Cruel Jewel starts at noon on a Friday, so we headed out on Wednesday so I'd have a little time to loosed up from the plane flight. Wednesday evening and Thursday were mostly spend relaxing in the cabin at Vogel State Park. Coming from the west coast, I was able to sleep in until about 9 am Thursday and Friday which was good given the noon start.
Friday morning was spend getting all my stuff together and making sure my parents would have what I wanted at the aid station. Since the race starts at noon, I knew I'd be going through the whole night so I made sure to have a couple lights lined up. Also, it tends to be a little humid in Georgia so I made sure to have lots of lube for the aid stations. In the past I've never put lube on during a race, only before, but somehow I figured this race might be a little different.
Anyhow, with all the last minute preparations taken care of I headed to the start line. The start was less than 5 minutes from our cabin, but in that short time I already noticed the humidity. The temperature was pretty moderate, but it was muggy!
At noon, we all started hammering down the road out of Vogel....just kidding. Actually it was the slowest start to any ultra I've run and for good reason. Only one dude, Nick Hollon, has gone under 24 hours, so we all knew we'd be out there for a while.
On the short climb out of Vogel, I made sure to start out slow and ended up hiking and chatting with a few guys before the gentle descent to the base of Coosa Bald. I knew my training was decent, but I didn't get in many runs that really taxed my legs so I wanted to try to save my legs as much as I could.
I would have liked to do a few more challenging runs this spring, but I had a lingering shin injury which didn't fully clear up until 2 weeks ago at the Mac. I was certainly glad to be healthy, but also was very tentative to push too hard early on out of fear of trashing my legs too quickly.
After the initial few miles of gentle hills, we all began the long climb up Coosa Bald. The climb is about 2000 feet and I made sure to get behind some runners who were wisely hiking nearly every step. I settled into a hike and slowly chugged up the climb. I was sweating a lot but the pace felt easy and I was happy to be in the north Georgia hills again.
After cresting Coosa, there's a quick descent down to the aid station. I filled up my bottles and headed out of the aid station and left the aid station pretty quickly. No need to waste time stopped.
The next few miles consists of some fairly easy rollers and some steeper sections of trail. I made sure to hike all the uphills, despite wanting to run more than a few of them. As for the downhills, I mostly just shuffled along trying to make my quads use the least effort possible. I wasn't worried about my pace at all. I figured that it doesn't matter how fast I go at the start if I have to walk to the finish because my legs are shot.
Somewhere in this section I saw a heard a crash in the bushes below me and was lucky enough to see a black bear a couple hundred feet away. That was pretty cool. I didn't get much of a view, but its always fun to see wildlife on the trail.
Soon enough I rolled into Fish Gap aid station. Once again I filled my bottle and headed down the trail. Leaving the aid station we hopped on some fresh cut trail. I was a little surprised to see this because I've been on the Duncan Ridge a few times before and there's a trail the whole way. I figured that maybe there was short reroute and kept on running.
Unfortunately, it wasn't a short reroute. It was more of a long reroute which contoured around the hillside for a few miles instead of heading straight along the ridge top. This was actually pretty disappointing because one of my favorite aspects of the Duncan Ridge trail was heading straight up one knob on the ridge, dropping down the backside and doing it again, mile after mile.
After running around the hillside for a while, I reached the climb up to Rhodes Mountain. This is probably the steepest section on the Duncan Ridge and at least it wasn't gone...yet anyway. I hiked up this climb, then began the descent down to Skeenah Gap where I'd see my mom, dad, and brother for the first time.
The descent went by quickly and soon I was rolling into the aid station. I was excited to see my parents and brother and they seemed pretty happy to see me as well. I got some food, new water bottles, told them about the bear I saw, and headed up the trail. I'd see them again in just 5 miles.
The next 5 miles was less steep than the previous 20 and had some nice sections of trail. I kept eating, kept drinking, kept moving forward. Coming into mile 25 the pace still felt easy, but I could start to feel my legs getting a little sore. I had hoped my legs would feel a little better at this point, but thought that it was maybe just a little stiffness from moving for several hours, more than actual soreness.
Mile 25 I saw my family again and made sure to put on more lube. In all the years I've run, I've never had to put on anti chafe during a race before, but the humidity in Georgia made it necessary. After lubing up, I took some water bottles, some food and set out for the next 5 mile stretch. Again I'd see my family after this section, but then not until the turnaround about 20 miles later.
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| Looking good in the early miles |
Mile 25-30 was about the same as the previous 5 miles. For the most part, one significant climb and descent and quite a few rollers leading up to the top of the climb and also on the descent. I believe it was in this section that someone did a lot of brushing which really cleared out the trail. Whoever that was, thanks! It sure make running more fun when you can see what you're stepping on.
