Eastern Divide 50K

by Marc Griffin

Joe Doherty, Jack Broaddus and I stayed at the Holiday Inn in Christiansburg, it was much cheaper than Mountain Lake, plus Mountain Lake has no air conditioning.  So right there I didn't think I could make it, Canadians don’t do well in heat.  It was a short drive to the start and we arrived in plenty of time to catch the buses.  This is a point to point race, so you park at the finish and they bus you about 30 min to the start.  The start of the race is at a nice rest stop with flush bathrooms and running water.  After socializing for a bit, we were all gathered at the start and waiting on the start gun.


As soon as the race starts you start climbing, nothing too bad but it was a steady climb.  You pass a great waterfall and make your way around to the top of it.  This is where my first detour happened.  I was sitting in around 6^th place and I could see the leaders when the trail was straight. Well, as I came around a corner, the course arrows looked to me to point to the right.  I followed the arrows, which took me down to a river about a quarter mile down.  The race director told us there was no major water crossings so I knew I had taken a wrong turn.  I made my way back up the climb, figured out the right way, and got to the first aid station, where they informed me I was now in 20^th place.  So I picked up the pace, especially on the climbs, and made my way back up to 8^th by the time the next few aid stations rolled around.  Really, most climbs were very runnable and most of the course is either on jeep road or old fire road except for the first 5 miles and the last 7 or 8.

Somewhere around aid station 4 or 5 is where my second detour took place, I was feeling good and just blew right through a set of arrows.  Of course, it wasn’t on a flat section so once I realized I had made another wrong turn I had to climb back up (again) to where I needed to turn.  I fell back to about 12^th place this time and had no one to blame for this one but myself.  I picked off a few runners and was in 10^th place with about 4 miles to go. I started cramping up pretty bad and tried all the tricks I knew to stop the cramping, nothing seemed to work so I slowed and got passed.  I ended up in 12 place which I am happy about since this is my highest place in an ultra of this size.  I know I could have done better if I hadn’t taken the wrong turns and taken better care of myself.  Lessons learned!

All pictures from race website: http://www.easterndivideultra.com/2012.html

Overall, I believe this was a very good event.  The run was fun, had a few good climbs, some trail, some roads (no pavement), and quite a bit of rolling terrain.  It was much harder than it looks on paper, but not all that bad.  The finish line and after party was very nice, it had plenty of hamburgers, hotdogs and cold drinks.  They even arranged our tents so we had some shade and everyone seemed to be having a good time.

Hopefully we can get a good CAT group to go down next year!

Here are the race results and here are more photos.

2nd Annual Flip Truck FA

How it all started, 2011

Last June, the Flipped Truck Fat Ass was born. To read the account of that run, see the blog entry from June 8, 2011. I said then that you could mark your calendars for the first Sunday in June, 2012, for the second running. True to my word, Marc, Jason, Nick and I gathered off coal road last Sunday for the second edition.

This year’s run was less eventful than the run last year, but just as enjoyable. If you haven’t run out at Sherando yet, you owe it to yourself to explore some of the best trails our area has to offer. Similarly, if you haven’t made it out to a CAT group run yet, you owe it to yourself to hang out with some of the coolest trail runners our area has to offer …

The nice thing about the Flipped Truck run is that we run a figure 8 course, which is basically two 16 mile loops, so you don’t need to commit to the entire 50k distance. 

Mark your calendars now for the 3^rd running of Flipped Truck- First weekend in June, 2013!

Some pictures from the run on Sunday:

Looking east on the climb up Kennedy Ridge

Kennedy Ridge Jeep Road

About to start the steep descent down to Mill Creek Trail

Jason, Marc and me discussing something totally epic, undoubtedly

Holiday Lake 50k++ 2012 - A first Ultra experience

I just wanted to share my experience of my first Ultra and get it into writing before I forget some parts!

I decided to sign up for this event after watching Unbreakable a few months prior. My training went pretty well and finally got to the point where I could complete a trail run without falling. The week before the race, I was becoming more nervous with each pre-race email. The weather report forecasting a chilly 16 degree start had me rethinking my decision to do this race however my family flew in from Colorado so I knew I was starting :)

I was a little less nervous race morning. Maybe it was the 30 degree weather that calmed me down more. The first few miles went great! I met someone from Philly and we started talking about our trail running experience. Well after falling twice while talking I decided I better first stop talking and start focusing on the trail and secondly walk off the pain from a second fall.  After a few minutes I was good to go.  I have to admit that I let out a little scream at the creek (I know trail runners are not supposed to scream at such things) but it was a refreshing break. The rest of the first loop went by pretty fast and before I knew it I was greeting my family at 16 something miles. I grabbed some Powerade, Advil and some quick hugs and I was off. At the first aid station after the turnaround I felt great and starting calculating how fast or slow I could run to beat 5 hours. I see Marc and chat with him for a while until he speeds ahead. I also see Sophie along the way and try to keep her in sight. The next aid station came pretty quick, now one more aid station and then the finish. At mile 27, I did a mini celebration of surpassing the longest distance I have ran to date. Now only 5+ miles to go. No need to stop at the last aid station, I had all I needed on me.  I decided that my one GU was not going to get me to the finish so I took one more...still not feeling that needed energy to make it back so I decided to take one more. Guess I needed to take more nutrition earlier on! Oh well, no more time for carbing up...I was anxious to get to the finish. I get passed by a girl who speeds by and don't even think about trying to catch her. The rest was a blur until I hit the paved road. I knew I was almost there!  I was so glad it was downhill because my left knee was screaming at me to stop running.

