Wintergreen has ~30 miles of rugged hilly trails, including a 14 mile perimeter trail and 16 miles of alternate and connector trails. The AT used to go through Wintergreen, but was rerouted on the west side of the Blue Ridge Parkway not long after Wintergreen was developed. Much of the old section still exists as the Old AT trail in Wintergreen, and it connects into the existing AT at the Dripping Rock parking area at about mile 9.6 of the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Hiking Upward has a decent map/description of the Wintergreen perimeter trails, and I've taken this photo of the official trail map provided by the Nature Foundation at Wintergreen:
Wintergreen Trail Map
The perimeter trails are in red on both the map and blazes. The alternate trails are in yellow. To stay on the perimeter, there are a few road crossings and a couple short road connectors.
Getting There
Wintergreen Resort is on Route 664 1 mile south of the intersection with the Blue Ridge Parkway at Reeds Gap, and 5 miles north of Route 151 where Devils Backbone brewpub and the Ski Barn are. There's a huge green sign at the entrance. Go up Wintergreen Drive about 2.5 miles, and bear right at the fork in front of the fire station to go on Mountain Inn Loop. Take a right on Grassy Ridge Drive and take that down to the parking lot at the dome. The trailhead is nearer the gravel parking lot than the paved one. Unfortunately the trail head isn't simple to find. To head clockwise, go past Ridgely's Fun Park with the teepee and look for a small brown sign at the ends of the woods for Cedar Cliffs North. To head counter clockwise, take the gravel/dirt road across the ski runs, which becomes the Loggers Alley trail. But it's best to go with someone who's been there before anyway.
Navigation Aids
The trails change names at roads and alternate trail crossings, usually without incident. Going clockwise, from Cedar Cliffs North you have to jog left for maybe 50 yards then right to Cedar Cliffs South to stay on the red perimeter. Down at the south end, when the Fortune's Ridge Trail hits Wintergreen Drive, go down the road about 25 yards and look for the Pond Hollow trail head across the road. This takes you up a long climb to the highest point of the trails at the Blue Ridge Overlook. Take a left onto Devil's Knob Loop, and left on Cedar Drive, and look for the trailhead for the Old AT trail on the right part way down. (In the winter at the end of Cedar Drive you may be able to pick up a trail that was roughed out but not used for UROC, which comes out to 664 just below Reeds Gap where the AT crosses, but in the summer it's overgrown.) The Old AT crosses Laurel Springs Drive once but continues directly across the road. Further down the hill look for a right onto Upper Shamokin Gorge to stay on the red perimeter trails. (If you continued on the Old AT you'd cross Laurel Springs Drive once again, and shortly after that you'll run into the AT and then the Blue Ridge Parkway at Dripping Rock.) On Upper Shamokin Gorge look for a right onto Chestnut Springs to stay on the perimeter, but you might want to continue a bit further down to a waterfall and then double back. Chestnut Springs Trail comes to a T with Loggers Alley, take a right to get back to the parking lot.
Going counterclockwise, the only additional thing to watch for is a left turn to stay on the Pedlars Edge Trail, otherwise you'll wind up in Intern Gulch, so named because not one but two nature foundation interns missed that trail and would up down at a trailer on some dead end road coming out of the valley. Not recommended!
Warnings
The trails at Wintergreen are quite technical. Some of them are extremely rocky. To compound things, much of it is greenstone, which gets very slick when wet. Particularly rough trails are Blackrock, Brimstone, Pedlars Edge, Cedar Cliffs North, and Upper Shamokin Gorge. DO NOT run these when they are wet. There are a couple places where you have to slide off a rock face onto another rocky landing and it's hard enough in dry conditions.
Run with a buddy, because there are many places where you can turn an ankle or fall and hit a rock. These trails are much more technical than the AT. Drew Kreuger has the FKT of the loop, 2:53. For most of us it is a 4-5 hour trek.
There is water at various points but since there is salt run off from roads, fertilizer from the golf course, whatever they put in the water for snow making, etc, I recommend carrying what you'll need and perhaps dropping water at road crossings.
You shouldn't lose the trail, but if somehow you do and cannot back trace to find the trail, go UP, not down. Before too long you will hit one of the many roads or ski slopes on top of the mountain. If you go down, you could go many miles before finding any signs of civilization, and you could hit a cliff face that will stop you.
Alternate Runs
One of my favorite runs is to start at Loggers Alley by the dome, starting the perimeter clockwise. Continue on Loggers Alley when it turns into a yellow trail, and just after a creek crossing take a left onto Morgan's Loop, which is not on this map but runs parallel to Upper Shamokin Falls Trail. Go run at the Laurel Ridge road access trail to the road. Go uphill on the road for 1/4 mile and look for the Old AT trail head on the left. It starts as yellow and turns to red. Cross the road and continue on the Old AT and go about another mile and look for the 2nd yellow trail on the left, Hemlock Drive access. Take this yellow trail to the cul-de-sac, and take that street to a left Devils Knob Loop road and an immediate right on Wintergreen Drive. Look for a brown diamond sign giving you an alternate dirt and asphalt path to follow rather than running on the road. Where that path crosses Blue Ridge Drive, follow the Highlands Leisure Trail down to the ski village. Take a path past the big white tent back down to the parking lot. The loop is almost exactly 10K.