As it was starting to get a little later in the day there were a few times when the sun was in my eyes and I had to slow down a little bit so I didn't kick rocks. That was fine though, it was pleasant to see the setting sun and gave me hopes of cooler temps and lower humidity for the night. I got one one the two, but its was muggy all night.
At Old Dial Road, I saw my parents and brother again. I lubed up, got bottles and food, and made sure to take a light at this point as well. Pretty soon I'd be heading into darkness.
There was a short section of trail leaving Old Dial Road then a few miles of paved road and a little bit of gravel road before Stanley Gap aid station. I felt good running up the road to Stanley Gap, but made sure to start hiking as the road got a little steeper near the aid station. It was still a very mellow grade, but I didn't want to start running hard at this point.
I passed through Stanley Gap aid station where I saw my friend Susan Brock and headed back on to trail. At this point it was starting to get a pretty dim, so I was contemplating when to turn on my light. While there is something magic about running in the half light just before night, it sure sucks to fall because you can't see.
Pretty soon I was running by light. Running into the night is always pretty cool. There something different about it than starting in the morning when it's still dark. I guess it's the fact that if you start in the dark, it'll probably be light in a couple hours at most. Heading into the night, it won't be light until you're done or the you've made it through the whole night. At Cruel Jewel, I knew I'd be heading through the whole night.
After a gradual climb from Stanley Gap, I started the descent down to Deep Gap. The trail seemed pretty smooth and wide as I descended into Deep Gap. I focused on running easy as I could feel my quads getting sore, but I felt like I was moving along pretty well.
I reached Deep Gap and started out on the loop from the aid station. I started out hiking a bit at the start of the loop, but soon found myself running because the trail was mostly flat with only a few short uphill pitches. I knew that I needed to punch my bib at the bridge on the loop to verify I actually did the loop, so every time I heard a creek I though that I might be approaching the bridge. I think I went across 3 creek before I actually reached the bridge and punched my bib.
From the bridge back to the aid station was much shorter than getting to the bridge to I was soon back to Deep Gap. Leaving the aid station I couldn't help but hear that I was in second place which was the first time I really knew where I was all day. That was kind of cool to hear!
I left Deep Gap on the a short stretch of trail and soon hit the two mile road section to the turnaround at Camp Morganton. The road section offered some easy running and along this stretch I passed Paul Terranova who was leading the race. The road to Camp Morganton winds along and feel much longer than it is. I kept expecting to see that aid station around the next turn, but it took much longer than I though to get there.
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| Camp Morganton |
At Camp Morganton, I saw my parents and brother again. I got some food, new water bottles, and some lube and headed out. I overheard that Paul had come through at 10:17 and checking my watch I saw it saw 10:52, 35 minutes back.
There were a few fireflies in the meadow leaving Camp Morganton which were pretty cool to see. The return trip to back to Deep Gap seemed much quicker that the trip out. On the way back I realized that there was only 2 or 3 turns along the road on the way to Camp Morganton. It felt like a lot more on the way out. Regardless, I passed a few runner on the road between Camp Morganton and Deep Gap and soon found myself running up the trail to the aid station.
From Deep Gap, we run the same loop we did 5 miles earlier. Knowing that the loop was quite runnable, I stored my poles for the whole loop and ran most of it. I did hike a few of the short uphills along the loop, but mostly ran.
The second time around the loop felt shorter, which was probably because I knew that there were three creek to cross before the bridge. Instead of expecting to be at the bridge every-time I heard water, I just kept running knowing that the bridge wasn't for a while.
Leaving Deep Gap, there's a longer climb up to the ridge. I was happy for that since I was ready to get in some more sustained hiking. I felt like my hiking had been strong all day and I hadn't really got a chance to hike in quite a while. The Deep Gap loops were very runnable and so was the road section to Camp Morganton.
Climbing up to the ridge on the way to Weaver Gap I saw a lot of other runners coming down. It was certainly cool to see everyone else out there! Usually I could see their light a ways off and soon enough we'd pass each other, give a few words of encouragement and head our separate ways.
The climb up to the ridge seemed pretty short and soon I made the right hand turn to Weaver Gap. The descent down to Weaver Gap started out slightly overgrown, but soon we dropped below the grass that seemed to grow only on the ridges. I knew that I'd see Paul Terranova somewhere in this section so I was hoping that it'd be pretty close to the aid station.
The descent was broken up by a short climb followed by more descending down to the aid station. I believe it was shortly after this climb that I saw Paul climbing back up from the aid station. He still looked strong and we exchanged some quick word of encouragement as we passed. I continued down to the aid station which was farther than I'd hoped. However, I thought that I may have gained a little bit of time, but since I didn't check my watch, this was purely my own estimate.