Yes! 32.5 on my watch and the finish line steps away. I was done!  Hugs by family and friends made it even more perfect at the finish. I didn't break my 5 hour goal, but that is for next time I guess.

Kendra

Recap of Beautiful Training Weekend: SMUT and 3 Ridges/Priest

Fall mountain splendor. Courtesy Jenny Nichols

Last weekend saw several great training opportunities and for many of us it was the last long-run weekend before the upcoming Mountain Masochist 50 miler.  It was also a spectacularly beautiful fall weekend to be in the mountains.

Below, Christian provides a quick summary and some nice pictures from Saturday's SMUT (Southern Massunutten Ultra Trail) 50K, put on by Keith Knipling, and David does the same for Sunday's CAT training run at 3 Ridges and the Priest.

Christian's report from SMUT

The SMUT (Southern Massanutten Ultra Trail Run) is another low-key fat ass event that Keith Knipling from the VHTRC has put on every year for five years now.  Keith offers a 50k and a 100k option (both fall a little short of distance though). We CAT's (Joey and me) opted for the 50k option and had a blast. As an "entry fee" everybody got assigned aid to bring to stock up the aid stations. Needless to say, there was a wide variety of aid and plenty for everybody.

Since there are no course markers we hung with Gary Knipling and Marlin Yoder (both team VHTRC)  almost the whole way to not get lost. We dropped Gary when he realized we were "just" in for the 50k. In addition we were provided turn sheets and Joey even brought a PATC map. It was just over 50F at 6:30am in the morning as we started up a gravel road for about 1.5 miles, and entered the singletrack trail by sunrise. Fall foliage and the sun coming up behind the mountain range offered gorgeous views as we ran on the first ridge. With 6000ft of elevation gain over 28.8 miles it was a good workout and I cursed the Massanutten rocks a couple of times. The course offered lots of rocks, some jeep roads,  single track, beautiful views and great company. The run was very nice and Joey and I finished in 6hrs 30mins.

A really nice low-key, no-pressure fat ass event with lots of VHTRC love, I would definitely recommend it! Here some impressions from the beautiful fall day.






David's report from 3 Ridges/Priest

Fall colors on AT.  Courtesy Jenny Nichols.

We had a great and fun group turnout for Sunday's run, with folks from all over Virginia.  When Nick Hamblet and I pulled into the Rte. 56 parking lot around 7:15 am, we met up with CAT-regular Bob Clouston, Matt Bugin and two other friends from Richmond, IMTRers Jenny Nichols and Guy from Southwest Virginia, and VHTRCer Quatro Hubbard from Richmond.  And then, CAT-regular Neal Church showed up from Richmond to round things out.

It was a picture perfect day with temps in the 50s as we got started.  Guy and Skinny B Nick started out with Matt Bugin and friends in a fast group, followed by Bob, Jenny, and Neal.  Quatro and I decided to "sweep" in the last grouping.  We first headed up the AT towards The 3 Ridges.  The colors were great; we started down in green leafy late summer, ascended through oranges and reds, and came up to yellow-colored trees and paths of fallen leaves on the top of the ridges.  The views were outstanding, as Bob's and Jenny's pictures, included here, can attest to. The Mau-Har trail was great -- much nicer in autumn than in the humidity of the summer IMO-- and Campbell's Creek flowed strong and clear from recent rains.

Jenny and Neal on the Third Ridge. Courtesy Bob Clouston.

Quatro on Third Ridge with Priest in background.

Nick, Bob, and Neal on Priest outcropping.  Courtesy Jenny Nichols

Quatro and I finished the first leg in just over four hours and found Jenny, Bob, and Neal still hanging out in the parking lot. So we grabbed some quick food and drink and headed up the Priest trail all together.  We were met by another beautiful climb and great scenery at outcroppings as we ascended higher.  It was at the first outcropping about 2/3 of the way up that Bob, Jenny, and Neal met the fast group on their way down.  I caught up as they all snapped off more pictures (Q returned to the parking lot about a mile up the trail as the 24 miles he ran with Sophie Speidel plus several hours of UVA tailgating on Saturday began to catch up with him).   On top of the Priest, we visited the other outcropping with its incredible vistas, before turning for our descent.  As this was my first time up the Priest, I was sort of dreading the descent, figuring my quads were shot.

Tailgate!  From L:  Guy, Jenny, Quatro, and Bob.

 But we got down in what seemed like no time at all with my quads still intact. The big surprise upon our return was the spread that Q had set up at his car.  It was the UVA tailgate all over again, complete with fried chicken, lots of chips, a variety of beers, and bourbon and cokes.  Jenny added some 5-hour energy shots and Lusty Monk mustard and we were in business!

Overall, the day included 22 miles of distance and 7350 feet of climbing.

