Race Report - 2023 Mountain Mist 50K

Crossing the boardwalk/bridge on Old Railroad Bed Trail 

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

Making my way through the Stonecuts

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

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

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

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

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

Many miles and beers have been shared with these guys.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Race Report - 2022 Mountain Mist 50K

Alms House Trail

This was my 11th running of the Mountain Mist 50K, one of the largest ultra marathons in the United States and it happens to be right in my backyard, well, almost. It is a 15 minute drive from my house, but only 5 minutes as the crow flies. This should've been my 12th running, but some unforeseen health issues had me skip last year's edition. This was also the 28th edition of the race with two major highlights, it was the coldest version of the Mist to date with temps in the low teens and windchill in single digits at the start and the largest field ever, at least from my recollection, with more than 500 registered runners.

Alms House Trail

I planned to arrive at the Monte Sano State Park lodge, the start and finish location of the race, an hour ahead of the official start time of 7AM. The lodge is an amazing race location as it provides plenty of space for runners to hang out together both pre and post race. In addition, it has to rather large fire places that are always lit on race day, providing much desired warmth both before and after the race, especially when it is an unusually cold day on the mountain. I arrived as planned, eager to catch up with old friends from all over the Southeast and the entire US, actually.

Waterline Trail

You see, the Mountain Mist 50K is like a homecoming for trail runners. It's an annual trail running family reunion. This is definitely the part I enjoy the most. After more than 10 years of running trail and ultra races, I've met folks from all over and there is nothing more fun and fulfilling than to catch up with friends. There are lots of great trail and ultra races out there with lots of amazing race directors and volunteers, but very few are able to create an atmosphere quite like the Mist. As a fellow runner noted after the race, "you know you are at a special event when no less than 4 race directors of other southeastern ultras are in attendance. 

McKay Hollow Trail

As always, the race start was signaled with the traditional firing of the musket, this time a double salvo that caught me by surprise. So much so that I hadn't even started my GPS watch, yet. As I stumbled on as to not get "trampled" by the stampede of my fellow racers, I had already decided to settle in the middle of the pack in an effort to avoid another blown reminiscent of my 10th finish 2 years earlier. Back then, I was still in the thralls of a nasty virus I had brought back from a work trip to Switzerland. This year, I wasn't sick, but my fitness was at a pretty low point as I spent the previous 3 months since Moab 240 not really running much. Instead, I spent my time eating and lounging...and eating some more. There may have been a few pints with friends involve as well, but I digress.

McKay Hollow Trail

The goal for the day was to stay warm (remember, single digits at the start) and to finish the race in one piece (recurring ankle rolls since April 2021 race injury) and hopefully, in a time faster than 2 years ago. I had no ambitions other than to use this race to kick off my 2022 training cycle. The race also gave me the opportunity to test out a new ankle taping technique originally shown to me by Jeff Browning. However, I had attempted to stabilize my ankle by more traditional means using various ankle braces over the past year in an attempt o prevent further ankle rolls. Unfortunately, my ankle did not get any better and I continued to roll it in just about every trail race in ran last year. It was time for one last ditch attempt before I'd consider surgery to repair the failing tendon.

McKay Hollow Trail

I am happy to say that said taping technique worked like a charm. On one of the most technical race courses I know, I did not roll my ankle once. I call that a resounding success. Back to the race...

McKay Hollow Trail

Having run this race 10 times previously, the goal was to start working towards 20 finishes, obviously:-) I ran with a few familiar faces for the first 10 miles, but pretty soon, I was running on my own. The race actually went pretty well until I hit the halfway point at Oak Park. I even had brief illusions of a finishing time somewhere between 5:30 and 5:45. Those illusions lasted as long as it took me to finish the climb from Oak Park to the "red gate". Realizing that I still had to make my way up Dummy Line Trail before starting the decent towards High Trail, those hopes were dashed as quickly as they had entered my mind. 

