189 Days Until I Run Western States 100

You know I'm a big, burly, basketball shorts wearing, half-bald headed, drama induced trail runner.  Its who I am. 

Oh yea, and I like to wear weird straps around my head when I run to hold up my nerd glasses too.  I'm fairly odd and I talk weird too.

But I do love to run trails and I've made it into my dream race of all time.  I'm crazy excited!

 

The short story leading up to this is as follows:

• Graduate College after playing football.  Gain more weight and end up slugging on the couch at 315 lbs.
• Watch the 2008 Summer Olympics Women's Marathon on TV in Beijing and decide to start running.
• Run 100 Feet and nearly die.
• Next day run 200 Feet and nearly die.
• Continue to do so until I could run 13.1 miles.
• Continue to do so until I could run 26.2 miles.
• Got bored of roads and "Googled" Trail Running.  Signed up for Terri Hayes 2009 Buncombe 34 mile race.
• Read Dean Karnazes "Ultramarathon Man" and dreamed of Running Western States.
• Fell in love with trail ultras and ran 35 more of them leading up to this post.

Western States uses a lottery system to pick the 300 or so runners each year from a pool of several thousand hopeful entrants.  Each entrant is required to complete a "qualifying" race that is suppose to provide some proof that they are capable of finishing WS100.

I submitted my lottery entry for WS100 and The Massanutten 100 lotto.  Massanutten is much easier to get into and I found out earlier that I made it into it as well.  Of course with only about a 10% chance of getting into WS100 I choose it.  Plus, it's my dream race of all time!  Oh, and Massanutten looks much more difficult to me.  It may be for the best to put it off until later years.

My original goal for this winter was to go down to The Iron Horse 100 Miler in Florida and run a sub 24 and it still is, but it's hard to keep myself from thinking ahead to this summer.  I was reminded by a friend that I should not look past Iron Horse and have a bad run there because that will hurt my momentum going into Western States this June.  I agreed so for now, its full attention on "The Horse".

I don't want to sound cocky or arrogant when I say this, but I'm not afraid of running Western States.  I've only finished two 100's which isn't much experience, but I refuse to let rhetoric or horror stories get in my head about the course.   I know there are long climbs, snow, heat, and rocks on the course.  That's why I'm going.

I heard story after story from Pinhoti about the huge climb up to Mt. Cheeaha, Blue Hell, and Horn Mt. - The Pinnacle.  Yes, these were significant climbs, but I refused to bow down to them and let them consume me.

I'm not going to give in to The Escarpment, the hot canyons, breath taking switchbacks or anything else that stands in the way of me getting to that buckle at the track.

I know this really means nothing from me to just say it without doing it.  I did learn from Pinhoti that my attitude going in would dictate my results at the end.  That's really all I have to go by.

I will show up at the start line in June in the best shape of my life.  I can't call out a finish time because my plan is simple.  To run within my means and to enjoy the course.  I don't want to push too hard and risk getting pulled at one of the many medical checkpoints.  So I will call out a Sub 30 hour finish, guarantee it.

I don't believe in "jinx" or "luck".  I do believe in hard work & results.

I'm excited about being randomly selected, but also feel that it is my obligation to train hard and represent the thousands of other runners who didn't get in.  Many who are much faster and deserving than me.

I imagine there are still some doubters who would like to see me fail or silently suspect that I will DNF.  Just like Pinhoti, I'm gonna prove you wrong again.  I'm not gonna get that drama going again, but will use the thoughts to fuel my training spirit.

So I will be looking at this profile map for the next six months.  Anxiously awaiting my finest hour to toe the line and embrace the suffering that will allow me to collapse with the buckle in my hand at the finish.

Wearing the basketball shorts....of course.





24 Hour "One Epic Run" Race Camp Croft Spartanburg, SC

My friend Joe Parker decided to put this race together and it ended up being a much bigger event than he imagined.  I remember talking with him two months before this run and he was guessing that maybe 10 friends would show up and run it.  Well, it looked like about 90 runners showed up to run!  About 20 of them were good running friends and I enjoyed spending some time together on the trails.

Joe just did an excellent job with this race and I would highly recommend it to any runner looking to enjoy a challenging 3 mile loop in the woods.

Training for the Iron Horse 100 in February forced me to use this one as a organized training run.  I was still able to enjoy 10X 3 Mile loops in about 7:30.  I would guess the elevation of each loop to be around 300 feet.  Plenty challenging as the race unfolded.  Not only were there hills, but snaky turns and plenty of roots & rocks.  I never got bored as the terrain seemed to look different on each loop during the day.

It was very exciting to see our resident ultra massage therapist, Denise, out for her first trail race ever.  She was planning on completing a 3 mile loop, but decided to go back out later and make it two! Doubling your distance on that rail is a lot to be proud of.

I started the run in my New Hoka One Ones and after 15 miles my butt was on fire!  It's going to take some time to get used to these so I switched over to some Asic Gels.  Within 5 miles I was cruising along, not wanting this run to end.  It began to get dark on my final loop and I felt absolutely terrific.  I had several 2nd thoughts about abandoning my training plan and running through the night, but decided to stay disciplined and stop at 30 miles.  I knew that this loop would get much slower and more difficult at night so that made the decision a little easier.

The biggest suprise of the race came as Joe was marking the trail with glow sticks for the night runners.  He handed me the phone and Dan H. was on the other side telling me that I had been picked in the Lotto For Western States!  I was in complete shock and thought that it was all a big prank until I got home and checked to verify that it was true!

I can't wait to run the Epic 24 again next year and hope to be at a point to go for the full 24 hours.

Pinhoti 100 Mile Endurance Run - The Reckoning

The 4th Annual Pinhoti 100 is a point-to-point trail run starting in Heflin, Alabama on the unmolested Pinhoti single-track trail. Runners will make their way over the highest point in Alabama while navigating over rocks, through creeks and across beautiful ridge lines of the Talladega National Forest. The course will consist of 80.62 miles of single-track trail, 16.98 miles of jeep road and 4.52 miles of pavement and will finish on the rubberized track in the Sylacauga High School Football Stadium.

I showed up to run & finish this race in 2010, but was forced to end my run at mile 35 because I was caught by the sweepers.  I had taken a wrong turn, went way off course and missed the cutoff time at one of the aid stations.  I was able to see lots of my friends finish which was awesome, but it left a bitter taste in my running heart.  It hurts to dream big and fail, but sometimes that is the only way that you will ever get what you want.

I sat at the finish line watching runner after runner finish their dream race.  I was mad at myself for not making it.  I didn't just want revenge, I wanted the reckoning in 2011.

Actually, the 2010 DNF crushed me and I went into a downward spin of depression leading to another DNF "Did Not Finish" at The Bartram 100 miler a month later in December.   I then turned to food for comfort and had my blood pressure get out of control which caused even more setbacks.  I passed out at work one day and had to be taken into the doctor for evaluation. 

So I had to pray, relax, and start over in 2011.  I made a promise to myself that I would go back to Pinhoti and finish.  All of my training in 2011 would be about running the 100.60 miles in Alabama which started in Heflin and finished at the Sylacauga High School Stadium Track in the middle of town.



