Running through the Iron Mountains

Rattlesnake Race Report

2008-08-08T13:25:00.000-07:00

"Don't worry, be happy" was my motto for this race. I was nervous from the days previous hike regarding the hills. It was amazing how steep those 'boogers' actually were. Nonetheless, after a festive meal with plenty of Italian Cream Sodas - 5+ and good food at Olive Garden it was time to head to the room on the river in downtown Charleston. After a traditional early wake up I went outside and could not believe how hot and muggy the weather was. I got into the park and lounged around and then about 30 minutes before the race got going to warmup and get ready. Jon Basham was there and he looked fit; he indicated he was doing this race a tune up for White River 50 Miler near Seattle, WA (He later placed 8th in the USATF Trail Championship Race at White River running a 7:16 in a stellar field) and I knew I'd be no match for him but would try to push him if I could.

We started off at a good clip and hit the climb hard, funny it didn't hurt at all compared to hiking it yesterday. I caught Jon on the gravel road mainly because he took a wrong turn and we proceeded to go back and forth before the first aid station where he blew right threw and dusted me as I refilled my bottle. I caught back up to him on another climb and again he dusted me on the decent and at the aid station. I stayed within 30 seconds to 1.5 minutes behind him through 15 miles and this is where I started to have problems. I began feeling sick to my stomach and nothing was processing despite taking salt pills every thirty minutes and drinking my calories (my bottles had around 330 calories for 26 ounce - too much per hour in this heat). I tried laying in the streams and that helped for a bit until a big copperhead decided to plop in the stream next to me, I got up running fast! Nonetheless the rest of the race was uneventful and fun. Basham ended up with a course record of 3:59.42 and I was second in 4:28.40 - a good ass beating for a lack of better terms. I am getting there and without the stomach problems could have broken 4:20, but - there is always a but in an ultra- many variables that cannot be controlled but one must contend with them as they arise. I had to back off to keep going, + the ambitious early pace effected me as well. Mr. Hammrick does a great job with this race and I left again with terrific memories of one of the best weekends i've had in quite sometime due to the good company. I recommend this race to anyone as it is the best summer ultra out there with an old school feel. The aid stations were plenitful and spaced apart good except for one section where it is a haul through a lot of climbing, but otherwise perfect.

When you hit some problems on the trails (or snakes) "Don't worry, be happy"!

Peace out,

Nick

Running Camp Summer Vacation

2008-08-08T09:45:00.000-07:00

Have you ever been a little afraid of what you had gotten yourself into when you signed up for your next vacation? That is what my husband, Mike, and I thought when we signed up for ZAP Fitness running camp, Blowing Rock, NC, for our 2008 vacation. We were pretty sure it wouldn’t be like boot camp, but we certainly didn’t know about the degree of running (how much and how hard) and the comfort of the accommodations. I mean we were on vacation, right?!?
We arrived Sunday afternoon and discovered that a run was planned for later that afternoon. We had already run that day, so our first day of vacation consisted of two runs a day. Secretly, I hoped that I would hold up over the week. We were greeted by Zika and Pete Rea, the proprietors, and led to our room. The room was nicely sized and clean and had two big windows overlooking the ground’s creek. It had wooden floors, large windows, a ceiling fan, no air conditioning but there was never a need for air conditioning while we were there, a single dresser, two very useful wall hangers, and comfortable twin beds (oh well this wasn’t going to be a honeymoon type vacation!). We had asked for a private bathroom and it was not big but was larger than some hotel room bathrooms. I knew that I would enjoy staying in our room; Mike let me have the bed next to the windows, and I was looking forward to some afternoons lying in bed, listening to the creek, and reading my book.
Soon it was time for our run. All of the campers packed into two vans and we were chauffeured to Moses Cone Memorial Park. We ran a nice four to five mile loop on carriage trails (packed dirt and gravel). It started down pouring rain about three miles into the run but the rain felt great. All the campers hopped into the vans soaking wet. The wetness of the run broke the ice between all the campers and soon everyone was jabbering up a storm on the ride back to camp. After cleaning up, everyone was treated to wine and beer and appetizers. A chef prepares all the meals, and our first meal was plentiful, delicious, and healthy, a good indication of the food that would be served that entire week. Mike and I had talked about driving into Blowing Rock to dine out for a couple of meals during our week at camp. We never made it; the food at camp was so good that we didn’t want to miss a meal!
That night we had a camp orientation to go over the schedule for that week’s camp. Basically each day consisted of breakfast, a ride to Moses Cone Park or another beautiful location, some short running instructions prior to each run, a run at each individual’s pace and distance, and then a drive back to camp. Sometimes there would be a lecture of some type before lunch, then a delicious lunch. There would be one or two lectures or instruction in the afternoon followed by an optional run or walk at another location. The lectures consisted of the most up to date training and nutritional information. The lectures were interesting; I thought I knew a lot before camp, but I learned a whole lot more from the lectures. Dinner would be followed by local entertainment or by a guest lecture. We were treated to a talk by the legendary Bill Rodgers. Bill stayed on a few days and ate all his meals with us so we got to know a little of the person he is. Now how often do you get to do something like that?!?

The instruction included running form. One day we were all video-taped and our form was analyzed. I learned I need to stop dropping my arms and keep them at right angles (so that was why I have been running so slow!) We were also taught the core exercises that the elite athletes use. Another day a yoga instructor took us through an hour and a half worth of yoga. Whew, yoga is hard work. We also learned running drills. Massages by a great massage therapist (Tony Adams, Atlanta, GA) were available at a reasonable price. Mike and I each treated ourselves to one massage each. My neck felt so much better after that. We also talked with Randy Ashley, one of ZAP Fitness’s running coaches. Mike is changing age groups this year so he gets an extra 5 min on a qualifying time for Boston. Randy is going to help both of us run a good marathon time (which means a Boston qualifying time for Mike) for this year’s Kiawah marathon. I was impressed that all of the trainers including Zika and Pete seemed genuinely interested and concerned with helping all of the campers with all of their issues dealing with their running.
One night we were treated to a local bluegrass band that played mostly local music. The musicians explained the type of instruments that they used and the origin of many of the songs they played. It was lovely to sit, have a glass of wine, and watch and listen to the musicians over a backdrop of lightning bugs lighting up the dark night. We also got to dance a few line dances with the music. All of the campers had a blast, acting silly, stomping their feet doing crazy dances and yelling “yee haw!” The dancing had everyone laughing!
As the week went on, I felt myself relaxing more and more. Wait a minute, we were running every day so how come I felt so relaxed and rested? It was because we did not have to think about it. Every day we got up; someone else drove us to the run; we ran; we were driven back. We ate wonderful food that we didn’t even have to think about where, when or how we were going to eat. We enjoyed great company with all the campers. It is always so easy to find common ground with other runners. There were even college-aged runners there and sure enough even they would go to bed early (no noisy nights). The week went way too fast and it was one of my few vacations that I was not ready to get back home.
Our week at camp included the two races, The Bear and Crazy 8s 8K. The Bear started at 7 pm and was 5 miles straight up Grandfather Mountain, NC. The first 2.5 miles of the race were uphill, but that was nothing compared to the uphill steepness of the last two miles. I had decided to take this race “easy” but I don’t care even if I had decided to walk the entire thing, it would not have been easy. The hills were steep. At one point in the race, runners turned a corner and saw switchbacks ahead covered with runners trying to make it up the progressively steeper hills. Personally, it was a distressing sight knowing that I soon would be trying to make it up those hills as well. The last hill at the finish was a bit entertaining because it was so steep that I felt like I was running uphill on a treadmill going backwards. Everyone running next to me looked like they were running but no one was moving! After the race, we campers had VIP treatment. There was a van at the top to drive us home. All the other Bear racers had to walk down to the parking lots below. As soon as the campers piled into the van, a downpour of rain began. We could not have had better luck with the weather. Back at camp we were treated to another delicious dinner and another good night’s sleep.

