Keys Ultra - 50 Miles

This past weekend the Florida Keys 100 raised thousands of dollars for prostate cancer research. The ultra marathon had over 100 runner running mostly the relay, with 20 runners starting the 50 miler, and 19 starting the 100.

My brother Hazem joined me on this adventure and was crewing for me while I attempted the 100. We began the run at 6am with a 77 degree start. I knew it would be warm and I started with a slower pace than usual.

After the first 25 miles I changed shoes because I had sweat all the way thru them and they were sloshing around. By this time the heat was really on. The high temperature for that day was 93 degree. I made sure I was downing electrolytes and water regularly.

The road was very flat. Bridges were the only places we had any elevation. I had packed ice on my back, head, and chest at times to keep my body temperature from over heating. It was humid. After running 50 miles I decided to drop out as the heat totally exhausted my body.

After the run we both checked out Key West, and made the short flight over to the Dry Tortugas Islands.

MMT out and Keys 100 in

This year I attempted to get into the Massanutten Mountain 100 but unfortunately signed up the same day but a few hours too late and was wait listed. The race director informed me that I would not make the cut! So I quickly moved to plan B, the Florida Keys 100 Ultra. I have never been the keys, and what better way to experience an area than to run thru it on foot.

Some major contrasts between the Keys Ultra and Coyote are the Keys Ultra is flat vs. 28,000 feet of gain. The Keys Ultra is hot with humidity vs. dry heat. The keys Ultra is on asphalt self supported vs. trails with aid stations.

This should be an interesting experience!!

Live updates will be posted on this blog and facebook.

Blue Planet Run for Africa 12 Hr

I arrived at Camp Rockmont sooner than I anticipated with a whole 70 minutes before the start to register, gather my provisions, and possibly get some rest before what I thought would be a 24 hour run. I met up with Richard Lilly, Brian Bedhun, Mike Day, Mike Piercy, and Drew Shelfer.

The course is a 5 mile crisscrossed loop that has a few steep climbs and descents, which don’t seem too intimidating the first go around, and some flat sections with large chunky gravel, and some grassy flat sections near the lake and near the start/finish area.

I ran half of the first loop with Mike Peircy who had only planned to run for 6 hours. He told me a little bit about the history of Camp Rock mount and how it used to be Black Mountain College. I learn something new every time I attempt one of these long runs.

I ran a few more loops alone then got lapped by Drew and later by Richard. These guys were pushing it a little harder than I was and I didn’t let it get to me because I was attempting the 24 hour and they had only planned to run for 12. The relay runners would zip right by you some of which clipping 7 to 8 minute miles. Sometimes I would try to keep up with some of them, but that only proved to be no good. By lap 10 (50 miles) I really felt exhausted and sleepy, the sun was setting, so I grabbed my headlamp. I really didn’t get a good amount of sleep for the three days leading up to this run due to work and woke up at 5:50am the day of the race to drive up to Black Mountain. I slowed my pace a little for the next two loops and finished lap 12 in 12:01:45. I sat in a chair at the start/finish for 10 minutes and walked over to the time keeper and let them know I would drop out of the run at 60 miles. I was too sleepy and some stomach issues were bothering me.

RESULTS

Fontana Village 30 miler

Fontana Dam is a Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) hydroelectric dam on the Little Tennessee River in the state of North Carolina. The dam is 2,365 feet (721 m) long and 480 feet (146 m) high making it the tallest dam in the Eastern United States. It impounds Fontana Lake. For thru-hikers on the Appalachian Trail (AT), it marks the beginning or end of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, depending on their direction of travel.

After scratching plans to run from Clingmans Dome to Fontana Lake solo due to weather conditions we came up with a new itinerary. It was me, Ann, Paul, Jason, and Wendy. Everyone was interested in a 13 or so mile hike, and I really wanted to get a long 30 mile’s out of my system. So we planned to take two cars and drop them at the Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC) and Stechoa Gap. Paul and Ann would hike in the direction of the NOC and me, Jason and Wendy would hike from the NOC to Stechoa gap. When we intersect, we do a key swap. My plan was to keep going from Stechoa gap and run all the way back to the cabin in Fontana Village 16 miles away from Stechoa.

