Ultra Kraut Running

Crossing the boardwalk/bridge on Old Railroad Bed Trail

At the heels of my latest 100 mile finish in MO two weeks ago, it was time once again to put on my trail shoes and get ready to earn my twelfth finish at the 29th edition of the Mountain Mist 50K, a race that is quite literally in my backyard and has a special place in my heart. It was my second ultra ever in 2009 and has become my favorite ultra of all time, which means something considering that I've finished 150 ultra marathons and started even more:-)

Making my way through the Stonecuts

My good friend Tobias had flown in from Utah to run his first southeastern ultra and to hang out for the weekend. He couldn't have timed it better as the weather conditions had probably been the best in years. Temps ranged from the low 30s at the start to the mid 50s by the end of the race. The course had some pretty muddy sections, but other than that, the course was in great shape. My buddy Sean and I had been out on the course earlier in the week to clear more than 20 trees off the trail. Thankfully, the thunderstorms that followed didn't create new trail obstructions.

Crossing the Mountain Mist 50K finish line for the 12th time. PC

Toby and I arrived at the Monte Sano lodge, the staging area for the race, an hour prior to the race start. The lodge was already buzzing with excitement for the day to come. Nearly 500 runners packed the lodge and huddled at the two fireplaces and around tables. The Mountain Mist 50K has been the trail running family reunion of the southeast for many years, at least for me and I know of a few others that feel the same. The race started unceremoniously with the usual musket blast, startling some of us who expected a countdown or something. GPS watch buttons were pressed hurriedly as runners quickly took off to jockey for position as they tackled the 31 miles with 4500 feet of elevation gain.

Not one of my fastest or slowest times, but well over an hour slower than my PR for this race.

I started the race as I always do, trying to gauge my current fitness level and lining up behind the first few lines of runners in the front of the field accordingly. As per usual, I took off too fast, but I settled into a sustainable pace by mile 5. I ran straight through the first aid station at O'Shaugnessy Point and continued to run with a small group of runners. as we headed towards the Stonecuts. I won't give a play by play of the course as I've done so in my previous race reports about this race, but there were a couple of significant changes to this year's course. This year, runners went straight down the closed Bankhead Parkway from the start line at a the lodge before entering the Mountain Mist trail. This provided about 1.5 miles of wide road for the field of runners to thin out before entering the single track trail. In addition, runners ran a newly added trail extension just before arranging at the third aid station at Oak Park. The final change was a recently completed trail reroute above the infamous Waterline trail section.

Many miles and beers have been shared with these guys.

My race went pretty well through the first 20 miles, when a rock decided to get in the way of my left foot causing me to take flight and wondering what bone I would break once I landed. Thankfully, I landed on the single hand bottle I was carrying. I exploded on impact sending both its fluids and the top of the bottle flying across the trail. I lay there for a minute gathering my thoughts and thanking my stars for not having broken anything. I was definitely startled and walked for a bit before starting to run again at a severely throttled pace. I'm not sure if it was still mental or physical exhaustion, but about a mile later I could tell that my race had taken a turn for the worse. Runners started to pass me as I was slowly hiking up the Waterline Trail. This continued for much of the next 2 miles all the way through the second to last aid station of the race. a sub 5:30 finish time pace had quickly turned into "I have plenty of time to walk it in" pace. However, after feeling sorry for myself as I hiked down Natural Well Trail a quick look at my watch suggested that I could at least break 6 hours, if, and only if I started to run the flats and descents. I started shuffling, finally stemming the flood of runners that had started to pass me in drives as I walked up Waterline Trail.

Many 5AM morning runs and trail beers with these guys.

By the time I arrived at the final aid station at the rest shelter, Josh and his crew of volunteers greeted me with a smile and a cold beer. As I checked my watch, I decided to decline the beer. I had just about 20 minutes to break 6 hours and as tempting as an ice-cold beer was, it would have to wait until after the race. Post race bars are the best and this was no exception. I crossed the finish line in 5 hours and 57 minutes, happy to have collected my 12th finish on the way to 20 finishes, which is another huge milestone for many Mountain Misters.