Add on about 3 miles by taking the gravel/dirt road out of back end the parking lot down to the Hemlock Springs Trail on the left just before you hit the big water tank. You might also see some twisty mountain bike trails to follow rather than the road. I can't describe exactly how to find or use them but they are great to explore. Anyway, stay left of the creek and Hemlock Springs Tr becomes Cedar Cliffs South. When that comes to a T, go right 100 yards or so to a fantastic rocky view overlook. Backtrack and stay straight on Cedar Cliffs Main back to the gravel road, and turn right to take that back to the parking lot.
The Laurel Ridge Loop trail, especially the south part starting with the trail head off Mountain Inn Loop is another nice route. Combine it with the Fortune's Ridge Trail and Pond Hollow up to the Pond Hollow Crossover back to the Laurel Ridge Loop trail. Going right from here is a more runnable way back than left.
There are also some mountain bike trails in and around the ski slopes that look very runnable.
The best option may be to connect to the AT. The Old AT trail crosses Laurel Springs Road and within 200 yards you are at the AT where it crosses the Blue Ridge Parkway at Dripping Rock between mile posts 9 and 10. Heading north, it's about 4 miles to Humpback Rocks and 14 miles total to Rockfish Gap/Afton. The first mile south takes you to a nice view similar to the view at the Raven's Roost overlook off the parkway. Beyond that the profile looks promising but it's extremely rocky. 5 miles to Reeds Gap total.
This past Saturday Dan Spearin, Jeff Lysiak, and I all proudly represented Crozet as we traveled to the northern reaches of Massanutten Mountain to run Catherine's Fat Ass 50km trail race. For those of you unfamiliar with what a "Fat Ass" event is, it is essentially a low-key run usually put on by a running club or bunch of friends with no entry fee, no bibs, and generally just nothing official about it at all. There are Fat Ass events all over the country and this particular event was unofficially hosted by the Virginia Happy Trails Running Club, an awesome trail running club centered in Northern Virginia. I knew a few other runners who were going to be there but I have to admit I was a little concerned over the lack of detailed prerace information available. I am a planner, but I was getting the feeling I was going to be "going with the flow" for this one. The only prerace info we got an email sent on Wednesday that mostly stressed the need for "...beer. Good beer. More beer is a good thing. Again GOOD beer. Cold and good beer is best!". Also in the prerace email were some words of encouragement; "I have not had a chance to do trail maintenance this year, so be prepared for the unexpected." Hmmm, what were we getting ourselves into? Well the one thing we did know was that it was going to be HOT! Like 95 degrees and humid hot. Despite all the common sense warning signs of catastrophe (running 31 miles on rocky trails with over 6000ft elevation in 95 degree heat with questionable trail markings...) we headed off truly excited for an adventure. We knew it was going to be a good day when we saw a bear in the middle of Jarmans Gap Rd not even a half mile from home! We got to the race early and after meeting and greeting with some other runners, we gathered together for the prerace briefing. Turns out one of the forest service road access gates was closed so the race director was unable to access parts of the course and thus the course would have to be redirected...and would also have one less aid station... and would not be marked at all. Crap. He then went on to verbally give the new course instructions, "....take the red trail up to the purple trail, then turn down the orange trail, then go up the hill, then down the....". Seriously?! I can't remember that! I shrugged to the person next to me who shrugged back. Crap. Go with the flow.
The course "map". Seriously.
As I was trying to process this information, the race director yelled out "ok, Go!" and people starting running towards the single track trail that left the parking lot. This was rapid decision time regarding my goals for this race. First, let me preface that like many a Fat Ass event, there really was not a competitive vibe here at all. I would say pretty much everyone there was out there to have a good run and a great time. That's actually the beauty of the trail running world in general - it just seems overwhelmingly laid back and fun. So I must say despite the uneasiness of what exactly I was getting myself into, I was in great spirits and ready to have a great run - my first ultramarathon distance mind you! Despite never having actually ran over marathon distance, I was never worried about the distance itself. I have been racking up plenty of weekly mileage and elevation where finishing 31 miles itself wasn't going to be the challenge. The real question was "how hard can I push myself and for how long?". For some reason I really wanted this question answered today. Oh yes, it would be answered! I jumped out onto the trail and eventually caught up with the front runners. About a mile into the course we saw a little bear cub jump out of a tree and run away. Good sign #2! Two miles in, we came to a trail intersection. A few of the guys who had run the course before decided that they wanted to run the original 50k course, not the new 50k course for the day. Apparently in a fat ass, the course is negotiable... Thus, those of us who had no idea where we were in the first place decided to follow the original route guys and there began my detour entitled "Oh man, I chose the wrong guys to run with...". Running with me were Keith Knipling, who has run over 130 ultramarathons, and Neal Gorman, an elite ultrarunner who currently holds the Grand Slam of Ultrarunning course record (the fastest cumulative time running the Western States 100 miler, Vermont 100 miler, Wasatch 100 miler, and the Leadville Trail 100 miler all in one summer!). WTF was I thinking!! Ok, to give me credit, Keith was feeling pretty tired from running a bunch of hundred milers this summer and Neal has been recovering from a nasty virus. It seemed like it was shaping up to be a nice run...
