In awe

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  • Day427 Smokies

    It was as advertised, Smokies is a paradise for people who like outdoors.

    I love every moment of it.

    I first heard of The Smoky Mountains National Park as a kid from the Smoky Bear TV ads.

    When I was a teen, a friend went there during one summer and he talked about swimming and camping and biking. Since then it was always in the back of my mind that I wanted to visit it someday.

    I started doing camping stuffs just a few years ago and it was kind of on my radar as a place to go too, but because of my running schedule and also I was still not brave enough to go out on my own, I was relunctant to make a trip there.

    Smokies reminds me of the movies the Last of the Mohicans and Dances with Wolves. Well those two movies didn’t set in the Smokies – but I associated the trip with the two movies because of the wildness and remoteness of the place.

    I stayed a week in the Smokies, from Saturday to Saturday. The first and last couple days were at Smokemont campground. Then I went out on my own to do a loop backpacking on the Benton Mackaye Trail (BMT) to Deep Creek and took the Appalachian Trail (AT) back with the help of some connector trails (Hughes and Bradley Fork) to camp Smokemont. My family members were not conditioned or had the desire to do backcountry camping like me. Also the mileage is high, totaling about 60 miles in fouqr days.

    Day 1 of my backpacking was pretty easy. Hiked from Smokemont Campground  following the BMT. The horse trail/road out of the camp was flat and easy. The trip to camp 47 was relatively short. I started off around 11 am and got to my night 1 camp around 3 pm. There were some elevation gains and lost. I had about a 40 lb pack on me fully loaded with water and all the things I thought I need. Certainly I could and should have packed lighter (firekit/firstaid was not used and so with many other gadgets).

    Night 1 campsite was peaceful. I had nice weather. It was by a river. I slept with fireflies dancing around my head with the sound of roaring river nearby. I had the camp all by myself.

    Day 2. I woke up early – not super early but got up when my body couldn’t sleep any more. Made Breakfast, and packed up. Little did I know it was hardest day I think. I felt the whole day was always climbing. I encountered a thunderstorm in the afternoon. Even with a rain jacket on, I was wet. It was also first time hiking through a storm. There was only one lightning strike near me, and I was on the descend portion at the time. I was not afraid. I got to camp at Mt Sterling around 5 pm. It was a solid day of 8 hours hiking.

    Night 2. I arrived at camp cold and wet. First thing was to have shelter set up, then cook, and last was water collection. I went to bed when sun was about to set. I had the site all by myself the second day. Nobody hiked up to Mt Sterling in bad weather.

    I woke up in the middle of night to a spectacular moon rise. I at first thought someone had come to camp and had a fire going. Due to needing to pee, I went out of my tent and saw it was the moon. There was an eerie feeling with the dark radio tower in the background.

    Mt Sterling tower

    Day 3 would be my longest hike. It ended up about 30 miles and a 16 hours day. I should have left camp in the wee 3 am hour when I woke up to pee in order to make it to camp in the daylight.

    I chose to sleep in till 5 am I think. By the time I was ready to leave it was 7 am. The morning was beautiful.

    I did not start the day well as the trail was still covered with dew. During the descend from Mt Sterling, I slipped couple times and one time I was on my hands and knees. Nothing seriously hurt but that experience scared me, especially while falling, my heavy pack pulled me in the direction of the fall I did not want to go. It was like a choke and a squash. I was squished and flattened like a pancake.

    I walked into a rainstorm again on the third day. I was wet then dry and then wet. I re-wore my wet clothes from the previous day and let my body and sun dry them.

    The whole trek on the third day was mostly ascend. By 2 pm my spirit and body was broken. Like in a marathon, you hit a wall and bonked. My legs refused to move, but I pushed myself on. Unless I move I wouldn’t make it to camp. There were like 15 more miles to go. I started having blisters on both feet due to the wet socks and the grits that got in. I had one pair of dry socks left and I decided to change into them. I thought it was a good decicion but just within an hour, it rained again. Still I believe fresh socks helped my feet.

    I made it to Tricorner Shelter at 7 pm. I stopped there for water only since the site was full of campers. My ultimate stopping point was at Pecks Corner which was 6 more miles away. Without a pack, I could run 6 miles in an hour but with a heavy pack and blisters on both feet, I was hoping get there by 11 pm.

