Mount Mitchell Challenge: press & pics

I survived! Still writing the race report, but there's been so much great press about the race I thought I'd compile some here and get it up now. stay tuned...

Rock/Creek Pres Release

Photos by Chris Brown
Pics by Wilderness Adventure Photography
Post-race article from Asheville Citizen Times
Pics from the Asheville Citizen Times
Pics from the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation
Pics from Steppe's Gap

$5000 raised for The Boonies at the Scenic City Trail Marathon & Half...

(from the press release:)

Locally-owned specialty outdoor retailer Rock/Creek today announces a $5,000 donation for The Boonies, the latest in a string of donations stemming from the Rock/Creek Trail Series. The Boonies will use the money to help run future events as well as secure access to single track trails. These funds came from last Saturday morning's third annual Scenic City Trail Marathon and Half Marathon, presented by Vasque PROJECT and Rock/Creek. Other contributing sponsors include SmartWool, Marmot, The North Face, and Hammer Nutrition. Local sponsors include Greenlife Grocery and Cleveland Toyota.
.....
Proceeds from both events go to The Wilderness Trail Running Association (aka The Boonies) and will be used for future trail races, trail maintenance, and sustainability efforts in the Cumberland and Southern Appalachian Mountains. A portion of the money raised will go to help with SORBA's trail building efforts.

read the full press release

scenic city trail marathon report

Now that the countdown to Tahoe gets closer, it's time to indulge in some longer runs. Up till now, I've done a few 2.5-3 hr runs with my ankle reacting favorably. Fingers crossed it would go the distance in the marathon.

A little about the race... This is the 3rd year we've held it, although it was in a different location the first year (Possum Creek Gorge segment of the Cumberland Trail - gorgeous trail, but more of a scramble than run in some places and aid stations weren't easy to set up). Now it's at Raccoon Mountain, a favorite mountain bike spot for me; it's definitely weird to run somewhere that you love to bike - just not the same experience :) But a great location for a race. The half'ers did 1 loop, while those running the full did 2. Can I tell you that I'm just not a fan of multiple loop courses? It messes with your brain... Oh you're at the finish line. but HA, you have to go out and do another loop!

OK, back to race day.
I started near the front to get a decent position going onto the singletrack (there was a few minutes of road running to spread people out before dipping into the woods). Once on the trail, it was your typical early race backup.... a long line of runners ahead and behind. A few people chose to pass, but most just hung out as the pack naturally disintegrated.

There's really not that much to say about the next few hours... my heart rate was too high for the first 45 min or so and it was hard to get it down, but that seems to be the norm for me. The terrain is pretty varied. 90% hardpacked singletrack I'd say, with a few real rocky areas. In general though, it is very runnable. You wind through open areas with grasses to your shoulder, pine forests, hardwoods, blooming mountain laurel, with the occasional view of the Tennessee River Gorge. It seems at most points you're either going up or down, but most of the climbs were relatively short. The first half was much more social - twice as many folks were running the half, so there were plenty of people around to chat with. I ran with a guy from Steamboat for awhile - and he knew my uncle. Small world!

After the rock sidewalk by the dam, the 2 distances split up - the second loop was pretty quiet and all but void of people. I turned on the Shuffle to jam a bit (a little Disturbed always makes the hillclimbs a bit easier!) After the final aid station (manned by teammates Wendi & Jamie Dial - always nice to have familiar faces cheering you on), we had about 2 miles to go. Thank god... my body was feeling it. I had tripped earlier, causing a muscle cramp in my right calf that never seemed to fully let go. My left ankle was hurting - same spot as the previous "injury" that was never diagnosed, and the top of that foot seemed to want to cramp up too (weird spot!) I was persevering the pain.. when out of nowhere a girl with too much late race energy passed by me. Dang! There was only a mile to go, but at this point I had nothing in the reserves to chase with.

The race ended with me officially in 6th* place in the women's field, with a time of 4:27:09 (a trail marathon PR!) (*or should I say 7th... Jaclyn and a group of guys took a wrong turn to the finish, causing her to be DQ'd. She led start to finish and would surely have been our winner...). After crossing the finish line, my body seemed to know it was quitting time. I sat down, stuck my foot in a bag of ice (thanks to stephanie & dawson for warm clothes needed to combat my resulting shivers), then had my calves worked on by Dee at Archer Physical Therapy. Then refueling time with yummy grilled Boca burgers at the post-race cookout.

Of course we had re-fueling #2 that night at the Terminal - their Oatmeal Stout does wonders for sore bodies :) We also caught up with a few people in town for the race from Boulder. It was great to get an insiders view of the trail running community there... and more contacts for my next visit west!


Race day gear:
Patagonia top & shorts
Smartwool socks
Vasque Velocity shoes
Nathan hydration vest
Nuun, Cliff Shot Bloks, Hammer Gel & Endurolytes
Fresh oranges... mmmm!

upchuck 50k

Our weekend adventures on the Cumberland Trail continued today with the 6th event in the Rock/Creek Trail Series: The Upchuck 50k. While I've been running much more lately, I didn't want to commit to the full 50, so some friends joined me on a tour of the Soddy Segment - about 16 miles of fun.

