20 April 2019

/


Once again, I jumped into a race very last minute. In this case, I signed up 5 days prior because I needed a long run for the weekend. A challenging week loomed over my head. I was 2 weeks into this 3 week training block and was facing my highest mileage week for this training cycle, 100 miles. I was used to doing plenty of solo long runs in the past few years when preparing for a challenging race, but my motivation to run the usual local long run routes had vaned. This time around, I opted for more than a few trail races within driving distance to help me boost my weekend mileage and long runs. During the week, I continued to do my usual training runs. 

I had been to Fort Mountain State Park, the location of the Double Top 50K, many times before, either to run one of the Double Top race distances or to run the Mystery Mountain Trail Marathon. I knew the terrain and I knew this course wasn't an easy one as it provided both seriously technical terrain and plenty of vert to boot.

Initially, the plan was to drive up from Huntsville on race morning, but the thought of having to leave the house at 3AM started to look less and less appealing as Friday evening approached, so I changed my mind and left the house late Friday to crash in a cheap motel just outside the state park. I arrived at the race start for check in with plenty of time to shoot the shit with Perry and Brad for a bit before crawling back into my Jeep to get ready for the race. It was raining with temps in the low 40s and I decided to not only wear sleeves with my tank but a gore-tex rain jacket and gloves as well.

With the race start just 5 minutes away, 20 or so hearty runners toed the line for the 50K race scheduled to begin at 7AM. Everyone was wearing an extra layer or two to fight off the wet and cold conditions. When the countdown clock reached zero, we all took off, me slightly ahead of the main pack of runners.

While this was essentially just another piece in my training block in my preparation for a big summer of 100 mile races, I did come to the North Georgia mountains with a game plan. I had run this race a few years back in a rather conservative pace and I felt quite a bit stronger this time around. I had also looked up results from the previous years and based on performances, I came up with a goal time for myself. I didn't know any of the other runners, so I didn't want to just tag along or follow or run someone else's race. With that in mind, I took off at a comfortable pace with the plan to hike the steeper hills and run the flats and downhills strong.

This plan worked out near perfectly. I had no low points to speak off and when I checked my watch at mile 21 for the first time, the clock showed 4 hours. My goal was still within my reach, but only if I did not fall off. My goal was to break 6 hours on this course, which is a fairly challenging undertaking for me considering that the course has nearly 8000' of vertical gain. I knew I still have at least one major climb left to go, so there really was no rest to be had. I had to keep pushing while still maintaining a sustainable pace. After all, this was first and foremost the long run for my big training week.

I kept maintaining pace. Whenever my mind would wonder and I would appear to slow down, I reminded myself to just maintain, don't fall off don't push too hard too early. Save some for the last climb. While I did start to have some pain in the left ball of my foot every time I'd step on a protruding rock, it did not affect my pace or gait. I even had some energy to run most of the final climb. When I passed the final aid station and arrived at the finish line, the clock showed 5:55. I had accomplished my personal goal for the day and I was feeling pretty good physically. In the process, I managed to win the race collecting one of the cooler awards in the process, a beer tap mounted on a wooden plaque.

Huge shoutout to RD Perry Sebastian, Brad Goodridge, Deborah, David, Shannon, Nick, Joel and all he other volunteers that worked tirelessly all weekend to make each and every runner succeed. Conditions were less than ideal, which is to be expected for the North Georgia mountains, but you couldn't tell by the enthusiasm of each and every volunteer I encountered. Thanks again, you guys and gals made my day!










Below is a short clip from the race:


13 April 2019

/


It's been a busy three months of training and long solo runs have not been very high on my fun list, so I was looking for another 50K race to serve as my weekend long run. I had failed miserably at this particular race, the Oak Mountain 50K, two years ago. It was time for some sweet redemption. Nah, who am I kidding, I was actually pretty worried I would suffer the same fate as last time. Why? Because just like 2 years ago, I was in the midst of some high mileage training trying to get ready for a big event, or several big events this time around.

