Race Report - 2021 Barkley Fall Classic 50K

 

Cresting the top of Rat Jaw for the second time.

Wow! What an unexpected weekend! In more ways than one. First of all, it didn't seem like I was even going be be at the starting line. I was meant to do the Triple Crown of 200 Milers this summer with the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc 106M sandwiched in between, no time really to go for another Barkley Fall Classic 50K finish. More importantly, I was never selected for the race and had been on the waitlist for almost a year. But things can change quickly, for better and for worse.

Nothing like a quick dip in the creek after a warmup lap.

To kick things off, I did not succeed at my first attempt at the 200 mile distance and first event of the Triple Crown of 200s, the Bigfoot 200 in Washington. I dropped at mile 65 with blisters. I couldn't imagine another 160 miles on those feet. It did not fill me with confidence as I got ready to travel to France in an attempt to earn my third UTMB finish just 10 days later. Thankfully, my feet healed up enough and my tape job kept my feet in good condition for all of the 41 hours it took me to finish UTMB. The day prior to the start of the UTMB, I received an email notifying participants that massive wildfires in the Tahoe area had made the Tahoe 200 race scheduled for September impossible. So when an email with a BFC invite off the waitlist appeared in my email inbox I didn't hesitate to accept. 

Reaching the top of Rat Jaw for the first time of the day.

I only had one goal, make it around Frozen Head State Park and the 2021 BFC course in time to collect my fourth Croix rather than be timed out for a marathon finish, or worse, get hurt and/or timed out earlier. I had never had that concern before, but I was coming off UTMB just a short couple of weeks earlier, and my training this year just hadn't been anywhere near I'd usually be at by this time. Injuries cut my training cycles short, so (on average) I am standing at half the vert and nearly half the miles vs my previous years. It did not matter, maybe I'd get to run with someone and enjoy the day rather than break myself trying to run another PR. After all, you're really never able to beat a PR on this course as it changes every year.

Speaking of course changes, this year's course was a doozy. While we did get the course maps the night before the race rather than on race morning as was the case last year, there appeared to be a small course change (ie the course map had an error). Lucky for me, my buddy Jeff Deaton was in the know, aka a little birdie told him at race packet pickup. Three beers later, I had finally memorized this year's course map with Jeff's help, including that little course deviation early on in the race.

Travel logistics were also a bit more complicated this year. I had sold my Jeep a week before the race and my sprinter van was still parked in LA in anticipation of my next 200 miler attempt in Moab, UT. Since my new to me car wouldn't arrive until the week after BFC, I had to rent a car to travel to Frozen Head SP. Just as lat year, Brian Young was quick to offer his front yard as a campground for weary BFC travelers, including the post race Chili, beers and moonshine. He really is am amazing host that makes everyone feel welcome without asking for anything in return. This year, more than 20 runners got to enjoy his hospitality.

I opted to sleep in the back of my rented SUV, which turned out to not be such a great idea, ie. I didn't sleep but a couple of hours continuing to slide off the sleeping pad I had thrown into the back of the car. Didn't matter, I don't often get much sleep the night prior to any ultra anyway. I had already laid out my gear and supplies for race morning, so all that was left to do was tape my heels and make some coffee.

I rolled up to the start-finish line 30 minutes prior to race start and it was still pitch black. I scanned the area to look for and say hello to a few familiar faces before lining up in the starting coral. I briefly caught up with Liz who had recently moved to Colorado and came back to gun for the win. And I spotted Brett, another local Huntsville runner. We lined up near the front of the starting line, but I had no intention of sprinting from the start as is often the case a this race as runners jockey for position to avoid getting stuck in a conga line up one of the many single track trails in the park. Luckily, I had become somewhat familiar with the park's trails, so I knew the first section would be mostly on a wide jeep road all the way to the top of the first of six climbs. I won't be sharing a description of the course here as that would take away all of the fun for future runners, but I will say that this year offered up the most challenging weather conditions, yet. I'd take heat over rainstorms and the resulting mudslides any day on the BFC course. It also felt the longest of the courses I'd run over the years along with more vert than before. Exactly what one hopes for when toeing the starting line at the BFC.

For the next nearly 11 hours, Brett and I would basically run together or at least be within each other's earshot as our day's ebbed and flowed. I was thankful to have company for a race I knew would take me a bit longer than usual, but we agreed that we would not hold each other back in case either one of us wanted to take off and push. That never happened, we just managed to run mostly comfortably without ever waling any runnable sections. I did, however, make a point of not running any inclines at all and pushing the pace a little on the downhills. As the course deteriorated on both the climbs and the descents, our pace forcibly slowed.

