100 Mile Dedication

On February 9th, 2007 a friend past away tragically in a sudden accident, his name was Muhanad Jondy. He is survived by his wife and 4 children. People die every day, but when it is someone you know it can be shocking. I can only imagine the pain the Jondy family is dealing with.
This Saturday I will be running for Muhanad and for the Jondy family. It will be my first attempt to run 100 miles in one day.

100 Miles Approaching

UMSTEAD 100 MILE ENDURANCE RUN

In less than two weeks time I plan on running a distance I never imagined, 100 miles. My attempt will be to tackle this run in less than 24 hours.

The 5,577-acre Umstead State Park, the venue for this race, is located within an area known as the Research Triangle of North Carolina. The area gets its name from the triangle formed by the area's three major research universities: the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, Duke University in Durham, and North Carolina State University in Raleigh. The state park is a pleasant southern pine forest oasis in this rapidly growing region.

The website for the race has this to say: "The Umstead 100 Mile Endurance Run is designed with several basic concepts in mind. It will help new ultra runners to bridge the quantum leap from 50 mile runs to the mountainous and more rigorous demands of most 100 mile endurance runs. It will allow those who have difficulty finishing 100 miles in 24 hours or just finishing 100 miles the opportunity to do so when severe topography, heat, and getting lost are removed as major obstacles. The seasoned runner will find this to be an excellent training run for the Massanutten 100, Leadville 100, Mohican 100, Watsatch 100, Western States 100, Vermont 100 and other 100-mile mountain runs. The Umstead 100 can serve many purposes, depending on your level of development and personal goals."

I have read several race reports on the Umstead, and I have set a strategy for the successful completion of a sub 24 hour completion time. The course layout for Umstead is a 12.5-mile circuit shaped like a balloon on a string with a spur out and back off the string. The surface is primarily fine packed powder white granite screenings wide enough to accommodate vehicle traffic. There is not a flat stretch on the entire loop. It has a total of 8,000 feet of climb over the 100 miles, 8 circuits.

My game plan is to run the first 50 miles in 10 hours, and the last 50 miles in 14 hours or less. I will also monitor my calorie, and salt intake. Hydrating and keeping a balanced level of electrolytes will be essential for me on such a distance.

50 Mile Weekend

This past weekend was full of running. As recommended by an ultra marathoner friend, "try to run a marathon on a Saturday, then run the same distance the following Sunday." The Umstead marathon provided me with that opportunity!

I ran Umstead at a slower pace than normal in anticipation of the next days run. I didn't think however it would take 4:36:48. I felt strong enough to run/hike the next day for 24 miles at South Mountains State Park, giving me a weekend total of 50 miles. This was a good exercise that helps my body build a better lactate threshold. Im going to need it for the 100 miler coming up at the end of this month.

Taking a dip in the cold waters at South Mountain was a great way to end the day!

Dupont Midnight Marathon - Gorges State Forest Hike

On a full moon we set off to run a midnight marathon in Dupont. We start running at 12:01am, and run for 26 miles in one of NC most beautiful state parks. This training run helps with running at night with low visibility, and sleep deprivation. My left ankle was bothering me a little on this run so I decided to not run the last 4 miles, ran only 22.

After the run we at at Julies in Brevard, NC. I had an omelet, an egg and cheese sandwich on a toasted bagel, plus some of Mt. T's left over pancakes! This was enough fuel to keep me going on the Gorges State Park hike that would start at 10:30am. We still had a 45 min drive to get to the park.

Rainbow falls is a stunning waterfall. I have hiked many North Carolina trails, and I have yet to see a waterfall as stunning as Rainbow. It looks like a waterfall you would see in the Pacific Northwest, or something out of Alaska!

After the hike we enjoyed a meal at Hannah's Flanagan in Hendersonville, NC.