Mike and Marianne Brannon

A Midsummer Night’s….

2008-08-04T05:37:00.000-07:00

August 2-3

The Cast in order of sanity

ACT I
Saturday night was Beth’s birthday eve. With her man Dan at the brazier’s helm, some local kayak krazies, a few of the IMTR lunatics, sundry family and friends converged on their backyard grill for a few rounds of tasty burgers and dogs with exquisite fixins. Bonnie and I arrived late, having been in town watching the Tempest, a Celtic band performing at the Highlands Festival. During a lengthy sound check, we were treated to impromptu thunder and lightning with a long, torrential downpour. As we were under a tent, I enjoyed both.
A special, impromptu guest, Doug Dawkins was also at the celebration. He arrived on foot from Sunset Beach NC, destination San Diego sometime before Christmas, I believe. His sturm und drang for the afternoon consisted of escorting a frantic, lost, very drenched kid on a bicycle back into Damascus where police had already begun the search. Doug directs the Boogie Races and has quite a lot of Grandfather Mt Marathon and Mt Mitchell Challenge finishes to his credit as well. Good Luck on your adventure, Doug.

The running plans for the gathering consisted of hitting Damascus about dark and running in the mountains for twenty or so miles. It was to be a new experience for me, although I did get to fastpack a couple of dark hours last weekend. But at that time, a pack, the number of miles for the prior daylight made that dark more hiking than running medium. This evening we would be fresh and well fed, ready for an ultra-training adventure. Lunacy was crackling in the air.
The birthday cake had barely been served before Dan, scanning an obscure meteorological website, yelled over the party din "The South Fork’s at 904 CFM !" In layman’s terms, "There’s a small flood on our local, seasonally, thirsty river. Let’s grab the boats and do a night run." A third of the party disappeared in less than 10 minutes. In their wake, leaving the trailrunners to don costume and gear for a midsummer night’s second act.
Alas, we checked and double-checked our route, made suitable gear adjustments, but there was no general quorum or consensus to a collective and viable wisdom to deal with the excessive darkness that had precipitously blanketed the region. There’s probably a good reason that trailrunning is not popular at night, but on this night, a critical mass of lunacy could not be achieved or contrived so I may have to wait a bit longer for a first hand explanation.

ACT II
The following morning however, was a great testament to the impermanence of darkness. With varying degrees of midsummer night slumber to our credit we drove to Damascus and parked at Sundog’s. Soon we were polishing rocks eastward on Iron Mt single track. And soon, but not soon enough, I became aware that I had forgotten my water bottle.
That’s something of a dilemma since our first water drop was about 8 miles up the ridgeline. Though Puck’s thirst be quenched by acorn cup, mine would prosper on such modest sup. Beth saved the day by finding a reasonable, though-not-so-freshly discarded bottle and Rick and she shared water with me. I thirsted not.
The rains were long gone but left some fantastically festive fungi in their wake.

...........

Pancakes would have tasted good for breakfast about now.

None of us had any particular ideas on this particular mushroom’s appearance, but apparently it was happy to see someone.

After an hour, we stopped at The Chair for a smoke. We’ve all been trying to kick the habit, but nothing makes a cigarette taste so good as a 4-mile climb first thing in the morning.

Tammy, exited stage south down the Beech Grove trail to cut some mileage. I might well have done the same. By the time we had made Shaw Gap and headed southwest on the Beartree Gap Trail, I began to re-experience the ponderous effects of last weekend’s overacting – a pronounced tightening of the soleus muscles below the calf. Nick split off from Beth, Rick and I, at the foot of the mountain and continued north to pick up the AT at Beartree Gap. We made straight for Saunder’s Flat along the planned route to include the second water stop. Before we reached the Straight Mt ridgeline, Nick had already passed us and was headed down into Taylor’s Valley to the Creeper Trail. He did his last nine miles in 64 minutes, 3 miles of technical descent and 6 miles of the Creeper Trail, which on weekends is known as the Bicycle Autobahn. There’s naught to worry, at that pace, Nick passed a lot of two-wheeled traffic on foot.

We continued on the AT but dropped off onto the CT to catch our last water drop at Straight Branch. The birthday girl serendipitously found a party balloon to mark the day.

At this point, the ibuprophenRick gave me an hour earlier started to kick in and I elected to follow them across the Cuckoo on the AT rather than follow the languorous CT grade back to Sundog’s. Nick was well rested by the time we showed up.

Act III
Too tired to swim, we mozied back to Beth’s to recapitulate the events of the day around the grill again. Mileage was difficult ascertain as my GPS seemed slow to update at times in the numerous laurel thickets, but 22-24 is close plus a one or two extra for Nick. Dan appeared from a second river trip and recounted flipping a kayaker back upright who seemed unable to do a wet exit. We got word that Doug had made it to a motel for the day about 20 miles down the road. The events of the weekend seemed something from a dream, but as The Bard said, "All’s well that ends well."

IMTR's not "Dead Guys"

2008-07-22T09:10:00.000-07:00

Well kids the IMTR's have not been as dead as the blog may indicate, everyone has actually been out adventuring and racing. The weekend of July 12th was a busy one for most as some headed to Grandfather Mtn for the festivities, some to Zap Fitness Running Camp and some to the Rattlesnake 5oK in Charleston WV's Kanawha State Park.
Congratulations to Annettee ("Queen of the Mountain"), JJJ, and Doug Blackford for their finishes at the Grandfather Mountain Marathon!!! nice work guys. Mike and Marianne Brannon hopefully had a great time at running camp, we would love to hear all about that along with any helpful tips you picked up, blog it up!!! They ran into the Grandfather Marathon on their way home and caught some candid shots of JJJ who looked like he was having a most enjoyable run up all those hills.....

Rick, Tammy,Chris(tammy's brother), Tucker (chris's son), Nick, and Ericka Umbarger and I all headed to the Rattlesnake 50K. We had a most enjoyable dinner at the Olive Garden then hit the hay around 10:30pm. It was a traditional Gray early rise @ 3:30am on Saturday and we arrived at the Kanawha State Park with ample time to get ready for the 6:30race start. I had made a last minute decision to run rattlesnake so it was nice they allowed race day registration :) it was quick and easy and along with our tshirts we recieved these super cute mini duffle bags, love it!! Rattlesnake is super low key, we ran into Krista Meisch before the race who had also made a last minute decision to run but came in second female!!!! way to go Krista. Temperatures were warm but it seemed bearable most of the day. I ran with Rick mostly and we dedicated each hill to a fellow runner, one each to JJJ, Annette, and Doug @ Grandfather actually i think JJJ may have gotten two as we were a little loopy :) one to my friend becky and for her mom who had passed away that week.
Ericka caught up to us right after the climb past AS 6 which was nice, she was feeling really good and having a good run and it was great to have her company.We chatted the miles away and it made them seem a little less painful towards the end. Nick finished strong in second place and came back out on the course to give us some encouraging words, we also ran into Tammy a couple miles from the end who was looking for Chris, she was going to run in with him, unfortunatly he was one of the many folks who got a little turned around on the course so they ended up doing a little more than they bargained for. All in all everyone had a good run and plenty to talk about on the way home. Thanks to Tammy for all her support and great pictures!
Nick "Skeletoid"
Chris
Beth
Ericka
Rick

I hope to see everyone soon!!!

Laurel Run Park to the Bay's Mt Firetower

2008-07-06T10:11:00.000-07:00

FIRE - BUFFALO MOUNTAIN PARK

2008-07-05T03:04:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, Tammy and I ran for about an hour on the trails in Buffalo Mountain Park. Yesterday, July 4th, was the first day the park had been open. Neither Tammy nor I had ever seen first hand the damage that a fire can do to our mountains. It would be hard to imagine the magnitude of the fires out in California that caused the recent cancellation of Western States. It was also amazing to see how nature is rebuilding. There is new undergrowth everywhere. Ferns and small elm seedlings are already knee high (my knee, not Tammy's). Washing of the trail has been a problem and it will continue to be a problem for some time. We did not start until around 12:00pm, so it was pretty warm. With little shade, things got a little sweaty. I hope everyone had a great 4th of July. I know that Tammy and I did. Have a great weekend, Rick

2008-07-04T02:29:00.001-07:00

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY, RICK

The Hardest Five Miles Ever

2008-07-01T12:23:00.000-07:00

I can sum up my experience at the Garden Mountain Fat Ass with variations of a single word . . .