It became a challenge just to maintain any kind of momentum and all one could do is laugh at it. Laugh at the comedy that played out among all of us runners as powerline cuts turned into muddy slip and slides, resulting in uncontrollable "mud glissading" down the powerline cuts and pulling yourself up these same mud slides on an actual decommissioned power line. We just "assumed" it was decommissioned, which it was, but it had only been for a little over a week! One local "angel" had actually ensured that the power company turn off this line that would have otherwise been a live powerline on race day. You could say we all got very lucky! It was an easy mistake. There had been a few other decommissioned powerlines along the course that we were able to sue over the years, but this one looked much newer and shinier and we should've probably wondered why that was. Thankfully, no runner was electrocuted during the running of this race:-) 

I made it to the decision point and how tempting it may have seemed to hear Laz ask whether I wanted to take the marathon win, I told him the same thing I had every year prior: "no freaking way!" 

Brett and I continued to make our way towards and up the final climb, which took f-o-r-e-v-e-r. When we finally arrive at the top and started running the ridge line, there were still a few more climbs before the final 5K descent. Hike up run down, hike up, run down. Most of the trails in this park are not familiar with the concept of switchbacks. Eventually, the up and down ended and we finally descended. I was "smelling the barn" ie. I was ready to get it done. My legs felt pretty good, so I let it rip. I may have passed about 10 runners over this final stretch and was elated to finally cross that finish line just before dark. I collected my fourth croix and headed pretty much straight for the local rancher association hosting the cookout for the event, ordering a couple of veggie burgers and a couple of pepsis to replenish the energy lost during the day. Brett finished just behind me and when it was all said and done, a total of 170 runners out of 460 managed to earn a 50K finish on what was likely one of the toughest days in BFC history, yet still not anywhere even remotely close to what Big Barkers deal with, in case anyone is wondering:-) I've only crewed and that as enough to learn that much. 

Hopefully, I will be back next year to earn my fifth croix...

Collected my fourth Croix at the finish line, hardest earned one, yet.

Race Report - 2020 Barkley Fall Classic 50K

 

Cruising along with Craig Smith early on in the race.

Originally, I wasn't supposed to run the Fall Classic this year. Then Covid happened and everything changed. Due to new permit requirements and restrictions, most runners were automatically deferred to net year and only previous finishers stayed in the field. The field had to be reduced to a total of 125 runners. Some of these slots were taken by originally registered runners with at least one previous finish. the remaining slots were filled in with wait listers, etc. that had previous finishes. I was in the latter group. The field was set just a short 10 days prior to race day. We would be sorted into 5 waves of 25 runners starting at 7AM and every 15 minutes thereafter. Runners were grouped base on their expected finishing times with the potentially quicker runners in the final group 5 that would start an hour after the first group. I somehow ended up in this group 5 and as a result almost felt pressure to do well. I was thankful, however, as that meant an extra hour of sleep.

Coming down "Testicle Spectacle", yes, that is its name.

My hometown of Huntsville was well represented this year with a total of 9 runners slated to start and 2 fellow hometown boys were running right alongside me in group 5, Craig Smith and Rob Youngren. At least I wouldn't be lonely at the start:-) In addition to the Covid related rules, Laz made some additional changes to the rules as he felt the experience of the field of runners demanded it. First, no trekking poles would be allowed at any point in the race, but in Laz's words "there are plenty of sticks to be found in the woods". Second, there would be no aid whatsoever other than water jugs along the course. Third, runners would not receive the course maps until 45 minutes prior to the start of their respective waves, when they would pick up their race bibs. This would be interesting as you really wouldn't have any time to worry about the map. Finally, the course markings were promised to be even more minimal than ever before. As usual, absolutely no GPS devices were allowed, map and compass only.

Reaching the top of "Rat Jaw" the first time around, all smiles.

Since I joined the field fairly late in the game I hadn't really made any camping arrangements for the race weekend. However, just a quick post on the FB group had me being contacted Brian Young, a local hero to many Big Barkers and Mini Barkers as he opens up his backyard and home to race participants to camp for a voluntary donation to the local fire department. There also is the tradition of post race brews and moonshine and if you're lucky, some delicious home cooking as well. Thanks again to Bryan and his lovely wife and daughter for hosting me and the other fellas. I spend the evening before the race getting my gear ready to make sure I had the appropriate amount of nutrition for the day as well as appropriate protective gear for the long stretches of massively tall briars we would likely encounter on race day. I had a fairly good night's sleep in my camper van and by the time I pulled out of Brian's yard I was ready to get this show on the road. But first we had to pick up our race bibs at the local school board building just down the road from Frozen Head State Park, the location of the Fall Classic. Everything was set up to be socially distant, so we all just pulled alongside a table outside the building and received our bibs, maps and race swag through our car windows before heading to the actual race start.

