Race Report - 2022 Lookout Mountain 50 Miler

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.

Race Report - 2019 Upchuck 50K

RayJay doin' his thang!

What a crazy weekend it was. I landed back home in Huntsville, AL Friday night just before midnight after a weeklong work trip to San Jose, then slept 3 hours before driving 2 hours to Chattanooga, TN to finally run the Upchuck 50K, a low key regional favorite that features a point to point course and the most entertaining pre-race runner check in you will ever get to experience. However, I only barely made it to the race start as my Jeep blew a plum of smoke and spewed oil/transmission fluid all over just 1.5 miles from the finish line, where a school bus would pick us up to take us to the race start. I coasted into the parking lot, said "screw it!" and hopped on the bus. My car troubles would have to wait until after. Turns out, they are still not resolved, which is why it took me a week to finally summarize my race.

The goal was simple, make it to the finish line at a faster pace than had be the norm for me all summer while running a bunch of 100 milers. LSD would have to give way to SFD. After an energized start to the race I quickly fell in with a few fellas I've share some miles/races with this summer. In fact, I think every single runner from the Southeast (ok, just from Tennessee and Alabama) that had toed the line in Squaw Valley this summer was also at Upchuck 50K. At least that's the impression I got during RayJays pre-race runner check-in. If you're getting lost in my insider references, I guess you'll just have to sign up for next year, but be quick, this one has a small field and sells out quick.

I ran with Matt Hawkins and we let Ryan Meulemans set the early pace. Matt decided very early on not to push too hard as this was his last long run before the fabled TNF 50 Miler in San Francisco the following week. Ryan had no such plans and also didn't show any signs of slowing down even after having just completed the Cannonball "Last Human Standing" event as the top dawg.

I managed to hang on to his small group of runners and while the pace didn't necessarily feel comfortable, it felt good enough to hold for a while. Whenever I run shorter races, I usually don't spend as much time taking photos and videos and today was no exception. In fact, the Cumberland Trail, on which much of this race is run, is a rather technical trail in some areas and that coupled with the faster pace required my undivided attention for the most part. In case my pictures don't show it, this race should be on the to do list for ALL local trail runners. It provide a variety of surface terrain and elevation changes and will keep you on your toes.

Due to the race's low key nature and a lack of easy vehicle access points to some of the trail sections, this race only features 2 aid stations. Cooler temps usually make this very manageable, but I still executed and planned poorly on that part causing me to run out of fluids with 8 miles to go. This ended up not being too much of a factor as my body really wasn't ready yet to race the full 50K at a faster clip, so by the time I ran out of fluids I was already in the process of slowing down some. 

Even with my slow down and lots of walking on the remaining climbs, I only got passed twice during the entire duration of the race, which at least showed that I had settled into a pace and place equal to my current fitness. Ultimately, I would finish just outside the top ten in a time of 5 hours 39 minutes, which was only 9 minutes slower than the goal I had set for the day.

I had a great day on the trails and had the opportunity to catch up with lots of friends and trail family. The support shown to me especially after the race just to get my car taken care of and me taken back home shows why there is no kinder and more supportive community in sports than the trail running community. It was a fantastic day on the trails that was barely dampened by my car troubles. Thanks to everyone for your help, especially Nathan, Sam and David. Without you guys, I would still be sitting in a broken down Jeep in a parking lot in Soddy Daisy wondering what to do;-)

Race Report - 2019 Mountain Mist 50K

9th Mountain Mist finish, one more for the coveted 10 time finisher jacket.

If you're a Huntsville local, chances are you first learned about the sport of ultrarunning in connection with the Mountain Mist 50K. As one of the oldest ultramarathons in the Southeastern United States and now in its 25th year, the Mountain Mist is still considered one of the toughest by many. It may not have the most vert, but every year trail runners are humbled when they attempt to finish this race.

Every year, a slew of new Mountain Misters take off at the start gun at paces that resemble that of a 5K road race and this year as no different. That usually comes back to bite them, maybe not after 17 miles, the unofficial halfway point of the race, when they ran past or jump over the red gate at the Fearn Street crossing, but certainly at mile 23ish, when they start their climb up Waterline Trail. And if they still aren't humbled, they certainly will be by the time they make their way up Crybaby Hill or the final climb to the top of Rest Shelter. Hey, I'm not judging, it took me multiple times to figure out that even though the first half is actually very runnable, it still has nearly 2000ft of vert over 17 miles, which makes the second "half" or remaining 14 miles and 2000ft of vert over 2 major climbs even more challenging, if you failed to hold back a little on the front end.

