Race Report - 2014 Southern Tennessee Power Classic Marathon

It was Thursday night and I was roaming on Facebook to see if I anyone was looking for a long run this weekend. Pinhoti 100 was only 4 weeks away and I was in need for another long run. When I came across Ryan's post about running a marathon or half marathon race in Winchester, Tennessee about an hour north of Huntsville, I was immediately interested. I looked up the Southern Tennessee Power Classic Marathon to find out more. I was still undecided when I came across a post where a fellow runner offered up her free race entry coupon. Initially, she was asking for a nominal fee, but when we both realized that online registration had closed prematurely, she offered the coupon to me for free in hopes that the race director would still honor it. When I contacted the RD, she did just that. Now I had a free entry and a free ride (compliments of the Chaffin family) along with great company (Blake came along to run the half with Ryan while Aleisha was doing the marathon as a training run), so how could I not go.

Race Report - 2014 Georgia Jewel 35 Miler

Hanging out with Jerry and Todd prior to their 100 Mile start.

Originally, I had planned to run the 50 miler as part of my Pinhoti 100 training. However, things changed. By luck, I was able to run a tough 100K mountain race in Poland during a business trip 3 weeks earlier, so I figured there was no need to beat up my body more than necessary in preparation for my goal race. I also found out that my wife and I had been invited to a wedding that race day afternoon, so the 35 mile distance was the only distance that would even give me a shot at making the wedding 3 hours away in Birmingham that same afternoon.

Race Report - 2014 Bieg 7 Dolin 100K

The ultimate reward after a hard day's work, a local beer:-)

The adventure begins...

I got the opportunity to run this race completely by accident. A business trip required that I visited Ireland and Poland in early September and as usual, I immediately started to look for races in those locations or just cool places to run. After about a week of research, I located a really cool looking ultra marathon in Poland at the site of last year's World Mountain Running Championships. The "Festiwal Biegowy" or Festival of Races takes place in Krynica, Poland just a couple of hours drive outside of Krakow in the Carpathian Mountains (Eastern European extension of the Alps) over the first weekend in September. There were races on the calendar from the 100 m dash all the way to a 100K ultra marathon, the "Bieg 7 Dolin" or Seven Valleys Run 100K. In between, there were 5Ks and half marathons, and 33K and even a 66K distance as well, but I figured go big or go home. After all, I probably will never ever get the opportunity again to run an ultra in this region.

Race Report - 2014 Coldwater Mountain 50K

Great t-shirt and master's and finisher's awards.

Ain't nothin' cold about the Coldwater Mountain 50K

I don't think I have ever committed and signed up for any race as late as I did for this one. After realizing on Wednesday before the race that I needed a long run on Saturday, because my Sunday was already booked with other activities, I decided that it was much more likely for me to finish 31 miles in a race than it would be for me to get out there on the hottest day of the year to run 31 miles on my own. After all, I had nothing to loose, every race prior to November is just part of my training for Pinhoti. I just needed the miles, no need to worry about being race ready or tapering or anything.

Race Report - 2014 Hot To Trot 8 Hour Run

A sea of pink during the pre-race briefing.

Day #2 of my back to back adventure
I woke up at 5AM to get ready for part 2 of my weekend adventure in ATL. I did my usual morning routine and headed from my hotel in downtown Atlanta to Lithia Springs State Park. I've been there a few times for different ultra events and this time I was headed there for my first "Hot To Trot 8 Hour Run". However, my goal was not to run for 8 hours the day after the Stone Mountain repeats. Instead, I set a more reasonable goal for a 50K distance, giving me back to back long runs with lots of elevation gain.

Race Report - 2014 Stone Mountain F@t@ss Run

GoPro group picture minutes before the start of the inaugural Stone Mountain FA Run.

My first Fat Ass
I must admit, when I first received the Facebook invite from James Suh to the Stone Mountain Fat Ass Run, I had no idea where and what this mountain was, but since I was in the middle of preparing my training schedule for Pinhoti in November, I thought, "What the heck, sign me up!" he promised repeats of steep climbs, sounded like great training to me:-) I also looked forward to the opportunity to see some of the Nashville, 'Nooga and ATL ultra peeps again.

Race Report - 2014 Silver Rush 50 Miler

Arrival in Leadville just 3 hours after landing in Denver, Colorado.

It didn't go according to plan...but definitely worked out for the better
Originally, I was registered to run the Bullet Creek 50 Miler. Unfortunately, that did not pan out as the RD for that race took our money and ran. However, that is a story for a different post, maybe another Facebook rant? Who knows. All I know is that I am actually glad that race fell through, even if it did cost me 60 bucks. If it hand't, I would've never even considered registering for the Silver Rush 50 Miler in Leadville, Colorado.