.

Here are a few photos that I snapped...

2011 – Some goals and reflection…

2011-01-25T16:21:00.002-05:00

Goals for 2011 -

Run & Finish The 2011 South Carolina Ultra Trail Series (5 Races)
- 40 Miler (Enoree)
- 50K (Chattooga & FATS)
- 24 Hour Run (Woods Ferry)
- 50+ Miler (Long Cane)

Run 100 Miles (Not sure where or when yet)

Run the 50K distance under 6:00.

Complete the 77 mile Foothills Trail under 36 hours.

Pace / Crew a friend to her first 100 mile finish at Massanutten.

Possibly Pace / Crew for some other runners.

For me, running is about sharing, learning, and growing. Much of this comes alone in training, but it also happens during group runs or races. I’m thankful for all of the friends that I’ve made through this sport. This is by no means a comprehensive list, but some of the highlights that I have pictures for.

Sweeping Laurel Valley & Meeting Weezy & Elson during the battle…

May 2009 – Finishing my first ultra at The Buncombe 34 miler…

Finishing my first 100 miler at Iron Horse in Florida…

Helping my son run 25 miles and finishing the 1.2 to make a marathon!
Racing the final .25 miles of a half marathon against a blonde that I don’t know with my tongue out and beating her!

Running a 50K in a Nor’easter

Summer Foothills Run with the Weezy…

Running two half-marathons with my wife!

Meeting lots of cool families…

Because I get to try and keep up with a man named Mad Dog!

Foothills Trail night runs!

Putting yourself up against 77 mile runs with a 100 degree heat index…

Crewing with my son and friends to help other runners achieve greatness…

100 Mile Belt Buckles – They are hard to get, but worth every step…

Coming up short, but seeing your friends get it done!

Can’t wait to see which photos go here for 2011….

Seashore 50K Quick Race Report

2010-12-30T10:16:00.001-05:00

I ran the 2nd annual Seashore 50K in Virginia Beach on 12/18. This was my 2nd time running the race and as always, it lived up to my expectations. And then some….

When you first think of VA, Beach you think FLAT. Well, if you ever run this race at Seashore Park you will soon learn that hills have been imported from other various parts of the state! No major climbs, but rolling hills that add up over 50Ks. Add 1 inch of packed snow and ice to the trail and it ends up being a winter wonderland of fun.

Seriously, if you are ever in the area on the third weekend in December you should run this race. It is organized super tight with timing chips, a well marked course, awesome aid stations, what seems to be a 3-1 volunteer/runner ration (with 200+ runners), and a very scenic trail.

I was shooting to PR my 50K time here with a 5:59, but ended up with a solid 6:37. Not too shabby for me considering the slick conditions of the trail. I pushed as hard as I could go for the entire race and I’m very happy with my time.

For $80, the RD hooked us up with a nice pullover rain jacket, paper weight, key chain, finisher’s medal, finisher’s hat, free parking, and a post race party!

Great event that I hope to repeat many times…..

On a totally different note I’m going to be forced into taking some time off ultra running. I’m guessing about 4 months. I’ve had some issues with high blood pressure during the past few days and I need to focus solely on getting this under control and dropping weight.

I will still see many of you at some of the winter/spring races as a volunteer. I’m excited about getting healthier in 2011 and hitting some new PRs in the 2nd half of the year.

30 Miles Completed At Bartram 100 Miler

2010-12-13T11:09:00.001-05:00

It’s hard to “run” 100 miles. I say “run” because most everyone walks more than they run at this distance. I do anyway. I finished one hundo at the 2009 Iron Horse in Florida. I didn’t see that run as being this tough, but I’ve recently been reminded that it really is.

Yep, another DNF (Did not finish) at the Bartram 100 Miler in Milledgeville, GA. I started vomiting and having other stomach issues around mile 27. That quickly lead to the “what am I doing here” thoughts and before I knew it, I was back in the car making the lonely four hour drive back home. Walking / Hobbling another 70 miles just didn’t seem like something I wanted to do.

Could I have stuck around and finished under the 32 hour cutoff? Maybe, who knows? I wasn’t willing to find out and it obviously didn’t mean that much to me. I had never been happier to be leaving a race early.

My previous Pinhoti 100 mile DNF really bothered me, but this one didn’t in the least. As a matter of fact, I felt better than I had in a long time as far as running goes.

I relate to some Poe writings – this one hits home after Bartram…

A Dream by Edgar Allan Poe

In visions of the dark night
I have dreamed of joy departed—

But a waking dream of life and light
Hath left me broken-hearted.

I’m burnt out with long ultras. I’ve ran nearly 30 of them in the last 18 months. My body & mind are confused and beat down. I had to get real and face the facts on the drive home over the weekend. I’ve been battling back and forth with this for a few months now, but it came full circle two days ago after the DNF.

I love the people associated with the runs and the energy around the events, but my mind and body have had enough. Am I finished running? Of course not! However, it is time to change gears and do some different stuff.

Another mental aspect of the long ultras is being away from my wife and kids for entire weekends at a time. I feel selfish doing this once every 4-6 weeks and I’m not going to do it anymore.

I can get out and run a 50K or shorter runs in the morning and be home by early afternoon or sooner in most cases. So going into the future I’m sticking to these type of runs for now.

Will I run more 100 milers, 100Ks , 50 milers? Of course! However, they will be special events that I have trained properly for. Physically & Mentally.

With that being said, I’m super excited about running The Seashore 50K in Virginia Beach, VA this Saturday! It will be my brother-in-law’s 1st ultra and I have a feeling that he is going to rip it up! I ran a 6:00:12 last year which was a 50K record for me. I want to beat that on Saturday.

One last note. It’s not all about me! I gotta throw a BIG congratulation out to my running bro. Charles R. for finishing his first 100 miler at Bartram! GREAT RUN! Congrats also to Beth M., Kena, Psyche, Lane, Ashley, and several others. There are lots of incredible folks in this sport including The Georgia Snail himself Thomas who faithfully waited and helped lots of runners finish last weekend.

Hope to see you out there soon……….

Finishing 2010 With A Hundo & 50K...

2010-12-08T14:35:00.000-05:00

23 days left in 2010....
Just enough time to try and squeeze in a 100 mile race and then follow it up with a 50K.

I honestly don't know what I've gotten myself into at the Bartram 100 Mile race in Milledgeville, GA this weekend. A 5.25 mile loop that is to be repeated 19 times. Seems like a logical way to spend a winter day, right? And for you number crunchers, yes we will be running an extra quarter of a mile on the first loop to make 100 miles even.

This is just another sadistic way for me to revenge my DNF last month at Pinhoti. I've actually let that one go for now, but still feel the urge to travel 100 miles on foot while being under the pressure of a clock ticking in the background.

There is no plan or promise for this race. Just go run & walk. Just keep it up and enjoy the experience.

Looking forward to running with lots of great friends & meeting some news ones as well.

Report to follow soon...

Camp Croft Trail Half Marathon

2010-11-22T09:25:00.000-05:00

The inaugural Camp Croft Trail Half Marathon was held in my Spartanburg backyard on November 13th at Croft State Park. Pictured to the left are some of the runners - Joe Camo, Beth (wife), Big Easy (me), Sam-O-Nator, and Brian (The Guz).

The weather was picture perfect. 40 degrees with a bright blue sky setback against fall turned leaves falling from the trees. It was the type of day where you couldn't wait to hear your feet crunching the foliage as you ran through some beautiful rolling single track.

The course featured some of the best parts of the park. It was a 13.1 mile loop that ran between Lake Craig and Johnson. 80% single track, 20% trail. 0% pavement - LOVE IT!

The entire event was organized to a tee by Seth N. and the Spartanburg Running Club. I was impressed because from the moment I arrived at the park I knew exactly where to drive and what to do before the race. All of the volunteers were great and from what I understand all of the runners finished the race. They had the course marked perfectly and even I was able to stay on course for the entire run - very unusual!

This was Beth's 1st trail race and second half marathon. I settled into a pace behind her from the beginning and let her determine the tempo. We took our time and enjoyed the run. She took one bad fall, but bounced back up without injury.

After 2:58 we made our way into the finish line and enjoyed some post race food. I was surprised to see a live band playing too! There were a TON of raffle prizes given away. Beth and I both won $10 gift certificates to local area stores which was very cool. Add this to the sharp technical shirts given to runners before the race and we walked away with some killer swag.