We began the hike a little later than I would have wanted around 9:55am. It had been raining all night and had just stopped raining around 9:30ish. We strapped our packs and headed up the AT towards Cheoah Bald, 5,062 feet (1,543 m). This 8 mile section of the AT wasn’t new to me, and recent memories of finishing the Bartram Trail came back to life. I climbed 3,700 feet to reach the summit in 2:35 and with almost perfect timing meeting Ann and Paul. After spending a little over 15 minutes at the top I decided to keep trucking along. Despite weather forecasts, the day was pleasant with a sprinkle here and there. I picked up my speed after the summit on the downhill and I was alone from here on out.

Every April hundreds of thru hikers start a journey from Georgia to Maine to cross the entire 2,174 mile of the Appalachian Trail. I started passing a few thur hikers at this point stopping for a few seconds to exchange hellos. When I reached Stechoa Gap in 4:10 I unlocked my car and grabbed a turkey sandwich, some salty chips, and drank the rest of the water I had in my car. I was down to a one liter bottle of water.

I still had 16 miles to go, and the next 2 miles were uphill. This section of the AT was new to me. It was getting very warm and I was drinking more water than I thought I would and by this time I had drank a little over 3.5 liters. I stopped at Brown Fork Shelter and filled up 2.5 liters to take me the entire way. I kept running the flat and downhill sections and hiking up the hills. There were many stealth knobs that don’t show up on the contour lines on my map. When I reached Cable Gap Shelter I had 6.6 miles to hwy 28 or 8.8 miles to the Cabin. I met a few more thru hikers, most of which had been hiking for three days from the NOC to reach Cable Gap Shelter. A few miles later a great view of Fontana Lake appeared and the Dam was visible from high above. I knew I was getting closer at this point and from here on out it was downhill. Although I was tired, I was still moving. I finally reached hwy 28 and turned left. Two miles left on asphalt to make it back to the cabin. I began to run, and then it was impossible to run because the road was too steep. This slowed me to a hiking pace, and I finished the 30 mile speed hike trail run in 9 hours exactly.

Ann, Paul, Jason, and Wendy all made it back to the cabin with all the vehicles and the logistics worked out perfectly! Maybe next time I am in Fontana I will have bagged the Clingmans Dome to Fontana 30 mile section.

Start time 9:55am
Finish time 6:55pm
Start at the NOC
Finish at Fontana Village
Total distance 30 miles
Total calories burned 7,880
Total elevation gain ~6,700 feet
Summit: Cheoah Bald 5,062 feet (1,543 m)

Tim Long's Thursday Night Fun Runs 4.44 Miles

Mix it up a bit. Fast pace, fast twitch action Tim Long puts on races all over the map. He brings his skills to the local running community in Charlotte all for the sake of a good time. With a water stop and being timed! One of the reasons I fell in love with running a few years back is people like Tim who actually give back to the community and ask for nothing. This is a pretty common trait among most of the trail runners I meet. Although I am more used to trail, and slow paced longer distance running, the fast pace fast twitch action will certainly be part of my game plan this year. Look forward to more great running

The run starts at 6:30pm at the Charlotte Running Company (1412 East Blvd, Charlotte, NC 28203). Good times.

Results

*photo by: Jim Payne

Umstead 50

I packed a thin lightweight rain jacket as the forecast mentioned rain all day. At 6am fireworks set off to signal the start and we were off running. The first loop went well, and I was running well. The air was humid, and no rain yet. My body doesn’t react well to the humidity and I sweat a lot, much more than the average runner. So I have to make sure to replace the fluids and electrolytes I lose while running. The Umstead 100 is a 12.5-mile loop with spurs in Umstead Park (Raleigh, NC). The course will be repeated eight times equaling 100 miles. There is also a 50 mile option, so if your not feeling the 100, then you have the option of just finishing 50 miles. This is a huge psychological game when your at mile 50. During the second lap I began to feel the effects of my short recovery from Coyote 2 Moon two weeks ago. Coyote 2 Moon was the first 100 I had ever finished. It took me 38 hours and had 28,000 feet of gain. I did not run a single time between finishing Coyote and Umstead. I know this sounds like bad planning, and it is. My legs felt like there were at mile 70 when I was only on mile 14. I also made the mistake of wearing Gore-Tex shoes. I figured It would be raining all day, and Gore-Tex would be the right option, wrong! I was sweating profusely and soaked my socks and shoes. The sweat in my shoes had no where to escape as the Gore-Tex wouldn’t let them. So I squished my way back to the aid station fully intent on dropping. I knew this wouldn’t be my day. As I shuffled into the aid station I saw Charlie, who I had met at Adam Hill's Pitchell run last year in October. I told him I was dropping and that this run was just bad timing. He told me to "take a break, and go slow and steady."