The first 4 miles took us 1900 ft up to Bird Knob overlooking the Shenandoah Valley below. There we met up with Martha and Dave, two runners who seemed like they were also up for an easy day. After climbing for 4 miles, the prospect of an easier run was more appealing... After a few miles of running over rocks the size of cats and dogs, we came to a gravel road which we would run on for the next 7 miles. This is when I overheard Neal say something to Martha like "well, we can't win all of our races like you Martha...". "Wait a minute" I said, "is Martha also some kind of super elite runner?". Turns out Martha has been busy over the past few years winning first place and setting course records in everything from half marathons, to the Charlottesville Marathon, to the Highlands Sky 40 miler this summer. Meanwhile we're burning up 7 minute miles on this gravel road.... Oh man, I picked the wrong people to run with..We finally came to the first aid station which was a blessing. I filled up with water, threw down a Gu, and quickly ran into the nearby stream to douse myself with its cold refreshing water. It was starting to get pretty hot. Keith had told us to leave him a while back and Dave wasn't feeling well and decided to cut his run short. It was now me, Neal, and Martha. First time ultrarunner with two first placers. And by the way none of us knew where exactly we were going. The folks who knew the route had now bailed. Fortunately a few of the guys at the aid station gave us great directions for the next 10 miles of trail and we were off. As the gravel road began to climb, we kept running, passing by several groups of runners who I thought were wisely walking. Oh man, I picked the wrong people to run with...After several miles of uphill on the gravel road, we got back onto what was perhaps the prettiest and most treacherous trail of the day. This trail literally went straight up a stream called Morgans Run. At times, there was no trail, you just walked in the middle of the stream until you saw something that looked like a trail. Did I mention all the rocks were as slick as ice?! But by this point, about 15 miles into the run, anything that got Neal and Martha to slow down was a good thing, even if that meant walking up a river. Finally the trail left the stream and we were running again. Suddenly Neal (in front) starts screaming and takes off in a sprint, slapping all around him. Right behind him Martha starts doing the same. In an instant, I see the reason and was too late to stop. A huge hornets nest had fallen earlier and broken open right in the middle of the trail! For some reason I couldn't stop and just sprinted right through it, like running through fire. Hornets hurt!! The three of us sprinted for a few hundred yards and took inventory. Several stings each, but everyone ok. All agreed that hornets suck. We finally got to another "aid station", which was Gary Knipling standing next to Pitt Spring - literally a 3 foot wide spring in the ground. He had a big pitcher in his hand and told us all to bow down as he "baptized" us with the cold water from the spring. This was one of the best things I have felt in a long while. "Can I drink from the pitcher Gary?" I asked...I didn't care that it came from some untreated mountain spring, it looked so clear and cold that I couldn't resist and drank about half the pitcher. Best glass of water I've ever had.
A few more miles of gravel road running until we reached the last "real" aid station. I learned that elite runners do not mess around at aid stations. I had heard so much about aid stations at ultras, with a buffet laid out of soda, Gatorade, cookies, watermelon, chips....but alas, I chose the wrong people to run with...I would just quickly fill my bottles then run to the nearby stream and douse myself in water while they quickly ate. Then I would hastily shove a Gu in my mouth as I followed them out of the aid station. It was really getting hot by now, up in the 90's for sure and SO humid. I could feel that the heat more than anything was starting to get to me. We were now at about mile 20 and I knew I was entering that special "mental" zone in a run and had to hang in there. But then we turned onto the purple trail. The purple trail, as advertised in the limited prerace information, was evil. It climbed 1600ft over four miles, the last two of which were just plain hell. We had picked up another top notch runner Matt Bugin (who just won the Bel Monte Endurance Run 50k this year...oh man..) and Matt, Neal, and Martha seemed unfazed by the heat and elevation. I was starting to physically bonk. Mentally, I was actually ok. I was pushing myself really hard which was my goal of the day. However despite my pushing they were pulling away ever so gradually. For most of that climb I was about 2-300 yards behind. I was getting so hot that I was getting chills and goosebumps. Bad. At that point, I knew I was starting to bonk. Oh how I just wanted to stop and sit in a stream for a while. What the hell is wrong with these people? Arent they hot? Why are they just running right by that stream without getting in and laying down? The last mile of the purple trail was so steep that it was just switchbacks and you had to have your hands pushing your knees down while you hiked. I was redlining. I remembered something I had heard Ian Torrence say on a podcast once though. He said you can always unbonk. He also said to remember to focus on what you're good at. So, even though I had no appetite, I ate two Gu's and drained my second to last bottle of water. I decided just to run my own race at that point and gave up on my goal of hanging with these elite runners. WTF was I thinking?! And then, the purple trail ended! I felt like I had just gotten rid of a demon. The trail turned straight down a rocky hill for a few miles and the elites were nowhere to be seen. But I fancy myself as a good downhill bomber and decided to bomb away. Although I'm sure by that point my version of bombing down a rocky trail looked more like a 90 year old man going down stairs... As I kept on the downhill, something great happened...I unbonked! I was suddenly back to having fun, feeling some energy and wouldn't you know it somehow caught up to my group again. The next 7 miles were all mental. As we slowly descended back down the mountain it became hotter and hotter. It felt like we were running down into a sauna. I was overheated, out of water, and my legs were done. But I had somehow hung with some incredibly talented runners for 30 miles. I make no illusions that I am at their level - they could have dropped me in a second if they were racing. But I certainly met my goal of pushing myself for this distance to see what was there. And there I found the great reward of running. I wasn't competing against anyone or even for a certain time. It was just mind vs. body for 5 hours and 45 minutes. Not many times in our busy lives do we get to feel the true thrill of accomplishment and when we do it is something to be cherished and remembered. There was no finish line or big clock. Just a couple of tents filled with people who gave you a big "Ayyyyeee!" when you arrived and wanted you to sit down and hang out for a while. We sat in the heat, talked about running and whatever and cheered our friends as they finished their mind/body battle in the heat. Nobody got lost, nobody got heat stroke. It was a great day!