Oh! Oooohhh! OoHHhhh! Ohhhhhh!

Nothing in my four years of running had prepared me for this experience.

As we pulled away in the van and left the Burkes Garden Community Center I was full of confidence. I mean, I had just completed a 40 mile run a couple of months ago and I ran the Bays Mountain 15 Miler last year. I no longer avoided hills but instead quite often sought them out. I knew this was going to be tough, but like always, I’d be able to manage.

Oh, this is just the access road. It will flatten out at the top.

The access road to the AT was steep! I started out jogging but soon my heart rate was out of control and my breathing sounded like a freight train. Tammy and Brian were having a pleasant conversation and clicking up the hill with little effort. I was praying my chest wasn’t going to explode.

Oooohhhh, so this is what you call a climb!

We made it to the top of the access road and turned on to the AT. I was so excited to finally be on the Appalachian Trail. I had heard so many stories and read all of your AT adventure blogs; I knew this was going to be special. At first I forgot about my heart rate and breathing, I just wanted to soak it all in. And then it hit me. I CAN’T SEE THE TOP OF THE HILL! A small twinge of panic hit my chest. THE MAP WAS ALL A LIE! I thought the map indicated we would be traveling between the red squiggly lines which meant flat. (Note to self: Learn how to read maps before next adventure!)

OoHHhhhh, so this is what you call technical!

Finally the hill gave way to a more forgiving section of single track that I absolutely loved running on. This is one of the few times that I actually feel like I’m running fast. I completely realize it’s an optical illusion, but it’s one I’m willing to swallow hook, line and sinker every time. I was buzzing along and then came . . . THE ROCKS. Not just a rock here and there but rocks everywhere. Big rocks, small rocks, flat rocks, pointy rocks. Rocks that you thought were flat until you stepped on them and then they would roll to one side. You know those rocks. I think I have a gift for finding those rocks. It was during this section that my second twinge of panic set in. I suddenly realized that Tammy and Brian were no longer in site and I was in a section where the trail was no longer obvious. With these two facts combined I just knew I was lost. What was I going to do? Scream for help until I lost my voice or just curl up on one of the rocks in the fetal position and wait my pending death. Yes, I am extremely “city”. I was weighing those options when I saw it, one of those white marks on a tree. Yipppeeee! I wasn’t lost. Finally, by the grace of God and a full bladder, I caught up with Tammy when she had to make a pit stop. I was determined to stay with her this time. Lucky for me we were only about a half mile from the first aid station.

By this time I had already decided to call it a day. I knew there was at least one more huge climb in the next section and I wasn’t sure how many more twists and turns my ankles would take. This was the first time I had ever quit in the middle of a run, but I think it was a good decision for me.

Ohhhhhh, so that’s how you keep hydrated!

The rest of my day was spent observing and questioning. The only “food” I have ever consumed while running is water and Power Bar gels. So I was very interested to see what everyone else used. The one thing I learned . . . there’s no secret potion. Everyone had their own and different systems, gels and cocktails. But I must admit that Rick did win the prize for the most elaborate concoction of the day. I can just imagine him in his basement, or should I say “secret laboratory”, experimenting with all the different ingredients. And I’m pretty sure he would have a difficult time explaining all those little baggies of maltodextrin to a police officer . . . “I swear officer, it just pre-digested sugar!”

All of you are amazing and inspiring. Thank you so much for including me in your world of running. Les and I both had a wonderful time and we’re looking forward to the next adventure. In the mean time I’m going to be working hard and hopefully the next time we meet I’ll be a much stronger climber.

Good luck at your upcoming races. I’m looking forward to hearing all about them. Take care and be safe!

Donna

Garden Mountain - Success!!!

2008-06-30T08:22:00.000-07:00

What a fantastic weekend! Thanks to everyone for coming out and to Nick for putting together such a fun weekend. I hope everyone made it back home safely and got some rest on sunday. You guys that didnt camp saturday missed out on Yong's, a lot of rain, a great sunday morning loop around the lake and a bountiful breakfast at the waffle and egg. Our waitress didn't know what to think when I ordered pretty much one of everything on the menu. I hope some of you will share your thoughts on the journey. Until next time........

Garden Mountain Fat Ass, Last call, Roll Call

2008-06-25T17:14:00.000-07:00

Ok, I went out yesterday and marked most of the course that is confusing with black painted arrows and orange flagging tape. The total mileage from Rick Gray's deep study of the AT guide book is 28 miles - I am saying 30 miles - give or take it is very close, The last road section on route 52 where you will take a RIGHT is exactly 3.5 miles to the Dairy Queen/Kangaroo Station. You will go through the lovely quaint town of Bland, VA on your way and take a right on the road to I 77 - Marked with flagging tape. For anyone crewing, you can meet people near Dairy Queen - you take a left out the parking lot and travel 2-3 miles until you see SR 615 Suiter Road on the right - take this road and stay straight until you hit gravel at the three way intersection (stay straight) go another 3 miles and the AT will be on the your right before a single lane bridge. The people coming are:

Nick Whited

Beth Minnick

JJ Jessee

Kevin Townsend

Mike Day

Neil Jameson

Adam Hill

Drew Shelfer

Brian Bedhun

Rick Gray

Tammy Gray

Donna Bays

Josh Helms

Jeremy Ramsey

Gordon Raznic

Thus far, I am leaving my SUV and JJ or someone else is leaving their ride as well at DQ. Tammy will also be a shuttle post run as she and Donna are running a different route of sorts. Water will be laid out in two different places - will be a warm day on Saturday so come prepared, this is a pretty dry run, but shaded a majority of it - will be warm the last 3.5 miles on the road though. Overall the entire run is 22 miles on trail (AT) and 8 miles of pavement. 4.5 at the begining and 3.5 at the end. Some images I took out there, Peace out and be Blessed

Until Friday evening/Saturday,

Nick

I Think It's Time

2008-06-04T07:34:00.000-07:00

Hey folks! I'm the crazy one who drove all the way to Damascus to meet everyone but was a bit too shy to actually run with ya. Well, I think it's time for me to jump in and run with you all at Garden Mountain on the 28th. It will be my first time on the trails but I'm not a stranger to the Burkes Garden area. Here's my recap of the 2007 Burkes Garden Half-Marathon. I thought sharing it would be a good way to introduce myself a bit more and hopefully give you a chuckle or two. See ya on the 28th!

It Was Bound to Happen

By now, you folks know my general theme . . .

I'm a slow runner, my goal is to finish, my hope is that I'm not last, I run the race, there's always at least one person that I'm able to beat, the good guy always wins, the Princess marries the Prince, blah, blah blah.

Well, as the title suggests, the fairy tale has crashed and burned . . . I came in last!

It happened on June 9th at the Varmint Half Marathon in Burkes Garden, Virginia. I have read that Burkes Garden was Vanderbilt's first choice as the site to build his home. But, after not being able to negotiate a deal with the landowners he moved on to his second choice of Asheville. Burkes Garden is the highest valley in Virginia, is part of the Appalachian Trail and needless to say, it is absolutely gorgeous.

There are two events at the Varmint; a 5K and a half marathon. Both races start at the same time with the 5K folks turning around about 1.5 miles out. I must have been in last place from the very beginning and just didn't realize it because of all the 5K activity swirling around me. At the two mile marker, a very pleasant volunteer said the words that popped my fairy tale bubble. As she handed me a cup of water she said, "Are you the last runner, dear?" What? The last runner? At that moment I sensed how eerily quiet it was around me. I completely stopped and turned around. No one else was in site. I looked at her and replied, "Well, I guess I am."