Luckily, It only took me 5 finishes to learn to latch on to "the" veteran of this race, let's call him DeWayne, who is like the metronome of the Mountain Mist. If you want to see what consistent pacing looks like, just watch DeWayne. He's not only one of the fastest runners ever to run the Mountain Mist (9 wins speak for themselves), he also one of the smartest. Oh yeah, he also makes for great conversation on the trails.

While many of us get humbled by this race, we come back over and over and over again and it's not just for the coveted 10 time finisher jacket, it much deeper than that. It's a family reunion, but not just for local runners, it's a reunion of runners from around the Southeast. I spend more time catching up with runners before and after the race than I actually do running the race. That is not an exaggeration. It is the reason this is my favorite race year after year. It is also the most important race for me. Whether I have trained for it nor not, I never ever not put it all out there. There is nothing more fun than to race your friends whom you usually train with the rest of the year.

Just over half way in and still in good spirits.

This year marked my ninth start and finish and while it was fun, it is never easy. In December, I had some grand ambitions of trying to run a personal best. This goal did not change until the weekend before the race, when I bruised a rib during a trail run and woke up with a head cold the following day. Not a great omen for a PR attempt. Feeling sluggish all week, I finally admitted to myself that a PR was out of the question. I entered race weekend with a slightly adjusted goal still ready to run as hard as possible. The plan was to save some on the front half to see how I would have some left in the tank in the latter part of the race to push the pace. I am happy to report that plan worked out for the most part, anyway.

After some start line banter and the loud bang of the start signal, we were off. Having run this race 8 times, you kind of fall in with the same group of runners year after year. This year was no different. Even though DeWayne was running with a torn meniscus, he still set the perfect pace. The first few miles went by fairly quickly and were rather uneventful. I tried to make sure not to raise my heart rate too much too early. That also meant hiking rather than running some of the stepper sections of the hills.

I cruised into the 17 mile aid station at red gate feeling pretty good and still on target to hit my A goal for the day. The tried and true formula requires you to double your red gate split to come up with your approximate finishing time. If you end up much slower than that, then you most definitely started the race too fast.

I was still running by feel. In fact, I checked my time for the first time at red gate AS. I continued to drink a bottle of fluids in between aid stations and take one gel every 45 minutes. I chased that with a couple of SCaps every hour, which kept me fueled evenly and cramp free all day. My pace would fluctuate only very lightly. I would zone out and slow my pace, mostly on the High Trail and Bluffline Trail sections. Eventually, I would snap out of it and pick it back up again. By the time I reached the top of Waterline trail, I started the smell the barn. Another 10K and this thing would be done. I had some renewed energy coming through the Trough Springs AS, but that slowly started to fizzle as I made my way down Natural Well Trail. By the time I reached "slush mile" or the bottom of McKay Hollow Trail, I was ready to be done. One more slow climb up Rest Shelter and all that was left was a 1.7 mile flat stretch to the finish.

I declined the beer and chili at the final AS and tried my best to sustain a decent pace. When I finally crossed the finish line, I had reached my A goal and was another step closer to my 10 time finisher jacket. I spent the next 3 hours reminiscing about the day with my trail family. I am already looking forward to 2020 and my 10th finish.

Never leave anything in the tank when running your local favorite.

Race Report - 2018 Chattanooga 100 Mile

One of two beautiful waterfalls inside Cloudland Canyon.

I had yet another year of amazing adventures in 2018 and the Chattanooga 100 Miler was supposed to be the icing on the cake. It was at the tail end of a heavy ultra and mountain running season and I had not race plans other than to cross the finish line feeling well. My buddy Paul had broken his neck (yep, you read that right) earlier in the year during a trail race and the Chattanooga 100 Miler was both his comeback race (#BrokenNeckTo100Miler) and his last chance to secure the final points he needed to secure himself a starting spot at the 2019 UTMB. Our entire Huntsville crew (Paul, Jerry, Jeff, honorary Huntsvillian Jan and myself) had signed up to be there with him for this awesome challenge. 

A friendly "wild" pig in the middle of the trail at the bottom of the canyon.

Jerry's wife Wonda had organized a huge hunting cabin (really, it was more of a mansion) with enough bedrooms for all of us and our better halves just 30 minutes from the race start in Cloudland Canyon State Park, Georgia. Since the race started on Friday morning at 8AM, we had to be in Chattanooga on Thursday evening for our packet pickup at Rock/Creek. I was the first to arrive with a beer in hand by the time the rest of the gang showed up.

Creek view along the trail inside the canyon.