I began my 2011 training with my first 2011 ultra finish at Sweetwater H20 50K in April.  I used eight more ultras between then and November to help me train for Pinhoti.  I was also introduced to Janice (GUTS President) who is a very accomplished runner and she agreed to coach me beginning in September.

She warned me that we really didn't have enough time to properly train for my best Pinhoti finish and I assured her that finishing alone would be enough.  I became a hypnotized zombie with her training plan.  No matter how tired I was I always followed the plan for the day.  100 push ups, 100 sit ups, lunges, speed work, back to back long runs on the weekend.  It didn't matter, I found the time and made it work.  I never once cheated myself out of the opportunity to get better.  Some of the long weekend runs went on forever and they were very tough on me.  I just kept thinking about how great it was going to feel going around that high school track and getting my buckle for finishing the race in November. 

My family and lots of my friends stood behind me as I trained.  They assured me that this was my year and I believed it.  There were some that didn't think I would make it.  And I would like to thank them too because I was thinking of you at mile 85 when my whole world started falling apart.  You kept me going, cause' I'm not a quitter.

"It's not revenge that I was after, it was the reckoning!"  Hollywood movies often make us think of other parts of our "real" lives.  One that Beth and I have always enjoyed is "Tombstone" featuring Val Kilmer as Doc Holiday.  So Holiday and Wyatt Earp have the famous gun battle with the bad guys (the cowboys) at the OK Corral.   The cowboys shoot them up good at the OK Corral and now Doc & Earp are looking to hunt them down and finish them off.

I felt just like Wyatt Earp walking out into that river looking for "The Reckoning" at Pinhoti.  Gravely focused on the finish, nothing would stop me!



Ok, now we fast forward to race weekend. Joe Fejes and I decided to split hotel room cost on Friday night and drive down together from Atlanta. Joe has several 100 mile finishes, including two at Pinhoti so I picked him apart with lots of helpful details and strategies. We attended the pasta pre-race dinner on Friday evening and were sleeping before 9:00 PM.  As always, it was great to see so many old and new friends at the meeting.

I was excited to meet up with Charles & Psyche just before we headed in to the hotel Friday night and they agreed to let us ride to the start of the race with them at 4:00 AM on Saturday morning. This was great news because we were going to have to ride on a cold bus with about 30 other runners, if not for them helping us out.

The alarm clock went off at 3:00 AM, but I was already awake.  I had a dream around 2:30 AM that we had slept in and missed the race.  I didn't mind because I felt very rested, even that early in the morning.  Joe and I quickly got are race stuff ready and drove Dan Hartley over to the bus staging area.  Dan had to ride the bus, but we jumped in the SUV with Charles and Psyche for the 100 mile ride to the start of the race.

The race was a little late starting at 6:12 AM:

So about 140 of us were off and running into the cold / dark Alabama night. Sunrise was about 45 minutes away so footing would be tricky to begin the race. I wore a short sleeve & long sleeve tech shirt, gloves, cap, headlamp, and of course my basketball shorts. I also chose to began the race with my comfortable Asics road shoes. It felt awesome to have this shot again! Today was going to be MY day!  Well..actually tomorrow would be my day...

This race has 18 aid stations spaced out about 5 miles apart from each other.  My goal was to just make it to the next aid station ahead of the cutoff times.  I needed to average at least a 17:50 min/mile pace to stay ahead and I was planning on doing a 15:00 min/mile pace for the first 41 miles.

The sun came up and it turned out to be a beautiful Alabama fall day.  60 degrees with a light wind.  Clear crisp blue skies broken up by falling leaves of various autumn colors.  I quickly dropped my cool running gear and was thankful to have Mark E. at one of the aid stations to hand it off to.

I stayed steady through the day jogging the downhills/flats and power hiking the up-hill sections.  I was surprised to find that I was having problems getting my pace average down to a 15:00 min/mile.  It stayed around 15:40 most of the day, but I didn't even worry about it.  Just keep moving and live in the moment.

The first 41 miles of this race requires you to run without a pacer.  Another goal I had was to just make it to mile 41 (Bald Rock State Park - the top of Alabama) where my crew and pacers would be waiting to help me.  This was not an easy 41 miles at all.  No major climbing but it nickles & dimes you to death.  Lots of 30 foot ups and downs with tons of twists & turns.  If you ever get into a running rhythm it rarely last more than a few minutes.

These tough little sections were often broke up with some good laughs with David Ray, Jason Rogers, Dean, and some other friends.

I wore my Garmin GPS watch for the first 41 miles to help me keep pace up to meet my crew:



If you ever run this race, be careful between miles 27 and 41.  Many runners including myself had mental & physical low points through here.  In addition, this is where I went off trail and DNF'd last year.  You are over a marathon into this run and still have about three more tough ones to go so it's very easy to slump through here.  I can't tell you how good it felt to run past the area I was pulled!  That gave me a huge surge.

The climb up to Bald Rock State Park looks rough on this profile map, but it was really not too bad of a climb at all.  It's the first big / tall one below:

It felt incredible to summit Bald Rock State Park just after 4:00 PM!  There were several familiar faces at the top waiting on runners and Phillip was encouraging me to run down the boardwalk on top of the mountain to meet up with my crew.  This walkway goes across the top of the mountain allowing you a magnificent view out to the west.

Now to introduce my world class crew.  These fellas made me feel like the top dog for the rest of the race!

Victor - Crew Chief

Victor is a take charge type of crew guy.  He flew up from Florida to help me finish this thing and never takes no for an answer.  He was essential in me finishing this race.

Sean - Pacer of Pain

Sean doesn't play on the trail.  If you give this guy a time goal you better be ready to meet it or die trying.  Sean would pace me for miles 55-68 and then again from 85-100.

Wayne "Weezy" Pacer Who Pulls

Weezy and I have ran a lot together down some dark & technical trails.  We already click together and he knows what kind of pace I can hold on any type of terrain.  He paced me through miles 41-55 and 68-85.  68-85 were my darkest hours and he kept my mind off of the pain.

Back to the Boardwalk at mile 41 and Weezy runs out to bring me in with the crew.

Of course, the fellas were full of jokes when they saw me come rolling in with my yellow basketball shorts on!  Thats OK though, they had a horse on the track and their mission was to keep me moving forward.  Victor immediately had my Camelbak hydration pack on me, hot food in my hand, headlamps on ready for the night and sent Weezy and I down the other side of the mountain called "Blue Hell".  This was a mile section of boulders and rock hoping fun.  It felt awesome to be running this with Weezy!

I said hello to lots of familar GUTS runners like Amanda, Jenn, Tat, Kim, Tom, and several others as we made our way down the road towards the other side of the mountain.

We had a nice stretch of fire roads & pavement to run on into the next aid station where I killed some food!  Hot soup, cookies, Gels, a sandwich, and we were back onto the trail heading towards mile 55 aid station - Adams Gap.  I remembered this being a big party from the previous year and I couldn't wait to experience it for myself as a runner.  I took horrible fall during this section that knocked the wind out of me briefly.  I jumped right back up and kept going.  I felt horrible, but NOTHING was going to de-rail me this time.

