Run Like Ya Stole Sumthin'

Backyard Adventures in the 'Rock- Part I

2011-12-09T00:51:00.003-05:00

I live in an astonishingly beautiful and cool place - Chimney Rock, NC. It's only 25 miles south and east of Asheville, but what a difference 25 miles makes. I'm smack in the middle of some incredible country- Hickory Nut Gorge, Lake Lure, and Rumbling Bald Mountain are all within a mile of me. In fact, my house sits at the base of Round Top Mountain and the view of this beauty from my kitchen window is amazing.

A word about Round Top Mountain...First, and you can almost see it from the picture above, I have direct access to it from my yard via a trail that connects to Silver City Road. Silver City Road takes you right up to the base of it, where the picture below was taken. Another very cool thing about this mountain: it was featured heavily in "Last of the Mohicans" as the Indian Village.

Like I said, there is a trail just 25 feet from my back door that leads to Silver City Road, which then accesses trails that dart in and out of State Park and Private Property. No driving necessary. It's really incredible.

I've already spoken with the Ranger who said I'm fine to be back there because my property accesses the State Park property directly. Although, he said, I may encounter problems with the owners of the private property. Which I did, one day. Said owner indeed has a lot of issues, but apparently none with me. I finally had to ask him, straight out, "So, are you going to be upset if I run back here?" to which he said, "Hell, No! I don't care if you're back here!!" (He's a real character). So, case closed. In my mind, I'm free to make the entire gorge my playground.

Recently, I've had two really good adventures "exploring" my backyard. This is the first adventure...

I went home early on the Wednesday before Pinhoti to get a run in and explore the trails behind my house. I wanted to see where one particular trail led, because the last time I was back there, it seemed to literally just "end", and I am finding that this is true of these trails- there's no defined trail system, per se, just a bunch of interconnected trails that locals and hunters (and rock climbers) know and use. Often, they just "end".

So, I left the house at 4:00 p.m., completely unaware I was in for one of the best adventures EVER and would not be home until after 11:00 that night.

It took 45 minutes to get to the point where the trail appeared to dead end. You go in between these two amazing rocks and are kind of dumped into a rock garden and the trail disappears.

I explored the possibility that the trail went up the side of a mountain here, and I spent a good 30 minutes hiking/ bush whacking up the mountain and eventually concluded there was no way that was a real trail. It terminated at a junction where you had to traverse a sheer drop-off that I was far too scared to even attempt.

As I was climbing down the mountain, I gave Charles a call because I'd learned that reception was good here. I told him about what I was doing, to which he said. "Just don't get lost, honey." Of course, I said I was insulted that he would say such a thing, and then assured him I'd be really careful.

Then I made a stupid mistake. I went back to the spot where there was clear trail and explored the possibility it crossed a small creek and took up again on this hillside. There was no real trail to follow, and all I was going to do was to bush whack around a big rock outcropping and see if the trail appeared anywhere on the other side. When I got around the other side, I saw that clearly there was no trail there and Idecided to head back and call it a day as it was now close to 6:00 p.m. and I would soon be losing the light.

Well, the big rock outcropping that was so recognizable on way over was not nearly as recognizable coming from the other direction. In fact, I suddenly didn't recognize anything and even though I had come only about 100 feet, I began to fear I wouldn't make it back before I lost the light. I suddenly felt stupid for laughing at Charles' request for me to not get lost.

It was getting darker, and I was where I thought the creek HAD to be, but instead of a little creek crossing, I came to a giant granite drop off and had to retrace my steps back, which was even more disorienting. I tried to think. It seemed logical to head down, as eventually I would have to come out somewhere near or on Memorial Highway. So down I headed, and I went quite a ways only to come to another giant granite dropoff. I now head my head lamp on, and decided I was done trying to find my way down. With all the leaves, I couldn't see where sure footing was, and it just seemed far more dangerous to climb down than to climb up. Plus, I had talked to David about this area, and he said that if you climb up you will intersect a road at some point.

Honestly, I didn't know what to do, and I was on the verge of panicking. Instead, I just decided to make a decision and stick with it. I was going to climb up, and I picked a line to follow and hoped I would intersect a road. It was completely dark now, and I was bush whacking up the side of a mountain, going up, over and around granite rock outcroppings.

This picture is from adventure #2, but is an example of the rock structures I had to traverse....in the night!

At one point, I climbed up a large rock structure that brought me to the saddle of the mountain. I went down the saddle, only to discover I had to climb some more if I had any hope of accessing a jeep road or any road at all. This last climb was so densely forested that I was climbing on my belly in spots so that I could go under the branches of trees because they were too thick to get through any other way. The branches had snagged my pack and opened it and I lost my jacket, gloves, and water bottle. Now I was really thirsty and I had no water.

Hours went by and I kept bush whacking...just straight up- hoping for...I don't know what. When suddenly...jeep road! I had intersected what was clearly a jeep road. Hooray!! I called Charles and told him, and I decided to follow the road to the right as it went slightly down hill. After about 200 feet, it became more and more over grown, and finally it was clear that the road just ended there. Damn!

I turned around and went the other way, and the road at least did continue. It became a more and more pronounced road, and after climbing a bit, started a descent. It seemed like I went about 2 miles or so, and then I saw lights of a house. That was comforting. Suddenly about 1/2 mile later, the road dumped out onto a paved road, and all of a sudden I knew exactly where I was. I was at the top of Old Schumont Mountain Road!! Amazing. What a relief to know where I was! David lives about 2 miles away and I texted him to see if he was home. He was, so I asked if he could come get me and give me aride home, which he did.

Even though I know it was stupid to get myself in to that situation, I have to say that bush whacking up Schumont Mountain in the dark, and then suddenly popping out onto the road and knowing where I was...was thrilling. I was proud of myself for keeping my wits about me and not panicking. Right or wrong, I made a decision and stuck with it- and it just happened to work out well for me.

To be continued...

Foothills Trail: Sub 27:00 and First Female Double Finisher- Say WHAT?

2011-12-01T13:11:00.002-05:00

Usually, after a “significant” run like FHT I find that it takes me for freaking ever to gather my thoughts in any kind of cohesive way and write a race report. By the time I’ve processed the experience emotionally, I find the details of the race have already begun to fade from my memory, which makes writing it up that much more difficult.

Not this time. No emotional processing necessary. Honey Badger just got...it...DONE!

So, here goes.

First, attempting the FHT over Thanksgiving weekend was a last minute decision. Originally, I passed on this organized attempt, thinking it too close to the Bartram 100’s on December 10. But then... I noticed Naresh was signed up for Bartram and was also attempting FHT...So, yes. To answer your question, if my friends jump off a cliff I will follow them.

The week leading up to FHT was a whirlwind of ADD-induced planning. For the first time, I found myself attempting FHT sans Charles and I was suddenly in the position of being the “experienced one” on the trail. Stop laughing. Stop it now.

The logistics of an FHT attempt are always daunting. It’s a point to point run, so you’re dealing with shuttling people and cars and aid between Table Rock and Oconee State Parks. Any logistical challenges like multiple start times only serve to amplify these challenges.

Also, you’re not allowed to be on the trails after 30 minutes before dark, so you have to commit to camping at one or both State Parks. And you can’t just book one night at a site, there’s a 2-night minimum at either of the State Parks. Then there’s cell phone reception/ coverage issues. What a nightmare! Cell reception is just plain crappy. You’re lucky if you can send a text, and if you’re able to, you may never know if the person you sent it to received it. More than anything, lack of cell phone coverage has caused a comedy of errors to play out again and again. This attempt would turn out to be no different in that respect.

The adventure begins....Thanksgiving Day.

Mimi was kind enough to get a site at Oconee for Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. As I drove to Oconee State Park to meet Mimi and Naresh, my excitement began to build. Whereas up until that point, I had been preoccupied with planning a “finish”, I suddenly started to consider going for a 24-hour finish. I went as far as leaving a message on Naresh’s phone, saying something like “I hope you don’t get this- I’m losing my mind with excitement and actually thinking about going for the 24 hour finish. Please slap these thoughts out of my head when you see me.”

In my mind, I had no business thinking sub-24. I was going into this run after a 75 mile week culminating in a hard Saturday run on trails at Jones Gap State Park and a double SSSR (Seven Sisters Summit Run) on Sunday. But the little voice in my head reminded me that I recovered very well from the weekend, and my legs had felt downright bouncy on my recovery run on Tuesday. I was also thinking a Foothills Trail finish would go a long way in healing the wounds of not one but TWO Pitchell DNF's in October.

Thanksgiving At Oconee State Park - Cool
Soon after arriving at Oconee and finding the campsite, I met Scott Chapman for the first time - what a cool guy. His plans were to run from Table Rock to Laurel Valley entrance and then be available to run, crew and assist at various points on the trail.

Thanksgiving dinner was a wonderful meal of Tandoori chicken and Naan, courtesy of Naresh. Did I say it was wonderful? It was soooo yummy! As we stood around the campfire talking and drinking beer, the temperature began to drop- finally to the point it drove us in to our tents for the night around 9:30 p.m.

The next morning, Mimi, Naresh and I set about finalizing our drop bags and talking about the trail in general. I had made us all some navigation notes that highlighted some of the trickier parts of the trail.

We made a short trip over to the WWF overlook platform, which was jam packed full 'o tourists, and we hiked down to the bridge so they could get a feel for the climb over the rocks as you begin your ascent out of WWF.

We headed back to the campsite around 3:00 to meet Lester Farmer. Soon, Chad and Mark rolled up and shortly thereafter we all left Oconee and stopped along the way to drop a few aid bags, drop off vehicles, etc. Finally, we arrived at Table Rock around 7:30 pm.

It was incredibly cold! I ate some boiled peanuts and could not get warm around the fire, so I opted to get a couple of hours of sleep in the back of Naresh's car. At about 11:00 p.m., I went up to the restroom to change and to text Charles. When I returned to the car, I saw that Scott Hadukavich had arrived. Somehow, it just ain't a FHT run if Scott isn't there.

Last minute preparations, and before I knew it, we were moving silently as a group down to the Trailhead start point with our headlamps off. Memories of previous runs filled my head, where the fear of waking the ranger seemed far more intense than it did this time. As usual, we took a couple of group photos before someone called the official start time (12:04 a.m.) and off we went, climbing up, up, up, towards Pinnacle and Sassafrass Mountain.

Table Rock to Laurel Valley Entrance (14 miles)
12:04 - 4:35

I felt exhilarated at the start as I took in the beauty of the trail. Even at night, this trail is simply gorgeous. We all stayed pretty close to one another for the first few miles, as clothes and gear were adjusted, and everyone got used to the trail. I was a little worried about Mimi as she was apparently already having some issues with her headlamp.

I realized pretty quickly that I felt good. It's a good 9-mile hike up to Sassafrass, with tons of elevation gain, but I was handling it really well and my legs somehow felt fresh.

Near Pinnacle Mtn., I made a note of where Charles had broken his arm in February, and I found myself missing him. The run didn't feel quite the same without him. I love the way he's always ppointing out what's coming up next on the trail, and how we run together so comfortably.

Right about then, I turned to Naresh and said, "No offense, Naresh, but I miss Charles." Almost immediately after that, we came up on what I thought was a left-over Halloween joke. Someone had hung a skeleton on the trail! So weird...

A few minutes later we popped out of the trail at Sassafrass and started crossing the road to where Chad would be waiting for us with water. At first, nothing unusual registered with me. There were several cars parked here, but I assumed Big Easy and/ or Scott H. were there as well. Suddenly I see the "FARTHER" license plate and I realize Charles was there! He had totally tricked me and come up a day early to surprise me! In fact, he had to have already been on the road when I texted him right before the start. I love it!

After quick hello's to Charles' doggies, a water refill, and some food, we all took off for the LV entrance. I know that Naresh really enjoyed the nice downhill descent to Laurel Valley. He's an amazing downhill runner and when I caught up with him at Rocky Bottom he told me he'd turned off his headlamp and cruised down the trail. Sweet! I checked my watch at the Hwy 178
crossing and noted that we cam e in at 4:16 a.m.

We walked up to the Laurel Valley entrance parking lot and were treated to another awesome aid station. However, it got cold really fast when you weren't moving, so I tried my best to get what I needed and move out of there. I know Naresh was freezing, and I thought he headed back out a couple of minutes ahead of me. I noted that I left the parking lot at 4:34, and headed up the stairs to Laurel Valley. I remember hearing Chad tell Mark to take it slow and and to not try and “crush” it. Those two made a good team, I thought.

Laurel Valley To White Water Falls (34 Miles)
4:35 a.m. - 3:42 p.m

The Laurel Valley section is probably the most well-known section of the FHT, as it has it's very own race - the Laurel Valley Ultra. It's a beast of a section, but this time I had a very different experience running through here. I found it to be way more runnable than I ever remembered, and with few exceptions I had no difficulty staying on trail. I made it my main goal to run every runnable part of trail, and I found that I ran a lot more of this section than I ever have before.

Lester and I traded positions for a few miles, and eventually we caught up to Mark. This in itself was a big surprise, as I thought Naresh was ahead of me. I asked Mark if he'd seen Naresh, and he said no. I told Lester I was worried Naresh had maybe gone off trail, but I didn't know what we could do about it at this point.

I kept moving, but as Canebrake and Heartbreak Ridge closed in, I was so ready to be see humans again. I remember Charles saying he'd see me at 8:30 at Canebreak, and I think I ended up arriving around 9:00. As planned, Charles and Scott had hiked in to Cane Brake and set up a mini aid station of awesomeness, and when I finally heard some hollering, I cannot begin to tell you how happy I was. I immediately went off trail and had to correct!

I asked them if they'd seen Naresh, and that's when Charles told me Naresh had taken the road at the LV parking lot instead of the stairs but had corrected himself after a few minutes. But instead of being a couple minutes ahead of me like I thought, he was a couple minutes behind me- I just didn't know it.

I got some food and Gatorade, and was eager to keep moving as I suspected I was making good time so far, and with no navigation problems, I was becoming increasingly confident I was having a good run. Plus, I really wanted to get in to WWF in under 12 hours.

At one point I began to overheat with two shirts on, so I had to take the long sleeve shirt off I was wearing underneath my shirt and tie it around my waist. This is when I noticed my watch band had broken and my watch had fallen off. I got my phone out of my pack to see what time it was, and I don't know if it was just me having nearly 50 miles on my brain and body, but I would swear that the clock that's usually on my phone display was no longer there! I went into my phone menu to try to find the clock, but...seriously? I can't do this shit on a normal Tuesday without Leopold's help. There was no way in hell I was gonna figure out how to display the time on my phone under these conditions.

As I got closer to reaching the WWF bridge, the not knowing what time it was started messing with me. Then the climb out of WWF started messing with me more. OK, there's no better way to say this than how Mark put it:

"The two mile trek up to the parking lot was, as I said about a hundred times on the way up, retarded. Many people quit at this point, and I totally get it; those last two miles were hell."

I was about to start yelling, to see if I got any yells back- good lord! Surely I had to be close enough for people to hear me by NOW? As I was about to scream, "CLIMBING OUT OF WWF SUUUUUCKS!!!", I heard music. Then, I see Scott Chapman at the top of thill, looking down at me and playing his accordion. Well, that's a first. Awesome!

God, it was so good to sit down! I desperately wanted to change my clothes, get a beer, and then get out before I had too much time to think. I asked Charles what time it was, and I was so surprised to hear it was 3:42. I made it through LV almost 45 minutes faster than planned!

Charles tended to my every need, and even moved the car strategically so I could change my clothes. I felt bad that I was cranky and tired and just didn't have the energy or inclination to show him how much I appreciated him being there. After 20 minutes, Charles put me back on trail, showering me with compliments and encouragement. To all you future crew members, I cannot tell you how much compliments help! Even when you know they are bold faced lies!!

White Water Falls To Sloan Bridge (4.7 Miles)
4:05 p.m. - ?

This section was a good confidence booster. As I began the initial climb, beer in hand, I remembered the last time I was here. Rob Rivas was pacing me and Charles, and I had not gotten enough food through WWF. Everything I ate and drank at WWF did not stay down, and I was puking before the first climb ended. Essentially, my last attempt ended right here. In contrast, I felt super good this time, and I was working on faster leg turnover up the hills and running anything resembling flat or downhill.

I remembered that this section ended where you would hear cars and so I just kept listening.
Knowing that Charles would be at every point between here and the end was extremely reassuring. Also helpful- the way he would focus me on just the next section as he sent me off each time. He'd say things like, "This next section is just 3.9 miles. Remember how it's technical at first, then it gets more runnable?"

Sloan Bridge to Fish Hatchery (3.3 Miles)
? - 6:50 p.m.
I don't like this section.

Fish Hatchery To Burrell's Ford (3.9 Miles)
6:50 p.m. - Where is everybody?

Best...section....ever! After the technical torturefest that was the last section, the trail suddenly seemed very runnable. Runnable, and somehow downhill, too! There were some narrow ridges here, and some technical spots, but overall I was able to get into a really nice groove through this section.

I came up on Mark and Chad and hesitated to pass because in all likelihood they'd just be passing me back. But pass I did, and I remember Chad saying I was on my way to a PR, which totally fueled my fire, and I could not WAIT to get to Burrell's Ford to share my excitement with Charles. When I thought I surely had to be getting close to where he could hear me, I started yelling out. I did this several times, and eventually I figured he was inside his car and couldn't hear me.
The next thing that happened freaked me out. I fully expected to run into the parking lot from the trail. I know when we drop aid there, the trail leads directly to the parking lot (right?). So, when suddenly I was dumped onto paved road and not in to parking lot, I panicked. Did I get off trail somehow? WTF?

Burrell’s Ford To Cheohee Road (10.4 Miles)
? - 11:52 p.m.

I probably made a mistake in not spending more time trying to find Charles. I'd only taken 1 hand-held with me for this last section because it was so short, so I was out of water completely, although I did still have food in my pack. More important than the water situation, was the anxiety produced by missing the aid station. I didn't know if I had gone off trail or not. I didn't know if Charles was waiting for me or not. I had a lot of miles to dwell on this and it was a big distraction.

It's a testament to my state of mind that it never occurred to me that Chad and Mark were right behind me and they would tell Charles what happened.

At least going in to this section I knew I was on trail. It was anybody's guess for a lot of those miles. And I've heard this before, but this section is just plain freaky. You go by the Chattooga River for a lot of the miles, and I kept wondering how the freaking river could be on my right one minute and then my left the next. Does the river wind UNDER the trail somehow? Am I running in circles? Am I hallucinating?

At one point, I was worried I was going in circles, so I saved the last bite of my KitKat and placed it on a rock on the trail. I told myself to remember that the side with the bite on it is the direction I was going. WTF? Things were getting weird, alright.

I scared off two large animals in this section, although I never saw them- one was a deer for sure, but the other seemed much bigger. Most likely a bear.

I refilled my water at the river as I took the trail that goes all the way to the river instead of the "high tide" alternate trail. I was definitely dehydrated as I had plenty of food but couldn't eat it because my mouth was so dry I couldn't swallow. I was starting to get really tired through here, and all I wanted to do was get to the part of the trail where I stopped hearing the river- then I'd know I was almost to Cheohee Road.

Several hundred hours later, I thought I might be getting close and I started yelling out. No deal. Crap!

I came to a series of trail markers that confused the hell out of me. I think these are new, and they mark the FHT East, Chattooga River South, and some other shit. I wandered around these signs for quite a long time trying to figure out which way to go. Finally, it occurred to me that I didn't want ANY of these other trials, so I should just keep following the white blazes like I was doing. Shit! How stupid did I feel that it took me that long to figure that out! < When I got close to Charles and Scott's campfire, and they started yelling. What a relief!!! I tried not to stay too long, but when I got up from my chair I was so stiff I could barely walk. When Charles sent me off, I'm sure he thought it would take me several hours to cover the last 6 miles. I was moving like the Halloween lady I saw on the trail earlier.

Cheohee Road to Finish (6 Miles ~~my ass~~)
11:52 p.m. - 2:55 a.m.

I started out walking so slowly I wondered if I would start hearing the river again. Then it just changed- just like that. I was like, "You have six miles left and you've been doing great. Is this how you're going to finish? You don't even hurt that bad. You can totally run the flats and walk everything else." So I started running, and it really wasn't that bad. Although I kept remembering that this section was long, so it was hard to get in to that, "I smell the barn" mode.

At this point, I had absolutely no sense of time. But I knew I was getting close because I saw the white triangular markers for Hidden Falls (the detour I took last time). Then I saw two triangular markers, one for FHT and one for Hidden Falls. I think this means that they both share the FHT for a portion of trail.

Then I saw a third triangular marker for Tamassee Knob Trail, and I'm like, Jesus, who else is gonna join in on this?

The next thing I know, I'm back on a ridgeline, then on trail that seemed to keep dropping, then rising, and then back on ridgeline, then winding around a hillside. It was my first bad feeling that something was wrong. But I didn't see how I could have done anything other than what I was doing, so I remained calm. I came up to a sign marking State Park property- and this, too, was unfamiliar. Unfamiliar is bad.

Next, I'm on a saddle where I looked down on either side of the trail...and then I started this vicious climb that literally brought me to my knees. To reference a private joke between Naresh and I, I knew I was fucked. I turned around, and headed back the way I'd come. I was so incredibly tired and a little bit scared, and a LOT wanting to be finished.

Eventually, I walked right in to the trail marking with a double white blaze indicating I'd gone down Tamassee Knob Trail. It was so clearly marked, I couldn't believe it. I took the FHT trail, and finished not long after that, thankful for the slight downhill.

There was no one at the Oconee sign, and I figured everyone had come in already and Charles probably had to take Chad back to his car. I sat there for a minute, then thought to get my phone to see what time it was. I turned the phone on, and the clock display was still missing, but if I hit the side button, it showed the time. Did my phone always do that?

Finish time: 2:55 a.m. (26:51)

I sat down on the ground and used my pack as a makeshift pillow. The next thing I knew, I was opening my eyes, and I was laying flat on the ground in the leaves. I had completely fallen asleep - for 45 minutes! I had to laugh at the image of a car driving by and seeing me. Surely, I looked like a dead body.

I walked back to the campsite and put my pack in the tent so Charles would know I was there. I headed for the showers, and in the middle of my shower, Charles knocks on the door and everything was alright again.

I learned that he had gone down the trail to meet everyone, but of course by then I had taken Tamassee Knob. It turned out no one had finished before me, AND I had broken 27 hours. With bonus miles. It took a while to sink in, but I realized I was the first female double finisher.

I am crying as I finish writing this- I have no words to describe how freaking cool this run was and how happy I am.

P.S. A few "Thank You's"

Charles, Scott H, Scott C -
Thank you for the aid stations of awesomeness and your support. I wouldn't have finished without you guys.

Chad -You just ROCK. I want you as a pacer next time!

Lester, Naresh, and Mimi -
We didn’t share too much time on the trail, but it was enough to know you were out there. Glad you are all safe.

Naresh and Mark- Wow. I am so inspired by you both and Naresh, I am so happy to be your friend.

And, always, always, to Jason Sullivan - Thank you for bringing this trail to my attention and for all the work you do promoting these FHT runs.

2011 Pitchell 100K +

2011-11-10T09:30:00.015-05:00

The Pitchell.....what an epic adventure! Birthed by the mind of Mad A (Adam Hill) in 2004, this run starts at midnight on the summit of Mt. Pisgah and you run, hike, and crawl 67 miles (all on the Mtns. to Sea trail) to the finish on the summit of Mt. Mitchell! With its midnight start time and the finicky October weather, this is a beast of a run, and one that's gotten under my skin.

The Pitchell cannot be fully explained by words - it's one of those runs you have to experience (not unlike Sweetwater 50K in that respect). To me, this run represents the perfect storm of difficult trail elements - you've got extremely technical single track trail combined with unholy leaf coverage, unpredictable weather, night running, sleep deprivation, extreme temperature and weather changes, and let's not forget the roughly 30,000 feet of elevation change. Even when you're prepared for each of these elements individually, it's easy to underestiamte their impact as a whole.

I think everybody who attempts the Pitchell 100K+ must come in to the Folk Art Center (FAC) thinking, "How'd THAT happen? Why doI feel like I've been hit by a truck after running the slowest 50K I've ever run?" Then, of course, it hits them: They realize the hardest (or at least slowest/ most unrunnable) 50K they may ever encounter is still ahead of them. See, that's the kicker- this run gets progressively more difficult. The last 20 miles is an ode to denial. It kicks your butt, and even as its happening, you simply can't believe it's that hard- surely you're just having a bad day, or the conditions aren't right, or you didn't get enough long runs in or get enough sleep...

Need I even say this? Very few people have completed this run. It's kind of like The Foothills Trail that way- hard to finish, but in a different way. Since its inception in 2004, the "all time finishers list" includes just 8 names.

Pitchell 100K+ All Time Finishers List
This does not include people who ran but modified the run to make it easier. (For a complete list, go here.)

Adam Hill 16:30, 17:30, 15:06!, 15:33
Kevin Lane 15:18
Charlie Roberts 18:11
Mike Mason 16:48
Brian Beduhn 19:50
Brad Kee 17:47
Sean Blanton 19:20*
Eric Loffland 19:20*

Fast forward to Friday, October 14th, 2011**

Well, This Sucks
The day of the race dawned beautiful and temperate and it seemed as if everything were aligning itself to enhance the runners' chances of finishing this beast. There was just one problem- me. I found myself at the tail end of a difficult week, feeling overwhelmed and under prepared. I'd spent the last few weeks moving truck loads of stuff to the new house after working all day, and then working late into the night trying to get some cleaning and painting done. As a result, my running had been erratic at best lately, which only fueled my distemper.

Everyone knows moving is a huge adjustment, but for those of you who know about the new developments in my life, this is just one of several huge life adjustments I'm smack in the middle of. So its not surprising that my dealings with Duke Power and AT & T earlier in the week were enough to send me careening over the edge. I was ready to pick up the phone and dial 1-800-HONEYBADGERNEEDSTHERAPY.

After being so stoked about this run for months, on the way over to Mad A's house on Friday I found myself saying to Charles, "I don't even want to run this race. I wish it could be on some other day because I just cannot get my head in to it right now."

Nice, huh?

The Usual Suspects Roundup
As planned, the runners began arriving at Mad A's house around 5:00 p.m. Several Georgians were joining the hunt for the illusive finish, including Charles Raffensperger, Sean Blanton, and Eric Loffland. Charles has run most of the individual sections of the Pitchell course already, but Sean "Run Bum" Blanton and Eric Loffland had never been on this trail before. Considering the outcome, this says a lot about both of them.

2011 Runners:
Adam Hill
Dave Pryor (early start)
Psyche Wimberly
Charles Raffensperger
Mike Mason
Terry Foxworth (early start)
Sean "Run Bum" Blanton
Eric Loffland
Brian Beduhn (early start)
Brian Kistner
Sultan (early start)
Brad Kee

In addition, many of the usual suspects were running the FAC 50K, which begins at 6:00 a.m. the next morning and goes from the Folk Art Center to Mitchell summit.

Whip My Hair!
For me, the evening at Mad A's was the absolute highlight of this year's Pitchell. Pre-run get togethers are always fun, but hanging out with the likes of Matt Kirk, Adam Hill, and Crimson Cheetah...well, that just takes things to a whole other level. I'm not ashamed to say I still get a little star struck amidst their company.