The second annual Throwdown (at the Mist) was won by the Chattanooga crew. Pictured here are half of the 50 runners from Chattanooga, Nashville, Atlanta, Birmingham and Huntsville. PC Pete Schreiner @schreinertrailphotography

I was also co-hosting the second "Throwndown at the Mist". Huntsville had won the first competition in 2019 before Covid put a pause on any additional events, until this year. This competition within the competition had been cooked up by my buddy Yong Kim from Nashville with the initial event consisting of teams from Nashville, Chattanooga and Huntsville. I was one of the original Huntsville team captains and team members. Our 2019 team was fortunate to feature none other than Dewayne Satterfield an ultra running legend and 25 time Mountain Mist finisher and an all around incredibly kind human who left us much too soon. Dewayne still inspires may of us to give it our all as we toe the line at the Mist and make our way through its gnarly but beautiful course.

This year also featured teams from Atlanta and Birmingham in addition to the OG teams. Chattanooga came prepared and did not allow for any doubt about the outcome of the day. At the end, they took first, second, third and fourth place overall plus another top ten finisher to take the overall thrown win in dominant fashion. No matter the result, everyone left the event with a big smile on their face. I know I'm already looking forward to next year. Who's with me?!?

I spent some time over the holidays while being sick with COVID once more about my running plans for 2023 and beyond. One of my overarching goals is to run an official 100 mile or longer distance event in every state of the United States. Once I established that goal, I started searching the internet for races in various states I had not raced the 100 mile distance in to date. When I searched various calendars for 100 milers in the month of January, I came across the Shippey 100 Mile Endurance Run just 30 minutes west of St. Louis in Missouri. As it happened, the next day its race director Jake Grossbauer offered his fellow UltrAspire teammates a registration discount for this fairly new event. I took that as a sign to add this race to my 2023 calendar and to register right away.

The Shippey Endurance Runs offer multiple race distances from 20 to 100 miles both as solo and relay events. The course consists of five small 3-5 mile loops that are arranged like pedals on a flower around two centrally located aid stations that pay less than a half mile apart from each other. These five smaller loops formed the large 20 mile loop that we 100 mile runners had to complete a total of five times. We would experience nearly 17,000' of vertical elevation gain in the process. While I am generally not a fan of multi loop courses, I could appreciate the easy access to the two aid stations and the drop bags runners were able to place at each one of them. I was also able to park my camper van near the start/finish aid station, which would allow me quick and easy access to any backup nutrition or gear, if the need arose.

Speaking of easy access to my camper van, the race was hosted at the Beaumont Scout Reservation, which provided ample camping space both for tent and vehicle camping between the start/finish aid station and the Emerson Center, the race headquarters. This allowed me to set up my van for the night just a few steps from the start line after arriving Friday evening. I picked up my race packet and got a few instructions around the race setup before heading back to the van to head up some food for my pre-race meal and laying out my gear for the next morning. By 9PM, I had turned in for the night hoping to get some quality sleep before the long race day that lay ahead.

I had set my alarm for 4:30AM giving me 90 minutes before the race start to make my morning coffee and get ready for the race. It was to be a frigid race start with temperatures in the low teens and never surpassing the low 40s throughout the race. I probably went a little light on the layers with just a pair of shorts, a long sleeve base layer and a Patagonia Houdini windbreaker along with some gloves and hand warmers. A rolled up buff would keep my ears and head warm while still allowing air to escape through the top. I figured I would warm up quickly once we started moving and I was right. Keeping my hands toasty was key and the hand warmers took care of that.

As soon as we started the first climb just two tenths of a mile from the start, I settled into a stretched line of runners along this single track trail section. I had very low expectations regarding my race pace as I had just barely recovered from another Covid infection that had done another number on my lungs. My goal was to cover the 100 miles in under 30 hours and I planned my nutrition accordingly. I had created a number of zip lock bags with my nutrition in each of the two drop bags that were placed at the two aid stations. Each ziplock bag contained 2-4 Spring Energy gels (my favorite natural fuel in a pouch) as well as 2-4 drink mixes and some Nuun electrolyte tabs. This would give me around 250+ calories per hour which I deemed sufficient. Some runners consume as much as 350 calories, but that would be on the very high end for me and create a severe risk for bloating and general discomfort. I would supplement this with aid station foods (bland foods like mashed potatoes preferred) as well as Base Salt (Sodium/Potassium supplement) as needed. I usually consume a lot of that particular supplement (or SCaps!) being a heavy sweater, but the cold temps nearly completely eliminated the need for this.