This Saturday: UROC at Wintergreen

The inaugural TrailRunner Ultra Race of Champions (UROC) 100K will be held this Saturday, September 24th, at Wintergreen Resort.  The race, directed by Charlottesville Running Company owners Gill and Francesca, has as its goal the creation of  "the championship event for the sport of ultra distance running."  To this end, the inaugural race features an impressive collection of elite ultra runners including Geoff Roes, Anita Ortiz, Devon Crosby-Jones, Ian Sharman, Michael Wardian, Anne Riddle Lundblad, and David Mackey. These top-names will compete against other elite and citizen racers, including local fast talents like Ragan Petrie and Eric Grossman, for prizes totaling $10,000.

Race-day promises to be an exciting one for spectators, as over half of the course will be held on roads in and around Wintergreen and on the neighboring Blue Ridge Parkway, and the race will be covered live by iRunFar.com's Bryon Powell, with commentary help from local ultra running great, Andy Jones-Wilkins.  Friday evening features a "Meet the Elites" panel from 7-8 pm at Wintergreen's Discovery Ridge, preceded by an Expo and TrailRunner interviews with some of the top racers. To top things off, Wintergreen is also hosting its annual Oktoberfest which features food, oompah bands, and a beer tent!

Most importantly, CAT runners Bob Clouston, Nick Hamblet, and Chris Engle will be running the UROC sister event, the Uber Rock 50K!  So come out to Wintergreen Friday and Saturday to see and greet the elites, drink some beer, and cheer on our CAT runners!

50K in Norway

My run began in the small community Snippen

Today I ran about 50K, mostly in the wilderness, Nordmarka, that surrounds Oslo, Norway. I lived in Norway back in the 1990s and consider it to be my adopted home away from home. I especially love the country's beauty and the way Norwegians keep in close touch with nature. Nordmarka is an extensive wooded area with thousands of miles of trail, both for x-c skiing in the winter and hiking in the summer. The area also has a large network of gravel roads that are open to biking, horseback riding, and hiking, and to limited car traffic for those possessing keys (mainly cabin owners) that open gates at the boundaries of the areas.

I mapped out a trail loop of about 50K starting and finishing at the lake, Maridalsvannet, which isn't far from my hotel in Oslo. Nordmarka is hilly -- with heights that top out at around 2100 ft -- but it is not a trip in which you have to worry about climbing too much.

Calf-deep in myr muck

The biggest problem with hiking/running the summer trails in Nordmarka is that the area is covered in an spongy marsh called myr, which means that almost no matter what, your feet are going to sink into a mucky, stinky mess while on the trail (I am pretty sure our word "mire" as in "mired in muck" comes from the same linguisitic root as myr. It is fitting). Norwegians often hike Nordmarka in rubber boots for this reason. I started the day thinking "no problem" because my Inov-8 295s are often wet and stinky when I run, if for no other reason than because I sweat a lot. But what I didn't take into account is the fact that we have had steady rain here in Oslo for the past several days. The three days of rain meant that most steps in the myr went ankle to calf-deep.

Feet sinking in the myr isn't so bad because the woods are really special. The tall spruce and fir trees, with their Christmas-tree looks and smells are wonderful, as is the myr flora, chock full of pretty little flowers, wild berries, and mushrooms. Often, the woods are like something out of a kid's book of fairytales. I swear I have actually seen a troll or two up there, hiding under a toadstool or wooden bridge. Nordmarka also has lots of old cabins and mountain farms that are fun to explore. Some are used today to serve food and provide lodging.

Fairy-tale woods. Blue blazes mark trails.

My problem with the myr today was that it was slowing me down considerably. For instance, I covered only 5 miles in my first two hours on the trail and 8 miles in three hours. At that rate, I would be doing a 12-hour 50K -- too slow even for me! So at about mile 9, I opted for taking gravel roads for awhile to catch up on time.

Myr flora

Not only are the gravel roads easy to run on -- they are more packed dirt than gravel - they also stay pretty flat, so you can make up a lot of time traveling the roads instead of trail. So I pushed on by road to my turnaround point, a lodge that serves food called Kikutstua.

Gravel road - At last!

I know the Kikutstua lodge well. I skied to it with friends several times when I lived here in Norway and it was part of a run I did last year. It is a popular destination spot, particularly in the winter, as you get there by crossing a long frozen lake. It has a nice cafe and even rooms if you want to sleep over. Within a couple of miles of the lodge, all I could think about was getting there to buy a Fanta orange soda, some chocolate, and maybe a cup of coffee.

Kikutstua

Kikutstua appeared at about mile 18. But boy, was I sorely dissapointed! You see, I brought only my Visa debit card to pay for my food. Electronic terminals are even more popular here than in the U.S. and so I thought I would be fine. But no, the dude working at the cafe at Kikutstua insisted that his terminal only took Norwegian cards, not the card of some dumb foreigner. I was pissed, because (a) I didn't believe him, and (b) he was being such a jerk (most Norwegians are very nice to foreigners, by the way).

No matter though, I had plenty of gels with me. So I filled up my hydration pack, gave the dude the finger, and booked out of there fast without my Fanta, chocolate or coffee.

Back on the road out of Kikutstua, I had one long hill to climb, and then everything was literally downhill back to town . During my trip down, I veered back onto a trail I knew called Helvete, which means "hell" in Norwegian. Despite its name, Helvete is a very nice trail that climbs steeply up the side of a ravine and then drops back down again. Most of the trail is myr-free.

Helvete, passing near power lines

But Helvete only lasts a couple of miles, and then it was back on to gravel road the rest of the way down to the forest-road gate. On the trip down, I passed lots of cyclists out for the day, but no other runners. I arrived at the gate -- mile 28 -- about 7 1/2 hours after I started. From the gate, it was another 4 miles of running on paved road and biking trails back to my hotel.