The next few miles were a steady climb up a ridge. Before this race, my strategy for hills had been to turn around and run the other way. But that was not an option for this day. As I was huff'n and puff'n with the sweat pouring off of me, I finally dropped my head and began praying out loud (one of the benefits of being last . . . no one around to think you're crazy) requesting some heavenly assistance to finish the race. Within a few minutes, a big farm truck pulled up beside me. It was the race volunteer with the job of picking up the mile markers. He slowed down and told me that he would be staying close by for the rest of the race and if I needed anything at all just to let him know. Wow, how nice! I introduced myself and asked him his name. He said, "Nice to meet you Donna. I'm Deacon." I don't know if many of you have a Baptist background or not, but as Deacon drove off I dropped my head and said (out loud, again) "Real funny, Lord. Real funny."

At mile ten I had a glimmer of hope. During the entire race a couple of women were running together about a quarter of a mile ahead of me. Sometimes when I would top a hill I could see them down the road. At mile ten I topped a hill and saw the two women passing someone walking. Wahoo, someone to pass! The excitement was short lived, she quit somewhere around mile eleven. For all I know she could have been a local resident just out for a morning walk. Oh well.

At the twelve mile marker there was a crowd of volunteers and a police officer. The volunteers were all cheering for me, telling me I was doing great, that I was just about there. I smiled at them and said "Yep, I can almost see the finish line." The police officer was leaning up against his car. He stood up and smiled at me and said, "Well, let's go find it." So, for the last mile I had a police escort. I'm here to tell you that having a police car on your heels puts a bit of spring back in your step. My eight year old son, Reese, ran the last half mile or so with me. He looked back at the police car and said, "Momma, are you trying to out run the law?" I love running with him. Laughing and joking around is the perfect way to finish a race, whether you're in last place or not.

My final time was 2:42, not the slowest in Varmint history, but the slowest that particular day. Instead of being referred to as "last place", I think I prefer the title of "Final Finisher".

See you soon,

Donna

May Mtn

2008-06-03T18:14:00.000-07:00

Running and Burritos

2008-06-03T09:54:00.000-07:00

Well, after this weekend's reaction to my burrito incident over Memorial Day weekend, I figured I would add the account to the blog. I had just came back from a 10k road race in Bluefield, WV and was beat and hungry. I stopped by the local Food City grocery store for some goodies and came across a great deal on burrito's. I ended up buying 12 of the delicious treats. I came home and my cell phone rang. It was my running buddy Bradley Mongold. While talking to him I proceeded to place the burrito in the microwave and accidently read the oven instructions. Well......after about 11 minutes the alarm system starting going off - blasting sirens outside of the house as well as the fire alarms blazing! Bradley didn't know what was going on, but as I went into the kitchen I told him i'll call him back and threw my phone down in horror. Smoke was billowing out of the microwave and inside was my delicious treat on fire! I ended up taking the plate out and running it outside to throw in the yard; I raised the windows in the house and turned on the oven fan. Needless to say, the alarm triggered the security company to call - they hung up by the time I reached the phone. My grandfather then proceeded to call me - he was on the list of phone numbers to call if my residence failed to respond. He told me that he was behind the fire truck, the police car, and ambulance all headed towards my house. I could hear them with the sirens as I walked outside in shame. They came inspected the house, had a good laugh stating that, "This lad burnt a burrito, check it out in the yard." My grandfather proceeded to yell at me quite a bit asking me what I was thinking, how could I, and that my parents were going to kill me at the ripe ol' age of 30 when they came home. I proceeded to spend the weekend cleaning the microwave numerous times and hauling some fans inside to blow the smell out of the open windows - all in between made a trip to Damascus for a wonderful 20 mile run into TN on the portion of Iron Mountain Trail. Needless to say, make sure you read the directions better than I did, otherwise, happy running!

