Race Report - 2017 Yeti 100 Mile Endurance Run

Typical views from the Virginal Creeper Trail.

This was quite different from any other race weekend that had come before. For one, I had registered a long time ago, but then really had no intention of running this race after signing up for Fat Dog 120 in August and the adventure of a lifetime, the Everest Trail Race in Nepal, in November. I figured two huge events like that would be enough for this year and I could always do the Yeti 100 next year, since it was only a drive away from my home base. However, Wednesday I listened to the East Coast Trail & Ultra Podcast that had Jason Green on to talk about the race and it got me thinking. I hadn't done a race spontaneously ever. I also hadn't done a race solo without crew/pacer or any other support in a very long time. Did I still have it mentally to do 100 miles without anyone prodding me on? How about running two 100s just one month apart?

By the time I got home from work, I sent Jason a message if I was still good to go and he said yes. Crap, was I really going to do this? Run a 100 miler in two days? Probably not a good idea, but when did good stories ever come from well thought out plans, am I right? What followed was the fastest race prep ever. Open giant duffle bag, throw in race kit, spare shoes, a bunch of warm clothes, fuel, headlamp, etc., close duffle bag, done. I booked a room at Red Roof Inn, filled up my car and left Huntsville Thursday at noon. While I am usually a social media "overposter", I played this one close to the chest. I did not want any external pressure, perceived or otherwise. 

The town of Damascus fully embracing the Yeti 100 and its participants.

I arrived in Damascus, VA a short 5 hours later, just in time to throw my one drop bag on the trailer outside the historic Rock School that was hosting the race packet pickup and pre-race briefing. Inside, there were about 250 "Yetis" ready to listen to RD Jason Green's final words of wisdom before continuing catching up with friends and heading to their respective accommodations. 

One of the 40+ trestle bridges on the course.

I returned to the Red Roof Inn, finished laying out my race kit for the morning and sent Benj Lance a final text message about meeting in the morning, since he and his dad had kindly agreed to pick me up at the race finish and take me along to the race start, so I could leave my car for later. I still wasn't sure if I was ready, but that did not matter. Once Jason signaled the start of the race, all worries fell away and I just started chatting and running with Benj for a while.

Benj and I had talked about goals for the day and since I really had no goals other than to finish in one piece and hopefully one day, I figured I'd try to stay with him for as long as possible. I've known Benj ever since I spotted him at a local ultra in a Barça jersey some years ago. I knew tight then and there that I would like this guy:-) We really hadn't had the chance to run together much over the years, so this worked out great. 

The race course starts at the east end of the Virginia Creeper Trail at the White Top depot at 3,500 feet elevation and runs approx. 33 miles west through Damascus (also the 50 mile finish line) and Alvarado (the lowest point on the course at 1,700 feet) all the way to the turnaround point and eventual finish line in Abingdon for a total elevation gain of around 3,000 feet and elevation loss of 6,000 feet. 100 mile runners would run this course as an out & back & out, which made the second middle leg of the race course the toughest as runners made the 17 mile gradual climb back to the White Top depot turnaround point.

Many of the trestle bridges feature unique structures.

Benj and I both decided to start conservatively, even including occasional walk breaks on the initial 17 mile downhill stretch, just to try to save our legs for the later stages. While this is a rails to trails path with mostly hard-packed dirt and gravel surface, the courses elevation profile invites or almost forces participants to run most if not all of the race...until they can no longer do so. The mostly even surface also meant that the same muscle groups and tendons would be doing most of the work during the race. This was not all all the type of training and racing I had been doing all year, quite the opposite.

Most of my races this year have had serious elevation profiles and fairly technical terrain, so I was used to climbing a lot and descending a lot, which meant fast running, but also lots of "walk" breaks on the uphills. Not so at the Yeti 100 Mile Endurance Run. This race invites, asks and even lures runners to run until they can run no more. With a few exceptions, Olivier Leblond being one of them. A member of the USA 24 Hour National Team, Olivier was smiling all day as he crushed the 100 miles in 14 hours and 4 minutes, setting a new course record. Most others would eventually find out just how difficult it is to run 100 miles. I was one of those runners.

