Crowders 50k Weekend

I downed a large bowl of oatmeal and took off for the Linwood access of Crowder’s Mountain State Park. I got to the parking lot just before 8am and was ready to rock and roll. We hung around for a while and got a good review from RD Aaron Ligon of what to expect. Aaron and DC dropped aid at both the main ranger station and the Boulder access ranger station with water, Gatorade, chips, and M&M’s. Guys, thanks for doing that, we owe you!

We took off at 8:45 am and immediately started running uphill all the way to the Rocky Top trail. From there we hung a left, a few of the front runners kept going to the summit of Crowder’s, but the rest of us made a left here. Me and Greg cruised on down all the way to the Main Ranger Station and waited to make sure the front runners made it down the correct way, they did! Then we were off to the summit of Pinnacle. Most of this section is a steep uphill. I climbed to the top of the summit, alone, and yelt out a coyote howl. When I climbed down the summit I suggested to Brian and Richard to yell out a howl. I drew energy from this.

I retraced my steps down to the Ridgeline Trail and hung a right. I would be on this trail the rest of this out and back run. The Ridgeline Trail is blazed in red, and although it makes a few turns, and has a few road crossings, it’s fairly easy to follow as it is well marked. A few miles into this section I saw a CHOA hiking group and high-fived Mr. T. I ran solo all the way to the Boulder Ranger Station and immediately refilled my bottles and downed a bag of chips. I looked at my watch when I left the aid station and it read 2:00 hours exactly. I couldn’t help but notice that no one had touched the water or food prior to me. I wondered if the two runners ahead of me had stopped here for aid? They may have gotten water out of the water fountain, or just skipped the aid all together.

I retraced my steps back to the Ridgeline Trail (a ¼ of a mile) and hung a left. I then ran another 3 miles or so to the large sign which directed you to Kings Mountain State Park. A mile before reaching this sign I saw the two front runners who looked fresh and were moving just as fast as they were at the start. I tagged the sign and turned around, my watch read 2:34. Brian and Richard were not far behind me and I knew if I slowed my roll they would catch up quickly.

My body began to feel it when I passed the Boulder Ranger Station for the second time, I kept trucking along. Earlier I remember it being much warmer than the last few days, and I was sweating bullets. I downed a GU, and didn’t think anything of it. After another few miles I started run-walking and knew that it would be a bad day at the office. I made a novice mistake, maybe I was too cocky at the start, but I didn’t carry very much food with me, and my body hit a wall. The warmer weather definitely had something to do with it as well. I was making forward progress, but slowed down significantly. Brian passed and was looking strong. 20 minutes later Richard caught up to me and offered two gummy bears. Richard thanks for the calories. They gave me that little boost which was needed. I finally climbed back up to Pinnacle and pushed my pace hard downhill. At this point the trail was congested with many Saturday hikers. I was bobbing and weaving, calling out “on your left” as I ran fast downhill negotiating rocks and roots all the way to the Main Ranger Station. I knew I would feast here and try to feed my system with whatever calories I could get my hands on. Richard had been at this aid station for two minutes and we hung out for at least 10 minutes. I ate two small bags of chips, ate a handful of peanut M&M’s and drank a liter of water/Gatorade, filled up my bottles and took off with Richard. We quickly caught up to Stan, who was running his second 50k. He was being crewed by his wife, and we all ran to the top of Crowder’s and back to Linwood. We finished up this adventure in 5:59:20. My watch read 7,000 feet of elevation gain which is barometrically measured, which means this can be off due to weather.

A few of us gathered at the finish and waited for a bit, and then it started raining. I retreated to my car and decided to head for a post-run burrito which was much needed. Aaron and DC, thanks for the aid and thanks to anyone else that helped out!

My body had been rocked and depleted. The next day I woke up feeling like new again after a large breakfast and some serious hydration I went for a ride with Jack and company from the UCRR crew for a casual 42 miles. Post ride I went out to Reedy Creek for a 5.5 mile trail run to test out the legs. They were heavy for a half a mile or so, and then I set them into cruise control. I felt great and put down 78 miles this week, the highest mileage per week this year.

Want to follow training? Check out Sultan on dailymile.com

Sultan 50k+

results photos

33 miles - 6:05:38 - South Mountains State Park

Annette's Write Up

Matt's Write Up

D.C's Write Up
Beth's Write Up
Julia's Write Up

The decade was coming to an end, and again I began the planning phase of the birthday run. This year I used the Hardrock name I acquired on the trail “Sultan” as the name of the event, fitting for the handcrafted crowns we sported. The Sultan 50k.