Weezy and I spent this time catching up and we put our lights to work about 3 miles into the Silent trail which was probably around mile 50.  I hit a low point near the end of this section and got very hungry.  I felt like I was going to pass out as I staggered into the aid station.

Once again, my crew was anxiously waiting to take care of my every need.  I didn't even have to talk.  They just handed me things.  I drank Ensure, a Starbucks Double Shot, some coffee and Sean had cooked some killer hot dog things that really hit the spot.

Within a few minutes they had me back on my feet and Sean was pacing me into mile 56.  He had ran these same sections before and knew exactly what to expect.  We shared some stories together on the trail and I enjoyed getting to know him better as we made our way through the dark Alabama night.  It was during this time that Sean taught me the art of running uphill when you are fatigued.  I couldn't believe how easy he made it feel and it was working so well.  I took another nasty fall through here, but no real damage was done.  Before I knew it he had me at mile 68 where Weezy and Victor were waiting for me again.

My mental capacity was gone as we ran into mile 68 around 11 PM.  I was fading in and out of reality.  It was a stupor of ultra running that I would learn to embrace for the next 32 miles.  You either embrace it and go further into the Abyss or you quit and go home.

I told Weezy that I was in a bad mental spot and he hooked me up with a 5 Hr. energy.  This made my mind speed up in a weird kind of way.  It felt better, but I still could not really focus on what was happening around me.  I think I walked up and took some lip balm out of a ladies hand at this aid station, used it, then handed it back to her.  Wooops.

We were now heading up the beast of trail known as "The Pinnacle".  If you look at the profile map above, the picture just doesn't do this climb justice.  It felt at least 10 times worse than the climb up to Bald Rock.  Weezy was asking me about all kinds of stuff.  What year I bought my car?  Where I went to college?  Anything to try and bring me back to reality.  We climbed and climbed.  I wanted to tell him how bad I was feeling but I was afraid to talk about it.  It felt like letting it out of my mouth may allow it to over take me.

I knew that quitting and getting into that warm vehicle would feel 100 times worse than suffering and continuing to battle this climb.  I called it out before the race, "If I don't finish Pinhoti, I'm never running another ultra."  Keep moving.

Up and up and it got colder and the wind gust grew the higher we went.  Before long the wind was completely howling and I was shivering.  It began to sound like I was being swept below an ocean of cold trees trying to reach down and sweep me off the mountain.  I was scared.  Scared of quitting and having to face this struggle for now what was 26 more miles.  If Wayne wasn't there I may have dropped at The Pinnacle aid station - mile 75. 

We finally reach the aid station after 10-15 steep switchbacks.  I see Aaron from GUTS standing beside the tent and I just smile at him, didn't really know how to communicate with a human at that point.  Camera flashes go off and I don't even really know where I am.

Weezy sat me down beside the fire for a minute and Kim from GUTS came and sat with us.  It was nice to see a friend, but I couldn't say anything to her either.  The aid station was cooking up hot egg & cheese sandwiches despite the high winds.  I ate one, maybe two, maybe three.  Not sure, but I grabbed a whole bag of sour gummy worms and ate them too.  Then got a hand full of cookies, chips, and M&Ms and choked them down.  WHAM!  Instant energy & drive came back into my body.  I remember saying "Thank you Lord." when that good feeling came on.

Weezy filled up my water and grabbed me some Gels for the trail and we were back into the night.  This is where our friendship really shines.  I totally trust the little guy to get me through this.  Victor has flown in from Florida, Sean has taken this weekend off for me, and Wayne left his warm house to help me get up and over this mountain to get that buckle.  Weezy never lied to me - he told me exactly what was coming next, even if it wasn't good.  I don't like any more surprises out here than I have to endure.  The warm food and calories lasted a few miles and my mind began to quickly wash away again.

We had 10 very dark and cold miles to run before getting off the trail and into the final 15 miles of fire roads that would lead us into the finish.  Weezy said that we will break this section up into two 5 milers so it is more manageable.  It worked, but this section took FOREVER to get through.  There were loose rocks and tricky footing around every turn.  The wind would howl and I would transition from sweating to shivering every few minutes.  I was scared again and I prayed for strength.  Lord, please keep us on the trail.  Give me strength.

At one point through here we saw a runner tucked under a rock.  I think he may have been crying.  Wayne checked on him and he told me not to look at him and keep moving.  My mind had become a complete bowl of mush.  The only thought I could focus on was one foot in front of the other.  Everything was numb and I didn't really mind it at this point.

I hit my lowest mental point around mile 84 just before we exited the trail at Bull Gap where Sean would begin pacing me the final 15 miles.  I slowed to a crawl and just couldn't focus.  I was sick of the trail, roots, and especially the rocks.  About seven runners past us through here, but I just kept moving forward.

We finally pop out at mile 85 aid station just as the sun is coming up.  Never has the sun looked so good.  Before I know it Victor has me sitting down and is taking my shoes off.  I have had the same Asics Gel road shoes on for the past 85 miles along with my Injinji toe socks.  I have 4-5 blisters that have formed / popped then re-formed during the course of this struggle.  Victor starts lancing them and it felt great to have that pressure relieved.  I asked for my Asics trail runners for the remainder of the gravel fire roads.  Various people were running around the aid station doing things for me as I sat there.  Victor finally asked how long I had been there and someone said 10 minutes.  I literally felt like it had been about 30 seconds.  Once again, Victor has me up and running down the road with Sean towards mile 86.  Sean looks back and me and says, "these final 15 miles are gonna hurt, get ready."

I thought he was going to kill me.  SERIOUSLY.  Sean explained that we were going to start running some of these hills.  He told me that I was a trained up 100 mile runner and had no excuse not to run.  So he began the torment:

"Run 30 seconds, then we will walk 10 seconds."
"Run to that limb overhanging the road, then walk to the plastic bag in the road."

"Run down this entire hill, it's too runnable and we are passing people now."

"You're a zombie killer Sully, look we are about to pass another one, look at him wobbling all over the road."

"Run 45 seconds then walk for 30."

"I'm not going to hurt you, just do it."

This became my world for the next two hours.  I tried to think about other things, anything other than running.  These fire roads were so boring and there were killing me.  We would go around one hill, just to find the exact same one waiting after it.

We finally came to the final aid station at mile 95.  The sign on it said 5 miles to go, but I didn't believe it.  I figured we had about nine and I began to get mad, but it made me run harder.  Sean saw some of our running friends Kena and Perry ahead and he encouraged me that we would catch them if we kept running at least some of the hills.  I just kept doing what he asked of me.

We finally went off the fire roads around mile 97 onto this weird earthen dam across a reservoir.  I remember Sean saying that it would be a perfect picture and I took a mental one of it.  Problem is, now I can't get it developed.

Sean saw some more of our friends Tony and Tatyana ahead of us and he pushed me to try and catch them as Kena and Perry had already went around them.  He told me that if I ran hard I could break 28 hours.  I didn't believe him, thinking we still had at least 8 miles to go.

I began to feel myself stagger from side to side.  It was getting tougher to run in a straight line.  Sean expected all running for this final 3 mile stretch and I gave it all that I had.  We finally exited the forest and were on the blacktop road heading into the stadium!