Benj and I caught up on each others lives and adventures as the early miles ticked away quickly. We ran a very conservative pace, giving me no reason to worry. While this course was a lot flatter than most of my other recent ultra adventures, it was just as beautiful if not more so in many cases. This rails to trail includes over 40 trestle bridges that runners would cross 3 times each. Most of the bridges had unique design features and were of varying lengths, mostly constructed of wood and some steel. The landscape was absolutely stunning. 

Imagine my disappointment when I did not find any Fireball:-(

We rolled into the first aid station at mile 10, I refilled my bottles and we continued on. Somewhere along this section, Brett Addington, a fellow Huntsville runner, RCM pacer (more successful than me, but that is another story;-) and first time 100 miler, passed us. I never saw him again and he finished this race well under 24 hours, congrats again, Brett! Benj and I continued to keep our easy pace all while meeting new and old friends on the course. 

Before we knew it, we had arrived at the mile 17/50/84 aid station in Damascus for the first time. I located my drop bag, grabbed some more Honey Stingers and some Sword, downed a can of Coke and went on my way. During this next stretch, Benj's stomach started to give him trouble, nausea and pain, possibly related to a bug he dealt with the previous weekend that had landed him in the ER. I reminded him to take extra care to get enough electrolytes and nutrition since his body was already depleted from dealing with the bug earlier in the week.

Unfortunately, we would not hit an aid station soon enough to allow him to address some of his issues. Instead, he needed to slow down to allow his stomach not to get worse. I stayed with him for a few miles before pushing ahead to stay on pace. I notified his dad at the next crew spot, so he would be ready to get him going again. I was sure he would catch up to me later on. I figured it was only a matter of time until my legs would get tired of running without significant walk breaks or downhill running.

Much of the Virgina Creeper trail runs along Laurel Creek.

I continued my pace strategy, actually running a little bit more now on the flats and the slight incline towards Abingdon, reaching the 33 mile turnaround point in just over 6 hours. After a high five from Jason Green, RD extraordinaire, refilling my bottles and catching up with David Thurman and Russ Dixon, two fellow Huntsville area runners and both equally surprised to see me out there, I went on my way to get back to the White Top depot. I was mentally prepared for this section to be the toughest.

However, I wasn't prepared for my stomach to go south on me as I rolled into the 50 mile AS in Damascus. There were long flat stretches of the race course between mile 33-50 that were fully exposed to the sun and while the temps were only in the mid 70s, it was enough for me to get hot and for my stomach to start revolting. None of the foods looked appetizing to me, so I stuck to a cup and ginger ale and a cop of Coke. This and one single cup of ramen noodles along with my Sword drink mix would be the only calories my body would accept for the remainder of the race.

There were constant reminders that this area does have some beautiful mountains.

On a positive note, I stayed with the same pair of wool socks and Altra Timp for the entire 100 miles and did not develop a single blister. However, my pace continued to slow as the day turned into night. I was now running alone and continued to run alone for the next 30 miles. I was actually able to move uphill better than I thought, but the low levels of energy caught up to me and my pace continued to slow. Walk breaks became longer than I wanted them to be, but it became harder and harder to start running agin. 

It wouldn't be until mile 80 that I joined up with another runner after I took a pretty hard fall and he helped me "dust" myself off. Nick Schuster and I would stay together until the very end and while he says that I helped him get there, I can only return the compliment. Nights are even "darker" 80 miles into a 100 mile run and while it it nice to spend some time alone during an ultra to reflect, I am most definitely a social animal that enjoys the company of others, especially during the dark long hours of an ultra. Congrats again to Nick for completing his first 100 and for doing so in under 24 hours. Good luck at Pinhoti 100 next month. You are one cray cray dude, but I have confidence that you will do great there as well.

While we mostly followed a run walk strategy for the final 20 miles, swapping race stories and adventures made the time go by much quicker. However, we were both glad when we finally spotted the finish line with Jason Green patiently waiting for each runner to arrive, so he could give them the biggest bear hug ever followed by awarding the coolest finisher buckles in the ultra world. I was ecstatic to have completed the Yeti 100. The picture below shows the spoils of "war":-)

Swag and awards done right.

