77 Mile Foothills Trail Finish

I finally finished this run.  It has taken me over three years and three attempts to make it, but I finally did it.  This is going to be a very difficult account to write because it is deeply personal on so many levels.  I write this blog mainly for my two children who I hope one day will understand what their crazy daddy did on these runs.  I think it will help them know me better too as a person and a father. 

There we are on the left.  Mike Riggins (Mad Dog), Me, and Viktor just minutes before starting the run from the Eastern terminus of the Foothills Trail in Table Rock State Park at 6:57 AM.

If you don't know much about the Foothills Trail, here is a brief description from it's website:

"Whether you are looking for a long-distance backpacking trip or an exciting day-hike, the Foothills Trail offers an extraordinary opportunity to explore the Southern Appalachians. About 77 miles in length, the Foothills Trail is located along the Blue Ridge Escarpment in Upstate South Carolina and Western North Carolina.

The landscape is diverse, ranging from high rocky outcrops with views to the distant horizon, to quiet forests in deep valleys carved by bold mountain streams. Elevations along the trail range from 1,120 feet at Table Rock State Park to 3,560 feet atop Sassafras Mountain.

The Foothills Trail can be approached as a multi-day through-hike, a weekend section hike, or simply as a dayhike. The trail is 77 miles in length, and a through-hiker should plan to spend approximately 5-10 days on the trail. Week-end backpackers and day-hikers can utilize numerous trailheads for shorter trips."

Most people planning to do the entire 77 mile trail plan for 5-10 days.  My goal was to do it in under 30 hours.

My previous two failures of the trail came from the result of a lack of training, poor planning, bad judgement, and mainly just plain stupidity.  Here was my final post on Facebook before heading out to the trail on February 18, 2012 for the early start:



I love and hate this trail.  There have been so many friendships & wonderful memories made on it.  At the same time, search & rescue has been involved with one run and people's lives have been put in jeopardy more than once.  This trail has sent some of the best runners packing it up and heading home in retreat before reaching the 77 mile finish.  On the other hand, merely average runners like myself have found a way to make it through in one piece. 

I had originally planned & trained specifically for The very FLAT Iron Horse 100 mile race in Florida on this weekend.  I began this training with my coach Janice Anderson back in September and basically every run was leading up to Iron Horse.  Some logistical issues prevented me from running Iron Horse with my buddy Wayne and I immediately decided it was time to go for my 3rd FHT run.

Janice was excited to hear this news and gave me the green light to run it hard.  That was all I needed to push all the chips in again.

So I began to pray, beg, and plea to all of my friends for help on the run.  I wanted to involve as many people and resources as possible.  I knew that having a lot of people involved would make it nearly impossible for me to just throw my hands up and walk off this course with anything less than a broken leg. 

Sure enough, friends started stepping forward.  Many more wanted to be there, but had prior plans and couldn't.  Everyone who was supposed to be there was - that's just the way these things work out.

I want to say thanks to these people before going into the run so you at least know who they are.  I would have NEVER finished without them.  Each one contributed to my finish:

Mad Dog - Mike Riggins ran the 10 mile stretch with me up to the top of Sassafras from Table Rock. We started at 6:57 AM as pictured above.



Lester Farmer met me with supplies on top of Sassafras and then drove down to Laurel Valley where he ran the rugged & isolated 33 mile section with me. He made sure I was eating & drinking and kept me steady. I had some tough nausea issues through here, but always felt at peace with Lester's experience and steady attitude.


Chad Henderson stashed Lester & I two Cokes at the Toxaway River sign before Canebrake. Those really hit the spot before the big climb up from the lake!


Dan Hartley ran into meet us from Whitewater and he had some vital running gear to share with me. This helped us get out of Laurel Valley much quicker.   Dan also paced/crewed for me for the final 29 miles down the final stretch.  It was his 40th birthday and a real pleasure to spend it with him this way.