My eyes began to swell up with tears because I knew that it was coming to an end.  A sick, dark part of me wanted it to keep going.  To keep the fight alive.  To see how far I really could go.  The other 99.99999% of me wanted to finish.  To get that buckle and lay down on that sweet track in Alabama.  To hold it in my hand and know that I had finally earned it.  A year had gone by so quickly.  Miles and miles of training runs at 4:00 AM.  Sprinting around a track with my lungs burning.  Sit ups burning my core.

I had to snap back to reality.  I was now on a residential road heading into town with some traffic.  Cars were passing and cheering me on.  Sean continued in front of me urging me to keep moving faster as I shuffled along.  I tried to start running fast and I threw up on myself a little bit.  It didn't matter.

Weezy and Victor drove up beside us and cheered me on pushing me to finish.  One of the town locals yelled out, "honey, you look like you need some advil.".   Just smiled and kept going.  Was she even really there?

Sean ran ahead as we crossed some railroad tracks and there it was!  I was at 100 miles with about .60 to go!  I wanted to cry but my body couldn't do it.  I was in total bliss.

We entered the back of the stadium before the track and Sean jumped on one of the football tackling sleds and told me to hit it!  I thought he was joking, but he insisted.  I ran into it and it nearly flung me all the way back to the start line!  We both laughed as he led me into the stadium.

There it was.  I was about to shove the sword into the beast that had haunted me all year.

Yelling out a big WOOOOOOHOOOOO!!!!

Getting that buckle from race director Todd Henderson at the finish!

And that is how I made it right at Pinhoti in 2011.

Special thanks to Todd Henderson and all of his race volunteers.  Also to GUTS and the many members who helped me achieve my goal.  Photo credits to:  Amanda, Kim, Sean, Psyche, and probably some others.

I had a world class crew and will be forever grateful for their hard work to get me across the finish line.

Running Mad

I've never really gotten fired up about running.  For the past three years I've been a fairly mellow fellow.  Sure, I've gotten very excited about races and training runs, but never fired up like I used to do when I played football.


I've approached running ultras as a hobby.  A mere way to help control my weight and overall health.  It's been a great way to spend some time in nature and relax while still pushing my body a little farther than it ever has been before.


Sure it hurts, but it's mostly a good hurt.  A hurt of accomplishment and the satisfaction of completing something difficult.  The need arises from having a compulsive personality.  Every ultra runner that I've ever met does, at least to some degree or another.


I've made it known to the masses that I'm running The Pinhoti 100 Mile Race again this year.  As a matter of fact, in about thirty short days from now I will toe the line with about 100 other runners.  This will be the toughest physical challenge of my life - simply to finish 100 miles under the 30 hour cutoff.


Lots of runners hope to finish a marathon (which is 26 miles) at some point in their lifetime.  A very admirable goal and I'm certainly not belittling it.  I just want to use it below as a comparison to what me and the others are up against.  As a matter of fact, most marathon runners will run their 26 mile race 2-3 hours faster than I will run mine at Pinhoti.  I would argue that a hard marathon could be harder than running/walking 100 miles.  It's just two very different approaches to the sport.


I hope to run my first marathon in the gnarly mountains of Alabama in 6 hours. (26 Miles)
Then run another marathon in 7 more hours. (52 Miles and 13 Hours)
Then run a 3rd marathon in 8 more hours.(78 Miles and 21 Hours)
Then run a 4th shortened marathon of 22 Miles in 9 more hours. (100 Miles in 30 Hours).


I DNF'd last year at Pinhoti (Did Not Finish).  After missing a turn on the trail and going off course for several miles I fell behind the cutoff times and was forced to drop from the race around mile 30.  I was having a horrible day leading up to this and I would have had to overcome some great odds to finish even if I hadn't screwed up.


Here is the part that has me running mad.  I hear the whispers from the shadows of other runners and friends:


"He's not a 100 mile runner"
"He dropped last year, he won't finish this year"
"He's too slow, he will never keep ahead of the cutoffs"
"He's just too big of a guy to run a tough 100 miler, he won't finish"
"When he drops, I hope to use his crew team for my run to help me finish"


I know we shouldn't care what other people say, but lets face it, we do.  It has me fired up to run this race too.


The truth is that some people don't want to see you do well.  They secretly hope that I DNF again or don't reach my goals.  I'm not talking about racing against each other, I'm talking about the type of person who just plain out wants to see you fail.  Those folks have me running mad going into Pinhoti.  I'm going to run my own race for sure, but I will use their comments to fuel my body when I feel like quitting.  My body will be taken off in a stretcher before I drop at that race.


I'm a big guy, especially in the ultra running world.  At 6'2 250 lbs. I double the size of several runners (even males).  I've even been asked what aid station that I'm working at several times before a race that I was running in.  It's funny and eye-opening at the same time.   I realize that this causes people to speak out about me a little more.  That's fair.


I'm struggling with weight loss.  I haven't found the will power to drop these final 50 lbs., but I will.  I've shared that struggle over and over again.  Its frustrating and I'm just being real here.


With that being said don't count the big guy out of Pinhoti this year.  I've paid my dues over the past six months.  Several 100K+ runs, 50Ks, long training runs, back to back runs, speed workouts, squats, push ups, sit ups, lunges, and other treacherous feats of fun.


As a final note before I run the race.  If I don't finish Pinhoti, then I will NEVER run another ultra marathon again.  I'm laying it all on the line for this one and I mean it from the bottom of my heart.  Sure it sounds sort of childish, but its that attitude that will push me over the finish line.

62 Miles At Woods Ferry 24 Hour Race

* I lost my full race report when blogger.com crashed on me so this is a much shorter version *


Terri Hayes put on her 2nd running of the Woods Ferry 24 Hour race in Chester, South Carolina on the first weekend of September 2011.


It was great to see old and new running buddies.  A few of which completed their first ultra distance.  I would also like to give a big congratulations to Angela Ivory who finished her 300th ultra at Woods Ferry!  I see myself as more of a volume runner than a speed racer so I have great admiration for her hitting this goal.  If you have a little time read around her blog and you will be even more impressed. 


I wanted to finish this one with the highest mileage of any runner.  There, I said it.  That meant circling the 7.75 mile loop more times than anyone else.  I gave it a solid effort, but not 100%.  I've had the opportunity to be coached by a well accomplished runner, Janice Anderson, and I didn't want to totally trash myself heading into her first week of training.


The run began promptly at 4:00 PM on Saturday evening.  Man, was it hot!  94 degrees with 85% humidity.  I was sweating just standing around waiting for the race to begin.


I practically walked the entire first loop with Jason Rogers, Steinberg, Bo, Greta, and a few other friends.  My goal was to average 2 hours per loop for 24 hours putting me at 93 miles at the end of the event.


I hit the first three loops at that pace, but things got ugly quickly at night.  The trail had a good bit of undergrowth close to the ground and it made running very tricky in several stretches.  Every runner had to face this challenge so it was fair.  Hard, but fair.


I drank an ice cold Ensure after each loop from the very beginning.  I cannot stress how good these drinks treat me during long runs.  Mix in a few Starbucks Double Shots, Red Bull, and 5 hr. energies and its game on!