That’s what I did. I ended up running another painful two loops, and met up with Fred Dumar on the 3rd loop. No sense in dropping at the third loop and DNF'ing when you can just finish one more and get credit for a 50 mile run. He was right! I kept telling myself to keep going and finished the 50 miles.

Coyote 2 Moon Report

7 has always been my lucky number, and I have never had that number as a bib ever until Coyote 2 Moon.

So I have never successfully finished a contiguous 100 mile run, why would I choose Coyote 2 Moon to be the one I try to finish? I was asked that question by most on the run. A runner would approach me and say, “ohhh, you’re the first time 100 miler.” Probably feeling sorry for me, and thinking what a bad choice for a first 100. Maybe it’s because I love the mountains and a natural desire to explore new areas. I have never been to California. Los Padres National Park just above Ojai, CA is really a fantastic area and to top it off, have you seen the belt buckle?

This is certainly not a traditional 100 miler. It's a staggered start, so different people start at different times depending on their past experiences in running 100's with similar elevation gain and their ability. When Chris Scott, the race director, asked me how long I thought I would finish, I told him 38 hours. The cutoff was 40 hours. I ended up starting with the 40 hour group, which meant we could take full advantage of the 40 hour limit. No one took this run seriously, it was just one big party going on all weekend. I started Friday at 4pm with a group of a little over a dozen runners, all of which had completed 100 milers in the past, and some really tough ones too. I met too many random runners that had completed Badwater. I was the odd one in the bunch. The next group would start at 6pm, 9pm and so on with each runner trying to finish before 8am Sunday. The fastest group started at 6am Saturday morning, 14 hours after I did!

We were off, and I took it slow from the start. My training had not gone well at all for the past two months. The entire month of February I was down with the flu which forced me to turn around on Mt. Mitchell at the BRP for a marathon finish. Up until the day of the race I had questioned my self and my ability. I had though many times to switch to the 100k, but mentally I convinced myself this was a run of a life time. It would the first year they run the Coyote 2 Moon.

START TO SISAR VALLEY (Mile 17.2)
At 4pm on Saturday it was hot and by the first aid station the volunteer looked at me and told me that I had sweat too much. My sweat rate is higher than normal, and I down more water and keep a close monitor of my electrolytes because of that. I had not focused on a certain pace, or speed, but rather just enjoying the nice day in the mountains with a bunch of other lunatics trying to do the same thing I was.

This run is not easy to follow. The easiest way to describe it is the ridge acts as the spine, and from the ridge there are 8 out and backs. I was on my out to the Sisar Valley, the first out and back on the course. From the ridge I was running downhill, and it was here I picked up my pace. I felt good and wasn't running hard, just running leisurely downhill. On my way down I passed a group of three runners. As I passed them, a guy yelled out and said I had to wear this sweaty goofy looking hat with a pin wheel attached to it. Something a clown would wear. Apparently I didn't realize that the lead male and lead female for each group must wear this goofy hat, or they get penalized on their time and risk DNF'ing even if they finish in the 40 hour time. I thought this to be odd, but played along. At this point I lead the entire 4pm group. That made me feel as if I was going out too fast, and rethought my plan and slowed down a bit. After reaching the Sisar Valley aid station I downed some calories, grabbed some warmer cloths that I had dropped and turned around to run back up what I just run down.