    Night 3. at Tricorner Shelter, I refilled my water. Prepped for my dinner. The rain stopped/lightened off once I got started again. People at the shelter thought I was crazy to head out again with the storm just happened and night was about to fall. I had my headlamp on my head and my dinner in my hand as I set out.

    The night hike was uneventful. I made good speed after the rest at shelter. My feet didn’t bothered me that much. It was mostly downhills. There were some climbs. Then I saw Gatlinburg nightlight in the distance. My spirit was lifted. I was still 2 miles from the camp – an hour more to go.

    No one was at the Pecks Corner shelter when I arrived. I had it all to myself. At first I was worry being so late to shelter that I might not have a place to sleep and it was also not so nice to wake up everyone (since most people sleep when sun goes down). I was relief that I didn’t need to make any apologies.

    Day 4. My feet improved after a night of drying out. They were still tender from the blisters, I put on old wet socks. They were all wet. I tried to find a pair that seemed clean. I tried my best to descend from Pecks Corner as fast as I could. Day 4 hike was short. There were maybe 2 miles of descend. The rest 8 miles were mostly on flat trail – Bradley Fork Trail. I made it back to Smokemont by noon feeling pretty happy to have survived the trip.

    some photos from the trail

    oh and bears. I did saw some and all of them ran away from me. They were too quick for me to snap a photo of them. Cute animal.

  • Day426 go go go

    I have nothing to post, but going to post something any way because possibly this will be my last posting before a trip to the Smokies.

    As always what they say, man proposes and God disposes, one of the camp sites where I had a reservation got canceled due to bear activities. Scary. I might seem like an outdoor man but I’m not. How many times have I gone camping? Less than what I can count with my fingers.

    Any way, I called the park this morning and I was able to find an alternate site that is 8 miles away from the canceled one. Not bad. It will be a shelter on the AT. At first, I tried to avoid AT shelters because people snore and there are rats/mice at night. uhh, I know, right? 8-10 people in a dingy three sided house in hot weather. And I haven’t showered for a week? I don’t like sleeping next to anyone, you know what I mean?

    Well they say it is part of the AT experience (Appalachian Trail, in case anyone is wondering).

    I will be the guy hiking to the shelter after dark and make a lot of noise cooking my meal, while everyone’s else try to sleep. I figure, hopefully I get to camp by 9 pm that day.

    —

    This weekend is supposed to be a down time — cool chill vibe weekend. It still is. What’s next?

    Laurel Highlands race was supposed to be the highlight of the year. It took two to three years to get me there. Finally I did it. I hiked/ran the whole thing – in a day (under 22 hours). Wooo. I had in mind 2/3 years ago, you finish one big race and you hang up your cap and that’s it for 2-3 years.

    In the end, it felt just like any weekend. I am neither happy nor sad. Just, I was a bit tired afterward – ya couldn’t move the next morning – but couldn’t really sleep in either — my body wouldn’t let me. Maybe I drank too much Coke/cola during the race, I was up by 6 then even though I had the hotel till noon. After writing up the blog (day425) I decided to grab breakfast then headed back home. It was a long drive and after two hours, I had to pull over to get some close eye because I couldn’t keep them open any more. I did sleep until noon-ish and then continue my drive home. Got home, got things cleaned up and has been pretty much laying low.

    I am totally recovered by now. I have been back to running. Nothing broken. Still can run pretty well. I haven’t tested myself on any longer run than 4 mi. Still, I think I could do it.

    This Saturday, I will be attempting a 20 miler fun run. Sunday, I am doing a 4 mi race with the Potomac River (a shoes store here). I haven’t done anything like that since COVID19 happened. This is my first attempt back into a ‘real’ fast run.

    On the schedule, I have a couple races in July – Catoctin, and Camp Anderson. In August, I have the Moonlight Falls and Iron Mnt. In September, I have Eau Claire Marathon. Something something in October and then River Gorge 100 in November.

    My schedule is pretty stacked. Yet I am not stressed out about them after finishing the Laurel Ultra. It is all perception on how we see time. Happy Holiday everyone, enjoy your weekend…found out we have a new federal holiday today.

  • Day425 Laurel Highlands 70

    I have been waiting to run this race two years ago after hiking/camping the last 40 miles of it. Finally got to run it this past weekend.

    On the map, one might be fooled that it is flat as a pancake. Laurel Highlands is not. There are many hills and over the long distances, they wear you down. The elevation chart is deceptive because change in 100-200 ft for one little hill on the map is tiny compares to 70 miles, so they appear as flat.