This is really not a run, but a birthday party with friends, celebrating everything that makes you feel alive. My brother Osama, whom I have called Ozmin almost his entire life, was turning 30 in January. He saw it fit to learn a little more about the ultra running culture, and decided to come along and volunteer at the 16.5 mile aid station along with Lilly, and document the adventure we all had. They both did a fantastic job, and braved the cold and mist for the day to help us out, you guys rock!

I met up with Jonathan Savage and John Lewis in Charlotte, and we all drove up to Morganton to the Coffee House. I passed out some recycled bibs to all the participants so that when they all came to the aid station our volunteers could record their 16.5 mile split time. Each bib came from some adventure I had participated it, and I tried to match up each runner with something they could relate to. We then all drove to Roper Hollow Road, snapped a few photos, and at 10:04am we began running.

The first 3 miles are uphill. I ran a little with Anne and Annette, and then pulled back a little to run with Greg, Keith, and Stu. It was great to be outdoors, and take in the fresh mountain air with friends. I pulled into the aid station in 2:52 surprised to see how well it was set up. Lilly and Ozmin did great work. At this point I had been anticipating the cake, and I was starving. I scarfed down a huge slice, and ate lots of salty chips and fluids. As Keith and I came in, we saw Annette, Mark, Dewight, and Anne on their way out. Wendy, Keiths wife stayed behind so they could run together. I drew my card and got a 6, this would shave 6 minutes off of my actual finish time. Laughs, headstands, and cartwheels were going on to humor our volunteers and get stickers added to their names which turned into points (big sticker = 20 min, small sticker = 10 min). I stayed at the aid station for 30 minutes to help out, and to meet as many of the runners as possible. Keith and Stu went on, as the body gets cold being stationary. D.C., Jonathan Savage, Greg and Hayley all rolled in. I gobbled up some more calories and saw Beth, Ashley, and Damian come thru. Everyone was loving the cake, and then I high fived Melinda and Patrick as they came in. At this point, I was feeling the cold get to me and decided to start moving back towards Roper Hollow Road.

On the return we climbed the stairs to the waterfall, which was frozen last year, with Ashley, Jonathan Savage, and D.C. We ran all the flats, and the downhill’s, and hiked up the hills. Magically Erik and Julie, friends from Charlotte, appeared with their camera’s on the trail, taking photos of us running threw the woods! Thanks guys, and thanks for sharing. Next time make sure to grab a slice of cake before your hike! Hate you missed it.

At this point we had exited the park and started to pick up the pace. D.C. and I ran together for a while, and met up with Beth who was jamming to her tunes. We ran for a while together, and remembered her help in finding a sweet trail while I was up in Virginia a few months back in the Iron Mountains. I could feel my legs a bit heavy, but wanted to run up the hills, so I did a few times. We then started running down hill fast, and D.C. and I kept thinking we had reached the finish, only to see another bend in the road. For 2 miles or so, we thought we were at the finish, and kept up a strong pace. We then finished the round trip time of 6:36:38. The distance was 33 miles, net elevation gain was 6,000 feet, and it was between 40-50 degrees, overcast clouds, and somewhat misty-drizzly. As we approached the finish, a fire had been burning and appeared to be toasty. We huddled around and cheered in the rest of the runners out there.

After all the runners came in, some of decided to go to Jalapanos for some Mexican food, which is very tasty. I want to thank the volunteers, and the friends that helped me make this possible. Happy Birthday! Happy New Year! Happy New Decade! Live it up.

This was an amazing time, and even more amazing people. For fun, I decided to barrow some of Chris Scott C2M idea’s and incorporate bonus points and boner points for an official finish time of all the runners. Here is how it works:

Bonus and Boner point deduct and add time to your actual finish time.

Bonus Points:

Ate Cake = 20 min.

Deck of Cards = # you drew, Ace was 25 min.

Photos on trail = 30 min.

Photos post/pre run = 10 min.

Course marking = 30 min.

Post run dinner = 10 min.

Big sticker = 20 min.

Small sticker = 10 min.
Hair cut into a crown = 100 min.

Being involved added more bonus points. For example, baking banana bread and sharing, bringing along firewood to help us avoid hypothermia at the finish, and posting an elevation profile that looks like our crowns all earned you bonus points!

