Ice Cream for Breakfast: Tornado Outbreak in Alabama

I had been meaning to post some of Clan Kennedy's highlights from our experiences during the massive tornado outbreak on 27 April 2011. While we unfortunately have zero photos from the 6-7 days period in the aftermath, I was able to jot down daily notes on my BlackBerry to keep some sort of record. Fortunately, we suffered no damage at all, though of course had several friends with medium-to-great losses. Amazingly, it marked the first time in my 21-year career with the US Army and Uncle Sam (in various ways) that I didn't have to be at the center of my organization as it went through some sort of disaster (natural or otherwise). During the earlier years of our marriage, Kirsten and I (esp. during active duty years) never saw each other (or were home) as hurricanes approached, monsoons hit Korea, 9/11 occurred, or minor earthquakes caused damage. So in all, a very pleasant time for Clan Kennedy and for me to guide my family through the week.

I woke on 27 April 2011 (Wed) at about 0440 and headed for the gym. Already we had thunderstorm and tornado warning all over the place, which I expected would go on-off all day. Little did I realize how bad they would be; this was just the first (and most minor) of three waves that would come through that day. It was pouring rain during my early weight-lifting workout. By the time I got home around 0610 (typically would wake Matthew then for math team practice at 0700), all the local schools were on 2-hr delay, so let the boys and Kirsten sleep.

I got to the office about 0730 to prep for an all-day meeting starting at 0800. But then that was at first delayed 2hrs, then then cancelled outright. By 1030 we started another series of tornado warning, and my building was evacuated to the basement. Since I work in the basement, this naturally makes for some great impromptu meetings, so I had long chat with others about ongoing technical projects. Little did we realize it would days before we started working on the taskers we gave ourselves! More tornado warnings continued 1130-1300, I got more visitors (friendly), but nothing much getting done now.

By the end of the midday tornado wave, the leaders in our organization began to recognize that another monster storm wave was coming through in the late afternoon. So we kicked everyone out and sent them home. By then I had already seen photos of the tree damage at Kim Susor's place up in the Moore's Mill area in NE Huntsville, half her house flattened by a huge tree. I headed out around 1400, and after battling traffic snarled by tornado damage, got there around 1445 to see the whole neighborhood destroyed by blown trees.

Despite the damage, Kim was in amazingly good spirits, all things considered. She was level-headed and doing a great job prioritizing what needed to happen. Along with other friends that had arrived, we spent time getting her belongings consolidated into standing rooms and out of the rain. Another neighbor arrived with a chainsaw and we got to work on clearing another big tree blocking her driveway. Fortunately, Kim's long time boyfriend (Tim Kerstetter) dropped everything upon seeing the storm damage photos and started driving from Ohio that afternoon, God bless him. By about 1730 we started to watch the third (and most massive) tornado wave come through north Huntsville. Good gracious, I wish I had taken a photo of it. Never have I seen anything like, dozens of lightning bolts going off, far more strikes and far more vicious than any storm I had ever experienced. We waited until it looked like that wave has passed to the north, then I decided to head home before it got totally dark.

I headed back to Big Cove and home via Dug Hill Road without too many issues. Some downed trees but road not impassable anywhere. The problem is that I did not realize that power was no out all over the northern section of the state. I only had about 3gal of gas in the XTerra, and had planned to tank up at Wal-Mart near the house. I got home just after last light, Kirsten and the boys fine but no power. They had been hunkered down waiting for the worst of the storms to pass. Fortunately cool weather, so after checking the house for damage (thankfully none), got the boys fed and hunkered down for the night. I was also able to talk with Tim Kerstetter as he was heading south down I-65 through Kentucky and northern TN at that point. Good man, marched to the sound of the guns (so to speak) and was at Kim's place around midnight.

28 Apr 2011, Day 2: Power Out. Arsenal Closed. Schools Closed. Nearly All Commerce Shut Down. No idea on extent of destruction yet.

So the one morning I might be tempted to lounge around, Kirsten gets productive and starts a to-do list! Sorta funny, sorta not. She had me up by 0600, intent on getting the boys fed and doing some chores. Matthew (our oldest), opens the garage freezer and comments that the ice cream is starting to melt. Then he gets a devious gleam in his eyes and you can tell he has come up with a great idea. "Dad", he inquires, "can we eat the ice cream for breakfast? It's going to melt anyway." Can't fault that logic! Sure kid, ice cream for breakfast. Kirsten and I enjoyed a wry chuckle at the old Bill Cosby comedy routine (Dad is great! Give us the chocolate cake [for breakfast]). What kind of parents are we?!

We were all outside by 0700, busy cleaning out the garage! Neighbors started to emerge shortly thereafter, talking and checking on each other. Heard about the press conference that local leaders were going to hold, so turned on the car radio and several of us stayed in the driveway to hear the news 0830-0930. Turns out Browns Ferry plant shut down, all major transmission lines destroyed. I had suspected we might be several days without power, but this was our first inkling at the extent of the destruction.

I also had to get accountability of all my employees, something I had started on the previous evening with mixed success. Considering I had no power to work on my laptop, I was doing all communications on my gov't BlackBerry, sending text messages to everyone's personal cell phones or calling home lines to those without. Fortunately, by that evening I had contacted all of my folks and all of them were safe. Also got to talk with Tim K again before my personal cell phone died. Only way I could get a charge into it or my BB was via car charger at that point.

So as I mentioned, Kirsten's first chore for us was cleaning the garage. We got both cars out, swept everything, scrubbed out all the cobwebs and dead mosquitoes, etc. With a little "help" from the boys, that and the news conference tied up the morning. Around noon I had heard from just about all of my folks at work, so sat down on the couch to read and eventually took a very pleasant early afternoon nap. Fortunately the weather is pleasant and a breeze blowing through the windows to air out the house.