Climbing back up from Weaver Gap felt good. I was still feeling strong hiking and was glad to get a chance for more sustained hiking. I was able to run few level sections and the downhills, but still tried to keep from pushing too hard. Soon I made it back to the junction where I'd headed toward Weaver Gap and continued to Stanley Gap down the trail I'd run many hours earlier.
Descending to Stanley Gap didn't feel as great as I'd hoped, but once I got rolling on the downhill my legs seemed to be okay. I least I was making descent time and was stumbling on anything. I passed a few more runners in this section who were on their way to the turnaround. I'll admit, I was quite happy I wasn't still on the way to the turnaround, but seeing those runner gave me a big appreciation of how hard runners near that back of the pack have to work and how long they are out there. Lots of respect for this guys!
At Stanley Gap I saw parents, got some water bottles and a fresh light and headed out of the aid station with my brother. As I left Dad told me that I was 23 minutes back from Paul and had picked up about 7 minutes in the last section. This got me excited so I tried to run the paved road section to Old Dial Road a little faster. I told my parents I might be able to do it in an hour.
The first mile out of the aid station is on a gravel road and Jacob and I chatted a little about the day. Soon we hit the road and I had to tell Jacob I wasn't really in the mood for talking. Sorry. Sometimes I just like to shut up and run.
I had a few checkpoint along the road that I remembered from the way out. I checked off each one as we passed and soon we hit the main road, where its probably less than a mile to the trail. I was surprised how quickly the road section went by. As we hit the trail, I got out my poles and started hiking again. The ups felt good, but my quads weren't feeling too hot on the short descent down to Old Dial Road.
At Old Dial Road I saw mom and dad, got some food and water and learned I was now only 13 minutes back. All right! That last section felt good and I was ready to roll. Still, I wanted to save a little bit for a strong finish on the Duncan Ridge, which makes up the last 20 miles of the race. As I left the aid station I checked my watch, 61 minutes from Stanley Gap.
The trail climbs up from Old Dial Road and I started hiking along with Jacob in tow. My hiking legs still felt okay, but not as strong as they were earlier. I kept moving pretty well on the climb, but was starting to struggle a little bit. There are a few sections where the trail dips momentarily and you can run for a few steps, but I wasn't doing that anymore. I knew my quads were hurting and I think this is why I didn't run them short downs. In hindsight I think it was mostly a mental block. I knew that my legs weren't doing well and I knew that I had a long way to go still.
The descent down to Wilscot Gap was rough, but I was still running. On any of the big step on the downhill I was particularly ungainly and the steep sections I could barely shuffle, but I was still running. I came into the aid station feeling fair and tried to leave as quickly as I could. I got some water and food, but was feeling pretty demoralized about my legs being toast.
Leaving Wilscot Gap, I though maybe I could rally between there and Skeenah Gap. Leaving Wilscot Gap I didn't get a split on Paul, but I'm guessing I lost some time. I wasn't moving very well from Old Dial to Wilscot.
I tried my best to hike quickly on the uphills out of Wilscot Gap, but it was starting to get hard to make descent time. My legs had taken a beating from the downhill and now it was starting to affect my climbing legs as well. At some point in here the day started to lighten and I wondered when I'd be able to turn my light off.
Light finally came as I began the descent down to Skeenah Gap. I was doing okay on the flatter sections of downhill, but could barely run the steep sections. Somewhere in here I started walking the steep downhills. My legs were so shot I could barely shuffle, and I realized it was just as fast to walk as to try to run. Needless to say walking the down into Skeenah Gap wasn't what I had in my and by the time I reached Skeenah Gap, I realized the "racing" side of things was over. Its hard to race when you can't run.
As I walked the last down into Skeenah Gap, I could tell my parents had realized things had gone downhill for me. They tried to lift my spirits, but I was pretty cranky. Walking the descent down to Skeenah, I'd accepted that I'd be death marching to the finish and was just ready to start walking. I knew it was going to take all day, but the sooner I started the sooner it'd be done.
I didn't spend long at Skeenah Gap, but long enough for Meredith Terranova, Paul's wife, to come and see how I was doing. She offered me some sort of cream that might help with sore muscle and initially I just said no thanks I'll just walk it in. My parents convinced me to try some and I did. I think it actually did help a little bit and in hindsight I feel bad that I wasn't more appreciative. But, that how ultras go. They bring out the best of you and the worst of you. And at that point Mr. Hyde was making an appearance because Dr. Jekyll had been left behind many miles earlier.
The first couple miles out of Skeenah Gap is steady uphill. About 1 minute out of the aid station I told Jacob that maybe I could break 10 hours for this section. Now there was some positive thinking. Jacob was encouraging and told me that maybe I'd start to feel better and be able to run again. I didn't really respond. I already told him that he should just stop at Skeenah Gap and see me at the finish because the only thing that was happening between Skeenah and the finish was a lot of walking!
