So this was a pretty fun race... I went to the Sweet H2O not really knowing what to expect. The elevation profile had its share of spikes, but none of the climbs were that long; on the other hand previous years' times seemed to be somewhat slower than most 50k's, so I was curious to see how it all panned out. So at 3:20 this morning, Heather May, a friend from Auburn and venerable runner (having gone to the US Women's Olympic Marathon Trials the last two times), who was running her first trail 50k, got on the road to get to the park just west of Atlanta. Once we got there and got checked in, we had a little time to mill about and found several others from Auburn, including two more first time 50k-ers. I also got the privilege of meeting Deborah from the blog before the race started (aka the Little Engine that Could), and she seemed in good spirits for the day.
Right at 7:30, we got started, and from the start, I could feel and was telling people that we were moving quite a bit faster than course record pace. Even as the field thinned out several miles into the race, it still felt like I was moving a bit more quickly than I had anticipated, considering that all I wanted out of the race was a solid long run with relatively even energy levels (having run decent mileage all week somewhat nixed the idea of truly racing). The trail was very scenic, often running by the Sweetwater Creek, and it appeared to be, for the most part, very runnable. There were several relatively steep climbs early on, but nothing to write home about. That changed around mile 7.... Around mile 7, we came to a part of the course known as the Top of The World, which is a series of several brutally steep climbs through powerline cuts, each of which had an equally brutal, knee pounding, and somewhat frightening descent, and the whole section let you fry, being almost totally exposed. The best part about the Top of The World - we got the joy and priveledge of running it again around mile 23. I couldn't wait... The next several miles were, as I mentioned earlier, by and large very runnable and went by relatively uneventfully. We got to cross a stream whose girth and current put those I mentioned in the Mt. Cheaha report to shame. The stream was wide enough to warrant (in the race director's eyes, at least), a rescue team on the other side to both instruct runners on how to effectively cross using the rope provided and to retrieve any runners who happened to want to ride the waves downstream a little. It was incredibly fun, and to cap off the stream crossing experience, there was a short, incredibly steep climb immediately following the crossing. Awesome. At mile 23, we hit the aid station that signaled going back out to the Top of The World, but this time we got to take it from a different angle, and I'm not sure whether it was longer the first time or the second time, but both had all kinds of dramatic elevation changes that left the quads, knees, and back begging for mercy. My kind of section... Once we got back to the aid station after the lovely Top of The World traverse, it was only a four mile jaunt to the finish, so I just trotted my way to the finish, and that was that. I will say, though, that I was surprised to see that I beat the old course record time of 5:01:44 which was good enough for 10th this year (the winner took an amazing 40 minutes off of the old course record with a blazing 4:20). Hmmm... Shortly after I finished, Heather, my friend from Auburn, came in, taking the win for the women (for which she got one of the larger steins I have seen in recent history). Two of the guys from Auburn, Marcus Farris and Eric Gilbertson, smoked the course, finishing well ahead of me, two more guys from Auburn, Blake Henry and Lance Haney, completed their first 50k with style around an hour later, and Bob Lawson, a professor at Auburn, finished shortly after Heather. All in all, it was a solid day for Auburn ultrarunners... After the race, we all sat around chatting it up for a while (sorry Deborah, I hope I didn't bore you too much or talk your ear off, but thanks for listening to me ramble). Fred Trouse, one of my pacers from Pinhoti, had apparently taken a pretty nasty fall and had to pull out, but was in great spirits at the finish nonetheless. It's always nice to see Fred... A couple hours after we finished, Heather and I loaded back up in the truck and headed back to Auburn, one more race richer. To end my little ramble, I'll just say that if anyone ever has the chance, I would highly recommend this race. It has its fair share of incredibly challenging spots as well as some of the most runnable trail I've ever encountered. Fun stuff....
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