In the afternoon we took good stock of our food supply, then Kirsten and Matt made a recon (via bicycle) to see if Wal-Mart, Lowe's, or any of the gas stations were oeprating (none at that point). We ate a simple dinner, concentrating on no cooking and eat perishables. Everyone was down by 2100 in the dark, lots of stars to look at with no city lights at all.

Oh by the way: Happy Birthday to me! 39 years old today! Had a couple of cookies from the pantry (ice cream all gone!)

29 April, Day 3: No power at home. Arsenal Closed. Schools Closed. Beginning to understand extent of destruction.

Matthew and I were up by 0600, and wandered down the street to our neighbor's house. We shared a leisurely pot of morning coffee, while charging electronics on the generator (this includes the boys' Nintendo DS systems, which proved to be handy in a few occasions in the next few days!).

Once back at home around 0700, Kirsten had her to-do list ready to go. So me and the boys set about cleaning the entire back porch in detail: sweeping the floors, clearing out cobwebs, scrubbing off chalk marks, cleaning the grill, hosing it all down, etc. Later in the morning, Kirsten and Matt went on another bike recon to Wal-Mart, Lowes, and Publix. Brought back some ice and limited groceries. I spent more time consolidating obvious perishables into available coolers, trying to keep ice alive and not waterlog the remaining food. By midday I got a chance to ready a book and take another long nap (love it!)

This is the day I figured out that a great source of news is the WHNT FaceBook feed. Followed that on-off through the day as more details of the power outage, destruction, and other news became available. Kinda funny that in the middle of a huge power outage, my gov't BlackBerry became the only reliable communications device. I spent a great deal of time getting news communicating with many of my employees and bosses (via text message and/or email). Dinner that evening was a no-cooking affair; easy to eat healthy by concentrating on perishables good without cooking! The boys took colds baths in the back yard, touch less complaining

Dinner was Cold baths, touch less complaining than last night. All asleep by 2130

30 April, Day 4: No power at home, obvious devastation across North Alabama

Up around 0600 again, strolled down to our neighbors' place to charge electronics. We enjoyed a leisurely pot of coffee and conversation on the front porch, boys had some hot chocolate and played horseshoes in the front yard. Got home around 0745, fed the boys some cereal and last remnants of the cold milk. Cleaning tasks for today revolved around emptying both refrigerators, consolidating remaining perishables into coolers with ice, then taking the interiors of the frig/freezer apart and scrubbing it all down in detail in the driveway. I dare say when we got it all back together it was the cleanest it had even been since its delivery brand new!

The lines for gas started to become manageable, so after listening to the daily 0830 press conference on the car radio, Kirsten headed out to fill up the kid-hauler vehicle. She also brought back 4gal of fuel to put into my XTerra so I could drive more than 25mi anywhere. By now it was on the fuel-low light, I had to crank it up once or twice a day to charge our personal cell phones.

This is the day we started to get smart about heating water in the sun for cleaning (dishes and ourselves!). A bunch of containers in the backyard, full of water, laid out in the sun to allow semi-warm baths tonight. This included the kids' sandbox, which turned into an impromptu wading pool, then dishwasher, then bathtub around 7pm. Nothing makes a redneck like cleaning your children in a wading tub in the backyard!

I did manage to go for a short run in early afternoon, good gracious that was rough. The fractured toe felt OK, not great, still can’t jump around or do pushups and put weight on it. But I ambled down past Goldsmith-Schiffman Elementary School and back in 35min. Felt better on the way back as the rust started to break off, but overall shaky! Did some more core strength work on the back porch, then treated myself to a bath via hose before continuing to work around the house

We have a large freezer in the garage, typically holding the remnants of our side of beef (grass-finished, great stuff). But knowing it wouldn't be able to stay cold much longer, I reached and grilled up about 4-5 lbs of ground beef into giant burgers. And thus Clan Kennedy enjoyed its first cooked meal since the tornado, some vegetables and fruit on the side! Fortunately, still enjoying lovely weather, so we ate out on the back porch and played frisbee and catch afterwards.

1 May, Day 5. Power Still Out, Warmer Weather, More Humid.

In keeping for what is quickly become daily rhythm, woke around 0600 and headed to the neighbors for coffee and company. Boys enjoying boiling water on the grill to make hot chocolate and running around in the street; they don't even know what day of the week it is anymore. (For the record, Sunday; we considered heading into church services, but figure the building itself would be stifling without a/c).

I went out for a light run about mid-morning, Kirsten not so quick with the to-do list by now! Still breaking off the rust from two weeks rest, climbed up into nearby Little Mtn estates, paying careful attention to that broken toe. Felt OK, but had to NOT flex off it real hard. Once back at home, went about more cleaning chores through the morning, getting food supplies re-arranged and consolidated. One of the lessons learned from the whole episode is understanding, once again, how to manage perishable food supplies without electricity. It can be done, but takes time and planning to keep stuff on ice, be more careful about not overstocking frig/freezer, and planning meals more carefully so as not to waster perishables.

In the early afternoon, we decided it was time to take a family trip. So we loaded up in the car (now have the advantage of steady gasoline sources) and went up to Maggie Valley Berry Patch on Grant Mtn. What a wonderful spot! I let Kirsten pick strawberries in peace, kept the boys nearby while they "helped" me pick berries from a row 50m away. Together we picked almost 10gal of some darn fine Alabama strawberries, best I have tasted since California. Aftewards we talked with the owners a while, toured their growing blackberry bushes (more picking this summer), and tried to wear out the boys. Stopped at Publix on the way home for 10lbs of ice (fortunately, it was available).

