2013 Year in Review

"People who succeed have momentum. The more they succeed, the more they want to succeed, and the more they find a way to succeed." - Tony Robbins

What a year 2013 has been.  It started off with a 2^nd place finish at a cold and muddy 50k in February.  Then in March I had my first win in an ultra at the Oak Mountain 50k.  After that my wife and I decided to move from Nashville, TN to Charleston, SC.  My running slacked for the next few months until we moved in May but I regained the motivation to start logging miles again after the move. 

I have run this bridge many times since moving to Charleston

I quickly realized that running in Charleston is completely different than running in Nashville.  There are very few trails and zero hills other than a bridge in Mount Pleasant leading to downtown.  A lot of the runners here seem to care more about 5k and 10k times rather than 50 mile or 100 mile times but this has benefitted me greatly.  I have joined several running groups, and I run a lot more track workouts now.  My speed has increased, and I have kept the fitness needed to be successful in ultra running. 

I took another win at the Cremator 50 Mile Ultra in July.  It was hot and I did not eat nearly enough calories but managed to build up a big lead and hung on for dear life in the last 12 miles.  The Cremator helped me take a major step forward in my running because it was in that race that I realized I need to take in a lot more calories and stay hydrated in order to finish strong in my races.  I know this should be common sense but it is easier said than done. 

I tested out my new found epiphany at the Long Cane 50k.  Even though I started off with plans of running the 55 mile option I had to drop down to the 50k due to a knee injury.  I felt great taking gels every 20-30 minutes. Even after 5 hours of running I felt like I could have kept going, aside from my knee issue.  The big test was the last weekend of September at the North Face Endurance Challenge in Atlanta.  I took one hour off of my previous years’ time and finished in 3^rd.  I was in the lead through mile 44 but ended up losing it to two great runners.  I took 20 gels in the span of 8 hours and it kept my energy high.  I lost, not because of my nutrition, but because of my fitness.  I finished off the year with a win and course record at Mad Marsh 50k.

Thinking back to the beginning of 2013, I never imagined it would turn out to be such a great year. I had planned some big goals for myself and ended up surpassing all of them. Looking forward to 2014 I am very excited about what lies ahead.  Lowcountry Ultras is starting a points system for their races and at the end of all 5 races whoever has the least amount of points (points are given cross country style; i.e. 1^st = 1 point, 5^th = 5 points….you get the idea) wins the series.  The winner will get some swag plus entry into all 2015 races.  The races include Delirium 24hr, Bad Marsh 50k, Cremator 50 Miler with the option to run the Double Cremator, Homestead 10x5k and finally the Mad Marsh 50k.  I have all 5 races on my schedule for 2014 as I have every intention of winning the series.  If you think you have what it takes, check out their website and come out and challenge me. 

Also on the schedule for the first weekend of October is the Grindstone 100 in Swoope, Va.  This race has a measly 23,300 feet of climbing and 23,300 feet of descending on some of the most technical trails in the nation.  I get goose bumps just thinking about it.  Here is a description of the race on their website: “Grit, endurance, temporary loss of sanity.  You might need all of these if you want to attempt Grindstone.  If you want to finish, well, just keep in mind this is, without a doubt, the hardest 100 miler east of the 100^th meridian.” I have read race reports from all levels of runners, and they have all said this is one of the most difficult races they have ever attempted.

Other than the races I mentioned, I would love to add 1-2 more races to my schedule. Right now I am thinking I would like to add a 50 or 100 mile race in the spring on the East Coast - so if you know of a good one, please let me know. 

Thanks for reading all about my adventures in running the ultra mile. If any of you are ever in the Charleston area, I encourage you to reach out to me so we can go for a run. There’s no better way to explore a new city than through running – trust me.

