February 24, 2007
Mount Mitchell Challenge
40 mile run

The weather was more than cooperating. The temperature was pretty comfortable in the mid 30's. We were off at 7 am, running the streets of Black Mountain, enroute to Montreat and eventually, Mount Mitchell. I started off running with Chris Shields. We proceeded to poke fun at other runners and ourselves while maneuvering into a strong finishing position, all within the first half mile. I couldn't hold his pace and dropped back a bit. Then I dropped back a bit more. Travis Cowan had caught up to me so we ran together for a good while. We'd run Crowders Mtn. together in April, so we paced each other here. It seemed as if we were going too slow but our time was right where we wanted it.

Entering Montreat, we noticed that we were in the last ten runners for both races combined. You'd think that would bother us but we're slow starters and we did have another 38 miles to go. The road got steeper and turned into gravel. Shortly thereafter, the trail section started. From this point, I made up plenty of ground on other runners.

Rainbow road is a wide trail but has plenty of rocks. It narrows into singletrack for a bit and then opens up and hits Trestle. Trestle is a rail trail that has grown in a bit and washed away in spots and is essentially singletrack. This was frustrating because there was a logjam and nowhere to pass. I passed anyway, one runner at a time and increased my speed dramatically. This brought on another problem as I started getting a side cramp, or stitch. I eased off in time to keep it at bay.

Travis caught up to me just before the aid station. We were on the proper pace and headed up the Toll road. The Toll road comprises about half of the course. It does get a bit monotonous at times.

I went ahead of Travis when I felt a burst of energy. I started passing all the runners who had passed me in the first couple of miles. I knew a steep downhill leading into Pot Cove Gap was coming up so I sped up a bit until the downhill and then I was off. I didn't see anyone I'd just passed again.

An old hermit couple resides on the Toll road. They must travel a very rocky, narrow road for several miles to get anywhere. They live in a very modest home but apparently, they're very happy up there.

Beyond their abode, the trail gets rockier and climbs at a greater clip. I was feeling strong so I did a ten second walk, thirty second jog mix to start passing runners. They looked rather exhausted but I felt fresh. I continued to improve my standing for the next few miles.

A couple of miles before the Parkway, I met up with a girl from Chicago. Amy Comstock is an adventurous soul who was informed about the Mitchell Challenge by relatives in Burnsville. I don't know how she handled the terrain so well. The last time I was in Chicago, I recalled flat pavement. We ran together all the way to the summit.

We made it to the Parkway and on up 128, to the Buncombe Horse trail. We picked up a 10 year Mitchell veteran along the way and paced each other on the trail. I surprisingly took the lead and set the pace. This worked for two miles, through patches of ice. Eventually, the vet took off ahead us.

We came to a mini glacier. I knew how to get around it by going offtrail. Another runner stopped to put on Yaktrax and we were past it by the time he got them on. The temperature rose as we entered a large clearing. The trail became steeper so we walked a bit.

We reached the start of the gnarly, rocky, icy singletrack. This was not a place to run. We still had twenty miles ahead of us so we hiked the entire section to the summit. It was a slow go but it made sense to conserve.

The view at the top was clear, though not as much so as the prior week. I took off in a fury down the mountain and onto the singletrack. The trail goes from rock to rock, requiring a keen sense of balance to be able to run it at all. I passed about ten runners over the mile long descent.

After the suicide sprint, there was another climb up the Commissary road. The temperature increased and I stripped down at the next aid station. From there, it was downhill on pavement for two miles and another half mile on the Parkway. I was glad to get back to trail after all of the pavement pounding. Amy had caught up and gone ahead. I ran most of the rest by myself.

The Toll road was a bit tougher than I expected coming back down. I could only force myself to run the steeper parts. The legs just weren't responding on the flats. I passed a few runners and was passed by a few.

I got another burst of energy at Appalachian Way, which is the steepest part of the run. I blew past several runners, having just enough braking strength to keep myself from tumbling down the mountain. I surprised myself, considering how sluggishly I had run on the Toll road. Pavement lay ahead but the first bit was all downhill.

Coming into the last aid station, I met up with a veteran runner who had had major IT band issues. He was just trying to finish, as was I. I went ahead on the Gate trail but he caught me on the road. We stayed pretty much together for the remainder. We both struggled on the road toward Lake Tomahawk. Finally, the gravel trail surrounding the lake was in view. It's kind of like a track finish. You get to take a victory lap into the finish area. I had to finish in a sprint so I went ahead and thundered across the finish line at 8:04.

Fortunately, many runners decided to hang out afterwards. This is one of the more social runs, with assorted accoutrements to tantalize the taste buds and replace the many lost calories. The dinner was fantastic except for the seating situation. Some of us had to sit on the floor but any sitting was a welcome endeavor after 40 miles on your feet.

Raging Bull