Mount Mitchell (Elev. 6,684 ft) is the highest peak east of the Mississippi and lies close to the Great Smoky Mountains of which many of them are over 6000ft. Imagine the Blue Ridge Mountains on steroids (including many more peaks). This was the 15th time of the Challenge (40mi) and Black Mountain Marathon (26.2mi). Both events share the same course, the marathon turns around at the Blue Ridge Parkway. About 400 runners signed up for both races that started at the same time (7am) in Downtown Black Mountain. Following two race reports from Christian and Drew.
Christian:
Drew and I were lucky and got picked in the lottery for the challenge. Cristina's parents live close to Black Mountain, so we drove there together a day early to be well rested before the race. The spring-like weather in the area was quite nice and gave us a (false) notion that Mt Mitchell might be a pleasantly warm run. We found out however that a cold front was on it's way. It sounded serious when the race director at packet pickup said that there might be a chance that both (marathon and challenge) could be cut short to a total of 17mi if the weather doesn't cooperate and park rangers don't feel it's safe to approach the summit.
After following the weather reports the night before we were still unsure what we would get up for at 5 am. A Facebook update from the race director mentioned 9F and 70mph winds during the night at an aid station. I don't think that I was ever outside at 70mph winds. What fun! The race seemed very low-key, when we approached the "starting line" that wasn't one. We just grouped with the rest of the 400 runners at the base of Cherry St. The sparse race info we got before mentioned something about race briefing at 6.45am - however there was no "official" in sight until 6.58am. The race director gave a brief "Ok, let's go!" (or something in that fashion) to start the race.
I didn't know much about the course other than we run up a mountain and down a mountain. The first 3-4 mi we were on roads towards the trail head. Drew, Kevin Smith and I kept a quick pace on the road to avoid any bottleneck at the trailhead. My left shin started to hurt like I had a shin splint (I had this on an off a couple of days prior but only on pavement. I thought it's my body telling me that pavement is not made to be run on and I should the heck get back on a trail). The pain eased off once we hit the trail behind Montreat College. The double track trail wasn't congested at all and the climb was gradual but runnable. The more we ran up, the better you could see the sunrise behind the mountains. Very pretty! The temp was chilly but not too bad, no winds due to protection of the hollow we went up.
There were aid stations every 4-6mi so there was plenty of places the refuel - stocked with basics like M&Ms, chips, pretzels, bananas, oranges, Gatorade, water. I was hoping for some potatoes as they seem to sit well and fuel good during races, but no luck. I carried Perpetuum Solids, S-Caps! and a gel or two in my hydration pack (without bladder) which along with bananas at almost every aid station consisted of my race nutrition. Like potatoes, bananas sit well too and provide a good fuel during a race. Probably my second choice. Every once in a while I ate some orange quarters to amp up my hydration.
Cloud-filled hollows – photo by Steve Dixon for the Asheville Citizen-Times
The Toll-road trail widened to an ATV-trail with plenty of rocks, more technical than I imagined but runnable most of the time. My Inov-8 295's were just a little short of cushioning so that my feet started to hurt pretty quickly. Chatting with a few people along the trail, the sun being up now and gorgeous views over the mountain range provided good motivation. I sometimes think of long distance races like a journey where you meet all kinds of people and get to see beautiful sights. It makes the race less a race and more pure enjoyment.
I arrived at the half-way mark (turn-around for the marathoners) on the Blue Ridge Parkway that was closed due to winds and ice which was nice so I didn't have to worry about traffic. So far the pace was good and I thought I didn't walk too much. Now the real climbing was about to start. The first part was a little more flattish, the wind picked up and brought some mean chills. I later heard that the gusts were about 40mph. FUN! Then a steep 1000ft single track climb to the summit slowed me down quite a bit. Some parts were pretty technical and not runnable at all, and some parts had thick ice patches that I tried to circumvent. I followed a guy who did the challenge 3 times and the last year broke his shoulder on this very part of the race. I figured it might be safe to keep close as I was sure he had not forgotten the exact spot to best break your bones.
Made it to the summit in 9F
We made it, the summit! Breathtaking views! I took a minute to take it all in and looked forward to the downhill to come. It was pretty windy and cold up there, luckily the aid station was in a heated ranger station of sorts. This allowed to defrost my water bottle. I took about 3mins or so to re-fuel, hydrate and defrost. Figuring I could catch up quickly on the down hill. And I did. The immediate steep downhill was a fantastic. Soft pine forrest ground, switchbacks and technical for at least 2mi made it a blast. I just skidded once but could catch myself before falling. Immediately thereafter a mile or so climb up a gravel road. The last climb of the race...
View from the summit of Mt Mitchell
The next section was rather boring, about 4 or 5 miles on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Ugh! pavement! I managed about 8-9min pace. My legs started to feel a little tired. The road section seemed forever but after I finally hit the aid station I knew that the rest should be a fun, gradual 12mi downhill. I think I have never before run for so long only downhill so I was unsure if my legs would keep it up. Turned out they did, just my feet felt beat up. I think I might have even bruised the side of my right foot. Pain is temporary I thought. During the last 12 mi I slowed down a little but kept a fairly steady pace. The ice patches on this stretch were mostly melted by now, so I didn't have to pay attention too much.