Oak Mountain 50K Race Report

"Don't stop till everything's gone

Straight ahead never turn round

Don't back up, don't back down

Full throttle, wide open

You get tired, you don't show it

Dig a little deeper when you think you can't dig no more

That's the only way I know" - Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan and Eric Church

On March 9th I was joined by approximately 130 runners for The Oak Mountain 50K.  Oak Mountain State Park is located in Pelham, Alabama just outside of Birmingham.  Having grown up in Pelham, I spent many hours mountain biking and running the trails at Oak Mountain so I knew what to expect coming into this race.  The course had two aid stations, and you went to each one twice. One station was at the bottom of a ridge and the other was at the top.  The course was actually 33 miles long and had 3900 ft of climbing, so I knew this was going to take a little longer than The Black Warrior 50K.  Even though I didn't quite have the race I was expecting at Black Warrior, I looked at it as a chance to get a good, long run in 3 weeks out from the Oak Mountain 50K.  The next 2 weeks were spent building on my Black Warrior fitness, and I knew I was coming into this race in better shape.

My wife and I drove down to my mom's house on Friday evening - she lives about 20 miles from Oak Mountain State Park.  After a good night of sleep, I woke up around 5 am to get ready for the adventure that was about to take place.  

At 7 am, on what felt like a perfect spring day, we made our way on to a paved road towards the Yellow Trail. The Yellow Trail consists of short, steep rolling climbs which makes it difficult to get into any kind of running rhythm.  After a mile, I let someone else take the lead. He quickly pulled ahead of me and went out of sight.  I had to force myself to let him go knowing that I could not win the race in this section but I could lose it.  I pulled into the first aid station (7ish miles) in about 55 minutes and my crew told me I was about 2 minutes back from the lead guy. 

Start of the race

1/2 mile into the race getting ready to turn onto single track

I quickly exchanged water bottles with my crew and headed up the Blue Trail.  This next section of the race was hands down my favorite section.  We had a 2 mile climb that lead to the top of the ridge followed by a few miles of trail running bliss.  I was feeling good and pushing the pace.  I finally caught a glimpse of first place and timed him at 1:30 ahead of me.  The next time I saw him he was only about 45 seconds ahead.  I was about 1.5 miles from the next aid station and wanted to catch him before then. At Peavine Falls we had a rocky climb down to the base of the falls, and I made my attack there. We made the steep climb out of the gorge and ran into the second aid station together.  

My crew did a perfect job getting me in and out of the aid station without wasting any time.  I took the lead at this aid station.  As I left I knew I was running well and wanted to put as much time as possible ahead of second place.  I was in what could only be described as a trail running euphoric state of mind.  With every step I took, my foot glided over the rocks and roots and landed perfectly on the trail.  It was a steep rocky decent but I was running effortlessly and in control.  I made it to the bottom of the decent and picked up the pace.  I crossed a few bridges and was running on perfect trail all the way to the next aid station.  

Another perfect crew stop

Once again I quickly switched water bottles and headed down the Red Trail towards the final major climb back to the top of the ridge. This climb was about 2-3 miles on a dirt road and not nearly as steep as the climb up the Blue Trail.  Even though I was in the lead, I was acting like I was in second place and chasing first. Once I made it to the top of the ridge, I knew no one would catch me. It was now not a race against others but more of a race against the clock.  I turned off of the dirt road and onto a beautiful single track back towards the Peavine Falls Aid Station.  I started seeing outbound racers and knew I was less than half a mile from the final aid station.  As I pulled into the aid station, I started to feel a little dehydration setting in so I had my crew mix half a cup of gatorade in with my water.

I left the aid station at 3:43 into the race.  I had between 5-7 miles left, and my goal was to break 4:30.  My crew passed me in the car and yelled at me to run faster, so I took their advice. I turned off of the road onto the B.U.M.P trail and my leg started cramping up.  I took a quick minute to stretch and then started running again but the cramp would not go away.  This trail crossed the road several times and each time my  crew was there waiting for me. Once I arrived at the bottom of the trail, I knew there were only a couple of miles of rolling trail left.  Even though I was still cramping, I tried to enjoy the last leg of the race as much as possible. I came out of the woods and made one last turn towards the finish.  I tossed my water bottle to the side and threw my hands up in the air knowing I had just won my first ultra.  I crossed the finish line in 4:31:32.

Crossing the finish

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Check out some more pics from the race: