Mystery Mountain Marathon

I've had this race on my calendar the moment the 2010 race ended.........it's a beautiful course, extremely challenging, and extremely well run by GUTS. It also delivered a beating unlike many other races. No way I was gonna miss it. I wanted revenge on that course.

I packed the bags early Saturday morning. I went down to Oakland Cemetery early in the morning for a photography class field trip then hit the road at noon for the couple hour drive to Chatworth GA and then on to Fort Mountain State Park.

The GUTS crew was busy prepping the course and I had fun marking the "Tower" loop with a few other friends. We made it back in time for the Pasta dinner and social time. Met some nice people coming to pick up their numbers including a couple who came up from Charleston for their FIRST marathon. In the back of my mind, I thought "this ain't a good first marathon" but I gave them some course tips and wished them luck. More on that later...........

I was lucky to get an offer from John to crash at his place 20 minutes away so Kate, Aaron, Anna, John, and I headed back around 8. Was able to get some decent sleep after my Auburn Tigers were getting pounded and I didn't feel the need to stay up for the last bit of the game for the beating.

We were up bright and early so Kate could get to the start to prep for her volunteer duties. Fine by me, as I got to grab an excellent cup of joe courtesy of Drew and get the blood flowing a bit. Race Director extraordinaire Kim Pike asked if I'd lead the race out for the first 1/4 mile as it's kinda tough to mark the road where we start. Great, pressure already! :)

It was a flawless day for a race. I felt just a touch chilled in a singlet and knew it was my ideal temps. It would get hotter later, but I knew I'd be done before the heat hit too bad. And we are off..........

First mile is flat around the lake and I was a bit shocked to see a mid-6 ring up on the GPS after the first mile. It didn't take long for the course to show it's true colors. I had an awesome time running most of the first 7-8 miles with Drew. He and I battled it out last year and I suspected it might be the same again this year. He was running very strong. Around mile 9, he fell back a bit and I was on my own until the aid station at 11 before we split with the 12 milers and started up the dreaded Power Line hill. I started up the huge hill and a guy blew past me with relative ease. It was Jason Hanlin who I'd met at Sweetwater H20 50K earlier in the year. I had a blast running with him from 11 till about 18. I saw his easy stride and knew he'd have to blow up badly for me to hang. It was all I could do to stay with him and finally I had to let him go at 18.....the huge climb was coming up and I needed to bank a little or it was gonna be a tough last 8 miles.

The mile 19 and 20 climb is hard to describe other than to say it is never-ending, steep, and takes all the will you have to keep moving at more than a snails pace. I ran/speed-walked but knew I was loosing plenty of time to Jason. I felt good but was ready to be done. Even after the massive uphill, the course is still very challenging until you get to 25.5 and get to barrel DOWN the power line. I arrived at the 25 mile aid station and yell at Sarah Tynes "how much farther"? She confirmed 1 mile to go. A quick glance at my watch said I had 5:30 to make it under 4 hours and I knew it was a bust. I had no goal for this race other than to run strong, but I could almost taste a sub-4 and I blew through the last mile with everything I had. Came across 4:01:05, 2nd place, and 3 minutes faster than last year. Very pleased with a solid effort.

Oh yeah, back to the first time marathoners: I heard later than Jason Rogers was driving back towards Chatworth about 8 hours after the race started and saw a couple people with race numbers walking down the road. Apparently my Charleston friends missed a turn and ended up on a paved road somewhere way out. He gave them a ride back to the park. Feel bad for them.

Great GUTS event and a ton of fun with friends!

Hot to Trot - An 8 Hour beatdown!

I don't know what has me coming back to this event. It's an 8 hour run, in Atlanta, in the heat running a 1.18 mile loop as many time as you can until the clock hits 8 hours. Actually, I do know what keeps bringing me back........

1. A very well organized event - Sarah Tynes and all the volunteers do an incredible job
2. It's an extreme challenge (love that)
3. Lots of great local runners...a great social time even while you are suffering

Last year, I took off like a crazy man on the first 10 laps.....like under 7 minute miles. While it is only a minimally technical trail, it's still a trail. I promised myself to not repeat that this year. 8 hours is a long time. Pace yourself, Jim.

I had been on vacation on the Island of Bonaire and had just arrived home at 9:00 pm the night before the race. I was well rested and well fueled from a week away from the normal hectic days. But I was also under hydrated from a long day of air travel and flight delays. Not a good start.......