Awesome Group Photo. From Top Left: Brian Kistner, Eric Loffland, Adam Hill, Me, Charles, Mike Mason, Matt Kirk, Isaiah Mosteller, Sean "Run Bum" Blanton

Adam's parents and Suzanne are entertained by Jon Harrison and Sean Blanton (and Luna)

Adam Hill impersonating Neil Young singing Willow Smith's, "Whip Your Hair"

Most special bonus- Meeting Ava for the first time!

It's the PITCHELL, Baby!
Things move fast. Before I knew it, we were at the top of Mt. Pisgah and it was just before midnight. I was happy that Charles got to experience this part of the run- the midnight start really is very special.

From Left: Crimson Cheetah, Brad Kee, Adam Hill, Eric Loffland, Charles, Me, Run Bum

In my humble opinion, all super badass runs need to start at midnight with a sip of Moonshine and a howl at the moon...

Well, this is where this post becomes painfully anti-climatic. I'd like to say that everything turned around for me, I started feeling great, I had an awesome run, and I finished in an amazing time. Sadly, no. From the moment we began, I felt as if I just didn't want to be there. In fact, it's fair to say that I was simply waiting for Charles to give the tiniest hint that he wasn't in to the run, either, and I'd be all over that shit, saying I could totally quit and be fine with it.

Unfortunately I had a 43-mile wait for that to happen. We decided to end our quest at Craven's Gap, knowing we would not summit until well into the dark. We'd had enough, time to call it a day.

Some highlights of those 43 miles include:

Climbing away from the FAC, you get a terrific view of Pisgah and you see how far you've come

Right before FAC, the trail takes you under a freeway pass, but you're running through a pasture, complete with cows. It's surreal. Especially after running all night.

Just completed a 11 hour 50K, took a 45-min. rest, shared a 22 oz. IPA from Green Flash brewery with Charles, and chatted with Jeremy Hargroves before taking off again. No wonder I'm smiling!

So, we're done.

We started running down the BRP back to my car, and suddenly we hear someone yelling something from a moving car. The car pulls over to the side of the Parkway and at first, I think its just another of theose insane leaf lookers. They are CRAZY and will slam on their brakes at the first sign of a brightly colored leaf. But I turn around, and there's Terry Foxworth, standing on the Parkway railing, yelling, "PITCHELL SUUUUUUUUCKS!!!"

Aaaaagh...!!! A kindred spirit! What a wonderful and welcome sight!

We yell back, "PITCHELLL SUUUUCKS!!!!" ....Hahhaha!

Terry explained that he and Dave were both simply not in to it from the beginning, but they decided to finish a 50K and stop at FAC. Hearing this made me feel infinitely better about my day. By way of an update, Terry said that Adam was going strong but had run into a rough patch and was slowing down. Still, it was 3:00 in the afternoon, and he was approaching Mitchell. Beast!!

As far as the other runners, Brad Kee was not far behind Adam and B-Rex was still going strong, although he may have taken an alternate route. I heard something about Sultan taking a nap, and then dropping later. Cheetah had dropped at a nice even 40 miles. However, Terry said that no one had seen or heard anything from Sean and Eric, and this kind of concerned me because they had never been on this trail.

So, Nicole and Terry gave Charles a ride back to my car and Charles came back and picked me up. We drove up to the Mitchell summit to see if there were any finishers and any news on Eric and Sean.

Beginnings of a beautiful sunset atop Mitchell. ..Trying to not be worried about our boys.

So we wait...and wait...and wait. Still, no one has heard or seen from Eric or Sean. Charles and I were both worried and we stayed up at Mitchell, watching and waiting. At about 7:30, with dark approaching, and the winds picking up speed, we thought we better contact the Ranger and let him know the situation (becauae Rangers love hearing that runners are out there lost on the trail, and we like to make them happy). They close the gate at 8:00, so if Sean and Eric were to make it up there to the parking lot, they'd have no way to get to their car. Not knowing what shape they'd be in, we decided to wait it out.

We kept driving down Hwy 128 to see if we could find them lower on the trail, then we'd go back up to the summit parking lot. Back and forth, back and forth...where ARE these guys?

To my amazement, Charles can perfectly imitate Run Bum's voice, and we spent some time cracking up at the expense of our spirited young friend. That's just how we roll, baby.

We were actually ~~laughing so hard we were crying~~ quite worried, and when FINALLY the Ranger came around and told us our friends were in the Ranger's bathroom getting warm, we ~~immediately wondered if we'd find them in some compromising position~~ were so very relieved!! We headed over and Charles rounded the boys up and put them in the car and gave them some food.

We heard their story (complete with how they "held up" some tourists for food), and were simply amazed and inspired by their journey to Mitchell. They are both amazing and talented runners, and it was an honor to be a part of their journey on that day.

Charles, Eric and Run Bum (in ski mask) hamming it up- We're so happy they're safe!

To get the full low-down on their journey to Mitchell, go here: Run Bum's Pitchell Report

And you MUST check THIS out:

In conclusion, the Pitchell is....an EPIC ADVENTURE. It's not for everyone, and there is definitely an element of danger. But after this day, I want to complete the run from Pisgah to Mitchell more than ever. In my future, I want to be able to say I ran from here to there...Yes, I'm one of "those" people.

Giddyup.

* Missed summit, but ended run at Stepps Gap at Ranger Station for safety reasons

** This year's date for the "real" Pitchell- as opposed to a ~~Pussy~~Kitty Cat Pitchell whereby you start early. However, this year's attempt made it very clear to me just how dangerous it can be to end up at Mitchell after dark. The weather conditions change on a drop of a hat. For that reason, I think a midnight start is out of the question for me in the future, since you need to be sub-20 hr. in order to finish in daylight.

Bloody 11W 100

2011-09-20T17:20:00.012-04:00

Wherein I experience all the highs and lows of running 100 miles and stamp "CONFIRMED" on my desire to run a self supported Vol State (500K) in July.

I know this report is a long time coming, but ~~I ran 100 miles!!!~~ if I had written this post any sooner it would have merely consisted of a bunch of run-on sentences interspersed with fragmented statements aimed at processing the experience. And of course, "bloody this" and "bloody that" would've been thrown in there with wild abandon. Thank bloody god that didn't happen.

Now, after more than 2 weeks post event, I do feel like I've processed the experience of the run for the most part. I've simply just not had enough bloody time or bloody energy to capture the memories of this story like I want to- and there are lots of good memories. I truly do want to record it, so I'll just do the best I can. I may invite Charles to fill in the good stuff I miss, plus add some stuff of his own. You can thank me – and him - later.

So, here goes:

Introduction, Please!
The Bloody 11W 100-Mile Run is a point to point 100-mile run on a famous highway with a history, and the latest brain child of Gary Cantrell (Laz). The story goes something like this: Laz has already run the entirety of State Road 11E. During the beginning of 2011,and inspired by the Mother Road, Laz was looking at another highway with history and proposed to have a race along the State Road 11W. This highway is the most haunted road in the U.S. and was once known as "Bloody 11W" because of the frequency of fatal accidents along the route.

Early organization of the race consisted of Gary e-mailing his idea to the ultra list serve. Interested runners could provide their email address, and race details would be furnished as the day grew closer.

An excerpt from Laz's Bloody 11W email:

"The gas giant race, geared towards the over-the-hill crowd, with a gas giant division for the elderly & infirm leading the way and an able bodied division for the youngsters and speedsters will be held during Labor Day weekend. This is a fat-ass style event. The runner takes care of themselves. However, with a 72 hour limit for 100 miles, this is a chance for the old, slow, or disabled folks to log a legitimate 100 miler and with probably a dozen or less runners someone will get a chance to win a race.

As a side note- since the race finishes at the Virginia state line in Bristol, the total distance is more like 109 -114 miles. The only cutoff is 72 hours for the 100 mile split."

I'm not sure how many runners were originally interested in this run, but at the last minute Gary had to cancel the run due to an employment conflict. I'm sure many of the runners let it go at that. However, Charles and I both were thinking about going ahead anyway, when I received a message from Naresh Kumar, asking me if Charles and I still wanted to go ahead. If so, he was also in. Now things are interesting…

All told, and to their credit, six idiots eventually showed up in Knoxville, TN ready to spend Labor Day weekend running all through the day and night (and day again) on a haunted highway:

Official List of Idiots: Inaugural "Bloody 11W 100"
Charles Raffensperger
Psyche Wimberly
Abi Meadows
Janet Duncan
Mimi Hughes
Naresh Kumar

Bloody Hell Those Logistics
Logistics for a hundred mile run of any kind are a nightmare, but especially a point to point run and especially a run where everyone is really just doing their own thing. What "planning" came down to was a bunch of e-mails between us all, with a frenzied rush to "figure it out" a few days before the run.

However, thanks to Charles, Abi, and Naresh, we had a very cool Google map of the course (C-Raff)....

Look how freaking FAR 100 miles look on this map!!!

A turn sheet of awesomeness (Abi)...

And a cool-ass race website (Naresh) complete with a bloody awesome Bloody 11W logo and banner.

Go visit the website. Do it now.

Since Charles, Naresh, and I were running straight through, we decided to leave one of our cars at the start, one at the finish, and one at the mid-way point. Charles and I arrived in Knoxville on Friday afternoon, greeted by record high temps and humidity, and at 4:00 p.m. we set off for Bristol in separate cars in order to leave Charles' car at the finish.

The heat was unbearable. The outside temperature gauge in my car was 116 degrees when I was parked, and never went below 101 degrees on the entire drive!

Warning: Running in temps higher than 100 degrees makes my Check Engine light come on

After 4 hours of driving, we barely made it back to Knoxville for the inaugural Bloody 11W "last supper". Did you catch that? 4 hours of driving to cover the course twice. That's 2 freaking hours to drive the distance we were about to run....

All smiles at this point. From left: Me, Mimi, Janet, naresh, Abi, Charles

As always, it's great to be reunited with fellow runners (Naresh and Abi). This time, we were also privileged to meet two new fellow runners- Janet Duncan and Mimi Hughes. We got to know them each a little bit over a relaxed meal, where we discovered Mimi is an incredible long-distance swimmer who has swum the Bering Strait, and the lengths of the Ohio, Tennessee, Danube, Drava, and Mura Rivers. Not only that, she dedicates her swims to a variety of causes: understanding between nations, environmental awareness, and lifeskills' training and education for women and girls.

Holy cow! She's a beast for goodness!! What an honor to meet her.

The Adventure Begins...
At 6:30 a.m. the next morning, after scouring the area to figure out where to park our car (this area is a little on the seedy side), we all met at Shoney's once again, but this time we took a short walk down the street to the junction where 11W and 11E split- this is the "official starting line!

Group photo of start (minus Mimi)

The first couple of miles of 11W has absolutely no shoulder, so we all ran single file for awhile while watching the first of what would be two very beautiful sunrises.

Gorgeous sunrise #1

Bright runners, big city

The First Bloody 9 Hours - Bloody Hell!
In long races like this, I tend to start out badly and come on strong later. But seriously. From the very first mile, I did not feel quite right. I was having issues with my stomach that are hard to explain. Mostly, I felt like I had eaten too many different foods together at Shoney's the night before. I felt like the food I had eaten last night needed to finish working its way through my system, and then perhaps I'd feel normal again. My stomach felt empty and full at the same time, and sometimes it just hurt. This went on (and on) for... nine... freaking... hours.

For the most part, what I remember about the first daylight hours of the run was the heat and how I felt like I just had to get this part of the run out of the way and hope for things to change - if I had any chance at all of finishing. Although we were running with Janet and Mimi and having some good laughs, I was also feeling kind of withdrawn in to my own world, just trying to cope with the building heat and the anxiety of being uncomfortable.

So, this is the first point where I'd like to have Charles fill in the details he remembers - from the start of the run to our approach in to Bean Station. But first, I have to tell you this great story about Mimi:

As we were heading into Bean Station, I was walking with Mimi and we were talking. At one point, she asked me what our plans were, and so assuming she meant Charles and I, I launched into our whole story...beginning to end....really, really too much information!!! And Mimi is just so cool. She listened, and listened some more, and then after what must have felt like an eternity to her, she listened some more and finally said, "Not to take anything away from your disclosure, but when I asked what your plans were, I was talking about your plans for Rodgersville." Hahahaha!! I about died laughing... I will always remember that!

Right after a beautiful rainbow appeared..I started to feel good- finally!

....Now, take it away, baby!

{Written by Charles Raffensperger}…

The early part of the run was nice and for the first couple of miles we all stayed together as a group, talking and enjoying the only halfway cool part of the day. The humidity was high though as we alternated between running and walking and traded places back and forth along the shoulder that had by now broadened quite a bit.

Mimi at one point crossed over to the right side of the road (running with traffic) and I wondered if she just wanted to be alone for awhile, until I realized that she was seeking out the shade on the Eastern side of the road – the only smart one in the bunch. We all followed suit as soon as we made this obvious connection! The theme then set in for the day – run when you can, walk when you wanted to cool down, and stop in every damn gas station or oasis along the way.

Mimi and Charles and the ever present bag 'o ice at every stop!

Ice cream shop of awesomeness

Around the 16 mile mark we found a neat little ice cream shop and stopped in to cool down and enjoy the ice cream and shakes. Then on down the road to the next gas station…the road winds all the way up through a valley between 2 mountain ridges and is quite scenic. After another good stretch of roadway we saw the Rutledge city limit sign and eagerly anticipated the next stopping point – but in an evil twist they planted the city limits waaaaaaaayyyyyy out from the town because it seemed like several more miles before we hit civilization again!

Psyche was struggling quite a bit through here and all I could do was slow down and be patient – from past experience I knew she would come out of it sometime but really hated that she had to endure her discomfort. In retrospect forcing me to slow down here probably saved me. With air temps edging up to 98 and an even hotter road surface the shade was disappearing – since nearly all of our runs are on trails these days it was a tough reminder of just how difficult it can be to run on an exposed/paved surface…the cant of the road wasn’t bad but the motion of being on a flat surface can produce soreness in your legs, hips, and feet that no trail can.

The other striking memory of this 1st section of the road is the people we encountered at every gas station or stop. I know we seemed like aliens to the good country folk along the way – and although I’ve lived in Georgia nearly all of my life I found it nearly impossible to understand the strong accents of the people in this valley. It surely seemed like many people here have simply never been out of this valley! The typical conversation went something like this: “How far ya’ll hikin?”…”To Bristol”…”Wuh, how miny days will at take?” “We’re hoping to finish sometime tomorrow afternoon”…then they’d scratch their heads and walk away.

Asking for directions or information on the next town, restaurant, or gas station was an adventure in itself…”Are there any restaurants, fast food places, or any other places to eat on the bypass around town?”…”Naw, they’re ain’t nothing here, this is jus a hick town”….”How far is it to the road that cuts through town?”…”Maybe 1 mile, or 4, you go down there and you’ll see a road on the left, not the first road, maybe the 3rd, or fifth, and after you see that road, turn in and then go down a little ways and you’ll see the IGA…but if you see the IGA first you’ve gone too far, then back track to that other road, take a left, nah, make that a right, then go another 5 miles, and then you’ll be on the otha side a town, and it’s 7 or 12 miles to Rogersville from there…..”….(side note: there IS a nice Subway and a pizza place on the bypass around town!).

Getting directions from the locals...

In this way we made a track through Rutledge and Bean Station (and our apologies to the folks in “Bean Station” as we butchered the name as “Bean Town” on conversations with the locals!). Bean Station is where the worst traffic accident in Tennessee history took place along the Bloody 11W but we saw no markers to commemorate the site. It was here that Janet and Mimi went on ahead of Psyche and I (Naresh and Abi had long since left us – but at every stop we gathered information about our relative distance behind them). A stop at Subway around 9:45 was just what I needed in terms of food and foot care and off again we went into the darkness toward Rogersville and our aid drop at the Comfort Inn.

Since the middle of the afternoon Psyche had been feeling much better and we had a good time covering those miles. But the stretch from Bean Station to Rogersville was deceptively long (18 miles I think) and without any stores open it became very tough to keep going. It was still very humid and every time we tried to run I began to sweat uncontrollably. It also seemed like the road went steadily uphill the whole way but that was just our crazy perception at night – in reality much of this section is fairly level. Quite a few cars honked their horns at us and one drunk carload screamed out to try and startle us. I know Janet and Mimi were getting worried as we all tried to keep in phone contact for safety. At 1 in the morning we stopped at a small gas station that had just closed (damn, I really wanted a Coke!) but had a small bench out front. The dehydration was getting to me and I soon got sick. My feet were killing me also and I knew it was another 8 miles or so to the hotel.

We found out from the women that they had arranged for Naresh to back track in his car from the hotel when he got there and pick all of us up. With my vomiting I knew it wouldn’t be prudent to continue so I decided to ride back – Psyche wanted to continue but running alone along the road with a bunch of drunks wasn’t a good idea so I convinced her to ride back. We rode back with Naresh and all 5 of us crashed in a room Janet has reserved. Abi was in another room with plans to rest a little while and continue on after a little rest.

Naresh and Psyche got back up and continued on – the next morning Janet, Mimi, and I drove on up to drop me at my car and check on everyone.
Sunday was an incredible adventure as I alternated between checking on the remaining 3 runners, Abi, Naresh, and Psyche. The heat and distance were taking their toll on all 3 but they continued on…Abi toughed it out for the full 111 miles! I determined where the 100 mile distance was respectively for both Naresh and Psyche and was amazed at their perserverence at covering that distance despite the conditions!!! Psyche, watching you run down that final hill was simply unforgettable!!!

Now the story has gotten a little muddled but here is the rest of Psyche’s report….

Day Two
At the hotel, I discovered that I did a bloody poor job of packing my drop bag. I had no shorts or shirt to bloody change into. I had not thought of the possibility of Charles not bloody continuing on with me, so I had no bloody money and not enough bloody fluids (ewwww) for the remainder of the run.

But runners are awesome - Mimi gave me a shirt to wear, and I washed out my shorts and sports bra and dried them on the heater in the room. Charles gave me some cash to buy drinks and food with, and Janet offered up her blister kit to both Naresh and I.

Our plan was this: Naresh and I would get a little bit of sleep, and head out together at about 4:00 a.m. We would finish, and if we still wanted to complete the entire highway, Charles would take us back to the convenience market to run the 8-mile stretch to the hotel.

Naresh was able to sleep, but I merely rested for an hour or two. I was up and getting my stuff ready at 3:30. I woke Naresh up around 3:45 and told him I'd meet him in the lobby. We officially hit the Bloody 11W road again at 5:00 a.m.

Since I had not run much with Naresh yesterday, I didn't realize he was fairly hobbled by giant blisters, and he was easing in to the morning's run. With the ever-present twinkle in his eye, Naresh regaled me with more stories of Vol State*and we laughed... a lot. We enjoyed the second beautiful sunset in a row and eventually, about an hour later, I told Naresh I wanted to move ahead and see what I felt like.

I was so surprised to find that I felt very good, and was actually running at a decent pace.

Sometime around 10:00 a.m. Charles and I touched base and he informed me that Janet was taking him to his car, and then he would be crewing me, Naresh and Abi for the rest of the run.

Thank god for this! At one point, I left my phone in a restroom at a Mobil Station and he had to go back and find it for me. In addition, he continually brought me ice for my hand helds, and I truly believe that if I did not have that as the heat of the day came on, the heat would have forced me to drop.

I really wanted to finish 100 miles, and without Charles there to measure where the actual 100-mile point was for me (since I didn't run the 8 miles from the convenience store to the hotel) I would have had to finish the whole route just to be safe. I am so grateful I didn't have to run more than 100 miles!!!

The toughest miles were indeed from about mile 82 to the finish. There were times where I felt I was moving really well, but then Charles would come by in the car and I'd find out I'd only gone a mile or 2. I wanted to cry I was so discouraged.

The heat became unbearable around 2:00 p.m. I stopped in every place I could to cool off and get something to drink. I started living for the next Dr. Pepper I could get. I remember I walked in to a Walgreen's and was opening the soda and downing it as I was paying for it. It never even occurred to me what I must have looked like to them!

That was also the store where I called Charles to let him know I stopped in a "WalMart" and then as I was talking to him, I forgot why I thought he needed to know that. Awkward silence, and then I think I just hung up the phone. THEN I remembered it was so he wouldn't miss me when he went by. Then I forgot to call him back. Wild.

At one point, I had a truck full of rednecks play chicken with me, tryying to scare me and drive me off the road. Shortly after that, I had to take my contacts out because they were so dry I couldn't see anything anyways.

And my feet hurt so bad, well, there are just no words for how bad they hurt. Eventually, after Naresh finished his 100-mile run, he was with Charles when I was about to finish mine. As I stopped to talk to them, Naresh told me to put all my weight forward on my feet to keep the blood from running into them- it would hurt less. I remember thinking, "How f**ked up is that?" And then laughing.

Just moments later, I was actually finishing a.... 100....mile....run...of awesomeness, friendship, and adventure.

Bloody RESULTS!
Abigail Meadows : 35:29 (Ran the whole 111 miles)
Naresh Kumar : 34:04 (100 Miles)
Psyche Wimberly : 35:25 (100 Miles)

In conclusion, this run was an unforgettable experience to me for so many reasons, and I'm honored to have been a part of the legacy of the inaugural Bloody 11W.

This run embodied everything an ultrarunning challenge should hold true to...namely that of solely internal motivation, planning, and execution without the help of a paid entry fee where many of the worries and logistics are left to that of RD and crew. It was all that, and more. According to Naresh and Abi, it was very much like a mini-Vol State, in which case my desire to run THAT race just grew about a hundred fold (get it? A HUNDRED fold!)

* The "text conversation" I had with Charles after reading Naresh's race report for Vol State went something like this: : I hate to tell you this, sweetie, but I'm gonna need to take 10 days off from work in July to run Vol State. Charles: WHAT?? Are you shitting me? Me: No, I'm dead serious. Charles: You are amazing, and I love you so much. Me: : )))))

Dupont Forest Waterfall Bonanza 2011

2011-08-26T08:44:00.007-04:00

This weekend was the 7th running of Adam Hill's Dupont Waterfall Bonanza. This year, Charles was here to run with me and as a bonus, we got a little Pitchell training run in the night before.

...Because like you, the first thing we think after signing up for a 22-mile adventure run is, ~~"What would Carl Laniak do?"~~ “Man, how can we make this even MORE adventure-y?”

OK, I admit, you might not actually think that way. But I know at least 8 people who DO, and that makes me a very lucky girl.

PART I: Friday Night Pitchell Preview/ Reverse Shut In Night Run

For those of you who don't know what the Pitchell is, it's yet another awesome annual run hosted by Mad A, usually in October, whereby you start at midnight on the summit of Mt. Pisgah and run, hike, and crawl 67 miles to the finish on the summit of Mt. Mitchell.

It's a fire breathing B....E.....A...S....T.

Having run about 50 miles of the 67 mile course last year, I've made the Pitchell one of 2011's very few focused race attempts. To say I am STOKED about this run is a complete understatement.

Now, if you don't know what the Shut In Trail is, then ~~you shouldn't be reading this blog~~ go here.

On Friday night, 8 of us met at the French Broad River Bridge, and discussed various scenarios of shuttling cars up and down the trail. Charles and I decided to run from the Pisgah parking lot to Beaver Dam Gap with Dave Pryor and his dog, Pepper, while everyone else was in for the full 18, and Mohammed was in for additional bonus miles (and bonus POINTS for driving up from Charlotte just for Pitchell training).

For Charles, a Reverse Shut In run would serve as both his first (is that right?) look at the Pitchell course and his first time on the Shut In Trail. What a cool introduction, huh? On the way up the BRP to Mt. Pisgah, I really enjoyed watching him take in the beauty of the Parkway and the mountains. I feel so lucky to live in such a special place.

This was a really cool night training run (but then, any run that includes good friends, dogs, and moonshine is bound to be cool).

PART II : Waterfall Bonanza 2011

Fresh from both hours of sleep, we arrived at the Hooker Falls parking lot the next morning in plenty of time to catch up with old friends, even if just for a minute. It was fantastic to see Jon and Melissa Harrison again- and their awesome dog Luna. They have had an amazing summer, and I was really looking forward to catching up on their adventures in Spain.

Adam arrived about 9 a.m., passed out maps of the route to everyone, and after a couple of group pictures, we all took off from the parking lot and ran up the paved road for the first mile or so.

I do remember hating the first paved mile or so of this run from last year, and I decided to walk some of it with Gail Leedy. What I failed to remember from last year was how much of the early miles are uphill, and how it seems like you will never arrive at the first falls.

We ran with Lily and Jon and Melissa for most of this first part, diligently retrieving the pretty pink trail flags and giving them to Luna.

About 8 very long miles later, we arrived at Bridal Veils Falls. Awesome!

After Bridal Veil Falls, we followed the trail for about 1/2 mile to the spot where the 10-mile folks turned in a different direction to head back. We were following the 22-mile route, so we ran another 10 miles before we finally hit Wintergreen Falls.

This section was tough. The humidity was getting to me, and I was starving, and after a while I was just done. But I have to admit, this section was quite beautiful, and included a very cool lake (of which I did not get a picture) and a very, very unusual tree.

The remainder of the run was a death march, and I couldn't wait for it to end so we could go to the post run get together at the Foxworth's. We een by-passed a couple of the last waterfalls since we had just visited them a month or so ago.

In summary, ~~this is a really lame race report~~ this is a really cool run and a great way to see all 6 waterfalls in Dupont State Forest. If you're in it for the waterfalls, I recommend the 10-mile loop. Last year, I ran the 10-mile loop twice. With less mileage and more waterfalls, it was the way to go.

I hate that I just was not feeling it out there, but we had an absolute blast at the Foxworth's house afterward. I'm still laughing at the impromptu "calf off"shenanigans!!

Thanks for the awesome run, Adam, and thanks for a great post-run gathering Terry and Nicole. See ya next year!

A New Twist on Running Efficiency

2011-08-15T15:44:00.019-04:00

From: UltraRunning magazine [mailto:subscriptions@ultrarunning.com]
Sent: Monday, August 15, 2011 3:32 PM
To: Psyche Wimberly
Subject: Your UltraRunning subscription has expired

Dear UR subscriber,

Your UltraRunning subscription expired with the August issue. We hope you will renew! UltraRunning magazine is full of information on training, nutrition, and useful products, as well as plenty of inspiration, beautiful photographs, and race reports and results from around the country.

We are now letting everyone know their renewal status by email. This will save you the risk of paper cuts from opening an envelope, let you put energy into a run instead of looking around for your checkbook, and no doubt will also save a few trees in the process!

We encourage you to renew your UltraRunning subscription online via our secure website. All you need to do is click on this link:

http://ultrarunning.com/ultra/about/subscribe-online.shtml

and it will take you from there. Please take a moment to renew now before you misplace this email or forget! This will ensure that you don’t miss any issues. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us at subscriptions@ultrarunning.com or lisah@ultrarunning.com.

Thank you for your support of UltraRunning – The Voice of the Sport since 1981 - and for helping us with this greener approach to renewals. If you prefer to renew by mail, please use our postal address below.

Best regards,

Carol King
SUBSCRIPTIONS MANAGER
ULTRARUNNING MAGAZINE

From: Psyche Wimberly
Sent: Monday, August 15, 2011 4:39 PM
To: UltraRunning magazine [mailto:subscriptions@ultrarunning.com]
Subject: Your UltraRunning subscription has expired

Dear UltraRunning Magazine,

I am happy to report my subscription to UR does not require renewal as this wonderful sport has spawned yet another "ultra couple".