Bo Millwood & my brother in law Nick Cerda met me at Whitewater Falls with lots of food and good spirits.   Bo had all of my running gear & food for the final 29 miles of the run and he ran the entire section with me.  Nick ran the full home stretch with me too and this was his first trail ultra which was really cool to be a part of.

Viktor's mama was also there which made the party even better. It was also a great surprise to see Mr. Epic - Joe Parker at Whitewater. This was a great surprise that gave me a much needed lift.

Ok, this is supposed to be a race report so here it goes.  And yes, I did "race" this course.  I spent every ounce of energy I had to finish as fast as possible.
 
Mike and I arrived at the locked entrance to Table Rock State Park at 6:30 AM.  A park employee was there to open the gate at 6:40 and we drove to the trailhead within a few minutes.  We were quickly greeted by Viktor and his mother.  Viktor was also setting out to push his limits on the FHT.
 

The run began from the Nature Center at 6:57 AM.  Viktor took the lead with a slow jog while Mike and I assumed a power hike up the 3.5 mile climb to Pinnacle Mountain.  The weather was perfect.  Sunny skies and 40 degrees with a beautiful sunrise casting shadows down the mountains as we moved along.
 
We arrived a minute behind Viktor at the Pinnacle Mt. overlook area where he was busy taking pictures.  I never play around here too long because with one clumsy step you could easily fall off the cliff.  We enjoyed the views for a minute and continued to climb.
 

We enjoyed some brief downhill jogging before beginning another climb which would take us to the top of Sassafras Mt. - the highest point in South Carolina.  I really enjoyed catching up with Mike during this section.  He spent some time telling me how he qualified to run in the Boston Marathon this spring.  This was amazing coming from a guy who has had all four of his major joints worked on in surgery over the last few years.  Both knees and shoulders.  Mike & I met during my first ultra (Buncombe 34 Miler in May 2009).  We have been friends ever since.
 

The climb up Sassafras is a tough one, but we made it in exactly three hours (9.8 miles).  I was greeted by Lester laying in the trail near the top.  He was enjoying a nap in the sun before running the Laurel Valley section.  He offered his famous quote, "It ain't no fun unless there is a good chance you can die."  So true!
 
Lester filled up my water bottles for the fun & fast 4.5 mile section of downhill to the Laurel Valley parking lot, then he and Mike drove down to meet me there while I ran it.  I always enjoy this section and today was no different.  I found myself getting out of control on some of the steep downs and even slammed into a tree fairly hard at one point in a switchback.  I just kept laughing and thinking about Lester's quote.  Kept on running.
 

I popped out at the bottom onto HWY 178 at exactly 11:00 AM which was about 4 hours into the run.  I walked the quarter mile stretch of gravel road trail up to the parking area where Lester was waiting on me.  It was starting to get a lot warmer.
 
Viktor's mom had just sent him off into the 34 mile stretch of Laurel Valley and she was sticking around to snap some pictures of us too.  I quickly switched out my water bottles for my Camelbak and night running gear.  I instantly regretted the heavy feel of the pack.  It weighed about 18 pounds with all of my water, food, light, rain jacket, and supplies.
 

For the first time in the run the little voice whispered in my head, "You can't really do this, can you?"
 
Lester and I embarked into the Valley around 11:30 AM which was about 4:30 into the run.  I had to drown the little voice.  It just couldn't win today.
 
The first 1.5 miles into this section is tough.  Mainly steep uphill with lots of crooked wooden stairs that force you into a walk from the first step.  I began to feel horrible here.  It was getting very warm and I was suddenly pouring sweat.  The weight of this pack seemed unbearable to carry for 33 more miles and I didn't feel like eating or drinking anymore.
 
Lester immediately started asking me what my eating schedule was and I told him that I needed to eat something every 30 minutes.   He stayed on top of it with me for the first few hours and I just kept getting sicker and sicker.  I was very lightheaded and just wanted to lay down for a while. 
 