    The two biggest climbs are on either end of the trail, with I believe over 1000ft. Garmin told me I had over 10,000 ft of elevation gain. Not sure if it is accurate, but that gives a feel of how much climbing there is.

    I waited at the finish line at 3 AM in the morning of for the bus to take me to the starting line. It was about a little over 24 hours later, before I made it back to my car. I ran all 70.5 miles of it.

    If you ask was the race hard? I don’t think it was considered ‘hard’ for ultra people, say compares to the Worlds End Ultra that I was volunteering last weekend. Laurel Highlands Ultra was not easy either. It was not a beginner race. Many people did drop, like one I was running with for many miles.

    My initial concern was whether I would finish. The course can be technical. There were a lot of rocks, some mud, and the distance was quite long – 70 miles. We had plenty of time 22 hours total to run it. I used all 22 hours, but the last 15 minutes.

    My feel is, it was just hard enough for me to get my foot into the ‘real’ ultra running. I ran a few trail races before. Rocky Raccoon was one. Old Glory, 50k at First Landing, and JFK can be considered a trail race too. Those races were like baby steps because they were less technical. The courses for those were mostly flat with hills like 10 ft ish (Old Glory was much harder, but was mostly on road). The Laurel Highlands was 100% on trail and hard trail due to a lot of rocks in certain sections I got to say. The trail was mostly well maintained and marked but still, it was a hard day of running.

    I made a few friends. Mostly with people around my pace. There were many strong runners. One guy in my group of the back of the pack runners said, he hasn’t seen anyone the first 20-30 miles because the strong runners bolted out of the gate and never were seen again. There were maybe 5-10 of us in the back. I might be the first person he saw all day – and that was because I was one of the few with a 5:30 AM start and I slowed down quite a bit that the 6 AM (slower ones) caught up to me. Many in the 5:30 start were super strong runners, and they didn’t slow down. The later start was for the slower people I think. Often time, I felt I was the last one.

    As the day progressed, Aid Stations were closing and the station captain was saying to his staff as I was passing through “there were only three more out there.” I sensed I was the last few runners holding up the station from closing. I didn’t mind though because I wanted those statistics to know how close I was to the cutoffs.

    Through out the race, I know I need to run about 18:53 minute pace to finish. I was somewhere close. By halfway, I gained about just an hour of buffer. Late in the day though as evening approached, my pace was drifting more and more to 20 minutes a mile. I started to see my buffer time being cut from an hour to cut off to 30 minutes and at the last 3 hours of the race, it was nail bitting, hovering between 5 minutes to 15 minutes to the final cutoff. There was one point, I told myself, I couldn’t do it, holding a 4 miles an hour pace and I might have to come in 5-10 minutes after the bell.

    I did it. I finished it. Couple other straglers with me also finished. I was with #120 for a bit. I thought she wouldn’t make it. She was sitting at the side of the trail around mile 55 at 9:45 pm the last time I saw her. She made it in like 8 minutes before the 4 AM closing (I had left the course by then, but I wish I was there to congratulate her on her huge finish). Her husband was her pacer, and he went out looking for her. He must have said many things to inspire her to get her moving and got her to the finish! She must have been like me, mad dashing to the finish line trying to beat the final cutoff. I didn’t get to witness it.

    For me this race was seeing people who were close to giving up gain a new momentum. There were couple others like this. It would be too much to share. Even if they didn’t finish, they tried and that was very inspiring (#142 too).

    Mostly note to self, #8 saved me from taking the wrong turn twice.

    Lastly, a crew at the Aid Station 5, saved my race for emptying half of the stuff in my hiking backpack. I was the only guy running an ultra with a 10+ lb sack on my back. The lady said, that wouldn’t do and made an executive decision to help me repack only the essentials. At the time, I said, I don’t even want to carry my hydration bladder. She said you must need water. Thank God for her! My pack was lighter and I drank like a liter of water every 8 miles. Was I glad I did not ditch the water at the station. Deep into the race could affect your decision making skill as you can see. I might have dropped from the race if not for her, either carrying too much or not enough. Otherwise, this would have been a very different report.

  • Day424 Worlds End

    A Big weekend – best and much hyped though I would not able to compact and let the world know how great it was.

    I forgot how I got into this but many months ago I responded to a call for volunteering at the Worlds End Ultra.