If you are ever looking to run a well organized and challenging trail half mary, then Croft should be the race for you. Rumor has it that there could be a 50K run in the making on this beautiful trail system. More details to come if I hear of it materializing...

Pinhoti 100 DNF (Did Not Finish)

2010-11-08T12:05:00.000-05:00

Sometimes races don't go your way. Sometimes you don't go the race's way.

For me, running is all about having fun. I have learned to embrace suffering after covering certain distances and in some sick & twisted way that is fun too. The Pinhoti 100 was going to be a special race for me. 100 miles on mostly single track rugged trail across Alabama. While it was still a great weekend, I was pulled off the course by the sweeps for missing the cutoff time at 35.5 miles due to taking a wrong turn.

I will elaborate on my details later, but I wanted to touch on the bright highlights of the event first.

As in any ultra marathon one runner is only one part of a very big picture. I have never taken the opportunity to watch an ultra from a the perspective of a non-runner. I'm overwhelmed in the amount of work time & work that volunteers, personal crews, and total strangers take to help runners achieve their goals and keep them moving. These are total unselfish people who sincerely want to see a runner complete their race.

After my race ended I had the privilege to hang out with Vic, Phil, and Christian for the remainder of the weekend. Vic & Phil were crewing my buddy Weezy in his first 100. These guys were awesome to watch as they drove through the night taking care of him and other runners at various aid stations. Sean O. was also on the scene with an entourage of helpers who distributed food & love to runners along the way.

The highlight of the weekend was seeing my buddy Wayne (Weezy) cross that finish line to complete his first 100 mile race. He fought hard through the cold night and toughed it out. I'm so proud of the guy.

Here he is running to the finish...

I have many mixed emotions as I think about the darker side of the DNF (did not finish). I took a wrong turn on a somewhat poorly marked section of the trail and went at least 4 miles off course before realizing my mistake and making my way back. I didn't go the race's way. This cost me about 2 hours of precious time and as a result I was instructed by the sweepers to drop from the race at the next aid station.

After finding my way back to the trail from going off course I saw that the trail was marked, but I had somehow missed the turn. This was my own fault and I should have been paying better attention.

As one of the kind aid station volunteers drove me to meet up with the rest of Wayne's crew I was telling myself that I was finished with ultras for good. I felt defeated and like I had let down a lot of people - mainly myself. Would I have finished if this had not happened? I really don't think so. It hurts to say that to, but I just didn't have any strong drive or motivation after the first five miles of the race.

It was great to still have Weezy and other friends out on the course because it gave me something positive to focus on instead of the DNF. Several of my friends finished their first 100 miler and it was awesome to be able to experience that. Unfortunately, I had to leave the excitement and take a long drive back home to Spartanburg and begin to sort things out in my mind.

I'm not looking for sympathy or pats on the back - I'm just being real here. I have a whole world of joy to be thankful for and running is just a small layer of icing on a huge cake of blessing that is my life.

I feel disconnected from ultra running right now. I think that is normal after your first official DNF in a race. At this point I'm going to take some time off to rest and get back to the type of running that I enjoy.

It will be fun to run with my wife Beth this weekend at her 1st trail half marathon close to home. At least I'm not too beat up to go out and enjoy it.

Pinhoti 100 Mile Race Live Updates

2010-11-02T15:23:00.000-04:00

It's finally time for the Pinhoti 100 Mile Race in Alabama this weekend! For anyone interested, the Race Director just informed us that live updates will be posted during the race on:

http://www.ultralive.net/ (My Bib # is 1567)

I'm carrying my cell phone and will be posting as many tweets and facebook updates as possible. This will depend largely on the cell phone coverage.

Pinhoti 100 Miler Is In 23 Days – I have a Plan

2010-10-13T16:39:00.001-04:00

I will start slow, I will start slow, I must start slow. Gotta remember that.
Eat & Drink something every thirty minutes. Not fun at 3:00 AM, but necessary.
Live in the moment. Enjoy the people & trail. Thank God for every step.

Even though I have never ran a single step on this trail, I believe that I can finish it under 28 hours. The cutoff time is 30 hours and I don’t want to end up playing “beat the clock” as the sun is coming up for the 2nd day on Sunday morning. I’ve recently lost a few of those games, but not this time.

I will have drop bags at miles 27, 41, 69, and 86. The aid stations at Pinhoti will be excellent so I’m not going to put much stuff in the bags. Only what I really need so I don’t waste a bunch of time just standing there starring at everything. Although, that is a lot of fun.

Wayne D. and I are talking of running the entire course together. I will probably slow him down, but I selfishly and secretly hope that it works out that way.

My friend Jason R. will begin pacing me around midnight near mile 65 all the way into the finish.

I will enter the race with an attitude of “going with the flow”. The race will never unfold as I imagine. There will be highs & lows. Stuff will go wrong and unusually right. Either way – here is my game plan.

Pace Chart For 28 Hour Finish at Pinhoti -
Race Starts At 6 AM (CST)
Sunrise: 6:45 AM & Sunset 6:00 PM

Drop Bags

1 (27.66 Miles) AMP Energy Drink / Glide / Desitin / Clip2 / Propel / Band –Aids / Toothbrush / Paste / Special Snack

2 (40.94 Miles) AMP Energy Drink / Glide / Desitin / Clip2 / Propel / Band –Aids / Both Head Lights / Special Snack

3 (55.34 Miles) AMP Energy Drink / Glide / Desitin / Band –Aids / Cap / Long Shirt / Pants / Gloves/ Special Snack

4 (68.75 Miles) AMP Energy Drink / Glide / Desitin / Band –Aids / Cap / Coat / Warmer Gloves / Special Snack

5 (85.60 Miles) AMP Energy Drink / Glide / Desitin / Band –Aids / Cap / Tooth Brush / Paste / Special Snack / Road Shoes / New Socks

6 Finish Change of Clothes / Shoes / Cash / Toiletries

F.A.T.S. 50K Race

2010-10-04T10:40:00.000-04:00

F.A.T.S. is short for The Fork Area Trail System in North Augusta, S.C. This would be the fifth and final race of the S.C. Ultra Trail Series put on by Terri Hayes. I had the privilege of running all of her races & finishing for my second year in a row. I'm very grateful for the time and resources that she has put into South Carolina ultras. Her races have hooked lots of runners into the sport (including me) and given many the confidence needed to pursue and complete other goals. Thanks again Terri & all of the folks who volunteered to make these events possible.

I treated this race as my final long trail run for The Pinhoti 100 Miler on November 6th. The plan going in was to run a conservative pace similar to what I will run at Pinhoti. Well, that was the plan - you know how that goes!

I left for North Augusta around 4:45 AM on Sunday morning and enjoyed the 2 hour drive down through Greenwood. There a lots of nice little county towns to pass through with local culture. It's amazing what you see in some of these places before the sun comes up. Cops sleeping in their patrol cars, roosters pecking in the road, dogs sleeping on the highway.....great stuff!

It was great to drive into the parking lot and see so many friends preparing for the run. After thirty minutes of laughs and some last minute course instructions from Terri, we were off and running.

I was stuck in the middle of about 20 runners for the first 7.5 miles which was fun. I was enjoying a cool fall morning running on some beautiful trails while hearing the conversations go back and forth. We hit the first aid station and the crowd thinned out after that. I felt like running a little faster so I hustled through the aid station and got back on the trail quickly.

I'm planning on averaging a 16:40 min/mile pace at Pinhoti and I felt that a 14:00 min/mile pace today would be adequate to train with since there are no big climbs on this course. I hit a great stride for the next ten miles and ran nearly all of it around a 11:50 min/mile pace. This was way too fast for me after doing a 100K on the Foothills Trail last weekend, but I didn't care and just went with what felt good. That came back to bite me later!

I eventually ran up on my friend Scott around mile twenty who was moving well despite running the Stump Jump 50K on Saturday and finishing The Foothills Trail the weekend before! Unreal! I decided to hang with Scott for a while and we quietly paced together through the small rolling hills. We eventually ran up on Psyche & Charles who were walking her son Leopold back to the finish. Leopold is an incredible ten year old who has completed several endurance races and was trying for his first 50K today! Although he didn't officially finish the 50K, he still ran an "ultra distance" of 27 miles which is just incredible!