SISAR VALLEY TO TOPATOPA (Mile 25.8)
It was getting dark and cooling quickly. Half way up I was passed by Linda McFadden who was wearing the same goofy looking hat I was signifying that she was the lead female for the 4pm starters. I hiked up at a fast pace to keep up with her and I kept asking her questions to see if that would slow her down, but this women was tough. I learned she had completed Badwater and continued to climb the summit of Mt. Whitney, then continued to hike the John Muir Trail. For someone like me who would be happy just to finish this run, I began to be concerned again. Was I following the fast people too closely. But I kept telling myself I had 40 hours to complete this and just go with the flow. At that point we hit an aid station, and Chris and Sue were working it. Sue told me that she was planning a summit attempt at Denali later this year. Chris, the race director, said I was doing good on time. I had some quesadillas and went off to the summit of Topatopa the highest point on the run. Before I left Chris told me that I would find a deck of cards at the summit and I needed to bring a card back with me. This guy kept coming up with creative idea's that really made this run different from any I had ever done before. It was dark and I could see Linda's headlamp ahead of me, she was now clearly ahead of me. I kept running until, to my surprise, I saw Linda standing on some snow with a layer of ice that made it almost impossible to walk on without risking a nasty fall to the bottom. I attempted to get onto the snow and was able to carefully walk without slipping. Did Chris know how dangerous this was for other runners? I mean crampons were certainly called for here. I thought this was part of the game and kept hiking up ice until I reached a section of trail that kept going higher with little or no ice. Finally I could see what I thought was the summit of Topatopa and was inclined to bushwhack and grab a card and run down. No other runners were in sight, but I was leading at this point. I thought I had gained a sizable lead. No sign of Linda or any other runner. For some reason I didn't think too much about that, and kept trying to find the summit. I ended up bushwhacking up three summits at my altimeter read 6,300 feet which was close to what the summit of Topatopa is. But no deck of cards to be found, no other runners to be found. I climbed up two other summits which appeared to be higher than where I was, nothing. I realized something is really wrong, and turned around. You cant run downhill on ice, you will slip and fall right away. I had a makeshift ice axe out of a branch I broke off a tree and carefully walked down back towards the aid station. At this point psychologically I was drained. I had gone over two miles off course. Plus extra elevation I didn't need!! Arrgh!! When I hit the trail section I noticed the turn that me and Linda had missed because I could see all the headlamps climbing up the summit trail. A truck was driving towards me on the ridge and it was Chris asking where the hell I had been. Several runners had come thru the aid station, up to the summit, and all said they had not seen me at all. I told him what happened and I went back to the aid station skipping all together the summit of Topatopa. I offered my makeshift axe to Chris in exchange for a card! He accepted. I warmed up with a cup of soup, and thought that I still had plenty of time to complete this challenge.

TOPATOPA TO ROSE VALLEY (Mile 31.8)
At this point all the runners I was with were long gone and the aid station volunteers told me that I could still make it, and that to not let it affect me. Are you kidding, I was still feeling great and was planning on crossing the finish line before 8am. I kept heading North towards Rose Valley and ran this section alone. Almost all the 4pmer's had past me and several 6pmer's had passed by this point. When I got to rose valley the first time I didn't linger around, it was freezing. I later found out it was 22 degrees there. I grabbed some food and started the hike back up what I just ran down.

ROSE VALLEY TO THATCHER SCHOOL (Mile 49.4)
I was beginning to feel the discomfort at this point and remember taking my time hiking up. It was here I met with Brian Clark. Me and Brian ran together for the next two aid stations and we kept each other going. We were on our way to Thatcher School and daylight broke. On our way down Thatcher I saw three runners hiking up, they must have had a 9-10 mile lead on us at that point. We got down to Thatcher refueled and hiked back up what we just ran down.

THATCHER SCHOOL TO ROSE VALLEY (Mile 61.4)
It was hot as all get out, and I kept downing water and eating salty pretzel sticks and chips and taking an electrolyte tablet when I felt necessary. This was a true adventure for me as I have never run under two moons. I have done several all nighters, midnight marathons, and you can't beat the night running. I was not expecting the large variance in weather from night and day. The low for Friday night was 22 degrees at Rose Valley (mile marker 32 and 62). On the ridge the highs reached over 80 degrees and the sun was pounding down hard. There are no tree and very few area's with shade. Very dry area compared to my home state of North Carolina. It reminded me of the desert heat of the Grand Canyon. After getting back onto the ridge and running for a while the sign to Rose Valley appeared and the decent was steep. My feet had blistered up at the ball of my foot pretty bad and it was compounded by the next two miles of steep downhill to the bottom of Rose Valley. When I reached the aid station, I took my shoes and socks off and realized I would be spending some time here. Linda was leaving as I was coming in. She over heard me say something about blisters and kindly offered to use her blister kit, and I needed it. Gillian, a co-owner of ZombiRunner.com came to my rescue and cleaned up my feet, wrapped them up, and got me going again. The pain didn’t got away immediately, but felt much more bearable. I have to say, if it wasn’t for this blister repair, I would have DNF’ed. Thank you Gillian!!!

ROSE VALLEY TO GRIDLEY BOTTEM (Mile 721.1)
I started back up the steepest 2 miles and towards the end every bend of the trail I would tell myself was the last and the end was near. But it kept going forever. When I reached the ridge I felt relief, and began to run again. I kept going, and finally reached the Gridley top aid station. Refueled, drank a full bottle of water, and kept the quesadillas coming. They never tasted so good. I left and hiked/ran down to Gridley Bottom.