Gate at end of forest road

Overall, it was a fun day out in Nordmarka and decent time on my feet for MMTR training.


Note: I took some liberties with my story telling: 1) I have never actually seen trolls in the woods in Norway, and (2) I never really gave that guy at Kikutstua the finger.

More photos from my trip are available here

Martha Moats Baker Memorial 50k

This past Saturday some CATs (Bob, Drew, Sophie and me) ran another free event put up by Dennis Herr from VHTRC. As always, VHTRC events are guaranteed fun and you can experience the dedication those folks put into their events.

Joe Schramka running through the clouds

Drew and I carpooled to "in-the-middle-of-nowhere"-Stokesville, VA (the Harrsionburg side of the Massanutten. The complete course is about 35 mi long and provides a decent elevation gain of 8400 ft. Thanks to the Waypoints Drew put in his GPS, we made it to the parking lot at 6.20am, and got one of the last empty spaces. After gearing up and packing map (and yes, Thanks Snipes for giving us an extra map) & turnsheet in the hydration pack we (25-30 runners) came together for a group picture. Many of them took the shorter, 26/28mi option of the course. In a short pre-race briefing, Dennis pointed out that we shouldn't cross the "flower" line, I thought this was a little odd, but given that we trail runners usually are nature conscious it made sense, kind of. (It took me about 20some miles to realize that a flower-line was a flour-line as in course marking. Go figure.). In perfect weather (in the 60/70s) we took off.

The plan was to run with Drew and go for the full distance. Coming back from a beach vacation (and 34ft elev gain runs) two days prior, I figured I need to get in some extra climb. We ran with Sophie, Bob and a few others for the first miles. Sophie gave us some tips along the course of easy to miss turns that served us well in the end (and yes, also arrows put down by David Snipes!). I separated from the group and ran in front with Joe Schramka, one of the WUS'ses (Woodley Ultra Society). I enjoyed getting to know him and talk about running. Drew caught up with us a few miles later and we refueled at the first aid station at Reddish Knob:

1st Aid Station at Reddish Knob (13mi)

We kept checking the turn sheet as we continued on the course as some turns were not obvious. The vegetation of parts of the course seemed like in California, pine trees and lots of grass - a nice change compared to the AT & Blue Ridge. Quite a few times we had to bushwhack as the bushes were covering the trail. We ran at a good pace and didn't think anybody would catch up soon, shortly after - out-of-nowhere, Eva Pastalkova, flew by with a quick "Hi, guys!". Even though she started 34mins late, she passed everybody! Crazy!

After the second aid station (21mi) we hit a short but nice cooling rain shower. Sweet! Some more uneventful ups and downs until we stopped at the last aid station, Grooms Ridge (27mi). 

If I had known that the final "brutal climb" meant brutal climb I might have not smiled here.

The final stretch (that many skipped for a reason) was about 4mi up and 4mi down. At this point my legs were quite tired from going out fast on the downhills earlier and I noticed that I didn't keep up with my nutrition too well - I felt a little empty. Also the weather turned to the sunny side and let the temps rise to 85-90F?! Yay! I think it took us about 2hrs for the 4mi up and 1 hour down. I let Drew take off and ran/walked the rest.

Rewarding views on the final miles..

The finish party was great (as VHTRC-usual), lots of food and drinks and good company. We were surprised to hear that Eva didn't make it to the finish yet... as it turned out she had run 10-bonus-miles. Drew (7:50hrs) and I (8:01hrs) made the first two places (out of 6 that did the whole course). Good times!

Party at the finish.

Thanks to Dennis Herr and all the wonderful volunteers who made this event possible. It was a great day, beautiful course, and a fantastic race.

Link to the event: http://www.vhtrc.org/events/mmb.htm
Photos by Christian:

Photos by Quattro:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/qhubbard/sets/72157627318827081/

Photos by Doug Sullivan:

https://picasaweb.google.com/geemaildoug/MarthaMoatsBakerAug132011#

Promise Land 50K+ -- Big day for the CAT!

David Horton and the CAT gang (David, Sophie, Drew, and Joey)

As many of you know, a group of Charlottesville Area Trailrunners were among the 300 or so racers at last weekend's 2011 Promise Land 50K+, a David Horton race with about 34 miles of distance and 8,000 ft of climbing.

We had some big finishes, including a 15th place finsh for Drew Krueger and 20th for Joey Cohen (this was the first run of PL50K for both of them), and 1st Master's female for Sophie Speidel.

Congratulations to all racers!

Sophie's race report can be found on her blog here:

Here are reports by Drew and David:

Drew:

In the aftermath of Mountain Masochist in November, I found I had done a number on my left IT band. I cut back my running quite a bit and, while rehabbing my leg, watched the pages of the calendar turn along with races I had hoped to run. It was tough to be missing several races I had really been looking forward to; however, I knew not rushing a return to higher mileage and racing was the right decision. I set a soft goal of toeing the line at the Promise Land 50k to mark my return to full health, and this past weekend, that goal came to fruition.