In a terribly efficient move, Charles Raffensperger and I will be cutting our subscription needs by 50%, as we find only one subscription of UR per household is truly necessary. We are deliriously happy to be evading the ever-present risk of paper cuts in the process, not to mention saving a few trees!

See you OUT THERE,

Psyche Wimberly

File This Under "Livin'"

2011-07-26T00:23:00.002-04:00

I know, I know...I've been away, and you miss me.

You: "Psyche, where have you been? Are you injured? Are you sick? Do you even run any more? Why haven't you written about Chattooga or that crazy ass FHT spur trail run? WTF? I need my Psyche fix!" OK, I added that last part. Me...and Dave Pryor.

Me: "Uh, well...the truth is ~~I've become addicted to watching Weeds and I've spent the last three weeks catching up on all 6 seasons you can rent~~ I'm still here, not injured, not sick (at least in any way anybody can prove), and currently running 50-65 miles per week. More or less. About to be more.

Running wise, life is very good. I'm running fewer, more adventure-y runs this year. That leaves me plenty of time to finalize my divorce, sell the house, re-arrange my life and work my ass off to pay for said re-arranged life. Not to mention all the time it takes to fully embrace life anew and thoroughly enjoy being crazy in love. Giddyup.

And speaking of ~~really lame segueways~~ more adventure-y runs, Charles and I recently ran a hell of a run on the FHT blue spur trail. We ran 50K from Sassafras Mountain to Hwy. 276 and back, with side trips to Raven Cliff Falls and the overlook...We finished at 11pm in a rainstorm with a 700 foot climb straight up Sassafras. (Can you say super bad-ass?)

Yeah, you may have hiked up Sassafras Mountain from the Table Rock State Park side, but don't be fooled... the Caesars Head approach is not as easy. It's chock full 'o steep ascents and descents and as an out-and-back 50K, consists of over 8,000 feet of climbing in total. Adding to the difficulty is the fact that the trail is highly underused and very overgrown in places.

Oh, and along the way we inadvertently crashed a wedding while blaring Eminem, were attacked mercilessly by biting flies, and had encounters with 2 groups of bear hunters and their dogs. It's like I can't leave the parking lot without having a major adventure with Charles.

Next up: Rounding up the other poor suckers who're attempting the Pitchell to see if we can't schedule some time on the MST in preparation. Also a little thang called the Bloody 11W 100-Miler

Stay tuned...I promise to write about all the good stuff : )

5th Annual RAM

2011-06-16T09:58:00.005-04:00

This year was the 5th running of the Roan Adventure Marathon (RAM), an annual run hosted by Sultan. With the insane 2nd half climb and views from atop the Round, Jane, Grassy Ridge and Hump Mountain Balds, this 28-29 mile speed hike/ mountain run is fast becoming one my most favorite ultra’s of all time.

Planned around the rhodo blooming season, the pink shrub was in full bloom this year. Beautiful! The view from Roan Bald to Jane’s Bald was especially pink, as the rhodos were in bloom all along the mountain.

The Course/ Beat Down
The run starts at the top of Carvers Gap (5,512 feet) and is run downhill to Hwy 19E all along the AT. Once you reach 19E then you are thoroughly punished by retracing your path back to the start, which means climbing 6,000 feet uphill for 13.7 miles back to Carvers Gap. Try and negative split that one, yo!

The Who’s Who of Who Ran Roan (# of previous finishes):
Brandon Thrower
Hannah Griffith (half)
Stan Austin (1)
Scott Williams (half)
Sultan (4)
John Lewis (2)
Damian Wells
Adam Hill (1)
Michael Rowe (half)
Jeremy Hargroves (1)
Psyche Wimberly (1)
Leopold (half)
Keith Mrocheck
Doug
Others? (Seems like several runners showed up at the last minute)

Awesome Volunteer:
Hayley Roper Wells

How It All Unfolded:
Leopold and I celebrated his last day of school by heading up to Carver's Gap late Friday afternoon. We expected a lot more people to turn out for camping, but the majority of people showed up for the run the next day.

We carried our gear up the mountain to pitch our tent, and I was surprised (and dismayed) to discover I was breathing so hard I had to keep taking rest breaks! Good lord, I thought, how am I going to handle that climb tomorrow if I can't even get up Roan Bald? (Later, I would feel a lot better when I watched Stan go through the same process).

Camping that night were Leopold and myself, Jeremy Hargroves, Haley and Damian Roper, Stan Austin, and Scott Williams. As it got dark, we all settled in for the treat that is camping on Roan Bald by enjoying some delicious hopstatic homebrew and good conversation.

As we broke down camp in the morning, Sultan checked in with us to make sure we all knew what to expect and then we had some fun trying to get a "Sultan pose" for us campers.

My plan for the run was to run with Leopold down to 19E, whereby he would be eventually shuttled back to Carver's Gap by Hayley, who was serving as our Aid Station (thank you, Hayley!). I was looking forward to taking it easy on the 1st half and trying to run a little harder on the way back. I hoped to beat my 2nd half time of 4:50 from last year.

Part I: Carver's Gap to 19E
A lost runner, a bear, and an illusive rock.

I have to say it was a blast running with Leopold. It was a freaking hot day (like 80 degrees+) so Leopold and I kept a leisurely pace and traded off leading for the first part of the run.

Our first shot at getting lost came at the Grassy Ridge trail junction. Sure, there's a sign. And sure, the sign has an arrow pointing to the right for Grassy Ridge and to the left for the AT.

But can I just say that this sign is unusually small. This picture does not do its smallness justice. This in itself struck me as strange considering how well marked the AT is. I had just been telling Leopold that I found it strange how many metal posts with reflective lights you come across on the AT. Personally, these ruin a little bit of the trail experience for me. Anyway, I looked right at this sign and thought both of the skinny little arrows pointed to the right.

However, after taking just a few steps down the Grassy Ridge Trailhead, I turned around to double check. I thought, "Why would both arrows be pointing in the same direction? What's to the left, the unknown, unnamed trail?" I'm glad I double checked, as I was about to take us on a detour to Grassy Ridge! We deftly made a course correction (please, no applause) and joined the run back on the AT.

Apparently, I was not alone in the observation of this sign. John Lewis took the Grassy Ridge Express Trail to Bushwacking and ended up, you guessed it, bush wacking his way back to the AT, then eventually hitch hiking back to Carver's Gap! Dude had a major adventure, and part of me is a tiny bit jealous! (But then I saw the welts all over his legs and got over it).

By now, Leopold and I had fallen enough behind everyone that all the wildlife the other runners had scared off had had time to return. I tell you, slowness pays off in so many ways. Today, we were rewarded with the adventure of scaring a bear off the trail. For real.

OK, it was not a Grizzly. And it certainly did not dive off the trail. But it was still a bear, and as we approached on the trail we heard it snort and run away. It was big. And it was very exciting! I'll never forget the look on Leopold's face.

Before the summit of Big Hump, we saw Keith Mrochek on his way back. He had turned around early, and as he passed by he stopped and chatted for a few minutes. He was leaving early, but he had had a great time and had also avoided most of the heat.

At the summit of Big Hump we took another break. We sat on the fence and listened to the awesomeness that is FOTC's "Too Many Mutha Ucka's". I bet we were a site to behold- sitting there connected by ear buds, singing at the top of our lungs:

Too many mutha uckas
Uckin' with my shi-
My transactional shi-!
There's too many mutha uckas
Uckin' with my shi-
My weekly statement shi-!
My weekly statement shi-!
Too many mutha uckas
Uckin' with my shi-
With my balance shi-!
How many mutha uckas?
Too many to count
Mutha uckas

I told Leopold about this very cool, very big, flat rock in a clearing of trees where Dave Pryor, Dave Petroski and I took a break last year. I made it sound so inviting that he, too, was soon dreaming of laying on the rock's cold smooth surface and staring up at the sky through the leafy canopy. He kept asking if we were almost there. Funny thing about these long runs is that I remember almost everything, but never in the right order!

We were getting pretty close to the turn around and I had not seen the rock yet. Turns out, it's right after Doll Flats, but it's off the trail. And being determined not to get lost, I let the adventure slip away. Sorry, Leopold. If it's any consolation, here's a lovely picture of this magical, yet ilusive, place:

As we made our way closer to 19E, we began to see the other runners who were now on their way back. Jeremy literally flew by us, which is so much more impressive if you knew the rocky, technical section we were on. Soon, we encountered Adam, then Brandon, Damian, Sultan, Doug and Stan. Everyone was looking amazing!

Part II: 19E To Carver's Gap
It's easy- there's only one hill.

With Leopold taken care of (thanks again, Hayley!) I was in a hurry to start back. I felt good and really thought I could make good time on the way back. Considering we took 4:25 to get to 19E, I actually started to believe I could maybe negative split this bitch.

However, I couldn't find the the water bottle I'd given Hayley, so I just drank some extra water and headed back with only one 20 oz. bottle and one 12 oz. bottle of water. That had been enough to get me half way, but it had not been nearly as hot, and there were all those thousands of feet more of climbing to consider...Others must have encountered issues with water, because when I saw Stan (who was about a mile ahead of me at the turn around) he made sure to tell me to get enough water.

The initial climb when you leave 19E and head back is....deceivingly difficult. It was becoming hotter and more humid, and I was out of water before I made it to Big Hump. That just totally sucked- there's no other way to put it.

< I eventually found a small water source at Jane's Bald and drank from it even though I had no way to filter water. Note to self- would it kill you to always carry iodine tablets in your pack? No, I don't think so.

2nd Note To Self: If not feeling well at Chattooga, it may not be just the heat and humidity!

It seemed to me that even though I was suffering from dehydration to the point I had to sit down and recover at the beginning of every switch back, that I was much, much (much!) stronger this year compared to last year (when I lost my shit and had a mental breakdown).

I ended up running 4:50 for the 2nd half, but still feeling very good about it.

This is an incredible (and incredibly tough) adventure run. It's not to be missed, and I may even train for it next year.

ROCK ON!

Black Mountain Monster 24-Hr Race

2011-06-09T12:43:00.009-04:00

The Black Mountain Monster 12/24 Hour Race for Awesomeness (love the name) has come and gone, leaving in its wake the... race report of awesomeness: A clever, insightful, thought-provoking, tear-producing, monolithic testament to my running labors this weekend. You know, just how I want every post to be but I'm never able to invest enough time in writing so I just crank out my immediate thoughts and hope no one noticed the typo in paragraph three before I got a chance to fix it. (Don't bother checking, I already fized it.) At this point, if a few people snicker, sniffle, and shoe-up (yes, I did reach for the third "S") I'll be happy.

The Black Mountain Monster is a smaller event by design and feels more like a family get-together than a race. Montreat College is the perfect setting. It’s a beautiful campus with ample parking, bathroom and shower facilities, and a big field for everyone to set up their tents on. The premise of the race is simple: Run around in little 3-mile circles for either 12 or 24 hours. Participate individually, or as part of a team.

The course is a 5K loop that accesses the college’s x-country course, the greenway, and the sports complex. This course offers more variation of scenery and landscape than my moods and is a perfect combination of single track, flat wide grassy trail, a couple fields, and a little asphalt. The pictures from the race’s website illustrate the course perfectly:

I was looking forward to this event as it was a great opportunity to see some friends, share some trail time with Leopold, and show Charles around the area a bit. Yes, I suckered my son into pacing me with absolutely no training at all (unless you count Halo and Guitar Hero as training). He's skinny and fast (proving it skips a generation) and he ended up running a crazy amount of miles and enjoying the crap out of himself. However, hardly any of the miles were with me, and I soon realized I was creating an ultra monster that closely resembled some combination of Christian Griffith and Sean Blanton. My only consolation was that he would end up crazy sore after.

Not having run this type of event before, ~~I was confident in my ability to run at least 100 miles~~ I really had no plan other than to keep moving. Luckily, I ran the first loop with Jason Rogers who shared with me his thoughts about pacing. Thank god for that! It slowly dawned on me at that point ~~I had no business being there~~ that not having a plan may be a bad thing when it comes to running for 24 hours (unless you're Denise Davis). So, I made a plan right there on the spot - I would shoot for running each 5K loop in 40-50 minutes. Simple! If I averaged 15 minute miles, I would end up with about 90 miles. After all, how hard could it be to average 15 minute miles for 24 hours?

Well, let me explain just how hard averaging 15 minute miles for 24 hours actually is... It’s like Laz saying he’s shortening the Barkley course this year. Sure, you may run less distance, but it may be on a 70% grade. Through fire. Or a crack den. Or a crack den on fire. Before it’s over, you’ll be begging for the old course with that candy ass prison tunnel.

Race, On!
First, I have to say I always enjoy the start of ultra running events. You would have to not have a pulse for things to get any more laid back. The RD calls all the runners up for a quick pre-race briefing at 9:50. Then, "On your mark......get set.........GO! ". This is what hapopens:

People generally continue talking, while taking their sweet, sweet time walking over to the start. That's if they've even bothered to show up yet!

Part I: The Wheels On The Bus Go Round and Round
I ran 12 or 13 loops, or 40+ miles, during the first 12 hours. Except for some heat issues, the need to change shoes, and the need for a dinner break, these were fairly easy miles.

The first loop was all about viewing the course, and I was desperately hoping for two things: that the “big hill” from the x-country race was not part of the course, and that I liked the course. 24 hours is a long time and is exponentially longer when you hate the course.

Immediately, my uncanny ability to detect the slightest uphill grade kicked in (for some unknown reason I am unable to detect down hill grades. Weird). There are 3 decent hills, one of which is indeed the “big hill”. There’s also a nasty, sharp downhill that I’m still cursing. This is NOT a flat course. (Later, I learned there is 300 ft. of elevation gain per loop. So, if unlike me, you ran 100 miles here that would be right at 10,000 feet of elevation gain).

The course is also chock full ‘o sharp turns and cutbacks, making it difficult to get into a good groove through certain parts of the course. Also, parts of the course leave you exposed to open sun for several minutes at a time. It’ important to not that temperatures were near 90 degrees with high humidity.

As I settled into a goal pace, I lost contact with Charles. One thing I learned about a timed race is that if you don’t stay together it can be a long time before you meet up again.. I know people are used to seeing Charles and I running together, so I bet they were wondering why they never saw us together in this race.

Early highlight – Adam Hill sighting! Adam was pacing Andrew Moore and they lapped me more than once (please no one tell me what event Andrew was in- I prefer to think he was on a 12-hr. relay team!). The first time they blew by me, I was running with Big Easy and I was glad for the opportunity to point Adam out to him, so he’d know who I was talking about when I talked about the Pitchell or the some of Adam’s other runs. The second time around, I high-fived Adam and told him I’d heard the Pitchell hills were not nearly as hard what we had to deal with today.
I saw Adam a couple of more times before he left to meet up with Matt Kirk. Adam said the Grand Kirk was doing well on his fastpack of the Mountains To Sea Trail, averaging about 38 miles a day. I spent some time ruminating on the concept of averaging 40 miles a day for 30 days*.

In summary, I ran the first two loops in about 1:35, which was too fast. The heat of the day caught up to me by loops 3 and 4, and I slowed considerably. However, I think all of my loops in the first 12 hours were run in under an hour. I hit a low point around dusk, and stopping for pizza and beer made all the difference.

Part II: The Wheels On The Bus Fall Off. Then They Suffer A Slow & Painful Death. I should know by now that nothing truly interesting happens until the second half of any ultra, and this event was no different in that respect.

For me, Part II of these shenanigans started at dinner. Charles and I (who had managed to finally meet up) took a dinner break around 8PM Saturday night. A small meal of left over pizza and home brew really hit the spot. We both hit the trail again feeling great, and I figured I’d found the new miracle cure for ultra pain- beer! Accordingly, I’d swing by our tent and have a little beer before heading out for the next loop. This worked marvelously and for a lot of hours. I was relaxed, I felt good, and I felt like I could keep going forever.

Forever being the relative term that it is, I hit a real low point around 1:30 a.m. I wasn’t nauseas, I wasn’t really in pain, it was nothing I could put my finger on. I just did not feel good. Unfortunately, Charles also hit a low at the same time. We ended up back at the tent, and after a few minutes, Charles finally went inside the tent to lie down. At the time, I suspected he never fully recovered from the earlier heat, whereas I didn’t know what the Hell my problem was.

This is where I made a big mistake. I was getting cold, so I went in and lay down under the covers with him. As I lay there, I kept telling myself, “This is so very, very bad. This is a death sentence. I’m going to end up going to sleep, and waking up hating myself.” After what felt like an eternity of struggling with this, I decided that at the very next moment I thought I could make myself get up, I would do just that. No thinking about it, just move.

A few moments later, I rolled out of bed, heated up some chicken broth, and drank it from a thermos as I sat by the bon fire. Not 5 minutes later, who do I see walking towards me but the motley crew of Big Easy, Weezy, Mark Elson and Margaret. What luck!! I practically jumped up (I’m sure it looked nothing whatsoever like a jump) and joined them as they headed out for another loop.

At this point, I was pretty sure I was starting loop 17, and I found out these guys were starting loop 19 and Margaret was on 20 or 21 (animal!). We all walked this loop, and it felt good to walk. By the next loop, we were running the downhill sections (running- Haha, that’s funny –wtf?). I think Margaret was hitting a low point, but she was quiet, and I couldn’t be sure. Mark and I talked for a bit and we were kinda feeling the same thing at this point- time to put the head phones on and literally tune out.

I broke away from these guys at some point, and I felt very good for the next loop. I ran almost all of it, and at one point I was hoping I was going to pass Big Easy and Co. and make up a lap on their asses. Because in my mind, I was flying around the course. When in reality this is what I looked like to the casual observer:

Loop 19 was bad. It was 3:30 or 4:00 (?) in the morning and my feet hurt, I had blisters, my body wanted to stop, my mind wanted to stop, and I’m pretty sure my soul wanted to stop. I was reduced to the slow, weary, depressing yet determined walk of one who has nothing left except the impulse to simply soldier on.

I came upon Brad Goodridge near the end of this loop, and we walked together. I think I asked him how it was going. I don’t remember his exact words, but he was done (those may have been his exact words, actually). I completely know that feeling- where you are just done. You’ve had it, you’re over it, and every cell of your body screams, “Done!” He was there. We walked in together, and I was praying the lap counters would tell me I had just completed lap number 20, whereby I would promptly stop, vow never to run a 24 hour race again, and go to sleep. I myself was “done” and definitely quitting after the 100K mark. At this point, I felt there just wasn’t any point in getting any more miles.

I was not a happy camper when the (now evil) lap counters told me I had just completed lap #19. Damn!! I have to run at least one more 5K. I’m not even sure I stopped at the tent to see if Charles was there or not. I hardly remember anything at all about this loop. I’m just guessing here, but it was probably a death march of pain and my mind decided to check out for a while.

Coming in to finish loop 20 (100K) should have been a great experience. I say should’ve, because I was completely robbed of said experience. The (now evil and cunning) lap counters were messing with me again. As was Charles. As I checked in, and before I could say, “So long suckas, I am adiosed”, the (now evil demon) lap counters innocently proclaim, “Your boyfriend just checked in with us. He told us to tell you he went back out and that you better catch up”. I better catch up??? I better catch UP??? Muth#r Fuck#r!!! There is no way to explain the emotions that I felt in that moment, so I'll have Wiliam Tudyke do it for me:

As I headed out for loop 21, I walked a bit with Jason Rogers. He was in a bad way. He had reached the point where road kill feels sorry for you. The point when the vultures and crows will "pass" on your carcass and wait for something a little less dead. He had lapsed into some really negative self talk, so I knew he was in the Pit. The Pit is when your head is so full of reasons to stop, so many excuses piling up that you can barely acknowledge them (let alone answer them), that it feels like quicksand pulling you into a pit. It's all the reasons you aren't good good enough, all of your self-doubts that you have unwillingly stored in your memory banks. It's self-imposed mental torture. And it seriously sucks ass.

But then, a funny thing happens. You suddenly get tired of hearing all that bullshit and just push on through, to a serene and peaceful state, and your world is awash with possibilities. Then you realize the source of all of those excuses - it was you! Ha, ha!WTF! It was you all along!

Jason is my hero, and it was wonderful to see him pushing himself to this limit. The gift on the other side of the Pit is worth every bit of the pain- because on the other side you understand that the ability to create a strong, positive outlook lies within. It's the experience of the Pit that builds confidence. I believe it's what's behind the smiles of all ultrarunners, and it's is one of the reasons why I keep coming back - as Scott Dunlap says, "Gotta give those flowers more sunshine!"

Well, honestly, I am growing weary of writing this report! Let me just say this event was nothing short of inspirational and I was honored to be a part of this race. I spent time with my incredible son this weekend, spent time with some old friends and spent time making a few new ones.

So there you have it. A day spent running in circles in Back Mountain and a day that did nothing but inspire me. Charles and I left with 65 miles (21 5K's) and 60 miles (19 5K's), respectively. I met some great people and watched some amazing athletes (including my hero Jason Rogers) cross that finish line victorious.

I will leave you with a quote from Jason's write up of this event:

Darkness is all around when we are exhausted and we still have miles ahead, but morning eventually comes and sunlight will shine through the trees. Just keep moving and putting one foot in front of the other, because that is what awesomeness is all about.

* Matt is fastpacking the 900-mile Mountains-to-Sea Trail during the month of June. Follow the trek here: runthemst.wikispaces.com

Laurel Valley Training Run (feat. Cee Lo Green and Eminem)

2011-05-19T09:25:00.013-04:00

The rescheduling of May's FHT attempt and our unfortunate inability to crew for Greta at MMT allowed Charles and I to join 7 other Foothillz Foolz on Saturday for a 35-mile self supported run through Laurel Valley. As ~~smack-downs~~ consolation prizes go, it was not bad.

Humidity was clearly a factor in completing this run, but even so, 7 foolz finished in under 10 hours (read: "I made that trail my bitch, yo!").

Charles and I ran the first half in 4 and a half hours before C-Raff succumbed to the humidity (read: "That trail made me her bitch, yo!").

Cast of Characters:
Dan (who the phuck is Harley?) the Man Hartley
Big Easy
L'il Weezy
Biz-Mark Elson
Doug Robinson
D-Ray
Nick
Charles (The Rapping Pirate)
Psyche

Charles and I had the longest distances to travel so, to avoid a 3:00 a.m. wake up call, we both headed down to the Laurel Valley entrance parking lot on Friday night and set up camp. We really had no idea if actual camping is allowed in the area adjacent to the parking lot. But it's not like we're gonna call the BMF Ranger and ask. As we set up the tent, visions of an encounter with the BMF Ranger filled my head.

In one scenario, said BMF Ranger pulls up in his Ranger wagon, set to kick us off the trail, perhaps even fine us. But I head him of by pulling out my BMF wallet and saying, "Hey, Ranger! The National Park Service called. They said you lost your wallet." (Barney Stinson wink, and...) Ranger takes the wallet, the dead Presidents, and everyone is happy.
Fast forward to 7:00 a.m.

The first squeal of tires is heard several minutes before 7:00 as Big Easy's car careens on to Laurel Valley Road on three wheels. Big Easy, Mark Elson, D-Ray (and Nick?) have arrived, and clearly, they are ready to party.

It's always great to be reunited with old friends, and as the case with D-Ray and Nick, meet some new ones. After the initial gratuitous smack talk, everyone was anxious to get on the trail, but Charles and I weren't quite done breaking down camp. We told them to go on ahead as we needed ~~people to clear the trails of spiders~~ a little more time. So off ~~the spider patrol~~ everyone went, hitting the trail at 7:15. We were able to finish up quickly, and got on the trail at 7:30.

And So It Begins

I've lost count of how many times I've run the Laurel Valley section of the Foothills Trail. But every every time I do, I hate starting out by climbing stairs! They are just awful and the first several miles is full of stairs and climbs. What's strange is that in running the entire Foothills Trail, I never remember this section as being particularly difficult. Oh yeah. That's because you ascend to the highest point in the entire state of South Carolina within 4 miles when you start at Table Rock State Park. By the time you get to Laurel Valley, you're 14 miles in and feeling stoked to have such easy running.

Easy Running

The initial 2-3 miles were slow going indeed, but when the terrain flattened out a bit we started to run at a good pace. We were both feeling good, and I kept thinking that as fast as we were moving, we'd should catch the group, eventually. The trail was just flying by and and it was awesome to be feeling good and running easily- even though I was sweating more than I usually do. I was completely drenched within the first mile. Don't even ask about Charles.

Through this 7-9 mile section, I decided to turn on some tunes, sit back (figuratively speaking, of course) and enjoy the ride.

Musical Interlude
Several miles later, I was so happy to be having a good run I was practically beside myself. Then, my good-run feeling of giddiness rose to near fever pitch as Cee Lo Green's song, "F**k You!" came on.

Can I just say? I love me some Cee Lo Green.

This man seriously knows that music comes from the heart and soul. He has a fantastic sense of humor and doesn't take himself seriously. I don't care who you are, these are great qualities.

Plus, a big black rapper in a zebra suit is so wrong it's actually right, and for that reason alone he fits right in with this motely crew.

I'm sure he'd be perfectly at home partnering up with the MFRP to write a song about Sam's zebra's (in which they would hopefully answer the eternal question once and for all: why don't humans ride zebras?)

I swear, I was in free association heaven... Before the next mile was run, I had Charles and Cee Lo collaborating on Fitty K's Ultra Rap, featuring....wait...wait for it...

Eminem!

BAM! That just happened.

I know.

They can thank me later.

Ultra Rap

by fitty-k

Word up dog, move along the trail
Keep rollin, smokin along
You ain’t about to fail
Gotja gels, hammer style
In a pouch then, I’m not slouchin
You gonna be runnin for ya life then
Not afraid of dyin
Just never stop tryin
It ain’t about the finish, not winnin
Busta rhyme and your head starts spinnin
A trail mile is a whale mile
More and more of them, that’s my style
Knick knack paddy whackin
Staying on the trail, ya’ll
Less you do some bushwhackin
Give it your best shot, give it your all
Livin the ultra life (not beer), word
It ain’t like nuthin you ever heard
We’re all together, disregard the weather
Postman goes in snow and sleet
But that sucka stays on the street
Not us though, we’re on a roll
Living life like we’re outta control
This trail running life is good for the soul

by Charles Raffensperger

Laurel Valley Giveth and She Taketh Away

Today's lesson sponsored by Laurel Valley: All good things must come to end. The humidity was finally having its way with Charles (and not in a good way). The good news is that he may have actually turned the corner in learning the lesson this trail is so desperately trying to teach him: With his sensitivity to heat and humidity, he simply cannot undertake beastly ultra runs unless the weather conditions are right.

As we reached the half way point, C-Raff began to suffer more and more, and I was right there with him. We eventually slowed waaay down and switched gears. The rest of the day would be about enjoying the day and being happy to be out playing in the forest. Together. (Personally, I love how ultra running has the coolest built-in back up plan).

Yep. Still Directionally Challenged

I find it extremely difficult to remember all the points on this trail, no matter how many times I run it. I find I'll remember the section as I'm running it, but there's always a point where I think a certain landmark is coming up, only to discover that I am totally wrong. Saturday, this played out in epic fashion:

Me: "Hey Charles. Right up here the trail is going to make a right turn and there'll be a sign for Bad Creek Parking lot, right?"
Charles: "...No."