As Scott & I entered our final 7.5 mile loop of the race, I was getting really tired. I could feel all of the long & tough training runs from the previous three months on my legs, but I made it a point to keep running. I took a nasty fall about 3 miles from the finish and my head bounced off the ground. Luckily, I feel into a bed of pine needles and not rocks. Scott came over to help me up and we continued towards the finish.

I ended up finishing around 7:45 and I measured the course out to be about 33.5 miles. That put my overall pace at 13:53 min/mile which was just what I was looking for in the run. If I had it to do over again, I would have ran more consistent through the run, but overall, I'm very pleased in my final long training run before the 100 miler.

Thoughts on where I am as a runner...

2010-09-30T11:11:00.000-04:00

This blog entry will discuss where I'm at regarding ultra running. Both mentally & physically. I'm going to take some time to sort out what is working and not working for me as well. I have a lot of stuff in my head and need to get it out.

I'm looking forward to running Terri Hayes' FATS (Fork Area Trail System) 50K this weekend near North Augusta Georgia. If I add up all of my ultra marathon races & organized fun runs this will be my 22nd ultra event since I began with Buncombe on May 3rd, 2009. That's 22 in about seventeen months. If you know me, I rarely push myself to run fast at these, but just set out to finish strong. I will push myself to finish though!

By no means am I boasting when I talk about completing those 22 events. I personally know lots of ultra runners who have ran a lot more races in a shorter period of time. I'm only making a mental "bookmark" of my running for now, while briefly looking back at my couch potato life of 300+ lbs lying in front of the TV before 2009. That's me pictured to the right with my sister in June 2009. I was at 310 lbs.

By the way, how did I get here? I was motivated while watching the 2008 women's summer Olympics marathon on the couch and decided to go for a run that evening. I walked 100 yards and nearly passed out. Ran a road half marathon, then full marathon, finished and thought I would like running on the trails better. Googled trail running and found Christian Griffith's Chattooga 50K race report. Then I met Race Director Terri Hayes and signed up for her 2009 Chattooga 50K event. I was so anxious to run it that I decided to run her Buncombe 34 Mile Race one month before. That was my first ultra.

My past three ultra events have seen me fall short of my goal for each of them. First, The Foothills Trail Run in July 2010 was extremely hot and I did not finish it. Next, I ran The Long Cane 50 mile race in Greenwood, SC and went off course which caused me to cut the mileage short for the day. I did receive credit for a 40 mile official finish, but it was tough to stomach another mishap. Finally, just last weekend I came up short on the Foothills Trail again making it 60 out of the 77 miles.

I feel frustrated about coming up short three times. I am a very analytical and obsessive person and that makes it even tougher to deal with not finishing. On the other hand, these were very difficult and demanding events that required patience, strategy, thinking on the go, and endurance. It always does me good to get "slapped down". It humbles me, breaks me down, and then I can build myself back up stronger than before.

Today I'm feeling that it is vital for me to finish the FATS ultra this weekend. There is no such thing as an easy 50K, but compared to many this one is on much more forgiving terrain. I plan on showing up rested and ready to have a fun day running in the woods. It will be nice to run without a watch again.

The weekend after FATS I'm excited to be running with my wife Beth. It will be her first official race - The Spartanburg IRecycle Half Marathon! I'm really looking forward to sharing this experience with her and she is going to do great because she has trained so hard for it.

The Pinhoti 100 mile trail run is then right around the corner in November. I've never felt more prepared for a race than I am for this one. My personal battles with the Foothills Trail over the summer have provided the perfect training ground and I'm glad that I had the chance to lay down the ground work for another 100 miler.

More than anything, I'm thankful to God for my health and the ability to get out on the trails and do this! It's been tough not meeting my goals recently, but looking back at all of the beauty that I've seen & experienced makes me so content. I'm very thankful for all of the incredible people that I've met and had the pleasure of spending time getting to know.

Ok, here is some stuff that I have learned this summer.

I don't need salt caps (S!Caps) unless it is near 100 degrees or extremely hot & humid. I get enough salt & electrolytes through the food I eat.
That leads to another finding. I have been drinking way too much water. I can safely take in 30 ounces of water / hour in extreme heat. 20 oz. / hour if more ideal for me. I noticed several problems that developed when I was drinking more than that over the summer.
I DO need to eat a little something every 45-60 minutes during an ultra. I will bonk after 2-3 hours with no food.
My body handles distance much better by going slow & steady for the entire event. When I try to run hard & stop and rest more I suffer. As a matter of fact, I do better by not stopping unless I absolutely have to.

Photo courtesy of Psyche Wimberly - 2 Mile Above Whitewater Falls Foothills Trail

Foothills Trail (2nd) 77 Mile Run

2010-09-27T16:26:00.001-04:00

My first attempt at the Foothills Trail was on 7/24/10 and I dropped out at Whitewater Falls which is around the 48 mile mark. I entered this run very confident of a finish and thought that I had it figured out. To make a long story short I dropped once again at Burrell’s Ford (mile 61) which was about 16 miles from the finish. Severe chaffing and mental fatigue were the main contributors.

The runners for this one were Denise Davis, Scott Hodukavich, Charles Raffensperger, Psyche Wimberly, and myself. Byron Backer provided crew support for us and Denise’s husband Alan provided support for her.

Our plan for this run was to start from Table Rock State Park on Friday night (9/24/10) at 7:00 PM. The strategy was to run the tough Table Rock & Laurel Valley sections of the trail while it was dark & cool and then face the remaining 29 miles in the daylight on Saturday.

The run started as planned at approximately 7:10 PM. Denise took the lead heading up Pinnacle Mt. while the rest of us fell into a speed hike as the sun began to set. We hit the overlook at Pinnacle in about 1:20 and were making great time. A beautiful full moon appeared behind a mostly clear sky and we continued to speed hike/jog towards South Carolina’s highest point – Sassafras Mountain.

We met up with Byron at the top of Sassafras and refilled our supplies. After hanging out there for about 15 minutes we headed downhill to the Laurel Valley Parking area at mile 14.5. Denise & Scott had gotten ahead through this section while Psyche, Charles, and I ran mostly together. We saw several copperheads on the trail through that section.

My split for the first 14.5 miles was around 4:40 which was nearly one hour faster than the July run. It was close to midnight as we met Byron again on HWY 178 at the Foothills Trail crossing.

We met back up with Scott here who was waiting on us and Denise had taken off into Laurel Valley just as we arrived. This would be the last time we would see Denise during the run. Byron had a great spread of food put out for us again along with ice cold drinks. We all loaded lots of calories into our packs for the long 33 mile unsupported section through Laurel Valley.

The four of us stuck together closely through the Laurel Valley section until the very end after sunrise. As midnight came and went the sharp & steep sections of the trail began to take their toll. I hit a very low point around the 29 mile mark which may have been around 2:00 AM. I began thinking about how far I had left to travel and the darkness was disheartening. We pushed on & on as a group of four through the darkness making the best of the night with some jokes and ramblings.

Dawn began to break around 6:30 AM as we closed in on the Bear Camp creek section which was getting close to the halfway mark of the run. All our spirits were lifted as we enjoyed a beautiful sunrise together on some nice downhill sections of the trail. Scott got ahead on this section and we eventually made it to Hilliard Falls. Psyche & Charles decided to take the short spur trail to the falls and I made the decision to keep pressing towards Whitewater Falls where Byron & aid were waiting for us. Scott had decided to visit the falls as well so Psyche & Charles met up with him there.

I really enjoy the section from Hilliard Falls to Bad Creek. There is some fantastic single track with some very gnarly climbs. My legs were beginning to complain about moving for 15 hours at this point, but I was enjoying the cool fall morning listening to the forest come alive.

I hit another low mental point around Bad Creek as I knew the tough climb out of Whitewater was inevitable. I kept reminding me that Byron was at the top with aid and I would reward myself with a nice break once I got there. I took a lot of breaks through the next four miles. I think it took me about three hours to cover the four miles. I decided that I was going to drop at Whitewater and just could not stand the thought of going another 28+ miles to the finish from there. Those negative thoughts made the climb out even worse.