I came to this race to find out what Jason had created. I came here to get one of the most badass buckles awarded to 100 mile ultra finishers. I came here to see if I could still run an ultra solo without support crew and pacers and without the usual 6 month build up. I came here off the high of completing two very tough ultras in the previous 6 weeks, wanting to see if had what it takes mentally to finish another 100. I was able to accomplish all of these goals.

However, while I may not have had crew/pacers along for the journey, fellow runners Benj and Nick as well as their crew Bob, Amanda, David and Russ were a definite help on my journey. Their support along with RD Jason Green and his entire crew of volunteers, cheerleaders, unicorns and yetis not only allowed me to succeed in getting that sub 24 hour buckle, but they made it a amazing journey and experience. Thanks everyone, hope to see you again on the trails, soon!

Race Report - 2017 Barkley Fall Classic

Magical moment midrace.

"The extreme highs and extreme lows of the Barkley Fall Classic 50K" would be an appropriate title for my race experience this weekend. Let's start with the good news, I finished. However, there were a lot of things that transpired between starting the race on a mild Saturday morning at 7AM and finishing the race around 6:30PM on the evening of that same day. Yes, you read that right, it took me more than 11:30 hours to cover the 50K distance, but that is actually not all that unusual when you are talking about the Barkley Fall Classic 50K, also lovingly referred to as the "Baby Barkley". But first things first.

Rob Youngren and I carpooled to Wartburg, TN, leaving Huntsville around noon. Dana Overton had reserved a camping spot at Frozen Head State Park and was kind enough to let us share her spot, giving me the opportunity to test out some new camping gear ahead of a couple of major adventures, but that's another story. While I was "glamping" last year by staying at the Holiday Inn, this year camping at FHSP sounded like a fun idea. Rob and I arrived at packet pickup with plenty of time, chatted with a few folks and then left to head to the campground to set up camp. Dana joined us shortly after and we all went to the most happening Asian restaurant in town for our pre-race meal where we were coincidentally joined by DeWayne Satterfield. If you've seen the Barkley Marathons documentary, then those names should ring a bell, but enough with the name dropping...

The weather gods were kind enough to shroud Testicle Spectacle in clouds, so our ability to comprehend the immensity of the challenge ahead was limited.

We returned to camp right around dark and everyone pretty much turned in for the night right away. I dozed off pretty quickly, but after waking up around 1AM to rid myself of some pre-hydration fluids, I was unable to get back to sleep, so I laid there for another 4 hours until my alarm finally went off. After a quick coffee, breaking down camp and short bathroom stop, we were off to the race start, arriving around, giving me plenty of time to say hello to the large group of Huntsville runners and other running friends who had made the trek to Frozen Head State Park to get just a glimpse of what it may be like to be "out there".

I toed the starting line alongside about 350+ runners and only a third of them would return in time for an official 50K finish. Regardless of the finish, be it a 50K, marathon or DNF, I venture a guess that everyone had a blast. Where there low points? Of course. Where there high points? Hell yes! Was it the both the hardest and longest 50K anyone had ever done? Quite possibly, but I'm not looking to start that discussion. I definitely experienced all of the above.

Shuttle for those that couldn't or didn't want to face Rat Jaw. 

I had run this race for the first time last year and before my skin had even healed from the 2016 BFC 50K, I had signed up for this year's edition. I had done pretty well considering my state of training at the time and I actually had a great time as well, so why not. I really had no expectations for this race as I was coming off my goal race of the year, Fat Dog 120, four weeks earlier. However, my vert training leading up to Fat Dog had given me just a bit of confidence, so much so that my secret goal was a top ten finish, but since I had no idea who else was running, it really wasn't that important of a goal. The plan was to start extremely conservative, just like last year and to slowly pick up effort once the race was well underway and I knew how I was feeling on the day.

Well, leave it to Laz to create plenty of buzz, excitement and nervousness by making some subtle changes to last years course. The sections were essentially the same as last year, but the order was changed around and there may have been a section run in reverse.

