11th ALTAR

distance 30 miles
ALTAR 12.31.2011 - 10:17
photos

What better way to end the year, than to run the Art Loeb Trail, dubbed the ALTAR adventure run!

Many of us gathered at the Vance Lodge at Camp Daniel Boone the night before, and shuttled to the start line early the next morning.  We were 13 runners at the start, and it was warmer than I could remember it ever being on a late December morning at the Davidson River campgrounds.

I had all my cloths on at the start, probably not carrying enough cloths I thought to myself.  After our group photo, we took off, and the clock read 7:04am.  I ran off alone, and set my own pace.  The morning was perfect, and I peeled off most of my layers exposing my hands and arms to the cool crisp air which gave me a refreshing feeling.  The sun rose from the horizon, letting the bright rays filter thru the trees as I propelled my body deeper into the hills.

I often gather my thoughts of the year during this run, take some time to see what I have covered in the year past, all while intermittently thinking about what I have in store for 2012.  I quickly tapped into strong emotion early on in the run, earlier than usual.  I often think I run these distances to get away from the city lights, but I also wonder if I am addicted to tapping into my subconscious mind.  The gates to the subconscious are not easy to open, but today would be a day the doors were wide open.

Many opportunities came and went in 2011, and soo much harm has occurred around the globe this year.  Ill spare all the details, but feel its important to recognize this man, Mohamed Bouazizi, a 26-year-old fruit-and-vegetable seller from Tunisa, who had doused himself in petrol, flicked a lighter and started a revolution in front of the building.  This man caused a viral revolution which kept coming to the surface of my mind.  The trail helped me, especially when I hit pilot mountain.

I climbed slower than I wanted to, it was indicative of my conditioning.  I met up with Scott and Carl here where we ran and hiked together.  Once we reached the top of Pilot we took a small break to soaked up the views.  The weather was stunning, but I knew if I lingered for too long I would get cold.  So I took off down hill.  I found a trickle to fill up my empty water bottles and kept pushing threw.  When I approached the climb after Pilot I felt like stopping.  Knowing this was impossible I kept pushing thru.

As I crossed the parkway I ran into 3 runners who started opposite of us, and then ran into Liz and Boxer, her new dog.  We hiked together thru the balds, and up into the narrows.  I finished this years ALTAR before the sun set, which is always my goal in 10:17.

Awesome run, and great post and pre run shindig by Matt and Lily Kirk!