    Likely it was because my friend was also volunteering in it, I decided to do it. I might have written something about this back then if I care to go back and check.

    I was so looking forward to it and it was everything as hoped. Worlds End 100k was challenging course. Though I was not running it, I felt the intensity. I felt I walk in the field where the very best compete – the real deal of ultra marathons.

    I signed up for sweeping duty at the fifth stage, with a hard cutoff (from mile 35 to 50). There were four other sweepers before me though their cutoffs were not as strictly enforced as mine section. No one could enter my section once I started my sweep. I felt pretty important. I had the night portion from 5 pm to 9 pm, with 9 as the cutoff. They warned me that last year, they couldn’t close the race until everyone was out and they were there till 1:30 – 2 in the morning. They made sure I understand that I should get everyone through that section as quickly as possible (and we were at the most remote place on the course).

    My primary concern…no I had several worries but first was that I was not able to run fast enough. Even though that is impossible but I was afraid there wouldn’t be anyone for me to sweep if I am too slow because these people were strong runners! Second that what if I injured myself on the course and they would have to send a rescue team looking for me instead. On the same vein, what if I got lost! I was afraid I would make a fool myself. Lastly, what if someone got hurt and I was not able to help them. It wouldn’t be wholely my responsibility but still I had a part in getting aid to the person and his/her safety is my responsibility.

    Me being too slow was out of the question. Still like in any races, you wouldn’t know until you do it. I had that butterfly in my stomach feeling before and during my run.

    I got to the course couple hours before my shift. It took me some time to flag down the volunteering coordinator, Tom. He was all over the place and I had no idea how he looked. Luckily I hooked up with my friend and he got me to checked out one of the radio/cell phones for key volunteers to be used for this race. I felt like a VIP carrying one. With that I got a hold of Tom. Tom was one responsible getting me to the right place on the course. It was far away from the start and finish.

    I got to the assigned station with Tom around 4:30. My start time was 5 pm. We saw two ladies leaving the station when we pulled in. I had to wait for exact time to start the sweep. However, no other runners showed up after the two ladies left (anyone showing up after 5 pm would be cut).

    So I started my shift. The first couple miles were all to myself. I was running on pace, actually a bit early. I know I was fast. The course was challenging. I immediately had about 1000 ft drop, like running along an edge of a clift. I didn’t really run but tried to get down to the bottom of the ravine as quickly as possible. It was fun and nerve whacking. This is the real deal, the kind of race I always wanted to do! Though it was not my race, I felt the excitement to be on the course.

    The afternoon was hot. The trail became smooth. There were rocks and stuff and crossings, but nothing too difficult for my fresh pair of legs. I did roll my ankle and F*, I continued on.

    Then came a big climb. Later I found out it might have been one of the hardest climbs. Midway through I caught up with the two ladies. I think I was like 5 minutes ahead of pace.

    Though I knew those two ladies were in trouble for going this slow since they had half hour ahead of me, but still enough time for me to able to catch them. I didn’t actually expect to catch them until like 8-10 miles later, but I caught them like on 2nd mile in.

    So I had a job to do. The runner, Gaby was pretty much tired but she was moving. Her pacer, Karen, was doing all she could. I didn’t have to do much to get them moving. As long as they were moving, my job is done. They were moving on pace.

    I got to say, we stayed on pace until the next Aid Station #8, Dry Run. As we near the station, I picked up another runner. He was in much worse shape. He didn’t speak much, together, we pushed into the station. Gaby arrived first.

    Dry Run station wasn’t going to close until 7pm. As me and the guy I picked up came in Gaby left the station with her pacer. As I said, the guy runner (forgot his name) was not doing great. He asked me if I was going to cut him. I said, no, he had to decide himself. If he felt he could continue, I wouldn’t stop him. I don’t think he even went to the food table but instead took a seat. He had stomach trouble.

    People at the aid station tried to help him as much as possible. There was another guy and his pacer too just dropped at the station (that was before I arrived). I announced to the station that I was the course sweeper for the section and I am the last person. They got busy then to pack up. Look how much power I had. Hehe. I was busy eating all the food they had left!

    The guy that did not do well, rested for maybe 10-15 minutes and decided to call it quit. The station captain then said I could continue on to sweep the next part.

    I am happy I got to run again and Gaby at this time had maybe a 15-20 minutes head start and I love chasing. I was wondering how long before I would catch up to her and her pacer again.