Pizza was delivered in around 10:00 PM and runners enjoyed munching on that.  I was surprised to see the course go very quiet during the night.  Several runners were planning to return at first light and run hard during the day on Sunday.  I'm not fast enough to do that, plus I like being out on the trail for the full 24 hours.


I took a catnap around midnight for 30 minutes in the car which did me a world of good.  As I headed out on loop five I ran my fastest split in 1:58.


The sixth loop found me taking another 10 minute nap in the middle of the trail as the sun was coming up.  A few runners nudged me to see if I was alive as they passed by.  I think I may bring a "Do Not Disturb" sign next time.


It seemed like there were maybe 2-3 runners in front of me as we headed into the final six hour stretch.  I was feeling solid on my seventh loop and I hit a good time around 2:05.


Unfortunately, the temps had crept back up into the high 80's again and I started to fade badly.  I tried to take short rest breaks in hopes of catching some wind back in my sail for a final surge, but it never came.  Instead of pushing myself I just cruised and was able to get one more lap it which made my eighth and final one for the race.


I was very satisfied with 100K (62 miles), but I would be lying if I said I didn't want more.  Looking back today, I'm glad that I made the decision to take it easy because I'm having a solid training week.


A very special thanks goes out to Terri Hayes for doing this race.  She worked the event herself and spent the majority of the night cooking and putting things out for runners.  Dan Hartley and a few others were also key in supporting a 2nd aid station half way around the loop.  Thank you!


If you are looking for a challenging loop to run for 24 hours then give this one a shot.  It's not the traditional 24 hour event setup with a fast/flat easy course, but you won't be bored either.


I'm looking forward to running the FATS 50K in North Augusta as the final race of the SC Ultra Trail Series for 2011. 

12 More Training Weeks Until Pinhoti 100

Life happens and plans get altered.  Runners adjust and deal with it.

The past nine weeks of training were not ideal, but I'm feeling ambitious about this final phase heading into Pinhoti 100.

Past nine weeks mileage totals:
Week 9:   58
Week 10: 100 
Week 11: 45
Week 12: 61
Week 13: 51
Week 14:  0  Surgery
Week 15:  0  Surgery
Week 16:  28
Week 17:  50

Overall I'm averaging about 47 miles / week for the past four months.  Here is what my remaining 12 weeks look like:

Week 18:  65
Week 19:  31  Pirate's 23 Mile Birthday Run Croft State Park
Week 20:  100+   Woods Ferry 24 Hour Race
Week 21:  40
Week 22:  75
Week 23:  100+  Hinson Lake 24 Hour Race
Week 24:  50  FATS 50K
Week 25:  95
Week 26:  75
Week 27:  40
Week 28:  25
Week 29:  112  Pinhoti 100 Race

If I can pull off these runs over the next 12 weeks that will move my average up to about 56 miles per week heading into Pinhoti.  Just where I wanted to be.  I'm looking forward to some great fall running!

Laurel Valley 2011 35 Mile Race Adventure

I've ran the Laurel Valley course seven times & raced it three.  EVERY time its an adventure.

This time would be no different.

I was scared going into this race.  I don't mean that in a superficial way either.  I mean I was literally scared.  You see Laurel Valley really only has one entry and exit between its 35+ mile stretch so you better be ready to run it.

After being sidelined for running during the past three weeks I was unsure of where my training would leave me.  I dreamed of wild wolves circling around me in the dark wilderness two nights before.  My mind was trying to back down.  It knew the agony and torment that stood waiting out there.

I wouldn't listen so I packed up my bags and went to run.  Actually I went to RACE.  My philosophy was plain and simple.  Go hard early & often.  Rest briefly as I refilled water bottles, but other than that keep going hard all day long.

A little pre-race stuff first -

I met up with C$ and the Weez at Upper Whitewater Falls (The race finish) to leave my car on Friday evening.  We jumped in Weezy's Mazda and met up with some other runners at The Rock Bar & Grill near Table Rock.  I felt a strange bond with each runner as we shared stories over trout & steak.  These folks love to run and obviously love to suffer too.  It's strange I know, but that's just how it is.  The greater the struggle, the greater the reward.

It was great to see the RD - Claude Sinclair show up on the scene as a lean & mean running machine.  Seriously, the man has lost a LOT of weight and it back running again.  That was encouraging to all of us.  It's inspiring to see someone doing well for himself.  Over sixty and sill fighting the fight!

We headed back to the hotel in Easley around 9:00 PM and I was in bed by 10:00.  I slept good - no wolf dreams.

The three of us were up and rolling up to Laurel Valley in the Mazda around 4:45 AM Saturday morning.  It takes about 40 minutes to drive from there for future reference.  Oh, and we stayed at the Jameson Inn.

I was not nervous at all for this race.  I think knowing that I have everything that I need on me for the run takes a lot of the anxiety away.  I knew exactly what was waiting.  I was ready to go get it!

Claude started us off promptly at 6:00 AM and I started near the back of the pack.  The first 1-2 miles in is generally uphill and we all went at it briskly with our lights on.

It felt great to be back in the Valley!  The sun began to rise around mile four and I knew it was time to start running harder.   Weezy, Tom, Doom, Mark and a few others were just ahead of me.  My plan was to keep them within hearing distance and slowly pick any weak ones off one by one.  Kinda like a wolf, huh?

We ran the downhills to lake Jocassee fairly hard.  I felt rested, but could tell that my ankles were not used to the tricky terrain that this trail was offering.  I was planning to pick off at least one weak runner on a big climb after the lake called Heartbreak Ridge.

I actually ran by the group ahead of me as they were all filling up water bottles in a creek.  I yelled "lets go" and before I knew it they were all hustling back in front of me as I had to stop and fill my bottles.

It was now time for Heatbreak ridge which is incredible.  It throws about 7 flights of stairs at you that go straight up a mountain beside the lake.  It is gorgeous and sickening at the same time.  As I began to hit the steps I could see the rest of the runners about three flights ahead of me climbing over the first false summit.  I was telling myself to stay steady and I would catch them.  Never did.

I handled this climb better than I ever have before and felt pretty good at the top.  You have to go down a nearly identical pitch on the other side which will get your quads burning in a hurry.  I could hear the pack ahead as I worked my way down.  They were all still moving well.

I reached down into my new waist pack to grab a gel and suddenly realized that all but a few were gone!  The zipper had worked it's way open and I had lost 95% of my food for the rest of the run!  With 25 miles to go in Laurel Valley, this is NOT what you want to have happen.  You really can't panic because everything "is what it is" out there.  There is not a road to bail out on, no cell phone service, and mommy can't come and help you. 

I quickly developed a looter / beggar plan.  IF I could catch enough runners and ask them for just a little food I would be OK.  I still had a few gels and some chews, but not near enough food to fuel me as I was trying to race the remaining miles ahead.

Crazy thing happened right after all of this.  I crossed over Toxaway River and there stands Scott H.  He has a mini aid station laid out of the ground with gels, powerbars, gummies, etc.  I asked him if I could take several items and he was happy for me to do so.  Scott seriously saved my race and I'm grateful for him being there.  Not sure how he got there, but he was there.