The Chattanooga 100 Miler is an out & back race course that takes runners from Cloudland Canyon State Park all the way to Covenant College atop Lookout Mountain before sending them back to the state park. Along the way, runners climb nearly 12,000ft while traversing in and out of Cloudland Canyon along beautiful waterfalls. There's even a "fun" bouldering and rope assist section on the return leg of the course. Most of the course runs on beautiful single track with some technical trails early and late in the race. However, most of the course is fairly easy trail with only a very short road section, but because it rained for more than 24 hours during the race, the entire course was rather challenging. That combined with the continuously dropping temps added to make not only for an epic adventure, but for an extremely challenging 10 miles as well.

Heavy rains the previous 24 hours had the water flowing exceptionally strong.

An 8AM race start allowed all of us to get plenty of sleep the night before the race. Luckily, my running crew was kind enough to join me for dinner at a fantastic vegan restaurant in Chattanooga, Sluggo's. Check it out, if you're ever in town and you're either vegan or just feeling adventurous. Our early dinner right after packet pickup meant we had plenty of time to lay out our racing gear before calling it an early night.

More views from the canyon trail.

By 5:30AM the next morning, everyone had slowly gotten up to get ready for the big day. Everyone had brought along their preferred pre-race breakfast items. I had my usual cup of coffee. The plan was to leave the house by 6:30AM to make the 30 minute drive to the race start. With lots of rain in the forecast for the day, I kept going back and forth between a windbreaker and a rain jacket, but ultimately settled for the windbreaker, since the temperatures were supposed to be mild.

We arrived at the race start just after 7AM with plenty of time to check in and to catch up with friends old and new. In fact, I bumped into one of my early running adventure buddies, Dan "The Man" Burstein. Dan and I had run a few 100 milers together in my early ultra running days, including an awesome Rim2Rim2Rim run at the Grand Canyon. It was awesome to catch up with this guy.

Views of Cloudland Canyon from the rim trail.

There were many other familiar faces at this race and there is something very comforting about seeing them toe the starting line alongside you as you embark on a 100 mile trail race. 100 milers to me are still the great unknown. Unforeseen any injury, you can pretty much map out how a race will unfold for you from the 50K all the way to the 100K distance, but when it comes to 100 miles, it is impossible to foresee the outcome. So many things come into play, both internal and external. There is nutrition, hydration, electrolytes, salt, potassium, carbs, sodium, etc. There is the weather, unpredictable as ever, hot, cold, wet, dry, etc. There are the trail conditions, wet, dry, muddy, single track, jeep road, asphalt, etc. There is climbing and descending, right and wrong gear choices, the list is nearly endless for things to go right and oh so very wrong.

The race started after the usual pre-race pep talk by Run Bum Sean Blanton. I had lined up somewhere in the second or third row, fully intent on running very conservatively from the start. Since this was a bonus race of sorts for me, I hadn't really had the kind of training cycle I usualy aim for heading into a 100 mile race. After UTMB in September, I had taken it rather easy, only running occasionally and participating in a couple of ultras and a few short distance races from 10K to half marathon. When I had planned to ramp up my training, I had gotten sick with a flu like virus, keeping me from running for nearly 3 weeks. O e could say, I had an extended taper leading into this race, which meant I had no idea what the day would or could bring for me. However, as it always the case as I get closer and closer to a race with lowered expectations, I still somehow thing I might be able to get a good performance out of myself. In this case, I actually thought (quite delusional I might add) I could try for a PR, if I started conservatively enough. That would mean to run a time faster than 21 hours 30 minutes. 

Heavy fog cover hung inside the canyon like a canopy cover.

I settled in with Drew Cox, a runner I'd met at the Cannonball Ultra in Chattanooga, TN just a month earlier. We chatted for a bit, making the first 6 or so miles go by very quickly. The first 13 miles of the course consisted of a loop inside the state park that had us running along the canyon rim as well and do an out and back into and out of the canyon past a couple of spectacular waterfalls and along a rushing creek.

Beautiful view of the canyon.

Speaking of sightings along the trail, I did have a couple of "wild" animal encounters. The first encounter was with a spotted pig that was just wandering around on the trail inside the canyon, checking out runners as they passed by, looking for food. It would actually let you close enough to pet it. I'm not sure, but if I had to take a guess, this pig probably belonged to a farm somewhere and got away. However, from what I could tell, we were nowhere near a farm. Definitely the most unusal animal spotted during a trail race for me.

More canyon views.