At the second to last aid station I was unsure what I wanted and asked what these cups with foam on top have in them. They said Beer. BEER?. Yup, beer!. Sweet! I took a cup or two. What better hydration could you get nearly to the end of a race, I thought. Great!
Ok, 5mi to go - can't be that a bad. By now my I could feel what 12mi downhill do to your legs. They hurt (despite beer). I slowed my pace on the final downhill yet again. Then we winded through neighborhoods on mostly pavement again, yuck! Finally arriving at a lake and the finish line. Yes! Finished in 6:24h. Not what I was hoping for (sub 6) but still content. Overall I had no or only little problems with stomach, nutrition or legs. Quite happy with the race.
Post-race food was great though. Beans, Hot Dogs, Chili, Slaw, Hot Tea, Water, Coke, Chips, M&Ms etc. It was a fun race and went without any major hitches. I felt the course markings could have been a little better (more streamers) and a short pre-race briefing would have been nice. Otherwise great race!
Drew:
The Mt. Mitchell Challenge was full of uncertainties for me. I joked with Cristina prior to the race that I was breaking the golden race day rule by trying all kinds of new things on race day: I had bruised the balls of my feet when they went numb on a run over a month earlier, so I was wearing a new kind of shoe, which I had only logged a long run of 16 miles in, I was relying on a paper thin jacket I’d never worn to keep me warm in what promised to be cold conditions, and I was using a fueling strategy I’d used on a few training runs that lasted a couple hours, but nothing beyond that. Coupled with the new gear, I was worried about my feet since they were a bit bruised still, I’d had a lingering pain in my knee for the last week, my training had been a bit erratic leading up to the race, and my legs had felt trashed for the last week and a half. All that added up to not having a ton of confidence that things were going to go well on race day.
In addition to my own doubts about my physical well-being and new gear, I was completely blind on how the course ran, what the trails were like (where they technical or smooth?), and due to uncertain weather predictions, we were unsure until the race started whether we’d be running the full 40 miles or a weather shortened course only 17 miles long (part of me was hoping we’d be running the 17 mile option!). Standing at the starting line, I asked Kevin Smith what color the course markings were-he was in the same boat as me...we’d figure it out on the trail, right?
I guess feeling so ill-prepared and uncertain could have been really stressful and unnerving. For some reason, however, I found this approach really refreshing. I had no expectations for a finishing time, and I told myself that I was just going to go out and run each section as it came to me, not worrying about what was ahead at any point.
The weather at the start of the race was decent, around 28 and windy, but the air at the start line was filled with a palpable sense of trepidation as we wondered what the conditions would be like on the summit. We were told that the previous night the temperature atop Mt. Mitchell was 9 degrees with 50 mph winds!
The race started at the base of Cherry Street in downtown Black Mountain. I liked the low-key vibe of the start-no start line, banner or fanfare-just a bunch of spandex clad runners mulling about waiting for someone to yell ‘Go!’
With a quick briefing from Jay Curwen we learned we were running the full 40 miles, and we were off! The first few miles of the race were paved roads through the towns of Black Mountain and quaint campus of Montreat. Christian, Kevin Smith and I stuck together and we talked about our recent races and what we thought we could expect to find, weather wise, on the summit of Mt. Mitchell.
After 3 or 4 miles the pavement yielded to trail and we started to climb in earnest. The climbing tapered off a bit after a mile or so, and I alternated between running with a 9-time veteran of the Challenge, who filled me in a bit on the course, and a woman from California who wanted to come run the race so she could visit her sister, who lived in Asheville.
The beginning sections of trail were great! We ran under arches of Mountain Laurel, which sheltered us from the wind. The trails were non-technical double track, and I was able to avert my eyes from the trail to take in some views of the gorgeous morning unfolding in the mountains around us.
There was a fairly steady stream of runners stacked up on the trail as both the marathon and Challenge runners started at the same time. The front pack of Challenge and marathon runners had taken off early on the pavement, and I was happy to watch them go!
The weather conditions were great on this stretch, and I was able to unzip my light jacket and feel comfortable. As we progressed up the Toll Road (which is dirt trail) towards the Blue Ridge Parkway, runners started to spread out a bit. I had no idea who was running what race, what kind of place I was in, and was perfectly content to just keep running my race as I had planned to do. The conditions were still great and I was enjoying the stunning panoramas along this entire stretch as we climbed towards the Parkway.
As I neared the Blue Ridge Parkway (and marathon turnaround), the wind started howling down the trail. Strong gusts pummeled us as a harbinger of what we’d be encountering from the Blue Ridge Parkway to the summit.
I hit the Parkway in 1:58, and as the marathon runners turned around, things thinned out a bit. I saw I had closed the gap on the Challenge veteran I had run with earlier in the race a bit-he was about a minute ahead. A quick look back down the Parkway revealed the woman from California about a minute or so back. The race still seemed young, so I was happy to just keep running my race.
We were running into a headwind on the Parkway, which at times was very strong. The hood on my jacket whipped like a flag in the wind and I leaned forward hard and put my head down to keep moving. During one particularly strong gust, the wind suddenly changed direction and I almost fell on my face because I was leaning so far forward! A few miles of being beaten down by the wind on the Parkway, and the course peeled off the pavement to the Buncombe Horse Trail, which provided a bit of respite from the wind.
Up until this point my fueling had been going well. I had been taking a gel at least every 30 minutes, popping a new packet in my glove for at least 10 minutes before it was time to take it to let it heat up a bit. However, once we hit the Parkway, the temperature dropped precipitously. I started to hear ice in my water bottle clank around, and soon my bottle froze solid. I needed water to wash down the gels, so at this point, my fueling came to an unexpected halt.
