Wow. Wow! What an awesome event. This was my first time running the G.E.E.R. 50K in the gorgeous George Washington National Forest outside Charlottesville, Virginia. For those not familiar with the race it is the Great Eastern Endurance Run (GEER) and features a 100K, 50K (though the course is really more like 32.5), and half-marathon. The majority of the race is run on single track trail with a little road and gravel thrown in and a whole lot of rocks and boulders for good measure. We were really lucky this year because we had a solid dose of rain thrown in at no charge.
Bad to the Bone Endurance Sports/Charlottesville Running Company put on the event. Gill, Francesca, and Marty do an incredible job. Everything relative to the race including sign up, packet pick up, morning of, race itself, aid stations, etc. was spot on. I cannot say enough about the aid stations. They were all a very welcome sight and the people working them did a fantastic job - thanks Marty! I have been working with Gill for some time now, but it was great to finally meet him, Francesca, and Marty in person. I also meet a couple of other great guys that are part of the CRC/BttB Pro Team - Bedford and Sniper. Both were very helpful. Sniper gave me plenty of advice coming into the race (as well as a lift to the race itself at the insane hour of 3:50 a.m.) and Bedford got me up and over that first monster climb and down Torrey Ridge trail into aid station 1 and then on to aid station 2. Bedrock, sorry for making you do all the pulling man!
The race itself is hard. I did as much hill training as possible, but Mississippi hill training and trail running just does not compare to running in the Virginia mountains. The race starts with a 1+ mile run up the park road where you take a left and begin the ascent on the first monster climb . . . in the dark and this year, in the rain. The climb is at least a mile and rises 1500 feet or so up to the Torrey Ridge trail. I'm certain the views from the ridge are spectacular, but since it was raining and extremely foggy we were not treated to them this year. The Torrey Ridge trail hits the Slacks trail and drops in to Camp Marty for the first aid station. I did this first 5.7 miles in around 1:14 which was a little faster than I was planning but still comfortable.
From aid station 1 to aid station 2 it is only 2 miles but is on the White Rocks Falls trail and is really cool. The trail is beautiful as you run along the falls. The sound of the running water is very calming but I admit that it was a little unnerving because I was afraid that the area's black bears might not hear me approaching. It probably didn't help that Gill and Marty mentioned before the race that they had seen a fair number of bears this year and that they appeared mildly more aggresive than normal. Nice.
Aid station 2 down to aid station 3 is truly down. The route runs along the Blue Ridge Parkway for a couple of miles before heading down a gravel road to the bottom, some 4+ miles and 1500+ feet later. This is a good place to make some time, but you really have to be careful not to overdo it. Once at the bottom it is time to quickly refuel and turn around and head back up that same 4+ miles and 1500+ feet. This was the hardest section of the race in my opinion. I enjoyed hooking up with a couple of guys on the Parkway and ran with them much of the 2 or so miles to aid station 4. Morgan from Philadelphia, PA and his buddy from the D.C. area.
Once back to aid 4 (which is also aid 2) you jump back in the trails and head down for .5 mile or so and then turn left back onto the Slacks trail. It is uphill from here back up to Camp Marty again. This is a great single track but is tough. Thanks to going out a little hard and perhaps a flaw in my nutrition for the race I was experiencing some cramping in my calves and quads. Unfortunatley that was made much worse when I took a tremendous fall on Slacks. My left calf muscle was completely and totally locked up. I cannot describe the shape my muscle took on. When I tried to massage it out my quad locked up. This was looking fairly bleak. I finally was able to get the ball of my foot on a tree and push it to stretch the muscle. Fortunately a minute or so later another runner came through and helped me up. Suffice it to say, I was glad to see Marty and aid station 5.
I was rewarded by leaving Marty and heading straight up to Bald Mountain Summit at 3800 feet or so. This was a tough section. It is basically all uphill and is extremely rocky. Then I spotted a lot of bear droppings along the course. Maybe that gave me just a little spring in my step. Once at Bald Mountain Summit, the 50k runners turn around and head back down, which sounds like it is great, but when your legs are as spent as mine were it is decidedly difficult. One of the great things about ultras is the encouragement from other runners who almost all take the time to say "good job" or "looking great" or something else helpful. While I was heading back down I ran into Bedford who was looking strong in his 100k run. I caught a runner on the way down who had passed me earlier. He, like most of us, was tired and let me by easily. Back to Marty for the third and final time and only a 4-5 miles until the finish.
After a quick refueling at Marty I saw the same guy I passed on that last section. I really wanted to finish strong and used his coming into the aid station as motivation to get moving. I took off on the last section - most of which is downhill with over 1000 feet of descent. Unfortunately I got a little carried away and took another solid fall on a section of Slacks that is super rocky. I knew Slacks was only 1.2 miles or so, but it seemed like it took me 3 hours to get to the turn onto the White Rock trail. Once on the White Rock trail you run 2 - 2.5 miles until you come out at the park. Having never run this race I wasn't entirely sure how far we would have to run once at the park. When I first stepped onto the pavement I saw another runner come out of the woods behind me. I figured I had about a 100 yard lead at this point. It was painful to run. I went back and forth between "I really want to finish ahead of him" to "so what, it was a good race, I'm pleased." Somehow I was able to run the whole way. As I approached the parking area beside the finish I saw my Jamie and two of my kids, Banks and Larkin. Unfortunately the oldest, Jack, was bad sick and asleep in the Suburban still in his pj's. The family cheered hard and gave me the jolt to run it in hard the rest of the way.
Final numbers were 6:26 on time which was good enough for 14th overall and 3rd in my age group. I was secretly hoping for a 6 hour finish, but frankly had no idea what to expect with a course this difficult. Having run it, I think a 6 hour finish is certainly doable but was likely too much to hope for in my first run of this type. I am very pleased with my time and had a complete blast. Again, Gill, Francesca, Marty, and crew do a wonderful job. Anyone that likes extremely difficult races needs to put this on their list. This has to be one of the toughest race east of the Mississippi.
After the race we stayed in Charlottesville and walked around the Downtown Mall area. C'ville is an awesome place. Other then Jack getting sick we had a great visit. Had a little Bodo's Bagels Sunday morning before we embarked on the 12 hour ride home. All-in-all it was 1656 miles and 24 hours of driving . . . all to run 32.5 miles!
A note of thanks to Gill for the help he has provided. He has helped my ultra running tremendously and is responsible for my effort this weekend. Thanks, Gill!
Great race. Great people.