At home, began immediately to make preserves from some of the berries. Re-arranged food once again into coolers, did some throwing away, but able to save off a really large majority of the food from the freezers. From there I went about grilling the remaining ground beef (about 10lbs), 6 chicken breasts, fish, and all of the shrimp. The outdoor freezer wasn't staying cold anymore, so it was time to cook it all or lose it. At the same time, Kirsten making preserves on the side burner of the grill. So we had a truckload of stuff on the grill and lots of pots/pan to wash by hand (in the converted sandbox/dishwasher, of course). After dinner, spent more time rearranging food into containers and putting on ice. Kirsten took a walk around the block to chat with neighbors. The boys and I meanwhile rolled the deep freezer into the driveway and proceeded to give that thing a thorough bleaching and scrubbing. Major portions of this house will never be this clean again!

But since tomorrow is Monday, there is a real question of my employees going back to work. Redstone Arsenal finally announced it would not open tomorrow (turns out it would be later in the week). So had to spent about 2 hours on-off through the late afternoon and early evening coordinating with folks about status of the Arsenal and issue guidance for maintaining continued accountability in the meantime.

And just after sunset, while finishing cleaning the freezer in last vestiges of daylight, something odd happens. I am standing in the driveway, and something is different about the front porch. And something is different about the street lights. Wait, the power is back on! To my amazement and continual thanks to TVA and Huntsville Utilities, about 1945 we were back in business. Much jubilation in the neighborhood (about 98hours without power), neighbors taking a final stroll, shaking hands and wishing each other well....then we all went back inside!

Several days earlier I had turned off nearly all the circuit breakers in the house, save those controlling the lights in the foyer and front porch. I was concerned that a sudden jump in electrical current would fry some items in the house, so leaving those circuits and switches on gave us best indication power was back. I brought on selected breakers over the next hour: lights, receptacles, etc. Cleaned up the boys with boiled water, let them watch a video while Kirsten and I continued to clean up from all the days activities. After about 2 hours, waiting to (hopefully) make sure the power situation was stable, I brought outside frig, washer/dryer, and HVAC online around 2130, wanted to ensure no more power spikes. Left inside frig turned off so we can clean it again thoroughly in the morning.

Then just before 2200 came the big news: Osama Bin Laden killed during SOF raid into Pakistan! Holy shit! Kirsten went to bed, but I was wired, stayed up to watch the President’s address then news and FB until well past midnight. I finally settled down around 0300.

2 May, Day 6. ALL ARSENAL WORKSITES CLOSED; Power back on at home

Woke around dawn, dozed until 0700. Went for an early run, down to GSES and back plus some time on the track there, 40min total. Kirsten and I were busy rest of the morning: making preserves from some of the strawberries, freezing the rest, finished putting the deep freeze back in action, transferring food back into outside frig, cleaning out inside frig and putting back together, and more. Amazingly, still had a great heap of fresh lettuce that we kept alive the whole time, so made a big salad and hard-boiled eggs for brunch around 1100. Took my first shower since Wed morning.

Family trip to Costco 1230-1430. Had lunch in the foodcourt as a break from the past few days. (didn't take us long to get back to American suburbia ways!). Then shopping to do some replenishment of perishables plus use the coupons we had been saving. Once back home, put all the food away, set up the inside frig again, bagged the remaining strawberries for deep freeze, and did about 5-6 loads of laundry!

I went out for another run about 1600. Around Little Mtn loop in the sun (80deg) with 6x1min surges, 6 miles total. While all sweaty, went about task of seriously cleaning the grill, made a mess of myself. Pulled out the grease catch, threw out the heat distribution plate, scraped old grease and remnants from the inside, tried like hell to degrease the cooking grids with minimal progress, even major degreaser didn’t work all that well. Finally wrapped it up around 1830 and had dinner (leftover turkey and greenbeans). Then got to eat my birthday cake! Spent more time through the afternoon and evening communicating with my bosses and employees about status of the Arsenal and work. Power back on? Stayed up late, of course.

3 May, Day 7. MOST ARSENAL WORKSITES STILL CLOSED, Huntsville Schools Closed

Woke around 0600 and headed to the gym to lift weights. Once back home, had breakfast with the boys and watched the rain come in. We were very lucky to have enjoyed cool, sunny weather throughout the power outage. After that I watched the daily press conference about local status on TV for once (instead of car radio) 0830-0900.

Now that laptop is charged back up, was able to look into and clean out all the email that I had been stacking up for days now. After that and a series of phone calls for work, I got Kirsten out of the house for a few hours and away from the boys. Fed the boys some lunch, did homework sheets with them all in turn through the afternoon. Even started to teach Luke how to ride his bike without training wheels. Got extra free time now, so take advantage. Went over to CrossFit Huntsville for a WOD ("Jackie"), then ran another 3mi at the X-C park nearby.

Spent time in the evening answering emails and doing command-control with my folks via text messages and email. Kirsten and I spent more time folding pile of huge pile of laundry (a lot of it with no washer-dryer for 5 days).

4 May, Day 8. ARSENAL STILL LARGELY CLOSED; HSV SCHOOLS STILL CLOSED; GORGEOUS SUNNY DAY (hi of 66deg)

By now, having the schools closed and Arsenal closed is getting to be a pain. I went for a run pre-dawn, then took the boys to Brueggers for bagels (say that 5 times fast). From there it was down to the YMCA where I could run some energy out of them for the next two hours.

By early afternoon, news came out out that most buildings on the Arsenal would be open tomorrow, as would Huntsville City Schools.

5 May (Thurs)...back to normal!

Strolling Jim 40M - May 2011

My fifth journey through the hills of Bedford County, TN, the Strolling Jim 40-Miler is a Southern ultrarunning classic. Seemingly innocuous on paper (I mean, heck, just 40mi of road. Kinda like an extended marathon right?), the "4 Small Hills" scattered through the race have a habit of chewing up unsuspecting runners (and even a few veterans!). But I always love coming back to WarTrace for the people, the scenery, and a well-executed race.

