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 - 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.