The steep climb out of Whitewater was comical. I was talking to myself and beginning to come unraveled. Two families turned back on the trail when they saw me having conversations with myself. I heard one lady say, “Honey, I think we need to go the other way….” Then about 100 yards up the trail another lady said, “I’m tired and need to turn back”. I must have looked like a wretch at that point. I guess 48 miles and spending the night in Laurel Valley will do that to you.

I finally climbed my way up to the gravel parking lot on HWY 130 and was greeted by Byron and Alan. Wow, was it ever great to see them. Byron announced that I was looking good because I was still moving and I just sat down on the ground for a minute. Just as I sat down Scott, Charles, and Psyche came up right behind me. It was great to see them as well.

If it were not for the rest of the people around me here I would have dropped for sure. I was in a terrible mental funk and just wanted to quit. I was not injured and was not extremely tired, but just way down. We spent about 30 minutes here and packed up heading towards mile 53 at Sloan Bridge.

I felt incredibly great climbing out of Whitewater Falls. My spirits were lifted and I was so excited to be getting closer to the finish. The toughest part of the trail was behind me and I felt secure in a finish.

We reached Sloan Bridge around 5:30 PM which was about 22:30 into the run. For some reason I developed sever chaffing through this section in my inner thighs. Psyche let me have her Glide roll on to use and it helped for about 15 minutes, but after that the burning was horrible. Every stepped left me grimacing in pain. I tried to make adjustments to my shorts, but it just kept burning more & more. I was determined to not let this stop me from finishing and kept pushing forward.

The 3.3 mile section from Sloan Bridge to Fish Hatchery was much more technical than I remembered it being from previous runs. There were lots of roots and downed trees that made for tricky footing. My inner thighs were burning so bad at this point I wanted to cry. The sweat and salt on my shorts was rubbing back and forth as I moved. I just couldn’t find a fix. I put much, much more glide on, but it just wouldn’t help. I even tried to rub it all off with my shirt and then re-apply, but again, it made it worse. I noticed a little blood, but I just pretended not to see it.

I put my headphones on and tried to listen to music for the first time through this section. I thought that it may take my mind off the situation at hand, but it made me very angry. I have never had music make me mad like this did. I think I was listening to some Phil Collins, but not sure. Either way, I packed my MP3 player back up and kept moving. The three of us reached the Fish Hatchery off HWY 107 around 6:45 PM which was about 23:50 hours into the run. We were about to face our second night on the trail.

We put our lights on at Fish Hatcher and turned them on about 2 miles down the trail as we headed towards Burrell’s Ford. I lost my mind through this section. The chaffing was about to bring me to tears and facing a 2nd nightfall was demoralizing. The three of us stumbled slowly downhill towards Burrell’s Ford. We tried to keep talking some, but we all had a hard time making conversation. I knew that we only had about 16 miles to go after Burrell’s Ford and that I just needed to get there and get things fixed.

We finally rolled into Burrell’s Ford around 8:15 (25 Hours Into the run) to find Byron patiently waiting for us once again with a truck full of aid waiting at our disposal. I was having a hard time forming sentences and felt wildly delirious. I ate some excellent hot chicken noodle soup and a few sandwiches in hopes of getting another lift up. I knew that I needed to treat that chafe as well. When I reached down to take a look at it there was a bloody mess there. That pain on top of knowing that eight more hours of running waited ahead for me to finish the trail made me decide to drop out of the run. I told the group that I was finished and Charles also said that he was dropping as well. I had noticed him breathing strange and he was complaining of other complications.

Byron was ready to run with Psyche and the two of them geared up and headed off into the night down the technical Chattooga river. As I stood there watching the two of them head back into the woods a flood of emotions came over me. I was so glad to be finished, but deeply heartbroken to not be finishing the trail. Either way, I stood by my decision.

I remember praying for Byron & Psyche’s safety as they heading down the Chattooga in the darkness. I knew Byron was fresh and that he would take care of her out there, but I knew how she was feeling when she left.

My car was parked with aid in it at Burrell’s Ford so I drove it back to Oconee and followed Charles who drove Byron’s truck. We left his truck at their final road crossing – Cheeohee Rd. – and Charles rode back to Oconee with me.

We got showered and ate back at Oconee where we had setup camp earlier on Friday afternoon and I collapsed in the tent.

Here is how the run turned out for the group:

Denise Davis – 1st Female to ultra run the Foothills Trail and she finished on her first attempt in 26:58

Scott Hodukavich – Finished on his 1st attempt 30:37

Psyche Wimberly – Finished on her 2nd attempt 31:48

Charles Raffensperger – Dropped at Burrell’s Ford Mile 59.8

Jason Sullivan – Dropped at Burrell’s Ford Mile 59.8

I would like to say a special thanks to Byron Backer for helping us with this run. He provided excellent aid to us at every possible intersection and even spent some time running on the trails with us. Not to mention, finishing the 16+ miles with Psyche through the night. Thank you again Byron!

I’m looking at another run on the trail in the Spring of 2011. I’m planning on taking the hard lessons I’ve learned and using them to my advantage for a finish next time. I’m deeply disappointed in not finishing, but I at least feel good about making it farther than I did last time.

Long Cane 50 Miler – Left Turn led me right…

2010-09-07T10:07:00.001-04:00

For this report we are going to do pictures first. But before that, here is the short version of my race. My mom drove down with me to cook burgers at the finish early Sunday morning and everything “pre-race” went smooth. I was having the best ultra race of my short career when suddenly around mile 25 I went off course and took a wrong left turn. After running several miles in the wrong direction and not being sure of where I was - I decided to just keep running and enjoy the beautiful day. I’m estimating that I ran about 44 miles in 10:00 hours and felt great afterwards.

Now for some photos….

The beautiful lake at Long Cane…

Scott and I at the start – Tracie is in green to the left…

My mom and another volunteer at the final aid station…

A couple who just completed their first ultra & did it together!

Me at the finish…

From Left to Right: Dan, Terri, Jason at the finish…

Like I said before, I was having a great run. Very relaxed and feeling great and then I took a wrong turn. I was about 100 yards behind Tracie and she took the wrong turn to the left. I just blindly followed her which was STUPID! I’m amazed at the amount of stupid things I do during an ultra. I put a lot of thought into the layout of this race and felt confident about being able to follow it through the day. Terri (Race Director) did a great job of marking the course. I made the mistake so I had to live with it.

As stated earlier I made several small runs around the park looking for the correct turn because I realized that I was off course after about 4 miles from the wrong left turn. I felt myself getting frustrated and really upset so I decided to lay down on the trail and just relax for a minute. I laid down on some soft pine needles under the trees and looked up at the deep blue clear sky. The wind was blowing and the breeze felt heavenly. I just laid there relaxed for a minute and laughed at my mistake. At that point I decided to keep running around the perimeter of the park until dark and just make the best of the situation.

I went through three more aid stations and they all greeted me with cheers that I was in the lead! I hated to bust their bubbles (and mine), but I was far, far away from the lead. I told each aid station volunteer that I was off course and just out for a run at this point. They just laughed with me and encouraged me to keep going. One guy was trying to figure out how I could back track and make up the mileage, but we couldn’t figure out where I had been up to the current point.

I didn’t see anymore runners for the final three hours of the run and I enjoyed the solitude. After nine hours my legs were beginning to complain about the 80 miles that I had put on them this week. It was bitter-sweet to run the final mile into the finish. I would have much rather covered the entire course, but I’m proud of myself for making the best of the situation.

I love the pain & torture that comes from hours of running. It keeps me humble and reminds me of where I belong and how I should behave. Ultra running makes the simple pleasures in life such as clean water and soft chairs a supreme luxury. I’m the most blessed man in the world after a long run when someone hands me a plate of hot food and a cold cup of tea.

I didn’t run the race correctly and I screwed up, but I got exactly what I needed at Long Cane. Thanks again to Terri Hayes, my mom, and the many other volunteers who worked so hard to make us feel like kings & queens.

2010 Laurel Valley 35 Mile Whitewater Race

2010-08-16T16:01:00.000-04:00

The 16th Laurel Valley Whitewater Race put on by race director Claude Sinclair was held on the Foothills Trail Saturday August 14th 2010. The total mileage of this race is somewhat of a mystery, but it stretches from a little town called Rocky Bottom, S.C. along the Foothills Trail to Upper Whitewater Falls on Hwy 130 near Mountain Rest. I have only ran 19 ultra marathons to date, but this race is incredibly rugged and you better be prepared going into it.