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

37th OA out of 112 finishers (116 starters)

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! ;-)

Ouachita Trail 50M - 16 Apr 2011

A few weeks behind in posting my race report for the Ouachita Trail 50M, but better late than never. With RDs Stan and Chrissy Ferguson, you can be sure of a well-executed, challenging event, and the day did not disappoint. I drove over to Little Rock on Friday afternoon, camping out on Maumelle Park before the race. Follow this link for another fine race report, or go to this for a link on the 50k variant of the race, along with very cool flyover video.



The race started right on time at 6am. The first 3mi uneventful, as we headed west on Pinnacle Valley Rd towards the state park. Typical ultrarunner BS’ing, getting our legs warmed up and finding the right stride. Soon enough we got off the road and turned down onto the Ouachita National Recreation Trail. A bit unexpectedly, we made an extended descent down into a hollow before rolling out to the East Pinnacle aid station at the 4mi mark.


Now the real fun begins and we make the climb onto Pinnacle Mtn. Now that trail is probably among the coolest I have been on in the South, a rock scramble that goes right up the side of the unique terrain feature, climbing about 700’ in under a mile. Forget running, the trails consists of red/white paint blazes up through the rocks to the top; not dissimilar to climbing up Cheaha, but no dirt to speak of. Lots of jabbering and laughing and wry comments from the runners, we were still fresh and smiling and enjoying the scenery and the company. The view from up top on a cool, windy morning was fantastic; the climb up Pinnacle alone was worth the drive and race fee! Somehow I am surprised the race directors never opted to have folks make the climb at the end of the race as well, just as means of extra punishment!


Here is a cool video glimpse of the Pinnacle Mountain climb by vonralls.



Descent off the Pinnacle, down a different trail, was all huge rocks itself, so no way to go blowing down it. Back through the aid station, then heading west again on the Ouachita Trail. Brief stretch on State Hwy 300, passing along east end of Lake Maumelle and then the long run across the north shore of the lake. The trail and the course, while short of major climbs/descents, is nonetheless rarely never flat, sure as heck ain't straight, and always very rocky. In short, it is more challenging than I had really anticipated, very akin to running on Monte Sano or across major stretches of the nearby Pinhoti in terms of rocks and technicality. And so for the next 3 hours I simply ground out the miles, trying to avoid major spills, passing through the Northshore and Long Crossing (unmanned water drop) aid stations. I had some real low moments around 22-23 mi once we got in sight of western end of the lake, my fun meter just about pegged.

Crossed over Hwy 113, put my head down and went south eventually crossing over the western edge of the lake and to the turn-around. Had a change of shoes/socks at the turn (26.5mi) but since I was going to get wet in just a few minutes anyway, and my Inov-8s were working just fine, opted to not to make any changes. Just loaded up on the water, ate a couple of cookies, and began the trip.

I rode out several low points, had a nice resurgence around 31mi. Then my old friend Murphy made a visit. While crossing through a creek, water up about 10-12” deep, I somehow slipped/tripped, and just hammered my left big toe hard. Damn that hurt! Did I just break that sucker? No way to tell, just took a pair of Aleve and tried to keep moving. In addition, toes on my right foot wanting to cramp badly, kept throwing down more and more Endurolytes to keep it that at bay.

The left toe was just really painful. I though seriously about stopping in the Northshore aid station to peel off the shoe/sock to look, but didn’t dare. If I so much as sat down I knew I would not get back; and sure as hell if I pulled off that sock and saw the damage, no way I would get my spare pair of socks back and then rise to finish the race.

Passed through an unofficial aid station run by the local Hash group, where they had more Vitamin-I, took three of those and just kept going. Can feel the toe swelling in the wet shoes, but little choice except to keep moving. The silver lining is that with all the anti-inflammatories I have in my system, all the minor aches/pains that come with a 50M run are all gone! While every rock I step on my sharp pain to the toe, I can otherwise run fairly well with no other minor aches!

I passed 4-5 folks in the final stretches, but almost made a wrong turn at the entrance to Pinnacle Mtn State Park! Fortunately, Stan Ferguson had painted “NO” on the road when I tried to make a left turn, which became my clue to look up then straight ahead to find a mass of blue flagging and blue blazes marking the trail going back into the trees! How the heck could I have missed that?

Ground up another mile of trail, through the last aid station, then a tough little climb up into the park and back out onto the pavement at last. 3mi of road to the finish, so set myself up on a 9min/mile pace and just kept pushing, pushing pushing. Several rolling hills on the way back, with the sun now out warming things up a bit. But kept focused and steady, making the final right turn and left turn into the race HQ, crossing the line at 10:24:57

A gorgeous late afternoon, so took a few minutes to walk around and get my body back under control. Swallowed down some recoverite, then finally took off my shoes/socks to reveal the damage:




Rinsed off with a hose in the picnic area, then had a couple of burgers while meeting some locals: Paul Turner, PoDog Vogler, Charles Flannigan, etc. Talked with Stan/Chrissy for a bit, generally BS’ing. Left the race HQ about 1900 and headed for Embassy Suites. Spent some time in an ice bath, little bit of laptop time, then crashed about 9pm. Enjoy a well-earned (and huge) Embassy Suites breakfast the next morning before heading home.

Reverse Double Mt Cheaha 100k

The day of 26 Feb 2011 was spent pulling off a tom-fool stunt called the Reverse Double Cheaha 100k. For those not familiar, the Mt Cheaha 50k course is a wonderful, brutal, and point-to-point race in the Talladega Nat’l Forest, starting at Porter’s Gap on AL Hwy 77 and running NE to finish at the top of Alabama, Mt Cheaha (2407’ elevation). Participants are typically bussed down to the start line from from Cheaha State Park on race morning, then run 50k back along what is the toughest 50k course in the state. So it stands to reason that at some point, some moron would eschew the whole bus thing and simply run the course in reverse overnight to the start line, then complete the actual race. Turns out that moron is me.