    I did catch up and we continued on pushing toward to the next part, which was about 4 miles away. We had a good chat going. Gaby was still upbeat though her chances of finishing was slipping fast. We were no longer on pace. Time was slipping. Her pace was slipping. I did not try to rush her. She had her pacer who would know how best to help her.

    Aid Station #9 was unstaffed and it was just water only. We didn’t stop. I think we were like 15 mins late by then (a mile slower). After that section, I picked up another runner and her pacer. I was not able to get her name but she was not a happy camper. I felt she was mad at me for catching up to her. Gaby quickly passed her. But I had to follow the slower runner since it was my job to stay with the last person. She told me she already decided not to continue the race and so would take her time to get to next station. I said, same, my only concern was that everyone keeps on moving and no one gets hurt. I don’t want to have to call in a rescue squad since that would mean I would remain on the course with the injured runner for a long time.

    We were probably 4 miles from Aid Station #10. We had two tough climbs and two also tough descends.

    I thought Gaby was long gone but she and pacer missed a turn. So they came back and we found them at the tricky turn. Gaby was able to save me from getting lost there! They brought along an even slower runner who also missed the turnoff.

    I was happy that I got a job to do. I stayed with this new runner, David, the rest of the ladies hurried passed. Comparing to David, the ladies were like flying. I was a bit sad that they were gone but I didn’t mind staying with David since it was my job.

    David was in even worse shape than any runners I came across. We had about 3 more miles to go by then.

    David was walking every few steps and had to bend over to breath. He was not injured but was totally worn. I felt sorry. I stayed with him and let him rest as long as he wanted. He was very cooperative. He would move without me prompting. I know he was doing his best. I love having him as companion. I think we were moving like a mile an hour. Time quickly passed. 9 pm came and gone – the cutoff. By then it was meaningless. Then 10 pm.

    David was kind. I tried to chat with him and he responded to everything. He did a full Ironman before, so physically he was strong. This though was his first 100k on a very hard course and on a hot weekend. His desire was strong, but the day just sapped his energy. He did improved after I met him, and was moving better and took less breaks.

    We kept pressing on to the Aid Station. There I reunited with Gaby and others. The Station captain scared me saying there was a runner still out there and they joked I should go back out on the trail to look for the dude. I took it seriously though at the time and was like a WTH moment for me. I wouldn’t cry but hell it would be whole night out there searching for this missing guy.

    We thought of different scenarios where I could miss the guy. We crossed a road couple times and ran along a road, so likely he flagged down a car and left the course. Or he might have taken a wrong turn like Gaby did, and that I passed him. Gaby said she saw a bearded guy, but I never came across a bearded runner. It got me all worry that on my first sweeping duty and I lost a guy!

    Anyway, they had someone to drive me back to the finish. I turned in my radio (was totally useless since I had no signal in my part of the course). There they told me they found the guy. He had a medical emergency earlier and had taken him off the course, so he was accounted for. It was not my fault that I supposingly missed him on my section.

    What a relief for me. I spent the rest of the weekend there, camping as well running part of the course after the race was done. It was a fulfilling personal time. I could write several entries just on the camping and the run I did. The sweeping duty is done.

    I hope to run the 50k there next year. 100k I probably can do it, but seeing so many strong runners being dropped, it gives me a pause on attempt 100k without fully know what I will be getting into. So 50k first is the thing to do to get my feet wet.

  • Day423 CRAW – a big finish

    CRAW is something so hard like impossible but once doing it, it is not too bad.

    I have been doing this virtual race, trying run around the world with a team of 10, virtually (of course). It is a bigger version of running across Tennessee, which I did last year (GVRAT) and I am doing again this year.

    What so interesting is even though it is a virtual race, it feels like we are actually doing it in real life (IRL). We are putting in our miles and doing as best as we can to finish it – like a real race. I guess a matter of perspective!

    I mean I do run a lot, but we usually don’t imagine able to run across a state in a summer or across the globe in a year (granted this is with a team). The funny thing is once you put a physical starting location and ending location, the training run reaches a whole other level. That is what the race director wants us to think. Just a different perspective. It is so cool.

    So yeah, I can say I am running around the world with 9 other people. Last night, our team finished Antarctica. It was a cold and windy night for me too. Luckily no rain. It was the biggest region of the whole race, which took us 73 days to do! I am happy.