Me: "Isn't the little foot bridge that goes along the rock wall that has water running down it coming up?"
Charles: "..No."

The last 6-8 miles always seem to be the hardest for me to ~~run~~ remember, as I keep thinking ~~the distance is over a hundred (possibly over a thousand) miles and may very well include a circumnavigation of the globe~~ I'm going to come out to an area I will recognize, (but never do).
Eventually, though, I began to get it right. I'd name an upcoming landmark..and it would be correct! Yaaay!

My take away- The more tired I become, the better my sense of direction gets.

The Laurel Valley Payoff of Excellence

Upper Whitewater Falls

After a day of following the white blazes through the thick forest canopy, taking in the incredible sights of the whitewater rivers, waterfalls, dramatic drop offs, swinging bridges, wildlife, and all around incredible scenery, you finally reach the finish.

A ridiculous climb brings you to a cool, big-ass view of Whitewater Falls.
Hells, YEAH!

Go Get Ya Some!

2011-05-09T09:46:00.079-04:00

Ever feel like you're stuck in a ~~Drew Barrymore movie~~ rut? Like your running is going nowhere, slowly? Like you're bored and tired and you've forgotten why you run? If you answered "yes" to any of the above, then ~~you will love the movie Whip It~~ you may need to do what I just did: Go Get Ya Some! And by "some" I am in no way referring to Sex, Money, Victory, or the ever lovin' MFRP*

I'm referring to what I'm now calling the Summer Of Mojo Encouragement (SOME). As the name implies, I am going to spend this summer trying to ~~duplicate whatever the hell Big Easy has done to be so god damn happy with his running~~ building speed, strength, and god-like confidence in my running so that I can ultimately be my own hero and race like I mean it when it counts. And when might that be, you ask? Well, here's how I see 2011 and beyond in terms of key races:

Foothills Trail 77-Mile (Goal - finish #2) - September '11

The Pitchell (Pisgah to Mitchell) (Goal - Sub 23:50) - October '11

Bartram 100's (Goal - 100 mile finish) - December '11

The Barkley Marathons (Goal - Don't die) April '12

If you're a fan of Drew Barrymore's movie, "Whip It" (and let's face it, why wouldn't you be?) then you remember Razor**, the Hurl Scouts' coach who, with his jean-shorts and ability to create excellent plays, tries to get them to compete to the best of their abilities.*** Like Razor, I understand it's all about playing smart and staying aggressive.

In the Summer of Mojo Encouragement, I vow to:

Refine my training by adding 1 day a week of pure speed work to my training. This will (progressively) include hill repeats, intervals, repeat quarters, and repeat miles.

Approach the puke threshhold many times. My toes will feel at home curled over the edge.

Schedule a 5K Tune-Up race in 3 months.

Schedule an 8K Key Race race in 4months (Maggie Valley Moonlight Run).

Continue to run all my other runs like the beastly ultra runner I am, including 5-10 hour runs on the weekends, gnarly mountain trail runs with the Pirate, bushwacking practice for Barkley...

Never forget it's an "Experiemnt of One"- if it's not working, change it up.

You, too, can join me in (getting) SOME.. Let’s make 2011 the best year of running ever! By years' end, those that have taken on the challenge may find themselves honorary members of the Run Like You Got Some Ultra Project…

[Que great sequence which includes Psyche's training montage set to the .38 Special song, "Caught Up In You"].

* Muther Fucking Running Pirate (a.k.a Charles Raffensperger)
** Brilliantly played by Andrew Wilson, the bearded older brother of Luke and Owen. From his team plays, team speeches and beard, to his cut off jean shorts and sweat band, Razor ROCKS and we need to see more of this Wilson brother in movies. Now.
*** File this under "why I love Razor"- coaches who stop at nothing to motivate their underdog team are a dime a dozen, but Razor takes it to a whole new level by actually coaching the enemy in order to shaft his own team.

Enoree Passage 40 Mile Trail Race

2011-05-06T14:14:00.018-04:00

Wherein I celebrate my first anniversary of ultra running by going back to where it all began- a great little race called Enoree Passage 40 Mile Trail Race. As celebrations go, it was a blow out. As races go, not so much.

Part I:
Let's Get This Party Started! Charles and I wanted to do something special in honor of the race where we first met last year *. In the past, we've tried to get his two youngest (Devin and Alex) to come camp with us at key races, but it's never quite worked out. This time, however, Devin was able to make it, and it so happened that both of his older daughters (Paige and Lindsay) could also be there, along with Lindsay's husband Fletcher and their twin boys, Spencer and Logan. (Now, it's a party!)
So on Friday, Leopold and I drove down to the Brick House Camp Ground in Whitmire, SC in order to secure 2 side-by-side campsites. All week, I'd been dealing with flat tire issues, so it should not have surprised me when, as soon as we pulled in and were paying for the sites, Leopold comes up to me and says, "Mom, you better come hear this." I followed him over to my rear tire, only to hear the not-so-faint whisper of air whooshing out of my tire. "How have I offended ye, oh gods of Good Year?" I wondered.

I figured I'd call AAA the next day. There was (literally) nothing else to do, so Leopold and I set up camp, settled in, went for a little run, and goofed around until even the fascinating campfire fire no longer held our interest.

After a good night's sleep, Saturday greeted us with sunny, warm weather. I noticed it was about 5-10 degrees hotter than the day before. It felt great if you were in the shade, but I began sweating immediately in the open sun. [For those of you who need me to point this out- this is what's known as foreshadowing].

We eventually caught up with Terri Hayes and chatted about the course and how the race was coming together. I always look forward to seeing Terri -seeing Terri Hayes is how ultra runners know it's summer [again with the foreshadowing!]. Eventually, a few other people trickled in, including Denise Martin, volunteer extraordinnaire.

Jason Steinberg and Wendy Oates arrived while I was waiting for the AAA guy to arrive. They came down for a little run and to check out the course, but were not camping. The AAA guy got totally lost and Jason helped by giving him the GPS coordinates. Then the two of them were off, down the trail...

A bit later...Team Raffensperger/ Worley finally arrive! Yay!! Lindsay's twin sons Spencer and Logan are adorable and clearly they found Leopold irrisistable. It was a crack up to watch them interact with each other. Part puppy love, part Monte Python's Flying Circus.

It was just a joy to hang out and play ball with the boys and Devin (who is an amazing natural athlete). We were all just relaxed and happy to be outside. Every once in a while we'd see a fellow runner and catch up with them. It was nice to see Jimbo again (who I shared some trail time with last year as well) and to meet his friend Connie. Later, Fletcher cooked us all some amazing burgers and we all enjoyed another camp fire. It was one of the best camping experiences I've ever had. Had this trip ended there, I would have been perfectly happy**.

Part II: Pre-Race
We didn't have to get up too awfully early, as the race start was at 7:30 and we were literally just yards away from the starting line. As we got coffee, and readied ourselves, I grew excited as cars pulled in and I recognized old friends- Dan Hartley and fam, Jason Sullivan, Weezy, Mark Elson, Brian Guzik (The Guz), and a surprise visit by Scott and Greta.

Unannounced visit by Scott and Greta- sweet!

One of the best thing about these events is seeing all the people you've come to know over time. The sense of community among ultra runners is simply amazing. Absent is the sense of nervousness and foreboding that you fnd at most marathons- people here know the value of the run does not lie in your finishing time, but in your experience. In that sense, it's all good.

Part III: The Race
Enoree is a 20-mile out and back course. There's some moderate climbing, some moderately technical trails, but mainly it's flat and mainly runnable. It has a lot of unique features, and a cool lake at the turnaround point, too.

So, 7:30 approaches, and before I know it, we're all heading down the trail. I found myself running with Big Easy and the Library Lady for a few miles, but keeping Charles in sight. We had a few good laughs, and I was enjoying just being there as the memories of last year flooded back.
I had several nice moments where I remembered good times from the previous year- laughing with Sam and Big Easy about phantom race pains, talking with Jimbo about Magnum Track Club, running with Rebecca and Doug for the final miles. Good stuff.

After the initial few miles, I saw Scott and Greta- I didn't realize they were even out on the trail before this, but it was good to see them. That is, until Greta took a fall on the rocks. This is so what she did not need, with Massanutten 100 coming up. I stayed with her for a few minutes, watching as her knee swelled, and gave her some ibuprofen. They both told me to go on, so I did.

Just for a moment, I had a bad feeling. No people ahead of me...and no one behind me. Oh, dear god..please let me be able to stay on trail!! Getting lost is not the experience I want to have here today.

Luckily, I met up with Charles just a few minutes later. He was waiting patiently for my slow ass. Before I came up to him, though, I passed William and Kristin, another "ultra couple" who were running their longest distance to date. We all ended up running many miles together. They are a hoot.

About 10 miles in, I knew I was in for a bad day. My legs were hurting, I felt overly fatigued, and I was going through 40 ounces of water between aid stations and still felt thirsty. Turns out, this would be my theme song until mile 25, where it finally became intolerable and (wisely) we called it a day.

From what I gather, many others experienced this same phenomenon, including my friend Jimbo (who's awesome rendering of his predicament is seen here).

It took me a while to see that dehydration was the problem, but once I did, I was fine with calling it a day. But I will say that now that I've experienced this phenomenon twice in a row, I'm not exactly jumping at the opportunity for another hot weather race. In fact, Big Easy and I both concluded that the May 21 Foothills Trail attempt should be postponed until September.

In conclusion, the best thing about this race this year(unfortunately) was EVERYTHING but the race! And I'm perfectly happy with that. I can always redeem myself next year, but I could never replace all the valuable friendships I've gained through this sport. I don’t have to mention names, but you all know who you are. I would come out and support each and every one of you even if I could not run at all. I am extremely inspired by you guys. Every single one of you are doing something magnificent. As am I. How cool is that?

So, to all of you I say “THANK YOU” so much. If I could give each and every one of you a hug I would. I would say “lets hug it out, bitches.”

* Technically, I did not "meet" Charles at this race. We were formally introduced at the Outkasts Run. But we shared a great trail moment at Enoree last year. As we were running through the forest, I told Charles (then a total stranger) that I thought it seemed like there should be houses "on the left". Apparently, I told that to the ONE other person in the universe who was experiencing the same thing at the same time.

** Yep. More foreshadowing.

SweetH20 50K Trail Race

2011-04-20T08:44:00.009-04:00

Wherein I get slapped around a bit by a trail with a sweet name and a bad reputation and I live to tell the tale.

SweetH20 50K starts a series of races (including Enoree Passage 40-Mile and the Foothills Trail Ultra 77-Mile) that are very special to me on a number of fronts.

This time last year, I sat here reading Georgia Snail's 2010 SweetH20 50K race report. This is back when we were just "blogger friends". I had been following his blog and knew of his plan to run this event as his first ultra. His race report, full of horrible recountings of pain and suffering beyond anything he had ever experienced, had me at hello.

Shortly thereafter, I found a 40-Mile race and e-mailed a guy named Jason Sullivan to ask him if he thought it was a good "first ultra" race... the rest is history.

A year later, I sit here writing my own SweetH20 race report, and I'm finding it ironic that Thomas' race report from last year and my race report from this year are pretty much interchangeable. In fact, I don't really feel like recounting Saturday's misery. Can't you just go read his report and insert "Psyche" every time you read "I"?

Pause.

You guys are so lazy. ...Fine. Make me do all the work, then.

SweetH20 50K Race Report
Like everyone else, I've grown tired of winter and find the recent warm temperatures bring with them a bit of spring fever. Being out on the trails in the sunshine and among the wildflowers is apparently enough to set off a virtual epidemic of race fever, as the week before SweetH20 generated enough trash talk to get every runner within a 100-mile radius seriously stoked to run. Get Christian involved and make that 300 miles.

With all the smack talk, people were laying down goal times right and left. I signed up with a 7:30 goal based on the pace I ran for MMM, assuming the courses were somewhat comparable. This meant keeping it slightly under 14-minute miles.

So after months and months of hardly any preparation at all, race day finally approached. This would be Charles' 3rd trip to the 'Creek, and my first. Our no-plan-plan was to stay together for one loop and then see what happens.

The morning of the race worked out perfectly. It was about a 45 minute drive to Sweetwater State Park, and we had plenty of time to catch up with old friends. We ran in to Thomas first, and boy, did he look good! If you haven't noticed, the Snail has been dropping some serious el bees lately, and he looked like a lean, mean racing machine on Saturday.

There were about 200 runners casually standing around at the start of the race waiting for the 7:30 a.m. start. As I looked around, I was amazed that I knew so many people. We spent a few minutes catching up with Big Easy, Diesel, Weezy, and a few people with regular names, too. Brad Goodridge and Charles got to compare some serious scarrage, which is always a boost for a Pirate. Ronnie Hines came around taking pictures, which made me realize I had forgotten to bring my camera.

Charles, Me, Dan Burstein

A few words later from the RD, and we found out that the creek crossing that the race is famous for was being removed due to the heavy storms from the night before. I didn't hear what course change that required, but before I knew it we were off and running down the road, out of the state park, going around the lake.

People were flying down the road!! I think Charles went through Mile 1 in 8:45 and I was not far behind at 9:10- a far cry from the 13:55 pace I should have started at. I remember thinking, "What am I doing? I should not be running the first of 32 miles at a pace that actually has me breathing hard." I also remember wondering in what universe is 14-minute mile pace "race pace"? You would think ultras would draw hordes of people purely because they would believe they could run faster than that over long distances. Some would actually be right.

The course layout was simple, a 15 mile loop that we traveled twice. I took Christian's advice to heart. He said, "Get through the first trip to TOTW and powerlines happy, and all should be well. Feel dead, and the day will be long 'cuz you'll still have the following brutality left:

Jacks Hill
Water Crossing (takes good balance, not fatigued legs)
Yellow climb
TOTW (again)
Powerlines (again)
Jack's Hill (again)
and that pleasant little concrete crawl up to the finish.

We hit the first real interesting part of the coursejust a few miles in

After some very technical single track, the first "water" crossing came up quickly. There's a concrete spillway about 50 yards across, with a couple of ten foot ropes that we used to sort of rappel down the wall, run through the six inch deep water and pull ourselves up the same set up on the other side. Pretty cool.

Big Easy is making it look, well, easy

Continuing on, we were now running along the banks of Sweetwater Creek. I hit a root and took a pretty decent fall. As I was getting up, I saw Naresh! He seemed to appear out of nowhere, which is a scene that would repeat itself throughout the day. Naresh is a very sneaky runner.

We soon began the gradual ascent up the bluff, single-track switchbacks. Charles, Naresh and I were running together, the mood was light, we were joking and enjoying the camaraderie.

Ooh, look at me! I love hills!!!

Around mile 5, we began to leave the creek behind and worked our way to the power lines and the entrance to the "Top of The World". There were at least five major climbs in this section, each becoming more difficult. We ascended a couple hundred feet in each 1/4 mile and then we were on Top of the World where pictures cannot due justice the 360 panoramic view. It is spectacular.

The descents were tough, my quads were burning and my toes were throbbing from being jammed into the front of the toebox of my shoes.

Miles 14-16 (?) found us rolling through the flattest portion of the course, and then suddenly I was staring down (up) a trail that would almost bring me to my knees. In 3/4 of a mile we climbed 400 ft, only to descend 400 feet in the same breath. While walking up this hill, I thought my heart was going to explode. I had to stop to catch my breath several times, and Charles ran ahead, seeming to climb effortlessly. Damn him! Each single step was a chore, and I prayed I would not see this hill again.

I hate this hill

We traveled along the creek bed for the next few miles and worked our way back to the entrance to Top of the World and the power line hills. The pain I felt at the climb back in mile 18 was nothing compared to the battle of wills I encountered between miles 25 - 27. Endless hills, each step bringing about greater pain. I "quit" each of my upcoming races 5 or 6 times during this stretch. I decided trail running was not for me. I tried desparately to just keep moving forward, but I could see the remaining hills at the top of each climb, taunting me. There were runners on those hills, and I could not imagine how they were doing it.

That second pass through the power lines seriously sucked. To compound thing, Charles was feeling good (ha! feeling good! Are you effing kidding me??) and said he was going to push it.

Arriving at the Top of the World, my mind was mush and I could only focus on the idea of getting off of that mountain. Pulling into the aid station I ate some oranges and just felt completely out of it.

The return trip down was a chore, and I spent a large portion of the time dissected my training and decided I was completely under trained for this event. In hindsight, I was strong through the first 21-22 miles, then the wheels fell off. I was revamping my training plan to include massive amounts of climbing, as there is no way in Hell I am suffering this bad at the Pitchell.

The last few miles were difficult, I walked most of them, running for short spurts on the downhills. I mentally checked out when I knew the finish would be ahead, and hopefully somewhere close. The road went on and on. When. will. this. end? Where is the finish?

Then I heard some cheers for someone behind me, and I glanced back to see it was a girl. There was no way in hell I was givingup one more spot with the finish line in sight. I started running and praying I was going to see the damn finish line- soon. Suddenly, someone is telling me to turn and go up the stairs, which just seemed surreal. Really...? I have to freaking climb stairs to get to the finish line? What is wrong with you people??

Finally I hit the stairs and everyone started cheering! I saw Charles as I crossed the finish line in 8:21:33, a full 23 minutes after him and Naresh (super duper congrats to them both for breaking 8hrs.)

Then Naresh was suddenly there taking my picture.

The mouth is smiling but the eyes are not so sure

I was given a sweetH20 hat, a bottle of water and directed to the food table. I felt dizzy and naseaus and even after throwing up it took me a long time to recover.

A final recap...

AWESOME !!!

Congrats to everyone who PR'd this course, which was a ridiculously large number of people.

Thank you Douglas County Rogue Runners, Johnny Buice(RD) and every single volunteer that was out on the course for this event. Without you this day would not have been possible.

Thank you Holly Armbruster (again!) for taking care of me. You are the absolute best.

Barkley 2011

2011-04-08T00:22:00.003-04:00

After spending six days in Frozen Head State Park bearing witness to the most incredible endurance achieve- ment I have ever seen (not to mention being in the company of such incredible people), adjusting to "real life" feels more like a smack down than a let down.

As I look back on the Barkley weekend, I realize several things...

First, and without a doubt, the Barkley Marathons is truly the ultimate endurance race that requires training specificity. Yielding just 10 finishers in its 25 year history, if you look at the long distance experiences of those who have survived the entirety of being "Out There" you see a common thread- these are guys who have made it their business to suffer for more than just days on end.. sometimes for weeks and even for months.

As Sherpa John recently noted, the Barkley is probably easier for them because in their eyes it's one of the shorter events they've endured. Indeed, the bottom line for success at the Barkley appears to be the ability to suffer for long periods of time... and with a quiet patience.

The take away for me for my attempt next year (if I get in!) is to train with a speed hiker's mindset, with lots of climbing and lots of relying on self sufficiency. Can you say Bartram and Foothills Trail? Good thing Charles and I were already talking about running the entire Bartram Trail- this will surely be good Barkley training.

Aside from trying to wrap my mind around what it takes to finish 1 loop let alone 5 loops, for me the overwhelming experience of being a Barkley weight lister at camp this year was simply the the honor of being in the company of some of the world's greatest people and athletes. The humility and spirit of the Barkers has left me nothing short of renewed, inspired, and grateful.

Finally, and I honestly have no words to convey what this experience was like, it was simply amazing to witness Charles' most awesome defeat by this race that eats its young. He suffered the pain and had the privilege of being "out there" and in doing so joined the ranks of some of the luckiest people on the planet- he is now a Barker.

Here is his race experience in his own words:

"Today, even though it is close to a week after my tapping out, it is difficult to put into words all that I experienced while "Out There" at the Barkley this year. I certainly have a newfound respect for both the wild nature of this area and those strong enough to tackle this tremendous challenge. I feel somehow changed, more in tune with myself, than I ever have. Stronger, yet also more vulnerable.
Until Friday the 1st, as far as I knew I was still # 1 on the weight list - starting out at # 21 when the list was first published by Laz I had no expectations of getting in but over the last several weeks my name kept moving up until there it was perched right at the top. I had no choice but to prepare to run. Psyche on the other hand had moved up from # 6 on the weight list all the way up to the # 3 spot - she was getting prepared to run also.
We had originally planned on traveling up to Frozen Head to crew and lend support for our friend Joe Lea (aka Marmot) who had secured one of the slots. We knew Marmot was very strong and thought he might have a real shot as a contender. But when our names moved up on the weight list our focus shifted more to our own aspirations.
I think I had somewhat of a portent of things to come when on the drive up on Wednesday I passed by a strange assortment of dead animals - a beaver, a coyote, and a hawk!
Arriving late Wednesday Psyche and I secured a spot and setup camp. It was fantastic to meet some of the other early arrivers, "Frozen" Ed and his lovely wife Gail, Carl Laniak, Chip Tuthill, Dale Holdaway, James and John Demers, and others.
Spent Thursday sightseeing around Wartburg, hiking along the Obeds scenic river, driving up 116 past Brushy Mountain Penitentiary, and getting our things together in the event we might be "in the race".
Friday was surreal as we met more and more folks filling up the campground and finally strode up to the big white tent to meet Laz and inquire about our entries, license plates in hand. Laz informed me that I was in the race taking over John Dewalt's spot!!! So the next order of business was to go and get the topo maps we had purchased at park headquarters the day before and mark up the route on them. After doing that we went into town and lunch at Hardee's while I laminated my course directions with clear packing tape.
Friday night we sauntered up to the main gathering to eat and meet a few more folks. I never did get any of the infamous Barkley chicken because every time I went over to the grill there were no pieces ready, and then when I went back over someone had already gotten the "cooked" pieces off the grill! Damn...:)
Naresh arrived late Friday night with wild stories of a naked guy all jacked up on meth who had literally vaulted over Naresh's car next to the front gate to the park! Wow, it seems fitting that happened at the Barkley!
I laid down about 10:30 that night and actually managed to sleep about 1.5 hours until I was awakened by the conch blowing loudly through the camp at 12:07....and then again it blew! Christ! From then on it was a mad scramble to shower, get dressed, lubed, and all my gear on and ready for a cold nighttime start at 1:07 am. I struggled up the hill only to see that the race had just started and runners were moving steadily up the road toward the first climb up Bird Mountain. And I missed the cigarette lighting completely!
That initial climb up Bird Mtn was slow but definitely hard and I was sweating hard by the top. I had originally run to get in the middle of the pack but fell back a little on the climb. At the very top Iso Yucra passed me and left me standing still as he flew down the trail on the other side. All I remember about this section of trail (and true about much of the North Boundary trail) is that almost all of it was pitched and the footing was difficult/slick from recent rains. I'm still nursing a broken arm from a trail fall 8 weeks ago and have to be extra careful about falling on it again so much of the time I moved slower than the other runners on the wet terrain.
Reached Book 1 without any problem and grabbed my page, but my first mistake was that my ziplock bag was in my pack which was painfully slow to take off and put on for every book stop - later I would simply stuff the baggie in my front pants pocket. After we crossed Phillips Creek and started heading up the next climb I realized I had lost my trekking pole that I thought had been securely tied to my pack! Damn again!
Along the NBT I remember quite a bit of steep climbing on the trail and marveling at how strong the other runners were. I played tag with Allan Holtz and fell in and back with a group that included Frozen Ed, Sue Thompson, Abi Meadows, Paul Lefleholz, Dale Holdoway, and a couple others. Along this section my legs started to cramp but I was ok when I just continued on - but thoughts of having to quit early on due to spasms had me worried. During this time I heard thunder and soon some rain and small hail started falling. I struggled with the hood on my rain jacket but couldn't figure out how to clasp it so I started getting a thorough soaking. My low point on this section came at a small ditch soon after we crossed Son of a Bitch Ditch - my left leg totally seized up and I was left lying in a muddy ditch unable to move unable the cramps subsided, all the while hail was falling all around me!
On up to the coal ponds and the Garden Spot, Stallion Mountain, Fyke's Peak (which I don't remember at all!), and down to the New River was somewhat of a blur as I tried to stay with the group. They were much stronger than me on the climbs but I could usually catch them on the descents. That whole area is very eerie and traversing it at night only enhanced that foreboding feeling. I was terrified of being separated and struggled mightily to stay with the group as we all climbed around up and over the cross country terrain, sliding down steep slopes on my ass and using small trees as climbing poles to get up the steeper slopes.
We finally made it down the steep descent down a leaf filled draw to the New River and found a place to cross. The others were able to jump from rock to rock without getting their feet wet but with my paranoia about falling on a slick rock and rebreaking my arm I just wading right through the water - that would be my method to cross all subsequent streams. From the river was a jumble of downed trees to climb over and navigate around before we climbed up and over 116, traversed downroad and into the woods again. This took us up into a virtual swamp where the mud was so deep it almost sucked my shoes off. We spent about 10 minutes there hunting around before someone found Book 4. Next up - climb up the Testicle Spectacle!
Kent Moeller and I were the last to start up the climb and I quickly realized that I would never be able to catch everyone else on this huge climb, so, including Kent, I let them all go and struggled up it at my own pace. The briars were something to contend with but it was generally easy to avoid most of them. The climb itself is an unrelenting beast and gets steeper as you get closer to the top. A couple of times I actually had to grab thick briar stalks to help pull me up the muddy slope!
Once at the top there was no trace of anyone down the Meth Lab Hill side or back on the route I had taken up Testicle Spectacle - I was on my own for the first time in the race, but the sun was coming up and I still had my map, directions, and compass intact. I stopped to rest there, get some food and get my bearings to continue on.
My first of many mistakes came coming down Meth Lab Hill - instead of continuing down quite a bit and past the Neo butt slide I started off the power line cut and into the woods far up the ridge. This cross country jaunt eventually led me down the steep other side of the ridge to Raw Dog falls but I probably lost quite a bit of time. In fact even at Raw Dog falls I had trouble finding Book 5. After 15 minutes futilely searching I realized I was on the wrong side of the creek - at the Barkley perspective is EVERYTHING! Ok, now found the book and then to find Pig Head creek. I had no trouble going down and back up Pussy Ridge (not sure exactly which spot was Danger Dave's Climbing wall but if it is what I thought it was it looked too dangerous to attempt). Up a very steep and broken glass covered hillside to 116 and down a switchback - great, this must be Pig Head Creek but where is the pig head? I'll be damned if I looked and looked but never found it - hiked down the road to the next switchback, back up, and realized I must have been in the right place - but another 20 minutes wasted (I ended up climbing up the right side up a steep embankment and never saw the "trail" on the left side)! This was a tough scramble up the ravine and very steep to get up and on the ridgeline. Had no problem seeing the faint traces of old roadbed but mistake # 3 I followed the road left instead of right! Damn, after going 1/4 mile down I realized my mistake and had to climb back up.
The next section was fairly straightforward as I made my way to the old prison mine and start of the Rat Jaw climb. At this point I was trashed and hungry and sat down to rest. After a few minutes Steve Durbin happened along the trail and I was damn happy to see anyone! Steve and I made our way up Rat Jaw around the left side - this was a BITCH of a climb, especially without my trekking pole, and more than a few times I was on my hand and knees crawling up while sliding halfway back down! Up on top finally we took a break to eat and fill up on water. Howie Stern joined us as he had just arrived at the summit. One of the more humorous situations also occurred as a mother and her 2 daughters made their way to the summit on a hike and we told them a little about what we were doing "out there"!
Steve and Howie started descending Rat Jaw before I did. Once I started the descent I ran into Mike O'Melia on the way up who asked me if I wanted my trekking pole back! He had picked it up on the descent down Bird Mtn. and carried it with him the rest of the way.....I was sure glad to have it back!! The descent down Rat Jaw was uneventful but slow as I picked my way through the woods and got farther away from the power line than I wanted. Once I tracked back over I realized the briars were mostly gone on this lower section so it was pretty fast getting the rest of the way down. On the last steep section of Rat Jaw to the prison I sat down to butt slide and startled a large rat snake who had been sunning on the rocks! He started to rattle his tail to mimic a rattlesnake and actually started coming toward me so I kept poking him away with my trekking pole all the while sliding down to make my get away!
At the prison now but now the problem was figuring out how to get into the tunnel entrance! I walked around both sides before finally settling on a method that had me grabbing the gate with my right hand and I jumped down and swung myself over and onto the ledge, pulling myself up and inside by the gate! Going through the tunnel was one of the most memorable experiences I've ever had! But getting out the other side was no picnic as it was a steep bank with only loose stones to pull yourself up.
Spent some more time getting oriented for the Bad Thing climb and surely lost some time on it. By this time I was wasted and moving slower and slower - still able to climb though as I steadily moved up the mountain. When I reached the summit at last I nailed it because the Needle's Eye was right in front of me! Another break to retrieve my page and rest before staring down the Zip line. This was probably the hardest section for me - just a rugged, steep descent bushwhacking all the while and dodging downfalls, small trees, boulders, briars, and anything else that is an obstacle out in the woods.
I eventually made it down to the creek but mistakenly followed it past the confluence and onto the remains of the "jeep" road. I went down this quite a way before again realizing my mistake and backtracking up and over the creek. Book 9 was pretty easy to find. At that point I was joined by Bob Haugh and together we started up Big Hell. Although I was trashed and running on empty I was anxious to get to the top so I got ahead of Bob and made it to the summit - once again I lucked out and my "line" had taken me directly to the correct capstone where Book 10 was hidden!
From that point on was mostly a hike in as I didn't have enough energy to run - that last 4 miles seemed to take FOREVER and I was surprised to have yet another climb even on this candy-ass trail!
Made it to the campground and ran up the hill just as it was getting dark, something better than 19 hours after I started. Touching the yellow gate, seeing everyone there, and hearing taps played for me was just surreal.
The rest of the time in Frozen Head was spent resting and watching as others finished their races. It was a wonderful experience seeing Joe, John, Nick, and James finish their fun run! And Monday getting to watch as Brett made history was the greatest athletic achievement I've ever witnessed!
All in all, even though my time was way over the limit I am satisfied that I left it all on the trail. Forced to dig deep, by myself, I found out what I am made of and that has made me a better person. Yet longing to push farther....
Psyche, it's your turn next year!!!
Thanks to Laz and everyone else who makes this event what it is, a celebration of the human spirit!
Charles Raffensperger

A huge thank you to Laz and to everyone who makes this race possible. Congratulations especially to Bret Maume for his finish this year, and to everyone that had the courage to start and fail.