Elevation profile by: Dewight Shuler

Boner Points:

If you didn't wear your crown, then 60 minutes will be added to your time. If you forgot to return your bib 30 minutes will be added to your time. This is all fun and games, anyone that got boner points surely made up for it and some in bonus points!

I couldn't agree with Annette more when she said in her recent email "HAPPY LIFE! That is what yesterday symbolized to me!" What a blast!

Photo by: Jonathan Savage

Charlie and Vonda critique my Yoga (standing warrior) at mile 20 on the 33 mile journey. My Ujjayi breathing techniques worked wonders!


Many of the runners asked about the cake, and who made it? Nona from Nona's bakery in Charlotte. That red velvet was gooooood. Also, a special thanks to Melanie and Lonnie who crafted our crowns for the second year. Thinking about throwing down the crown at your next birthday party? Well check out their website, all proceeds go towards their son Daniels therapies that aren't covered by insurance. Great people to work with.

To the next adventure!

Salem Lake Frosty 50k – 12th Place

results
Finished 4:07:39 (50k PR)

I woke up at 4:45am, made last minute preparations, ate the best oatmeal breakfast with raspberries, blueberries, bananas, brown sugar, and honey for some fuel later on in the morning. A powerful energy lingered in me from last decade’s adventure on the Art Leob.  The drive up to Winston-Salem took me just over an hour.

Just before the start I met up with Jonathan Savage and the University City Road Runners. I was surprised to see them, as they usually only run asphalt and I rarely see any of them at ultras. Way to come out there and run one for the first time! Jonathan asked, “so are you going run this one fast?” I never come to these races with expectations other than enjoying the day with other like-minded trail runners. “Not sure.” I did have my new Inov8 212’s on, which I have tested out 4 other times while training. They are light, fast, and grip the trail like nothing else.

Photo by: Aaron Ligon

On the drive up, the batmobile gave me a reading of 14 degrees as the outside temperatures. The entire country was literally frozen. Even southern Florida hit record lows and dipped into freezing at night which is very rare. It was going to be a cold day. The forecast did not show that it would go above freezing at all during the time I would be running. We started in 18 degree’s. I was wearing shorts, a white cycling shirt, arm warmers, running gloves, a hat that covered my ears, and my houdini. I was wearing much less than most people out there, some of which had full down jackets and balaclava’s on.

Photo: Unknown

The 50K course is a flat and scenic, beginning and ending at Salem Lake, 6 plus miles on asphalt Greenway, 25 miles on hard packed frozen dirt around Salem Lake. It is a double out and back. The start, finish and halfway are at the Salem Lake Shelter. So I broke this run down to 4 sections, each of which is just under 8 miles (7.775 to be exact). It seemed reasonable to try and run each section in one hour, but I knew that was below an 8 minute mile, and that my body would not be able to sustain that for too long on trail. But it was sub-freezing, and I had to stay warm, so I busted it out in that pace, and I felt good.

I finished the first section in 58 minutes, second section in 1:58, and third section in 3:01. I was feeling my legs get heavy at this point and slowed my roll just a bit. I ran behind Myron Coulson and put it in cruise control, only to see him get farther and farther away. I reached the aid station where the asphalt met the trail, and loaded up on fluids and calories. It was here I convinced the aid station volunteers to let out a load synchronized coyote howl. This gave me strength and reminded me of my Coyote 2 Moon experience. I started to move faster and knew that if I tried to run hard for the next 8 miles I would PR and set the bar very high for me to PR again at this distance.

It was cold, below freezing, and thoughts of hot yoga in my mind helped me thaw out a little. I sweat when I run fast, and the accumulated sweat around my waist strap froze into solid ice, and some hawaiian shaved ice action. I noticed it, and didn’t think much of it, but later realized the price I would pay, freeze burns around my waist which is extremely painful. I was running on positive energy that I picked up from so many other runners as we continuously passed each other on the out and backs. The University City Road Runners were my little cheerleading squad every time I passed them. After I rounded the last cove I could finally see the finish, and although I wasn’t going to pull this last section in an hour, I ran my hardest to finish in 4:07. What an amazing day with amazing people!

A new course record was set this year by Ethan Coffey of Knoxville, TN. He shaved just over one minute off the previous record to run an amazing time of 3:08:08, almost an hour faster than my time. Mark Lundblad, a Sultan 50k runner this year, came in at second place with a time of 3:24:23. I didn't even recognize him out there! I came in at 12th place with a time of 4:07:39, my fastest 50k to date.