    We know we won’t win any award. Our team is not that fast, pretty average, but we are moving consistently and we have a full team. There is a team of just 4 people-KOKO, but they are moving fast! – that’s wow. Our team is not like that. We are amazing too but just not that. Our team has been together for almost a year. We are almost halfway through.

    We’re just chugging along…

    —

    Next week…I will have some fun. I plan to be a race sweeper at the World’s End Ultra. I will be away. Wish me luck especially I got a tick bite earlier this week and it is not looking good. Fingers crossed I don’t have Lyme for a second time. That is some horrible horrible stuff. No runners want Lyme.

    After that, I have the Laurel Highland Ultra. I have been waiting for this for two years. It would be a 22 hour run for me!

  • Day421 River scramble

    River Scramble 10k and Bust the Banks 13.1 are Richmond gems of trail running in the city.

    I did this in 2018 as my first trail racing. It was a lot of fun. Full of adrenaline rushing down hill and power run up hill, rock hoping and scrambling, it was what I imagined trail running to be.

    Arm with experience now, three years later, it was still thrilling to run, but I am no longer green. Of course my horizon has broaden. A three mile park is nothing compare to something like Grayson Highlands I just did two weeks ago. But it packs a lot in a small area.

    I do feel like an adult in a kid playground. For many, this might be their first time on a trail. People do get injured. One of the ladies in front of me tripped and fell. She pulled to the side and sat down. I wanted to urge her to walk it off but likely she wouldn’t and she was waiting for her ride to the finish.

    The 5k runners started an hour after us, and I was at the tail end of their race. The markings for the 5K and 10K are the same and they also reused a portion of the 10K course. Unbeknown to me, I thought I was running on the 10K course, so I followed the trail marking and added 2-3 miles to my 10K run.

    Even for me an old timer, boo hoo, I got lost on the last quarter mile to the finish. It was not the course marking fault or the course marshall. We just miscommunicated. I arrived at the trail intersection and the guy was pointing left so I turned left. Then he called out right, so I looked back and he said you are on the right path but he might have spoken to another runner. Later I realized why he was pointing left. He wanted me to be aware of the step and not tripped but I misunderstood him of telling me to turn left. He was actually standing in front of the course marking and thus I didn’t see it. He was just a kid so I didn’t make a fuss after doing an extra loop. He was inexperience at being a course marshall and I was not well prepared like my other race, having the turns memorized.

    Amazingly by making a wrong turn I ended on a 5K event course.

    No matter to me. Originally, I wanted to finish my run quickly so I could do the 5K as well. It kind of worked out that way, though of course I didn’t get a 5K time since I didn’t officially registered for a 5K and also I didn’t start at the 5K start. The finish location is almost the same. I got a 10K time – of almost 2 hours – one of the worse ever, but it was a 9 mile run, so not bad.

    I still enjoyed it. Tomorrow I will do the half marathon. The course is relatively the same. I won’t get lost again.

    update: I knew the course like the back of my hand when I ran the half the following day.

  • Day419 Grayson Highlands 50

    Why running this race? The race promised a course that is beautiful, hard, and they have ponies!

    It was definitely hard even with long cutoffs and a shortened course. The beauty of the place does make up for the hard run.

    I love mountains. I love the view. I got to see the highland from up on the crest and ran through the vast grassy balds.

    The event I entered was the 50 miler. They had 50k and a half marathon. The fifty miler tested my limit (again). I believe it was the hardest race I ever did.

    My watch recorded about 6500 ft of elevation gained. Totalling about 42 miles (but my watch was paused for about 3 miles), so the total course according to garmin is maybe 45 miles long.

    I believe the course was cut short from the original 47.1 mile after reviewing the gps data. This is kind of a hot potato topic. First off, I ran according to the flagging. However, there were more than a few runners that ran according to the original published course, that I think added 2-3 more miles. It was a significant change. Some were not happy at all the course being shortened and blamed the RD for not flagging the course properly but it was really them of not seeing the flagging. To me the flags for the turn off was visible, but I could understand how it can be missed. I believe the course was flagged more than enough.

    I overheard the race director mentioned at the finish that they shortened the course. Not sure if he was referring it being shortened from 50 to 47.1 or from 47 to 45. For me the shorter distance was about right due to the elevation. Not sure if I could have made the final cutoff if it were 5 miles more. In truth, I hiked most it and after 14 hours out there, no, even after couple hours, I was asking myself why did I sign up a race just only to hike 90% of it. Was it worth?