See you next year!

The Barkley Marathons...A Beginning

2011-03-23T00:05:00.013-04:00

When assassin James Earl Ray escaped from a Tennessee prison in 1977, he was missing for 55 hours. In that time, he only managed to get eight miles away before being recaptured. Race organizer Gary Cantrell heard this statistic and thought he could make it at least a hundred miles in that time. He organized the Barkley Marathons to test this theory.

Since 1986, ultra runners have met in the hills of Frozen Head State Park to have a go at what many runners believe to be the world's hardest long-distance trail race because it has such a low finishing rate. In fact, the course is purposefully designed and adjusted to keep it at the outer limit of human endurance. Some years no one finishes.

Since the race began in 1986, only 9 runners out of about 700 have finished within the 60 hour cutoff. Past finishers have set speed records for the Appalachian trail. 2 past finishers have won Hardrock. 3 past finishers have finished Nolan's 14 (2 have won). 1 past finisher set the speed record for the Colorado fourteeners.

The course is relentless and never lets up - that's a given. Because of the distance, difficulty and time limits, runners must run around the clock at least once for the Fun Run and at least twice for the 100-mile. The course is not marked, so good navigation and orientation skills are a must.

I am humbled and in awe of the "9" that have completed the 100. They are a special breed. I honestly believe that a Barkley finisher is as elite as you can get. I believe that what goes on mentally and physically during this event is like what few other athletes ever experience. In essence, the Barkley is not about running - it's really about human potential, and the fact that we are capable of doing much more than we think.

The Barkely atmosphere is what every ultra runner hopes to have a chance to experience once in his/her running life. Gather thirty-five of your dear friends and share an experience that is wrought with challenges and obstacles that push the limits of what is possible. Bundle all that up into one hell of a good time, and you just found yourself in Frozen Head.

Is this my year to run the Barkley? Maybe, maybe not. But I will be there, and I will be ready to run. More importantly, I will be ready to NOT QUIT.

The Birth of the BARC

2011-03-11T13:07:00.001-05:00

It's not a Memo...It's a Mission Statement.

It started out as an idea, not even a terribly creative idea : Run 44 miles on your 44th birthday. Take the day off from work and do something special to celebrate being alive. By the end of the day, my birthday run had in fact given birth to it's own creation- The Birthday Adventure Run Challenge. The BARC.

Make no mistake about it- the BARC is not a birthday run. If a birthday run is about celebrating life and being grateful for being alive for another year, then the BARC is a birthday run on steroids.

Differences- for starters, a BARC has an added goal of making this year's birthday more memorable than the last. Also, the number of your years must lend itself to the base of the challenge (OK, so that part's not different than my original idea).

Essentially, a BARC is a challenge that you design for yourself, based upon your feeling or mood at any place in your life. One year you may focus on a strength, the next on a weakness. It can be a short hard run or a multi-day epic. It's entirely up to you; and because of this, you can end up challenging yourself like no run tailored for the masses could ever do.

For example, on his 70th birthday Jack LaLanne towed 70 boats carrying 70 of his friends across Long Beach Harbor (about 3 miles), handcuffed and shackled.

Why?

Why would you do this, you ask? ~~If you have to ask, you probably won't understand the answer.~~ Because challenge is fun. Pain is fun. Suffering is fun. Why? Because when it ends it gives you a perspective on life you couldn't otherwise have. And what better way to explore the art of suffering than completing a super burly kick-ass adventure run?

Like Captain Kirk said, "I don't want my pain taken away, I need my pain." With no pain, there is no struggle, no struggle, no rewards, and if no rewards, then why bother living at all? These things add experience to our lives, they fulfill and enrich us, they make us human.

This Year's Challenge

I take it the situation is grim and the odds are against us. Sounds fun.

A 44-mile out-and-back run starting at Montreat College in Black Mountain. The goal was to run to the summit of Mt. Mitchell, the highest place in the Eastern U.S. at 6,684 ft, then summit the next four highest peaks along the 4.5-mile crestline trail between Mt. Mitchell and Deep Gap before returning to the start.

All in all, that's FIVE mile-high peaks:

Mt. Mitchell (6,684')
Mt. Craig (6,648')
Big Tom (6,581')
Balsam Cone (6,596')
Cattail Peak (6,584)

Burly? Check.

Kick-ass? Double-Check.

The Report

Preparation for the Monday run began on Friday. On my way down to the GUTS Reactor Run on Friday morning, I took the Parkway up to Mt. Mitchell to drop aid. I dropped a gallon of water at Black Mountain Gap and another gallon at the picnic area at Mitchell where Deep Gap Trail begins. I made sure to put notes on the water indicating it was aid for runner and to please not remove it.

Inspired by the herculean efforts of those running in this weekend's GUTS Reactor Run, I set off early Monday morning for Black Mountain to begin my ultra adventure run challenge. I had about 90 ouncesof water (Accelerade) and hot pink flagging tape. I figured I was good to go!

Little did I know just how much I would be relating to those GRR racers in a few hours.

The first part of the course is the same as the Seven Sister's Summit Run. You start at Rainbow Rd. Trailhead and take the Rainbow Trail up 2 miles to the split of Mitchell Toll and Trestle Road. That first 6/10 of a mile up Rainbow Trail is brutal, too. I don't know the elevation gain, but the super-short, super-steep switchbacks gets you up pretty high in that first 1/2 mile. In hindsight, it kind of set the tone for the day...

Now, for some reason, instead of going up to the split of Mitchell Toll and Trestle, when I came to a grey diamond marking that said, "Traverse to Rainbow Road" I took that. I figured I had a map, and I'd be fine. And I was. However, it was a little tricky. As I neared the end of rainbow Road, I came to a horse gate, and was at Lookout Trace. It took me a nittle while to figure out that if I went up Lookout Trail, it would intersect with Trestle Road and I'd be back on track.

I flagged the crap out of the intersection of Trestle and Lookout, so I could take the same route on the return home (thank you Mad A for that great idea).

Trestle Road is a nice trail running along a ridgeline. After a couple of miles, there's a sharp right turn and a short, steep climb to a gravel road. The branches here were covered in rime ice and looking very pretty indeed. Again, I flagged the crap out of this intersection to help me on the way back.

Sourwood Gap was right around the corner, and I ran to the left here to access Mitchell Toll Road, which I'd take all the way to the Blue Ridge Parkway.

I took in the sights at a leisurely pace and made sure to explore every little spur trail. I'm glad I did, as I discovered this rock outcropping that gave this beautiful panoramic view:

Nice view from a little rock outcropping off Old Mitchell Toll Road

The first sign that the recent weather had impacted the trails came a little further up the Toll Road. It's bad enough to run this rocky trail in the best of conditions, but there was water everywhere! The Toll Road was literally a river in many places.

Old Mitchell Toll Road/ River

Finally, the Toll Road drops you on to the BRP at Black Mountain Gap. For some reason, I started getting really excited about the run at this point. From here on out, I was in uncharted territory, and suddently summiting Mt. Mitchell seemed a whole lot more real. Maybe I was just happy to be off that rocky, river of a toll road.

First surprise of the day: The gallon of water I had stashed in the bushes just right of the sign was gone! That really surprised me, but I figured Deep Gap was not too far away, and considering all the water on the trail, I'd be fine. Off to Mt. Mitchell State Park I went, with a left turn on to Hwy. 128, and then I kept my eyes open for the Buncombe Horse Trail.

Entrance to Mt. Mitchell State Park

Highway 128 is the road to the summit of Mitchell. Had I known what I was in for with the Buncombe Horse Trail, I would've taken this road all the way up!

Maybe a mile up Hwy 128, I picked up the Buncombe Horse Trail. There was snow on the trail, but the real problem was the water. It soon became clear that this stretch was going to be slow going and miserable. The trail was a choice of ice or swamp. When you could run on hard packed snow, things were fine, but the terrain constantly changed and trying to decide where to step soon began to wear me out. (On the way back, I didn't even bother. I ran right down the middle and just did not care).

Entrance to the Buncombe Horse Trail

The trail was a mess!

Running on the far sides of the trail would sometimes yield good results

But just as often, your foot would completely sink out of sight

After about 5 miles, I began to look for the Commissary Trail, which would take me to the Mitchell Trail. All I could think of was how happy I would be to get out of this bog!

Then I found the Commissarry Trail and here's what it looked like:

The Commissary Trail was completely frozen over

At least I wasn't on this trail for long before I came up to the Mitchell Trail. Surprisingly, there was no snow on the trailhead. From the sign, I could tell this would be quite a hike up to the summit. I had about 16 oz. of water left, and so I started up, anxious to summit Mt. Mitchell.

About 500 feet later, here is what the trail looked like:

All the water that had run down froze over

I just found a new way to hate trail stairs.

I was already concerned with the time, and was doubting my ability to continue on after Mt. Mitchell. I had agreed to meet my boss for a birthday beer after the run, and I wasn't yet ready to give up on that.

It seemed like it took forever to maneuver around all the ice and reach the summit. I was out of water, worn out, and ready to head back. From what I had heard about Deep Gap, there was no way I was risking it with all this ice.

I was so happy when I started seeing the signs I was near the summit!

It's surreal to come upon this sign in the middle of the wilderness

Mt. Mitchell visitor center via trail

I took this picture on the way to the picnic area- no view whatsoever.

Second and third surprise of the day: I reached the picnic area, and took shelter in the little building there. I was ready to get my water, have some lunch, and call Charles. At this point, I was harboring some lingering thoughts about heading out Deep Gap even though it was getting late in the day.

I called Charles, only to find thathe had gone home sick and was completely out of it. It was a frustrating call as I kept losing reception and so we finally just said good-bye.

I went to retrieve my gallon of water, and found it was completely frozen! Then, I searched my pack for some food, and found I had just one Mojo bar left. I had failed to finish packing food the night before, thinking I was going to do that in the morning. Instead, I completely forgot, and ran out of the house with my food-short pack. Ugh! Stupid mistake.

Site of realization I had no food or water and 20 miles to get back to my car.

So close, yet so far away. Good-bye Mt. Craig and friends.

I decided I better just head back, and I hoped for the best. I found plenty of water on the trail and purified it with iodine. However, the lack of food finally got to me. The last few miles were a death march. Not even a death march, more like a death (slow, slow) walk. To make matters worse, almost all of my flaggings had been removed.

My boss started texting me and I told him I was OK, not to worry, that things were just taking longer than I thought. he surprised me by showing up at my car in Montreat and texting me. I sent him directions to pick me up at Lookout Trace, thereby ending this birthday run. To round out the experience, we went to a beer pub in Black Mountain where Ihad 2 Ranger IPA's and called it a day.

I was almost feeling disappointed in the day, but when I arrived home, I saw that my NB wear test shoes had arrived, and, being the shoe whore that I am, life was good again.

Armed with new shoes and a plan for a seriously kick-ass "BARC" next year, I set this run behind me, never to look back.

* Over the weekend, Adam Hill (Mad A) was kind enough to e-mail me some additional information I was missing about the route I had chosen. I was working off of Mike Mason's (Cheetah) general directions for this course, and had I not had Adam's additional notes I would have gotten lost for sure. Thanks, Adam!

Birthday Run Preview

2011-03-02T13:16:00.025-05:00

44 miles to celebrate 44 years. Just like the movie, this begs to be a triumphant true story.

If you saw "127 Hours"...this is my note.

On Monday March 7 I plan to run from Montreat College in Black Mountain to the summit of Mt. Mitchell, the highest place in the Eastern U.S. at 6,684 ft. Then I'll summit the next four highest peaks along the 4.5-mile crestline trail in the Black Mountains between Mt. Mitchell and Deep Gap.

Mt. Mitchell got its name from Dr. Elisha Mitchell, a science professor who first calculated its height in the mid-1800s. Mitchell fell to his death from the peak in 1857 while verifying it as the highest in the range. He's now buried at the summit. I'm just sayin'. This could be dangerous.

Between Mount Mitchell and Deep Gap, there's about five miles of rugged trail that will take you to Mount Craig -- the second highest peak in the eastern U.S. -- and across Big Tom, Balsam Cone, and Cattail Peak, three of the other mile-plus summits. On a clear day, experts say the panoramic view stretches 85 miles.

At the time I'm writing this, the route looks like this:

~~Cheetah's Stolen~~Birthday Run in 10 Easy Steps

Start – Rainbow Road Trailhead in Montreat
To Trestle Road trail to Sourwood Gap
Pick up the Old Mitchell Toll Road, run to the Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP)
Left on the BRP
Right on Rt 128
Right on the Buncombe Horse Trail
Left on the Mitchell Trail (run to the summit of Mt. Mitchell, 6,684 ft)
From the summit, run across the parking lot to the Deep Gap Trailhead
Follow the Deep Gap Trail across the following summits:
Mt. Craig (6,648 ft)
Big Tom (6,581 ft)
Balsam Cone (6,596 ft)
Cattail Peak (6,581 ft)
Turn around and retrace run back to Montreat

Given that some of these climbs are so steep they are permanently roped to provide a needed handhold, I'm expecting to arrive back at Montreat in the dark. After discussing this fact with my friend Dave Pryor, he suggested I ~~stay home~~ avoid the Rainbow Trailhead route on my way back, considering how easy it is to get lost on these trails at night. Good thinking, Dave! Thank you. (Maybe now I won't be out there for 127 hours!)

I've asked my friend Adam Hill, who knows these trails better than anyone I know, to provide a little guidance in adjusting the route in my favor, so I can avoid getting lost...if at all possible.

Stay tuned...

FHT WINTERFEST 2011: 77-Mile Foothills Trail Attempt

2011-02-18T10:16:00.008-05:00

It Ain't An Adventure Unless There's A Chance of DYING!

There are certain elements that combine to turn an otherwise typical run into an actual story. Danger, adventure, tragedy, love. Exuberant joy and connection. This most recent attempt at the Foothills Trail comprised just such a story.

We all knew going in to this run that we did not have optimal weather or trail conditions. Yet there we were, big grins on our faces, eager to run for the sheer hell of it- ready for the challenge of crossing streams, scrambling over rocks and climbing up and down thousands upon thousands of stairs, all of which is par for the course when it comes to the Foothills Trail. I think Scott called it, "Getting our stupid on."

The following quote, more than any other I could find, sums up this most recent attempt to finish the Foothills Trail.

“To break the moulds, to be heedless of the seductions of security, is an impossible struggle, but one of the few that count. To be free is to learn, to test yourself constantly, to gamble. It is not safe.”

-Tracks, Robyn Davidson

For the month leading up to this run, no one was even certain it would happen. The weather looked ominous right up through the week of the run, and most of us decided to only run if the temps remained above 20 degrees and the weather did not call for icy rain. As luck would have it, we got our wish. So, on the afternoon of February 4, we all set out to meet at our cabin at Oconee State Park where the run would end.

Foothills Trail google earth map. Just one week prior to the run, there is still plenty of snow at Table Rock and Sassafrass Mountain

FHT WINTERFEST 2011: The Plan

So the plan was to gather our things at the cabin at Oconee, get our drop bags ready, then drop aid at each of the sections along the way up to Table Rock State Park where we would start the run. Byron, Abi, Charles, myself, and Greta and Scott all planned to start at 6:00PM Friday night. Chad Henderson, Lester Farmer and Anne Lundblad (who planned to run only tto WWF) were going to start early the next morning.

On Friday afternoon, Leopold and I arrived at the cabin at around 2:00 PM. Soon, Greta and Scott arrived followed by Chad and then Byron and Abi. It was a literal mess of running gear and food as we all gathered our stuff in drop bags.

As I watched everybody, it occurred to me that running any distance over 50 miles suddenly seems to require a huge increase in the amount of stuff you need.

Charles is a blur of motion as he gets his drop bags ready

Hardly room for Scott and Greta with all this running gear!

It was after 5:00 as we headed out to make the aid drops. We had planned on a 6:00 PM start, so that was obviously off the table, but with so many people to coordinate, you just have to do the best you can.

As is with a lot of things, sometimes it's the small memories that make a trip. As we headedup to our first stop, we passed the lookout as we headed to the Whitewater Falls parking lot and got a fantastic cloud-covered mountain view that was jsut breathtaking.

Charles, Greta, Scott and Leopold are "wowed" by the stunning view

Overlook on the way to Whitewater Falls

We dropped our aid along the way to Table Rock State Park and after arriving in the dark and a little car sick from the windy Rocky Bottom road, we were finally at Lester's cabin where we had a nice visit with Lester, his friend Chris, and Anne ("Dixie Cat") and Mark Lundblad. It was a pleasure to meet the Lundblads for the first time (officially).

Mark, Abi, Chris, Charles, Leopold, and Lester (the Breeze) all enjoying Base Camp 1.

As we chatted, we had a bite to eat, and tried to organize Leopold's crewing efforts with Lester, Chris, Jon Harrison and Rob Rives (who would be arriving early the next morning). It was awesome to have Leopold on this trip and I'm really grateful for everyone who looked out for him. And I suspect Leopold had a better time than he's even let on (wink).

Moment of Truth
Instead of a 6:00 PM start, we ended up starting at 8:48 PM. As usual, we drove over to the start of the trail, took a few pics, and off we went, up Pinnacle Mountain into the cold, dark, rainy night. Abi and Byron took off as they were running a faster pace, and the four of us never saw them again until the finish.

Smiley happy people who have no idea what's gonna happen in 5 miles.

For those of you who have been on this journey before, you know the first section of the trail is about 14 miles long and takes us from Table Rock State Park To Laurel Valley parking area on Hwy 178. The four of us were braving the elements and finding we were all overheating from the ponchos (or as Leopold called them, "Ponkos").

Trying to figure out how to take good pictures in the rain

Somewhere near the Pinnacle viewpoint, about 5 miles in, we came upon a large expanse of flat granite with water running over it. As Charles was in the lead, he took the first tentative step across, but was abruptly swept off of his feet. It happened so fast- and he landed directly on his wrist.

Charles crawled across the water to the other side, but we all knew he had fallen with all his weight directly on his wrist, and by the way he was holding it, it was almost certainly broken.

When it happened, I had to fight the urge to go out there to help him, otherwise there would be two people that needed help. I tested the ground to try to walk across and was amazed at how slick it was. I would fall, too, if I tried to cross. Before starting over, I threw my amphipod across the water to the other side, so it wouldn't be a distraction. It took flight and the hand strap caught in a branch of a tree far above our heads. Really? I couldn't re-create that throw if you gave me a million tries!

I got on hands and knees and tried to cross, and was shocked to see that the water was pulling my knees down stream because the material on my pants was fairly slick. Luckily, my gloves held and I made it on all fours across the water, with Greta and Scott behind me. As Scott used his Trekking Stick to unlodge my water bottle from the tree, we all checked out Charles' wrist.

Love how we're not shy of photographing each other's gnarly injuries:)

Not looking good- it's definitely broken

We were about 5 miles in, so the decision quickly became do we go back 5 miles or forward 9 miles? Charles decided that traversing the rocky, technical climb back down would be more difficult than facing the easier route that led to the Laurel Valley Entrance. We had another 4 miles or so to the top of Sassadrass Mountain, then the nice downhill section to Laurel Valley.

At the top of Sassafrass Mountain

As we made our way down to Hwy 178, I noticed that it took us about five hours and 15 minutes. This was only about 15 minutes slower than our usual pace for this section, which surprised me. I really expected to hear voices and see signs of life as we made our way I hoped that Lester or someone would be there to take care of Charles. Unfortunately, we arrived and there was no one there. It looked like Charles was not going to have a choice of dropping here.

We got to our drop bags, and this was where I encountered my first problem. I had expected to have aid here, and so I had only brought Cup 'O Noodles soup and instant coffe. But now we had no hot water, so I really didn't have enough food going in to this section. 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.

Laurel Valley Entrance to White Water Falls 34-mile Section

As the four of us headed into the Laurel Valley section, it was still raining, and Charles was expending a lot of energy just to make sure he didn't fall again. I think we were all in a kind of shock about what had happened.

After Laurel Falls the trail gets really difficult and takes you through a lot of steep climbs and descents. This section is called "Canebrake" and home of many bad memories for Charles and I. This is where Ken Sturm rescued Charles from in the July FHT attempt. I imagine this stretch of trail was a difficult trek for him.

Maybe we were looking at yet ANOTHER set of freaking steps

Charles is running pretty good for a dude with a broken wrist

Slippery, wet steps from Hell. Again.

You're My Hero

Finally, we all made it to White Water Falls at around 5:00PM. One of the highlights of the run was getting near White Water Falls and hearing Jon and Rob call out to us. Crew members have no idea (unless they've been on the other side of things) how good it makes you feel to know someone is waiting for you. I It was just awesome knowing Leopold was up there, too.

Rob and Jon were excellent crew members. They fed us, helped us with everything and even ran with us. Thank you both!!!

I was certain Charles was going to stop here, as Greta and Scott were. Yet, somehow I was not entirely surprised when Charles said he was going on and we'd just take it section by section. I think he'd figured he'd made it that far, why not keep going?

As we headed out of WWF, I realized that my food was not settling well and my stomach was producing a lot of acid. Towards the top of the mountain, I went ahead and made myself get sick, having learned from previous experience not to wait until it's really bad. I did feel better afterwards, but I also felt really light headed and like I couldn't take anything in to my system without risking getting sick again. It was a terrible feeling that I just prayed corrected itself.

Rob was rolling easily along with Charles and they seemed to be having a good time while I slowly died a miserable death on the trail. By the time we pulled in to Sloan Bridge, I was dizzy and nauseaus and felt like I desperately needed food. I actually remember laying down on the pavement and just staring up at the stars praying the nausea would pass.

Jon Harrison came to the rescue with soup and bread, and as I sat there trying to eat, I saw Marmot Traihead pull in to check on us. I was so happy to see him, but also completely out of it at the same time. I was really worried that I wouldn't come around in time, and I was aware that the longer we stayed there, the less chance we had of getting back on the Trail.

I think I knew I was done, I was just hoping against hope I still had a shot of feeling good enough to get back out there. Finally, I said OK, enough. I was done.

Sorry, Scott!

I got a ride back to Oconee State Park with Scott and Greta. However, as soon as we started driving I began to feel carsick. Greta must've seen this coming, because as soon as I
started to say something, she pointed to the Hefty Bag on the floor. I pretty much puked all the way back to the cabin. I was just too sick to even care...until I thought about it later.

When we got back to the cabin and I went in the bathroom and looked in the mirror, I had to laugh when I saw how bad I looked and how I had puke in my hair. It was a definite "mug shot" for sure. Ultra Runner OR... Binge Drinking Weekend In Tijuana? Hahaha!

And Then There Were 2 Finishers!!

At Whitewater Falls, we had heard that Byron was on fire and had come through hours earlier, looking really good. We assumed that he had finished and left already. So, after hanging out for a while at the cabin, we were all surprised to see him come in the door! He said he had faded badly at the end, but had just finished. His time - 24:44.

We were all so happy for him, but disappointed that we weren't there at the sign for him.

I gave him his BMF wallet, and we talked for a short while. Congratulations, Byron!! Finish #3, done!

At this point, Chad was the only one still on the Trail. Charles and I decided to get a few hours of sleep and wake up at 5:00am to go out to the FHT sign to wait for him. We figured he would finish around 6:00 AM based on his starting time.

5:00AM came really early, and as we were leaving the cabin, who strolls up the driveway but Chad!! It was so weird- he looked so good. His finish time: 23:44!! Awesome time and he looked great!

Chad Henderson- looking too good to have just finished a 77-Mile run

This was yet another incredible adventure on the Foothills Trail, made better by all the friends who joined in. For me, the Foothills Trail lives as more than just a line on a map. It has become a thread that reaches back through time, connecting places, times and people from my past to those in my present.

The Laurel Valley "Outkasts": Jason Sullivan, Dave Wood, Sherrie Marie Carr, Byron Backer, Lester Farmer, myself, Terry Hayes, Charles Raffensperger

Chattooga Night Run: Charles raffensperger, Sam Weigand, Dave Pryor, Jason Sullivan, myself, Chad Henderson, Dan Hartley

JULY 2010 FIRST ATTEMPT: Dan Hartley, Chad henderson, Jim Cobb, Charles Raffensperger, myself, Jason Sullivan

SEPTEMBER 2010 SECOND ATTEMPT: Jason Sullivan, Denise Davis, myself, Charles Raffesnperger, Scott Hodukavich

NOVEMBER 2010 ATTEMPT: Marmot Trailhead, Richard Lilly, Byron Backer

FEBRUARY 2011 THIRD ATTEMPT: Byron Backer, Abi Meadows, Greta Dobe, myself, Charles Raffensperger

I'm not done with this trail by a long shot.