Waterline Trail

By the time I reached the bottom of the Waterline Trail, I has to resort to walking significant sections of this climb. This theme continued on all remaining climbs. My pace also slowed on the flats, but at least I was still moving. The second half of my race was really slow. In fact, the final 6 mile section of the course may have been my slowest, yet, or at least closely following my death march 2 years ago. When I finally reach the last aid station, I decided to skip the beer and just get that 11th finish under my belt. When I finally crossed the finish line, I was just happy to be done once more. Now it was time to celebrate everyone's finishes together and what better way to do that than with a cold beer, every trail and ultra runner's favorite pastime:-)

McKay Hollow Trail

A huge shoutout goes to Dink Taylor, the first and only race director of the Mist, and the crew of tireless volunteers. I know from my previous RD experience that it is impossible to put on a successful event without selfless volunteers and the Mist is a great example of just that. Freezing temps did not keep these volunteers from cheering and supporting every single runner, from first to last, for more than 9 hours across the icy and sometimes muddy trails of our "Mountain of Health". Until next year...

McKay Hollow Trail

Monte Sano Lodge - Mountain Mist 50K Finish Line

Trail family

2020 Mountain Mist 50K - Race Report

Crossing the Mountain Mist 50K finish line for the 10th time.

Race week hadn't gone well at all. Two weekends prior to the race on a late Sunday night, I had returned from a less than pleasant work trip to Switzerland. Usually, unpleasant and Switzerland are not words I use in the same sentence, but this time it was different as I spent the better half of the week curled up n my hotel room running a fever and sweating profusely through two sets of bed sheets as my body tried valiantly to fight the flu virus I must have contracted on the flight over just 3 days earlier.

It took more than two weeks to finally get over this thing. Yup, that means I wasn't over it by the time I toed the line at my 10th Mountain Mist 50K atop Monte Sano Mountain in my adopted hometown of Huntsville, Alabama. In fact, my only run the Thursday morning leading up to the race went horribly wrong. I thought I was over the flu, I hadn't run in 2 1/2 weeks due to travel and then illness and i really needed to at least go out for an easy run with my running crew. The run went as well as could've been expected, but the aftermath was a surprise. Every muscle in my body was aching. These were levels of soreness I hadn't experienced once during my summer of 100s last year, so I was dumbfounded. Clearly, the flu had done a number on me, but I wasn't going to miss out on earning my 10 year finisher jacket. I only missed the race once in the last 11 years and that was due to a traumatic injury that seriously sidelined me for an entire year in 2013. So no matter how I felt, I was going to get that 10th finish, that was the goal. 

As usual, race morning at the Monte Sano lodge was a who is who of ultra running in the Southeast. It's a huge family reunion of sorts, your trail family. Runners come from all corners of the Southeast, Nashville, Atlanta, Chattanooga, Birmingham as well as other corners of the country. It's a blast. I always try to make sure to get there an hour or so early to have enough time to catch up with everyone. When that doesn't happen, there'd always the post race beers in front of one of the two fireplaces at the lodge to catch up with anyone you missed pre-race.

I wasn't ready to "race" and my attire showed it. Long sleeves, two layers, gloves, buff, anything not to feel cold at the start. While you (I) always think you (I) can throw down, sometimes it's just not meant to be. Huntsville is the homecoming event of trail races in the Southeast. Don't get me wrong, there are other amazing events with an amazing atmosphere, but at the Mist, you're always ready throw down in a friendly competition among your trail family. Not so this time. While the heart wanted to push, the mind knew better. I had lined up just a little further back than usual. Not all the way back, but not at all near the front row. As RD Dink Taylor fired his musket or whatever that rifle is called, I took off at a comfortable pace. Not at all the sub 7 min pace from last year, but a much smarter pace. Yet still, I was moving well and settling in a good spot. We'd run the new course for the first time this year and while I had run it before in training, I was curious to "experience" it on race day. 

Everything continued to go smoothly, I felt good. Hey, maybe the flu wasn't that bad after all. Maybe it's just a couple of weeks of needed rest and I was gonna crush this race, yet. You never know, let's just see how this goes...or so went the conversation inside my head. That all came to an abrupt halt when at around mile 10 somewhere along Keith Trail it all came crumbling down. On one of the small uphills, my body just said nope, no, not gonna run this, I'm tired, I'm done. Well $h!t, this is going to be a long day if I have to walk the remaining 21 miles...and it was a long day, indeed.  I managed to shuffle along, but I was now running slower than I would normally power hike during a race. I kept that shuffle going as best I could.

When I finally reached "red gate", I climbed over it for the very first time in my years of running Mountain Mist to keep up the tradition started by the most influential, humble and inspiring ultra runner I ever had the pleasure to meet and share miles with. This would be the first year he would not be able to toe the starting line at the Mountain Mist. I don't think I've ever been as emotional as I was when climbing over the gate, choking back tears. I'm not very good with words nor am I an exceptionally strong runner. He is both, a champion ultra runner and a master of prose. If you've ever met him on the trails or listened to his talk at the pre-race dinner at the lodge the night before the Mist, then you know exactly what I'm talking about. Thanks for the inspiration you've provided over the years and that you continue to provide.