As the race got started, I had lined up somewhere in the middle of the pack, maybe just at the tail end of the front third of runners. I was looking around for familiar faces and kinda fell in line with some of them as we made our way up the gentle 4 mile slope that was the first climb of the day. The usual train of runners had formed, ensuring that I wasn't going to be running too fast too early in the race and as the trail widened, I started to pick up the pace just a little. A quick stop at the first aid station and I was on my way again. This next section was all runnable as we approached the first mayor highlights of the day, Testicle Spectacle followed by Meth Hill. Everything looked way more overgrown than last year.

I put on some work gloves and started my descent down Spectacle. About halfway down, David Riddle came past me in the opposite direction, leading the race just as I had expected. However, another runner followed by a large lead pack were hot on his heels. I was surprised to see them this close, but David had told me that he had initially missed the turn down Spectacle, losing some valuable time before realizing the directional error. Runners kept passing me in the opposite direction and I quickly lost count. I really was surprised just how many runners were ahead of me at this point. It seemed the course change had either invited runners to "bank some time" early or I was moving much slower than I thought. Oh well, I thought, there's a lot of race left to do and a lot of things can change. Boy, was I right!

I continued my descent, got my bib punched at the next aid station and returned back the way I came. Up and over the hill and down Meth Hill I went, butt-sliding through briars until we finally entered some runnable terrain again before arriving at the prison at the bottom of Rat Jaw. A "minor" clarification on the race rules (i.e. stay under the powerlines at all times) combined with 8ft tall briars all along the Rat Jaw power line cut that had not been cut this year led to some serious doubt in my mind. I'm not gonna lie, there was some serious cursing going on before, during and after this section. I may owe a few peeps with sensitive ears an apology for my choice of language at times.

The only time you will ever see me ahead of David Riddle.

I refilled my bottles at the prison, only to realize that I had not only lost all of my salt, I had also lost my flask with nutrition, leaving me with a small ziplock bag with chews and my two water bottles, not what I would call a sound nutrition plan for what lay ahead. Here, I caught up to DeWayne and we started the ascent up Rat Jaw together. Initially, the briars were not too terrible. Don't get me wrong, there was no path and they were bad, but it would only get worse as we continued to climb. Just as we cross at the "halfway point", a little spot were the powerline cut levels out for just a moment, one of my worst fears came true. I got stung my a yellow jacket. I am somewhat allergic, but thankfully, I had not stepped into a nest, so two Benadryl seemed to do the trick. I'm sure the kick of natural adrenaline I experienced in that moment helped. The briar cuts also started to mask the pain of the sting.

The home stretch and most definitely my fastest split:-)

As we continued to climb, I started to lift my head to look ahead. I was trying to spot the cliff that runners had to get around before they could continue their track to the fire tower. I literally could not believe my eyes. There was David Riddle just about 100 yards above us, and 30 yards behind him was a large train of about 30 or so runners, seemingly standing still. Within a few minutes, we caught up to them. We weren't sure why they weren't moving and then it hit me, they were moving, the briars were just slowing them down that much.

As more minutes passed I became increasingly impatient. Those who know me would not be surprised at that statement:-) I turned to DeWayne and suggested we cut our own way past this large group. Just I said it, Rob had caught up to us and literally threw himself backwards into the briars, DeWayne and I pushing ahead right behind him. Rob continued to push throw and DeWayne and I and a couple of others followed. Within a couple of minutes we had movd past the train of runners and were making slow but significant progress, extending our lead over the other group. Rob continued to do the majority of the work, sacrificing his body as we pushed behind, trampling down the briars. As we pushed past the cliff, David had joined in with us to get to the top. David was running in second place at this time with the race leader about 15 minutes ahead of us.