I decided to run much of the first loop to see my time and then hike all of the hills on the second loop to see the time difference. This strategy worked and gave me something to work towards and keep my mind occupied.

I recorded a sub 4 hour first 20 mile loop and a 4:30 hour second 20 mile loop. Things were off to a great start and I was running way below my expected pace for the day. I was feeling great and running comfortably without pushing. I rolled into mile 50 in 11 hours 18 minutes, essentially on perfect sub 24 hour pace. Then things changed.

When I made it to mile 60, nearly 6 hours had elapsed over the course of the third 20 mile loop and things had become quite challenging. I felt fine physically in regards to my legs, but my energy levels were completely depleted. I was struggling to stay warm now that the sun had gone down and struggled to regulate my body temperature. I would swap out wet layers for dry layers only to change into a heavier coat because I was still cold. Then I would sweat and get cold again. Eventually I opted for a single base layer plus an ultralight puffy jacket to stay warm. As I sweated through the baselayer the down jacket would continued to keep me warm even as it started to pick up some of the sweat. One of the nice properties of down.

I tried to slow enough and to pile on some calories as low energy (which I had) and the desire to quit (which I didn't have) are usually related to that. I grabbed vegan burgers and some pancakes as I made my way from aid station to aid station, but the energy levels never came back. As a result, my pace continued to slow and I made peace with the fact that I would be out here for a while. Once I accepted that, it made me even slower, which was not ideal. Sometimes, you just have to take what the day gives you.

As I completed one small loop after another and I got closer to 100 miles, I got excited for another 100 mile finisher buckle. I knew I would get this done. Even the relay runners passing me in the blink of an eye did not distract me from that. When I finally rounded the corner to cross under the finish line arch, there was RD Jake waiting for me with the Shippey 100 mile finisher buckle. I had completed the race in 28 hours and 54 minutes, elated to be done. I was able to take a hot shower before crawling back into my van for a nap before returning home.

One final note about this race. It is both beginner and veteran friendly all at once. The course is very runnable with a few short steep climbs. The aid stations and the volunteers were absolutely first class. I received one on one attention every time I rolled into an aid station and the food choices were a plenty. From meat burgers to plant based burgers to mashed potatoes, broth, ramen and pancakes in the morning, runners were well take care of. The finisher buckles are beautiful and the race swag was top notch in both quality and design. Congrats to all that toed the line and to the entire race crew for putting on a top event!

Check out the full race video on my YouTube channel here. December was just around the corner and both my better half and I though we had time for one more trail race in 2022, so we signed up for the Lookout Mountain 19 Miler and 50 Miler, respectively. It had been 5 years since I last ran this event and just like back then, I was once again severely underprepared or at least I felt undertrained as I hadn't done much training since running the Fall Creek 100 Miler 4 weeks earlier.

So later Friday afternoon, we jumped into our camper van and headed to Chattanooga, Tennessee to try to still make packet pickup at the local FleetFeet and visit our favorite vegan joint before headed back out of town to the Cloudland Canyon State Park campground, which is just a short 20 minute drive from the race start and finish area at Covenant College atop Lookout Mountain.

Both races would start at 7:L30AM the next morning, so we actually got to "sleep in" a little before heading to the race start. I had zero expectations other than experiencing this beautiful course once again. I had faint memories of some amazing bluff line trail running as well as lots of creeks and a massive waterfall, so it should be a good day regardless of my performance. As expected, the day turned out to be much longer than desirable, but I was fine with that. As it turned out, I was at the frontend of another COVID infection, which explained my inability to move better.

We arrived at the staging area for the race with plenty of time to finalize our running kit setup. Temperatures were near or below freezing with the highs predicted in the 40s, so I chose to go with two layers, a long sleeve tech top plus my favorite Patagonia Houdini windbreaker. I kept on a pair of gloves with hand warmers for the entire day. It never really wanted up enough for me to shed any layers, especially since I wasn't moving particularly fast.