The second "wild" animal spotting would be just a few miles later along the course, where we were running adjacent to a fenced in private property for just 100 yards or so. This time, it was a slightly less friendly pitbull barking at us from behind a fenced property. I had barely uttered the words "thank god this little fella is behind a fence, when I suddenly appeared in front of us as we came around a bent in the trail, without any fence between us. He started charging at Andrew Bustos for just a second, but when Andrew stepped towards him, he backed off again. For some reason, we all ran up that next hill just a bit faster. I think an ever so small adrenaline rush had something to do with that. 

Andrew and I had started running together as we were making our way into the canyon. We ended up running together for the first 50K of the race. Andrew was running his first 100 miler and he had a plan. After 50K, he dropped me like a bad habit and I would not see him again until the finish line. He finished about 20 minutes ahead of me. Congrats on an awesome first 100 miler, Andrew! Way to push through some rough conditions.

Speaking of conditions, the course was mostly undulating terrain with a few bigger climbs along the course. Times would have been much faster and the finishing rate would have been much higher, had it not been for weather and trail conditions that continued to deteriorate all day and all night. The rain became more steady and the temperatures continued to drop. I had grabbed my headlamp from my drop bag around at mile 45 at the Lula Lake AS, but wouldn't need it until just before the turnaround at mile 51 at Covenant AS. I had also changed from a windbreaker to a tape sealed rain jacket, which was definitely a key decision for my race.

Temperatures would vary greatly as would the winds and the driving rain. I regulated my body temperature by zipping my jacket up or don and by pulling the hood on or off. Along with the weather, the trails deteriorated as well. What had started as packed down single track trails had turned into ankle deep creeks or mudslides. It made finding your running rhythm very difficult, well, nearly impossible. Later into the race, lots of short climbs could not be runa s the terrain was way too slick and slippery to do so. Staying out of standing water on the trails was impossible as water was covering all of the trails by this point.

The bottom of Lookout Mountain also featured a short bouldering section with a rope-assisted ascent. I think that would have been way more fun had it not been dark, cold and wet as hell. I lost some serious time on this section, but that really didn't matter to me. I had realized at the halfway point that a PR was highly unlikely and that was before conditions got really had.

I was able to keep things together both mentally and physically. My wife was able to join me as my crew around mile 65 and it was just great to see her along the course for little mental boosts every few hours. I had changed my goal to sub 24 hours, but finishing was the ultimate goal. After 90+ miles, runners would arrive back at the start/finish area before completing another 8 mile loop inside the park. I was feeling pretty good rolling into this final AS. I got another boost from seeing my wife, refilled my bottles and headed out. I was ready to be done. What I did not know is that conditions had worsened big time along the trail I would have to run on for the next 4 miles. The rim trail was now completely under water, hiding both slick rock and roots beneath the surface. Running in this terrain had become impossible. Unfortunately, the driving rain and wind had increased to a full blown storm and the temps were rather cold along the canyon rim as well. As I slowed to a walk, my body temp dropped quickly. So quickly, in fact, that I started to think of quitting, but I didn't even know where to go to seek refuge. All I could do was continue on and hope to get off this section as quickly as possible. This was the longest hour or so of my life.

When I finally left the rim trail and entered the park road, I started to run what felt like 7 minute pace. I needed to get warm somehow. I could see the hand in front of my face, the rain was driving so hard. I kept running and cursing, cursing Sean and warning him not to send me on another trail loop before reaching the finish. Thankfully, the road section continued for a total of 3-4 miles all the way to the finish. I was elated to see the final arrow to the finish line and even happier when I saw the actual finish line, crossing it in 23 hours and 4 minutes for 6th male overall.  I collected my high fives and hug from Sean followed by a hug from my wife before immediately heading for shelter. This was one hard earned buckle and I wouldn't want it any other way.

Obligatory pre-race selfie with the entire crew (me, Jerry, Jeff, Paul and Jan, from left to right).

Congrats to all who toed the starting line and an even bigger congrats to all finishers. A huge thanks to Sean and his entire crew of volunteers for another well executed race. I may have cursed you at times, but I sure am glad I got run this race:-)

In the canyon just 6-7 miles into the race.

Race Report - 2018 Cannonball

The "26 minute" overlook.

I had originally tried to sign up for the Big Backyard Ultra put on my Laz of Barkley Marathon's fame. I had just come back from a work trip to the west coast and noticed that only 60 or so runners were signed up. Registration was still open on Ultrasignup so I thought, why not throw my hat in the ring. I'd never done a "Last Man Standing" (LMS) event, so this should be fun. Little did I know that there had been a long application process with some runners selected by lottery and others selected on merit and that more than 1000 runners had applied.

All smiles all day...and half the night.