"Dirt glissading" down Meth Lab Hill.

The course map was a huge surprise, having many question their choices even before the race got underway. In fact, I am almost certain some considered not even toeing the starting line. But why, you ask? Because in addition the usual challenging landmarks or highlights of the course we would have to climb the infamous "Rat Jaw" twice, twice, ...twice. What the...is this a joke? No way! I dropped a few expletives inside my car as I made my way to Frozen Head. This is gonna be hell! The good kind of hell, but still. After all, I had signed up for this. But it probably wasn't the wisest choice considering I would toe the starting line of the Bear 100 Miler in Utah just 5 short days later.

Reaching the top of "Rat Jaw" the second time around with a grimace of determination.

When I finally parked my van at the start/finish area I met up with Craig Smith to review the map. "So you know the area pretty well?" I asked. "I thought you do", he responded. This would be fun, indeed. Painful, but fun nonetheless. Both Craig and I had two previous finishes under our belts, so we knew what to expect. It would be a case of the blind leading the blind, but we decided to run together as long as it felt comfortable. Thankfully, I had just run an unofficial Barkley Challenge Loop a few weeks prior and the first 13 miles were identical. After that, I figured we'd get things sorted as we went along. That plan actually worked out to perfection, no wrong turns for the day.

The bottom of Rat Jaw requires 4 point contact.

As mentioned earlier, we started in the last wave. After a few quick hellos to other runners, we finally got going at 8AM sharp. Craig, Rob and I pretty quickly found ourselves at the tail end of wave 5. Everyone else seemed to be pushing the pace from the get go. I had no intentions of following that strategy. My plan was to start slow and not even try to push until after we completed the second climb to the top of Rat Jaw. The three of us stayed together for the first and biggest single climb of the day. Once we dropped down on the other side, Craig and I ended up pulling ahead slightly and continued to stick together for the remainder of the race. As mentioned earlier, I was quite familiar with the first 13 miles, so we were able to relax and just cruise along, up and down the side of the mountains and along the ridge lines. Once we passed through the first two checkpoints to receive our punches, the second being the Garden Spot, we started to move even better. 

Descending Meth Lab Hill or Testicle Spectacle...it's all a blur.

We arrived at the main intersection of the race, Tub Springs, a major water stop and bib punch station, were we would pass through a total of three times, right now and two more times after climbing Rat Jaw and the fire tower. The two images just above clearly show the deterioration and wear on one's body after climbing Rat Jaw twice. In short, Rat Jaw is a life sucking 1 mile stretch of a power line that climbs 2000 feet and is completely covered in 8' briars without a path through...until runners "make" a path.

Without giving away too much of the course, we not only climbed Rat Jaw twice, but we also had a few more challenging sections that are all part of Barkley lore. By the time it was all said and done, I crossed the finish line in a personal best of 9:14 hours for my third BFC 50K finish, which should be indication enough that this is one of the hardest if not the hardest 50Ks in the US. No GPS allowed, so distance and vert are estimated at just above 50K and north of 12,000' of vert. I ended up in 8th overall, which also happened to be my best finish at the BFC to date, aided by cooler weather than ever before.

Finally crossing the finish line, dripping wet...but no rain.

The highlights of the day were post race beers with some of the Nashville crew, Jason Loyd and Jeff Deaton before having my first real moonshine and other libations on Brian's porch. A good time was had by all!

Check out the video about what to carry in a self-supported race that I created for the Barkley Fall Classic:

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.

Race Report - 2016 Barkley Fall Classic 50K

It's easy to smile when you don't know exactly what lies ahead:-)

Training for and running ultras in Huntsville, Alabama, it doesn't take long until you hear about two things, the Mountain Mist 50K and the mystical Barkley Marathons. In case you didn't know, Huntsville is one of the original meccas of ultra-running. Don't believe it? Just check out ultrasignup.com and other related sites featuring ultra race results from the 80s and 90s and you'll notice quite a few wins and course records by local Huntsville runners. In other words, there are more than your normal number of "ultra studs per capita" that call Huntsville their home and when you consider doing a particular ultra marathon anywhere in the US, there is usually one of those local studs available to give you info about that race, because he or she had won it a few years earlier or at least done extremely well. It doesn't matter if it's a 50K, a 100 miler or a multi-day event, these guys have done it and excelled at it. But unlike these races scattered around the continental US, Mountain Mist and Barkley usually come up without anyone asking about it. Mountain Mist is the local premier ultra race and the Barkley Marathons had legendary cult status around here long before Netflix.