The race started on time and we were off. I settled into a pace that felt comfortable. However, what started out as comfortable pace would turn into an unsustainable pace later on. Aid stations were close enough and temperatures were cold, so I only needed to carry on bottle in my UltrAspire Legacy 2.0 vest. I put an empty spare bottle into the back of my pack, just in case. I also carried my preferred waist light Lumen 600 3.0 along with a small headlamp. For nutrition, I stuffed 10 Spring Energy gels (Canaberry, Koffee and Awesomesause) into my pack along with various endurance fuel drink mixes for added calories.

Both my gear and nutrition choices worked out well. As expected, the first 19 mile of the race were absolutely spectacular. I spent a lot of time with my GoPro in hand. The 19 milers and 40 milers start at the same time and run the first 19 miles together. While the 19 milers finished at the same start/finish area, we would refuel and continue on now heading in the other direction on the mountain.

Shortly after leaving the start./finish area around mile 21 I started to bonk or at least it felt like a bonk. I'm no longer certain that I was struggling due to being undertrained, but rather hampered by another COVID infection that became full blown a day after the race. No matter, I was out here now and I was not going to collect another DNF in 2022.

From this point forward, my day mostly consisted of trying to keep moving and getting fuel to maintain some kind of progress. I started to cramp, so I doubled up on some salt, which I had avoided until now. Eventually, the leg cramps subsided, either because of the salt or to my slower pace. I continued to take in the scenery to keep my motivation high. There was a lot of moaning, but there were no thoughts of quitting. There are always lessons to be learned in an ultra and today was no different.

I continued to work my way from aid station to aid station, continually being passed by fellow runners who were having a better day than me:-) When I finally reached the last aid station, I received another gut punch. My mileage math had been way off for some reason, so when I expected to just have a short 3 miles to the finish the aid station crew informed me that I had closer to 8 miles left to go. It took the better part of 30 minutes out on the trail for me to accept it and move on.

After twelve and a half hours in the woods, I finally spotted one lights ahead and was thankful to realize that it was indeed the finish line with my wife patiently waiting for me to finish. I immediately started shivering pretty violently and after picking up my finisher swag (sweatshirt and pint glass) headed back to the van for some warmth and food.

If you've never run this race, do yourself a favor and put it on your calendar. It is a bit more challenging than the elevation profile suggests, so just be ready. You won't regret the views afforded to runners during this southeastern classic. Thanks to Randy and Kris from Wild Trails for putting on an amazing event.

Check out the full race video on my YouTube channel here. This adventure came unexpected and unplanned. My better half figured we should do one more ultra before the end of the year, so we started searching online for an event that looked interesting to both of us. I wasn't interested in short loops and she wasn't interested in a ton of vertical gain. It also had to offer multiple distances as my wife wanted a 50K and I wanted to try for one more 100 mile buckle to close out the year.

After narrowing down our search, we both agreed that Fall Creek 100 fit the bill. A new event that was cancelled in its first year last year, it takes places at the Fall Creek Falls State Park in Tennessee. It also was only a short 2 hour drive from our home with reasonable registrations fees for the various race distances (33M, 50M, 100M). Along with plenty of campsites inside the park, they also offered free camping for race weekend at the race start/finish area (large group campsite). Having been to this park earlier in the year for the Frozen Falls 50K put on by a local Huntsville crew, I knew some of the trails already and I really liked the start/finish setup with free camping.

Anya and I left our house in our camper van on Friday afternoon. Even though packet pickup wouldn't happen until race morning Saturday, we booked one of the campsites inside the park, so we could "sleep in" until 4AM with time for coffee and a small breakfast prior to the 5:30AM packet pickup time. We got a campfire going, had a past dinner and a couple of beers, got our race kits ready and went to sleep at a reasonable hour.