But the seed of this idea did not start with me. A certain amount of blame lies with the infamous Rob Youngren, long of Huntsville and ultrarunning fame. You see, Rob lives right on top of Monte Sano Mountain in Huntsville, site of the Mtn Mist 50k course. So feeling bored/adventurous one year, Rob decides to leave his house at midnight before that year’s Mtn Mist (2006 if I recall), runs the course in the dark, cleans up, then runs the actual race…all pretty much on a whim. Then in 2009 he announces the day before the race he’s going to do it again, this time running the course in reverse starting at midnight before the actual race. For some absurd reason, myself and John Nevels decide to go with him. Rob called it the Reverse Double Mtn Mist (his idea, so he gets naming rights). Sometime in the months following that bit of tom-foolery, I am looking at the point-to-point Mt Cheaha 50k course map and remark to myself that doing a reserve double of that course looks ‘natural’. So on the dot of midnight under a moonless, star-filled sky, I set forth from the Cheaha 50k finish line at Bald Rock Lodge on Mount Cheaha State Park and start running backwards on the course.

Before the narrative, here are my split times in each direction:

Outbound:

Bald Rock to Chinnabee: 01:40

At Adams Gap: 01:35 (03:15 total), leave Adams Gap 03:25 total

At Clairmont Gap: 1:30 (04:55 total)

At Chandler Springs: 1:11 (06:06 total)

At Porters Gap: 00:47 (6hr 53min outbound)

Splits Inbound:

Chandler Springs: 00:39:37

Clairmont Gap: 01:03:01 (1:42:39 total)

Adams Gap: 1:29:52 (3:13:31 total)

Chinnabee: 1:34:11 (4:46:42 total)

Finish at Bald Rock: 2:02:11 (6:48:02 inbound for the race)

The Reverse

It was a bit surreal at first: near-total silence on the mountain; crisp, cool air; a slight breeze blowing leaves around here and there. It was only later in the night it dawned on me that I was out SOLO, in the dark, on an isolated trail system, in the dead of night. But it was perfectly fine, and the realization of all that brought a smile to my face. A sure sign that I was doing something enjoyable, not scary.

So if you look at the course map of the Cheaha race, you can see that the first terrain feature to be negotiated is running down off of the Cheaha massif to the valley below. The formal name for this path is the Rock Garden Trail; the more appropriate moniker is “Blue Hell” for the route down to the Cheaha Lake below. The names comes from the all the blue paint marks that help hikers (for no one can actual run this thing) find their down (or up) through the rocks and tree roots that make the trail. Words cannot describe its difficulty, though several have tried! . Many consider it to be the toughest piece of trail in the state.

Anyway, so I make my way down Blue Hell in the dark with the help of my headlamp, emerging below at Cheaha Lake and pulling out onto a short stretch of blacktop road and then turn onto FS 600-3 (improved dirt road). I was moving a pretty steady clip, feeling wide awake and juiced up from the adventure ahead. About the 45-50min mark I spotted the turn off FS600-3 and onto the Chinnabee-Silent Trail, beginning a 10mi trail section. The trail is in great condition: dry, no puddles, very little in the way of downed trees or other debris; as good a shape as I have seen. The running is enjoyable and coming smooth, so I really enjoyed to approach to Chinnabee Lake in the dark. Soon enough I could hear the rushing waters of the creek that feeds the small lake, with a great piece of trail guiding those on foot steadily downward to the lake. Reached Chinnabee and crossed over the creek at 0140.

Coming out of Chinnabee on the Skyway Trail is a tough climb out of the narrow gorge made by the lake now behind me. But after that is 4mi of steady in-out of small draws and spurs, crossing over old, abandoned forest-service roads and a few creeks. Plenty of steady running and feeling pretty good. After the final creek crossing is a hard left turn and you begin to make the mile-long climb to Adams Gap up at the end of AL-281 and beginning of FS 600-1 (Cheaha Motorway). I got to Adams Gap around 0315, filled up my Nathan hydration pack from a jug of water I had left there earlier, downed a pair of espresso gels from the same stash (caffeine is a good thing at this time of the morning), then made a pitstop in the trees before leaving there 10min later. I was a tad surprised at how fast I made into Adams Gap, told myself to slow it down a touch on the latter half of the course. Otherwise I would just screw myself for the race itself. Plus, if I rolled into the starting area much before 0645, likely that Todd Henderson (race director) would not be there with my spare gear and a warm truck to hole up in for a few moments! Going too fast served little purpose.

Turned out not to be a huge problem, for the next ~6.5mi to Clairmont Gap (via Pinhoti Trail) is probably the roughest on the course: plenty of rocks to down over, a narrow trail on the cant; a tight, winding descent into a small creek following a tough, rocky climb out of it; all followed by another 4mi of technical, rocky trail. The whole thing can beat up your feet and ankles, and the rocks force most folks to walk over them, sapping your momentum as you attempt to stumble forward gracefully without rolling ankles or falling over period! But towards the end of the stretch I was rewarded with some great views to the north towards Talladega and Oxford, then to valleys on the south as well. A 40% moon, no clouds, plenty of stars made for great sights, as long as you paid heed to the trail underfoot!

Came down to Clairmont Gap around 0455, crossed over the road, and began a relatively easy section where the course follows FS 600-1 (Talladega Skyway) instead of the Pinhoti Trail for about 2mi. Turned off the headlamp for a bit and just ran by moonlight. But that respite did not last long, as the course re-enters the Pinhoti, makes a decsent into a dark, desolate hollow before climbing up and over FS600-3 again to the ridgeline of Talladega Mtn. For the last 2 hours I have heard the trains running in the night on a major rail system just to the south and set up tracks that crosses the Pinhoti going north-south to the town of Talladega. and finally coming down to Chandler Springs. Finally the trail comes down to a gap in the mountain at Chandler Springs, crossing a decent-sized creek and set of railroad tracks. I got there just after 6am, moving steadily in the emerging dawn.