The day started out with some light drizzle......I had high hopes that the promised rain would keep the temps and therefore the body temps down. The gun goes off and BAM....crazy Sean takes off like a bear was chasing him! I did not get suckered in and kept it sane for me.

What do you say about an 8 hour 1.18 mile looped course in the heat? Lap 1 was.....lap 2 was....

After about 3 hours, I ran through the aid station and someone asked if I got stung by bees. Being HIGHLY allergic to stings, I was immediately on edge. But I have to admit, I had a quick thought of "gee, if I get stung I can drop out of this heat!". I got back around to the hill and there was a strong smell of wasp spray and a couple people unloading a can of the stuff on a nest on the ground. I can only guess that was my fastest stretch of the course for a few loops! Multiple people got stung 3 and 4 times each. Glad it wasn't me!

All and all, it was a decent race. I had Joe Fejes running hard and I thought he'd come around and catch me as I started to fade. While my pools certainly dropped off, I held on pretty well. Walking certainly became a more frequent occurrance as the day progressed, but mostly just for short stretches. Ended up with the OA win and a bit over 50 miles for the day. Less miles than last year, but I was pleased to have held up reasonably well.

Great day to run with friends and very nice to have my lovely wife come support me in the second half of the run.

Landsford Canal 50K - A Fresh Start

My reasons for picking the Landsford Canal 50K run:

1. It was my “comeback” run. I’d been laid up injured for most on May and some of June and I needed to get back at it. Nothing like a long race to help with that!

2. It was near my hometown……my wonderfully supportive Mom and younger sis’ would get to come hang out.

3. I’ve always wanted to meet the RD-legendary Claude Sinclair

4. There were a ton of GUTS runners already signed up. A long run with friends!

My plan was to head North to Spartanburg SC Friday afternoon to hang out with Mom and then get up extra early Saturday am for the 70 mile drive to the race. Things were shaping up nicely as Mom and I had a picnic out by the pool Friday night and I almost needed a sweater….it was down right cool! A nice break in the brutal temps promised a cooler race.

The drive over Saturday morning was uneventful and boringly entertaining. For a guy living in Atlanta, I rarely get to drive 30 miles at a stretch with barely a stop light. Mom and I started to play the game of “guess how many stop lights or stop signs there will be in the next town”! Places like Chester, Landcaster, and several other dots on the map. I love the backwoods!

This is a small but well run race…..after getting there and introducing myself to Claude, I got to work helping unload some gear and helping organize the aid station before the pre-race routine started. I was well fueled, well rested, and feeling good but severely undertrain after so much time off. No expectations, I just wanted to run the best I could and enjoy the day.

BAM! I knew it was coming and I still wasn’t prepared. Claude starts this race in the beautiful Landsford Canal State Park with a musket shot out of a rifle that must be 4 feet long. That gunshot had my ears ringing for at least the first 1.25 mile out and back. I got a good peak at the hill I’d have to run up 8 times during the day. 1.25 miles up and back down a pretty long hill, followed by 7 4.25 mile loops. The course breaks down link this:

1. First mile: Very long and reasonably steep jaunt up the entrance road of the state park. There were a few breaks, but after a time or two up I wondered if I’d be dreading that hill after a few more times

2. Second mile: Long straight flat and fast improved road. You could see for almost the entire mile. It was fast and fast an awesome transition from the hill. You can fly here

3. Third mile: Finish up the long straight road and take a hard left and start to a big downhill then a hard left onto the trail.

4. Fourth mile: A long and winding fairly flat and perfectly beautiful run along the Landsford Canal. Perfect and other than the turns could be run pretty hard.

I started out pretty hard and planned to run as long as I could at a reasonably stout pace and then hang on towards the end. Joe Fejes had discussed running a 7:15 pace together for the first 26 then all bets off. But anyone that knows me knows I like to run like I feel. Usually fast at the start and then hang on for dear life at the end. Probably a good choice that before the race it was decided we wouldn’t try to run together. I felt good out the gate and trying to stay consistent at 7:15 would have been tough for me.

The loops came and went. I was basically hitting a bit under 30 minutes a loop. Little slower up the hill, flat out on the flats and downhill, somewhere in between on the trail. Never got really tired and even after loop 6 I still felt like I could drop a pretty good time on loop 7. Finished up in 3:36 and 1st OA. I didn’t really expect to run that fast, but I think a couple months of little running had me fresh and hungry.



Great hanging out with Andy Bruner, Jason Sullivan, Schick, Aaron D, Joel T, Beth, Greg, Candy, and a bunch of new friends from the upstate. Fun race. Somewhere between a fast trail race and a road ultra.