I finally stepped up to take the lead after Rob had done the majority of the work. The briars were relentless and with every cut, my cursing got louder. We continued on and finally crested Rat Jaw to the cheers of a large crowd of onlookers and supporters. I was now in third place overall. I had never before been so glad to have been done with a section of a race. We continued uphill and up to the top of the fire tower to collect another punch before heading down the jeep road to the next aid station. This would be one of the easier course sections. There was some jockeying for position on the downhill to the aid station, but I was excited to still be running in the top 5 as I left the next aid station. My secret goal of a top ten finish seemed very realistic at this point. I knew what lay ahead and figured nutrition would be my only challenge, since I had lost all of mine. The next bib punch would be at the Garden Spot, so I settled into a steady pace. Ah, there was the gate that gave me pause last year when I had to resort to the map to confirm that I indeed needed to climb across it to continue on. This year, we came from he opposite direction, but no confusion here.

Atop Testicle Spectacle just before descending down Meth Lab Hill.

Then my troubles began. Eventual third place finisher Ihara Tomokazu was running just ahead of me as the trail appeared to split in a "Y". I know, I know, it's not a intersection, just a short spur going off to the left while the course continued up on the left towards the Garden Spot, but that's not how it looked to me in that situation. I grabbed the map, even yelling at Ihara to stop and turn around. He either ignored me or did not hear me. Either way, I sure am glad he didn't.

I checked the map and noticed a Y-intersection noting the left spur as a red trail, so I needed to go right, I figured. I made two mistakes. First, I got the distances wrong or else I should have noticed that I passed the red (off course) trail much earlier. Second, I did not pay attention to the topographical detail on the map. I knew I needed to climb to the Garden Spot, but I figured the trail would just dip and then climb again. It did, about three quarters of a mile later and after two T-intersections. Why did I not turn around immediately. Well, I figured no arrow at the Y-intersection, so maybe no arrows here either? I don't know. When I finally decided to turn around, DeWayne showed up, oh good, I was on the right trail after all. Nope, he was lost, too. How is that even possible? Anyway, I finally tracked back. I figured I lost about an hour total. Got confused one more time at the next directional arrow and then finally made it to the Garden Spot for my punch. I was the 75th runner to receive my punch, what??? 70 runners had passed my while I was off course. I was deflated.

Me during a creek crossing just before I busted my @$$.

So much for a top ten finish. This one gnawed on me for a long while. I had tried to make up time and that combined with the lack of salt and fuel put me at the lowest point for the day. Luckily I caught up to Dana and Jeff Deaton, so I ran/shuffled along for a while, dropped back, picked up pace again and so on. As I started to climb the backside of Bird Mountain, I decided that I was done once I got to Laz. I had gotten my finish last year, I was tired, why would I want to continue? I spent the better part of the climb and even the descent in an inner monologue of why I was right. There was nothing inside me disagreeing with me. As I was going on, I realized that this was typical DNF talk, justifying quitting to yourself. I was done, but I decided to not call it quits until after I drank my Pepsi and sparkling water that I had stashed in a drop bag. I never ever use drop bags for a 50K, but I had decided to bring trekking poles to train for my Everest race, so I figured I'd stash some refreshments as well. When I finally got there, the drinks were still cold inside my little plastic drop bag.

All day, most things seemed to have gone wrong for me, but now my drinks were somehow still icecold after laying outside for nearly 10 hours. I drank the water, the soda and two containers of coconut water, then I went to tell Laz I was done. I had chatted with Luke Hough and a few volunteers convincing them that I was making the right direction. Luke, figuring that I knew what I wanted, let it go. The other volunteers, however, would not. And when Laz chimed in as well, reminding me of the dreaded DNF regret, I had already decided to go on. I had enough time, my body wasn't as battered as I had expected and another finish would be much sweeter than conceding defeat.

I grabbed my trekking poles and took off. I made it across Chimney Top in less than three hours and clocked my fastest split from the final timing mat to the finish. In the end, I crossed the finish line in just over 11:30 hours, elated to get another "Croix de Barque", this time with a nice shiny star for a second finish. Thanks again to an amazing group of volunteers and for Laz and company for thinking up this and other crazy events for us to find and push beyond our limits. Congrats to everyone that finished or attempted to finish. Will I be back next year? Who knows...

Crossing the finish line exhausted and ecstatic.