There are no aid stations, volunteers, trail markings, time clocks, or crew access points. It's just you running with God & nature. Throw in the occasional other runner and you have a very unique run that tends to draw some amazing talent year after year.

I have ran this section of trail once as a sweep during my first time last year at the race, twice on self-supported runs, and again last weekend as a regular runner in the race.   My approach to the trail is to survive and come running out the other side. Some of the runners who show up literally have a water bottle and a few crackers. They are out there to run fast and I'm still blown away by them.

The winner broke seven hours at 6:54. I came in near the back of the middle pack at 10:54. The sweep group who are responsible for staying behind all of the runners to make sure they get off the course safely came in around 15:03.

I ran this course as hard as I could go and treated it like I rarely do which is a "race".    I'm not surprised that this resulted in a 18:41 mile/min pace, but "it is what it is." Compare that to my only 100 mile race at the Iron Horse in Florida with a pace of 15:10 miles/min. That proves how difficult the terrain and circumstances really are with this race.

I decided to sleep in my own bed the night before and make the hour long drive to the start on Saturday morning. It poured rain nearly the entire drive and I drank about any type of caffeine that I have brought along. The temperature was forecasted to be in the low 80's with high humidity and heavy rain on/off through the day. That is just about a perfect running day for anywhere in South Carolina during August.

I arrived to the starting area around 4:40 AM to find Charles R. sleeping in his SUV. Of course I started flashing my headlamp in his face to wake him up. He wasn't running the race today, but still ended up doing a fun run of over 20 miles.    Sorry Charles, but it felt great to wake someone up that early.

I was greeted by so many friends, Psyche, Dave, Scott, Eric, Lynn, the list goes on and on.....

About 8 regular runners and six sweeps began the run at 5:00 AM as the race director allowed a runner to begin the race with a shot from his musket.   We began into the mountain darkness as the gun fired. Headlamps were lighting the path as we made the initial climb from the parking area.

Part I - Laurel Valley Is "Really Easy"

The first eight miles of this race are so deceptive. Yes, there are some stairs to climb here and there, but overall the terrain is mostly runnable and there are even some long flat stretches. I began the run with Buddy attempting his 15th Laurel Valley race in front, Eric, Lynn, me, and Andy. We laughed and laughed through this section as the miles ticked by. Lynn and Andy had both suffered concussions from non-running accidents (Slip-n-Slide and falling down stairs) a few months back so they were titled "Team Concussion"....

Team Concussion

The sun finally begin to rise through the thick morning fog, but the clouds threatened with rain from the very start. We ran through thick, lush jungle looking trails until we finally reached beautiful Laurel Falls which overlooks Lake Jocassee. We all knew that the going was about to get tough, but some reason I always forget just how tough. I guess that is why I keep coming back for more.

Part II - The Mean 15

From Laurel Falls the Foothills Trail takes you straight up and then straight down to Lake Jocassee. I think this is the trail's way of saying, "I'm bout' to beat you down, Sucka!" This is a 15 mile stretch that is incredibly rugged, beautiful, and well.....just punishing on a runner.

The Beginning of The Mean 15 - Prepping Water with Andy for What is To Come...

Over the 16 years of this race, I would guess that more drama has went down in this section than any other.

I ran much of this section alone and really enjoyed it. I crossed beside Lake Joccassee and begin the never ending climb away from the lake. I mean this climb went up and up forever. I came to several false summits and would think that I had reached the top and was only devastated to find another long & steep 100 yard climb up.

The trail throws this type of terrain at you for the next 12 miles. Just one steep climb after another followed by jaw dropping descents into valleys where the humidity was so thick you could cut it with a knife. It was so green out there that you could almost taste it.

I hit a low mental spot through this section around mile 18. From experience I knew just to keep moving, eating & drinking and it would pass. I felt sorry for myself for about two more miles and then all of the sudden I felt like running. I love this feeling and it is hard to describe. I feel like I can run forever, well at least another mile until the next major climb.....

I kept pressing forward and I noticed that my pack was feeling lighter and lighter. Even when I would stop to refill the 100 oz. bladder, it seemed on the light side. I normally take in about 200 calories/hour, but I had been eating closer to 400. I'm not sure if it was due to me running faster or what, but it was cause for alarm. I didn't want to bonk on this course. Been there, done, that & it just ain't no fun!

I'm nearing the end of the "Mean 15" approaching Horse Pasteur River when I see my buddy Mike Riggins laid up on the side of trail looking white as a ghost. I knew right away that he had gotten too hot and behind on electrolytes so I stopped to try and help. At first he was reluctant for help and told me to go on and then he started talking about getting a ride off the trail. I knew he was talking crazy so I stuck with him for a little while. I loaded his 20 ounce water bottle with enough electrolytes for six people and he started sipping it. Within about 15 minutes he was up and running. I never caught him. Man, that must have been a great drink!

Mike came into this race with a lot on his mind. We could smell the sweet fragrance of rain just before he left and sure enough it began to pour. It was so refreshing and lifted my spirits a LOT!

Part III - Hades 1/2 Marathon 13 Miles
The final thirteen miles are demoralizing. You come to a sign that says 13.3 miles to Upper Whitewater Falls and you think, "Well I can probably run this in about 3 hours." Its a half marathon, right?" WRONG AGAIN!

Just as you go up another killer climb, guess what is waiting? 50+ of these!

This wicked set of stairs is about two three miles past Horse Pasteur River right at the 26.2 marathon distance. They will flat out burn your quads off your legs. I took them slow about about one step every two seconds. BRUTAL!

My friend Wayne D. (Weezy) had started the race as a 6 AM runner and I was thinking that he would have caught me by now. I asked a runner if he had heard from him and I was told that he had hurt his ankle and headed back to the start. This upset me, but I had to stay focused and find a way to finish.

I ran four more major climbs and descents before approaching Whitewater River which is home stretch. The rain had turned into a steady pour and I was feeling great. I reached into my pack for more food, but it was all gone! MAN! I had one bag of Tang drink mixed left so I made a stout 100 ounce drink to push me the final four miles.

It worked well because I was able to maintain a modest pace through the final 1400' foot climb over about 2 miles. I crossed the bridge over Whitewater river and this left only .75 miles to reach the finish line, but it was up, up, and up. Massive amounts of stairs and ladders were in front of me and every step felt like it could be the last ending with a severe cramp.

The final set of steps literally look like they are going to climb you up to the clouds and then all of the sudden you can see civilization on the Whitewater Falls Observation deck. As my head crested the hill I could see my family. What a great sight!

At this point in the run my senses are on overload and it is hard to focus on any one thing for long. Luckily, they know this so they just smile and run with me into the finish for the final 1/4 mile.

I found out later that my buddy Wayne had sprained his ankle and toughed it out to finish anyway. I told you there are some amazing runners that show up to this race....

Thanks again to RD Claude Sinclair for all of the Quad Burning Fun. A shout goes out to Christian for running a killer 7:40 as well. Very impressive!

Foothills Trail 77 Mile Attempt Recap

2010-07-26T16:30:00.001-04:00

Several months ago after running the Iron Horse 100 mile race in Florida I began to chat with several running friends about running the entire 77 mile Foothills Trail. Dan Hartley, Weezy Downey, Mad Dog Riggins, and a few others were interested so we set July 24-25 as the date. The date was to work for our advantage because we would have about 15 hours of daylight and a full moon at night. We didn't count on temps in the 90's with high humidity and 100 degree heat index.

Weeks and months ticked away after we decided to run the trail in February. Dan set the framework of organization for the run and six brave souls showed up for the journey. As you read this please realize that this is only my account of the run. I hope to include links in this post if other runners decide to share their experiences.

The Runners
Jason Sullivan
Dan Hartley
Jim Cobb
Psyche Wimberly
Charles Raffensperger
Chad Henderson

We all decided to meet on Friday afternoon around 3:00 PM at Oconee State Park where the run would end and setup our campsites so they would be waiting as we finished. We setup the campsites and then headed to Table Rock State park which would be the beginning of the run. Sweat poured from our bodies as we put our tents up. In the back of my head I wondered how this heat was going to play out in the run tomorrow. Little did I know. We dropped aid along the way at Cheohee Road, Burrell's Ford, Whitewater Falls, and Laurel Valley Parking Lot. We all arrived at Table Rock State park and had our camps setup with dinner being ate before dark.