I know I know, you're not supposed to be racing to train, you're supposed to train to race, but I do not get paid to do this thing, I run trail because I love it. I love trail races even more than just running trails. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy long self-supported runs just as much, I had done it quite a few times before, spectacularly beautiful solo runs and spectacularly mind-numbing solo runs. However, I had mapped out a fairly long training cycle to get ready for this summer and I want to save most of my mental strength for my actual goal races. 

These shorter ultra distance trail races are my way of getting a supported long run in. Yes, I usually get sucked into running a lot faster than I want or should, but I always have a lot of fun and that's ultimately why I do this sport...to have fun and to see amazing places...if that means blowing up spectacularly every once in a while, so be it:-)

This year marked the 20th anniversary of the Oak Mountain 50K in Pelham, Alabama. It takes place in Oak Mountain State Park just outside Birmingham and has some seriously beautiful and seriously challenging single track trails. But don't make the mistake and believe that this is an easy course. It's definitely one of the top two most difficult 50Ks in the state of Alabama.

Paul Morris and I drove down to Birmingham the night before the race to get a proper night's sleep . The Oak Mountain 50K is a fairly low key event and packet pickup only takes place race morning, so we didn't have to worry about that and instead just grabbed some spicy Thai food. Luckily, this gamble did not "backfire" :-)

We arrived at the race pavilion with plenty of time to mingle and catch up with fellow runners and friends. Race Directors extraordinaire Todd and Jamie Henderson always put on solid events and for the 20th anniversary of this one, the actual race founder got us started and racing off into the woods. 

The Oak Mountain 50K has anywhere between 4000-5000 feet of vert and much of it seems concentrated in the first half of the race as I so painfully discovered 2 years ago, when I blew up epically after having run just over half the race distance. What followed was a slow slog to the finish. I was determined not to repeat history.

I decided to start slow and tackle each of the early hills conservatively and put my weight vest hill hiking training to good use. As a result, I was able to keep my heart rate low and sustain a constant level of energy for most of the day. Within the first 3 miles, I had passed a couple of runners ahead of me. By mile 10, I was running in fourth place overall, still maintaining a comfortable pace. I ended up sharing some miles with Sarah Woerner as well after hitting one of the more spectacular places along the race course, the Peavine Waterfalls.

I caught up to the runner in second place after about 15 miles. The runner in first place was about 5 minutes ahead and as it turned out, he had a pretty great day himself. Rather than me being able to close the gap, he continued to extend the gap by a couple of minutes between every aid station. On that note, congrats to the winner on a strong performance.

By mile 20, I was running closer to my max pace and rather than try to chase the race leader, I was hoping to be able to break 5 hours. Unfortunately, the final 6 miles of the race, although very runnable, felt more like 8 miles and when I crossed the finish line the clock showed 5:05 hours. This was still way better than my expectations, both from a time and placement perspective. Lucky to have been able to spend another Saturday running in the woods.




Below is a short clip from the race:


06 April 2019

/


The Yamacraw 50K is one of the most scenic trail ultras in the southeast. These days, I generally try not to run the same event more than once as there are so many beautiful ultras to run. However, I am currently training to run the 6 oldest 100 milers in the US over the course of this summer, so I needed to find a bunch of "local" 50Ks to use as my weekend long runs. One can only handle so many solo self-supported marathons and 50K runs. While the Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area, location of the Yamacraw 50K, is still a 4.5 hour drive from home, it was still within somewhat easy driving distance.

I booked a camping spot for the day before the race and drove up Friday afternoon to allow myself time to pick up my packet and set up my camp site in daylight. Drove up, got my race bib, picked up another flat bill trucker hat, headed to my camp site, sat down to eat my dinner and crawled into my rooftop tent to watch the Mötley Crüe film "The Dirt" (Side note: These dudes were definitely a lot crazier than ultra runners:-)

On race morning, runners had to assemble at the location of packet pickup, Heritage Hall in Stearns, KY, to be shuttled to the alternate route start line at the historic Blue Herron Mining Community, which usually only served as the finish line. However, due to severe flooding over the past weeks and months, the original race course had to be rerouted from a point to point course to a single loop course. This made the course slightly shorter than the original route and also seemingly faster as there were a lot more double track and jeep road sections than usual. However, the water crossings were still plentiful.