I had put in enough miles training that I felt confident I could have a good day at Promise Land. However, I also had a healthy dose of trepidation as the race approached-my last few long training runs were tough mental battles. Following these tough training runs I was left questioning whether I had over-trained or if, perhaps, I was having a tough time acclimating to running in the heat again. I was hoping for the latter. In either case, I took solace knowing that tough mental runs are small victories in and of themselves, and if I hadn’t overdone my training, these small victories would aid me during tough spots in a race.

Thursday night/Friday morning before the race, things started to go haywire. Our dog become very ill over night, which resulted in very little sleep that night, and a morning running to the vet’s office and various stores around town to fill prescriptions, etc. Our poor guy was in rough shape, and I was reluctant to leave him in the care of a stranger, given his condition, so we decided my wife would stay home with him instead of hanging out at an aid station during the race. I was starting to feel a bit panicky with the dog situation, all that had to be wrapped up before I could take off, and getting out the door to Promise Land! It was great to ride down to the race with David, as hanging out and talking helped to take my mind off everything else that was going on.

I usually feel a good bit of excitement/nervousness prior to a race, but before Promise Land, I strangely didn’t feel much of anything. I made a comment along these lines to David and Joey as we stood around the bonfire the night before the race, and thought to myself that I needed to start thinking about the race and get in the right mindset, and soon! However, as I laid in my tent that night trying to get mentally excited for the race, I felt like I was being steeped in a pool of negativity. Out of nowhere, I started feeling really negative about being at Promise Land, about running the race, and that I would have a really terrible run. I tried to invoke some positive self-talk, but before I knew it my alarm was going off and it was time to get ready.

Getting ready in the morning is fairly regimented for me. I tracked through my mental checklist and was wishing David and Joey good luck at the starting line in no time. As Horton counted down to the start of the race, I did a quick mental check-in. Instead of feeling giddy and ready to run, I felt a wet blanked of negativity wrapped tightly around me. 30 seconds! I took a deep breath, accepting that for whatever reason I was feeling negative and understanding that I was just going to have to utilize some positive self-talk to bring myself out of this funk and get through this race. 5,4,3,2,1, GO!!!!!

The beginning miles of the race climb fairly steadily, and I was a bit alarmed to find myself running side by side with some folks I knew to be very strong runners early in the race, so I backed off the intensity a bit, reminding myself I had a long day ahead of me. Physically, I felt good in the early miles- my legs felt strong and my HR was staying relatively low, despite the incline. After passing through the first aid station, the group I had been running with got spread out a bit, and from about aid station 2 to aid station 6 Keith Knipling, Sandi Nypaver and I played leap frog. I ran for long periods with both Keith and Sandi, and then there were periods where I was running by myself for a long time and I’d suddenly come through the heavy fog and find that Sandi was only 10 yards in front of me, or that Keith was right behind me.

Throughout this period of aid 1 to aid 6 I felt good physically, although I was starting to get a bit hot as I approached aid station 6. Mentally, I was still having on/off bouts of negativity. The negativity was really just annoying. I didn’t feel like it was affecting my running at all, since I was feeling strong, but I would have to remind myself with each little bout of negativity of the mentally tough training runs I had completed and how I would come out of this funk if I just kept putting one foot in front of the other.

As I came into Aid Station 6 I was anxious for the spur to/from the aid station to see if anyone was just in front or close behind me. It turned out Sandi and another runner were about 1½ minutes ahead of me here and I was about 1½ minutes in front of Keith. While I was hoping to feel a surge of adrenaline, knowing that after the climb up Apple Orchards Falls it was all downhill, it just didn’t come. I think I had missed a few drinks of perpetuem, and I was feeling a little low on energy. I took off up Apple Orchard, knowing that I wouldn’t be seeing Sandi again and that Keith would be closing on me shortly. As it turned out, Keith started catching up sooner than I had hoped due to some navigational issues on my part. A few minutes after starting the climb up Apple Orchard Falls I came to a diversion in the trail and didn’t see course markings in either direction. I stopped running to assess if I had overlooked any course markings. Again, I didn’t see any course markings, so I decided to keep running for about 30 seconds. If I didn’t see any course markings in that time I was going to make my way back to this point. I ran up the trail, didn’t see any markings, so in frustration I ran back to my original location to wait and ask Keith where the trail went. Just as I got back to the original spot I saw Keith approaching. Keith apparently noticed my confusion and yelled out that the trail kept going straight. Keith eventually caught me on the climb and I watched him speed ahead of me. The climb was getting me! I felt like I was overheating, so I stopped at several stream crossings and doused myself with the cold water. Also, my calves were cramping up a bit, so I popped an S Cap and continued plodding up the trail.

It was a huge relief when I saw Bob up the trail and realized the climb was over. I pulled into the aid station, took down a few cups of water and prepared for the fast downhill. I had little hope of catching back up with Keith in this section, but I still tried to run the first bit fairly fast. I hadn’t seen anyone coming from behind, so I wasn’t too worried about being caught from behind.

After a few miles of the downhill my abs and back were seriously revolting. It felt like my abs were about to burst they were so tired. I looked back up the road behind me and didn’t see anyone coming. Also, I hadn’t seen any signs of Keith ahead, so I felt I had my spot in the race fairly well sewn up. As such, I decided to back off the pace a bit and enjoy the last couple miles into the campground.

