2011 – Some goals and reflection…

Goals for 2011 -

Run & Finish The 2011 South Carolina Ultra Trail Series (5 Races)
- 40 Miler (Enoree)
- 50K (Chattooga & FATS)
- 24 Hour Run (Woods Ferry)
- 50+ Miler (Long Cane)

Run 100 Miles (Not sure where or when yet)

Run the 50K distance under 6:00.

Complete the 77 mile Foothills Trail under 36 hours.

Pace / Crew a friend to her first 100 mile finish at Massanutten.

Possibly Pace / Crew for some other runners.

For me, running is about sharing, learning, and growing.  Much of this comes alone in training, but it also happens during group runs or races.  I’m thankful for all of the friends that I’ve made through this sport.  This is by no means a comprehensive list, but some of the highlights that I have pictures for.

Sweeping Laurel Valley & Meeting Weezy & Elson during the battle…

May 2009 – Finishing my first ultra at The Buncombe 34 miler…

Finishing my first 100 miler at Iron Horse in Florida…

Helping my son run 25 miles and finishing the 1.2 to make a marathon!
Racing the final .25 miles of a half marathon against a blonde that I don’t know with my tongue out and beating her!

Running a 50K in a Nor’easter

Summer Foothills Run with the Weezy…

Running two half-marathons with my wife!

Meeting lots of cool families…

Because I get to try and keep up with a man named Mad Dog!

Foothills Trail night runs!

Putting yourself up against 77 mile runs with a 100 degree heat index…

Crewing with my son and friends to help other runners achieve greatness…

100 Mile Belt Buckles – They are hard to get, but worth every step…

Coming up short, but seeing your friends get it done!

Can’t wait to see which photos go here for 2011….

Seashore 50K Quick Race Report

I ran the 2nd annual Seashore 50K in Virginia Beach on 12/18.  This was my 2nd time running the race and as always, it lived up to my expectations. And then some….

When you first think of VA, Beach you think FLAT.  Well, if you ever run this race at Seashore Park you will soon learn that hills have been imported from other various parts of the state!  No major climbs, but rolling hills that add up over 50Ks.  Add 1 inch of packed snow and ice to the trail and it ends up being a winter wonderland of fun.

Seriously, if you are ever in the area on the third weekend in December you should run this race.  It is organized super tight with timing chips, a well marked course, awesome aid stations, what seems to be a 3-1 volunteer/runner ration (with 200+ runners), and a very scenic trail.

I was shooting to PR my 50K time here with a 5:59, but ended up with a solid 6:37.  Not too shabby for me considering the slick conditions of the trail.  I pushed as hard as I could go for the entire race and I’m very happy with my time. 

For $80, the RD hooked us up with a nice pullover rain jacket, paper weight, key chain, finisher’s medal, finisher’s hat, free parking, and a post race party!

Great event that I hope to repeat many times…..

On a totally different note I’m going to be forced into taking some time off ultra running.  I’m guessing about 4 months.  I’ve had some issues with high blood pressure during the past few days and I need to focus solely on getting this under control and dropping weight. 

I will still see many of you at some of the winter/spring races as a volunteer.  I’m excited about getting healthier in 2011 and hitting some new PRs in the 2nd half of the year.

30 Miles Completed At Bartram 100 Miler

It’s hard to “run” 100 miles.  I say “run” because most everyone walks more than they run at this distance.  I do anyway.  I finished one hundo at the 2009 Iron Horse in Florida.  I didn’t see that run as being this tough, but I’ve recently been reminded that it really is.

Yep, another DNF (Did not finish) at the Bartram 100 Miler in Milledgeville, GA.  I started vomiting and having other stomach issues around mile 27.  That quickly lead to the “what am I doing here” thoughts and before I knew it, I was back in the car making the lonely four hour drive back home.  Walking / Hobbling another 70 miles just didn’t seem like something I wanted to do.

Could I have stuck around and finished under the 32 hour cutoff?  Maybe, who knows?  I wasn’t willing to find out and it obviously didn’t mean that much to me.  I had never been happier to be leaving a race early.

My previous Pinhoti 100 mile DNF really bothered me, but this one didn’t in the least.  As a matter of fact, I felt better than I had in a long time as far as running goes.

I relate to some Poe writings – this one hits home after Bartram…

A Dream by Edgar Allan Poe

In visions of the dark night 
I have dreamed of joy departed—

But a waking dream of life and light
Hath left me broken-hearted.

I’m burnt out with long ultras.  I’ve ran nearly 30 of them in the last 18 months.  My body & mind are confused and beat down.  I had to get real and face the facts on the drive home over the weekend.  I’ve been battling back and forth with this for a few months now, but it came full circle two days ago after the DNF.

I love the people associated with the runs and the energy around the events, but my mind and body have had enough.  Am I finished running?  Of course not!  However, it is time to change gears and do some different stuff.

Another mental aspect of the long ultras is being away from my wife and kids for entire weekends at a time.  I feel selfish doing this once every 4-6 weeks and I’m not going to do it anymore. 

I can get out and run a 50K or shorter runs in the morning and be home by early afternoon or sooner in most cases.   So going into the future I’m sticking to these type of runs for now.

Will I run more 100 milers, 100Ks , 50 milers?  Of course!  However, they will be special events that I have trained properly for.  Physically & Mentally.

With that being said, I’m super excited about running The Seashore 50K in Virginia Beach, VA this Saturday!  It will be my brother-in-law’s 1st ultra and I have a feeling that he is going to rip it up!  I ran a 6:00:12 last year which was a 50K record for me.  I want to beat that on Saturday.

One last note.  It’s not all about me!  I gotta throw a BIG congratulation out to my running bro. Charles R. for finishing his first 100 miler at Bartram!  GREAT RUN!  Congrats also to Beth M., Kena, Psyche, Lane, Ashley, and several others.  There are lots of incredible folks in this sport including The Georgia Snail himself Thomas who faithfully waited and helped lots of runners finish last weekend.

Hope to see you out there soon……….

Finishing 2010 With A Hundo & 50K...

23 days left in 2010....
Just enough time to try and squeeze in a 100 mile race and then follow it up with a 50K.

I honestly don't know what I've gotten myself into at the Bartram 100 Mile race in Milledgeville, GA this weekend.  A 5.25 mile loop that is to be repeated 19 times.  Seems like a logical way to spend a winter day, right?  And for you number crunchers, yes we will be running an extra quarter of a mile on the first loop to make 100 miles even.

This is just another sadistic way for me to revenge my DNF last month at Pinhoti.  I've actually let that one go for now, but still feel the urge to travel 100 miles on foot while being under the pressure of a clock ticking in the background.

There is no plan or promise for this race.  Just go run & walk.  Just keep it up and enjoy the experience.

Looking forward to running with lots of great friends & meeting some news ones as well.

Report to follow soon...

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.