Sam enjoying the afternoon with a chuckle...

I pose for a pre-camp shot.......

Charles & Psyche having a laugh before dinner....

After enjoying some cold grilled chicken breast and has browns, I was in my tent sleeping before 9:30 PM. The alarm was set for 3:30 A.M.the run was to begin the run at 4:00 A.M.

4:00 A.M. came quickly as it always does and we began our walk to the Foothills Trail head on time. We all walked quietly through the still darkness onto the paved road which leads to the trail head. After only two minutes of walking a car came driving down the road and it was Scott H. who was there to support us and provide aid. Scott drove on down to the trail head and snapped a group photo of us at the start.

From Left to Right: Dan Hartley, Chad Henderson, Jim Cobb, Charles Raffensperger, Psyche Wimberly, Jason Sullivan

‎"The people that I have met are not foolish; they are aware of how tired, disoriented, and how possibly injured they will become. They know they will face great physical, mental, emotional, and possibly spiritual challenges as they make their way to the finish. This is what they are racing against. This is their challenge. This is what ...I admire." - Carolyn Erdman

Dan, Chad, and Jim set off in front of Charles, Psyche, and I since they were planning on a faster run. I looked at my watch and it showed my run beginning at 4:17 A.M.

Off we headed into the darkness up Pinnacle Mountain...

The first section of the trail takes me from Table Rock State Park To Laurel Valley parking area on Hwy 178. Psyche, Charles, and I all ran this section together.

I think we summited Pinnacle Mountain around 6:00 A.M. just as the sun was rising in the East. There was a light fog in the valley and you could feel the mountains waking up from the night. The three of us took a brief sit down break and enjoyed the incredible view from the top.

At this point I realized that my camera was not going to make the rest of the journey because it was already filled with condensation....

I was disappointed about the camera because my goal was to snap at least 100 photos during the run. Oh well, at least the pack was lighter after I dropped it at Laurel Valley parking lot.

The first five hours of the run went by very quick. Charles, Psyche, and I were having some great laughs and enjoying the beautiful sections of single track trail. The three of us climbed Sassafras Mountain (South Carolina's highest point) and took another brief break. The mountain air was still cool and a light breeze was making it even sweeter.

We were back up and running soon and descending to HWY 178 where our first aid drop would be waiting for us at the Laurel Valley parking area.

I was thinking that this 13.6 mile section would take us about four hours, but it ended up taking closer to 5 hours. We were all three very cautious about going out too fast and wanted to slowly work our way into the adventure without blowing up completely in the begining.

We were greeted at the L.V. entrance by Dan's friend (and now ours) Scott Hodukavich. Scott was incredible! He had a full aid station setup out of his car waiting for us. He was stocked with cold towels, ice, sodas, watermelon, grapes, sweets, salty foods, medical supplies, and anything else that we could have needed. We were simply blown away by his generosity and willingness to meet our every need. Thank you Scott - you have a huge heart.

The three of us spent nearly 45 minutes at the aid station in the parking lot and like any great aid station volunteer Scott reminded us that we had been resting long enough and that it was time to get moving. He was right and the three of us knew that the tough 34 mile Laurel Valley section was waiting for us.

I was trying not to dwell on the time too much, but it kept popping up in my mind. I should have been through this section and into Laurel Valley after 4.5 hours at the most. I was now starting it after nearly 6 hours. Either way, I felt like we were doing the right thing so far.

The three of us began the next 34 mile Laurel Valley portion of the trail. There is no bail out point or crew access through here. Once you are in you have to either get to the end at Whitewater Falls or turn around and head back to the parking lot.

The climb away from the parking lot is tough and all of the sudden it was getting very warm. The sun was now up and it was 10:30 AM. The three of us were moving slowly up the climbing stairs, but Charles was really struggling with the heat and sweat. We reached a good water source to refill at and the sweat was pouring from Charles. I have never seen a person loosing that much hydration in my life. He was still in good spirits, but I knew that we were all going to have to slow things down even more which was going to be tough.

The math & time started racing through my mind again. We had covered about 16 miles in roughly 7 hours. At this pace we would be meeting up with Terri Hayes who would pace us for the final 30 miles after Whitewater around midnight. I knew that if we moved that slow there would be no chance for any of us to complete the entire trail.

I reluctantly shared this information with Charles & Psyche and made a selfish decision to push ahead at a faster pace by myself. I use the word "selfish" because I was honestly thinking of my own personal goal of finishing the trail. I shared these thoughts with the two of them and they agreed that I should go ahead. We all three figured that we would end up meeting down the trail again soon enough.

I pushed ahead at an even clip. I was slowly jogging the downhill & flat sections and walking all of the uphills as normal. I passed Laurel Falls and enjoyed a quick sit down break and some lunch, but was quickly on the trail moving again.

The trail gets very difficult after Laurel Falls and takes you through a lot of steep climbs and descents. The drama began during this section called "Canebrake".

I was closing in on a excellent water source that pours into Lake Jocassee when all of the sudden I felt something looking at me. I didn't feel threatened, but figured that I was closing in on some people camping since this is a very popular area for boaters to dock & camp. While jogging a nice downhill section I glanced to the right and saw nothing. Then glanced to the left and 100 feet away was a 150 lb. black bear making his way towards the trail. If we both continued on our course we would intersect and thankfully, neither of us were interested in a confrontation.

We both stopped. Vulnerable & standing in the middle of nowhere and looked at each other. I smiled. Sometimes when I don't know what to do I smile. The bear kept looking at me for a few seconds and I would like to think that he smiled too. I wanted to turn around and retreat, but I couldn't. I knew not to run from a bear and there is no way that I was going to climb up a hill going in the wrong direction. As quick as those thoughts raced through my mind the bear spun around and darted towards the lake. I was in awe as it thundered through the forest and I could feel the vibrations under my feet. It ran through small trees and brush like it was nothing and I heard a loud splash as it retreated into the lake.

It seemed like such a great idea. Just forget about the day and jump into the lake with the bear. He lives out there and knows what to do. I can cool off for a few minutes and he may even know where some more blackberries are like the ones I had enjoyed a mile back.

Reality raced back into my mind and I laughed off the thought of following the bear. I never felt overly afraid, but somehow connected to the entire situation.

The Canebrake section throws a killer up hill section at you with a massive amount of steps. You ascend about 40 steps built into the side of a ridge where you cannot see the top. The trail levels out, then it presents you with about 50 more steps. The trail levels out then it throws about 60 more steps at you. It can be a demoralizing section, but I tried to keep my eyes on the incredible views of the lake to the left as the torture continued. Just for fun, the trail builders put a park bench at the top of this section. I didn't even let myself sit on it and kept moving.

I was pouring sweat at the top of this section and now it was time to descend in the same manner. As I'm carefully making my way down the steep steps, I hear Ken's voice down the trail asking if that is Jason. I was hoping that it was the voice of God, but realized that if it was, then He would have already known it was me. Darn.

Ken had backpacked into this section to provide us with fresh water and other remote aid. The generosity that was poured into this run continues to blow me away even as I write this. Ken instantly alarmed me by stating that Dan had dropped out of the run a few hours earlier. He caught a ride with some guys on a boat and that is all that Ken knew. He said that Chad and Jim were still looking good and moving ahead. I was happy to hear that everyone was safe and accounted for, but saddened by the fact that Dan had dropped. Ken assured me that he had several signs of heat exhaustion and that he had made the right decision. Ken, thank you for being out there. You were vital to our safety.

Ken asked how far back I thought Psyche and Charles were and I was guessing about thirty minutes. Ken was beginning to worry because we were already three hours behind schedule and I think he began to hike back up the trail looking for them. I pressed on through the tough Canbrake section.

I crossed over the Toxaway River bridge and saw several party boats docked at the rocks where the river flows into the lake. The boaters glared at me as I shuffled across the hot bridge and back into the wilderness. It was a surreal moment where I felt disconnected from their way of life.