Despite the significant core pain, I was feeling pretty good. I appreciated the opportunity to relax the last bit of the race and reflect on running strongly despite an oddly negative mental day for me. It would have been easy to phone the race in and just run relaxed the whole day, but I was pleased that I had continued to run fairly aggressively all day. I started to see cars in the distance and knew the end was near.

It was great coming into the campground to a bunch of cheers and enjoying the last few yards. As I crossed in 5:38 Horton yelled out my name, and congratulated me. Perhaps the biggest highlight of my day came next when Horton looked down at my race number (#94) and yelled out, “Boy, I seeded you wrong!”

The post-race celebration, like the entire race event was a blast. It was great to meet so many runners and to cheer in the rest of the CAT runners as they came into the campground.

Congratulations to all the CAT runners on races well run. Again, the support of the club has been absolutely great throughout the build up to the event as well as during the event (thanks again for coming out to cheer us on, Bob!)

David

This was my second running of the PL50K and my fifth 50K since I began running ultras about 18 months ago. By far, this is my favorite. The natural beauty of the course, the tough uphills and long, gentle downhills, combined with a kick-butt atmosphere at the Promise Land Campground, makes for a great race experience.

Last year, I ran a very slow 8:22 but was still all jazzed up after finishing. My plan this year was to use a substantial buildup in training volume and speed work to make a significant improvement in my race time.

Things during training season didn't go quite as planned. After putting in very high quality training prior to Holiday Lake in February, my volume slacked off considerably because of heightened problems with my piriformis, and because of a busier work schedule during my teaching semester.

But I wasn't about to give up on running the PL50K given how much fun I had last year. And I was inspired in recent weeks to go for it, both by Bryon Powell's discussion on iRunFar.com of enjoying races when not as well trained and by Bob Clouston's great effort this year to finish at Boston with an injured calf.

So we when Drew and I set off by car for the race Friday afternoon, I was feeling pretty good. The ride down was great, as were the camp atmospherics that night. It was fun joining up with Joey Cohen there and hanging out with him, great to see Marc Griffin, fun to see Sophie and meet her gang at the camper, and of course, very entertaining to watch David Horton in action during the "schwag" giveaways.

The race started promptly that morning at 5:30 am in light rain. At first, I was far from inspired as I trudged slowly up the first long hill, which seemed to go on forever and which I seemed to walk slower than everybody else in the race. But at AS 1, I knew from last year that the running would get more fun, so I perked up and started to pass folks. The run down the grassy jeep trail to AS 2 was as fun as I remember last year. It was here that I saw Quattro "Q" Hubbard for the first time and heard him giving race advice to others as he ran with them. Nothing was more inspiring then rolling into AS 3 in the fog and seeing Bob Clouston there. What a big spirit lift! Bob reported to me that Drew was running well, I grabbed some more water and eats, and was feeling now like this race was going to be a lot fun.

And the rest of the race WAS fun. I followed mentoring advice (mainly from Bob) and made constant progress forward, moving quickly through aid stations, and made sure I was popping Endurolytes and eating gel on a regular basis to stave off cramping and keep the energy up. I also let gravity be my friend as I could see that I could pass many on downhill sections --I guess my thick body provides the mass needed to gain momentum downhill while not giving up much in terms of energy. At the beginning of the race, I often got passed again on the way back up a hill, but by the second half of the race, once I passed someone on the downhill, I never saw them again until the finish -- a good feeling.

From Colon Hollow on, I met up and ran near a couple of newlyweds, Kelli and Craig, from Gainesville, FL. They were fun and great to chat with, both because I lived in Gainesville for two years when I taught at UF and because Kelli and I ran near each other in last year's PL50K and both wondered how we would finish in this year's race. Kelli and Craig were great too because they were a young couple that were just finishing up school and readying themselves with new careers and a life outside of Gainesville.

Anyway, as the three of us made our way up the Apple Orchard Falls trail -- shuffling and power walking but never needing to stop -- we decided to shoot for a sub 8-hour finish. By the time we got back to Sunset Overlook that meant booking down the last 4+ miles to the race finish in less than an hour. And that we did! My legs felt amazingly good during that last stretch as I continued to pass many faces familiar from the first half of the race.

By the time I reached the Horton last-mile marker (at 33+ miles), I was ready for the race to be over, but knew that sub-8 was in the bag. I finished in 7:52:29, or about 30 minutes faster than last year! (Kelli and Craig came in together right around the 7:50 mark).

For any of you that have not run this race, it is a challenging but very rewarding run, especially if you love the great mountain outdoors!

The Sweetwater 50K

Last weekend, Mike Stadnisky ran the Sweetwater 50K in Atlanta. Here is his report:

I was in Atlanta this past weekend visiting family and I ran the Sweetwater 50K. If you ever get a chance, I would grab your fiddle and follow the devil down to Georgia

- it is a killer race!

In the first 3 miles, I saw the sun rise over Sparks reservoir, slid down and rope-climbed out of a gulley running with water, and dunked into a hip-deep creek. Unfortunately, the river crossing was cut out of the course as we got torrential rains Friday night in Atlanta (which came up to Cville on Saturday and turned Riverview Park into a sand-dune). The river was flowing great, so well in fact, it inundated the riverside trail at several points.

The first half of the loop is wonderful, moderately technical singletrack following the eponymous creek, falls, and past ruins of an old mill. This part of the course is beautiful, and is best compared to a highlight reel of the best parts of the Potomac Heritage Trail and Great Falls trails.