Nick

Massanutten Mountain 100 Mile

2008-06-03T08:24:00.000-07:00

Wow, what an incredibly hard experience this was! It was truly an adventure. Henry, Martha and I left for Front Royal on Friday morning. Martha had wanted to get a swim in so we arranged to stop at the Staunton YMCA. This worked out well and I was glad that I had decided to swim also. We swam an easy half mile. It was exercise, felt refreshing and didn’t beat up my body. What a novel idea!
We arrived at Skyline Ranch in plenty of time to pick up my number and relax and visit some. Rick Gray and Tammy were there and happy and ready. We planned to stay together throughout the race and do everything to keep each other going and relaxed. The race director talk was filled with warnings of lots of water and mud on the trail. It is always fun to look around a room like this and see how normal everyone looks. Just looking at us, who would guess that we were crazy enough to pay money to run 100 miles?
Back at the Super 8 in Front Royal it was time to get myself ready for the next 2 days of slogging through mud, scrambling over rocks, climbing and descending and who knows what else. My brother and sister-in-law, Franklin and Jan, arrived shortly. I feel so amazed, touched and complimented that they have come all this way to watch this. I kept telling them that I would try to give them their moneys worth and when it was all over I think they got it. We bedded down around 9:30 and Lucy showed up about 10:30 so we were all assembled and slept peacefully until the ungodly hour of 3:30. I dressed in my running clothes, fixed coffee and had a bowl of granola. My wonderful support crew and I jammed into Lucy’s car for the short ride to the starting line.
At the ranch there was time to try to relax, socialize and get photographed and then it was time to line up. The race started at 5:00 and Rick and I began the easy 2.4 mile jog up the road to the first aid station in the dark. After a quick cup of water we turned onto the Shawl Gap trailhead and began our first steep climb of the day. This section covered 6.3 miles and went up to the gap and back down to the next aid station. Another glass of water and we headed up Rt 613 for an easy 3.1 mile section. Here they had set up a breakfast stop of eggs, sausage and pancakes. I went for the eggs before we started our next climb of the day up to Milford Gap. This section was 5.1 miles. Here we got our first taste of running the very rocky, narrow ridge and the views that were there whenever I could look up enough to enjoy them. It was spectacular. After the next aid station we had a 7.5 mile section that stayed on the ridge for another mile and a half then 2.5 miles to a dirt road and along the road to the next aid station. Since access to the earlier aid stations was limited, I had suggested that the ace support crew should go back and nap after the start, get some breakfast and meet me at Aid Station 5 (24.4 miles). It was great to see everyone here. We had almost run a marathon in 5 hours and we were whipped but by no means beaten.
Here we began the next section of 8.9 miles with our steepest and longest climb so far to another rocky ridge trail and a rocky but runnable descent. It was on this descent that my feet began getting lazy and often I would not pick them up high enough to clear the rocks and I would stumble and almost fall. I paid the price for this when I stumbled and fell hard. My chest, arm and wrist landed hard on a flat rock and it kind of knocked the wind out of me, my legs cramped and I almost fainted. I was left with a badly bruised rib and several cuts and abrasions that looked worse than they were. The only thing to do was get up and start running and see what hurt. Surprisingly, I felt pretty good. My rib hurt but not too bad and nothing else hurt and we still had about 3 miles to the next aid station. I got an adrenalin rush that spurred me on. Since I was a bloody mess I attracted a lot of attention when we arrived at the aid station. Martha cleaned the blood and Henry and Lucy bandaged me with gauze and duct tape. While they were doing this there was a photographer taking pictures. I found out later that he was doing a piece on senior athletes for AARP. When Martha told him I was 60 he became very interested. What a hoot! Is this what it has come to that I’m wishing for the cover of AARP? Sounds like a song. We then had a rough, rocky 5.6 mile section that was hardly ever runnable and, of course, started with a steep climb. About a half a mile before the aid station there were a couple of guys ahead telling us to stay to the right because there was a rattlesnake beside the trail. We stopped and looked and, yes, he was there and very big and very mad. He was a coiled up Diamondback and really beautiful. I moved a little closer to get a better look and he struck at me, although I was at a completely safe distance, it was a scary sight. We headed on down to the aid station and found out everyone had been hearing about the rattlesnake for over an hour. He even stayed there long enough for Henry and Lucy to go back up the trail and have a look.
We had now been almost 40 miles and we were wearing down noticeably. Our stops were longer as we searched for ways to return a little strength and we weren’t finding them. The next section was 9.1 miles. We went up a steep climb, along a ridge and down. Sounds familiar! Rick and I came into the next aid station (mile 48) with both of us completely shot. We sat down and tried to pull ourselves together. I put on a clean pair of socks which felt good. While Rick was throwing up, I looked for something that I thought I could eat but the more I looked the worse I felt so I finally went over and threw up with Rick. At this point I felt defeated and and very near quitting. I felt better after throwing up and gave myself permission to quit if I had to but only if I had to. We then had a 5 mile climb to the top of Bird Knob (the highest point on the course) and an aid station and then back. On the way back we finally ran out of daylight. It was almost 9:00 PM. Our crew got worried because they didn’t think we had lights but, in fact, we had our emergency lights. A mile from the aid station I met Franklin who had come with his headlamp in case we didn’t have lights. What a nice gesture! He is his brother’s keeper.
We were now at mile 58 and still pretty shot but here we could be joined by pacers. Dennis Norris had driven up for this part and he seemed ready for the challenge. I told him it might take more than his sunny disposition to keep us going but he was willing to take on whatever came. Henry became my pacer and Dennis was Rick’s. Our next section (6.8 miles) was the wettest, muddiest section on the whole course. This was thick, black, shoe sucking mud. In fact, Dennis almost lost a shoe in one puddle. “Welcome to Massanutten, Henry and Dennis.” To add insult to injury, it started raining and I had left clothes with the crew because we weren’t expecting rain. I almost got too cold but the climbing kept me warm enough. We slogged along and though we were feeling bad we had a lot of good conversation that helped perk us up. Though it was messy, Henry seemed to be getting into the experience. We passed the place where the rattlesnake had been but fortunately he was gone. We arrived at the next aid station and I seemed to be doing better and Rick seemed to be doing worse. This was really sad because we had wanted to complete this together. Our next section was only 2.8 miles so we decided to see how that went. This section would take us up a climb that we had done earlier (mile 38) and then we would head over to the west ridge. We were going at a fairly relaxed pace and Rick seemed to be keeping up and, we hoped, getting better. The next aid station was where we would begin the climb up Short Mountain, the most dreaded section of the course. While we rested there, Rick announced that he was done which I believed just by looking at him. We decided that as a last ditch effort he could take an hour nap and still be ahead of cutoff and see if he could then continue. Dennis would stay and pace him if he continued and Henry would pace me. We hugged farewells and Henry and I left for Short Mountain. This section was 8.2 miles of very rocky ridge trail beginning with a rocky climb. It is notoriously hard because it’s long, hard and in the middle of the night. For me, the night seemed to be my friend. I was more relaxed and it was cooler and I developed a power walk pace because the trail was mostly too rocky to run. The night was filled with the continuous calls of whippoorwills. As soon as we passed one we would hear another ahead. During this section my shoe went under a sharp rock that cut the material at the base of my shoelaces. The flap of material would sit on top of my foot until I planted my foot unevenly. My toes would then leap out of my shoes and the flap of material would tuck in underneath. I would have to reach down and grab the material and put it back in place. This happened many times before finally arriving at the aid station. We got there at about 4:00 in the morning. Henry had done about 18 miles with me and had gotten a taste of what the whole course was like. His pacing duties were over and he had been a great companion throughout the night. Dennis was waiting to continue pacing. Rick had not been able to continue. I had another pair of shoes with my spare things that Martha and Lucy were carrying for me but since the shoes I was wearing were so comfortable and had not worn any blisters I elected to try a duct tape repair. Lucy went to work taping several times around the shoe and it seemed to be a good fix. Dennis and I left on another 8.2 mile section which was long but much more runnable. After a short climb it was mostly downhill and level. Unfortunately, after about a mile the duct tape repair bit the dust and my toes were flopping out again. I decided I would definitely change shoes at the next station and wished I had before. We arrived and Martha and Lucy had not gotten there. They had taken Henry back to the room and then the directions to the aid station were wrong so they were late. Left with my own and the volunteers devices I decided to try duct tape again. This time we went around a few times and made wider passes.
We left on a fairly forgiving 5.2 mile section. This time the duct tape held until about a half a mile from the next aid station. Martha and Lucy were there to meet us and though they were apologizing for missing me before I said there was nothing to apologize for. I was on my feet and happy to see them. We were at mile 89 and I could smell the finish line. I changed shoes and socks and ate some bacon and eggs that the aid station volunteers were providing and we were on our way.
Suddenly I was hit with the second lowest physical and mental state of the race. The finish seemed so close but still it was going to be 3 more hours and that realization really knocked the wind out of my sails. I had made the mistake of thinking about the finish instead of just concentrating on the next aid station. I seemed to realize all of this but just keep moving. Dennis kept the conversation going and pretty soon we were approaching the next aid station. Everyone was there to meet me. Franklin, Jan and Henry were back from their short sleep and Martha and Lucy were still up. Lucy took over as my pacer for the last 5.2 mile section and, yet again, climb up to the ridge and down the other side. We plugged along. I was going on automatic pilot and we even passed some people who were doing a kind of death march. Finally we were on the ridge and heading down for the last time. We waded across a few more creeks and approached Skyline Ranch. We could hear the loud speaker announcing “Doug Blackford and his lovely daughter Lucy” and then we were across the finish line. My time was 32 hours and 26 minutes. Out of 156 starters 101 had finished. I was 61st and had won my age group which was all just great. There were hugs around. Franklin brought me a beer and it was one of the best beers I have ever had. There is no way to express how much I appreciate my family, Dennis, Rick and Tammy and all the volunteers that helped and especially Franklin and Jan who had come from so far for this craziness. Thank you all

Doug Blackford

ARUBA

2008-06-02T17:47:00.000-07:00

Seriously, who actually runs when they go on vacation?? I mean when will there be time really? We'll be busy swimming, chillin on the beach, reading, eating, drinking pina coladas, sleeping in, I mean vacation is about relaxing, getting away from the normal routine right??? i'll just take a couple running things and if there is time or I happen to get up early and no one is up I"ll just fit in a couple miles to get ready for May Mtn :) I can't go all week without running then hit the trails for 27mi. that would just be foolish. I'd like to see if my garmin picks up there, no worries if i don't get any miles in it will be fine, remember it's VACATION.....
We caught the big bird from Charlotte on Friday and landed safely about 4 1/2 hrs later after an uneventful flight. It was very warm and very desert-like, reflective of it's close proximity to the equator and 5 months without rain. We headed straight to the water and put the toes in the sand and awaited the first of several incredible sunsets...

