July 15, 2007
Dancin' in the Trees 28 mile Ultra Fun Run

I rolled in at 10:00, the planned starting time. Fortunately, I wasn't the last to arrive so I had plenty of time. This run was organized by Sarah Almodovar with consultation from Adam Hill. This would be a new experience for me, since I had just ridden a 100k bike ride the previous day. I figured the course would be challenging but it wound up being a bit more difficult than I'd imagined.

We started out on an easy stretch. I actually got to run with Sarah, Adam and Annette Bednosky for a good while. They usually drop me about a quarter mile in. I focused a little more on speed and my body was responding. After starting in the Pink Beds, we headed toward Pilot Rock. I battled some stinging nettles along the way. Pilot Rock afforded a baffling view as I had absolutely no idea what mountains I was looking at. We relaxed on the exposed rock and enjoyed the view.

Sarah forewarned me of the upcoming downhill. It was extremely rooty, rocky and steep, just how I like it. She stayed close behind while I powered my way down. That was one of the top few downhills I've ever run.

After another climb, we hit a nice, fast stretch where Adam and Sarah saw a bear run down the trail in the same direction we were running. I was running with Annette and Jon Snow. Another steep downhill was upon us so I motored on through to try and catch Adam.

The next stretch followed the river and since it was so ridiculously hot and humid, we searched for a good water hole to chill our bones a bit. Most of us got in. The water was frigid but it did the trick. We continued along the river and hit a road stretch where everyone dropped me.

At this point, we were ready for the ridiculous climb up to the Pisgah Inn. I got a head start up the hill but everyone caught me. The trail became progressively steeper as I went. Even hiking nearly became anaerobic. The trail was gorgeous, climbing through multiple forest types. I hadn't seen or heard from anyone in quite a while. After many miles of climbing, I finally reached the top and descended to the Mountains to Sea trail. This led to the Pisgah Inn, where I saw Adam and Sarah, but not Rob and India, who were also ahead of me.

Rob and India had turned right instead of left and compounded the wrong turn by taking another turn, adding about four miles to their trek. We waited for a while and then headed back toward the Pink Beds. The trail became very rocky and I was moving well until I got a slight cramp and had to ease up a bit.

The last half mile of the descent was straight down and then I just had to run the Pink Beds. This stretch was much longer than I'd remembered. I made it to the parking lot after nearly eight hours.

Raging Bull