The voice came back a little stronger this time, "it's too hot for you to finish today, your pack it too heavy to ever continue after whitewater".  I never believed it and kept running when I could and power hiking the hills.
 
I started forcing food down with big gulps of water and a salt tablet.  I told Lester that I wanted to walk one of the flat easy sections for a while and let my body try to re-adjust.  It did!  After about 10 minutes I started feeling much stronger, then my walk turned back into a jog.  This came at the perfect time as we were getting close to eight miles in and nearing the famous "heartbreak ridge" section of stairs.
 
The six sets of stairs up the ridge seemed OK.  They didn't kill my legs and I was excited about being rewarded with a Coke that Chad Henderson had left us at the Toxaway River sign in less than a mile.  Sure enough we ran up to the sign and there sat two plastic bottles of Coke - awesome!
 
It was honestly tough for Lester or I to get very excited about the next section after the Cane Brake sign on Lake Joccassee.  It features a climb that just rips all of the joy out of your legs.  We both got quiet, worked it slowly, and smiled a lot when we reached the top.
 
I knew at the top of this climb that I would finish the Foothills Trail this time.  There was no doubt that it was going to hurt, especially with my lack of specific hill training over the past months. 
 
We continued on the trail and our next landmark to look forward to was Horsepastuer River.  Dan Hartley was planning on running into LV from the other direction and meeting us somewhere around in there then running back out with us.
 
Lester did a solid job of pacing me.  He was very patient with my pace and kept me on top of my nutrition the whole time.  With out combined experience we have probably been through Laurel Valley at least 30 times.  It felt great to know that we knew where we were going.  That was one less thing to be concerned with.
 
I began battling nausea again before we reached Horsepastuer.  I felt like I could have lost anything that I was eating or drinking and nearly did several times.  If I felt myself about to get sick I would start walking because I couldn't afford to lose those precious calories at this point.
 
We crossed the Horsepastuer River about 1:30 before dark and both began to look ahead on the trail for Dan.  We were very surprised to cover several more miles and not see him.  This part of the trail just went on forever.  I zoned out in my mind for the first time around mile 40 which honestly felt great.
 
Then it happened.  I felt a blister form on the inside heel of my right foot, then pop.  This happened over the course of several miles and I didn't mind it at all.  As a matter of fact I loved the pain.  I was even running with my laces untied at one point so it would the shoe would slide more on my foot until Lester warned me to tie my shoe before I trip on it and fall.  I know this sounds ridiculous, but I wanted all the trail had to give me.  Or so I thought I did...
 
One of my favorite parts of this run was at sunset just before dark.  We reached a very rich & lush part of the trail known as Bear Camp Creek.  There are moss covered rocks and deep greens as far as you can see.  We scrambled rocks & roots as the sun faded into the night.  The vibrant greens slowly faded into darkness as the valley finally went into nightfall.  We were left with only the streams pouring over rocks and we got our headlamps ready for some night running.
 
We both got our headlamps out and I was glad to see that Lester's was working fine.  I secured mine onto my head and hit the power button----nothing.  I hit the power button again ----- nothing.  Then I took it off and made sure the brand new batteries were in right.  Turned it on again ---- nothing.  I went into a quiet panic.  Then the voice screamed at me, "you will never finish, stop at whitewater if you can even get there!"
 
Lester agreed that we should just keep moving forward in the darkness while trying to share his light.  This was very difficult and I must have kicked 20-30 rocks and roots trying to keep on the trail behind him.  We tried several different light positions, but the only way to make it work was to have him hold the light down and stay in front of me.  The uphills were not too bad, but the steep downhills were very difficult.
 
For the first time, I thought the run was going to end at Whitewater falls.  Lester was doing the best he could with the light, but I knew it was going to take up to 4 hours to finish this final 8 miles.  That is only if one of us didn't get hurt trying to move in complete darkness.
 