Needless to say, this guy didn't get selected 4 days out from the event:-) But I was still in need of miles as my work trip and kept my mileage low, so I went back to Ultrasignup and lo and behold, there was an LMS event in Chattanooga the following weekend, the Cannonball just a short 2 hour drive from home. I signed up right away. Maybe I should've read the fine print first. The LMS format was similar but not identical. At the Backyard Ultra, runners line up every hour to run a 4.1 mile loop. The first 12 hours during the day on a moderate trail, the 12 hours during the night on a road out & back. This would continue until only one runner remained and completed a loop.

The final 5 prior to lap 16.

At the Cannonball, 60 or so runners lined up to run a 4.3 mile trail loop with 650 feet of vertical gain at Stringer's Ridge in Chattanooga, Tennessee. They would run this loop every hour until only one runner remained. In addition, race directors reserved the right to reduce the lap time by one minute per loop every hour after the first 5 hours.

I decided to book a cheap hotel room that I split with fellow Huntsvillian Kelly Clary for the night before the race to sleep in as late as possible. We left the hotel in downtown Chattanooga around 7AM to make the short 10 minute drive to Stringer's Ridge, an urban park in the middle of Chattanooga. The parking lot was almost full already, but I managed to find the final spot, perfect for setting up my chair and cooler with supplies as it was only a few steps from the start/finish area.

It was still dark, but it would be light by the time the 8AM start of the first lap rolled around. I had plenty of time to set up and to say hello to the Huntsville peeps that had made the trip up here, Natalie, Jay, Kelly M, and Kelly C. and I, of course. My race plan was easy, run 12 hours/laps and see how I feel. The max I was mentally ready for would be 24 hours/laps for 100 miles, but that mental steadfastness waned over a little during the event.

The course record stood at 64.5 miles, which seemed a little soft to me and I was certain it would go down this year. If I wanted to be part of the group I would have to run 16 laps or until midnight to actually break it and run 68.8 miles. 8AM rolled around and we all took off. My plan was simple, check out the course on the first couple of loops to figure out the best strategy to find a rhythm that would take me around the loop in 55 minutes, allowing me just enough time to drink a bottle of fluids (I would alternate Nuun Electrolytes and Sword Endurance) and eat half of my homemade Banana Dark Chocolate spread tortilla wraps.

I also consumed a Honey Stinger gel after every loop. This strategy worked perfectly, I never bonked and never got dehydrated. In the later hours, I would eat potatoes with salt, potato chips and Oreo cookies to avoid a caloric deficit in the cooler overnight hours.

Most of us ran the first loops with a wind breaker and/or sleeves and gloves. I would keep my gloves and sleeves for the entire duration of the race. Other than that I just wore my Altra racing singlet and my favorite running shorts along with the pair of Altra Lone Peak 4.0 that already took me through the Matterhorn Ultraks, UTMB and the Jungfrau Marathon, all without ever changing the shoes or my CEP merino socks, which are definitely a winning combo for me these days. Not a single blister during my 35 hour adventure at UTMB that included hours of rain and mud.

The first few laps were uneventful as everyone tried to figure out this race. I chatted with Shannon "Sharpie" Sharp and David "DDr Pepper" Dye in between laps as they were always a ways ahead of me on every loop. The smack talk started early, there were comments of peeps already looking tired. After the first few laps, I fell in with ultra runners extraordinaire Nathan Holland and Ryan Meulemans and we spent the next hours together, challenging each other to pace the perfect lap. We actually managed a couple of times. We would use "landmarks" to check our pace. There was the turn, the overlook, the house and the stomp. We always knew when we needed to slow down or pick it up a bit. That and the trail banter made the hour tick by much quicker.

Of course, once major difference between this type of event and a regular ultra is that you either run near your competition or you'll at least see them again every hour at the start. This gives plenty of opportunity for smack talk. Ryan started us off, sharing that he was ready to go for 2 days or longer if needed, which I followed up with a "I already took Monday off from work". We had a lot of fun with it, but I'm sure not everyone within earshot appreciated it:-)

It became clear after a few hours that lots of runners were in it for the long run. When Nathan called it after 12 hours, there were still 13 runners lining up for the next lap. After 16 hours, there were still 5 of us left. When everyone lined up again for lap 17, I said my goodbyes and called it a day. I was completely fine physically, I just had no desire to go out for another lap. It took only 3 more laps to declare a winner, Ryan Meulemans, who laid down a great performance. When it was all said and done, 9 runners tied the current course record and 5 runners broke the course record.

As more runners become aware of this LMS format and event, numbers are only going to get bigger. 100 miles should be doable for someone next year, unless the RD decides to drop the time limit sooner than he did this year.

Thanks to everyone for putting on an excellent event, I had a blast.