    It was a hard course and I was undertrained for the hills. Toward the last six miles I had enough of it. I didn’t want any more hills. I was fainting and reached my limit. The last 6 miles were mostly uphill, at couple thousand feet of climbing. For those who planning to run this, expect the climb at the last hour. It added an extra pressure to make the cutoffs.

    As a redemption, the few miles near the finish were on a road, which made it a tad easier. Also I felt the aid stations were spaced about right at every six miles. There was only one that was about 12-13 miles apart, which was the hardest segment. I brought my own food, but didn’t eat them, except for some apple sauce. We could have a throw-away drop bag too, but I didn’t prepare one (not needed).

    I believe the RD originally wanted to put an aid station at mile 19-20 at the turnoff onto the Hurricane Trail trailhead, however he shortened the race by turning off to a service road to Hurricane Trail early, so no aid station. Well probably a volunteer/aid station at the turn off would help or after coming out from the Hurricane Trail.

    I was extremely happy that I didn’t miss the flag for the turn off. As in couple previous races, I missed a turn and I got really mad at myself, but in this race, even though I felt it was a level higher that what I used to do, I did everything perfectly. The map study beforehand helped. I didn’t use my map at all during the race even though it was on me. I had it mostly in my head. I didn’t have to use the gps (my companion Ryan downloaded the coordinates on his watch and it kind of help, but he got off trail too). I mostly relied on my spider sense and it was pretty accurate. Couple times I was saved by those around me.

    Pacing. Pacing was not allowed. I ran with the group of five or six runners I started with. I didn’t rush. I knew I was the last 10+ or so in about a total 100 runners (I finished 95). I think there were a dozen or so who started later, but those who started in the back with me were pretty much ran at my pace.

    I was together with about 4 ladies and a guy (Ryan) for about 26+ miles. Ryan was doing his first 50 as well as two other ladies around us. Ryan and I stayed together until mile 35. Originally after mile 9, Ryan took off but he might have ran the extra 3 miles and I met him back at my mile 20 and from then he was with me for the rest until he needed a restroom break at Camp Store Aid Station.

    One of the ladies took a nasty fall. Her left knee was bloody and so was one of her arms (right?). They bandaged her up and she continued on. I ran with her from mile 9-15, then she took off. I didn’t see her again until at the finish. I think she got lost at the Hurricane Trail, as many people did.

    It was good to have a companion. Ryan came back after mile 20, we passed Fox Creek Aid Station together. We had to run up 6 miles to Scale Aid Station. This was part that broke me, at least for the first and not the last time. Ryan was there hiking with me all the way. We passed the two ladies at Scale who were with us since the beginning. They had some issue with shoes and also were having some health issue too. Not sure if they finished, but Ryan and I pressed on. Ryan asked if I heard what they said. I almost fainted too climbing up to Scale. I had a beer at Scale and it refreshed me. That was around mile 30/31. I left Scale feeling strong again.

    Ryan had some stomach issue after Scale. We tagged team to the next station. It had some climbing as well descending. We mostly hiked. I got to chat with Ryan a bit. He told me to run ahead and not to wait for him. I said of course. However, he was literally tagging behind me. We arrived at the Camp Store together. There we said goodbye since he said he needed to use the privy.

    I was concerned that if he stopped he wouldn’t start again, but he did continue. I checked the finisher list and he was there with several others. Glad he found couple companions.

    Without Ryan, the next 10-12 miles were tough. I kept pushing from 3 pm – 5m to the last aid station. I took some food. I had until 8:30 to finish, so finishing was guaranteed. This last segment was mostly on the road leading up to the Visitor Center, which is about 3 miles long, so one step a time up the steep road. In normal time, I probably could have run it, but walking was all I got after running whole day.

    Then we turned off from the main road onto a side trail. It was a steep climb, I think maybe for another mile. This was my slowest ascend I think. I took a step and then rested so forth until I reached the Visitor Center, where the finish line was. However, the course required us to take a 2 mile loop from the Visitor Center to two overlooks (Big and Little Pinnacle). For me, I just wanted to finish, the view was supposed to be great there. I only took a glance then got off the Pinnacle, back toward to the real finish line.