So after Chandler Springs is a 3.5mi stretch up and over Talladega Mtn one last time to Porters Gap, and I had a target time of 0700 at the start line. Not too soon, lest I be sitting there in the cold morning (it was hovering right around freezing). And not too late, or I wouldn’t get a enough time to change socks/shoes, other vital gear, and generally get reset for the race. But the climb up the mountain, while not technical, is fairly steep, so I just opted to power-hike that sucker vs. grinding it out on the run. Again I was rewarded with some great views to the South and Southwest towards Horn Mtn (glad I am not doing THAT section of the Pinhoti Trail anytime soon!) as the sun was fully up now and I turned off my headlamp and flashlight. Once over the peak of that section of the mountain, made a smooth and steady descent into Porters Gap. The buses with all the runners had not showed up, and only got a few stupid looks from folks there wondering where I had come from. Checked in the RD Todd Henderson, who blessedly brought a bag of spare gear down to the start. He cranked up his truck, so I climbed in and changed gear in warmth and relative comfort. I was in really good spirits, so once the buses showed up, spent some time BS’ing with Will/Emily Ansick, John Dove, Dana Overton, DeWayne Satterfield, Dink Taylor, Christian Griffith, Marcus Ferris, Mike O’Melia and others.

The Race Itself

Given that my race plan came together fairly well, I only had a 1/2hr of time between 50K legs, which just about perfect. Todd Henderson started us off right at 0730 with the now-standard playing of “Sweet Home Alabama” by Lynyrd Skynard and we were off on the Race to the Top of Alabama! Given that I wasn’t exactly going out with the leaders, settled comfortably in the conga line for the first section back to Chandler Springs. I was a might chilly at the start, but I opted for a short-sleeve shirt (orange “No Cupcakes” shirt from Fleet Feet Huntsville, the better to find my dead body should I pop later in the day) and no hat/gloves. The weather forecast called for 70+ deg that day, and were not disappointed, but more on that later.

For the race itself, I enforced a fairly strict 25min run/5min walk-rest cycle, concentrating on putting fuel down during the walk breaks. Plus I was going to power-walk a goodly number of the climbs as well. Took my first break on top of the mountain, watching more people pass me, many of whom I ended up catching later in the day. After the steep, winding descent to Chandler Springs at about 40min, things started to space out some and found more to room to run and set my own rhythm rather than get stuck in a crowd. Even still, talked to several nice folks on the run: a couple of college kids on their first ultra (one of whom is Mike O’Melia’s nephew), a small team of folks from Atlanta area with their coach, and one dude who picked me up after a took a nasty little spill on the trail (gonna have a bruise on my knee for several days after that one). Then there was some gal, obviously a triathlete (wearing a tri skinsuit and wearing some sort of cycling shoes of all things). She was about the most annoying person I have ever heard on the trail; whining, moaning, and generally complaining on every little climb. I doubt she even read the course description or check the course map, for she likely had no idea about Cheaha when she signed up! I swear, I know it is a bit of hyperbole, but my wife made less noise delivering all three of our boys! Welcome to trail running, young lady!

Relatively uneventful and nice running back through Clairmont Gap at about 1hr 42min elapsed. I took a little spill in the rocks beyond that aid station, hammering the nail bed of my left ring finger and seeping blood out of it for the next 30min until I get sufficient pressure on it to clot properly; that sucker stings even now I sit typing this report on an American Airlines flight to the West Coast (yes, traveling on business the day after 100k). Passed a few more folks on a long technical descent before climbing up and out to Adams Gap at about 3hr 13min elapsed.

It was at this point I began to realize that I my splits were the same as the outbound leg overnight. While of course, even (or negative) splits is the goal of any serious runner, the realities of long races (esp. trail ultras) often preclude it. But hey, we’ll see how it goes rest of the day. While I came off of Mt Cheaha in the dark, I would be finishing by climbing back up it in the heat of the day (not bad at 70-75deg, but not exactly cool either). My goal was to run as steady as possible, keeping the pressure on myself to simulate the pace/effort that I will need later this year at Western States.

The out-back getting off the Pinhoti Trail into Adams Gap is a rocky mess, but the steady descent into down the Skyway trail is quite enjoyable. Made my way across two minor creek crossings, up past another aid station, down and through Hubbard Creek before making the approach to Lake Chinnabee. By now I am starting to feel the clear, sunny sky and the temperature a bit. Not sweating through all my clothes, my definitely drinking my one hand-bottle dry between aid stations. Dropped over the edge of the technical descent to the lake, with all the green vegetation in that enclosed gorge. A nice fellow let me pass him right at the top, and I mustered the juice in my legs again to make a swift descent. Unlike past years, the creek was fairly low, no need for ropes or even getting wet (matter of fact, I never got so much as a toe wet the whole 100k). Quickly danced over the available rocks and did the short out-back to the aid station (4:47 elapsed now). Drained 3-4 cups of HEED and took another two Endurolytes; the toes on the right foot keeping threatening to cramp, a rather uncomfortable experience.

The climb out of Chinnabee was very pleasant, I took a little extra time with all that fluid sloshing around in my gut. The winding trail over to the Silent Shelter was in good shape, as we runners passed multiple bands of hikers, boy scout troops, and church groups. Finally popped out on FS600-3, and hit the road section. While doing great mentally and emotionally, the body was getting tired from the distance, the effort, and lack of sleep (over 31 hours awake at this point). I got into a strict 2min run/1min power-walk cycle, pushing down a few calories at each walk break. After 10min I extended that out to 3min/1min while keeping a firm eye on the watch and really beginning to grasp the possibility of hitting negative splits for the race (inbound leg faster than outbound). But to do I had to keep mentally/emotionally tough, and I had to climb Blue Hell!