The story of the beginning of the Upchuck is a funny one (yes, it did deal with one of my teammate's upchucking during a training run on these trails). The Cumberland Trail is awesome, but tough. Opportunities for aid stations along the way are few and far between. So when we wanted to include this race in our series this year, we emphasized that this was NOT for beginners; that it would be primarily self-supported; that you would get wet from creek crossings. As if that wasn't epic enough, today's weather added to the adventure. The temp when I left my house at 8:30 was 52. It was a few degrees colder at the start, and only dropped as the day went on. The rain continued intermittently throughout the day (as it has for the previous 24hrs), with a few sleet showers thrown in and wind gusts up to 25mph. Yeah, not a day for the faint of heart.

Luckily though, we were only out for 4 hrs; I don't know how long it took the winners, or my friends sweeping the course (by then I was dethawing in a hot shower :P ) Anyways, here's a few pics from the day...

Oh, and the race logo was courtesy of me... thanks to chad for being my model!

the sleet was really coming down here although it's hard to see

Stephen Smith, 3rd place male at this point

Shut-In

Since I've been so bad at reporting back lately, I'll write something quick while I can instead of waiting months... (uh, Leadville!)

One of my favorite races of the year is the Shut-In Ridge Trail Run, over in Asheville. It has quite the cult following, with the starting line crammed full of local, regional, and even some national hotshots. It sells out quickly and I was lucky to snag an entry again this year.

Autumn colors were at their peak, the skies blue and sunshine abundant, with small patches of snow greeting me in the Mt. Pisgah parking lot as a friend and I dropped a car by the finish early. While it was probably in the upper 30s to 40 at the start of the race (at the Arboretum), we warmed up quickly and I shed my long sleeves at the 2nd aid station. (I was wearing our new team shirt from Icebreaker, which was the perfect weight. And while I'm at it, my shoes were Vasque Velocity - definitely my current fav, although I'm itching to test their VSTs.)

I started off too quick as always, but that tends to be my MO. I knew after a mile or two I'd settle into my pace and all would be good for the next few hours. With this new heart thing going on, I'm trying to be more aware of my heart rate so that I can actually make it to the finish line. (although my tight achilles was worrying more race morning!) It took longer than I anticipated to settle in, due in part to the nice climbs that greet us from the start - afterall, the race is basically uphill! Most of the time we run along the ridge, following the Blue Ridge Parkway. Crossing it usually meant a steep downhill and uphill; otherwise it was a nice rolling ascent. The colors were stunning - sometimes you'd just be glowing from the sunlight filtering through the leaves. 

I was feeling great and running strong... amazing what a bit of frustration can do to power you up the mountain. I did see 2 girls on a switchback that made me nervous, but I dug in a bit deeper and never saw them again. All too soon, the final 2 miles were upon us - this is the epic section that goes (almost) straight up & is nearly unrunnable. (I'd love to see the leaders tear this up!) I had a girl on my heels most of this time and she didn't want to pass.... but eventually did and unfortunately I never saw her again. I kept a good forward momentum, but my hammies & quads were quivering - I was really noticing my lack of hill work here. Once at the top, we had a short downhill that had my calves all but giving out on me. Finally the finish line cheers greeted me - yeah! 

My final time - for the 17.8 brutal miles with about 3000+' of elevation gain* - was 3:41, 17 minutes faster than last year! This was good enough for 15th female and 97th overall (out of 195 finishers). The awesome stained glass awards were still out of reach though...  so my quest for a top 7 finish will continue next year hopefully :)

Big thanks to Lorrin & Jay for providing impromptu support (I left my gels in my car!) and cheering loudly along the way. 

* I need to confirm this, as my watch said 5000'... I've seen a few different references online.

StumpJump 08

This is one of those events that makes my race calendar every year - not only because it's sponsored by my team and the Boonies, but because it's a great course in a beautiful location that is always well organized and a ton of fun.

a picture-perfect morning

The past few years I've run the 50k, but I just didn't have the miles under me this year since I focused so much on Leadville. The 11 miler I thought should be doable. As the race got closer, I still had the breathing problems that was forcing me to walk a lot more than normal. It was the Wed before the race that I found out the basics of my heart condition. I didn't get the full description yet (and refused to Google it, lest I come across something less than positive), but the dr gave me the thumbs up to run.... so it couldn't be that bad, right?! Race morning came and I was ready to run, although honestly not sure if I'd be able to finish. I'll just see what I can do...

This year the race started at the new Signal Mountain Middle/High School; this meant more parking, more space, and real bathrooms! The beginning of the course changed slightly - starting now with a short paved section (uphill - but that meant a downhill finish), and some new trails before dropping on to the standard course. I started off easily and was 3rd woman into the woods. I kept the pace consistent and within myself, trying not to be concerned when people passed. The first half of the race went well. I walked up the 1 gorge climb as expected and took the technical downhills a bit easy. At the turnaround I was told I was 4th woman; fab!