Saturday morning everyone was taking their sweet time getting ready so I thought what better time to get a few miles in than before the heat really cranks up (better take a couple bucks for a drink just in case, make that three bucks because no drink in aruba is $2). I took out to explore the path that seemed to parallel the road and the beach. Garmin picked up no sweat and I was off, how awesome is this!! a nice morning run along the shores of the Caribbean, no work, no worries, paradise.....
So I took off in this direction and quickly found the path I had seen people walking on did not last for long so I hit the beach and started chasing that predetermined 5 mi mark I had in my head that would satisfy me for the day. Whew I sure was watching that garmin awfully close, geeez this 2.5 turn around point is taking forever!! it's hot as **** here, stop looking down!! I was glad to find that once I ran into a fairly sketchy pirate looking set up past all the high rise hotels it was time to turn around, I was drenched in sweat and decided I was extremely glad I had that three bucks in my pocket. I found a little store out on a peer, grabbed a water and put it on the counter, "that will be $2.50", the lady behind the counter reported. So I reached in my pocket and my three bucks had somehow turned into only two bucks, luckily the lady was kind enough to agree I could pay her back the 50 cents at a later date and I was off, determined to finish the five miles in this freaking sauna, I guess a cool early morning run here starts at 3 a.m. and not eight. That might be it for my running in aruba, but it is good heat training for the up coming summer months, right.....
I grabbed some breakfast and a local paper and prepared for some serious beach/pool time. As I flipped through the paper a curious title jumped out SIXTH ANNUAL KIDS ONE MILE RUN and 5km Run/Walk on May 25. Hmmmm run a little local 5k, what a great way to really get a taste of the local culture and get another run in!
My aunt and uncle decided they would enjoy the walk and Dan would be our support crew. The race was at the opposite end of the island so we planned to spend the day at baby beach a popular spot we wanted to explore near Cura Cabai where the race started at 5:30 p.m. I knew a hamburger from Big Mammas beach side "cafe" was probably a bad idea two hours before a race but I was hungry and boy was it delish!! nice work big momma! So when we rolled up to the race headquarters, a Wendy's, I had business to take care of and was a little worried I wasn't going to be able to win the battle against big mommas grease content. I got across to the guy inside behind a laptop that I wanted to register for the 5K and paid him my $5 entry fee and was handed a laminated race number in return. He directed me to take that to a table outside and tell the ladies there I had already paid, sounds easy enough right.....
There was a lot of action going on as the Kids Mile events were taking place and due to the heat the kids were dropping like flies after they crossed the finish line, it was quite bizarre. I wove my way thru the proud parents and exhausted kids and plopped my number down on the table. "I was told I needed to check in with you for the 5K, I just registered inside and paid my entry fee to the guy at the laptop who directed me your way". The ladies grimaced and turned to one another with questioning eyes and then back at me and words flying in spanish, I knew this wasn't going to be easy. Latin seemed like such an intelligent choice in high school, i mean i was going to be a pharmisist so spanish was out of the question, haha. Somehow I got across that I had already paid and they jotted down my name and I walked off thinking "well it doesn't really matter anyhow whether I'm "officially" in it or not". I walked to the next table and two more ladies were guarding the t-shirts, I approached thinking they would ask my size but got nothing. "Could I get a medium please" I asked? NO, hmmm okie dok. At this point everything seemed like mass confusion, the kids miles were finished and everyone was just ambling around, no one seemed to know where the start was going to be and I couldnt understand any of the conversations so I just waited for everyone to move and eventually they did. There was a large group of race walkers in team jerseys of yellow, white and purple, this must be a big deal in Aruba for they were Serious! They all crammed in at the start and I had to fight to get thru for air. Lost some time in the beginning before I could actually break into a run. We ran to the corner and took a left and much to my suprise there were two good climbs ahead, don't get my wrong they weren't Mt. Pisgah level climbs but it was a good 1/2 mi. incline that slowed several people down to my advantage. There was a good amount of community support, or maybe they were just people out in their yards wondering who would be stupid enough to run in that sort of heat but regardless they were out watching and some clapping. After the climb we took a couple turns thru some neighborhood streets then headed downhill to a grand finish back at the wendy's parking lot. I finish it 22 min and change, 2nd female and 1st in my age group.
They were really into the awards and pictures and it drug on forever but we meet some great local folks who helped translate and chatted with us answering all our silly questions. It was great to see this program and such enthusiasm for the young kids in the community to work on fitness and the large number of race walkers getting the older folks out of the house. Two super ladies we meet said they had problems with people being sedintary so this was something they were doing to address that and it seemed to be a huge success!

I did make it back to the pier a couple days later to repay my 50 cents and discovered that running in the evening was much more tolerable than in the morning. Glad that running gear made it in the suitcase after all :)

May Mountain Marathon 2008 Fun Run

2008-06-02T07:45:00.000-07:00

Part 1, Biking AND RUNNNNNING, Finally

Part 2

May 31 5:19 am

The phone rang.
“Hello?”
“Are you ready?”
“Yes, I’ll see you in a minute.”

Yes, was a vast overstatement. Beth had called the night before to remind or rather enlighten me to the fact that Saturday, not Sunday, was May Mountain Marathon day. Sunday wasn’t even in May. Obviously I’m calendar-challenged. I’d been biking, mostly along the Blue Ridge Parkway, since last Sunday and gotten somewhat used to the simplicity of gauging time only as either daytime or nighttime. Why get all numeric about it?

Yes, I was ready. My hydration pack and running bag had gotten bulge-y on a breakfast of clothes and running paraphernalia since I had awaken at 3:45. And there was nothing more I could fathom I would need for a stroll on Mt Pisgah. But it was a slow motion ready at best. Nick was to meet us in town at 5:30 for a carpool to Johnson City, TN, where we would caravan with several more Iron Mt Dead Guys to Mt. Pisgah, south of Asheville, NC near the Blue Ridge Parkway. Our group was invited to do a marathon length fun run on Mt Pisgah by another clan of trail runners in the Asheville area. I’m the new kid on the trail and enjoy getting to know our regional Trail-heads.

At some point, we arrived at the Trace Ridge Trail Head.

Adam, of the NC clan, was directing the event and gave each of us a well marked topo map and page of written instruction. Tammy Gray drove the van to the Parkway at the foot of Mt Pisgah summit and served as aid station. The van progressed to Yellow Gap Road and setup again driven by Brian I believe. Since I had been bicycling up and down the Blue Ridge Parkway for a week, I had no intentions of doing the entire 27 miles. But as trail running naturally involves a fair amount of walking, I’ll aim for 16. Just “start out slow and taper off” as they say, while I’m getting reacquainted with medium distance. While we were in the early miles I saw a dead copperhead on the trail, a big, pretty, fat one. Later a fisherman warned some of the others a rattlesnake had been spotted and to be careful. Soon we were on single track along Big Creek. My stomach has been touchy for the morning so I skipped breakfast, but I force down a ClifBar for better or worse.

The morning was very warm, mid 70’s and humid. For a couple of miles this trial seemed dead flat and pleasantly non-technical except for some stream crossings without a bridges.

I’m stiff, rusty and exhausted and haven’t even started to climb. There is about 3 miles of nice flat creek bottom before we turn up Little Pisgah Ridge.

Its still non-technical, but we’re getting ready to go from about 2600’ to 4600’ in 3 miles and most of that in the first half. So I’m walking, but as we get a little higher the air cools and thins and I start to feel better. Near the top, I’m following Mike and Marianne through some incredible mountain laurel thickets. The effect of twisted limbs forming a spiraling tunnel of dappled light is a bit hallucinogenic, but I’m not complaining.

Soon we have popped out on the Parkway and run pavement for a half-mile or so including two short tunnels that funneled a refreshing breeze across our brow.

We met Tammy at an overlook with the coolers. I loaded a hand-held and mixed in a packet of Clip2. At this point, most have taken an out and back trail 1.5 mile to the summit with at least 1100’ of climb. Though I’ve consider it, my plan is to just run another 8-9 miles to Yellow Gap Road where the van is set up again, and ride back to the trailhead.

The descent down Laurel Mt is a nice even gentle grade with only a few technical places, mostly near the top.

Probably one of the best all-around long stretches of trail I’ve ever ran. Given the ease of grade I start to feel normal to running. Even though I’m tired, I start to feel good and more natural to where I am and what I’m doing. Since most are doing 3 more very steep miles than I, a mile or two down the mountain the front runners start to pass me. Most of them I don’t know, but we all chat some as we enjoy the day. As I’m getting close to the road a group of mt bikers are headed up. This whole area, especially near the bottom, is swarming with campers, fishermen, people playing in the creek and hiking and having fun. Great energy and natural beauty are in everywhere.

At Yellow Gap road, I call it a day at about 16 miles in about 4:45. Within 15 minutes or so, Tammy arrives, having ran down the mountain with her husband Rick and Beth. Rick and Beth continue on, but Tammy, Brian, Josh, and I load the van and head back to the trailhead. We have some spare time so we play in the creek along the way for a while too.