GRIDLEY BOTTEM TO COZY DELL (Mile 85.6)
I was feeling good psychologically at this point. I still had plenty of time, and just had to hike up 3,000 feet back to the ridge and run to the bottom of Cozy Dell and back and I was done. I was told that Cozy Dell was the gentlest part of the run. I had two burritos and some more food, and headed back up. On my way up I ran into another group of runners doing the 100k. I also met up with Rob who was a 9pm starter for the 100M. He looked fresh, and was leading the hike up at a good pace. I figured If I could hang with these guys I was in the clear. It seemed to take forever, but we finally made it back up to the aid station. It was dark and I had to barrow a headlamp as I forgot mine down at the aid station. I also lent out my spare to Brian. One of the greatest things about the ultra running community is that they are always happy to help someone succeed.

To my surprise out of the aid station we started hiking up when I thought we were headed down to Cozy Dell. We climbed maybe 2,000 feet then descended again down. The group I was with ran down, and I hiked slowly down at this point. My feet kept bothering me. I had to convince myself to ignore the pain and catch up with Rob. I let a faster runner pass me and I followed him for a good mile downhill fast. The pain was there, but I was ignoring it. I passed Rob and finally caught up with the 100k group I was with earlier and let the fast runner go his way. The run down Cozy Dell wasn’t so cozy for me, it was harder than I had imagined. I kept going and going and finally, I could see the lights of the aid station. It was at least a half a mile farther down. I felt like I was moving fast, but my pace was very slow. Some huge boulders showed up and I hoped a few of them here and there and finally stumbled into the aid station. They had some awesome chips and salsa here which I munched on for a while then had some soup. I was here for less than 5 min as the 100k group got back up and was out on there way. One of them had dropped here. A few other runners were sitting in chairs with blankets covering their shivering bodies.

COZY DELL TO FINISH
I knew this would be tough, but I had to climb back up what was extremely difficult to run down. My body had been trashed, and my feet swollen and blistered. I kept telling myself it was the last big climb and just to keep moving. This section I did alone. I kept moving, and hiking up as fast as I could. I was moving maybe at 2 miles per hour uphill. It took forever, but I made it back to the aid station and sat down for 10 minutes. I knew that they longer I sat that the chance of my legs working again kept getting smaller. I had refueled and waited for the next runner to show up so we could go out and tackle the last three miles of this run. It was a mile a half up hill on the ridge and another two miles back to the ranch on single track trail. I kept pushing myself to the very last minute. I crossed the finish line at exactly 6am for a 38 hour finish.

I wrapped myself in blankets and ate another burrito, soup, coffee, and started to come back to life. My body has never been so wasted before.

I was glad to have finished this beast of a run! Thank you to all the volunteers and to the people that made this event possible! Without them, none of this would have happened.

Start 0 miles
Sisar Valley 17.2 miles
Topatoap 25.8 miles
Rose Valley 31.8 miles
Thatcher School 49.4 miles
Rose Valley 61.4 miles
Gridley Bottom 72.1 miles
Cozy Dell 85.6 miles
Finish 97.1 miles
Lost for +-2 miles


RESULTS

Coyote 2 Moon

The Coyote 2 Moon or sometimes called Dos Lunas went down this weekend. This is a wicked 100 Mile (40 hour limit) and 100K (26 hour limit) trail run on a full moon weekend. This is the first time I venture in this part of the country, and it is absolutely beautiful.

I started the race at 4pm Friday and finished at exactly 6am Sunday. That's 38 hours if you don't want to do the math in your head. I was happy to just finish this monster. I'm catching the red eye tonight back to Charlotte. I should sleep well since I have been up running the last two nights. More on this run and a full race report later.
Sent via BlackBerry

Umstead Marathon

This is my second year running the Umstead Marathon shaving 16 minutes off my last years run. Ten min before the run even started the rain began to pour. I started having flashbacks of Bartram day 2, but it was much colder there.

I felt much better on this, much better than Mt. Mitchell. My body was on a rebound from the nasty flu that I’ve had for the entire month of February. The Umstead marathon can be fairly brutal. With a good mix of up and down hills, and single track the feet can take a good poundage. The last six miles were a bit miserable, but I was able to finish strong and at least beat my time from last year.

Black Mountain Marathon

The Mt. Mitchell challenge is a race I look forward to every year. It really is a reunion of runners across southeast.

This year would be my second attempt to run the 40 mile challenge. Last year I ran the 40 mile challenge in 7:27:28, which for the first time running it was a good time in my book. This year would be very different.