Out of the dark and into the light, quite the poignant photo (PC: Pete Schreiner).

Right after red gate, runners are sent back down Cold Springs Trial to begin the newly added section of the race course. Down Cold Springs through a creek and down a natural drainage ditch onto Old Bankhead Parkway before entering the fastest section of the race course down Bankhead Trail and on to another couple of connector trails before getting dumped out onto a short road section taking runners to Oakwood Rec Park, where they would refuel before starting the newly added climb back up the mountain (to replace the previous "K2" climb).

To say this section was no prettier for me than the previous 2-3 miles would be an understatement. I could barely run the downhills, afraid to slip or trip. My body was aching and I was already doing the math to see how slow I could possibly move without risking hitting the cutoffs. I continued the jog as I tried to keep up with Chad, who had caught and passed me just before we entered Bankhead Trail. I had to let him go soon after. When I finally started the climb out of Oakwood Park, Rick had caught me and passed me rather quickly. The John Dove, then Jay, and on and on they went, right by me like I was standing still. Well, I may as well have been standing still. I was not making good progress. Running was out of the question on anything remotely looking like an incline and so I continued my walk.

Eventually, I reached the top of the climb and made the sharp right turn onto Tollgate Trail. Others will argue this point, BUT I stand firm on the opinion that this is the new "perceived" or unofficial halfway point of the race, replacing red gate's designation from years' past. I haven't taken the time yet to look at the splits, but I'm certain my assumption is right. If my times are an indication, then I'm definitely right as I made that right turn in 3:30 hours and finished in 6:52 hours, a fairly even split, if you asked me:-)

By far my most emotional moment in any ultra running event, climbing over the red gate for the first time in honor of a true legend of the sport and in life.

As I continued my inner battle to continue moving and not give up on running for the day just yet, other friends and training buddies continued to pass by, some long enough to exchange a few words others on a mission to take care of the business that is the Mist. I have to admit, as much as I suffered, I definitely enjoyed the conversations I did get to have. I was thankful for the company and camaraderie as I struggled to move forward. I kept doing the math and even bummed an extra layer of clothing at the 25 mile aid station (thanks James) so I didn't have to run too much and still stay comfortably warm. At this point, it really didn't matter if the trail pointed up or down, my running was nonexistent. Until we hit 'Slush Mile". I say we, because by this time, Chris Reed had taken pity on me and rather than leave me behind stuck with me until the finish. We conquered the final climb, again with not a whole lot of running, if any, opened a couple of PBRs, cheered each other, took a couple of giant gulps and got back to the business of finishing another Mountain Mist.

When I finally crossed the finish line, I was too tired, too beaten to really celebrate that 10th finish, but I still consider it one of my favorite moments, even if it took 2 hours longer than my previous five finishes. How often does one get to say that they finished an ultra marathon, any ultra marathon, 10 times. It's a pretty cool club to be part of and I'm a little proud of it, too:-)

Race Report - 2018 Dizzy Fifties 50K

Early on during the 2018 Dizzy Fifties 50K Trail Run before things became difficult.

This was to be an easy weekend, not a dizzy weekend, but car trouble had prevented me from running the Sky to Summit 50K the week prior, so I was still in urgent need of a long run. My race calendar showed one final race on the first weekend in December, the Chattanooga 100 Miler, but I hadn't been able to train much over the last 2 months.

First, I took some time off from long distance training, instead racing some shorter distance races up to the half marathon distance on both roads and trails. The goal was to ramp up distance after a few weeks in prep of the 100 mile race, but that plan was thwarted with something that started as a minor cold, but turned into a 3 week struggle to regain my energy. During this time, I barely logged any runs.

Fast forward to this weekend. This was now my last chance to see if I could even cover 31 miles running or if it would be a struggle from start to finish. If the latter as true, then I was likely going to pull the plug on the 100 miler in December, even if it wasn't going to be a goal race. Thankfully, I managed to get into the race via the waitlist.

Race morning promised to be a cold one. The race course had been redesigned last year and to make things even more interesting,  it had been reversed for this year's edition. The race is run on Monte Sano mountain and consists of a total of three identical loops of single track trail with about 900-1000 feet of vertical gain per loop.