Those who’ve followed my races know I’ve struggled to find a fueling strategy that works consistently for me, and with each race, I’m learning a bit more about how to keep my energy steady. Leading up to this race, I learned that when I lapse in fueling even a bit, my stomach shuts off. Learning this was a big leap for me! I knew going in to this race I had to eat early and often, as they say. However, as my bottle froze up on the way towards the summit, I realized I could be in for some trouble.
As I was starting to feel a bit low, energy wise, I heard footsteps crunching through the frozen mud/grass behind me. The woman from California had caught back up. Having someone else with me provided a needed boost (after a post-race introduction, I learned the woman I was running with was Rory Bosio). Rory and I chatted and ran the remainder of the Buncombe Horse trail, passing the veteran I’d been chasing all day as he filled his bottle from a stream. The section of trail was fairly flat, but had quite a bit of running water/ice/boggy mud to be carefully navigated. We eventually reach the summit trail, and Rory set the pace as we ran/talked/power hiked up the steep, technical and icy final mile to the summit, which we reached in 3:19. The summit was cold! I looked up the summit weather conditions after the race, which showed the conditions around the time we summited as 10 degrees air temp, -10 windchill, and 40 mph wind gusts!
Reaching the summit (Picture by citizen-times)
After summiting, we stopped off in the heated ranger/aid station. Rory was smart and asked the volunteers to help her out with all that she needed (her hands were so cold she couldn’t move them much). I was ready to get moving again, and stupidly didn’t think to take the time in the heat to take down a gel or two while I had access to water. I left the aid station and told Rory I’d see her in a few minutes, fully expecting her to catch up to me.
The mile and a half section off the summit was steep, very technical, and icy…which made for some fun ‘running.’ It probably would have been smart to slide off the big boulders on my butt during this section, but I ran and jumped off the boulders with some reckless abandon and had fun! By the time this section ended, I felt like I’d been worked over by a jackhammer, and I was happy when it ended. I knew that we had one long climb remaining at this point, which I dreaded. My hip flexors were really tight, and running the climbs was starting to get challenging. Knowing it was the last climb, I put my head down and ran up the mile long climb and smiled as I topped the hill and pulled into the aid station. I took a few swigs of coke, thanked the aid volunteers for braving the cold, and took off for 18 miles of downhill fun!
I maintained a decent pace down the Parkway. I thought it may take people a bit of time to get their downhill legs going after all the uphill, so I wanted to make sure I got moving on the downhills from the onset. I knew there were a few Challenge runners somewhere behind me, and I wanted to make sure I didn’t settle into cruise control on this section.
The return trip on the Toll Road got rough when I started bonking with about 12 miles to go. I managed to stomach half a gel here and there in the early miles on the way down, but I could tell my stomach was too far gone. Bonking is sadly all too familiar territory, so I didn’t feel too mentally anguished over this development (is it troublesome that I’m starting to feel confident with my ability to hang on and grind it out?). I settled into my standard routine of slamming coke in the aid station, holding on for dear life until the next aid station and repeating as necessary until finish.
As I closed in on the aid station around mile 30 or so, the volunteers complimented me on my nice beardcicles (I’m sure they were much more impressive at the summit!) and told me I was running in 4th place for the challenge. I had not had any idea of my position all day, so this was a welcome surprise. With this information, I had a bit more focus for the rest of the race, now determined not to get passed from behind for lack of effort on my part.
I was bonking really hard, but at this point it was all about getting to the finish! I pushed about as hard as I could and didn’t let up until I was half way around Lake Tomahawk and I could see both the finishing chute and that nobody was going to catch me from behind.
I crossed the line in 5:45 for 4th place. I felt a huge sense of satisfaction for having a good race when I was so uncertain about so much coming in to the event. The best part was that all the new stuff I was concerned about worked out great, save for the fueling issues.
Per usual, the CAT support leading up to the race was huge. Christian and Neal pulling me out on weekend mountain runs really helped me get in the early season training I needed to have a great race.
This is the part of the season where my trail running takes a back seat to teaching, kid sports, and work-related travel. This is especially true for Spring 2012, which has seen a big fall off in my mileage. So it was a big lift for me to get to check out some new trails this week during my travel to Las Vegas, Nevada. Yesterday (and hopefully again, later this morning), I drove the 25 or so miles from the Sunset Strip into the Mojave Desert-world of the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.
The park is this pretty vast area of red and brown mountain outcroppings rising up from the desert floor, and a world set completely apart from the flash and cheese of Vegas. Yesterday, I ran the White-Loop/La Madre Spring loop, a little over 6 miles, with not much more than a 1,000 feet of elevation gain. The loop took me on a crushed gravel trail around the backside of a large sandstone outcropping into the LaMadre wilderness area before circling back up over a pass that afforded great views of the desert valley. I went through pinyon pines, lots of scrub brush, and ran pass old Navajo agave roasting pits and hand prints on rock walls (OK, the hand prints were near the parking area and carefully roped off -- I didn't just stumble on those). Although I missed any wildlife sightings -- save a few lizards -- the area is a known hangout for all sorts of desert and mountain animals, from bighorn sheep and mountain lions to scorpions and gila monsters. Oh, there are also wild burros and horses in the area. The weather was gorgeous, dry with temps climbing from the high 40s into the low 70s while I was there (typical winter weather!).