If you keep up with this blog, you would notice that I haven’t had many entries in the last few weeks. This is due to lack of interesting events, and lack of energy to write about my small training runs here and there. Also, for the past 10 days I was down with the worst case of the flu that I can remember (I have a short term memory). Of course, I was signed up for the Mt. Mitchell Challenge, and I was running it if I felt good or not.

I arrived into Black Mountain Friday night and picked up my race packet and listed to the race briefing. It was going to be the warmest challenge ever.

The morning of the race, I felt good. I felt like I was finally better. This I had not tested at all, since I had not run a single mile in the past 10 days. Off we ran. I knew to take it slow, and before I even hit the trail, the shortness of breath started to kick in. I was not fully recovered, and started to feel the congestion in my chest. I ran even slower and started hiking uphill ever now and then. I began to ask myself the question, was this a good idea? Should I have even attempted this run? I kept trucking along all the way the Blue Ridge Parkway, which is where I made the choice to turn around and complete the marathon instead of the 40 miler. I struggled to finish. My body is telling me to recover and rest, and that is what I plan on doing.

Polar Bear 100K

What seemed to be a line of over 500 riders, I rode into the start and was happy to have my arm warmers, gloves, sunglasses, and some type of head gear under my helmet. I’m not used to long cold rides on the bike, and I usually warm up fast when I’m running on the trail. The temperature was in the 40’s and may have reached a high in the low 50’s by the end of the day.

You don’t normally think about this, but the road is exposed, and the wind travels freely, and the sun will beat down on you if it is shining. On the East coast trails that I am used to, we are usually covered with trees.

I clocked a 63.7 miles on my bike odometer with an average of 17.7 mph. It took me just over three and half hours to complete, and I was happy to finish with several strong riders. The last time I rode my bike was on April 29, 2007.

The Baratram Trail - 4 Day Stage Run

12/29/07 Stage One: 23.1 miles (4,560 feet of gain)12/30/07 Stage Two: 33.7 miles (8,360 feet of gain)
12/31/07 Stage Three: 22.8 miles (6,700 feet of gain)
1/1/08 Stage Four: 25.4 miles (6,080 feet of gain)

DAY 1

The weather today was fantastic. It started off with a cool mist, and then the sun broke out later in the day. I was planning to run easy so my legs would still function for the next three days. We started off at the southern terminus of the trail with our feet on the SC side of the trail, and crossed highway 28 into Georgia. The Georgia portion of the trail is entirely in the Tallulah Ranger District of the Chattahoochee National Forest and is managed by the United States Forest Service. It was me, Matt, and Brian, and we all started off running easy.

After reaching Warwoman Dell I passed thru Martin Creek Falls and Becky Branch Falls, and ran down the wild and scenic Chattooga River which is the lowest point on the entire trail. Vistas from Rabun Bald were visible, and a great deal of scenic beauty filled the day. I finished the first day of 23 miles in 5:42 and burned 4,616 calories with a total gain of 4,560 feet. I still had 82 miles left to go, so I soaked my feet in the cold mountain waters at the finish of stage 1. I knew tomorrow would be a difficult day.

DAY 2

Today we had a 7am start, and it was pouring rain from the time I got out of the car. This stage would be the most difficult of the 4, with the longest section, the most elevation gain, and now the most drastic weather conditions. The temperatures were in the mid 30's and pouring rain. It was just warm enough not to be freezing rain or snow, but cold enough to make you go hypothermic! The wind was unforgiving. I knew if I wore gloves there would instantly get wet and make my hands colder, so opted for no gloves. I did however take my Gore-Tex sombrero which helped me keep my head dryer and warm. Matt took off in order to keep warm, and I knew I had a long 34 miles ahead of me. I wasn’t able to carry my camera because it would get soaked. It was difficult at first to get moving because the legs were a little stiff from yesterday, but after a mile I was back to normal. It was very cold, windy, and the rain never stopped as I reached the summit of Rabun Bald, 4,696 feet (1,431 m), the second-highest point in Georgia along the Eastern Continental Divide. I crossed the Georgia/North Carolina state border and then met Brain who saved the day by deciding to crew, and greeting me at mile 18 with a Subway sandwich which I gobbled up along with a left over slice of pizza from yesterdays dinner. Then another major ascent up Scaly Mountain. I remember running thru a rushing creek as the trail had now become flooded with water. The rain eased up on the climb up Scaly, but then started coming down hard at the summit. There is plenty of large rock at the top, and some of it was completely flooded with water. I slalomed down Scally between the rhododendron’s flying down the switchbacks. I finished the run at Buckeye Creek, and then laid inside of the creek waist down for 7 minutes. It was freezing cold. I completed the second day in 8:54 and burned 5,908 calories with a total elevation gain of 8,360 feet.