And then there is the second part of the course, which is a meat grinder. The website modestly states that the course includes "some area outside the park nicknamed Top of the World (TOTW) and Powerlines. These areas are where runners will find some of the more challenging terrain." The grades and relentlessness of the parabolic, pain-inducing powerline are truly fantastic. You simply *cannot* run up these hills - you climb and then you bomb down the other side, sip and repeat. It's worth it though, from TOTW, you can see the downtown Atlanta skyline and the course mercifully returns to singletrack, giving way to shag for the last 2 miles.

Then you do the loop again, mentally steeling yourself for the powerline section. The race was a blast, my race-day nutrition was finally in place, I (uncharacteristically) tapered - all adding up to taking third in my age group/28th overall with 5:57:49.77.

Get down there sometime and run it!

-Mike

Running Becca: Holiday Lake 50k++ Race Report (2011 Edition)

Running Becca: Holiday Lake 50k++ Race Report (2011 Edition)

a little later, a HL race report from CATster Rebecca

Holiday Lake 50k– 2/12/11

Holiday Lake 50 k– 2/12/11

Robin Ramm

After a hour and a half -ish drive to the 4-H camp, we settled into our cabins and had the Horton Dinner which consisted of salad,  sketty and meatballs and some delicious cheesy bread. There were a ton of desserts and lasagna too that I didn’t eat. Horton gave his speech which was a hoot, and then threw free gifts at the crowd. We heard this was going to be a record crowd of nearly 315 runners. Many doing their first 50K. I got a T-shirt for Montrail, but it’s too small for me.

Rebecca, who drove me, gave me many pointers for the day as this was her first 50k last year but has since accomplished so many races – including JFK 50 miler. We thought we had it made in our cabin, 4 of us with top bunks to lay out our goodies for the morning. Got my #167 pinned to my pants – who knew that ultra runners do this. Crystal, the sleeping back you gave me was very comfy and super warm! Loved it!!

We were all up at 4:45 am dressing and went over to the cabin to get hot water for my oatmeal and a bagel. Excitement was in the air.  TMI alert, but runners understand…3 attempts and a no go – I was worried.  Perhaps I’ll become an ultra runner and have to do it in the woods! LOL, luckily I was told to bring wipes and tp for that special occasion. Amazingly, it never happened…anywho….

 6:30 sharp we were off. There’s a long .6 mile uphill on a road leading to the trail turn off. I walked it since I heard that even if you rush up there – you need to wait for everyone to funnel on to the course. Why bother. My goal was to be in the back anywho.  Once on the course, I was glad to have my headlamp be so bright and illuminate the roots and rocks.  We were pretty close for the first mile or two but then soon the group spread out. At the first aid station, mile 4, we were able to drop off our headlamps into a box in hopes of seeing it at the end. There were so many goodies on the table from chips, M & M’s, pretzels, bananas and the usual drinks. I grabbed water and a piece of nanner and was off.

Things are fuzzy from 4-8 miles but I think the stream crossing was in this part. It was icy cold and ankle deep, but I decided to not try and walk the rocks since it was so icy and others were saying very slippery. After all, part of being an Ultra runner means running thru streams right? It was like icy daggers stabbing my feet after going thru but only lasted about 10 minutes and I moved on to the next hurdle. Grabbed more banana and a few chips at 8 miles and kept up with my regimen of Salt tablets, Perpetum blocks by Hammer and a few peanut butter pretzels. Boy they tasted good. 

By the time I got to 12 miles, runners were already coming the other way! Seriously I was thinking? They went to 16 and were back at my mile 12…calculated quickly - they were 8 miles ahead of me! Unreal. Everyone was so supportive and saying “great job” or “looking good” as they passed our pitifulness.  Ha ha.

My favorite part of the course is around the lake and within a few miles of the turnaround you go down a series of steps and then over a bridge that is very thin but beautiful overlook of the lake. I loved it even with my fear of heights. Soon after, I was at the turn around and the clock said 3:18. Great, I made the cut off point …I can move on. I quickly went to my cabin undressing along the way and took off some layers and did a pit stop and grabbed more fuel. I was feeling like I could still take on the world and eager to go on.

Miles 16…Loop 2 we go backwards so soon I was up on the bridge again and wishing I had a camera – so pretty.  I was passing a few people on the way back, so I knew I wasn’t dead last – comforting. I knew they needed to be at the turnaround by 3:45 ish so it was sad to think they didn’t make it to do the 2^nd loop.

Aid station #5 at 20 miles they asked what I wanted, so I asked for a scotch. Apparently…they didn’t find that very humorous…so I asked for a “new body”? Ha ha. Nothing. Okay, give me a banana and I grabbed a ¼ of a pbj. YUMMY. That hit the spot. 

Soon after this I felt twinges of the darn IT band kicking it. I stopped to do some stretching and rub the leg…but by mile 22 it was locking down and my knee kept feeling as if it would buckle. Frustrated – 11 miles to go, I tried doing the gallop dragging my left leg along, going down hills sideways to prevent the pain and of course walking fast. This kept on to the finish. Every down hill made me cringe and I looked forward to power walking in between. The stream, while it was a bit warmer outside – still felt like icy daggers to my feet but I decided it was good for healing them! Ha ha. 

