Camp Croft Trail Half Marathon

The inaugural Camp Croft Trail Half Marathon was held in my Spartanburg backyard on November 13th at Croft State Park.  Pictured to the left are some of the runners - Joe Camo, Beth (wife), Big Easy (me), Sam-O-Nator, and Brian (The Guz). 

The weather was picture perfect.  40 degrees with a bright blue sky setback against fall turned leaves falling from the trees.  It was the type of day where you couldn't wait to hear your feet crunching the foliage as you ran through some beautiful rolling single track.

The course featured some of the best parts of the park.  It was a 13.1 mile loop that ran between Lake Craig and Johnson.  80% single track, 20% trail.  0% pavement - LOVE IT!


The entire event was organized to a tee by Seth N. and the Spartanburg Running Club.  I was impressed because from the moment I arrived at the park I knew exactly where to drive and what to do before the race.  All of the volunteers were great and from what I understand all of the runners finished the race.  They had the course marked perfectly and even I was able to stay on course for the entire run - very unusual!

This was Beth's 1st trail race and second half marathon.  I settled into a pace behind her from the beginning and let her determine the tempo.  We took our time and enjoyed the run.  She took one bad fall, but bounced back up without injury.

After 2:58 we made our way into the finish line and enjoyed some post race food.  I was surprised to see a live band playing too!  There were a TON of raffle prizes given away.  Beth and I both won $10 gift certificates to local area stores which was very cool.  Add this to the sharp technical shirts given to runners before the race and we walked away with some killer swag.

If you are ever looking to run a well organized and challenging trail half mary, then Croft should be the race for you.   Rumor has it that there could be a 50K run in the making on this beautiful trail system.  More details to come if I hear of it materializing...

Pinhoti 100 DNF (Did Not Finish)

Sometimes races don't go your way.  Sometimes you don't go the race's way.


For me, running is all about having fun.  I have learned to embrace suffering after covering certain distances and in some sick & twisted way that is fun too.  The Pinhoti 100 was going to be a special race for me.  100 miles on mostly single track rugged trail across Alabama.  While it was still a great weekend, I was pulled off the course by the sweeps for missing the cutoff time at 35.5 miles due to taking a wrong turn.

I will elaborate on my details later, but I wanted to touch on the bright highlights of the event first.

As in any ultra marathon one runner is only one part of a very big picture.  I have never taken the opportunity to watch an ultra from a the perspective of a non-runner.  I'm overwhelmed in the amount of work time & work that volunteers, personal crews, and total strangers take to help runners achieve their goals and keep them moving.  These are total unselfish people who sincerely want to see a runner complete their race.

After my race ended I had the privilege to hang out with Vic, Phil, and Christian for the remainder of the weekend.  Vic & Phil were crewing my buddy Weezy in his first 100.  These guys were awesome to watch as they drove through the night taking care of him and other runners at various aid stations.  Sean O. was also on the scene with an entourage of helpers who distributed food & love to runners along the way.

The highlight of the weekend was seeing my buddy Wayne (Weezy) cross that finish line to complete his first 100 mile race.  He fought hard through the cold night and toughed it out.  I'm so proud of the guy.

Here he is running to the finish...

I have many mixed emotions as I think about the darker side of the DNF (did not finish).  I took a wrong turn on a somewhat poorly marked section of the trail and went at least 4 miles off course before realizing my mistake and making my way back.  I didn't go the race's way.  This cost me about 2 hours of precious time and as a result I was instructed by the sweepers to drop from the race at the next aid station.

After finding my way back to the trail from going off course I saw that the trail was marked, but I had somehow missed the turn.  This was my own fault and I should have been paying better attention.

As one of the kind aid station volunteers drove me to meet up with the rest of Wayne's crew I was telling myself that I was finished with ultras for good.  I felt defeated and like I had let down a lot of people - mainly myself.   Would I have finished if this had not happened?  I really don't think so.  It hurts to say that to, but I just didn't have any strong drive or motivation after the first five miles of the race.

It was great to still have Weezy and other friends out on the course because it gave me something positive to focus on instead of the DNF.  Several of my friends finished their first 100 miler and it was awesome to be able to experience that.  Unfortunately, I had to leave the excitement and take a long drive back home to Spartanburg and begin to sort things out in my mind.

I'm not looking for sympathy or pats on the back - I'm just being real here.  I have a whole world of joy to be thankful for and running is just a small layer of icing on a huge cake of blessing that is my life. 

I feel disconnected from ultra running right now.  I think that is normal after your first official DNF in a race.  At this point I'm going to take some time off to rest and get back to the type of running that I enjoy.

It will be fun to run with my wife Beth this weekend at her 1st trail half marathon close to home.  At least I'm not too beat up to go out and enjoy it.

Pinhoti 100 Mile Race Live Updates

It's finally time for the Pinhoti 100 Mile Race in Alabama this weekend!  For anyone interested, the Race Director just informed us that live updates will be posted during the race on:

http://www.ultralive.net/  (My Bib # is 1567)

I'm carrying my cell phone and will be posting as many tweets and facebook updates as possible.  This will depend largely on the cell phone coverage.