Once again, hope came in the form of Dan Hartley running down the trail towards us.  We had just passed Thompson River and were slowly climbing up towards Whitewater River.  Dan met us full of energy and in good spirits.  He even had a decent spare light that I was able to use and at least sped us back up to 3-4 miles per hour.
 
Lester took off while Dan and I caught up about how I was doing with the run.  He spent some time encouraging me that I was right on track to be at Whitewater in about 15 hours which was my overall goal.  That made me feel a whole lot better and I hustled as much as possible towards the final river crossing in Laurel Valley.
 
I had to walk most of this section because my stomach was still turning flips.  Running was just unbearable at that point.
 

Dan, Lester, and I finally made it out of Laurel Valley alive in a little over 15 hours.  It was GREAT to have that section behind me!  I was excited to see my new crew and very grateful for all Lester had done for me as he packed up to head home.  I envied him for a minute as I thought about how nice it must feel to get in a warm truck with dry clothes on.
 
I suddenly realized that it was raining and I couldn't see with my glasses on so I handed them to someone and asked them to put them somewhere safe.  The next 29 miles would be with about 75% of my vision and probably 10% of my brain.
 
Bo, Nick, and Joe were running around grabbing stuff and getting me ready to head out.  I only spent about 15 minutes here and I'm very glad that I didn't stay longer.  It could have gotten ugly because these guys were not going to let me quit.
 

Dan and Bo's daughter Dylan drove ahead to the next road crossing at Sloan's Bridge while Nick. Bo, and I hit the trail to climb up and over Round Mt.  This is a fairly tough climb, but these guys made it easy on me with their fresh legs and jokes.  I was barely hanging on to my sanity and patiently waiting for the Ensure, Expresso Double Shot, and Coca-Cola to kick in that I had enjoyed at the Whitewaterfalls parking lot.  I felt the surge about 10 minutes into the climb and could feel the strength coming back into my body.  It felt great to have such a solid team helping me get this thing done!  Things were clicking again!

My mind began fading in and out through this section.  I would be laughing at a joke one minute and then trying to figure out where I was the next.  I didn't mind it because I had two runners on the trail in front of me with about 26 miles to go.  I thought "just keep moving to the next aid stop" and everything else will work out.

Of course Dan being the trail clown that he is, decided to sneak in and scare the crap out of us in this section.  He was laying beside a downed tree and screamed at us when we ran up on him.  Bo got the worst of it because he was in front and I was so tired all I could do was smirk.  There wasn't a whole lot left to scare out of me at this point.

The rain and fog continued to come and go through the night as we worked our way towards the longest section of the night - The 10.9 mile Chattooga River section.  We must have arrived here around 1-2 AM.  I spent a little extra time making sure I had plenty of food for this stretch because I knew it would take us at least four hours.  We had a little over 16 miles to go and this would be the last tough stretch of trail before finishing.  I didn't even think about it and just kept moving.

At this point in the run I was reduced to a power hike.  The best I could do was maybe a 17-19 minute pace and sometimes much higher than that.  This Chattooga River section is so technical.  It's very difficult to get into any type of rhythm at all.  Plus, the majority of my training had been on flatter groomed trails which was catching up with me.

Nick and Bo continued to keep me company and talk through here.  I knew these guys had to be getting tired too, but thankfully they never showed it if they were.  Around three miles in, the trail forks and you can either take a "high water" route to avoid walking through the river, or just choose to get wet and walk the river for about 100 feet.  None of us wanted to walk through the river at night and we were planning on taking the high water route when we began to hear a deep growl.  We all three stopped in caution and Bo & Nick picked up some hefty sticks for protection.  The growling continued just feet ahead in the darkness and it was definitely on the trail.  I was prepared to fight whatever animal was blocking the trial.  My heart was pounding out of my chest.  There was no way I had come 65 miles to simply turn around and retreat.  Nick & Bo took the lead down the trail with sticks in hand and to our left we saw the animal.  It was a huge husky dog that was guarding it's master's tent.  And of course the tent was on the trail that forked for the high water detour. 