P.S. For all documented attempts made on the FHT, including DNF's, please visit Big Easy's website. There, you will see all things FHT. Enjoy!

Foothills Trail Winterfest 2011 - Preview

2011-01-26T09:25:00.014-05:00

My fascination with, attraction to, and love for the Foothills Trail is in full bloom as I prepare for the upcoming winter attempt - a run that may or may not happen. This one all hinges on weather. The last weather forecast has a low pressure sytem moving in bringing high winds and sub-20 temps.

As long as the predicted temps are above 20 degrees, I'll make the attempt.

Very cool weather graph provided by Clark Lind, SMSgt 14WS/CCM

At the time this image was taken (5 days ago or so) there was still plenty of snow coverage at Table Rock and Sassafrass Mountain. That probably worries me the most as I envision an icy climb up Pinnacle and Sassafrass Mountain.

FHT looks especially bad-ass from space

So far, training runs in the snow on nearby trails and on other parts of the FHT show that footing will be tough and especially slow if there is snow. This attempt may just end up being an especially long training run that sets up a more successful Spring attempt.

Or it may end in disaster.

Or be my best run yet.

No matter what happens...it's bound to be a wild ride.

RACE REPORT: Harbison 50K Trail Race

2011-01-15T10:11:00.011-05:00

The first Ultra of the New Year has come and gone....and I'm still dragging my ass to write the race report. Apparently, I'm in a bit of a blogging slump. I'm really sorry about the delay in quality race reporting material, I'm just going through a lot right now ~~and sometimes I'm going to drink six miniature bottles of rum and then draw horses. That's just the way the world works.~~

Three days later...
UPDATE: So I decided to draw a graph to better represent the psycholgical predicament I'm in. This is it:

No, that's not exactly right. I completely fail to illustrate my point, but burritos are pretty awesome. But then you get a fighter jet and the burrito isn't so awesome anymore because burritos can't fly in the air and kill things from a great distance. So using a burrito in my graph wasn't really the best choice after all.

Here, this is better:

One day later...
UPDATE: It is now morning and I feel like maybe I accomplished the opposite of what I was trying to accomplish because now I feel even more pressure to write this post to make up for this monstrosity. Anyway, I won't delete this rambling testament to my psychological shortcomings, but I think in the future I should probably ~~either drink more, go to bed or eat something really awesome~~ keep all of this in my head. Please still respect me after this, okay?

One day later...
OK, I was just messing with you. Here's the race report you came here to read:

The Harbison 50K on January 8 was a great gathering of friends come together to run on a new, challenging course. My friend Dan Hartley was the RD for this one and for as long as I live, I doubt I'll see a better marked course. Not even I could get lost.*

Just a week back to running after a 13-day layoff, my thinking going into the race was just to put in the miles and enjoy the trail. That plan made total sense until we started running and I began to think that maybe I would run it hard. Yeah, I could run it hard, that would be okay.

We got to the race early Saturday morning and before we knew it we were at the starting line and off we went. It was a nearly perfect day for running and right away I started to toy with the idea of running this thing hard. That lasted for exactly 13 miles. My mind was willing but my body was not and as I chugged along the trails I began to question who had poured cement into my legs. Man my feet and legs were so heavy, unbelievable really. I decided I would acccept this and just enjoy the run.

This race lasted long beyond its entertainment value, kind of like this post. I've put more effort in to rehabilitating injury and tendonitis lately than into my running and it showed. I just wanted it to be over.

This course is deceivingly challenging and the 50k is made up by running 2 loops of about 16 miles each. Towards the end of the first loop, my left calf cramped really hard, and it was pretty much hobble-jog-hobble back to the starting point. By the time I made it to the end of the first loop my calf was &*$#ed. I was forced to sit and deal with it at this point. I lost about 8 minutes or so as I worked out the cramp. Then it was off again.

The second loop was just a grind. There's not really much more to say, other than we did enjoy the company of Lynne and Steve somewhere around the marathon distance. Talking to them was a nice distraction and made the time go by so much faster. We ended up coming in a little over 8 hrs, and feeling very satisfied to have the first Ultra of the year under our belts. Dan did a fantastic job at organizing this race, and it's a must-do next year. Unless, of course he implements his ill-timed ideas about making the course much harder (what is wrong with you, anyway, Dan?).

Now, back to training....

Full results can be found here: http://ultrasignup.com/results_event.aspx?did=10280

* My camera did not fare as well. I set it down next to the trail somewhere near mile 11 on the first loop, thinking I would pick up on loop #2. Of course, by then I was chatting away with Lynne and Steve and Charles and ran right past it. Amazingly enough, though, we came back the next day and as if by magic...I found it.

RACE REPORT: Lookout Mountain 50 Mile Trail Race

2010-12-27T11:20:00.005-05:00

Wherein I fall in love with Chattanooga, TN (and Lookout Mountain in particular) and experience one mutha of an HTFU run.

The Lookout Mountain 50 Mile Trail Race came and went, leaving in its wake one sore, beat down runner who is better off for having had the experience.

The race. Originating from the Lookout 100K, this 50 miler is run on the easily accessible, yet remote trails of Lookout Mountain and features such classic sites such as Cravens House, Scoca Springs, Lula Lake, the Covenant College cross country course, and the historical Civil War Lookout.

The Course: The run starts at the top of Lookout Mountain at Covenant College. Runners are sent along two exposed bluff lines for approximately 6 miles with fantastic views (some in the park and some in the land trust). On one section of trail, it's possible to see 5 states on a clear day. The trail continues along Lookout Creek and later Rock Creek. The terrain is technical and very steep in some parts, yet very runnable in other parts. The views are expansive and very rewarding. At one point, the climb is so steep you find yourself hoisting yourself up the side of the mountain with a rope that has been provided. It's a difficult course.

Covenant College (seriously, who gets to go to school here?)

Here's how it all unfolded: Just one week post-Bartram 100, I met up with Charles in Chattanooga at the mandatory pre-race meeting and packet pick-up. (The race packet goodies were excellent: Patagonia tech tee and North Face arm warmers). Our plan for this race was to simply view this course and get some miles on tired legs. Honestly, I was not sure I would be able to run at all, as I was still feeling the effects of Bartram's parting twin gifts of achilles and peroneal tendon pain. I decided to wait until the morning of the race to decide what to do. I also took several ibuprofen, which I had failed to take all week, hoping my body would handle the inflammation on its own.

Funny story. Very early race morning, I awoke with dry, irritated, red eyes. I went in to the bathroom to take my contacts out, only to realize I'd forgotten to bring my contact carrier. Half asleep, I placed my contacts in a plastic cup with a little water in it. A few hours later, I found myself laughing as I looked in to an empty cup! My first thought was that Charles had "drank" my contacts, but it turned out he had glanced at the water, intending to take a drink, but not knowing how long the water had been sitting there, he had dumped it down the sink. (Yes- we tried to fish the contacts out of the drain catch. No go).

Pre Race. As we headed out to Covenant College for the 7:30 start, I noticed the ibuprofen seemed to be doing its work and my ankle was feeling a lot better. I thought if I nursed it along nice and easy, I would be able to at least cover the distance and see this beautiful course. Against all better judgement, I was willing to give it a try.

Psyche's ready to ~~edit some contracts~~ run this mutha.

In white, father and son team, Bob Sr. and Bob Jr. (who we would later mistake as sweeps)

And, they're off. For the first 6 or 7 miles we folowed this amazing bluff with an incredible view of Chattanooga down below and large rock formations jutting upwards about 80 feet above us. We cruised along with everyone for awhile, making small talk, and joking around. I had tagged the guy I was talking to as "Clemson" because he went to school there, but luckily he told me his name was Carl before leaving me in the dust. I also chatted with a lady named Joy as we cruised down the bluff, going below the Lookout Mountain tourist overlook and then making our way down to a gravel service road as we neared the first aid station. This was Joy's first attempt at he 50 mile distance.

Thanks to the runner who offered to take this pic

I was feeling OK at this point, but all the signs of that soon changing were there. Every slanted bit of trail was a strain on the tendon of my outside ankle. I was favoring one side, which compounded the whole situation. I would soon have an assortment of other aches and pains that had to be dealth with. Taking off from the first aid station, Joy was in and out of our sights as we continued to travel down until we ran along a creek for a distance. Eventually we eventually hit aid station #2 around mile 15. My new AS friend, the banana man, gave me encouragement and we both remarked at how someone really ought to bring a foam roller to these events.

Elevation chart courtesy of Javi

As we left AS #2, we began to climb straight up, cutting through a power line section and then through more of the woods, eventually hitting a series of switch backs. Up and up we went, with the ridge line getting closer and closer. Climbing actually lessened the pain of some things, but worsened the groin and quad pain. By this time, I was most definitely struggling, and limping as well. The achilles and peroneal tendon pain had found some new friends named IT band pain and hip flexor pain. Now it was a party. At this point, I just had my sights set on finishing. As we came out of the tree line, we came into a clearing, crossed the road, and found ourselves back at the start/finish area.

After getting some soup, stretching, and begging the trail gods for mercy, we left the start/finish area and headed down the trail on the southside of Lookout Mountain. This trail would wind down towards a creek, come out into a muddy powerline section and then go back into the woods for a long, descent to the Lula Lake aid station at mile 28.

Another funny story. We were aware that the race was enforcing cut off times, and since we had slowed down tremendously we were on the lookout for the sweepers. We had mistakenly identified a father and son team from Florida as "sweeps" because they had on white shirts and one of the shirts said, "Volunteer" on the back. They followed us for a few miles, invoking paranoia, before it dawned on us that they were just racers. My first tip off was hearing Bob Sr. say 1) he had run out of water and 2) that they had not prepared well for the hills.

The next six miles was a virtual rollercoaster with several changes in terrain. The trail followed a creek for a while, then a woodsy, rolling section, then along what look like some kind of bird sanctuary area that spit you out at Lula Falls. We stopped here to take in the fantastic view of the gorge. Lula Falls is beautiful and even with the icicles on the edges of the falls, the water was rushing down into the gorge below.

Beatiful Lula Falls

Base of Lula Falls

Shadow people, get ready to climb!

Leaving the falls behind, we soon came to a short but very steep section that some one had laid out ropes for us to use. Getting up this hill was nothing short of tortuous pain on my ankle. I'm still waiting for that protective mechanism of the mind to kick in, you know, the one that makes the most painful memories fade away.

Just past the climb, we came out on to a ridge with great views. We followed this ridgeline for a couple of miles until we then had to descend again. This brought us down by a creek and the trail wound its way along it. I believe this is where :

1) I thought the trail would simply never end

2) I ran out of curse words to describe the wicked slant of this trail

2) We picked up the "true" sweeper, a sweetheart, named Leigh

Soon, we started to see the front runners* heading back our way. We saw the leader, Troy Shelhamer, who looked really good and fresh. It wasn't hard to guess that he would hold onto to his lead. We exchanged words of encouragement and it would be a while before we saw the second place runner. After a bit, we saw someone we recognized - Byron Backer! He stopped and said hello, and he was looking very strong- we were very happy for him.

Not soon enough, we finally came to the aid station at mile 34.5. Even though I was hurting beyond belief at this point, I was still disappointed to hear we had missed the cut off by more than 10 minutes and we were being pulled.

Looking back, Lookout Mountain was a great experience even though we didn't make it past the 34.5 cut off . The experience reminds me that learning to race badly is just as important as learning to race well. (The road to great races and PR's being paved with all those crappy runs, and all that). Besides, the car ride back itself was worth all the pain ---We answered the penultimate question: How many ultrarunners can you stuff into a subcompact at one time?

With 2010 coming to a close I want to take a moment to thank everyone who bothered to peruse any of my 92 blog entries during the past 52 weeks. I consider it a privilege to graze in your presence with such meager credentials, and I only hope that you found a paragraph (or two) useful or amusing.

Over time this blog has become quite the compost of all things trail running, complete with incriminating evidence and race reports that, when revisited, read more like a midlife crisis than anectdotal dispatch from the field. This year, I've I've had the supreme pleasure of being humbled and liberated by both trail and trail runner, all while deliberately putting myself in harm’s way on the insistence of my ego and for the pure lack of better judgment. No doubt, 2011 will see more of the same as I fully immerse myself in my midlife crisis. Rock on.

I wish everyone a safe and happy new years and thank you all for making my 2010 the best year ever. I am a very lucky girl.

* Congrats to Sarah Woerner for ripping it up wit an 8:51 new course record.

RACE REPORT: The Bartram Forest 100 Mile Trail Race

2010-12-15T10:13:00.007-05:00

The "Bartram 100s" is a 100 Mile and 100K race run simultaneously on some amazingly well-manicured trails in Milledgeville, GA. After dropping at mile 65 at Pinhoti last month, Charles and I were viewing this inaugural race as a "last chance" attempt at completing the 100-mile distance this year.

A little about the Bartram Forest course. Awesome RD Mike Howdell and Chris (last name?) set up a 5.56 mile loop that you had to run 18 times. The course was well marked and, compared to a lot of trail races, had minimal elevation (about 200-300 feet per loop).

There was a lot of variation in terrain, and you never felt like you were running in circles. However, there was a section or two that I knew I was going to really get a hate-on for when I encountered them on the first loop. One of these was a long hill at the beginning of mile 3. After you finally crested this beast, you had to run on this flat grassy stretch of flatland that had terrible footing. There were spiny ridges and pot holes with overgrown grass covering them everywhere you stepped. Did I mention it was flat and grassy with terrible footing?

Each loop started & finished at a pavilion where there was a fully stocked aid station. When I say fully stocked, I am not kidding. This was an AS to make Scott Hodukavich proud. It seemed the food choices changed each time I came through. During the morning there were donuts and pastries. At lunch, an assortment of sandwiches, and at night there were cheeseburgers, soups, cocoa, and coffee. At one point, I think they had pizza delivered. The volunteers were great and the AS had a really nice, family feeling.

Photo courtesy of Perry Sebastion

Pre-Race Break Down...Break Through

The week going in to this race was tough, and by Friday I was really looking forward to leaving my cares behind. However, as I hit the road Friday I was feeling the effects of not sleeping well on Thursday. Taking the 441 south was a little tricky, and I think I wasted some time taking the "business loop" here. By the time I arrived in Milledgeville to meet Charles, it was nearing dusk and I was feelingpretty stressed. Since we were losing the light, we headed over to the campground first to set the tents up for the next day. On the way there, we were treated to a very awesome sunset:

On the way to the Bartram Forest camp ground.

We were rewarded with beautiful sunsets Friday and Saturday

It was nearly dark as we pulled in to the camp ground to set up the tents and pick up our race packets. I was tired and hungry, and I just felt generally overwhelmed, which was quickly distressing me. I was resisting feeling any of these "negative" things because I really wanted to make the most out of the little time Charles and I get to spend together under the current circumstances.

I didn't have my headlamp handy, and setting up the tent started to completely overwhelm me. I actually had a little meltdown, and ended up just standing there crying and feeling enraged with myself for allowing things to get to that point. Charles lovingly comforted me, reminding me that it's OK to cry and that anything that could ever happen would be OK if we could handle it together from a place of love.

So, we finished up and went and got some food. Back at the room, I got some much-needed sleep for a couple of hours while Charles worked. This whole incident would not have even be worth mentioning if it weren't such a perfect foreshadowing of what was in store for me in the race.

The Race
Recounting this race will be somewhat difficult because so much can (and does) happen in a race in which one is lapped by the sun. I will tell you that it is somewhat intimidating putting on running clothes at 5 AM and knowing that those clothes won't come off for a day and a half.

At around 5:45 AM Charles and I headed down to the free breakfast buffet for a good prerace breakfast, which was in turn followed by a short ride over to the camp ground about 6:00 AM. Immediately upon pulling in, we were greeted by Beth McCurdy (who would go on to take 2nd female in the 100K), Jason Sullivan (Big Easy), and Thomas Armbruster. Thomas was our pacer at Pinhoti, and he was coming out to pace us once again. This time he would actually get to see some miles! I was looking forward to it.

We hung out with friends and made our final preparations as we waited for the 8:00AM start.

Big Easy is chillaxin' before the race

Would Thomas srill be smiling if he knew what was in store for him? I think he would be.

Chris gives the racers some final instructions.

The pavillion, pre-race.

I love this last-minute goofy pic Thomas took right before we were off and running

And we're off....

The First 4 Loops - 22 miles

The first loops were uneventful, and were basically about getting to know the course. We were running a pretty decent pace, which I knew would slow way down later. We completed the first loop in just under an hour, got a quick bite & got right back out on trail. By design, this course had an unattended AS about halfway through the loop- a little water & mini clif bar stop. Throughout the day, at about a 1/2 mile before the AS, we would see Thomas at the end of a downhill in a chair, cheering us on and offering all the runners encouragement.

Running towards Thomas who was parked in a chair at the bottom of the hill

I hadn't run in a week and a half, and my legs felt fresh in that sense. However, right off the bat I was having some pain in my right achilles and both hip flexors felt tight and over-worked. It dawned on me that both of these issues could be the result of the Seven Sisters run I did 10 days earlier. That trail's huge ascents and descents really wore me out.

Loops 5 & 6 - 33 miles

As fast as the achilles pain had started, it suddenly disappeared going in to loop #5. This kind of thing always amazes me. I was able to find somewhat of a groove here, and we were running strong, even though our loop times had slowed. I think it was about this time we heard that Big Easy (Jason sullivan) had dropped a little before 30 miles in because he was sick. We were both greatly saddened by this news.

Loops 7 thru 10 - 56 Miles

We passed the 50 mile point in a little over 11 hours. Our numbers were staying somewhat consistent, but we were a little off pace for our hopes of a sub-24 hour finish. At about the 50 mile point, it began to be very clear that Charles was getting stronger while I was steadily declining. At this point, I wasn't too worried about it because I knew things could still change a lot. We were still moving strong, but my achilles pain was back, and the hip flexor issue was steadily worsening. I was doing whatever little thing I could to get some relief when I could.

Loops 11 & 12 - 67 Miles

It was now a suffer fest with my hip flexor. All the muscles surrounding it were tightening up in an effort to immobilize it. The pain was changing my gait and really forcing me to slow down. I was still able to hold on to 4 mile per hour pace here, but it was just a matter of time before the wheels fell completely off. At this point, I began to feel bad because I knew Charles was feeling really good, and he would want to take off if he were able to. I was looking forward to Thomas joining us so Charles could get moving.

I think it was the last 1.5 miles of Loop #11 that Charles and I fell into a really good talk, and we chose to just walk the rest of the way in just so we could continue talking comfortably. This stretch of trail at night was one of the best memories of the race, and totally worth any time we lost.

Loop 13 - 72.3 Miles

Thomas went out with us beginning at Loop 13, and I was glad to see Charles take off. Later, I learned he ran that loop and Loop 17 in about 81 minutes. He was really feeling strong. Thomas and I motored along at a slightly faster pace than I was doing on the previous loop, and I was encouraged. It was great to have Thomas' company! He made the time fly as he entertained me with stories...I felt like our friendship was deepening as we covered the miles, even though I was not participating in the conversation all that much. We finished the loop in 93 minutes and I was looking forward to the next.

Loop 14 - 78 Miles

I felt much worse starting Loop 14, and halfway through loop the snow flurries started. We were coming up on Lane Vogel and his pacer and Lane yelled back that he would rather have snow than rain and we agreed. Not longer after that the "snow" switched to rain. It was light and not too bad to deal with except suddenly my body would just not cooperate with running anymore. All I could get from it was a power walk. My hip flexor was screaming, and any attempt to bring my right knee up was painful. I was slowed to a straight-legged walk. So, we power walked and it brought us down to 17 minute pace. As much pain as I was in, my spirits were still good and I still hoped this would pass. I even imagined it could still get completely better, like at Pinhoti when I suddenly started feeling good at mile 60.

All hell broke lose around mile 4 of that loop (mile 76). The rain turned freezing and began to pummel us. We were in an open section with nothing to break the 20 mph winds. I really needed to get out of that cold rain. Thomas took the lead and was such a hero here. He may not have known it, but he did the exact thing that worked for me. He just took charge and kept a continual diatribe of encouraging statements like, "you're doing great", "just pick it up a little through here", "we're almost there", etc. I just focused on following Thomas's foot steps and listening to his voice and staying completely in the moment. I knew I was dead if I had even one thought about how much further we had, or how much longer I could hold out. We pushed as fast as we could to cover the last mile and a half, one step at a time.

Finally we pulled into the AS and Thomas led me to the fire so I could warm up. I was shaking so hard I thought I would never stop. I just sat there with tears streaming down my face, my head down, trying to get warm. Thomas brought me my bag so I could get dry clothes and sent me to get changed.

Trying to change my clothes in the bathroom is a scene that will forever be etched into my brain. I went in to the big stall and dumped all my clothes on the ground. It was easy to get out of my wet shirt, but there was no way I could wrestle with a wet sports bra in my condition. As I reached for my dry shirt(s), I realized I was in a world of trouble. I couldn't bend down to get my clothes. I let out a scream as I tried to lower myself down on to the toilet in order to get to my clothes, and I was making all kinds of weird noises because my body was still shaking violently. The first shirt I tried to put on became all twisted when I tried to put my arms and head through. I had to start over, which made me begin to cry. I was completely out of my head, and this was becoming such an ordeal! I was seriously melting down. Finally, I was dressed, but I could not bend down to scoop up all the wet clothes. I simply could not take it any longer. I decided to yell for Thomas to come and help me. He was awesome, but I think just seeing him sent me over the edge somehow. I swear, we exchanged a look in that bathroom that said we both knew I was seconds away from completely losing my shit. About then, I also caught a glance of myself in the mirror. It was so strange, because I'm always surprised that when I feel so bad, I never actually look that bad. Tonight, I looked as bad as I felt. I had dark circles under red, wild eyes. The full embodiment of, "Drinking binge in Tijuana... or Ultra Runner?"

Almost an hour had passed since we had come in, and after much soup & fire, I started to come around. I told Thomas, "I'm feeling much better, I'm ready to go back out." But as we headed out I realized that I couldn't even walk. Every step I took made me wince in unbelievable pain. My hip flexor was just locked solidly up. It felt more like an injury than just normal pain, but I couldn't relaly be sure. I couldn't really be sure of anything, which seriously messed with my head. After talking it over we agreed to go back to camp and rest, see if we could work it out, and Thomas said we had a lot of time on our side.

Charles had finished another loop and ran into us on our way back. I told Charles I was thinking I had to drop, but even as I said it , it was so unreal. It seemed like I went from a state of absolute conviction of finishing to knowing I was going to quit in a matter of seconds. I didn't know how to evaluate whether I was truly injured or if it would change, and so I decided to drop. I know I could have pushed through the last 22 miles, but I didn't even know if I would make the cut off , and the bottom line was I didn't know if I was actually injured or not. Continuing on would have turned an injury into a serious injury with a huge layoff.

I told Thomas he should go run Charles in and I went back to the fire. I eventually went to the tent and slept some. I was awake when I saw Thomas coming running in ahead to make sure I was awake to see Charles finish. I heard about how Thomas had picked up Charles with about 30 minutes of daylight left with two loops to go. At 22 hours in to the race, out of nowhere, Charles started running, running like the devil himself was behind him with a cattle prod. Not just on the downhills, the uphills too! 88 miles in and he was trying to drop his pacer! They knocked out 9's for about 2 miles and then Charles finally slowed down. They ran when they could and hiked the hills. Lap 17 done in 81 minutes.

I heard the last lap was tough, but Charles pulled through like a champ. 26 hours and 17 minutes after it began, Charles crossed the finish line, completing a 100 mile trail race for the 1st time.

Finishing time: 26:17

Post Race Thoughts
Over the last couple of days, I've had a hard time trusting that I made the right decision to drop. I mean, it came at mile 78 where lots of people have told me that right around there is really nasty and you just have to push through. The thing is, I COULD have pushed through. I know that I could have, but I decided not to.

I later read Christian's report about Ashley, and I know that I gave up an experience similar to what Ashley went through. It would have been brutally bad to continue, and I would have suffered, but I believe I would have done it. I will always wonder what I would have faced out there...what my new limit would have become. What I would have learned. So on one level I feel disappointment because a part of me is always looking for the experience of the Abyss.

On another level, and I think this one is a little more "correct", this race seems to be a perfect reflection of my life right now. It's hard for me to let others see the more vulnerable part of myself- to let them in when I'm feeling something really emotionally difficult.

So, in terms of that, this race was huge. I spent a lot of miles in a lot of pain with my good friend Thomas. Then, he was witness to me very nearly completely losing my shit. And nothing horrible happened. He didn't say he didn't want to be my friend anymore. No look of horror. We had a good laugh about it, actually, which is just amazing!!! That dude saw me just.completely. freak.out!!

THEN, right after that is when I decided to drop. Just as I realized I was going to drop, and it was REAL to me it was over, I started to go into this mode of not allowing myself to feel the disappointment. I was about to intellectualize it and deal with it that way, when suddenly Charles was right there, just finishing his loop. He hugged me as we talked, and in that moment I really felt the full depth of my disappointment and was able to share it with him. And it was OK.

So...yeah, I could have gone on. But now I can see how it's totally perfect that I didn't. My experience was perfect. I've been to the Abyss before and I'll be there again when the time is right.

I feel like the universe brought me the perfect situation in which to grow. I learned that I only hold my own growth at bay if I'm unwilling to fully experience and share whatever comes into my life. The easy way out is to just analyze it with your mind and not filter it through your heart. As my good friend Big Easy says, "Let's just keep trying to be honest with ourselves and I think everything else will work out one way or another."

CREW REPORT: Pine Mtn. 40-Mile Race

2010-12-10T11:03:00.004-05:00

The annual Pine Mountain 40-Miler is put on by GUTS. This year's race was held on December 5, where I was lucky enough to experience this much-beloved race from the perspective of "crew mate".

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

FDR visited the overlook below no less than 41 times.

The Pine Mountain Trail begins in FDR Park and extends 23 miles mostly along a ridge. The trail boasts 29,000 feet in elevation change and is known for its diverse terrain, crossing creeks, and climbs up and over ridge tops and traversing past oak, hickory, pine and maple trees. Many sections of the trail are also known for the degree of technical difficulty. The trail is littered with protruding rocks made even more difficult in the fall by the leaves covering the trail.

That sounds beautiful doesn't it? Much better than how Jason Rogers describes it (although I bet every runner on Sunday is taking sides with Jason).

"How can I describe the Pine Mountain trail? Rocks. Lots of rocks hidden by leaves. Lots of rocks that presented a constant danger of trips, bloody falls, hidden "toe catchers" to trip me up, countless small boulders for me to bang my toes on. A few creek crossings that I managed to complete without getting my trail shoes wet."

Photos courtesy of Jason Rogers

After spending the night in Pine Mountain, we headed out early the next day to the Pine Mountain group shelter, where we enjoyed hanging out with several friends. I just have to say that I'm always amazed at the level of camaraderie that exists among runners, but especially trail runners. It seems to be cemmented by a mutual love (and borderline obsession) for something non-runners deem crazy (you’ve heard the “you’re crazy” subtext in your non-runner friends’ comments before).