DAY 3

I began to feel the effects of a multi day run today. The weather was beautifully chilly. Me and Matt started at the Wallace Branch trailhead. Brian was running in the opposite direction so that we could do a key swap. The sun shined on the left side of my body warming my left arm and keeping my right arm cold. I wore my gloves today as I didn’t expect much rain. Again, Matt took off, and I was alone in the wilderness. I remember climbing up a couple hundred feet, only to come back down. This happened a few more times, and then Wayah appeared before me. From afar this peak looked like a giant. At this point I began to descend again, I knew that every foot I lost in elevation here, I would have to climb again. Reaching the summit of Wayah Bald, 5,385 ft (1,641 m) I felt a great sense of relief. There is a cool building at the top. I was greeted by 10 or so trolls that drove to the top! From here I began to descend. I met Brian on the way down and kept moving nicely. It was after Sawmill Gap the elevation began to drop steeply. I was loosing more than 100 feet per minute as I ran down hill. A few minutes later I was off the mountain and reached a road with view of Lake Nantahala. The sun glistened over the body of water, and I felt like I was making great time. I made a left and ran West. After a quarter of mile something didn’t feel right and I pulled out the map. I quickly noticed I was traveling in the wrong direction and remembered Brian had mentioned to turn Right when I got to the road. So I turned around and ran back. The last few miles I could feel the effects of my body pounding on the downhill’s and I slowed my pace as I reached Appletree Campgrounds. I was glad to get this day done with. I completed the third day in 6:27 and burned 4,506 calories with a total elevation gain of 6,700 feet. I opted to not soak my legs in the water as I was cold, fatigued, and wanted to take a hot shower. Tonight we would spend the night in a sweet cabin at the Nantahala Outdoor Center near the river. I went to bed just before 10pm and slept the night away.

DAY 4

The last day of the Bartram Trail. My legs were feeling the beating they have been taking for the last three days. I had a marathon left to go to finish, not so bad? We started at the Appletree Campgrounds where we finished the day before. It took me more than just a mile to warm up on this day. It was beautiful and sunny. A slight wind at the low elevation meant it would be really windy at the top of Cheoah Bald, 5,062 feet (1,543 meters). I remember jamming to my iPod while moving slightly faster than a shuffle and being startled by 6 hounds and two hunters. I immediately froze and took out my ear buds slowly. The hunters chuckled and told me Matt was 30 minutes ahead of me. I kept trucking along. I remember feeling exhausted just before the train tracks. After crossing the tracks I began the steep ascent of Cheoah Bald. It would be a 3,000+ ft. climb to the top. The temperature must have been below freezing above 4,000 feet and the wind made it feel much colder. After reaching the summit, I snapped a few photos, and then began my decent on the AT. At this point I had completed the Bartram Trail, but still had 8 miles to go on the AT to make it back to the NOC. I felt a sense of accomplishment knowing that its mostly downhill from here on. I started to move faster on the decent and was able to be back in the cabin within 1:50 from the summit. Then I drove down to the Nantahala River and attempted to submerge my body in the freezing waters for 5 minutes. I lasted 3:10. The air temperature was 37 degrees, the water felt much colder! I completed the last day in 6:53 and burned 4,505 calories with a total elevation gain of 6,080 feet.

Statistics over 4 days

Distance: 105 miles
Time: 27 hours 55 minutes
Elevation: 25,700 feet
Calories: 19,535 calories

Peaks summited while on the run:

Wayah Bald, 5,385 ft (1,641 m)

Cheoah Bald, 5,062 feet (1,543 m)

Scaly Mountain, 4,820 feet (1,469m)

Rabun Bald, 4,696 feet (1,431 m)

Lowest Point:

Chattooga River, 1,500 ft (457 m)

7th Art Loeb Trail Adventure Run

Every year the ALTAR is ran on or around the winter solstice. The idea is to start when the sun comes up, and finish before if comes down. Due to a late departure, I arrived at the Vance Lodge in Camp Daniel Boone at 1:30am. The guys left the back door open, and I just threw a sleeping bag onto an empty couch and crashed. I woke up at 4:45 and got my things in order.