So turned onto the blacktop, and just like last year (running with Eric Fritz) there loomed the Cheaha massif, nearly a full 1000’ above us with nothing but suffering to get past during the 3/4mi climb right up the side. After passing through the Lake Cheaha aid station, I began the climb of Blue Hell with 95k on these legs already. At first I could run it, then it become a power-walk, and finally I just kept telling myself to keep moving, one foot in front of the another. Do not stop for anything, do not lose momentum, just keep going up and up and up through those accursed boulders rocks and darn blue paint marks until finally, there is the end of it as the trail came out onto the park’s perimeter road.

But wait, it ain’t over yet! Because despite the nice simple line on the course map, we re-enter a short, rough trail and climb another 200’ elevation again to the very top of Alabama and pass by the park’s observation tower at 2407’. Nothing compared to Colorado, mind you, but enough for down here! And even beyond that, the course enters one final insult stage with 3/4 miles more of single-track trail, winding around to Bald Rock Lodge and my eventual finish at 6:48:02 (68th place out of 182 finishers), accompanied by a wonderful, bright, sunny Alabama spring day.

Aftermath

No shame in saying I was pretty happy with it all at that point. Several folks there at the finish knew what kind of silly stunt I had just pulled off, so rose to greet me, doing high-fives and first bumps. Christian Griffith was on the steps chilling and grinning like a villain, having finished in 5:46 (another stellar day in a string of recent races). John Dove was there, then saw Todd Henderson, DeWayne Satterfield, Dana Overton and multiple folks from the Atlanta-GUTS crew. Meandered inside to find my duffle bag and swallow down some Recoverite before mooching a shower from someone staying at the lodge. No hot water at all, but a cold water shower was just fine by me at that point. Though really not all that hungry (rarely have an appetite after such efforts), grabbed a few slices of pizza and a soda (a real Coke, with sugar and all, no diet BS) before heading outside to sit in the grass, soak up a little sun, and jawbone with folks at the finish area.

I started to zone out around around 1630 or so (surprise, surprise: no sleep for 34 hours by now), so took a power nap on the couch inside. I have no doubt folks passed by me and pointed to the stupid fool taking a siesta. Arose around 1730 a touch groggy, but wandered into the main hall of the lodge and found a good crowd of the GUTS folks there. Still not exactly hungry, but knowing I needed to eat some more, I took advantage of the wonderful homemade chili that Todd/Jamie had prepared. Sucked back another Coke with it, had a little dessert to boot. Around 1800 I knew it was time to started the journey home, so gathered my gear, said my good-byes and see-you-next-race and headed out. Made a stop at the Starbucks in Oxford off I-20 for the largest cup of black coffee they would sell me and headed for home, my wonderful wife, and three sleeping boys.

A huge CONGRATS and THANKS to Todd and Jamie Henderson for such a great event. They do such a wonderful job of turning a tough 50k race into a whole event: from arranging the amenities of Bald Rock Lodge at Cheaha State Park, the trasnpo necessary for a point-to-point course, great aid stations, plus post-race chili party on Sat evening. Not enough good things I can say about this pair: good, good peoples.

I can’t say if I’ll strap on the trail shoes for another Cheaha 50k, and no way in hell I will do that 100k stunt again, but definitely will be back next year and years beyond in some capacity (volunteering, crewing, coaching, or otherwise). It is a great venue (both the race itself and the whole area) with plenty of reasons to come back. Be well…..

Louisville Lovin' the Hills 50k, 12 Feb 2011

Wanted to log a long trail run, plus the exploring bug got to me a little bit, so traveled up to Louisville, KY for the infamous Lovin' the Hills 50k. I once heard Rob Youngren mention that this sucker is even tougher than the Mtn Mist or the Mt Cheaha race, so of course that was a factor as well! And no joke, Rob wasn't kidding; the LLTH is probably one of the toughest 50k races I have ever seen. The only events of similar distances from my experiences were the now-defunct Carmel Valley 50K and Quad Dipsea races in California.

I have never driven north of Nashville, TN on I-65, so all new territory for me as I passed across the TN/KY state line. Not enough time to visit Mammoth Cave National Park, but did manage an all-too-short quick stop at the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site before it closed. Hope to get back to each of these and spend more time in the future. After bashing my way into downtown Louisville on a Friday afternoon, picked up my race packet at Ken Combs Running Store before checking into my hotel south of the city.

Now, as I am driving up to Louisville and seeing landscape flatten out a bit, beginning to wonder what all the hype over the difficulty of the course. I mean, having read race reports from Rob Youngren, Susan Donnelly, and others, I am expecting some pretty hellacious terrain, but not seeing it anywhere. Bu then I pulled off the interstate south of town and drove a mere 3m. Then the backroad immediately climbed up into the Jefferson Memorial Forest and holy cow, now I know what they were talking about! Once up on the plateau, there were multiple steep, narrow draws and spurs coming off in all directions. No major elevations changes, just that you could tell the trails would climb/descend those terrain features time and again.