    Again for those planning to run this race, expect the soul crushing finish at the last few miles because of the climbs. However, it couldn’t break my soul. Those who have done ultras know, you just have to press on no matter how the course plays with your head. Just beware.

    Final word, as on how technical the race is other than the elevation, was maybe at mile 35-40. It requires some technical footwork to descend the Wilson Trail from the Camp Store. In a normal time, I might consider this the best out of all the “fun” trails I was on. It was exciting to showcase all the fancy footwork you have been training. However, I had nothing left in me to make sharp jerking turns and take big steps and dodge low branches and skip over slick rocks. I do love it thinking back. Over all, there are many favorites, this was just one of them. For those who is going to do this race, take time to enjoy.

    Oh, is the course muddy? A portion of it is muddy even on a good day. And for couple of the trails, you are hiking up a stream on a bad day. Yes, you run with wet shoes. Blisters and stubbed toes can be an issue. It is a race for the dirty and yucky and those with lot of patience.

  • Day418 Mouth of Wilson

    I might be repeating myself, but I like how goals that seem to be impossible or even unthinkable are suddenly become mundane.

    Why I set those goals? I like to dream to the point of fantasizing. Don’t we all? I dream of running in this place and that place or going to here or there because at the time I didn’t have the ability to do it.

    Like I dream of running in Sydney or in Patagonia or Machu Picchu or in the Grand Canyon. Hey those are still pretty awesome dreams. But at the time, I saw them as if I will never able to do it. I’ve heard from people who did it, and it was hard to relate to them because it was far from my experience.

    Over time though some of those trips are no longer just a dream. I have been to Sydney, Machu Picchu, and Patagonia, and the Grand Canyon. I haven’t race in those locations yet, but to do so wouldn’t be too impossible.

    I was looking over my to-dos list and I was thinking oh how boring is that about some of the things I was so hyped about a few years ago. Some of those things no longer draw me as they did back then.

    I guess my priority has shifted. I don’t know what my current priority is, but I was thinking, wouldn’t it be cool if I can run around the world?

    I was asked, what would I do if I don’t have to work tomorrow. Meaning no longer having that responsibility of making money. We need money to live. But I am flirting with the idea what if I quit the day job, you know, be like those streamers. Some of them was forced to though. A few of the streamers I follow said they got into streaming because they lost their day job. For me, I was thinking I have so many places to go, and if I am not working, I would be traveling.

    My list was to go backpacking on the Appalachian Trail and then the other big trails like the PCT or the CDT (Pacific Crest or the Continental Divides). Then I would run across the continent and the world. I said, I have the next 20 years planned.

    There is this youtuber who has been biking around the world for the last 10 years. That is just speaking to my soul. Of course it is not easy and I don’t know if I would like it if I am doing that full-time.

    Any way I have to update my goals/bucket list. I forgot what that goal I need to put in. Right Annapurna. I will write on that if it is ever become a real trip.

    Here is one — a few years ago I went backpacking on Mt Rogers and Grayson Highlands. I started running back then but not as crazy as now. It didn’t occur to me then people do run there on the mountain. Later though I found out about a marathon being held there in the spring. At the time I didn’t believe I could do it but I have been watching/following it. Last year I signed up, but with corona/covid19, it was deferred and rescheduled but I didn’t run it. Tada… not counting my chicken just yet but next weekend I will be running it there at the mouth of wilson! It is one of my dreams. It is going to be hard and awesome. 14 hours. I hope I can finish the run within 14 hours.

    Been keeping it pretty low key. I might or might not post anything next week depending how I feel after the race or even before the race. Not sure how much time I have free on hand to post anything. Definitely I will have a race report – that is one of my thing. I got to have it saved. Just not sure when the report will be ready.

    Weather for that weekend though is not looking great. Looking at some cold running and wet probably. So ya 14 hours of that. But anyhow I will run it. I like the name of the place – Mouth of Wilson. Wonder why and who is Wilson? Yes will be on the mountain. Famous really. Virginia highest point! woo

    Also May 1st is the start of GVRAT – the rat race across Tennessee. I haven’t signed up. I am still on the fence. I did it last year and had a lot of fun, but this year, kinda not in the mood for a virtual race. Also, I am still doing the CRAW around the world, so it feels like cheating to double dip. The race permit double dipping, but it is just not settling with me. This is so different from last year, when I got the notification of the race, I signed up the same day and the next moment I was out the door running.

    Until next time…