For the next few miles I thought about Ravens.  Ravens are friends of the wolf.  As a matter of fact they are often seen flying around the their territory.  A wolf will never eat a raven because they have feathers and sometimes they will play together.  Wolves will often look for food below a raven and a raven will often feed on a animal that a wolf has killed.

It was kinda cool to picture myself as the wolf and Scott as a raven.

So now I have some food and some seriously nasty trail ahead for the next 23 miles.  I totally lost sight of the group ahead, but did pass a few runners here and there.

I was running hard and in fear.  I was afraid that my lack of training over the past weeks would lead to a 100% collapse of endurance.  What if I suddenly just went down and couldn't even walk?  What if I had to walk the rest of the course and was out here all night?  I decided to put the MP3 player to work and it helped to silence the doubters in my head.

Fast forward 10 more miles and many many more climbs and descents.  The run is catching up to me in a big way now.  My legs feel blasted.  I've developed a weird rash under my left arm.  The new waist pack has begun chafing my side and I just took a nasty plunge into a tree.  I heard a crack, but I'm convince it was the tree and not my ribs.

There they are at the bottom of the ridge!  At least two of them maybe more.  This was a race for me and I had every intention of passing as many runners a possible.  More importantly I wanted to shatter my best race time on this course of 10:51.

I didn't want to run anymore, but I forced myself to push down the hills and stay steady on the flats.  The uphills reduced me to nearly a crawl as my quads were burning on fire.

I caught Tom and we went back and forth for miles.  Tom is a tough guy.  He was having a "off" day but refused to throw in the towel and walk.  I fed off of his tenacity.  The more we ran, the quicker we could rest.  Just try to keep running.

My food was starting to run very low again around the 28 mile mark.  I started to ration what I have out for the end of the run, but I knew that I would crash & burn without enough calories to support running. 

Wolves protect themselves in packs.  This is when I met up with Susan D.  She was having a solid run and seemed to be full of energy.  At this point I was just not in the mood for much conversation so I let her do the talking and I tried to contribute the best I could.  She offered me two GU gels and they definitely helped put some life back into my legs.

Susan was looking out for runners.  I would always hear her ask anyone we passed if they were doing OK, not just casually, but she really wanted to know.  It meant a lot to know that someone out in this maddening jungle cared.

I made my way down to Thompson River which marked mile 28 of the run.  About a 10K to go after that.  At this point I was thinking that I may have to walk the rest of the way in.  I had two small sips of gel left and that just would not get me to the finish if I was going to push hard.

What do you know?  There sits J-Stien out on the rocks!  He has a can of Mountain Dew and I yelled ahead to Tom.  He came back the the three of us shared the can together.  It was great!  What made it even better?  He pulled out of second can!  The three of us slammed it down quickly and I could instantly feel the sugar and caffeine kick in.  My trudge turned into a brisk hike, which then turned back into some running.

We ran hard down to the final stretch - Whitewater River.  The final three miles are just ridiculously technical with about 1,400 feet of elevation gain.  I was feeling better and had every intention of charging this final stretch.  As we made our way up the river, the rain began to fall.  The temps must have dropped at least 15 degrees as the bottom fell out.  It was raining so hard that I was drinking the rain water.  Delicious.

I was gonna catch Weezy on the final half mile climb!  I could see him several switchbacks above me as I hurried up in pursuit.  I gave it every ounce of energy that I had.  I was red lining and right on the verge of a monster cramp in my lower body.  I would only back off just enough to keep from locking up.

I pushed and pushed up higher and higher.  Passing three runners on this stretch, but still no Weezy.

I was so happy to see the top of the trail head that I didn't care about catching him or not.  I glanced down at my watch and saw that I four minutes to make it in under 9:15!  Unreal!

The last runner I caught was Mark C. at the very top of the observation deck before the last 200 yards of pavement leading to the finish line.  We smiled as we ran into the finish together.  Both hurting, but that was masked by the joy of finishing.

Weezy was waiting for me with Christian at the finish.  He had beat me in by about a minute and a half.  The hunt was over, the race was over.  It was time to celebrate a new personal record of finishing the 35 mile Laurel Valley course in 9:13!  That would be an hour and 34 minutes faster than my prior best race.

Weezy also PR'd with a 9:11!

I would also like to throw a shout out to Jon Allen who won the race in a staggering 6:05!  Simply unreal for your first Laurel Valley race. 

This is a race that I hope to run for years to come and will always have a special place with me.  If you ever want to see ultra running in it's purest form, come up and be a part of this one.

"Rest" Report - Sitches Are out - Ready to RUN!

"Life Happens."

"God's ways are not man's ways."

"Everything happens for a reason."

These are familiar quotes and we've all heard them forever.  They are all reminders that running is a privilege.  A privelege that some don't have and one that I should be more thankful for.

I ran my fastest 50K time ever at Landsford Canal on July 16th.  On July 18th I had a 5 X 3 inch section of my back cut out and mailed off to be biopsied for cancer.  Wow, what a difference 48 hours can make?

To make a long story short I had my annual skin screening at the dermatologist and he removed two areas to be biopsied.  He assured me that they looked fine and he was required to send them into the lab.  He simply zapped these two little spots off of me, stuck on a band-aid and told me to resume life as normal.

Great - I was out running that evening.  No problems at all and I felt fine.

A few days later I get a call from the doctor stating that a larger sample of skin would be required for lab examination and that I needed to come back in immediately.  One of the moles had a strange shape.

Well, I just thought that this would be another little simple "freeze-a-mole" session and I would be on my merry way again in a matter of minutes.

WRONG!

The doctor came in with his scrubs on along with three nurses explaining that he was going to remove a large section of my skin near my left shoulder blade.  He explained that it would take 45 minutes to complete the removal and that it was time to do it now.

Dang, that was 45 minutes of torture!  I could feel, smell and hear the skin being cut from my back.  The nurses also had this little thing that would burn capillaries shut to keep them from bleeding.  That should be used on terrorist worldwide.

I'm a wimp.

When it was finished the Doc told me no running or any physical activity for a month.  Yea, a month.  I immediately laughed to myself and couldn't wait to show him how wrong he was. 

He was pretty much right.

It's been 15 days with NO running.  Well almost none.  I did go out on day three and run.  I nearly pulled all of the stitches out after trying to run for two minutes.  I retreated back to the car and sulked.  Actually, I threw some water bottles around got ill.  It just didn't seem right. 

So of course this sent me into the dreaded abyss of no running - no exercise at all.  It made me angry so I just threw my hands up and quit trying.

Then I started eating everything in sight.

You can see where this is going.

A few days later the nurse called and said I had a clean report with no problems!  YES! 

I went out and tried to run again.  Yes, more blood running down my back after a few minutes.

More stupidity.

Once again, I retreated back to the car.  Threw some more stuff around and whined for a while. 

So finally I was able to get all of the sutures out on Monday.  The nurse told me not to run for a week so you know what I did, right?    :]

I went an ran a mile.  It hurt a little bit, but no blood came out.  So I ran 4.5 yesterday and I will run 6 today.  Doc said not to run for another week, but as long as I feel good and don't have blood its on.