In short, it was an all-around great experience, something I would recommend for anybody that ends up being in Vegas for some reason!
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.
Sunday morning I picked Christian up a little after 5:30 in the morning. We drove up to Target where we met Stuart, who we carpooled with to Gap Creek, off Chrisman Hollow Road in the Massanuttens. There we met up with fellow CAT Runners AJW, Sophie, and Marc and somewhere on the order of 40 members and friends of the Virginia Happy Trails Running Club. We were all gathered there for the Gap to Gap run, a marathon-distance training run for the Massanutten Mountain Trails 100 miler, which the VHTRC hosts. Since I'm boring and all text, here's some pictures from one of the other runners.
The gang before the start
Rumor has it that the temperature when we started was 14℉, and I'm inclined to believe that. We started in a bit of a valley, and the sun hadn't reached us yet, so I was pretty happy to start the run off with a climb up to a ridge. Throughout the day, my temperature-related comfort was a function of which side of the ridge I was on - out of the sun and windy (holding my ears to try to keep them warm), or in the sun and calm (ah, nice). I started near Christian and Marc, but I think they must have been more bundled up than I was, because they apparently weren't in quite as much of a hurry to get into the direct sunlight. By the top of the ridge, I found myself running with Keith Knipling, with only two folks ahead of us. AJW wasn't far behind - just far enough to have stopped to take off a jacket.
Gap to Gap Elevation chart (doesn't exemplify the amount of rocks which where plentiful)
I spent the next nearly 5 hours running along with Keith, not seeing any other runners (until the end as we caught people who had done an abbreviated loop) throughout the course of the day. Keith has run the MMT100 13 times now, so he knows the trails and was telling me tidbits about them and various variations of the course throughout the years as we ran. It was great not having to rely on a turn sheet, and I hope Keith wasn't too bothered running with me. As we got close to the first aid station, he made a comment about how he wasn't really going to stop for long, and I said that sounded fine. And then I asked if he was hoping I'd stay long so he could put some distance on me, but he said no. It should be noted that he'd run a 50k the day before, and that's the only reason I was able to keep up with him all day.
Also, speaking of aid stations, holy cow! The VHTRC is awesome! For this run, which was completely free, we had three aid stations with a delightful crew at each one. And the food! Chocolate covered bacon, homemade cookies, chocolate covered peanut butter balls, peanut butter filled pretzel nuggets, and more usual chips and snacks and drinks (and some less usual (for non-VHTRC event) aid station drinks - high proof!), ... At the end (with a campfire!) we had homemade chili, Brunswick stew (thanks Sophie!), some sort of delicious turkey meatballs (made by the personal chef of Joe Biden), and still more chips and cookies and drinks. So, maybe I run to eat - at least I've got a reason.
The small handful of runs I've done with the Happy Trails group have all been fantastic, and this run was no different. I'll be signing up for the club and getting a shirt shortly. This was my first time in these mountains, and running new trails is always fun. I'd like to thank Keith for putting up with me and guiding me along, the organizers and volunteers for a great event, and my fellow CAT Runners for making it easy, in a sense, to spend my weekends doing these sorts of long runs. Oh, and how could I forget Sniper, who, I'm supposed to let you know, saved me from hypothermia by lending me a hoodie at the end (while I waited for the campfire to get going, and Stuart, with the keys to the car, to finish his run). :)
Finally, a little tip I finally realized on this run: You can easily use your own body heat to prevent water pack tubes from freezing up. I've got one of the Nathan packs and on cold days the valve you bite on, and even the tube running to the bladder, can freeze up. About an hour in to the run Sunday, I decided to try tucking the tube down the front of my shirt, and in short order water was passing through without issue. After basically chewing my first Gu of the day, I decided to try something similar and tuck one into my glove for a few minutes before eating it, with similar success.
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.
Past Sunday a couple of us made it out to the newly constructed, and on Friday officially opened, Patricia Ann Byrom Forest Preserve Park (Byrom Park). If you follow our blog and local news you probably already heard of it. This 612 acre park lies on the foothills of Browns Gap near Shenandoah National Park.
A recent comment on OUR blog by one of Patricia Ann Byrom's grandchild sounds exciting:
It is awesome! I grew up there with the bear, mountain lion, deer, good trout fishing back then too, brookies! ENJOY it ALL!!! Patsy Park is Heaven on earth!
Christian:
The park features a couple of mostly shaded double-track trails with some significant elevation gain, my GPS showed 2615ft on our 7.5mi. We didn't see much wildlife, besides some deer ticks or chiggers I took home and discovered later. Parking lot and restroom facilities are nice. There weren't many overlooks but who needs that when doing hill repeats ;). Trails itself are fairly soft and have some rocks/roots here and there but nothing too technical really. So far I like the park for hill workouts. Due to short trails you can't really cover much distance but the park is still in development, close the the SNP which gives hope for a connector trail.
Sophie:
This park is what I call a "climbing park." If you want to get in some good vertical without having to drive south to the Priest, this is the place! As the trails get used and linked up into circuits, I can envision multi-loops that will provide perfect training for any mountain 100, Mountain Masochist, or Hellgate. It is a beautiful area and a lovely memorial, and I enjoyed knowing that generations of a family had grown up there and were happy to share it with the rest of us.