I felt the life pouring out of me as I made the climb out of Canebrake back up into the higher mountains. A steep logging road presented its own set of challenges in the heat. It was nearing 3:00 P.M. and the heat caught up with me on this climb. I knew that if I could struggle about 1 more mile to the top there would be a nice little stream to find refuge in.

A struggle it was. I laid down on the trail twice and closed my eyes just to rest and let my body cool down a bit. It was at this point where I began to question my ability to finish the trail. It was too disheartening to spend much time thinking about so I just tried to keep moving forward.

I finally reached the stream at the top of the mountain and I was so sleepy I had to take my pack off and get a quick nap. I didn't look at my watch when I laid down, but I slept hard. When I woke up I guessed that I had slept about 15 minutes. I went to stand up and that is all that I remember. I woke up again and felt a little better, but was very thirsty. I treated some water and drank about 20 ounces then realized that my glasses were missing. I looked around for them for several minutes, but couldn't find them. This still puzzles me as to what happened to them.

I pulled myself back together and got on the trail moving through a nice easy downhill section. I could hear thunder off in the distance and the blazing sun was finally extinguished by some thick dark clouds. The rain began to pour and I felt better than I had felt in five hours. I began to put together a few nice miles as the rain fell. It didn't last more than a hour and the sun reminded me that it was still there.

At 4:45 PM I encountered a wild boar on the trail. I was running down a switch backed section of the trail and the black boar was walking up it about 75 feet approaching me. He squealed when saw me and ran back down the trail about 20 feet. My jaw dropped in disbelief. I could not believe that I was seeing a boar and this was a whopper. I'm guessing that it weighed at least 100 lbs. maybe 150. I kept making noise and he kept squealing and retreating a little less each time. I finally had enough room to safely pass him by cutting the switchback short by about 10 feet. We both wanted to avoid a confrontation. I was thankful to have him behind me and a few seconds later I heard him running down through the valley in a different direction than the trail was taking.

At 6:30 P.M. I was about 10 miles away from Whitewater Falls and at that point I realized that my dream of running the entire 77 miles would have to wait until another day. I was so spent physically and mentally that I considered lighting a fire at the next campsite and just spending the night on the trail and heading out in the morning.

I passed a few campsites and even had a seat at them, but felt that I had enough drive to push a little more. As I entered Bear Creek the entire area had been mutilated by wild boar. The beautiful moss and undergrowth looked as if a someone had ran a tiller through it. It was all turned upside down and nothing but pits of mud & debris remained. I went into high alert and tried to make as much noise as I could. I even sang "Rock you like a hurricane" by Scorpion as I trudged through this lush trail area. No sign of boar - thank goodness.

As the darkness settled in for the night I laid down in Bear Camp Creek to cool off one more time. The water didn't even feel cool anymore. It was like floating around in a sun baked swimming pool. I loaded up with 100 ounces of water into my pack and ate as many ginger snaps as I could stomach. I needed a good calorie surge to send me off into the night.

The food kicked in and I began to run again. I put my head lamp on for the 2nd time in the run and decided that I had three miles until I reached Bad Creek and then about three to four more miles until I would reach Whitewater Falls. I kept taking sit down breaks on the trail and looking back for Charles & Psyche, but they just wouldn't show up. I knew if we could all meet up together everything would be better. Our spirits would be lifted and we may even have a remote shot at finishing the entire trail. Just maybe.

I looked back down the trail one final time at 8:00 PM and decided that they had both dropped out at Canebrake with Ken. I was happy for them and I knew that they had made the right decision. As the final runner out on the trail I felt like I should give it my best effort to make it into Whitewater so everyone could rest in peace.

The climb from Bear Creek to Bad Creek was a memorable one. My mind & eyes began to play tricks on me with shapes forming in the dark wilderness. Bats began to buzz by my headlamp and I'm fairly certain that they were real. My eyes would put together strange shapes from reflections off the vegetation that would form anything from a rocking chair to a palm tree. I became lost in a virtual sea of vivid falsities and my mental focus shifted to the white blazes on the trees that marked the trail. They would take me home. It would be several more hours, but I had to focus on them and not get distracted by the mind benders appearing around each turn.

After another long climb heading up to Bad Creek I decided to lay all of my remaining food out and see what I had. I had 20 Ginger Snaps, 10 Jolly Rangers, 10 Lifesavers, and a hand full of dried pineapple bits. I decided to eat all of it so I unwrapped it and forced it all down. I even ate the remaining powdered Tang that I had left and chased it with some water. I despised chewing up all of the food and it seemed like a lot of work. This gave me a great energy kick and I actually ran so much that I formed a blister onto my foot which was fine with me at that point.

I finally arrived at the Bad Creek area around 10:20 P.M. and had a decision to make. I could either continue on the Foothills Trail about 3 miles and climb out of Whitewater or cut through Duke Power's property and travel mostly on paved road for about 4 miles. I was going to be about 5 hours behind schedule when I arrived at Whitewater and I realized that if a group was out on the trail looking for me that they would not find me if I took the paved road out. I knew that I had about 1.5 hours of energy left from the food and decided that the paved road was the safest option for me. If I bonked on the road someone would find me at daylight. Plus I could sleep/run on the pavement and not have to worry about my footing.

It took me another hour to finish a three mile climb up to HWY 130 through the Duke Power property. The night was incredibly beautiful with a huge full moon looming over Lake Jocassee as I made my way up the remote winding paved road. As I looked down into the valley to my right I noticed two objects that were shaped like humans keeping my pace. They seemed to have thin white lights inside of them and I could make out their shape to be human. When I stopped to sit down and rest they would vanish, but when I started running they could be seen at random times again. I'm not sure what to make of this, but they made me feel safe and each time that I saw them I knew that everything was going to be fine.

I finally saw the entrance to Bad Creek on Hwy 130 and made a right heading towards the Whitewater Parking area. Charles and Terri greeted me with hugs and it was fantastic to see them.

They informed me that Chad had continued on with the run several hours ago with Sam pacing him and that Jim had dropped at Whitewater. Charles decided to head off the course with Ken on top of Canebrake through a brutal spur trail, but thankfully he made it out. Then my heart dropped to the ground when they told me that Psyche was still out on the trail. I instantly regretted ever leaving her or Charles out on the course. Charles let me know that when he decided to bail with Ken that she looked strong and wanted to continue on. Psyche is very tough and I knew that she would be OK, but just hated the fact that she was probably out their alone.

Just as I had feared, Scott had went to look for Psyche and myself and never saw me because I took a different way out. We figured that he would run upon Psyche soon and we kept looking for them to come out of the trail at anytime.

Charles, Terri, and I waited around Whitewater for about 2 more hours and Terri let us know that it was time to initiate search & rescue via 911. Charles & I agreed so we drove back to Oconee State Park where we found Dan already awake. He had to make the call because Charles' phone would not get a signal and I had locked mine in Sam's trunk. Terri decided to sleep in her Jeep at Whitewater in case they made it out and Charles & I got some rest at Oconee in case we needed to go in after her at daylight.

I drifted to sleep praying for Psyche & Scott's safety.

I woke up around 6:00 AM and found Sam wondering around. I was excited to see that Chad had finished the run, but she let me know that he made it 71 miles to Cheohee Road and collapsed due to exhaustion. She got him back to the campsite and he was wiped out.

I went and found Charles heading back to Whitewater to meet up with Search & Rescue. I told him that I was going too, but Dan flagged me down on the way out of the park. He let me know that Psyche had emerged out of Bad Creek and caught a ride with some hikers. She was safe! This was the best news of the weekend and we were all filled with joy!

Scott had also made his way back out of the trail after spending several miles of night running looking for Psyche.

We drove up to Whitewater and she was beyond exhausted. She had gotten off course at Hillard Falls and taken a logging road away from the trail for several miles. The road lead her back to the trail, but it was dark and she was disoriented. She took a hour and half nap from 3:00 - 4:30 AM and made her way out after that. I told you she is tough!

I hope to have another shot at the entire trail in the future when it is cooler. It was more than I could handle in the heat and I'm thankful that we all survived. It was a true honor to spend the weekend struggling out there with so many great people who have impacted my life in countless ways.

I'm looking forward to running "Just" the Laurel Valley section in three weeks....

Extra pictures courtesy of Scott Hodukavich....

Climbing away from Laurel Valley Parking Lot....

Beautiful View of The Foothills....