Our biggest concern for race day were the expected temperatures. We had been following the weather forecast for the last 10 days and it did not look promising. I may not be a fan of hot weather races (see my last race report about our Mexican UTMB race), but low 20s to low 40s seemed a little too cold, especially considering the night time temps. I went back and forth on what layers to wear or not to wear, but I ultimately opted for one of my favorite Compressport hooded LS shirt coupled with my trusty old Patagonia Houdini windbreaker. I used an old pair of UD running gloves and a rolled up buff to cover most of my head and ears while still allowing excess heat to escape at the top of my head. For my lower body, I went with a pair of Path Projects shorts and one of their baseliners. I wore a pair of Altra Time 4 and a pair of my favorite Merino wool CEP socks.

We would have access to one drop back at the Gilbert Gaul AS, which we would visit a total of 4 times during the race. Runners were also allowed a drop bag at the start/finish, which 100 milers would only access at the 50 mile mark...and at the finish, of course. Speaking of the course, the 100 mile course consisted of two 50 mile "loops" that contained a couple of smaller loops. The total vertical elevation gain was advertised as 8000', but I recorded nearly 12,000', which still isn't too bad at all and still presents as a fairly runnable course, overall. However, the leaf cover made the course much more challenging than the elevation profile would suggest.

Since I was able to access my single drop bag at Gilbert Gaul AS 4 times, I only had to carry enough nutrition to get me to and from this aid station. I chose my UltrAspire Legacy 2.0 race vest as it provided the storage needed for my bottles, Spring Energy gels, drink mix powders as well as additional layers, phone, GoPro and batteries. Speaking of GoPro batteries, the extreme temps were too much even for the batteries GoPro touts as cold weather batteries. I've already done some research to confirm an idea that I had during the race and it seems the hand warmers I used all day and all night are just the ticket to keep camera batteries warm when conditions require it. During my post race research, I also found a solution for annoying waterspots that create blurry GoPro footage. I will be putting both of these solutions to the test soon and hopefully do a blog or video about it, but back to the race.

As this was the first time this race actually took place, the race field across all distances was rather small, but there were still more than 100 runners lined up to tackle one of the 3 distances on offer. All races started together at 6:30AM. Anya and I stayed in our toasty warm van for as long as possible before making the short 2 min walk to the race start. We made it just in time for the countdown.

My race strategy was simple. Keep moving forward until I cross the finish line. Since I had not really trained specifically for this event other than trying to keep a weekly average of 50-60 miles, I could not really have any ambitions other than hoping to finish. Now I am believer in having a lofty A goal along with a B or minimum goal, so I decided to plan the nutrition to carry and use based on a 24 hour plan. I figured a sub 24 finish could be a possibility, if all things came together just so. However, once the race started, I never looked at the pace chart. I did check my time at the turnaround point, which I realized post race was actually to the minute on pace for my sub 24 hour finish schedule. However, since my wife misinterpreted my actual pace and told me that I was 40 minuted behind at mile 50, I decided to take extra time to reset before getting back out there for the second half of the race, but more about this later.

The first 5 miles were pretty uneventful, but in a good way. I was feeling good and slowly warming up enough to have feeling in all of my extremities by the time I rolled into the first Fire Tower aid station at mile. If I remember correctly, the next section was quite challenging. There was heavy leaf cover and the course marking was rather sparse. At times, this section felt more like an orienteering race than an ultra, especially at some of the confusing intersetions and it had me worried for the night, when we had to cover this section again, but in total darkness aside from our own light sources.

While this section felt more difficult, I was still moving well. My pace felt steady and on track. I was running entirely by feel, so I really didn't know my actual pace. After 9.50 miles I arrived at the second aid station, Nature Center, which I recognized from running a 50K here I ran earlier in the year. Next up would be a section with some ups and downs, but that just gave me a reason to walk some after doing a lot of running. Next up would be the Piney Falls AS, which we would visit for the first of four times at mile 13.9. This AS was on the smaller "loop" we'd run twice during each 50 mile loop. I mostly relied on my Spring Energy gels along with my drink mix, but I would supplement at some of the aid stations with a piece of banana and coke and later on with mashed potatoes and broth.

Speaking of the aid stations, they really stepped up their game throughout the day, providing warm food choices as the day turned darker and colder. The mashed potatoes coupled with the vegetable broth were absolutely amazing in the middle of the night. Next up would be the Gilbert Gaul AS, where I would access my drop bag for the first time. Along with 4 zip lock bags with various nutrition choices, my drop bag also contains an extra pair of shoes (Altra Olympus 4.0) along with various long and warm layers and my main light source for the night, The UltrAspire Lumen 600 3.0.

