Fort Clinch 100 / 50 Mile Race

I signed up for this 100 miler on a whim last fall in hopes of running a different type of race.  With roughly 65 miles of trails and 35 miles of pavement, Fort Clinch would provide a beautiful beachfront park to break up the monotony of so many mountain ultras.

The course & event lived up to it's description.  100 milers run 10X10 mile loops and 50 milers run 5X10 mile loops.  The loop is actually 10.4 miles, but the last loop in each event is shortened to equal out the distances.

My wife & I made the five hour drive down to the park on Friday evening and arrived on Saturday morning for the 6:30 AM start.  You could already feel the thick humidity hanging in the air as the ocean air stuck to your skin.  The ocean smelled great, but I knew the heat was only hours away from haunting us all.

It was bright enough for everyone to begin without a headlamp and I choose my normal starting position in the back of the pack.  I walked the first mile to warm up my legs until I slowly begin to work into a little running.

I had read that the course featured rolling single track trails with roots, but I was surprised at how steep some sections were because we were beside the ocean.  Not only this, but they were very twisty with lots of tight turns. 

All of the paved sections were fairly flat and if you were careful you could even choose to run in the dirt on the side of the road.  Not so much on the 1 mile stretch of concrete pier.  You just had to suck it up and get that section finished every loop.  On the plus side you were rewarded with a nice breeze and scenery.   Oh, and a outdoor shower to splash around in!

My favorite area of the course was running around the actual Fort Clinch.  It consisted of about a half mile of sand, but it was so cool to think of all the history that happened in that spot.  The Fort was to the right and ocean to the left.  I had read that it was possible to see wild horses around the area, but unfortunately I never did.  I had made a promise to sit down and enjoy watching them if I did so I REALLY hoped to see at least one.



As the morning went on I was enjoying getting a feel for the course and how to run each loop.  I was averaging about 2:30 for each loop and that remained my goal up until the heat begin to break me down after noon.

I hit the 31 mile mark (50K) in 6:55 and was very surprised by the time.  I was guessing that I would've been closer to 8 hours, but was still happy with how my body was responding so I decided to stay steady on my pace.

Just after this around the 34 mile mark, my left leg begin to lock up on me.  The large tendon on top of my foot that connects to the shin began to keep me from running.  It was only sore to walk with it, but running was out of the question.  I normally don't have much trouble putting little pains out of my head, but I knew that this one would lead to a injury if I kept up on it for potentially 19 more hours.

The blisters & fatigue that I had developed from The Blind Pig 100 two weeks ago also factored into my decision to switch from the 100 miler to the 50 miler at the end of my 4th loop.  As a matter of fact I had decided to just drop from the race completely after the forth loop, but my wife and another runner Dawn talked me into walking one more shorter loop to finish it.  I'm glad they did.

I felt a little stupid throwing myself into a 100 only 13 days after I had just finished another one on very little training.  I'm the kind of person who has to have a new challenge and push my personal limits.  I knew that I had pushed it to the breaking point so I was happy & satisfied to limp around one more loop and get the 50 mile finish.

Dawn & I kept each other entertained on the final loop and it made the time fly by.  We were both thrilled to reach the final mile of our race on the pier!

 

Mile 49.5 on the pier!

 

Enjoying this sunset as the race ended made the entire trip worth it alone!

I'm so glad that I went to this race and was able to finish the 50 miler.  I'll confess that I don't really enjoy running on roads, but this park was so beautiful it made up for it.  Caleb Wilson (RD) and all of the volunteers were super friendly and helpful.  Heck, they even gave out ice bandannas during the heat of the day and tied them around our filthy necks!

I don't feel any upsetting emotions about not finishing the 100 mile race.  I'm content because I personally gave all that I could and made a wise decision to not get injured on purpose.

I may take the entire family back down next year to run again.  The race website calls Fort Clinch a "True Destination Race" and I will absolutely agree with that.  Your family & friends can enjoy Amelia Island while you run until your legs fall off.