Group Photo at the Table Rock Start....

Psyche & Jason Laurel Valley Parking Lot Scott's Aid Station

More fun with Psyche & Charles!

Dan, Jim , Chad enter Laurel Valley...

Foothills Trail 24 Miler

2010-07-13T15:59:00.000-04:00

The 33 mile Laurel Valley was scrapped due to time constraints so Weezy and myself decided to do a 24 mile out-n-back from Whitewater Falls on a little way past Burrell's Ford. This section of trail is so beautiful & lush. To the left is a picture two miles into the run as we climbed out of Whitewater up higher into the Foothills. This was a tough climb and we went out fast & hard as usual arriving here in about 20 minutes. There are two tempting benches that just beg you to have a seat and enjoy the vista. Wayne didn't let them tempt me for long and we kept running.

The trail gives you another great view about 1/2 mile farther into the run...

We crested the summit of the first climb fairly fast. In fact, I was shocked at how fast we made the climb. My quads & calves were burning, but really felt great. It almost always feels "good" & "right" to start out strong until later in the run. I felt that I could cheat the "don't start out too fast" philosophy today because the run was shorter than a 50K. It kinda worked.

Here is the profile map of the out-n-back section that we did. We started from the right at Whitewater and turned back past Burrell's Ford...

The first five miles flew by fast. I think we finished the first 5.5 miles in a little over an hour. That is about my max speed on technical single track. I never try to go that fast unless I'm trying to keep up with a speedster.

We were having a great day of running. The weather was relatively cool for July in the low 80's and mostly overcast. After a brief climb from HWY 107 we found our self with a 3 mile smooth downhill section to Burrell's Ford. This was so much fun!

We reached Burrell's Ford and decided to run an extra .75 miles down to the river to check things out. It was beautiful and is always worth the extra effort to visit.

Right after the photo-op, we ate a quick lunch snack and headed back out of Burrell's Ford. WOW - this was a tough climb out. You can see the climb heading back towards Whitewater from the river going left to right on the profile map. This climb went on for ever and those 10 minute miles quickly turned into 17-18 minutes. We pushed hard and kept pushing. I started to feel like crap and was overheating.

I have learned that when I overheat from pushing too hard the only way to feel better is to stop and cool down, but I didn't. Just kept pushing. I was choking down Ultra Fuel and Cherry gummies the whole time, but they didn't help much at all.

We finally crested the climb and the trail was a little more forgiving to the end back at Whitewater.

We finished up back at the cars and I traded Weezy a Cherry Cola for a Chocolate Milk. NICE!

We ended up running the 24ish miles in 6 hours which is excellent for me. I felt great putting in a hard effort two weeks before the 77 mile Foothills Trail run. I'm so thankful that I don't have to try and run that entire trail at that pace and have even more respect for the few that have completed it even faster than that.

Great day on the trails!

10 days until the Foothills Trail Run!!!

July 2010 - 123 Miles of Foothills Trail Mania

2010-07-07T13:19:00.000-04:00

Two nice runs that I'm excited about for this month. Both will likely be hot & humid with highs expected to be in the 90's or higher...

In a few Days - Table Rock to Upper Whitewater Falls totalling 46 miles...

In a couple of Weeks - The 77 Mile Foothills Trail Point To Point....

I've been slowly building my weekly base mileage into the 55-60 mile per week area. My goal is to keep close the 60 MPW average through the next 16 weeks leading up to the Pinhoti 100 miler. When possible I will get close to 100 MPW with some extra elliptical and biking at the gym. Sometimes I will just skip a workout and lay on the couch & chill.

I'm trying to keep it simple and of course I'm having fun. Pray, eat, drink, run, then repeat.

Chattooga River 30 Mile Night Run - Foothills Trail

2010-06-21T13:48:00.000-04:00

Night running is fun & challenging. Especially on a Friday evening after working all day & week. I have made previous post about Friday evening being my least favorite time to run. It just seems like my natural time to wind down and rest for a long run/race on Saturday or Sunday. On the flip side, it presents the perfect time to push your body & mind when you are tired. A great training tool & simulation of running the night portion of a 100 miler. Running thirty miles from Whitewater Falls to Oconee State Park provided this great opportunity.

The Logistics:If anyone is interested in doing this section as a run, hike, or backpacking trip this information may help. Our group met at Oconee State Park and setup camp before the run. This ended up being a great idea because we didn't have to do it in the dark when we finished running. We then drove several cars towards Whitewater and dropped two aid station vehicles. One at Cheohee Road and one at Burrell's Ford Road. It was great to have our aid locked inside a vehicle so we could be sure that it would be there upon our arrival.

I think we ended up beginning the run from the gravel parking lot at Whitewater Falls around 7:15 PM. Seven of us headed west towards our destination at Oconee State Park. The group consisted of Dan, Charles, Dave, Chad, Sam, Psyche, and myself.

The first few miles went up from Whitewater. I'm guessing that we probably climbed about 1,000 feet. There were several stunning overlooks back towards lake Jocassee and the surrounding mountains.

It began to get dark near the Fish Hatchery and everyone put on their night gear. The trail from Fish Hatchery to Burrell's Ford was very nice with several runnable sections. Charles took a fall just before this section that would leave him with a nice take home prize....

The first aid drop at Burrells Ford came quickly. Almost too quickly. I didn't want this run to go by so quick because I had been looking forward to it all week. We all refilled our fluids and ate some quick snacks here and tried to get in the right mindset to face the technical Chattooga River section.

I GREATLY enjoyed this section. My mind began to take me back to previous adventures through this section. Some with backpacks, day packs, no packs, but all with great friends. I found my running rhythm which was interrupted quite often by roots, rocks and hills that were too tricky to run over. It felt surreal to hear the mighty river raging below the trail as I scrambled through the night. The headlamp provided a 5 foot circle of light in front of me, but my senses were heightened by all of the beauty around me. I stopped a few times to quickly turn my light off and loop up at the stars over the river. It was so dark you could nearly taste it. The stars were painted all across the vast expanse of sky and a crescent moon seemed to be smiling down at us. It felt great to be alive.

As we climbed away from the Chattooga River towards our next aid drop I slammed my head into a tree that had fallen at head level across the trail. I was still buzzing from the great experience along the river and all of the sudden ***BAM*** my head connected with the timber. At least the tree smelt good. I was focused on the trail in front of me and not even paying attention to objects at eye level. The collision broke my headlamp and glasses. Both of which I was able to repair after the run. I was left with a few small cuts across my face, but nothing too bad. These things happen.

By the time we crawled out of the river gorge I was getting sleepy. It was around 2:45 AM when we hit the final aid vehicle which meant we had about 5-6 miles left in the journey. I ate a big banana muffin at the car and refilled the water one last time. This final section was much easier than the rest of the trail. There were lots of runnable downhill sections and the few uphills were not too long. My legs and body felt great, but my head was drifting off into zombie land.

We finally reached the western terminus of the Foothills Trail at Oconee State park around 4:00 AM. This picture was taken in complete darkness:

Charles, Dave, Psyche, Dan (Thanks Psyche for all the pictures)

It felt great to be finished, but we still had another 1/2 mile to go on pavement before reaching the campsite. Every ultra run seems to have these little "extras" to make you remember it more. It was nice to zone out running on the pavement and not have to worry about footing while we finished up.

I enjoyed running such a beautiful trail with an amazing group of people.

This was a special run for me because it marked my completion of the entire 77 mile Foothills Trail. I have been running/hiking different sections for 16 years and I have finally traveled the entire trail in segments. I drifted off to sleep in the tent with many old & new Foothills Trail memories dancing in my dreams.

I'm looking forward to running the entire 77 miles at one time in July.

Pinhoti 100 Mile 22 Week Training Schedule

2010-06-09T10:46:00.001-04:00

I'm bumping my weekly mileage up some over the next months in preparation for the Pinthoti 100 Mile race in November. This is a 22 week plan that has been modified with my scheduled training runs and races through the rest of the year.

Average Weekly Mileage: 56.75
My average for Iron Horse was 45. I'm also spending more time running / power hiking hills in relation to the Pinhoti course.

I always cross train one day early in the week and do my long run on Saturday. I will occasionally break the long run up over two days if need be. I normally rest every Friday and will take Sunday off too if need be.