That left us no choice but to get wet in the river.  We narrowly escaped a dog attack as well.  This trail is difficult enough by itself and situations like this really put you in harms way.  I was so thankful to have these two guys with me.  I'm sure the three of us together presented too much of a challenge for the dog.  Had I been alone there would have probably been a fight that may have ended the run.

We pressed on through the night and I hit another mental low point.  This stretch of trail would never end.  It would go from one section of terrible roots and steps to a smooth/slick transition of soft mud.  And it all seemed to go uphill.

I forced down a Snickers bar which did wonders for my mood & energy level.  After 22 hours I was sick of eating and drinking.  I had already ate over 10,000 calories and my mouth was just tired of chewing.

We kept plugging away until we finally ran into Dan who had ran in from the opposite direction.  He said that we had about 4.5 more miles to go which wasn't the news I wanted to hear.  It seemed like we should be much closer.  All I wanted now was for the sun to come up.  I kept looking up into the darkness, but black fog was all that I could see.

I decided that I needed to push the pace through here so I started power hiking as hard as I could go.  I felt that I owed my crew the best effort that I had and I pushed hard.  I made up my mind that as soon as we hit the final aid stop at mile 70 I was going to quickly gulp down a Ensure and Double shot then get back on the trail.  I wanted this to be over.

Sure enough, we made it out of this section alive just as the sun was starting to come up.  I had been moving for 24 hours and I had been wanting this feeling for three years.  I always wondered what it would feel like to come out of the Chattooga section and cross over to the final aid stop at Cheeohee Rd.  It felt awesome! 

The rest of the crew were hunkered down warm and sleeping here in their vehicles.  I quickly downed my two drinks and within a minute I was back on the trail now running towards Oconee State Park!  6.0 miles to go!

The first two miles of this section are very nice downhill and I ran it as hard as I could go.  It hurt so bad to run, but I refused to give this trail anymore of my time than it deserved.  Bo and Nick caught up with and I found myself exhausted from the running at the bottom of the 2 mile hill.

I felt my blister pop again through here and I was glad to know that I could start taking care of it soon.

It was hard to hold back tears through the rest of this section.  Finishing was nearly a guarantee at this point and it felt so good!  I continued to go as hard a possible through here, even up the climbs.

Dan ran in to meet us just under two miles from the finish.  I kept telling myself that the faster I moved the sooner it would be over.   This stretch seemed to last forever and it all seemed to go up hill.

We finally hit the final half mile stretch of trail leading to the Western terminus of the Trail at Oconee State Park.  Dan let me know that if I would hurry I could come in under 25:30.   I put in one last hard burst of energy and there is was, I could see the finish.

As I ran the final 50 feet to touch the sign all of the memories from the prior attempts raced through my mind.   The sacrifice and effort of my crew today caused me to swell up with pride.  Tears filled my eyes with joy as I finally touched the sign.

I had finished the 77 mile Foothills Trail in 25:28.

 
 We all shared a celebratory group hug and some high fives.  This was a great run and I couldn't have asked for a better FHT finishing experience.  We even had time to sneak in a quick shower in the campground before packing up and heading home.

I would like to thank God for the strength and safety to finish this run.  And of course the entire crew for spending part of their weekend to help make my dream come true.  I will say it again that I would have never finished this run without their support.  I would also like to congraulate Viktor Trukov on finishing the FHT in his first attempt with a time of 24:10!

I'm humbled and honored to be a part of the Foothills 77 Mile Ultra finishers list!

Just A Little Insight

I haven't been posting on the blog much.  Not much to say really.


I have 21 weeks to go until I lineup at Western States.  I've paid, finished my eight hours of volunteer service, and mailed all of my paperwork in.  It seems much more real now.  It's flashing on the radar, but there are still a lot of other planes flying around too.  I'm 100% certain of my finish there in under 30 hours.  Not being arrogant, but my training is on the right track for it.  Besides, is there really any room for doubt anyway?


