Got up 0430 on race, left the house, went through Shelbyville 0615, ended up coming in right behind Rob/Kathy Youngren. Saw Gary Cantrell on final mile of his overnight race into WarTrace. Got a chance to talk with DeWayne, Blake, Rob, Dink, Stan/Chrissy Ferguson, and more before the race. Fairly cool morning, great racing weather. Wearing NB760 shoes (needed extra firm for the toe fracture from the Ouachita 50M), Injinji socks, Desoto shorts with UnderArmour compression shorts underneath, tech shirt from Cheaha race, Nathan racing vest (non-hydration), hand-held bottle for water, carrying 3 flasks of Perpetuem, plus plenty of electrolytes tabs and ground sea salt in a ziploc bag.
Started 0700 on time. I posted a number of photos at my Picasa account. Here are the split times:
| Mile Marker | Split | Elapsed Time | |
| 5 mi | 42:07 | 42:07 | |
| 10 mi | 45:28 | 1:27:36 | |
| 15 mi | 44:28 | 2:21:04 | |
| 20 mi | 47:29 | 2:59:33 | |
| 25 mi | 50:16 | 3:49:49 | |
| 30 mi | 50:08 | 4:38:58 | |
| 35 mi | 53:50 | 5:33:48 | |
| 40 mi | 52:59 | 6:26:47 | |
| Finish |
| 6:40:33 |
Not atypical for me, first 1-2mi were a little slow as I got my body warmed up and running smoothly. Had to take a pee break in the early miles, hadn’t quite recycled all of my coffee before the race. Caught up with Christy Scott and ran with her for a while; her daughter Courtney crewed her all day long and did a bang-up job. Went through 5mi marker alongside Christy and no issues at 42:07.
Kept steady pace but made more pee stops (!) as we passed through Normandy and made the right turn for Climb #1. Ground out that climb, no walking for me. Hit the 10mi marker at the top of the climb in 1:27:36 (45:28 split) and eventually moved out of the midpack into about 40th place.
Smooth sailing thru half-marathon point and across US-41. Trade spots back and forth with Christy and a few other runners until the late miles, but was running solo for the most part. Passed the 15mi mark in 2:21:04 elapsed (44:28 split). The middle toes on my right foot started to cramp around mile 15-16, really hurts, damn things want to curl up into a ball. So no choice but to throw down sea salt or extra S-Caps. Alas, over time, the extra salt makes me a bit nauseous, so have to manage that as well.
Passed into flat area with a couple of now-familiar motivational saying painted on the road, “No Pain No Brain” and directions for “Running Fools” to make a right turn onto Bottle Hollow Rd. Some very pleasant countryside along this stretch of the course, but the runner’s focus changes as the long, winding, grinding Climb #2 starts. I am still feeling loose and relaxed, and just ground out that climb, no walking. Rewarded by a water stop up top then saw Courtney Scott as she waited for her mom who was right behind me. Passed the 20-mi mark is up top at 2:59:33 elapsed (47:29 split, not bad with the climb, still running even splits), followed by a right nasty little descent with “Quad Killer” painted on the road before reading the halfway point with its wry humor.
Couple of flat miles before a left turn onto Hill Top Rd and the approach to Climb #3. This is not a long climb, but the road seems to run into a pocket of the Earth, then pitches upward at a right nasty angle. Runners, of course, are greeted with another motivational phrase, “Big Girls Run This Hill”. I am still feeling good and grind out this climb it, no walking. Matter of fact, I ran all of the climbs today, only walked about 10min total during the race. Grabbed a water refill up top, BS’ed with some locals for a minute before another crushing descent to the 25mi mark below in 3:49:49 (split 50:16, last climb). Stomach is edgy now, having to take in more salt than normal to keep my toes from cramping. Putting in calories help, but only so much.
Long, relatively flat stretch up Hwy 130 and Hwy 276. This is a tough stretch mentally, because it is a fairly long pull (~4mi) but you want to get it over so that you can start tackling Cathey Rd and The Walls; thus it always seems longer than it really is.
Finally comes Cathey Rd and entrance to the infamous Walls (site of many flameout for Jim runners). This stretch spares few athletes, one of the toughest pieces of ultrarunning in the South. “Gentle Grades Ahead” my ass. I linked up with COL Jeff Hager who works at Redstone as well, and we ground out the climbs; again, I ran it all (admittedly as slow pace), wanted the training effect for Western States. Hit the 30mi mark in the Walls at 4:39:58 (split 50:08, got a little faster), passed through all that nastiness before making the descent out of it, only to be lied to again by the painted “No More Hills” on the road.
Traded spots with Jeff Hager a few times as we made our way back to US-41, keeping a focus on knocking down 10min/miles, and keeping the water/calories/electrolytes flowing. Passed the 35mi mark at 5:33:48 (53:50 split) and made the turn onto 3 Forks Rd. Finally pulled out the mp3 player to help me get a better running rhythm going, just keep running and grinding it out! A pair of 2min walk breaks helped me consolidate myself for the final 10K stretch to home. Wide open country now, no shade at all, but fortunately overcast at this point.
Finally reached US-64 at 39.2mi with the age-old SJ40 joke of “Only Two More Miles” (making the race about 41.2mi in reality). Jeff Hager caught and passed me, looking strong in the final miles. Passed thru 40mi at 6:26:47 (52:59 split, ran pretty even all day long) then finally to the finish at 6:40:33
Talked with Rob Y and others a bit. Took some time to pour some cold water on my feet, bring swelling just a touch and rinse them off, plus load up Nathan hydration vest and pull on add’l gear and calories. Then after 30-35min, pulled up my gear, slipped across the tracks trying not to attract attention, and headed out for another 10 miles! [Ran the course out the 5mi marker and back.] the first mile was tough, as the legs had to start moving fluidly again. After 15min it started to work OK, took up a rhythm of 15min run (or 10min run), 5min walk break. Lots more cars than in the morning. Had to take a pitstop about 4mi out, but got to 5mi marker w/o incident and began the grind back to town. Took about 2hr 15min total, not great but not bad either. ~51mi on the day, I’ll take it!
Grabbed the hose at the Walking Horse Hotel again and just let the cold water run all over me, totally rinsed off and cooled down. Pulled on a change of shorts and t-shirt, then bellied up to the tables for a soda and bbq chicken. Spent some quality time BS’ing with Gary Cantrell and Ray Krolewicz, then RD Mike Melton. A very pleasant late afternoon hanging out in downtown WarTrace, TN. Finally peeled my ass out of the chair and 1700 and took a leisurely 2hr drive home. The boys immediately pounced on me as I walked in! ;-)
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