On the way back we had 2 big gorge climbs that I took easy. One woman from Atl had been on my heels for awhile and I was hoping I'd hold her off. We talked a bit but she didn't want to pass. Fine; I'll set the pace. At the Mushroom Rock aid station, she veered towards aid; I shook my bottle, felt there was enough to finish, and pressed on, hoping to gain a minute or two. (even though Sheridan took it personally that I didn't get aid from him!). I tried to pick things up a bit, but a few climbs forced me to walk (I can tell when my heart & breathing rate is getting a bit too high, so some walking is better than sitting on the side of the trail trying to recover). I looked back during some curving areas and didn't see her; great! I kept on... then bam, she appeared out of nowhere. Dang! We exited the woods together and had about a half mile of paved road before the finish line. There was a bit of a climb first; I picked it up slightly. I didn't hear the footsteps responding. So a bit more... at the top of the hill I glanced back and saw I did in fact put some distance on her. Yeah! Next came that nice long descent to the finish line. I pushed it a bit more, not wanting to have a finish line sprint. Thankfully I didn't have to, and I crossed the finish line in 2:10.27, good enough for 4th place overall female and 44th overall (out of 170 finishers). I lucked out when awards went through 4th place, so I snagged some new Salomon shoes, La Sportiva bottle, and my fav "this is not a plastic bag" cotton grocery bag from R/C.

4th thru 1st place, women's 11 miler

Overall, I felt pretty good, but knew I had to walk a lot more than I usually do on that course. The key though will be to listen to my body and do what I need to do; sometimes hard when you have that competitiveness set in (and someone nipping at your heels). After I crossed the finish line, I had the same thing happen to me that happened at Tsali. I finish strong, then walk around to get the breathing regulated... but it gets worse instead of better, and next thing I know I'm doubled over gasping for air (almost like hyperventilating a bit.) Thanks to of my fav people to making sure I was feeling ok (Sara from North Shore Yoga and Christian from Body Wisdom massage- check these ladies out; they're the best!) To complete the fab weekend, my old adv racing teammates Hunter & Daniel came up & stayed for a few days & rocked the 50. It was good to catch up!

r/c team member matt sims

r/c race team members michael green & john anderson

the start of the 50k

Sergio!

kevin, me, michael

more pics here

a quick hello from CO

i arrived in denver friday afternoon to sizzling temperatures of 100. luckily it feels better in the mtns of steamboat, but still pretty toasty.

the rock/creek race team successfully got their asses over the passes and finished the wild west relay : 195 miles of running from ft collins to steamboat. i met them en route,  then we crashed at aunt lorraine & uncle steve's casa for the rest of the weekend. recovery efforts included banana pancakes, icy soaks in fish creek (conveniently located in the backyard), soaks in the hot springs of strawberry park, and lots of local beer. more pics to come.

matt, natalie, lisa, chad, leigh, sam, kevin

today was catching up on some work and enjoying some great weather. i need to find a tripod for better sunset photos. squint and pretend it's all sharp. :)

running with the boonies

last weekend was the scenic city trail marathon, sponsored by rock/creek & the boonies and presented by vasque. the weekend kicked off with the trail running 101 clinic i gave at rock/creek. i was a bit nervous, but the presentation went great! there was about 25-30 people there and thankfully none of my friends made faces at me :)  

saturday morning started early - i was up at raccoon mtn a bit before 7 to get the east overlook aid station set up. lynn seeger & sheridan ames manned the station with me, which was mile 3 & mile 15 (the marathon was a 2-loop course). the day started cool, got hot, rained, and cooled down to a very pleasant afternoon. we had a great time keeping people fueled and hydrated. the first lap had people pretty stacked, but i was able to whip out the camera during the second lap.

while it was hard to sit this race out, i know it was what my body needed. plus it was great fun to cheer on all my teammates and friends during the day. next time i'll be out there with you!

trail running 101 clinic

I was recently asked to be a Vasque Ambassador, to spread the word on the great trail shoes they have (I've been running in the Velocity lately and love them!). Since the upcoming Scenic City Trail Marathon is part of the Vasque North American Trail Tour, I will be leading a clinic Friday evening at Rock/Creek. OK, I am a bit nervous about this - I've lead a few small clinics before about adventure racing, but this seems a bit more official.

On another note, I sadly will not be running the half marathon as planned. This injury from the Cohutta race lingered a bit too much for me. Last week's 45min run went ok, so I'll up the distance this week, but I don't feel comfortable jumping up to 2hrs of a hard effort. I'm sure I could pull it out, but I don't want to feel any negative effects, esp since this isn't my focus right now. (after Leadville I'll be turning it up again!) I will be at the race though cheering people on and keeping them hydrated!