I'm taking on the challenge of finishing 100 miles under 24 hours at The Iron Horse Endurance Run in Florahome, FL in about three weeks.  That was my first 100 mile finish in 2010 and I'm excited to be returning.  I think about 50% of the course will be paved this time so it's going to be a different experience.  I'm craving some "zoned out zombie" running time on a flat course with no chance of getting lost.  It's all about running here - a big change from courses that I normally run though the wilderness with tricky trails to navigate.


The sub 24 hour finish is important to me, but not as vital as the running itself.   I'm looking forward to spending time with friends and sharing the struggle of what lies ahead into the great unknown.  Pain is guaranteed, but finishing is not unless you want it bad enough.  This is not a training run for WS100, this is a race where I plan to lay it all out across the 4 X 25 mile out-n-back route.


On to a different subject - I enjoyed a great run with friends through the 33 mile Laurel Valley course last Saturday.  I hope to run it 2-3 more times before WS100 in June.   Congrats to Bo and Viktor who completed their first runs through the course.  It was great to share some of this experience with them and a few other guys.

Harbison 50K Columbia South Carolina - Sweep

After designing the website & helping race director Dan Hartley with some of the technical aspects of this race I was excited to finally be getting close to the actual race.  The Harbison 50K is a double looper set in the beautiful Harbison State Forest in the northern area of Columbia.  This race featured all the benefits of a large & growing ultra marathon race.  182 entrants, several big name sponsors, highly talented racers, awesome runner packets, technical shirts, race pint glasses, and a incredible finisher's medal.


It was great to drive down the night before and hang out with many of the other runners.  I was even able to meet a fellow ultralist member Tim Hardy.  I was also excited to see my home town of Spartanburg represented by about six runners.  I think that may be a first for any ultra that I've ever ran.

About 165 runners showed up for the race on Saturday morning.  Dan addressed everyone with some last minute updates just minutes before the 7:30 start.



And at 7:30 sharp all runners were off and running to the forest to begin the race!



I was a little bummed to be sweeping this race in order to meet my eight hours of service requirement for WS100 later in the summer.  I just decided that I would make the best of the day and enjoy a beautiful day of time on my feet.  The truth be told, I REALLY wanted to run, but its always good for me to give back.  And, eh, well - I had to!

My plan was to hang behind the last runner and pickup litter during the first loop.  On the 2nd loop I would be responsible for taking down all of the race signs/ribbons and disposing of them at the aid stations.

I decided that I wanted to do some running early on so I would hang out at the aid stations for a while and then run to catch up with the pack later down the trail.  This allowed me to get in some fast miles and still serve my sweeping duties.

The last of the runners covered the first 15+ mile loop in just over 4:45.  I realized that this would mean a few may not make the cutoff.  Sure enough one runner had to be pulled around mile 26 on the next loop, but she was very proud of hitting a new distance record for herself.  It was great to be a part of that moment.

I continued on pulling down the course markings and making my way around the 2nd loop.  It was great to not even feel tired after doing so much work and movement all day.  I think my training is going in the right direction.  I was praying that I wouldn't find another slow moving runner who would have to drop out of the race and I didn't. 

Sure enough, I was the final runner to finish with a time of 9:37.  I felt good enough to go out and do a couple more loops, but decided to call it quits there   :]

I'm glad that I was a part of this growing ultra which will surely turn into one of the more popular 50Ks in the southeast.  The course was a good mix of runnable sections and hilly technical areas.  I would recommend this one as a first time ultra or a quality race for a seasoned veteran.

I also wanted to say a special congratulations to Kiley B. and Sandie C. for completing their 1st ultras!

It looks like I will be doing a Laurel Valley training run in the next few weeks before hitting the Iron Horse 100 in February.  Some excellent winter running lies ahead!

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.