The Laurel Valley 35 miler is in 10 days and I don't have time to sit around eating King Dongs wondering what I'm gonna do.

I'm 15 lbs. heavier and a little out of running shape, but I'm healthy.  I'm learning to be more thankful for that.  Much more thankful.

I'm rested too.

I'm running LV this year as a tribute to those living with cancer.  Everyday they get up and face it.  God gives them the strength to continue on and they just do it.

Climbing those hot & humid mountains will be a celebration of life and running for me this year.

Thankful to be out there with so many great friends and often sending up prayers for those who aren't able to do so.

My sub 9:00 hour goal is not nearly as important as it was two weeks ago. 

Running it is enough.

Photo Credit: Jim Bickelhaupt

I ran this race in the summer of 2009. It was my 3rd ultra and I swore that I would never run it again. Before I go any further please understand that Claude Sinclair (RD) does a great job with this event - I highly recommend it IF you like road running. If you know me, then you know that I don't really care for it. I'm a trail junkie - cant help it.

Speaking of the race itself. Its a 50K measured out to the inch. You run a short out-n-back in the beginning and then complete 7 loops that are about 4.25 miles each. 1.4 miles of each loop is on a very groomed & flat trail beside the catawba river. So this gives you a total of 9.8 miles of trail and 21.3 miles of road. I would call this a road ultra. Maybe a hybrid by some standards...

With that being said, the goal of the day was not another multi-hour trail race with tough climbs and gnarly trails. The goal was to finally run a 50K under six hours.

Spoiler: I did it! Here is how it went down:

I had absolutely no plan going into the race. I just wanted to run faster and harder than I ever had before. I've made some improvements in my running over the past three months, but had yet to really "race" and see what kind of run I could put together.

After running close to 40 ultra marathons, I've learned that 50Ks are not my strong suit. I do better on 50+ mile races where endurance becomes more of a factor than speed. Either way, I still felt that a 5:59 50K (or better) was in my grasp and it was just one of those little goals that eats at you.

I've often thought about my first 50K ultra race in Virginia Beach during the giant Nor'easter of 2009. I sprinted to the finish line only to find myself 12 seconds shy of my goals at 6:00:12! That was a good race for me in those conditions, but it stung to miss my goal by only 13 seconds...

So Saturday morning rolled around and I found myself lined up with about 40 other runners beside the beautiful Catawba River in Lancaster, SC. Claude fired his cannon of a rifle at 7:00 AM and we were off and running!

The first little out-n-back on the course is uphill. I would normally ALWAYS walk the uphills during an ultra, but not today! CHARGE that baby! It felt very weird starting out with a 10:00 mile/mile pace. I ran even harder coming back down the hill to finish the little out-n-back before the seven loops began.

Greta and I were running together and catching up on the latest running news. I thought it was smart to stick with her since she has had a lot of road running experience. I felt like we were flying, but there were still several runners going much faster.

We finished the first loop in about 42 minutes, quickly filled our bottles up and headed back out for loop 2 of 7.

We charged the hill again without any problem. I was feeling on top of my game and I had a good feeling that today would be sub 6 day. Wow, still a LOT of running to do though.

We both ran loop two together and took a quick pit stop at the aid station. Greta had to grab something from her car and I took back off up the hill for loop 3 of 7.

Once again, I ran the hill hard and got to the top. This is where I met Robert Crosby. Another Laurel Valley runner and we briefly chatted. I passed him and Greta caught back up to me - she asked me if I realized that I was running a 8:40 min/mile pace?! Woooooaaa! I couldn't believe that!

I decided to slow back a little bit and at least stay around a 10 min/mile pace. I needed to maintain a 11:30 min/mile pace to finish under 6 hours. Seemed simple enough at the time.

I chatted with several other friends during this stretch and ran the 1.4 mile trail section with no problem for the third time.  I was drinking my full 20 oz water bottle on each 4.25 mile loop and downing two full cups of Gatorade at the aid station each time. I followed that with a hand full of aid station food and one SCap.

Things got tougher on loop 4/7. I ran half of the hill, but had to walk some of the 2nd half. My quads were beginning to burn and I could feel the previous 18 miles that I had just ran. I kept thinking only 13 miles to go - keep running - don't worry about the clock - keep running.

After the hill I ran the rest of the loop and felt horrible as I came into the aid station. My stomach was feeling weird and I wanted to walk. I grabbed a few ginger cookies and sipped some Coke. I walked for about thirty seconds and started feeling sorry for myself.

"your're just not a fast runner"
"you don't really have what it takes to get under 6 hours"
"this should just be a training run, why push it?"
"you're still gonna finish with a good time if you walk"

SHUT UP little voices!

I put those voices to rest with some running into loop 5 of 7. It was becoming a struggle to maintain any type of decent pace. Even on the flat areas.

At this point I was tyring my best to keep Robert in sight. I had told him that I was trying to break six hours and he agreed that we should both be able to do it. I felt that keeping him in my sights would increase my chances.

The leaders of the race had just lapped me twice and it sent me into a complete tailspin. How can they run so fast while I'm struggling so much? Just look how effortlessly they are running! It made me jealous and then mad. My pace would increase and then I would fall back to a walk.

Around mile 24 I decided that I would never be able to break six hours today. I'm too tired and hurting too bad. I began thinking back to running the rugged 35 mile Laurel Valley course backwards last Friday night. My legs felt like two iron anchors attached to my waist.

Forget the PR of sub 6, I just want to finish and get off this road!

I walked for a few minutes and began to think....you know I got up at 3:30 AM this morning then drove over an hour for a chance to break my record. I'm currently on pace to break it, but I'm gonna have to run in order to do it.

Man I don't wanna run right now, but I think I want the personal record more than my legs are hurting me!

By this time Robert had gotten about a half mile ahead of me and I ran hard to catch him. I got him in my sights and had to walk for a bit to let my legs rest.

I ran into the aid station with two laps to go which was roughly 8.5 miles. I had one hour and 58 minutes to run it. I didn't even try to do the math, I just ran the 7th loop as hard as I could go. Yep, I had to walk the entire hill, but I walked it fast. As soon as I hit the flat areas I broke into a run.

I put my MP3 player to work with some nice tunes to help me zone out. My legs were absolute toast. Every step was tough, but I knew that each one would get me closer to my record.

At this point I had caught up to Robert as we were about to finish the 7th loop. He was spent too, but still able to run fairly well. I told him that I planned on following him for this final lap because I knew that he would run it well. We both got in and out of the aid station quickly. I looked at my watch and I had 63 minutes to beat my best 50K time. 4.5 miles in 63 minutes? I'VE GOT THIS!

We ran the entire hill this time. It was a slooooow run, but we managed it fairly well. My legs were burning like a fire as I crested the hill to the flat road.

Keep Running!
Keep Running!
No Walking!
Keep Running!

I ran down to the trail entrance off the road with 1.4 miles to go. I looked at my watch and it read 5:33. I had 27 minutes to cover 1.4 miles. I could have walked that if I wanted to! This made me feel even better.

The closer we got to the finish, the faster we ran. The trail finally opened up onto a concrete walkway that lead into the finish area and we were in a full sprint.