At the trailhead some have arrived and others are filtering in. Rick and Beth rounded up the running portion of the event with a couple of bonus miles bringing their total to 29. Some goodies have been stashed in several coolers and we eat and re-hydrate with wolf-like enthusiasm. The goodie rave of the day was by far and away Beth’s Cool as a Cucumber dip. She claims it was just cucumber, cream cheese, salt and pepper, but I’m pretty certain magic was involved. It was light and fluffy, easy on the cream cheese. When the chips were gone we started eating it on cookies. Adam also gets high honors for a couple of growlers from the local French Broad Brewing Company. The stout was exceptional, Bro. Nick’s story of 20 minutes, a Frozen Burrito, and a Microwave was told in matter-of-fact, classic Whited candor. I laughed until I couldn’t see and could barely stagger. If you travel with Nick for a day, you’ll be in stitches for a good portion of it.

Since Marianne and Mike had left early, I rode back with Rick, Tammy, Josh, Beth, and Nick. We hit a Mediterranean restaurant pretty hard as soon as we got back to Asheville. Just before dark we made a pit stop and feed "Nick’s horses" in a nearby pasture some runner treats. Horses are like runners in that some like gels and some do not, but both are comical trying to lick them off their noses. We changed flights again back in Johnson City and three of us made it to Abingdon at about 10 pm I think. It was a long day, but fun all the way. May Mountain Marathon 2008 was a top event, idyllic in every way.

Thanks Adam, and to all who made it happen.
Next event, the Garden Mt Fat Ass June 28, directed by Nick.

See you there.

jjj

A Rugged Beauty -Promise Land 50k

2008-04-28T08:33:00.000-07:00

The Promise Land 50k

Bedford, VA

April 26, 2008

She was lying on her side in an active balance of the erect and the reclined. Winter sun had tanned her with a tawny, oak bronze across every ridge and curve of a magnificent and seductive topography. She was barely clad. Draped with a scant hint of a green lace gown sprinkled with jewels as bright and translucent as wildflowers in April sun. She was waiting for her perennial encounter with….

"Hey Buddy, you’re off the trail."

He was right. As I regained contact with the outer world of people, rocks, and trees, I Iooked back and saw two runners standing in an obvious switchback that I had missed. They had been gaining on me climbing up Apple Orchard Falls Trail toward the second and last peak at Sunset Fields, mile 26 on the course. Outwardly, I had only traveled 30 yards off the trail. Inwardly, I have no idea.

On a warm, spring Friday afternoon, I turned left off Hwy 122, 9 miles north of Bedford at the Millstone Tea Room. I was not too far ahead of a bank of dark stormy clouds bound for the Promise Land. A couple of years ago, not long after taking up running, when a ten mile run still had the respect of distance that it really always should, I happened upon a description of the Promise Land 50k event. The course, the campout, the bonfire all made organic sense too me. All I had to do was train and condition for a 30+ mile run and I would be there. For the young and restless with a bit of athletic prowess, that’s challenging, but for a middle-aged couch potato, like myself, more of a fantasy. Still I dreamed, but not neglecting training. Only a dream will make your training come true. Of course, the reverse is also true.

I pulled into the large mowed field at Promise Land Youth Camp and set up the hammock in the trees along the edge near a small stream. Several runners had already pitched tent and were milling about the Pavilion. I checked in, chatted, hydrated, and waited patiently for the truckload of pizzas and rain to arrive. The full force of the thunderstorm missed us, though it dampened enthusiasm for the bonfire. The pizza storm hit us head on, and there was much rejoicing.

About 9pm, I crawled into my hammock, listened to the rain and slept several hours. At 3 am I woke. The rain had stopped and it was still warm, maybe 60*. I crawled outside with my pad and sleeping bag and slept some more waiting for the 4:30 wakeup call on the PA. That would give me plenty of time to get ready for the 5:30 start.

"It’s 5 o’clock, we’ll be lining up in 15 minutes for the pre-race briefing."

That was the next thing I heard. Fortunately I had stuffed everything I would need to start, in a single bag.Usually, to get ready to run, I just rummage around through my jumble of gear until chaos takes some order. But without this bit of organization, I would have been a late starter. I meet up with the Iron Mt Dead Guys: Doug, Rick, Josh, Tammy and her brother. I missed Nick. He and Tammy were crewing. I barely had time to finish my banana, a group photo, the prayer, the national anthem, and off we go. At just this point I realized I’d made a serious gear error in bleary 5am judgement. Socks. I always do long and/or hard runs in thin little Injinji socks plus a thicker Smartwool outer sock for cushion. The first time I wore those Injinji’s alone, I ended up with a blood blister the size of Rhode Island on the cusp of my heel. But I tried them alone on a short run a few days ago and kind of liked the feel. I thought I’d give them a try at least to the ridge top Aid Station at Sunset Fields where our drop bags would be. I could add a layer if necessary and even slip out of my new, light Streaks to my tried and true Divides, if the trail was extra harsh. Wait a minute. There’s not going to be any drop bags taken anywhere unless your crew does it. Miles later I realized that Tammy was going up and could have taken it if I’d thought to ask. This could be an ultra-blister day.

We’re headed up a paved road in the dark. I’m wearing a headlamp, shorts (sorry kilt fans), a compression short sleeve, and loose fit short sleeve tech from the Terrapin Mt Half, and a billed hat.I’m carrying two hand-helds, one starting with Clip2, the other with water and in its pouch an emergency Espresso ClifShot. In my key pocket, I have a vial with 7 Scaps and 5 caps of ibuprofen. My Garmin just recently made it back from the shop, but I’m going with a cheap plastic stopwatch today.

The course time limit is 10 hours. So without the GPS to pace myself, I calculated the cut-off pace. Then divided up distance between aid stations, multiplied, adjusted for the elevation profile with wild guestimates, interpolated for a few Horton Miles, trademark of our infamous race director, Dr David Horton, just in case. I crossed my fingers and ignored the variable of technical footing variance, and ended up with a cheat sheet of my maximum allowed arrival time for each aid station. Thank God and Bill Gates for Excel. I memorized it.

To Overstreet Falls Aid Station #1 Mile 2.64.

Goal time 6:30am

It’s dark much of the way, but all road. From pavement, to gravel, to dirt and rocks, it gets steeper and steeper, but never as difficult as the first climb at Terrapin Mt. It's just a few miles northeast of PL. I made good time and left the AS at 6:14.

To Reed Creek Aid Staion #2 Mile 8.55.

Goal time 8:00.

Immediately we start on non-technical single-track and in places it’s not too steep to run until we crest a ridge and start down a wide lane carpeted with moss and grass. Maybe this is the Promise Land. I’m moving up into different groups of 2-5 runners and fall back occasionally. Few people are really chatty having just climbed 2000’ feet. I did listen to a man talking about the Barkley. He made 13 miles of the first of 5 twenty-mile loops before dropping out.It took him 6 or 7 hours. That’s still an accomplishment.

We are now rolling up and down on an old road paved with grass and vetch, cut along the south face of the mountain headed into the sunrise. We have a great view of the mountain hollows below filled with sleepy cotton clouds. Tears would better describe the beauty than words. I think about this. You can see this driving in a car along the Blue Ridge Parkway, but until you’ve ran or at least walked a considerable distance within this view, deep beauty will allude you. It will hide beneath words and vision, even on a postcard or in flowery verses. When you think you’ve captured that vision of beauty standing by your car at a scenic overlook, deep beauty is still running wild and free.

At the AS, I stay with banana and orange slices, diluted ClifDrink and plain water in the bottles. Departure time about 7:45.

To Sunset Fields Aid Station #3 Mile 11.94.