The entry list looked promising and with the given weather conditions, it was easy to predict fast finishing times. While I knew that I was neither in the position nor in the condition to compete for a podium when looking at the field of my fellow competitors, I still managed to forget that fact as soon as the race started.

After starting out slightly ahead of my goal pace (read: too fast), I settled into a more reasonable pace towards the end of the first loop. I was running somewhere around 8th or 9th place. I would make up a couple of spots on the second loop before losing these two spots again to different runners on the final loop, finishing in 8th place overall out of about 100 runners.

The Dizzy Fifties course is very runnable. In fact, the entire loop is runnable, if one manages a sustainable pace. The first 6 miles in this year's direction are rather fast, rolling through the state park with little vertical gain or loss until runners hit the only aid station aside from the start/finish line aid station. Once we pass this aid station, we drop down the Sinks Trail for a fast one mile descent. After that runners immediately tackle the first and steepest of two climbs before continuing running on rolling single track around the memorable Stone Cuts before returning to the start finish area.

I managed to sustain a solid pace for the first lap and while I dropped pace on the second loop, I was still on track to run my third fastest 50K ever. That was, until fatigue started to catch up with me in the form of severe muscle cramps in both my quads and my calves. Add to that a painful toe stub followed by a hard fall and you know how the third loop turned out. My pace slowed significantly and in the end, I was lucky to hang on to my 8th place finish in 4 hours and 43 minutes.

The Dizzy Fifties is a well organized event and a fun race for first timers and veteran ultra runners alike, thanks to the efforts of RD Ryan Chaffin and his crew of volunteers. The course was extremely well marked, never leaving any doubt where to go. The most challenging thing were the fallen leaves hiding rocks and roots. However, this same fall foliage is also what makes this race course and the state park so beautiful this time of year. Do yourself a favor and sign up next year and be sure not to wait until the last minute. You wouldn't want to miss out.

Race Report - 2016 Mountain Mist 50K

Seeded at Mountain Mist for the very first time.

I had had been training pretty hard for this year's edition of the Mountain Mist. I hit my A goal last year, so I had high hopes and expectations of myself for this year's go-around. While I did travel for work in the weeks leading up to Mountain Mist, luckily my destination was Switzerland, so I was able to do some training runs in a very appropriate climate and environment (Swiss Alps). After my disappointing run at the Rocket City Marathon, I was hitting a pretty low point in my running and training. I hadn't really shown any speed ever since coming back from an ankle injury at Mt. Cheaha 50K in February of last year and UTMB hadn't done much for my speed either, but I did finish that thing, so there's that:-) I had started to hit the second half of the Mountain Mist course pretty much on a weekly basis, even throwing in one back to back run of said section on a Friday night followed by a Saturday morning.

Race Report - 2015 Dismal 50K (Self-Supported)

I had first heard about the Dismal repeats of Dismal 50K a couple of years ago and I had never had any interest in actually attempting it, at least not more than one repeat. The route was actually devised by Rob Youngren while he was trying to create training routes that would allow him to accomplish serious elevation gain over as short a distance as possible in preparation for one of his Hardrock 100 finishes.

Race Report - 2015 Mountain Mist 50K

Traditional pre-race photo of my training group (Paul missing).

I've had a great year since I was able to come back to running and ultrarunning exactly one year ago, when I toed the line of the 2014 Mountain Mist 50K. This time around, I've had a full year of training under my belt, ready actually race this thing. In previous years, I'd either been injured, training for another race or undertrained. This time, I was feeling pretty good about my training. In fact, I even decided to "taper". Actually, I didn't really taper, I just decided to rest my legs for a full three days prior to the race. Longest break I had from running in 12 months:-)

Training Log - Saturday, April 14, 2012

After arriving back in the US yesterday, I figured I´d tackle the usual jet lag with an early morning run. The fact that I gained a few pounds during my trip added to my motivation to go for a run. I met up with Richard and Mike and we went for our usual Ranger Station out & back. With our R2R2R attempt just 2 weeks away, I decided to try out my new trekking poles (Black Diamond Spire Elliptic) and Pack (Inov-8 Race Pro 22) to test for comfort and convenience and to add some training weight as well. Both performed well, but the pack has one friction point at the back of my neck, which I will need to resolve somehow before R3.