The weather was very chilly at the start. I had to wear a fleece vest over a light weight long sleeve shirt. As I expected, I was hot at times. Mountain runs are tricky because one part is cold and another super warm. I managed to survive pretty well though.
We met at a rail trail parking lot. David, one of the race director's, was leading the run. There was a pretty big turnout. I think most were locals, but Janine and Bob joined us as well.
We were skipping the first 3 miles of the race, which is flat anyway. Instead, we started on the rail trail and then went on to a road. I didn't stay with the lead group, but I was ahead of the chase pack. Since Ryan didn't stay with me through this part, I just decided to keep going. There were enough people for him to run with anyway. I was slightly worried about him getting lost, but the course was fairly easy to follow and they gave us maps and directions.I pushed kind of hard on the road. I didn't want to lose contact with the lead group, in case I missed the turn to the orange blazed Mid State Trail. My MICROspikes weren't crazy about road running, so they were glad to get to a snowy part of the road. David and his wife Ashley, waited at the turn to the Mid State Trail.
This trail was just silly. It was probably the steepest trail I ever hiked. There was certainly no running, especially with it snow covered. There was probably around half of a foot on the ground. There were a few people in front of me and they pulled ahead.
It was early and the steepness of the trail began to be a problem. My back can only handle so much slope and this was bothering it. This trail was crazy. It seemed to go on and on and on. Making it worse, every time it seemed like the top was near, there was a false summit. It was neverending.
A few people passed me as I was getting frustrated. I had to stop and rest at times. This woman Jess and this guy Aaron came up behind me. They didn't pass me and I ended up running a bit with them. It was a huge relief to finally get to the top. The only frustrating thing was that it was a slight uphill still that was almost unrunnable in the snow. We kept hiking.
Finally, we were able to run at the top. I think there was a fracking site up there and at another stop. That was too bad. The rest of this top few miles was nice. It wasn't long and we started to go downhill. We descended along a stream.
This was nice, but it was interesting. At first, there was some ridge running. The snow covered a lot of the smaller rocks. I was flying down here and slipping and sliding. I thought maybe I'd gap Jess here, but instead, she was on my heels.
After awhile, I was tired of leading. I was afraid of going too hard and tripping too. She set a good pace. At the bottom, I stopped and took a picture. The two of them got ahead, plus two other guys.
I fell behind the group quite a bit, as we were now climbing up along another creek. Jess had set a good pace. This climb was kind of long, but thankfully not as steep as the first one. My back didn't bother me nearly as much now.
It was great to get to the top and I actually almost caught the group. Then, I noticed an awesome vista through the trees, plus a side trail there. No one had taken it, but I knew it must lead to a view. I was in no rush, so I took it and got some photos.
Now, I was running the flat part all alone. My watched seemed to struggle with distance and time from the beginning, so I wasn't quite sure how far until the road crossing. I then began a descent.
This one was very hairy. It was steep and the trail was narrow. It did switchback a few times, but it still wasn't safe. I was sort of running it, but barely. Near the bottom, I heard some people catching me. We had to leap over a downed tree that a guy was cutting. The two people caught me at the road. It was Ashley and some guy who's name I didn't get.Since Ashley knew the course, she knew the way to the aid station. I was using Tailwind and was grateful to get some more stuff. I ate some pretzels and Swedish Fish. I knew I had enough nutrition to survive the run, but probably not enough to do it without some struggles.
The aid station was kind of a big party. Everyone was hanging out. Most people were done and weren't doing the longer loop. I hung there for maybe 10 minutes. I was waiting to see if Ryan would come in. I also didn't want to head out on my own, so I waited until another guy left and I went with him.
We started out running the rail trail. It wasn't long and we hit the final big climb. It was the yellow blazed Tiadaghton Trail. This was another 1200 foot climb, like the first one. The good thing is that it wasn't as steep. That was better for my back. The bad thing was that it seemed neverending. Every time I thought I was at the top, it went up again, like steps.
There was another awesome vista view that I took great photos of the other mountains. The guy I ran with hiked up this much faster than me. I was actually getting super hot here. The good thing was that I had snow all around to cool myself off if needed.
I hiked most of this gradual climb. I also had another problem. With less people going through this part, there was less of a track to follow. When I went in the snow, my MICROspikes would pick up giant snowballs. Eventually, they'd come off, but it was so frustrating.
At the top, I was able to run for a bit. The trail was flat and it turned from singletrack into a woods road. However, that didn't last. After that, it became a long and gradual uphill. I was surprised that no one had caught me yet. I thought I heard a few voices from time to time. I hiked almost all of this and was so annoyed. This uphill would be runnable in normal conditions, but not this late and not after so much climbing.
I was so happy to get into the woods singletrack again. There was some very runnable and fun downhill. After that, it began to switchback and then run downhill along another stream.
Finally, I heard and then saw someone coming up from behind me. It was David and Ashley. I had wondered when they'd catch me. I stayed ahead of them for a bit and then stopped to let them pass. They stopped too though and introduced themselves and we chatted briefly.
They then led the way. Ashley actually led and I followed her. This was fun. It was rocky, but pretty runnable. At times, I'd slip and slide. I definitely ran faster than I would've on my own. They are super runners, so this was great. We chatted a bit and I got to pick their brains.
David went ahead of us and took some great photos too. It was funny because all I was doing is following Ashley and matching her pace. One time, there was a sharp turn. She overshot it and slid down the hill a bit and I did the same, because I was just following. There were no serious problems throughout the day. I fell a couple times I guess, but the impact was minimal.Although this was fun, the last bit seemed pretty long. I could see the road just below for a bit. We were on a ridge, running parallel to it. Finally, we got to the road and ran along it for a bit to finish up back at the rail trail lot.
Even if it wasn't ultra distance, this run felt like an ultra. The climbing was challenging. Descending beat my quads up a little too. It was a struggle, but I enjoyed it. This area is special and I love going up there (although I've only done so twice now).
Ryan was behind me. I waited with David and Ashley and chatted for some time. Janine finally came in and then eventually Ryan with another guy. It was tough for him too, but he enjoyed it. Now, we both have a good idea of the terrain up that way. It will be a big help for Hyner.
I'm still a little sore now, but overall it isn't too bad. I'll likely take tomorrow off. I'll run again on Tuesday hopefully. They are expecting a ton of snow tomorrow, so we'll see. I may have to snowshoe.
Not accurate data 20.39 miles - 4:10:38 (12:18 pace) 4535 feet of elevation gain
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