I feel like this camaraderie is strengthened in some situations (like when you’re running a race that might possibly kill you).

Camaraderie of the crazies - party of 3

As 7:00 approached, we all walked up to the road where the race would start. It was a chilly 28 degrees and barely dusk as we stood there listening to last minute instructions. Then, they were off.

RD extraordinnaire Srah Tynes says, "Sock Monkey not happy with headlamp placement."

How many of these people are going to get "Schicked" today??

The runners headed down a brief stretch of pavement before hitting single track trail.

Leopold and I had made a bunch of signs earlier in the week and I was anxious to get to the first sighting of the runners to get Charles' reaction. I headed over to Buzzard's Roost, which is not an Aid Station but a road crossing about 2 miles in.

Charles came through looking very strong here.

Later, he told me that the guys he was running with said, "Your OUR hero, Charles! How'd you get her to come out here and cheer for you?"

After Buzzard's Roost, I was off to Fox Den Cove, the first official Aid Station, at Mile 5.9. Charles came through in :56 minutes, which is about 9:30 pace. I was alittle worried he was too fast, but he looked very strong and comfortable at this point.

Charles is looking strong at Buzzard's Roost

Next stop: Mollyhugger Hill, which served as mile marker 10.8 and 31.54. This Aid Station was a lot of fun, but I was getting a taste of how cold this day was actually going to be.

Yeah, it was that cold.

My favorite sign

Charles continued to look strong and keep a fairly consistent pace. Whenever he dropped off it was because of a particularly difficult stretch.

As I spent the day wandering from Aid Statin to Aid Station, I enjoyed the sights quite a bit. Here are some of my favorite things from the race:

Favorite costumed volunteer dudes.

Favorite grilled cheese.

Favorite HTFU dude.

Favorite HTFU guys number- which should serve as the marketing photo for next year's race.

All in all, I had a fantastic adventure. I am so proud of Charles! Covering 40 miles in 9:16:02 (average pace of 13:54), he is the true defintion of an Ultrarunner. Recently, fellow trail runner and blogger Jon Harrison wrote something that pretty much sums up what I was thinking and feeling as I watched Charles charge in to the finish:

Being in nature, one is left with no choice but to marvel at creation. Be it vast flatlands, rugged mountain tops, or a simple stream snaking its way down a mountain, it is sure to inspire awe in even the hardest of hearts. Despite this, I truly believe that the finest of all God's creations lies in the mind of man. One can shatter a rock with the proper hammer, dam any river with enough concrete, burn any forest in conducive conditions, but the will of man is something far harder to shake.

Thank you Sarah Tyne for putting on such a great race, and a big thanks to Woody for the awesome post race meal! See you next year.

RACE REPORT: Pinhoti 100 Mile Endurance Run

2010-11-14T23:23:00.034-05:00

November 6 and 7 found Charles and I rocking one of our greatest adventures to date: The 3rd Annual Pinhoti 100 Mile Endurance Run.

A Little About The Race

This 100 miler is unusual in that it is the only "point-to-point” course I know of. The trail consists of 81 miles of single-track, mostly gnarly trails, 14 miles of dirt Jeep roads, and five miles of paved roads. It winds through the Talladega National Forest along the Pinhoti Trail, and sections named "Blue Hell" and "Pinnacle", Pinhoti is a ~~sonofabitch to run~~ true wilderness trail. With rocks and holes all covered by fallen leaves, tons of narrow, rooty, and cambered single track trail, and dozens of downed trees to boot, this trail in the dark is just plain rough.

The Pinhoti Trail actually begins in Georgia, where it connects to the Appalachian Trail, and runs all the way to Sylacauga, AL. According to the race website, the course had 16,180 feet of total ascent and 16,580 feet of descent. (The chart above is a little off. The Mt. Cheaha peak should be at Mile 41, not at Mile 36 as shown.)

100 Miles? Say WHAT?

So, how does it even happen that I ran my first Ultra in May and in November, just 6 months later, I'm lining up at a hundo?

a) Mid life crisis on crack

b) No one said I couldn't do it

c) I have "the gene"

d) Its not about running, it's about the experience

e) All of the above

You would be right if you picked any of these. A year ago this month I put "running an ultra marathon" on my list of things to accomplish in 2010. However, running an ultra may never have come to pass, if not for Georgia Snail. At the time, I was feverishly chasing the ever illusive BQ. If it didn't align with qualifying for Boston, I wasn't interested.

The Snail began blogging about an upcoming 50K race called SweetH20 50K that he'd signed up for. After he ran it, I read his race report, and had this to say:

"I feel like I've had my eyes opened as to what kind of pain is actually out there to be had. And I am excited, in a totally sick way:)."

As evidenced by my response, there must have always been a Bad-Ass Ultra Runner deep inside of me desperately tryingto get out (she was probably just lost). After reading Thomas' report, I just had to try an ultra race- and sooner rather than later. So, in search of a race I went, and after getting fellow blogger Jason Sullivan's two thumbs up, I chose the Enoree Passage 40 Mile as my first ultra. This is where I first met Terri Hayes, Jason, Sam, and Charles - and many others who have since become good friends.

Through many adventures with these fine folks, I've learned that ultra running is not so much about the running as the journey of self discovery that happens when you put yourself in a semi-comatose state of pure running and suffering. It forces you to shed yourself of all limits and focus on just simply taking the next step forward. Imagine entering this state at a time when your sense of the moment is more alive then ever, and you will begin to gain insight into what drives me to seek bigger and bigger challenges and longer and longer races....

So, from Thomas Armbruster (Georgia Snail), to Jason Sullivan, to Charles Raffensperger. Long story short (you wish!) that's (ultimately) how I came to find myself ~~fully embracing my inner midlife crisis~~ at the starting line of the Pinhoti 100 Mile Endurance Run. It was nothing short of perfection itself for Jason to also be running, and for Thomas and Holly to be crewing for Charles and I. Long live "Team Run Like Ya Stole Sumthin' From Georgia Snail"!!

Training Lead Up
The crash training of the previous six months has included 30-mile night runs, the Laurel valley Ultra, and two separate attempts (1 successful) at the entire 80-mile Foothills Trail. Always trying to sneak in just one more adventure, the weekend preceding Pinhoti found me running 50 miles of the Pitchell 100K , and Charles pulling off a 44-minute Pumpkin Butt 50K PR.

In other words, we both came into this race completely rested and worrying if we had put in enough miles. That's why I didn't give it a second thought when Charles rolled into town at 1:00 a.m. for a 2:40 wake up call. Certainly all that rest he'd been getting lately would offset any night-before-the-race sleeplessness.

Pre-Race Prep

It's hard to imagine how much preparation it takes to run 100 miles point to point. It seems like there's just so much to consider- we'd be running in the dark for the first 40 minutes or so, and would need a spare headlamp. Some Aid Stations had crew access, while others did not, so there was some thought put in to what we needed to carry ourselves vs. what we could give Thomas and Holly.

It seemed an insurmountable task to put together the various drop bags we'd need. I ended up spending a LOT of time on the drop bag issue, only to get it completely and utterly wrong.

You practically have to be an engineer to figure this stuff out, man

A virtual rainbow of drop bags

Don't ask!

I ended up being cold for most of the race because I put the warmer and warmer clothes in drop bags coinciding with darkness, not temperature, and the day really warmed up.

PreRace Carbo Dinner and Packet Pick Up

I arrived at the Sylacauga Rec Center at 5:30 to pick up our bib numbers, drop off our drop bags and enjoy the pre-race carbo dinner. I ran into Jason and Weezy first, and Jason and I noted how strange it was to see each other at an event that did not include th Foothills Trail.

I finally had the pleasure of meeting Christian Griffith in person. He was hanging out with Lane Vogel, who I learned has run this race each year. It was nice to be in such lofty company for sure.

Upon checking in I was told there had been a mix up in the race numbers, and both of our numbers had been changed. Not only that, but they did not have a race number for me (say WHAT???). I would need to wait until minutes before the start of the race to get my number.

Once I finished ~~having a heart attack~~ re-marking all of drop bags with our new numbers, I went tover and collected some very cool race schwag (see picture below- courtesy of Ultra Kraut). They gave out Pinhoti 100 socks, a tech shirt, a t-shirt, Moeben sleeves for every runner and even more giveaways after the dinner. I have to say, top notch stuff that by itself was worth every penny of the already low entry fee.

Great race schwag!

Big Easy and Little Weezy

Christian and Lane were rockin' the belt buckles

Richard and Martin (fellow blogger Ultra Kraut)

The Big Day

Buy the ticket, take the ride: With the race being a point to point format, a long bus ride to the start was in order unless you had made arrangements to move your car. Which we hadn't.

We were running a bit late for the 4:00 am bus departure time, so we decided to skip the hotel's checkout process at the front desk. It was only on the road to the Rec Center that I realized my mistake. I had planned on getting coffee and breakfast at the hotel, and now I had none.

Oh, well, with 18 aid stations along the way, surely there would be plenty of time time to eat.

The Start

Miles 0 - 7 Aid Station 1
It was cold at the start! I don’t know what the actual temperature was, but I was very glad I had brought an extra sweatshirt. Even so, I was still shivering as we waited for the start.

At about 6:05, we were off and running. With about 113 starters funneled into a narrow single track right off, it was single file walking for about a half mile for the runners in the back. It was a rocky and rooty section, so I didn't mind the walking. The trail remained narrow but everyone was able to find their own spacing by the 1st aid station.

Somewhere during this first 6 miles, lack of food (but especially coffee) caught up with me. By the time I reached the first aid station I was a mess. I was grumpy, cold, and very nearly in tears for feeling as bad as I did 6 miles into a 100 mile run. Not being able to get my gloves off of my hands sent me over the deep end. By the time Charles came over to help me, I was a woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

As is often the case in times of great distress, I find comfort in the wise words of Samuel L. Jackson. Today, I could practically hear him say, "You better chill that bitch out. Tell that bitch to be cool!" To Charles: "Say, bitch, be cool! Say, bitch, be cool!" Bettah get yo shit togetha, woman. 94 miles to go. After eating, I felt much better, apologized to Charles, and Samuel Jackson made his exit.

Miles 7 - 13 Aid Station 2

Whoever designed the Pinhoti Trail seemed to have a priority in mind: no trails along the top of any ridge! This was clearly evident thruout the entire course (of what I completed). All the trails went along the sides of hills with occasional sections along the bottom & only rare crossings of the top of any hill. That's my way of saying these miles were pretty uneventful and I don't really remember Aid Station #2.

Miles 13 - 18 Aid Station 3
After the 2nd aid station, we made our way past a section that was heavily damaged by a tornado. This was mostly uphill & everyone was able to witness the incredible destruction along side the road. It looked like a clear-cut logging operation, and it was pretty cool.

After several miles of this, we finally got back onto single track. The fallen trees were not limited to that one area though. There were countless trees across the trail from start to finish on this course that you either jumped, climbed, crawled under or went around. They were momentum killers for sure.

As we came in to AS #3, it was simply awesome to see Holly and Thomas waiting for us! I cannot tell you how much it helps to see a friendly face. Immediately, they went about setting the bar high for all future crews. I mean, look at the other crew guy looking at Holly as if to say, "Are you serious? Is my guy gonna expect that kind of service???"

Holly is desperately trying to dig the knots out of my caffeine craving shoulders!

Miles 18 - 23 Miles Aid Station 4

Surprise!! It's Len, James, Mark and Kirsten from GUTS! And they're manning an Aid Station! This totally rocked to come in to this Aid Station unexpectedly. One of the few GOOD surprises of the day, for sure.

I'm like a running ninja...with a pink cap. And a big white dude.

You guys ROCK!!!!

Miles 23 - 34.5 Aid Station 6
Other than the detour, the course had been a single track lover's delight up to this point. Unfortunately, I no longer considered myself a single track lover. In fact, by this pont, if I never saw a narrow, slanted, rocky section of single track again it would be too soon. It was really starting to wear on me, plus something was going on that was affecting our perceptions- it seemed like there was no way the distances people were telling us were what we actually ran. Sometimes it seemed much shorter, but mostly it seemed much, much longer between aid stations.

As we came up to Aid Station 6, and were greeted by Christian. I was surprised, but then after learning about the ordeal he'd been through, I was glad he was safe and sound..

Feeling like crap still, but trying to fake it 'til I make it.

Charles - looking so fresh you just want to slap him.

Christian told us what to expect on our way to Mt. Cheaha, that we had 6 miles to the next Aid Station, and sent us on our way. I was still not feeling great but Charles was doing fantastic. He had been pulling me along the whole time, and was really, really strong through this section.

Miles 34.5 - 41 Aid Station 7 Bald Rock
This was mostly an uphill section that turned rocky coming up to the highest point in Alabama, Mt. Cheaha. As we neared the top, I started feeling really dizzy. At one point I was so light headed I was worried I was going to faint. Charles gave me a Roctane, which seemed to help and we carried on.

The best view on the mountain was at Bald Rock; it was crowded with visitors, and we stood with them for a while to enjoy the view -- it was GREAT! We thought we had to summit the mountain here then climb down to the Aid Station. That's why is was so freaking weird when we heard Thomas' voice shouting out, "There's my runners!!!"

Steep climb up to Bald Rock

The surprise 'fros were indeed motivational, Team Snail!!!

Crews put on a serious party at this rockin' Aid Station

Miles 41 - 52 Aid Station 9
After changing shirts and eating, Charles and I were off to Blue Hell and beyond. (This steep, rocky trail coming off Mt. Cheaha is run uphill in the Mt. Cheaha 50K). Blue Hell is a pretty crazy section. It's not even a trail, it’s just rock hopping and more than once you're going down 3 or more feet at time. If I understand it correctly, Blue Hell drops you around a 1000 feet in ½ a mile. I would say it was called "blue" as there were blue blazes painted on the rocks. It was steep, but not as tough as I expected -- but it would have been had it been dark or I had to climb up this hill.

Miles 52 to 55 Aid Station 10
From the aid station, it was slow going as the trail became pretty technical. The highly reflective tacks and tags on the flagging were excellent night-time markers. This may have been the section where we picked up Adam and a couple of other runners for a short time. By this point, the Aid Stations were blurring together somewhat, as was what was happening in between them.

As we approached AS #10, they had a rocking party happening. Everyone’s crew was there waiting, they had a huge PA system going blasting some Rock ‘n Roll, a good fire, and everyone was in good spirits. This was really the beginning of the hard night. We had some hot soup & other goodies & started off to the next aid station slowly.

Miles 55 to 60 Aid Station 11
I began to think Steve Jobs was the greatest person in the world for inventing the iPod through this section. I started calculating the amount of time I had left to get under 30 hours and figured I had to do 20 minute miles the last 45 miles. Charles was still fantastically strong and his strength pulled me through. I was feeling pretty bad about letting him down, and if he continued to look as good as he was now, I wanted him to continue on without me.

Miles 60 to 65 Aid Station 12

An interesting thing happened over the course of these 5 miles: I began to feel much, muchbetter and Charles began to feel much, much worse. we barely dragged ourselves into AS 12, and we were both thinking that after the next aid station or two, the trail really took off from any roads or civilization & if we decided to stop then, there were no provisions for the volunteers to get us out of there. This weighed heavily on our decision to stop- better safe than sorry, so we made the decision to stop at 65 miles.

Final Thoughts
First, I'd like to thank RD Todd Henderson for putting on such an excellent event and being the great host that he was.

A huge, huge THANX to Georgia Snail and the lovely Holly. You guys made this a fantastic experience and we're forever grateful to you for showing such selflessness and making us have so much fun. We're ready to return the favor- just say the word.

As I reflect back on this race, I'm disappointed with not finishing but happy that we took on the challenge, and happy to have learned so much on this first attempt. For us, the low point came at a very unfortunate time, given the weather and course. Given that we had (almost??) made the cutoff, in other circumstances we would have continued on, knowing that there are always going to be ups and downs in an ultra race so you just need to be strong through the downs until you come back around. If you keep stepping one foot in front of the other, you WILL reach the finish line.

I have to say that my favorite part of this race was returning to watch all the finishers after getting some sleep back at the hotel. Weezy was the face of Pinhoti this year, as he finished his first Hundred Miler. GO WEEZY!!!!

Dan B. and Weezy sharing a great moment

And a heart felt congratulations to all of us who ran Pinhoti this year, whether we finished or not.

RACE REPORT: Pitchel 100K & FAC 50K

2010-11-04T23:50:00.010-04:00

It was my absolute pleasure to participate in the 6th Annual Pitchell 100K this year. Birthed by the mind of Mad A (Adam Hill) in 2004, the Pitchell is an annual 67 mile pilgrimage from the summit of Mt. Pisgah to the summit of Mt. Mitchell usually run in October, and all on the Mountains to Sea Trail. It's a difficult and unusual run.

The Playahs

Adam Hill (Mad A)
Mike Mason (Cheetah)
Dave Pryor
Matt Kirk (Grand Kirk)
Carl Laniak
Mike Jackson
Brian Beduhn
Andrew Moore
Psyche Wimberly
Jeremy Hargroves
Sultan

In the past, this run has proven to be quite the challenge by the terrain laid forth in the mountains surrounding Asheville, NC, as well as the finicky weather in the month of October. This year, however, the weather was beautiful, allowing both Mad A and Cheetah (Mike Mason) super speedy finishes. Congratulations to Adam Hill for setting a new course record of 15:06 !!

The Plan

This run was unusual in that some people were running the 100K and some people were running the FAC 50K. Dave and I were running neither- we were starting at Pisgah and running to FAC or beyond. Adam, Sultan, Matt, Mike and some others were going for the full Pitchell. Others still were starting at 6:00 am at the FAC and running to Mt. Mitchell. What this meant to me was that the only person I ever saw was Dave. Luckily, I enjoy running with Dave.

Pre-Run Fun
Adam, Matt, Jeremy, Mike, Sultan, Jon, Dave and myself all gathered at Mad A's house Friday evening to prepare for the midnight start from the summit of Pisgah. It was great to catch up with everyone and just hang out and share some food and coffee. Thank you Lily, for the wonderful pizza- those 2 slices the next day at FAC saved me!

From Left: Jeremy, Jon, Lily, Matt, Adam

Adam's new roving mascot, Gator-Aid

Gator Nation

Mohammed Nation

Psyche Wimberly, Jon Harrison, Adam Hill, Lily and Matt Kirk, Mike Mason, Mohammed, Jeremy Hargroves, Dave Pryor and Uwharrie

We then gathered our things and headed up to the Mt. Pisgah parking lot to begin the 1.5 mile hike to the summit. We left the house around 11:00 to drop supplies off along several MST/BRP crossings as we carpooled to the Pisgah parking lot. Surprisingly, the clear night was warmer than expected on the summit (temps would dip below freezing in Asheville) and the views were outstanding.
The fact Mad A played FOTC's "Mutha Ucka" on th drive to Pisgah just makes me love him more

The Run
I'd been looking forward to a night run for a while, and with one week to Pinhoti, I figured this was as good a time as any to run 50-60 miles. I was feeling really happy that Dave called and asked me to join him. It was a beautiful night, much warmer than expected, with the quarter large orange moon rising on the eastern horizon.

At we neared the summit of Mt. Pisgah, I made a couple of calls and texts. We all synchronized our watches, took a group photo, howled at the moon, and set off. Immediately, the warmer temps were a problem, and clothes had to start coming off. Thanks to Jon, we were able to shed some layers and leave them in Adam's car at the Pisgah parking lot.

Weird thing was, Dave and I had some trouble getting in to a good groove right off. Eventually, we settled in, but after several hours on the Shut-In Trail, moving especially slow due to the dry leaves, we were both pretty tired of night time trail running. So of course, sleepiness and a sudden temperature dip combined to make the next hour or so a complete suffer fest. My texts say it all:

5:30 a.m.
Baby, I'm soooooooo tiiiiiiired!

7:20 a.m.
Feeling good again...

We had picked up Mohammed a bit earlier and learned he had gotten lost back at Bent Creek. He was struggling with heel pain, and I felt very bad for him.

I rolled into FAC around 9:30, and Dave had been there a good 20 minutes already. I was starving, and Dave came to the rescue with pizza, gels, and a protein bar. I already knew I was probably going to try to make it to Bee Tree Gap to get 50 miles in, so I set off getting water and trying to move along. I left the FAC at 10:00.

The next 15 miles were difficult. Like I even needed to say that. It was definitely run when you can walk when you have to time. I want to give a special shout out to Mad A for putting out aid along the course the day before. Without that help, many of us would have suffered more. Thank you Adam!

East from Bull Gap at 3,100 feet to Lane Pinnacle at 5,230 feet was a sonofabitch. In most places, the trail is in good condition, with great winter views, and easy to follow. Just follow the white circles all the way up. On the way, you pass the Rattlesnake Lodge site at 3,700 feet. But then you begin a vicious, never ending climb to Lane Pinnacle.

Views from Rattlesnake Lodge

Texts were no longer enough- I needed full phone support to get through this rough patch. The combined mental and physical fatigue made me start to doubt if I were really on trail, even though I kept seeing the white blazes. I was alos seeing grocery stores, chain link fences, boats, horses , and runners- all of whom were probably not there.

I had phoned jon Harrison earlier, and he was scheduled to pick me up at Bee Tree Gap around 3:00. I talked to him several times on the phone and he could tell I was done. He hiked in to find me at Lane Pinnacle and we hiked down a spur trail to Adam's car.

I'm going to end this post early and come back and add some pictures. Pinhoti is calling my name, but it just feels wrong to leave for Alabama without posting about this awesome race.

Mad A and Mike Mason did did a phenomenal job out there. It was really inspiring to see them at Mt. Mitchell. Thanks for a great weekend, guys! See you on the trails soon.

Additional Pictures, Y'All:

Chettah and Mad A. 'Nuff said.

This is what stoked people look like when they're tired.

Jon Harrison and lovely wife

Glow stick glasses: a definite MUST for next year!

RACE REPORT: Mystery Mountain Marathon 2010

2010-10-13T05:49:00.005-04:00

Sunday was the 3rd running of the Mystery Mountain Marathon (MMM) presented by GUTS (Georgia Ultrarunning & Trailrunning Society). Affectionately known by its followers as “M-cubed”, I signed up for this race simply because ~~it's a flat course that lends itself to some fast times~~ Charles was signed up. What a fantastic running adventure MMM has proved to be. I think I just fell in love with running all over again!

Before I talk about the race let me just say that if you live in Georgia and haven't run a GUTS event, you need to.

About the race...

MMM offers a 12-mile race as well as a full marathon on the same course. Full marathoners and 12-mile races shared the course for the first 11 miles on the Gahuti Trail and Fort Mountain Overlook Trail, then full marathoners split off for an extended mountain bike trail route for the remainder of the miles.

The name "Mystery Mountain Marathon" comes from the 'mystery' concerning the remains of an 855-foot stone wall on top of Fort Mountain. Nobody knows exactly who built the wall, but it's been there for centuries. Since I never would have known that had I not been told, I assumed the mystery had something to do with how one still plans to PR with over 15,000 feet of net elevation gain and that steep, god forsaken, poorly placed, evil, mean f*cked up hill in the way.

On to the race report...

At the starting area, Charles and I encountered several friends including Jason Rogers, Thomas Armbruster (Georgia Snail) and the lovely Holly Armbruster. Jason was running the full marathon, Thomas was running the 12-miler, and Holly would do some hill trekking of her own.

As the race started at 8:00 AM, we settled in with Dan B for the easy mile around the lake at the starting area. We talked about Dan's recent Mohican effort and our Foothills Trail effort.

The first part of this race doesn't look as severe on the elevation map but it has some of the most challenging hills of the entire marathon. There are technical rocky stretches that are basically unrunnable and much of the Gahuti section is also on an uneven trail along a ledge, so falling down the mountain is a... concern. Charles had mentioned that the first 11 miles miles of the race are deceivingly difficult, and he was right.

Which made the powerline hill that much worse. As we came in to the aid station, I took one look at that hill, grabbed a moon pie and started my way up. I took off and told Charles to catch me.

This is where I discovered a great secret. This secret is so secret I have to close my eyes even to type it. All 11 of the Colonel’s herbs and spices can’t believe how secret this secret is. The lost city of Atlantis just called to ask about this secret and I told it (them?) I couldn’t say and then pretended they had they wrong number. To which they said ‘we’re cold and wet down here. Can’t you just help us?’ to which I said ‘maybe you should have thought of that before…’

But I’ll share it with you now.

If I take off and tell Charles to catch me, he will either catch me or die trying.

As Charles caught up to me, we exchanged thoughts about what kind of sick person would think to throw this hill in the middle of the race. Charles affectionately named the climb "Green Hell" as I mentally drafted my letter to the course designer.

Dear Course Designer,
I have copied this letter to the CIA so that they may contact you for your assistance in the interrogation of terror suspects. I can assure you that I am not a terrorist but I would have admitted to anything after your little root-canal of a marathon course. Like I said, just tell me what you want me to admit to and I'll do it.

This climb completely screws up your running mojo and robs you of the PR that you SOOOOO deserved, and it isn't even the hardest climb of the day. Once you crest the beast, you face the 301 descent. Even with a great view of the clear valley floor about 1200 feet below, I have never been so happy for a down hill to end in all my life. I always thought downhills were a nice diversion from the gruelling grind of a good climb, but I have found that I much prefer going uphill…

The next 5 miles or so were pretty decent running. It was at this point we both realized we were starting to pull people in. As we headed into the aid station at 18.7, I took off and told Charles to catch me.

7 miles later, I finished in 6:11 and Charles finished in 6:16, nearly a 15 minute PR for him on this course. We both walked away with great race schwag and big smiles. It doesn't get better than that.

A big thanks to GUTS and Kim Pike, RD, for putting on a fantastic race.

Foothills Trail Attempt Redux

2010-10-01T10:57:00.007-04:00

I've thought long and hard about where and how to start my report for the Foothills Trail Attempt Redux. So much went on before, during and after the run that it's hard to decide where to start. It was one crazy adventure and it's taken a few days to finally decompress from from it. A great deal of it still seems very surreal.

For those that want the short version. I went, I ran, I managed to finish. I earned my BMF wallet* and my name on the Foothills Trail Ultra Running Blog, and for that I am extremely grateful and happy.

For those of you with longer attention spans or have nothing better to do while you surf the internet at work instead of doing your job (that's right I can tell but we will keep it our little secret) please read on.

In The Beginning
To understand why finishing the Foothills Trail Run is so important to me you first have to understand the context in which I came to this run. I ran my first ultra marathon (Enoree Passage 40 Mile) in May. At the end of Enoree, I knew that up until that point I had only experienced shadows of what I had been looking for in running. In my heart I know running is ultimately a vehicle for finding enlightenment and truth; for finding and embracing your role in the cosmos. With Enoree Passage I made the connection that if you are ever to find any of these things, you have to make it to the starting line of a great challenge and be open to the possibility that they're out there. Ever since then, I've been looking for the next ultimate spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical challenge.

The Foothills Trail
The Foothills Trail meets my need to "seek inner revelation" through making that which is most difficult or unattainable my goal. It's been said that although the Foothills Trail may not be as "difficult" as completing the SCAR (Smokies Challenge Adventure Run), based on the ratio of failures to successes it is harder to finish. As evidenced by my last attempt, I must agree.