I was happy to see the next aid station and filled up with a few more pieces of PBJ and grabbed another slice of nanner.  Bruuuuuuuce came on my iPod at mile 26.2 (at 5:30 hours) which inspired me to move a little faster and put a smile on my face – Born to run. It makes me think of Mark when I hear any Bruce song and I got excited thinking he was probably waiting at the finish for me now.

Last aid station, mile 29 - 4 more miles to go – I was mentally doing great even with the bum leg. I had no doubts I could finish and I calculated it would be 7 hours and 10 minutes now. I had hoped for a sub 7 hour, but hey – it is what it is.

Some beautiful horses were next to me for part of the last few miles and were just gorgeous, gotta love a horse smell! I told the one lady I was tempted to jump on and she said she would if it wasn’t against the rules. Bummer man. I guess I’ll just pet them and move on.

Finally off the trail and the last .6 down to the finish on the road, I was all alone…I hobbled and galloped with my bum leg, walking fast. One lady was getting in her car and said “great job” and I asked if I was last?  She said “no way, and you look great – I didn’t even make it to the 2^nd loop and I’m exhausted!”

 I finally spotted Mark waiting and we waived at each other from a distance. I’m so thrilled to be done! Horton shouted my name and grabbed me at the finish saying how proud he was of me finishing! That was cool!!  Gave Mark a huge stinky hug and kiss as he told me how proud he was of me! My finishing time was 7 hours 11 minutes. I made my goal of finishing standing up and NOT last!! Many runners came in even past the 8 hour cut off. I ran a total of 33.26 miles. Incredible.

“Walked” back to cabin to towel off my smelliness and pack up. I didn’t even eat the lunch I paid for or get my finishers Tshirt (didn’t see them) I just wanted to leave at that point! I did however get my headlamp back! Yes!

I’ve learned that I love trail running more than road running because of the beauty and less people, but that I’m much slower on the trail than on the road. It’s odd to be at the end instead of the middle of the pack…but I’ve made peace with it as it’s just beautiful. I also like running by myself which I within the last year found out works for me. Who knew?  Don’t get me wrong BJ, our runs are great – but give me an open trail and 8 hours and I love to stretch out and enjoy it.

Would I do another 50K? Probably, but I’m not sure I’d want a real technical trail. This one was perfect for a “beginner” and I enjoyed it so much.  I won’t say never, because I will likely be signing up for another within a few weeks, right – ha ha.  Thanks to all my friends  and family for the support and advice J

Black Warrior 50k in Moulton, Alabama

Fortunately and Unfortunately this will not be my usual PowerPoint presentation since I don't have that many photos so my words alone with have to suffice.

As you all know (or maybe you don't) I have been injured since GEER and not really running except in the pool (which doesn't count) since late September.  As I always do I still decided to sign up for another race just in case I had a miraculous recovery.  Well I did not...and I have been in physical therapy for the past 3 weeks.

I signed up for the Black Warrior 50k in Moulton, Alabama.  Since there was not the recovery I had hoped for I dropped down to the 25k race.

I arrived on Saturday morning about an hour early.  This gave me plenty of time to stretch and get my hip loosened up.  The weather was about 55 degrees and partly sunny but very humid (not a disappoinment since I was in Alabama). 

The race bried consisted of a conversation about the start of the race which "is a big hill".  They assured us that this was the biggest hill in the race and just to stick it out to the top!!??!?!  The 25k course started out on a packed dirt road for about 2 1/2 miles and then single track trail (which by the way is also used for horses) then ending on the same dirt road for about 3 1/2 miles.  "The single track is kind of tricky and technical" - "There are some stream crossings, muddy spots and a few rocks".

So the gun sounds and we start running - get to the top of the climb (which is about 3/4 of a mile at best) then hit flat road to the trail head.  The trail was very interesting - the stream crossings were like 2" deep.  The muddy areas were challenging but and sometimes a good 50 feet in length - but I had to show some of my fellow runners that you would not die or sink into the mud if you ran straight through it - a concept that some had not discovered yet in Alabama.  That approach does lend itself to dirtying up your brand new white nike's though.  Then all of a sudden there would be a section of trail that was about a 100 feet of just sand (yup just like running on a beach).

There were only two aid stations for the 25k race first one at about mile 6 and the other just over mile 12.

I made the first aid station just over 1 hour and felt great - hardly any pain.  Grabbed some water, banana and pb&j and kept running.  Just after mile 8 after a nice long stretch of sand trail - I started feeling the pain.  The pain steadily increased and by the time I hit the last aid station I was really in pain.  Mile 12 - Julia was there and going to run with me to the finish.  I filled up with water (it was about 70 degrees by that point) and we headed out - all packed dirt road straight to the finish - only 3 miles to go...  And that is when it happened - both legs stopped working.  Pain shooting all the way down the outside of both legs.  It was awesome !!!  I kept attempting to run - I am so close and I AM GOING TO FINISH!!

So the last 3 miles were brutal - I ran backwards as much as I could and walked and jogged BUT... I FINISHED!!!  3:07:52  which happens to beat my first 25k by about 33 minutes.

It was a completely different course that what we are all used to and I would love to run that again uninjured.  Even with the horse manure it was a really fun fast course.

I am back at PT and hope to be back with you guys soon.  No races planned to all this is fixed so I won't be pushing it. 

Glad to see the new google group!

Take Care,

Lisa