Maybe 5 minutes up from Skeenah Gap, I thought my legs might feel slightly better. Maybe the cream Meredith gave me was helping. I tried to hike a little quicker. I didn't feel great, or even very good, but it seemed like I could hike a little faster. By the top of the climb I was feeling about the same as at the aid station, but thought that maybe I'd be able to run downhill. Nope.
I walked the first downhill on the Duncan Ridge and realize that I was in for a very long day. I did my best to walk at a descent pace, but that didn't always happen. Some of the downhill section got really tough and I was barely moving. As I grumped along, moaning at every opportunity, Jacob kept a positive attitude and offered words of encouragement.
Eventually we walked into Fish Gap. I got my bottles filled and a piece of a quesadilla. I wanted solid food, but they didn't really have much solid food out. In hindsight that made sense. Its a pain to get up on the Duncan Ridge so those aid station would certainly has less food that other aid station with easier access. Plus, I don't think the volunteer were expecting the first few runner to want much solid food. Had things been going as planned, I don't think I'd have taken anything more than water.
Regardless, I left the aid station without wasting too much time and kept on hiking. I was in a fairly cynical mood, but kept on moving. A couple miles out of Fish Gap the Duncan Ridge crossed a road and here I saw hundreds of lady slippers. I mentioned them to Jacob and we both got to enjoy the flowers for a few moments. The flower picked me up temporarily, but that didn't last too long.
Getting to Fire Pit was more of the same. I walked, I complained, and the whole time Jacob kept a good attitude and encouraged me along. Honestly, I feel pretty bad for being such a whiner out there on the trail.
I got some water and a little food at Fire Pit and began the climb up Coosa Bald. Its less than a mile to the top from Fire Pit and I made it to the top fairly quickly. Many miles earlier I was looking forward to the descent, but now I was not. I knew that walking every step of the descent would suck. And it did. It was certainly more the mental frustrating that physical pain, but with that said there was no way I had legs to run downhill. I did try walking backwards a couple time in hopes that would be quicker, but it was too hard to stay on the trail.
After an eternity, we reached Wolf Creek with 3.7 miles to go. I could help think of my Georgia Death Race split to Wolf Creek and quickly computed that I would probably triple it. Oh well. I tried to really a little bit on the climb up from Wolf Creek and walk faster and I do believe I was able to do so. However, I think this was mostly the fact that trail was pretty gentle in this section.
After the climb, there's about 1 mile of downhill and half a mile of flat on pavement. I walked the down, I walked the flat. I saw my parents about a quarter mile from finish and kept on walking. My brother's girlfriend and one or her friends had FaceTimed my parents to they could tell me good job on finishing the race. I didn't say a word...I was done. In hindsight, I felt quite bad about that, but at the time I just wanted to be done.
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| A quarter mile to go. As you can see I've started my finish kick |
I walked to the finish line and it was over. I had unrealistic hopes the day would have gone a bit better so I was a little cranky about how it all went down. Plus I was tired. Plus I was happy to be done and get to sit down. In some way it was one of the most frustrating moments in my life and already, just a few moments after I finished there was some sort of joy in the experience. Something that really got me motivated to get out there and to it again. But not right away, at that point I wanted to sit on my butt, put down some solid food, take a shower, and sleep.
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| Done! |
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| Thanks Jacob! |
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| I was waiting for this moment for a long time |
When I woke up the next morning, something had changed. My legs still felt terrible, but there was an excitement in me that I haven't had in a long time. Something happened out there that I can't really explain. There's something special about racing 100 miles. Even slogging to the end now seemed to have some sort of joy in it. And the way I felt from 50-75 was pretty awesome.
It's been almost 3 years since I've run a hundred miler and a lot of that time was really frustrating. But I realized, even though my training this year wasn't what I had hoped for, I still have it. I still can run 100 miles. I still can race 100 miles. And that has got me more excited about running that I've been in many years.
Anyhow, I should thank Mom and Dad for doing an excellent job crewing me out there. Even when things went south you guys kept me going. And thank to Jacob for doing a great job pacing me. You put up with a lot of grumping and kept me going and that really means a lot.
Also, thanks to the RDs for putting on such a great race. It wasn't my best day on the trails, but I'll be back. There was too much that sucked about the race to keep me from coming back. The bugs, the humidity, not one darn breeze all day....yeah I'll be back.
Also, thanks to my sponsors Injinji and Squirrel's Nut Butter. I really appreciate all the support you've given me over the year. I know that the last couple years haven't been great, but you've stuck with me through thick and thin. At Cruel Jewel I used some Run Lightweight Crews socks and made sure to lube up with a stick of SNB (like, the whole thing) beforehand.