Blind Pig 100 Mile Endurance Run

The Blind Pig 100 was amongst South Carolina's 1st one hundred mile ultra marathon races.  Claude Sinclair put one on many years ago, but this has been the most recent as of late.

I helped Angela (Race Director) layout the course for the race which ended up being a 9 mile loop.  100 Mile runners did a half mile out-n-back for 1 mile at the beginning, then completed 11 loops for the 100 mile event.  There was also a 100K option with consisted of seven loops.

Since running 75 miles at The Delirium 24 hour race on 2/8/14, I've averaged about 13 miles per week in my training.  Burnt out, tired, mental, lazy, frustrated, crazy?  Maybe more problems than that, but those are for another blog.

After nine weeks of virtually no ultra training I decided to show up on my home course for this 100 mile challenge.  No crew or pacers -  I wanted to really know how much of a 100 mile event is "mental".  I've heard it said many times that you run the first 50 with your legs and the last 50 miles with your heart.  I planned to put that strategy to the test knowing that a DNF (did not finish) drop would probably sink me deeper into a slump.

As about 50 runners stood at the start line I felt like a gambler in Vegas.  I was pushing all of the chips in for a finish.  I had 32 hours to figure out how to get it done.  It didn't have to be graceful or pretty, just a finish.  Then again, I don't think any of my race finishes have ever been every eloquent.

I walked most of the 1st loop as nearly every runner took off at a fast pace from the start line.  I could see problems for many runners as soon as they started.   The temperatures were going to climb into the mid 80s with high humidity and this certainly wasn't the time in the race to try and gain ground against the clock.

I felt surprisingly strong for the first 50K (31 miles) which was over three loops.  I finished it in about 7 hours and that meant I was on about a 23 hour pace finish.  I realized that I would slow down a lot during the night, but felt lots of confidence with this cushion built in.

There were two aid stations on the loop.  One at the start/finish and another at the 3.8 mile mark on the loop.  I knew nearly everyone who was running the aid stations throughout the race and that was a tremendous boost.  Speaking of the aid stations, they had everything you would've wanted.  Burgers, pizza, homemade cookies, coffee, candy, chips, soda, fruit, bacon, jerky - it was all superb.

I ran a loop with Jonathan F. and Kiley around the halfway point and by 2:00 AM I was so sleepy I couldn't keep my head up.  I was over six hours ahead of the cutoff time so I decided to crawl in the car and get some sleep.  After a nearly three hour nap I woke up alert, but incredibly stiff.  It took me about 5 miles to get limbered up enough to run again.  This put me around the 80 mile mark and I knew with eight hours to finish I would make the final 20 miles.  Even if it nearly killed me.

Beth & the kids were out to help at the aid station around 10 AM and they met up with me at mile 91 before I headed out on the last loop.  I was prepared to face it alone, but since Beth offered to go with me I took her up on it.  We walked the entire loop in 2:30 which is about a 16:30 min/mile pace.  I was nearly at the point of sheer exhaustion and was slurring my words badly.  Luckily, she's seen me like this before so it didn't come as a surprise.

I ended up crossing the finish line in 28:55 which was nearly exactly what I had predicted at the start.  Finishing this race in my hometown of Spartanburg on my own training trails meant a great deal to me and once the word gets out, I believe this race will fill up to capacity next year.  It was really cool to have Angela hand me the finisher's buckle, even if I was reduced to sitting on the ground at that point.

My feet are a little sore from all of the roots today, but other than that I'm not extremely beat up.

I simply tried to take care of my body as much as possible during the first 50 miles and set myself up in decent shape for the 2nd half of the race.  Completing a 100 mile race really does require a lot of mental toughness.  After finishing this one I would agree that you can get one finished on minimal training, but you will enjoy it more if you're in better condition.

Either way I'm thrilled to have been a part of this event and can't wait to do it again next year.

Photo of Kelley (who also finished) and I at the finish.