Goal Time 9:30

Back onto narrower single track in the forest, with running and walking interspersed, the climb is growing less and less steep as we cross the Parkway. Soon, we reach the course apex at about 4000’. We start to roll along down a wide gravel service road at a good clip toward the AS. A few crews are there as is Tammy. The sun is starting to get some strength in it, but the air is just a touch thinner and feels cooler. I’m starting to eat some starches at this point also, and draining at least a 20oz between stations. Down the hill we go. Departure time about 8:35.

To Cornelius Creek Trail Junction Aid Station #4 Mile 16.09.

Goal Time 10:30

This was almost all tough technical. 4 miles of rock dancing with 2000’ of drop. The top end was the toughest and the single track emptied on to a grassy road at a switchback for a brief reprieve. I planted my right foot on the very last rock about 10" high only to have it slip complete off to the left.I jammed it straight-kneed hard into the ground with the other foot still in flight. I don’t how I avoided falling or why it didn’t rip out my knee. But within a step or two things felt fairly normal. Cornelius Creek was stunning from what I could gather from my peripheral vision. We came into the AS with hamburgers on the grill. I was in pain here, mainly quads, gut, and feet. Calories are my friends. Food and liquid is going down well, but I avoided the hamburger as its getting warmer and Colon Hollow is an unknown and may require some running. I’m banking a lot of time, and not feeling especially exhausted, but strained gut muscle and foot pain brought me to a low point. I left at about 9:35 and took some ibuprofen at 16 miles.

To Colon Hollow Aid Station #5 Mile 19.26

Goal Time: 11:15

There was a paved or gravel road that had a gentle down grade nice for running, if you like that sort of thing. After a mile or so, we are flagged off the pavement back into the woods by our yellow Montrail streamers. This portion is uphill, but the walking is a relief. A tall, young, fit trail runner followed me into the station. He had started injured, some ITB taping on both legs and struggling with pulled groin muscles. The lady running the station said, "Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional." I leave by myself about 10:30. My mood is improving and I can’t think of any problem that might prevent me from finishing in 10 hrs. My sock error, is a non-issue, even though my feet have been wet for a couple of hours, there are no blisters forming.

Back to Cornelius Creek Trail Junction. Aid Station #6 Mile 23.89.

Goal Time: 1:00pm

I continue the climb on a wide grassy trail deeper into the woods. There is a little gentle downhill mixed in. I found this portion to be one of the more enjoyable and laid back sections of the whole run. The trail ends with a left on a dirt road. Several cars are parked there and I presume it to be runner's families to cheer them on. Turns out they are bird watchers.

One lady asks, "What kind of event are you folks doing"?

I said it was a 50k race from Promise Land Youth Camp.

"How far is that?"

I say the course is over 30 miles.

"Oh my goodness".

I turn off the road back onto single track, technical, steep, downhill. Variations on a Rock Theme in Pain major by Meistro D. Horton. Soon I’m back at the Cornelius Creek Aid Station. Only one hamburger left, I take half of it. No ClifDrink, but I’ve been taking S-caps by the clock.I should have eaten more and drank more to prepare for the next section.I left at about 11:35, well ahead of the 1:30pm cutoff for this station.

Back to Sunset Fields via Apple Orchard Falls Trail, Aid Station #7 Mile 26.68

Goal Time 2:00

Instead of taking the route that dropped us 2000’ feet in 4 miles, we’re going to climb it in 3. I allowed an hour. It took an 1:35. But after about 40 minutes just before the trail got real steep, I spent 5 minutes in a waterfall. The temps were well into the 70s and a 8’ moss covered rock with a mountain creek spilling over it like a bottomless bottle of chilled champagne was, well, more temptation than I wanted to dodge. Clothes and all, in I went. I felt like a new person. The climb involved lots of rock steps and sawn timber ones until well past the large falls. Even then, there was a mile left to the station. But there were plenty of wildflowers to sooth toiling flesh, wild bleeding hearts, a profusion of dutchmen’s breeches, and a true pink form of Trillium erectum. This is also where I strayed.

By the time I’d topped out I was rationing the last of 40 oz of water.Tammy was watching for her brother. Her husband Rick had finished by now, as had Josh and Doug. I lingered here taking in extra calories and fluids, and stretching -5 minutes at least. We’ve completed a marathon distance in about 7:40, and almost the entire portion of climbing –just under 8000’. On average we’ve climbed 295’ and lost 225’ per mile. I left at about 1:10pm. 5 more miles, 2000’ of loss, let the race begin.

Back to Overstreet Falls Aid Station #8 Mile 29.09

Goal time: 2:45

Having over-lingered at Sunset Fields, though I was careful not to sit, it was difficult at first just to walk, let alone run. But before long, I could lift my heels enough to let the mountain to run for me. In no time it seemed I was back to this, the first and last aid station, having cut off 4 miles of the Reed Creek section. They were out of ClifDrink, and I declined the Gatorade. I left about 1:40pm.

To the Finish Mile 31.75

We’re back to the road now, downhill the rest of the way. At first its so steep, I’m braking more than running. But gradually the grade begins to lessen and the stride flows better. I catch back up with two ladies, one of whom is a also of a masterly age.Both had passed me since the mountaintop. We ran together, all of us glad to have the end within earshot if not in sight of the finish. We turn in to camp, there’s David goading us on. Suddenly, the younger woman surges in front with only 25yds to go.

"What??? We masters age runners can’t let that stand."

The two of us also surge and the three of us finish in 8:42:17,

210 of 268 starters.

I grab a burger, and chat with my Iron Mt.clan, Doug took 1st male 60 and over. Rick had a good day and Josh also with 7:12 for his first "tough" ultra. I was glad the course had a few soft spots in Reed Creek and Colon Hollow otherwise, I would have Suffered. Just after I’d stuck camp, the sky exploded with thunder, fire and water. The 9:15 plus finishers got to combine their bath with the last few miles. I waited in my car and had a nice long soak in the creek afterwards.

See you there next year,

I Promise.

JJJ

Garden Mountain Fat Ass Continued...........

2008-04-24T19:50:00.000-07:00

I traveled to Garden Mountain today - hopefully this will attract a few more hardy souls for this suberb run (in my opinion it is superb).

June 28, 2008 - 8:00am; 3rd Annual Garden Mountain Fat Ass - Western States Celebration Version

2008-04-22T17:35:00.000-07:00

The 3rd Annual Garden Mountain Fat Ass is set for June 28th, 2008 at 8:00am with the total distance being between 28-31 miles. We will camp out at Cavitts Creek on June 27 - http://www.tazewellcounty.org/cavitt.html - for those who wish to do so.

The run is altered and will be a different course - some logistical planning will have to occur as the run will now be a point to point run. The run will begin at the community center and immediately take a right at the post office and will follow the FLAT paved road (as opposed to the 4 mile gravel road climb in previous Garden Mountain Runs). The paved road ends shortly after 2.5 miles and you begin a short but steep climb to garden mountain and to the Appalchian Trail - here you head north and run the entire garden mountain ridge with surreal views of Burkes Garden. You will run the AT for 6.5 miles (the distance will be around 9 miles for the first/aid area) You will then continue on the AT along the ridge of Garden Mountain; you will then descend Garden Mountain very steeply and reach the bottom at 15 miles; Here you will make your way for 5 miles up another steep climb along another ridgeline; here you will descend again steeply into Bland County and will run along a nice camping/creek area (2nd aid area).
You proceed north on the AT for a 7 mile section which is one the smoothest and nicest sections of trail you will ever run on the AT. You then run along the gravel road to the paved road next to I77 - you will take a right and head to Dairy Queen - this is where the logistics need to take place. I will need to meet at least 2 people who are willing to leave their vehicle at DQ and we will ride to Cavitts Creek; after the meal at DQ (post run) - We can be transported back to Burkes Garden (25 minute drive) where we can load up and head towards Cuz's Cabins for a night or camp out again at Cavitts Creek or possibly head out to my place to camp out; we'll figure something out, but the next day will be a post run recovery run of some sort in a beautiful area all in celebration of our ultra buddies out West running the Western States 100.