Claude read out my time as I finished - 5:48! Whooohoooo!!!!

It felt excellent and horrible to break six hours. I was very proud of myself, but my body was completely shot. It was all that I could do to drag myself up to the car, change clothes, and plop down into my car for the drive home.

Of course I'm excited to have finally reached this goal. Now I'm wondering if I can run a 5:30?!

On a side note, I haven't been able to run for five days since the race. I've had a 5X3 inch area of my back cut for biopsy and I currently have a heap of stitches in it. I'm taking advantage of this time to rest for a week or so with no running. I've been training very hard for the past three months and rather than get depressed over this "unplanned" rest, I'm going to use it to my advantage and be ready to start another tough training segment soon.

Thanks again to race director Claude Sinclair and all the volunteers for putting on the Landsford Canal 50K! I will always remember it....

"Reverse" "Easy" Laurel Valley Night Run

I get excited about some ultras and then there is Laurel Valley.  I'm not quiet sure what it is about this 33+ mile stretch of trail, but it always calls me back for more.  Then when I'm about 20 miles into it I swear it off forever.  Then I'm back a few months later and the cycle continues.

I had thoughts of doing a 26 miler (In-Out) over the weekend, then Weezy talks some of us into doing Laurel Valley at night.  Oh yeah, and backwards.  I knew I was on board with him as soon as he mentioned it and before long I was standing in front of the sign with my gear on ready to go!

Christian, Lester, Weezy, and I were the runners this time.  Our plan was to run from the gravel parking lot at Whitewater Falls all night and finish at the Laurel Valley parking lot as sunrise.

We were off and running the technical / downhill stretch to Bad Creek at 8:30 PM sharp.  I felt that we could make it through this first four mile stretch in the final hour of daylight and we did.

We were all covered with humidity & fog within three minutes of running.  I've never felt the air this soupy in the mountains.   At times visibility was reduced to 3 feet during the night due to fog and moisture.  I even had to hold my headlamp down to the ground to see through some of the valleys.

The first 6 miles heading towards Thompson River went by quick.  It was hard to believe how easy this run was, when this is normally the "beat down" spot coming from the other direction.

I was shocked when we made it to Horse Pasture River in 2:57!  It has taken me 4-5 hours to cover this section going the opposite direction.  Ok, so 2:57 for 11.7 miles is not very fast, but these are FHT miles at night.

I was running behind Weezy just after Horsepasture when he missed a 3 foot long Copper Head by about 1 inch.  I watched it quickly slither away into the ferns and I don't think he even believed me when I told him what happened.

The first real climb didn't take a toll on any of us up from the river and we were making great time running through Bear Creek.

I enjoyed running this one lighter.  Both physically and with my gear.  I decided to leave my pack at home and carry two handheld bottles with a waistpack.  I was a little nervous trying this for the first time, but I'm really glad I tried it.  It was much cooler and easier to run with.  I must have dumped cold water on my head two dozen times through the night.

The waist pack was always easy to work with and I think it helped me run better.

Christian pulled way ahead through this section and the three of us continued to run well.  We were even able to run some of the slight uphills which felt nice for a change.

I'm thinking that we ran down to the Canebrake Boat Access sign by 1:30 AM.  About five hours into the run.  This marks the halfway point in the run.

We took a 10 minute sit down break here.  As we all turned our headlights off I couldn't believe how dark it was.  Lester was eating a sandwich as Weezy dropped his batteries and light.  They almost landed in the lake, but it didn't matter because it was broken anyway.  Thank goodness that we had a backup light and he was able to use it.

We all new that the trail was about to get very tough.  With the Heartbreak Ridge climb coming and the forest service road heading up from Jocassee.

There were a few quiet campers asleep in their tents as we ran around the perimeter of the lake heading toward the steps.  We had met up with Christian at the Toxaway Bridge as he had gotten off course a few times and wanted to be sure he was back on track.

The steps were not as hard for me going this direction, but they still beat us down.  Then came the access road climb.....

Christian goes way off course here and meets up with a bobcat just off the trail.  He said that it had no intentions of retreating and just kept coming towards him.  He frantically started calling out for the rest of us and we could hear him about a quarter mile up the mountain.  We yelled back for him and he was able to quickly backtrack and get back on course with us. 

This section took the wind out of all of our sails....

I knew that we still had about 11.5 miles to go and that were probably going to get tougher as time went on.

The running gets much easier after you make the climb out of Jocassee.  We were able to put together some decent miles along the fire roads heading to Laurel Falls.  We got there around 4:00 AM and still had 7.7 miles to go. 

Most of these miles would be a gradual uphill with a few steep sets of stairs thrown in for fun.

We were all nearly delirious from sleep deprivation through here.  Christian was running all over the place.  The guy must have ran down about every spur trail that he found.  It's a great time for a tough training run, but after working all week and staying up on Friday these runs become very difficult towards the end.

Christian and Lester moved ahead of Wayne and I as we settled into a quiet rhythm beside Laurel Fork Creek.  This section is so beautiful and lush.  Thousands of ferns and a tropical river flowing right through the middle of it.  You cross about 10-12 bridges through here that wind you through a maze of thick vegetation and small waterfalls.

After getting up at 6:00 AM on Friday morning, working all day, driving two hours to run, running 8 hours, and being awake for 22 hours straight my mind decided to "check out" for a while. 

I began to believe that I was a early settler roaming the mountainsides for gold.  Were there Indians out here looking for me?  Who had the rites to this land?  If I found the gold, how in the world would I even be able to get it out of here?!

It was a LOT to think about when suddenly I saw ***STARS****!

BAM - I ran directly into a downed tree that was hanging at forehead level across the trail.  It knocked me to my knees and back to reality.  I screamed out something and Weezy stopped to look back at me.  He had the look of a deer who just heard a human in the forest. 

I did have a little lump on my head, but not much blood and I was fine.

4.7 miles to go from Virginia Hawkins falls and we just wanted it to be over now.

Laurel Valley always stretches itself out at the end of the run.  It doesen't matter which direction you go.
2 miles = 4 miles.
4 miles = 10 miles.
Plain and simple.

We looked like zombies trying to climb up some more stairs and the trail began to climb.  I shoved a few more shots of gel down in hopes of getting some energy, but it really didn't even do me a bit of good that I could tell.

I was tired of running, sweating, thinking, walking, climbing, eating, and moving.  I just wanted to sit.

I wanted it to be over so badly.  I kept telling myself and Weezy that we were so close to finishing.  Then another turn would come and it just kept going on and on and on and.........

Finally after what seemed like forever we came to the wooden stairs that would take us down to my car in the Laurel Valley Parking lot.  It was excellent to see Christian and Lester there waiting for us with a cooler full of food and drinks.

Weezy and I finished in 10:20 and Christiand and Lester finished around 10:05.  This was one of the best runs that I've ever had.  Yes, it was tough, but that is what we were looking for.

I enjoyed running with these fellas and enjoyed sharing this experience with them.

I've walked away with a lot of confidence going into my 77 mile run on 7/30.

I feel sick to even say it, but..

"Can't wait to run Laurel Valley again!"