17 people lined up at the start. Unlike last year, this year the run was self supported, you carried everything you needed all the time. You can’t really drop out, you can just turn around. The temperature this year was in the 40’s which is a bit warm, but the wind, rain, and fog made if feel a little colder. The first half of the run tackles 80% of the gain which needs to be done in a controlled pace in order to finish.

After reaching the Blue Ridge Parkway you enter into an alpine forest which looks like it belongs in Canada. The site is truly amazing and it is one of the reasons I like these types of adventures. Then you reach the Black Balsam Balds, some of the few balds in NC that are above 6,000 feet. The visibility up there was 20-40 feet, and the wind gusts easily could have been 40-50 mph. The wind felt good, and instantly dried my wet shorts for me. The fog on the other had was a bit frustrating because you couldn’t see where you were going. I relied on my instinct, and the foot prints in the mud to lead me back into the protection of the forest.

Towards the end of the run I felt a little fatigued, but I kept my sight on another runner in front of me and hung in the entire distance, finishing in 9:19.

2007 Thunder Road

The only local marathon, Thunder Road in Charlotte is a must run for me. Every year however I do think to myself that I should be out there in the middle of the night and freezing cold running the Hellgate 100k. Maybe next year.

I was coming out of a cold, and my chest was congested. I felt a little weary about pacing the 3:45 team, not being sure that I would be able to make even splits for the runners that followed. Then I found out I would have two other pacers at the same time, so I had nothing to worry about. When I showed up a few minutes late to the pacer meeting on the day of the race, I was informed that the 3:30 pacer dropped and I was to lead the 3:30 runner. I have run a 3:30 once, a PR, in Columbus earlier this year. I knew I wasn’t in any shape for a 3:30 in Charlotte while still coming out of a cold. I took the challenge, and told the pace director I would take the runners only half way at that pace, and then they were on there own, I did just that. After the half way point my run went downhill, as I struggled to keep my pace. I finished in 3:54:04.

Overall, I’m happy I ran and was able to volunteer. Next year I will run a stronger race, or maybe end up at Hellgate.

Mt. Mitchell Ascent

18 of us made the attempt up Mt. Mitchell. It’s December and the weather was warmer than expected, and what was forecasted. The leaves blanketed the first half of the trail up. It was a little slippery, and made for a difficult run down the mountain.

As we reached the summit, the temperature dropped close to 25 degrees from the start. The wind had picked up which made it feel colder. We took a break, ate some food at the summit, and then headed back down. It was nice to take a small break and leisurely hike up and enjoy the mountain.

Coming down the mountain I began to feel sick, and developed a hacking cough.

Five bridges, five boroughs, and more than two million spectators make the ING New York City Marathon a race like no other.

Ok, I’ve had enough asphalt for 2007. Two marathons in two weeks really pushed my asphalt capacity.

Sunday was a beautiful crisp fall day. Although I had to get up before the sun did, and had to wait until about 10:20am to actually start running, I was in a good mood. My mind was set on doing what I had planned. Run and see the city for what it has to offer. Travel thru all five boroughs of New York City by foot.
Me and 39,000+ other runners started on the Verazano-Narrows Bridge in Staten Island. Not much time spent in Staten Island at all. When I crossed the bridge, I was Brooklyn. The sheer number of the runners running in unison was amazing. More amazing than this was the number of people that came out to support the run in Brooklyn. This was something I have never experienced before. For the next 12 miles or so I ran North thru the borough of Brooklyn on 4th Ave. From there I crossed another bridge to enter Queens. The crowd again was vibrant and encouraging. I knew that I didn’t want to run a fast marathon because of the number of people that were on this run, and because my body was a little fatigued from the previous runs in the last few weeks. So I ran a 1:55 half. From Queens I crossed the Queensboro Bridge to enter Manhattan; I was on the Upper East Side of the island. I was cold and windy. Traveling North for a few miles I entered The Bronx. Only running about 1 mile in The Bronx, I continued back South into Manhattan. Running thru Harlem and down the side of Central Park. I knew that the finish was close when I entered the park. Masses of people for the last two miles filled the sidelines of the park. The crowd was cheering every runner. I pulled into the final stretch, and finished in 4:11. Although I expected to finish in a slower time, I didn’t expect it to be over 4 hours. The experience I had in NYC was fantastic, and I would recommend this run to anyone to try at least once if they can get in.

More than 2 million spectators came out to support this run.