About 300 runners piled into a bunch of school busses to be shuttled to the race start. The bus ride took about 25 minutes allowing me plenty of time to catch up with another couple of Huntsville runners, Allie Law and David Holliday (yeah yeah, he's a Cinci kid now, but he'll always be a Huntsville runner:-). We arrived at the historic race site and were able to leave a finish line bag with some clothes for after the race. The temps were pretty mild, which made the wait for the actual race start very pleasant. I caught up with another couple of runner friends just before the RD gave the signal to start. We all ran a small half loop through the parking lot before crossing the famous Tram bridge, which would see us crossing it again to reach the finish line a few long hours later.

This year definitely featured a fast field and from the gun, nearly 20 runners took off ahead of me. Having already run 60 miles for the week, I was quite content to run a more conservative pace at the start and see what would happen later on. To be honest, I was afraid my legs would give out on me regardless of my pace. Thankfully, that did not happen. I ended up running most of the day by myself, but did end up running with Alondra Moody for a while, who literally wins every race she runs. She is one hell of a runner and luckily she dragged me along for a few of the latter miles of the race while I was struggling to keep going. Of course, she ended up winning this race as well:-)

Throughout the race, I did manage to gain a few spots here and there, so when it was all said and done and I crossed the finish line, I did manage to squeeze into the top ten. Not quite as good as my fourth place finish 2 years ago, but I am definitely happy with my finish. I do think having serious prize money for top three male and female finishers ($1000/$500/$250) also brought out the best in some of those speed demons that toed the line. Special shoutout and congrats to Tony White, who grabbed second overall and to my buddy Doug Daniel, who finished 2nd overall in the 20K distance. More importantly, congrats to being a new dad, Doug!

This event is still pretty new, but it is already a classic, selling out early even with a much higher runner cap than in previous years. I'm sure the amazing scenery coupled with the prize money will only continue to make this event bigger. Special kudos to the race organizers for creating and selling some of the coolest race swag I've ever seen (and purchased). Both years, I spent a few bucks on some cool new stuff. Camping mugs, buffs, shirts, hats, beanies, they have it all, so be sure to bring your wallet as well as your camera, when you sign up for this event next year. But don't forget to set the reminder on Ultrasignup.com when registration opens or else you'll have to wait two years to run this thing:-)



US STATES WITH 100 MILE RACES COMPLETED (15)

Create a map on Fla-shop.com

COUNTRIES WITH ULTRAMARATHONS COMPLETED (13)

Create a map on Fla-shop.com

RACE CALENDAR

  • Mount Mitchell Heartbreaker 50M (Old Fort, NC) - March 23, 2024
  • Oak Mountain 50K (Birmingham, AL) - March 30, 2024
  • Southern States 200M (Delta, AL) April 12-16, 2024
  • Cocodona 250M (Black Canyon City, AZ) - May 6-11, 2024
  • Mohican 100M (Loudonville, OH) - June 1, 2024
  • Bighorn 100M (Dayton, WY) - June 14, 2024
  • Tahoe Rim Trail 100M (Carson City, NV) - July 20, 2024
  • Crazy Mountain 100M (Lennep, MT) - July 26, 2024
  • Eastern States 100M (Waterville, PA) - August 10, 2024
  • SwissPeaks 360 (Valais, Switzerland) - September 1-8, 2024
  • IMTUF 100M (McCall, ID) - Sept 21, 2024
  • Indiana Trail 100M (Albion, IN) - October 12, 2024
  • Rim To River 100M (New River Gorge, WV) - November 2, 2024 (WAITLIST #99)
  • Loup Garou 100M (Ville Platte, LA) - December 7, 2024
  • Charleston 100M (Mount Pleasant, SC) - December 27, 2024
  • The Montane Winter Spine 268M (Edale, UK) - January 12-19, 2025

SPONSORS

YOUTUBE CHANNEL

TRANSLATE

PAGEVIEWS

| Free Blogger Templates