I was now 20 miles into the race and still moving well, but I had already taken a couple of tumbles catching roots hidden under the thin leaf cover. I had also rolled my ankle a few times even with the preventative tape job I had done prior to the race as I had all year. Thankfully, none of these issues ended my race prematurely, but they did have a major affect on my performance and ability to keep moving quickly later on in the race.

We would repeat some of this last section on the smaller loop before continuing on the larger loop. When I made it back to my drop bag at the Gilbert gaul AS for the second time, I had covered 50K and had to pick up my primary light for the night as I knew I wouldn't be back here until mile 70 much later in the night. I was still feeling great and moving well, but the next section along the lake was much more technical and way colder than any other section before. Lots of exposed roots made running impossible for me as I had to protect my left ankle. The cold air blowing from across the lake added to the challenge as I now pulled up both of my hoods to stay warm during this slower section.

When I arrived at the Bridge AS at mile 39 having covered the last 8 miles rather slow, I was ready to pick up the pace again. I was motivated to make it back to the mile 50 turnaround at the start/finish before it got dark, but first I had to cover the biggest climb on the course before it would level out again for some more runnable terrain. By the time I made it to the Fire Tower AS for the second time, this time coming back from the other direction, I had slowed again. It was here that I joined up with fellow 100 mile runner Rob, who was running much better than me at this point. As he caught up to me, I latched on to try to keep up with him until mile 50. With 2 miles to go to the turnaround, I finally had to let him go. I decided too slow to a more comfortable pace and to hit the reset button at the halfway point to revive my race.

I arrived at mile 50 in 11 hours 15 minutes, well on sub 24 hour pace. However, due to a misinterpretation of my pace by my wife AND my desire to take a longer break to change into warmer and dryer clothes and to sit down for some food, a sub 24 hour finish was no longer on my mind. Just finishing was now the plan.

Refreshed and ready to tackle the second half of the course to earn that buckle, I bundled up in some warm clothes and got back out there. Miraculously, I actually had my best 20 miles from miles 50-70. I was moving well again and clocking some fastish miles. In fact, sub 24 started creeping into my mind again, which isn't a bad thing when you are trying to keep moving through the night. I even overcame the sleepies with the help of some caffeine.

However, around mile 73 or so, I was stopped dead oil my tracks. I guess my left knee/leg finally decided to lock up completely. It may just have been too many falls that ultimately tweaked my left knee and inflamed my IT band. I barely made it limping into the Gilbert Gaul AS. I had to sit down, change into some warm/dry clothes from my drop bag and ask the AS crew for some Ibuprofen. I have never ever taken any kind of pain medication during an ultra for obvious reasons, but I knew I needed the left knee to release, if I didn't want my race to be over right here and now. I sat at that AS for a while to warm up and to eat some more mashed potatoes and broth before deciding that it was time to try rot keep moving.

The next 8-10 miles were as slow and ugly as I expected, but I was happy to start feeling better by the time daylight returned. I didn't get the proverbial second wind, but I was able to move. I was ready to be done at whatever pace my body would allow me to go. I was excited when I finally spotted the final aid station before the finish, Fire Tower AS. One more hole punch at the base of the fire tower and it was time to make my way to the finish, but not until the awesome AS volunteer handed me a couple of freshly made hasbrowns. I made quick FT call to my wife, who was happy to see me moving still, to let her know that I was less than 6 miles from the finish. As is often the case, the final miles in a 100 miler always feel the longest and this rare was no different. I was so happy when I finally spotted my wife at the end of a long first service road section that would take me into the finish. A "short" 25 hours and 49 minutes later, I crossed the finish line, elated to be informed that I finished 3rd Overall along with earning that sweet handmade Fall Creek 100 Mile buckle.

I encourage you to check out my race video at YouTube for a more immersive race experience and for a reveal of the beautiful buckle.

Ultra Kraut Running

Race Calendar

Podcast Interviews

Gear Reviews

recent posts

Visitors