Two months ago, Dan Hartley, Jim Cobb, Chad Henderson, Jason Sullivan, Charles Raffensperger and myself set off to finish the Trail. We started at 4:00 A.M., and the weather was very hot- 100 degree heat index. Jim, Dan, and Chad began the run together. Dan dropped from heat exhaustion around Canebrake. Jim made it to White Water Falls before dropping, and Chad made it 71 miles to Cheeohee Road before deciding he'd had enouugh. Jason bailed out at Bad Creek after 18+ hours and walked out through the guard gate. Charles left the course up a spur trail while vomiting with heat exhaustion. I went off course near Hilliard Falls and ended up running bonus miles through the night on various logging roads. I made my way out at Bad Creek after 29+ hours on the trail and after Search and Rescue had been called.

Try it again? Hell to the YES!

Foothills Trail Run Redux - The Plan
The runners for this attempt were Denise Davis, Scott Hodukavich, Jason Sullivan, Charles Raffensperger, and myself. This time, our plan was to start from Table Rock State Park on Friday night (9/24/10) at 7:00 P.M. We wanted to run the 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.

Byron Backer was also there to help us. He provided support for us at every possible juncture- Sassafrass Mountain, Laurel Valley Parking Lot, Whitewater Falls, Sloan Bridge, Burrell's Ford, and Cheeohee Road (although he was running with me by that time).

Pre Run
Charles, Scott, Jason and I were to meet at Oconee State Park Friday afternoon. The plan was to set up camp and cook a meal that would serve as both pre-race dinner and post race food. I arrived and set up around 1:30, and Jason joined us shortly after 2:00. We soon decided the site we were at was one of the worst sites in the campground, so we headed over to the office and switched to a more remote site.

We watched out for Scott, and got a bit worried as it got closer to our 5:00 departure time. Cell service is sketchy at best, but we left him several messages. Finally, we headed for Table Rock without him, hoping we hadn't already lost one of our runners before the run even began. I'll be honest, on the drive to Table Rock, I began to feel less and less excited as the task before us seemed to get more and more real.

When we arrived at Table Rock, Scott pulled in the gate right behind us, which was such a relief. We found Byron and Denise waiting for us inthe parking lot, and after a few group shots, our adventure began.

From left: Jason Sullivan, Denise Davis, Psyche Wimberly, Charles Raffensperger, Scott Hodukavich

From left: Byron Backer, Scott Hodukavich, Psyche Wimberly, Jason Sullivan

The Run

Table Rock to Laurel Valley Entrance
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 orange full moon appeared behind a mostly clear sky and we were in great spirits.

The disposable camera does not do the view justice! The way the orange moon cast light on the clouds made me think I was looking down on Gotham City.

Denise Davis takes in the view.

As do Scott Hodukavich and Charles Raffensperger

Psyche likes the view the most!

But Big Easy is super stoked as well.

We were still having a great time as we met up with Byron at the top of Sassafras and refilled our supplies. Although I wasn't sure how he got up there, it was geat to see Byron. Just knowing he was "out there" looking out for us had a tremendous impact on our confidence.

Trail run or night of drinking? You decide.

Nice pic of Scott, Byron, Charles, and Jason

After hanging out with Byron for about 15 minutes we headed downhill to the Laurel Valley Parking area. Charles, Jason and I ran mostly together through this section as Scott and Denise went ahead. Charles took his one and only spill through this section. As we arrived at HWY 178 at the Foothills Trail crossing our split for this section was 4:40.

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.

Laurel Valley To Whitewater Falls

The four of us stuck together closely through the Laurel Valley section. As midnight came and went 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. This was myffirst experience of literally running through the night, and my body was craving sleep.

Scott got ahead on this section and we eventually made it to Hilliard Falls. Charles and I decided to take the short spur trail to the falls and Jason made the decision to keep pressing towards Whitewater Falls where Byron & aid were waiting. Scott had decided to visit the falls as well so we got to visit with him for a few minutes.

Hilliard Falls ended up being a much needed foot-care break. By this point, my feet were aching and it was heaven to dip them in the cold water, then put on a pair of fresh socks.

As we headed to Bad Creek, there are some very gnarly climbs. My legs were beginning to complain about moving for 15 hours at this point, but I was also enjoying the cool fall morning listening to the forest come alive.

The steep climb out of Whitewater was tough, and it seemed to last forever. Charles and I kept hoping against hope that Scott and Jason would be waiting for us at Whitewater Falls, as it would be fantastic to start the next section as a group. We tried texting Byron to let them know we would be there soon, but Charles' phone was dead. As the climb began to get ridiculously long and frustrating, I began to laugh at Charles' rants. It wasn't what he was saying, but the way he was saying it that just made me completely crack up. I felt like this much-needed tension reliever saved my sanity. Thanks, baby!

Finally, we climbed our way up to the gravel parking lot on HWY 130 and were greeted by Byron, Tony (Denise's husband), Jason and Scott! Yay!! We were a group again!! Wow, was it ever great to see them. We heard news that Denise was doing well and we were all glad to hear it. It looked as if she would finish in 25-26 hours.

We spent about 30 minutes here and packed up heading towards mile 53 at Sloan Bridge. Scott had gone ahead as I think he had arrived a bit earlier and was ready to move. At this point, our spirits were lifted and we all felt so excited to be getting closer to the finish. The toughest part of the trail was behind us and we were all feeling secure in a finish.

Upper Whitewater Falls to Burrell's Ford
As we crossed the highway and began to climb, we were all feeling good. we stopped at the benches along the trail for a minute to enjoy the amazing view and take some pictures.

The next 5 mile sor so were not memorable, except for the fact Jason was running in to problems with severe chafing. I gave him my Glide, but I don't think anything was helping by this point. The section from Sloan Bridge to Fish Hatchery was very technical , with lots of roots and downed trees that made for tricky footing. 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.

Here is where we put our lights on and turned them on about 2 miles down the trail as we headed towards Burrell’s Ford. We all lost our minds a little as dusk settled into darkness. I'm not sure what happened here, but I went from feeling fine to feeling a bit disoriented, weak and out of it. Running along the ridge line was frightening as I felt like I couldn't count on my balance.
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. At one point, I got in to a rhythm where I would aim my headlight at Jason's feet and let the flourescent lights on his shoes just pull me along. Strange mental tricks began. For instance, if Jason got a few steps ahead of my light, it made me think the ground dropped off where the light ended. I would actually start to stop myself so Iwouldn't "fall off the earth". At the time, that seemed perfectly reasonable.

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 ate some excellent hot chicken noodle soup, some potato chips, and had some coffee in hopes of getting another lift up.

Upon eating the food, I could not believe how fast I came out of my funk. I had no doubt I could continue on, but suddenly I became worried about Charles and Jason both. Charles did not look good- his breathing was fast labored. He had come in to this run sleep deprived, and we had both worried about this moment- that it had caught up with him. Then, Jason told the group that he was finished and Charles also said that he was dropping as well.

I had flashbacks from 2 months ago, when I had made a mistake by continuing on. But this time I was assured that Byron was ready to run with me. So, after arranging to get Byron's truck to Cheeohee Road, we geared up and headed off into the night down the technical Chattooga river.

Burrell's Ford to Oconnee State Park
As we began the 10 mile stretch to Cheeohee Road, I felt good, certainly better thanI thought I was going to. We began to run a little, and I continued to feel good. Once Byron and I started talking, the time seemed to really move by fast. The sounds of the river would come and go, come and go, and I was reminded f how much I love this stretch of trail.

I could not believe it when Byron said we had about 1.8 miles to Cheeohee Road. It had gone by so fast!

The sight of Cheeohee Road really hit me. I thought of Chad. I was so happy to be feeling good. As we left Cheeohee Rd, Byron did some figuring, and thought if we ran 13-14 minute miles, I could break 31 hours. I remember thinking that I didn't really care about the time, but then I thought I might care tomorrow. It might make a difference to me what number goes up on the blog so I better go for it. Just the fact that I was 70 miles in and prepared to run faster if I had to was an amazing feeling. We began to run more and more and I was hanging in there, although barely.

Only as this trail can do, we reached what should have been the end to find that it wasn't. It loooked like we had one or two miles left, and my watch said 30:48. I was not disappointed, but I did switch gears and was relieved to not have to concentrate so hard. Of course, the minute I did this, I went down on a root. Hard. First fall at 75 miles. Not bad.

We came to an intersection and started to follow signs that said Hidden Falls. We both were thinking it did not seem right to be heading downhill at this point. Byron said he'd been down here before but couldn't remember if he had gone back and seen it was the wrong way, or if he turned around again because it was the right way. I totally got this, and then it also occurred to me how funny it was that I was getting lost with 1 mile to go! Like I just had to squeeze getting lost in somehow!!

It started to rain, and I did have a moment where I wondering if I were ever going to finish this damn thing, but then we saw it- the sign at the west end of the Foothills Trail.

I was done!

I have to say, there is a great amount of satisfaction from having accomplished something that has proven so difficult to so many runners greater than I.

Current Finishers (Under 48 Hours)

03/05/2005 Matt Kirk 16:52
03/15/2008 Matt Kirk 18:40
09/05/2009 Byron Backer 20:14
05/26/2006 Brian (Phreak)*** 22:40
03/31/2010 Jennifer Davis*** 23:00
09/05/2009 Joe Sauerbrey*** 23:11
11/22/2008 Richard Lilly 23:50
11/22/2008 Byron Backer 24:03
09/25/2010 Denise Davis 26:58
09/25/2010 Scott Hodukavich 30:37
09/25/2010 Psyche Wimberly 31:40

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 31:40

Charles Raffensperger – Dropped at Burrell’s Ford Mile 59.8

Jason Sullivan – Dropped at Burrell’s Ford Mile 59.8

* the ultimate gift for all bad mother fuckers who can find their way to the west end of the FHT.

RACE REPORT: Long Cane 50 Mile

2010-09-07T23:44:00.080-04:00

Multiple activities packed in to a 3-day weekend have this post reading more like a Holiday weekend review than a race report. However, when Charles suggested a side trip to a gem mine, I jumped at the chance to learn more about this rockhounding hobby of his.

Everyone knows I'm a lover of adventures big and small, so the prospect of 3 days filled with camping, cooking, gem mining, and a 50 Mile ultra trail race made me happier than Cheech & Chong on a Jamaican vacation.

Friday: The Adventure Begins
I headed down to Parson's Mountain Recreation Center in Abbeville, SC on Friday night, hoping to set up camp before dark. I almost made it, too, save for the need to hunt down some firewood*. Apparently, firewood for sale is one of those things you only see when you don't actually need it.

Figuring I had a better chance to find it nearer the campsite, I stopped at a convenience store with a kind of "Dukes of Hazzard" meets "Handy Mart" theme going on. I asked the nice guy behind the big wooden counter if they had firewood for sale, and was not surprised when he said no. But then he says he knows a guy about a 1/4 mile down the road that usually has firewood for sale. He picks up his phone and calls the guy! Then, he jumps over the big wooden counter and tells his assistant that he'll be right back- he's going to show me the way. Dang! People in South Carolina are niiiice!

So I follow this guy down the road thinking if things don't look right when we get there I'll just keep driving. Soon, convenience store guy pulls over in front of a trailer and bangs on the door. Eventually, "T. Rex" the firewood selling guy comes out, drunk as, well a guy named T. Rex on a Friday night, and loads my car up with primo firewood. No charge! Although he did ask me several tims if I were married.

I rolled into camp about 9:00 p.m, found a nice secluded campsite, set up camp and waited for Charles to arrive.

Saturday: Diamond Hill Mine
After sleeping in, we enjoyed a great breakfast cooked over the campfire. We headed out about 20 miles northeast to the town of Antreville, SC to Diamond Hill (Mine). The Diamond Hill, LLC owns the Diamond Hill quartz digging area and with prior permission, visitors are allowed to enter the Property and search/dig for rocks and crystals.

I had no idea what to expect. But after we arrived we got the lay of the land and spoke with a few people about where to look for gems. We just started looking around, and before we knew it, we were actually finding treasures. I can't explain the thrill of finding something bright and shiny. It's very fun and very addictive. I saw the attraction immediately!

Look at how much fun the kids are having playing in the dirt:

Certainly a day of gem mining wouldn't tire us out too much to run a mere 50 miles..

Sunday: Long Cane 50 57-Mile Race

From our campsite, we walked the 3/4 of a mile to the start of the race. I noticed the air was cool, the leaves were just starting to turn, the lake was beautiful in the morning mist, and some clouds dotted the sky creating patterns of light and shadow across the landscape. "Ah, yes," I thought, "a perfect day for trail running."

It was fabulous to see old friends again, even if only for a minute. I always look forward to the brief pre-race time just for this reason.

Hello's and hugs went out to the usual suspects: Jason R., Jason S., Dan Hartley, Chad Henderson, Byron Backer, Dave Pryor, Terry Foxworth, Denise Davis, Scott Hadukovich, Lester Farmer, and many, many more.

From Left: Denise Davis, Jason Sullivan, Dan Hartley, Jason Rogers

Charles and Chad Henderson

I was especially thrilled to be reunited with Jim Plant and Rebecca, who I ran with for the final miles at Enoree Passage. Meeting Greta Dobe for the first time was also a highlight of the day.

Scott Hodukavich and Greta Dobe

Soon enough, we were gathering for Terri's pre-race talk. Basically, the course consisted of two loops around the Long Cane Horse Trail, but runners had to extend the first loop with two crossings along a middle trail in the middle of the loop. The first 32 miles of the course were run in a figure-8 pattern by crossing the middle loop once before circling the top end of the loop and circling back to the start on the opposite trail.

However, Terri's instructions had my head swimming in visions of high school math problems (A is to B is to C as 4 is to...wtf?).

RD Terri Hayes giving instructions...

At 7:00 a.m. we were sent on our way.

The first memorable moment I had was seeing Jim Plant, who I had not seen since Enoree Passage. He greets me with, "I see you've been emracing your midlife crisis, Psyche." Hahahaha! What a great way to start the run!

Possibly my favorite moment, though came about 41/2 miles in. Suddenly the trail was not marked and you could clearly go left OR right. About 8 of us all stopped, gathered around and discussed the possibilities. Classic! I love this picture:

One thing that was unusual about this race is that I felt pretty bad for the first 30 miles. My legs were achy, and I felt like it just wasn't my day. On the other hand, Charleswas feeling great, and had this been a 50K, he would've burned up the course. Just when I had given up hope of things turning around, they did, though. I came out of it and actually felt pretty good. So, of course, right about that time, Charles started going downhill. It was an interesting experience and one that I think will repeat itself, in that we seem to be going through opposite stages, but the upside is that we bring the other one along when they aren't feeling good. It's kind of nice.

Many, many miles later it became apparent that the course was going to be way long. At long last, though, we emerged from the trail to see Terri and Jim Plant and two other volunteers waiting for us at the dark pavilion picnic table area. Terri cheered us on as we walked to the picnic table and sat down.

We finished a distance of roughly 57 miles or so in about 15 hours, even if the last 5-7 miles weren't much more than a power walk.

Thanks for another great race and great adventure, Terri.

See you on the Trails soon!

* Because if you, too, were camping for the Chattooga 50K you know what a drag it is to have wood that will not burn. Or matches that will not light. Or feet that will not stay on trail.

2010 Laurel Valley Ultra 35 Mile Run

2010-08-24T18:28:00.001-04:00

The Laurel Valley Ultra 35 Mile is a true adventure run. There are more than 5,000 widely spaced wooded steps built in to many of the uphills, never ending long, false-summit climbs, lush vegetation, big creeks, whitewater rivers, waterfalls, dramatic drop offs, boulder scrambles, swinging bridges, wildlife, and all around incredible scenery.

As you follow the white blazes you have no idea of pace or distance covered as there are very few signs marking this segment of the trail, and a Garmin is practically useless under the thick forest canopy and deep valleys. In fact, the "unknown" distance of the race is part of the allure*.

And the finish...? A ridiculous climb to a really cool, big-ass waterfall view. Hell, YEAH!

In addition, this is a point to point race with no aid provided. Runners must provide their own shuttles and carry any food/ fluid and water treatment needed. Because of the remoteness of the course, RD Claude Sinclair requires that a runner first serve as a sweep before being allowed to race the following year. This ensures that all runners are experienced with the course, and also provides a safety mechanism for runners that become sick or injured on the trail.

This year, I signed up to be a sweep so as to ensure my entry in to the 2011 race. The sweep team was headed up by Will Brown and consisted of Abi Meadows, Dave Pryor, Caroline Williams, Jim Kelleher, Leonard Martin, Stephen Morris, and myself.

We sweeps ended up having a long day - 15 hours on the trail. John Dove, this years winner, came into the finish just under 7 hours. That's a long time to wait for the last finisher, and a long time to spend on the trail.

Here's how race day unfolded:

Leopold and I had spent the night at our friend Dave Pryor's house on Friday night, since he lives just 45 minutes or so from the start of the race. We met up with Charles at the start of the race, and he and Leopold saw us off at 5:00 am. They hung around for the "real" start, then they hiked up to Table Rock. Eventually, they both hiked in from the Laurel Valley finish and met us on the trail at about mile 28. A long day for them, to be sure.

That morning as we left Dave's house and approached Rocky Bottom, SC, it began to rain and I couldn't help but think how strange it was to be back on this trail after my 29-hour adventure just 3 weeks before.

As we drove up the familiar gravel road to the Laurel Valley entrance, it brought back memories of Jason, Charles, and I finishing the Table Rock to Laurel Valley Entrance section of "FHT 77 2010". We had watched the sun rise on Pinnacle Mountain, and had been in high spirits as we walked up this very road to Scott's Aid Station of Awesomeness**.

As we pulled in to the familiar parking lot next to Charles and began to transfer all of our stuff to his car, we were greeted by Jason Sullivan and Scott Hodukavich. Big hugs all around, and pictures (thanks, Scott!).

Big Easy (Jason Sullivan)

Dave Pryor, myself, Charles, and Leopold. ("Psyche didn't get Claude's note about race day being blue shirt day!")

10 minutes prior to the 5:00 a.m. start, Dave and I headed over to hear the instructions given by Sweep Master Will Brown. We were joined by Caroline Williams and Abi Meadows. We would meet the 6:00 a.m. sweeps (Jim Kelleher, Leonard Martin and Stephen Morris) later on down the trail.

From Left: Caroline Williams, Will Brown, Dave Pryor, myself, Leopold. ("The 5 am sweeps get told they have to pass everyone - no wait- that's not right...")

RD Extraordinnaire, Claude Sinclaire ("And I better not catch you getting off trail...!")

Claude fires some sort of gun, and we head up the stairs to the trail. I love the stair start, by the way. It just perfectly sets up the Laurel Valley experience.

It gets exciting immediately. My Go-Motion chest light whose batteries I've just changed seems not to want to turn on. Panicking, I pray I have my back up head lamp in my pack. Meanwhile Dave discovers he's left part of his pack unzipped and can't determine whether he's lost anything out of his pack or not. After a few adjustments, we're on our way, lit and zipped up.

In the back of my mind, I had attention on revisiting key parts of the trail- Cane Brake, Toxaway Bridge, and especially Hilliard Falls. I found myself wondering how I was going to feel once I got to Hilliard Falls, the site where I became really disoriented.

These thoughts soon fade as conversation takes over. Dave and I are bringing up the caboose, just hanging back and listening as Abi Meadows regals us with stories of her fascinating life. As she talks about her 16 year old son's running adventures and how she won't allow him to run an ultra marathon at his age due to the risk of it damaging his endocrine system, Dave and I shoot each other a look, silently agreeing not to mention Leopold's ultra adventures***.

As we continued on at a walk pace, the 6:00 a.m. starters were being sent on their way.

6:00 a.m.. start ("Up the stairs on to the long 35 mile day on the trail")

After some time of wandering through the forest, I see the first runner coming through and it's Byron Backer. He's flying down the trail, looking great! It was exciting to watch him fly by us like that - I can't imagine running that pace through Laurel Valley.

Not too long after that, we began to see others, many familiar faces including my new friend from Hot To Trot 24-Hr Race, Bill Keane. As expected, Bill looked mean and lean and ready to kill it. He was gone before I could remember to tell him I put "Stairway To Heaven" on my iPod, just in his honor for today's run.

Then, the first official "sweep" experience was upon us. As we crossed the bridge, I saw Wayne Downey sitting on the trail. He had obviously hurt himself and was assessing the damage. Apparently, he had rolled his ankle, and pretty badly.

Dave Pryor really saved the day by bringing all kinds of supplies we thought we'd never need. He had some tape and did a pretty good job of giving Wayne some support on the ankle. After much consideration, Wayne's amazing attitude won the argument and he decided to carry on.

What's left of the tape job on Wayne Downey's ankle. (Thanks, Dave!)

With no further emergencies, I had plenty of time to contemplate my last visit here. I made sure to take pictures of key landmarks like the bench in the middle of nowhere, and the Toxaway Bridge. I even sent Charles a text from the Cane Break stairs, in memory of his fateful day.

As we came up to Hilliard Falls, I looked to Will to see wherehe picked up the trail at the Hilliard Falls sign, and my heart fell to my stomach when instead of it "all coming back" to me, I swore I came up to the Hilliard Falls sign from a different direction!

Many hours and conversations**** later, Charles and Leopold appear as if out of nowhere. I was so happy to see them and really excited that Leopold was going to spend some time on this very special trail. Covering the last 7 miles with the two most precious people in my life was a real treat and honor.

What can I say? I am simply in love with this 30+ stretch of the Foothills Trail. It has a magic that you just have to experience to understand. I'm thankful for Claude Sinclair for putting on this event in a safe and fun way each year.

* Will Brown relayed a funny story about Claude's attempt to have sweeps measure the course during a previous year's race. After 35 miles of taking turns pushing a measuring wheel along the course, the sweeps finally arrive at the stairs near the finish. Claude is beaming with excitement, eagerly awaiting the count from the wheel... As the wheel makes its way up the stairs, the counter promptly falls off and is lost forever, along with any hopes of ever knowing how long this run actually is. Awesome story- awesome trail.

** Frozen towels, watermelon slices, ice, assorted sweet and salty foods. Seriously, thios is your man if you ever want to know how to really come out and support a race.

***I make a mental note to Google "youth running+endocrine system".

**** Jim Kelleher loves himself some Pink Floyd. He enjoyed hearing how I listened to Pink Floyd under the orange moon out on the Trail 3 weeks ago. In Leonard Martin I found a never ending source of ultra running information, tips, and advice- thanks so much for all the great advice for Pinhoti, Leonard! You the MAN!

RACE REPORT: Hot 2 Trot 8 Hour Run

2010-08-10T23:35:00.003-04:00

This past weekend had all the makings of a perfect storm of fun and fitness. Not only did I participate in my first loop-course/ by-time-not-miles ultra event, but it also served as an opportunity to to meet a lot of the GUTS (Georgia Ultrarunning And Trailrunning Society) folks that I've heard so much about. As if that weren't enough, Georgia Snail and the lovely Holly also made a special guest appearance. See what I mean? Perfect. Storm.

The Hot To Trot 8 Hour Run is an annual event sponsored by GUTS. This year, RD Sarah Tyne held the course at Sweetwater Creek State Park (Lithia Srings, GA). It consisted of a 1.18 mile loop, complete with tree roots, sand, rocks, 73-foot elevation gain, and sign-posting trail nymphs*.

The premise is simple, 60 runners run as many 1.18- mile loops as they can from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. in 90+ degree heat with humidity off the charts. The race description from the GUTS web site says it all:

“At the Hot To Trot 8 Hour Race, our goal is to provide the race as advertised. As the name implies, you can count on it being HOT. Temps are easily in the 90's this time of year in Georgia, with humidity off the scale. Runners are expected to use proper electrolytes in order to stay alive!”

Here's how it all unfolded:

I planned to run the entire thing with Charles, and as it turned out, Charles was fighting a bacterial infection and was on antibiotics. Between the antibiotics, heat, humidity and the insane amount Charles sweats, I thought we might get in about 15 miles (maybe 10) before the paramedics would be called to insert an IV.

With thoughts of under achievement dancing through our heads, we arrived at the race at about 7:30 and made our way over to the picnic area that served as the start, finish, and aid station. It wasn't too long before I saw some familiar faces, and was introduced to some new friends.

Group Photo Op:

Charles, Psyche, Jason Rogers and Thomas Armbruster (Georgia Snail)

Spirits were high as we gathered at the start to listen to final instruction

And we're off...

We made our way over the berms and through the woods to a rocky stretch of fire road where I promptly... tripped and fell. On rocks. (Yes, it hurt). I liked the second half of the course much better. It proceeded along sandy single-track before crossing a wooden bridge and making a series of root-covered ascents, all of which I walked. A decent sized hill then brings you up to the restrooms and to the picnic area to start all over again.

As I started up the hill, this is what I saw:

It kind of set the tone for the day, as I really enjoy a good surprise, especially if it ends in a good laugh (which it did). Also, I feel quite confident that the pure evil of these particular sign-posting Trail Nymphs* is contained in their singular effort to destroy my BMF Trail Runner Rep.

Therefore, If I bring my "A" game to the next few races -and by "A" game I mean stay on trail and avoid Search & Rescue- it just may be enough to back these bad boys off.

As it turned out, the best thing about this race was all the really wonderful people I had the chance to meet. Along the way we ran 25 laps in 7:54 for a total of 29.5 miles. The mystery of how Charles ran stronger and stronger as the heat and humidity climbed will have to be solved another day.

Final lap of the day...

We enjoyed a little game of cat and mouse with Orlando that left me hoping we'd see him again on the trail real soon.

BMF Trail Nymph (a.k.a. Jason Rogers)

Ultra super dudes Bill Keane (a.k.a. "most likely to blast 'Stairway To Heaven' on his way out of Laurel Valley) and Rob Apple.

So that was my weekend. Another one filled with some pretty cool accomplishments by an average girl who just can't seem to say no to a new adventure. I will say that my entire weekend was richer as a result of the company I held and a BIG THANK YOU goes out to Sarah Tyne, Tom Wilson, Kirsten the "ice lady", Kim Pike, Jason Rogers, Bill Keane, and especially Thomas and Holly Armbruster for turning an amazing weekend into an EPIC one.

* and by sign-posting Trail Nymphs I mean Charles and Jason.

Beyond Running

2010-08-03T10:06:00.000-04:00

There are many changes on my horizon, and while running is but a small part of life amongst these new adventures, I find myself grateful beyond measure for the people and the many, many gifts that running brings to my life.

For me, like so many others, running long and running on trails is a much needed freeing escape that allows me to recharge my emotional and spiritual batteries while I commune with nature through physical exertion.

The more I tap in to the off-road running experience, the more I find the quest for speed and distance fades and the need to pursue something for an intrinsic, yet immeasurable, experience takes on a greater importance.

I know that on the rational plane it makes no sense to subject my body and mind to hours, or days of extreme physical and emotional effort, all in the name of fun. It's crazy.

However, if you look closely, behind the craziness of every endurance athlete you will find a sense of reverence. Because in our trials of endurance we discover something transcendent and unexplainable. Often there is some form of spiritual experience. We transcend limits and go into the realm of the unknown. I know that for me, ultra running allows me to slip into a space and place of no-thingness. Timeless, beautiful...beyond effort. I learn, over and over again, that there are no limits. Ever.

For those hard core ultra runners out there, here's a video that leaves me inspired time after time, as Yiannis is a true ultra running hero.