Mike:
From the very start, Byrom Park lets you know that it is not kidding around. With a climb out of the parking lot on the red trail to warm up the hamstrings, we started with an out-and-back the white trail, which will eventually form a longer loop. I counted myself lucky to be joined by my "unusual friends" Sophie, Christian, Bob, and Chris on this inaugural run, as trail runners are the only people who would readily (and happily!) cover 7.5 miles with ~2500 ft climb in more than 2 hours.
Climbing Park indeed.
We headed over to the western park of the park, where the county has painted over the bear scratching post (read: trail marker at intersection of blue and red trails), for a double loop of the blue trail. Parts of the Blue Trail loop make the climbs of the dreaded "purple trail" on the Catherine's Fatass Course look downright flat. I had to laugh as we faced what appeared to be a wall of jeep road on the trail, only to have to climb it to the "summit," which was blocked off by a enormous fallen tree and brush. It was a thrill to run on the soft side-hill down the blue trail which I had the opportunity to work on several weeks ago, which dumps into a serious downhill (that runs like the backside of Terrapin).
Overall, the trails are still raw, soft, and cover an unbelievable amount of vertical over a short distance. It is the hardest I've worked for 7 miles in a long time, and what a place to get strong at climbing, and to top it off it is only a 30-35min drive from town.
Byrom is a fantastic park and I can't wait to get back out there. Tough, beautiful, and rugged.
Bob:
Good place to get some climbing in with >10% overall grade and much steeper sections. Hopefully it will connect to some SNP trails someday. Paved parking for maybe 20 cars plus there is horse trailer parking that I guess we could use if the lot fills. The trails will only get better with use.
I've gotten final word that Byrom Park will officially open Friday, August 19th!
If you are interested, I'll be "hosting" an inaugural run out there Sunday, August 21st at 7a.
There will be a map posted in the kiosk and there *should* be 8.5”x11” maps at the kiosk as well. There will be a 5-6 mi loop and a couple of 1-2 mile long "dead ends" that should hopefully whet your appetite for what is to come. We can run every bit of it and then if some of you would like to double the loop, I'd be game. Expect a run (with climbing) of about 8-12 miles, though you could always triple the loop for 18-20 mile run.
As usual, you will be responsible for your hyrdation (Bring a handheld or two) and navigation (grab a map at the start).
I have put directions at the end of this email, and it should take about 45 minutes driving from Greenberry's if y'all would like to meet up at 6:10a there to carpool. I'd love for someone to bring an accurate GPS as well so we can figure out how close we can get to SNP/AT.
I hope you will be able to join me, and I'm looking forward to it!
-Mike
Directions to Byrom:
Byrom Forest Preserve Park
6610 Blackwells Hollow Road
Crozet, VA 22932
Directions from town (takes approximately 45 minutes):
1. Follow Garth Road to the Piedmont Store
2. Go around the curve to the right onto Rt. 810 (do not go straight up to Sugar Hollow)
3. Follow Rt. 810 for 7.8 miles and parking area is on the left
The Scoop: The Patricia Ann Byrom Forest Preserve Park
After a quick Blackrock Gap jaunt Saturday morning, I headed to Byrom Park to do some trail work and get the scoop on what is sure to be a great addition to the county park system and a climbing park for trail runners.
Climbing park?
Byrom park is 612 acres cut right into the base of the Blue Ridge, and the trails start with an aggressive gravel road climb out of the parking lot. We rode a gator up the “draft” trails on Saturday and my quads were twitching with excitement. At present, the plan is to have one of the loop trails totaling 5-6 miles completed by August 19th, which is when the park will open officially. The next phase will be to finish clearing and then open a larger concentric loop and connect a trail that currently goes to nowhere (Shel Silverstein part II) back to the entrance (old logging roads have been converted to trails to deer stands as the property was leased to a hunting club).
Bears? You bet, with the plentiful berries around and the clear evidence that one had been using a wood trail intersection marker as a scratching post.
Blaze? The current “blazing” is letters on foam, which are temporary markings from the county-sponsored “Bioblitz” (a summary is available here). The recommendation relevant to trail building that came from this exercise was to “[p]lan trails and recreation areas so that there is minimal disturbance to the few identified unusual species (ex. American chestnut, American elm, Big-toothed aspen), groups (ex. ferns, orchids), geology, and habitats (ex. seeps, wetlands, and streams especially where streams and old logging roads intersect or adjoin (along trails A and E)).” I'm sure the first trail will be blazed at opening, and its would be a true joy to get the first runs on it with the CAT group.
So what is in store for the future of Byrom Park? Why should I be so excited?
1. SNP Connection: The property has a thin corridor that makes it contiguous with Shenandoah National Park. It is a mere 8 miles by road away from the turn that goes to Sugar Hollow on 810 (just keep going right at the store). The county is going to apply for a trail connection, which is complicated as it will require (1) the approval to build a trail leading out of Byrom, (2) a trail built from the SNP side, and (3) the federal government paperwork mill. By my cursory map-gazing, this puts a possible connector trail to Loft Mountain/Big Flat Mountain? I could be wrong here, any insight from the more map-able is welcome.
2. Mountain Running: This will be a mountain running playground, and its unlikely to receive the same pummeling as Preddy Creek as the grades are quite steep. Your calves and quads will thank you when you knock out >3-4k elevation in a 5-6 mile run.
3. The work continues!: Tucker Rollins who has been organizing the volunteer trail work, and has a passion for the park and its potential, will be hosting monthly workdays again September throughout the winter. In addition, he would be more than happy to schedule a workday for us sometime. Anyone game for August 6th?