So next morning I woke 0540 at hotel, pulled on my gear, and walked down to the lobby to eat some breakfast. It was a dang trail runner convention in there! Rob Apple and Susan Donnelly were quietly, along with another dozen folks. I cracked a joke out loud, “So, y’all are here for the Snowman 5k downright, right?” To which I got a mix of chuckles and light derision from the crowd)

The race started 0800 in the cold, about 25deg with some breeze. Plenty of snow still about, kept the trail fairly runnable with no mud for the first 2-3 hours. The pack moved along steady for a mile until we hit the first single track and it was game-on. Hard left turn and narrow descent down a 12” wide trail with scattered tree roots. Turned out not to be a major descent, crossed over a creek bed at the bottom in few minutes, but made an immediately climb back up the other side, setting a pattern for the day of coming off one ridge and climbing to the next. Now it is not that the Forest is amazingly technical or rocky like Monte Sano or Cheaha or Lookout Mtn, but that the trails are narrow, canted, and never ever flat! But the first leg went quite smooth overall, trail was in good shape and the pack I was in moved along steadily. Went thru A/S #1 just under an hour and proceeded over to leg 2 on the Yost Trail towards the east. Only irritating part was having my sunglasses keep fogging up on the climbs (tucked under my skull cap), then can’t see out of them when I needed most on the ensuing descents. So had to park them on my head for the until about Mile 20 when it was warm enough to pull off the skull cap.

Passed over a paved road about Mile 7, then a ½ mile of the course was roughed, no real trail, so had to slow down some on the climb and took some sawbriar cuts. The second leg was still in good shape, lots of packed snow but no mud (yet). Watched Dave Corfman (from OH) slip right off the trail as it traversed a slippery rock face; the smooth rock had run-off covering and he just went down the side. It is what I am now calling a “Jeff Bryan”, so-named for Jeff Bryan of Tallahassee after watching him unexpectedly sliding off the Cold Springs about 1mi into this year’s Mtn Mist 50K!

With so many twists, turns, climbs, and descent on the second leg, it was only the sun position that gave me any clue where I was at on the course. A/S #2 at Mile 12 kind of just popped out of nowhere, a welcome respite for 200m in the parking lot until resuming the trail. We backtracked on the course about a mile towards the west until reaching the major intersection of the race; Leg 2 goes to the east (which I had just finished), whereas Leg 3 (18mi) goes to the west. Turns about the first dozen runners got to the intersection in the morning and turned West (to Leg 3) instead of East (to Leg 2). Thus they not only got ahead of the aid station crews out to the west, but upon getting back to that intersection with about 1.5mi to the finish area (off a bit to the South), they were ordered to continue heading East and finish Leg 2! Ouch!

The first part of Leg 3 was some enjoyable and challenging trail work. Made a long descent to the Jefferson Memorial Forest Welcome Center, crossed the road, then ground up a long single-track climb back onto the ridgeline. Still covered in the snow and on a small cant, the narrow trail demanded your full attention to not slip off and go careening to the bottom. But we eventually gained the major ridge top of the race on the Siltstone Trail, some enjoyable running with relatively minor climbs and descent and much less snow up top. But the worst was yet to come as midday approached, the temperature pushed towards 50deg and the snow began a major melt-off

Spent a good part of this section jawboning with Dave Corfman and Dave Krekeler from Cincinnati area. We were climbing and talking about techniques to beat the hills when they mentioned Dave Riddle busting the course record at Stone Steps. Of course, the name is a bit familiar to me, so we waxed eloquent about the good Mr. Riddle for the next mile or two: what brought him to Cinci, success at JFK50 and Mtn Mist, etc. I stopped to take a leak and Dave left me way behind, ended up finishing about 10-15min ahead of me.

I was started to feel the fatigue and pain in my left glute-hammy as I approached the Scotts Gap aid station around Mile 20. The sun was full out now, so pulled off my skull cap and slid my Oakleys back on; the Rx glasses help a lot, easier to see the fine details of the trail ahead of me! But alas, by now major pieces of the trail are turning to muddy mush, slowing things down some more. Beyond Scotts Gap is a 3mi CCW loop that climbs straight up for ½ mile, makes a descent along a short ridge before turning left down another sharp, switch-back descent that is nothing but slick, watery mud by now. The 3mi loop took nearly an hour, too much short-stepping and walking to avoid going down hard or sliding off the trail. Once back at the Scotts Gap a/s I discovered the young lady behind was the first place woman. The discovery that I might not get “chicked” today was motivating; forgive the obviously chauvinistic term, but it is no lie that I moved smartly on the long return leg towards the finish.

Alas, by now the long climb out of Scotts Gap back onto the ridge line was hampered by long stretches of very slushy-muddy trail. Tough to make a good climb of it when you get even get solid, reliable traction. But made myself smile and enjoy the fine scenery and great course, eventually gained the ridge where the trail went smooth again and did some running up there. I was running completely solo by now, the only people I saw were those going outbound towards the west as I head back east. It is a 10k stretch from Scotts Gap back to the Welcome Center, single-track all the way. Lots more mud as the course came off the ridge down into another creek bed then climbed back up. Eventually hit some snowy patches again that made things a little faster but just a treacherous on the 12” wide slippery trail

Ground my way back to the major race intersection at about 6.5hrs and turned south for the finish area 1.5mi away. Another steady descent along some an albeit wider but still very muddy trail. Came turn a major right-hand switchback with another gent that had come up behind me. I went all the way around the switch, but this dude cuts if off inside me on the turn, slides down the switch about 10’ shy and just left a huge scar in the muddy switch where his feet slid down. What an ass. He was gone, I wouldn’t have caught him anyway, but irritating nonetheless. The last 1/2mi to the finish was all winding climb, little running possible for a nice finish line photo!

Complete the course in 6hr, 50min, 19sec according to official records. Finisher prize was a wooden ornament and Colorado Birch tree sapling that I planted with the boys at home. Overall, toughest 50K I have seen in the South. One of the Horton races in VA may be tougher, but LLTH beats Cheaha in my opinion. Range of finish times all slower than Mtn Mist or Cheaha. I think the Carmel Valley 50k and I ran in California in 2004 were even tougher than this, but only because the climbs/descent were much longer in the California Coastal range around Monterey.

Got myself cleaned up inside, enjoyed a couple of bowls of homemade with Dave Corfman inside the Horine Center (race HQ). Eventually got on the road about 1700 EST, grabbed my McD’s coffee on I-65, made it home around 2030 CST.