Barkley Fall Classic - 50k (aka marathon for me)

 

Race: Barkley Fall Classic 50k

Date: 9/21/2024

Time: 9:09:36

Place: DNF (marathon finish)

Pre-Race Conditions:

“If you’re going to face a real challenge it has to be a real challenge. You can’t accomplish anything without the possibility of failure.” - Lazarus Lake 

Well, packet is picked up, dinner has been eaten, prep is done, map has been studied. Time to wind down before bed. 3:45 AM wake up to get prepped and be at the race by 5:30 to avoid too much of a rush. 

I’ve looked at the course and it seems a little shorter that 50k. Not complaining. I also saw the Rat Jaw descent too. That is going to be brutal. I’ve climbed this much in a 50k with obstacles with some of these steep climbs. Compared to Killington Ultra this is probably comparable. This is going to involve some crawling and sliding for sure. The obstacle race training and experience is going to be key for me. 

It’s been about 8 weeks since Vol State. I’m still probably only about 80% recovered. Still some lingering issues that are taking some time. 645,000 steps in 5.5 days will take its toll. Bruce got me a decent training block with the limited time and recovery knowing this was coming up. I always knew it would be tough to be ready as I wanted for this. 

The weather is supposed to be hot. That is going to be the killer. The course is really dry. Some of the streams I had planned to cool off in might not be there. The creek under the prison was just a little trickle. On the front side I don’t think I want to go in that water to cool off. It looked like tough Mudder quality. Don’t drink it! 

I think I’m ready to crush a 50k tomorrow. Plan is: Don’t think. Just run. It’s always worked for me in the past so why change that now. My legs will hold up. It might just take a lot more out of them than normal. 

Race Recap:

Up early at 3:30 to get ready and be at Frozen Head just about 5AM. I did my last minute things in the morning and made it to the campground at about 5:15. I was there early enough I cruised right in. Laz was there directing traffic. That man does everything and gets around. Lucky that I got there early. About 5:45-6:00 there was a big line to get in. 

I got there and had to find Dobie aka Bad Mike to know if I was assigned bib 369 and Dom was 169 in honor of Sarah Moore. He knew “nothing” about it and denied all knowledge. 

After getting my shoes on I had a quick call with Matty for some last minute strategy. He convinced me to carry a flashlight. (I didn’t need it) it may have been a good idea if I went on the final loop.  The last 20 minutes were a blur of activity. I looked for Dom and Sean but couldn’t find them. Come to find out they took a detour on the way in and showed up right before the race. 

Right at 7 whether people were there or not Laz lit his cigarette. All great races start with the lighting of a cigarette. In true fashion there was no care if people were there or not. It was our responsibility and we knew the schedule. 

It was a fast run down the road to the trail head. A lot faster than I expected. I figured it would be a slower steady start. Not the almost tempo pace we ran that first half mile or so. It was like a Spartan race start. A quick start jockeying for position. I should have been fighting a little bit more but my plan was to keep it easy until I saw the fire tower for the second time. Up the mountain we went. It took about 2 hours to get to the first aid station. I timed out that it took me 1:48 to get to the last turn on the last loop. We repeated this section of the course on the 50k. 

At the top I was feeling ok after eating an orange. I had a little bit of stomach unease. I looked for a gasx in my meds but hadn’t put on in there. I think the tailwind make me gassy. That orange was amazing. I peeled it at the aid station and ate it on my way to the top of the fire tower. I got to the top and got my first bib punch. Next was the infamous Rat Jaw. I was early enough that it wasn’t matted down much. We descended in about 15 minutes. We cruised. The long sleeves kept my arms safe. I just let my legs take the beating. The worst was a briar caught me across the lip and I instantly had that copper blood taste in my mouth. From there I put my arm up to block my face like we do through the EST obstacle at tough Mudder. The OCR skills helped a lot here. 

As we descended to the prison there was a group of spectators there quietly cheering people on. I did my normal yell that they weren’t loud enough and they upped the volume as we emerged through the brush. I had to stop here for a minute and retie my shoe and tuck my gloves in my pack. Next was our out and back by the prison and out to some nice new hills. I was a little shaky in the tunnel up until the end until I realized I had my sunglasses on. 

The next section was completely exposed and some gnarly terrain. It was the best running terrain I think I’ve had all year. It was beautiful. My goal was to get through this all as fast as I can before it got too hot. There is no time to take breaks on this course and hope to make the cut offs. 

The third aid station was the turn around point. We go there and got a bib punch and hit a timing mat. This aid station helped a lot. They had ice and cold cokes. I downed 2 and loaded by bottles with water and ice. I started back and saw Dom about a quarter mile from the turn around. He was looking good still. 

I hammered back to the prison without much issues. I was feeling good and still running when I could. Most was hard power hikes and crawling. Soon as I hit the road at the bottom I started to get warm. It was now about noon and getting to the hottest part of the day. I was ready for 84. Temperatures hit 90-91 degrees. I was slower here and saved my energy for going back up rat jaw to the fire tower. 

Rat Jaw took 15 minutes to come down and about an hour to go back up. It was hot and steep. I kept moving the whole time and went through 1.5L of water on my way up. Actually, I did even pass a lot of people. I was redlined the whole time just trying to get to the top and get to the aid station in the shade. For the race, I decided to wear my patagonia long sleeve. On the way down I pulled the sleeves down to protect my arms. On the way up I was so warm I pulled them down for like 5 minutes before pulling them back up and taking the damage. Really the scratches weren’t that bad. They were annoying more than anything. Most importantly the after race shower didn’t hurt that bad. 

At the top we got to climb up to the top of the fire tower for another bib punch. I was so redlined that I almost puked from the top. Luckily for the other runners below I kept it together. Once down it was about a 1/8th mile to shade. I got there as I was tucking my gloves into my vest and drinking what water I had left. My hope was that the aid station still had water. If they didn’t I would have been in a world of hurt. In the shade I got back to a nice jog on the downhill. It felt pretty good. 

At the aid station I took my time refilling my bottles and getting a little break. Carl, the RD from LAVS, was there and saw me still having fun. He told everyone that out of everyone out here I was actually enjoying it and having fun. I was! Before I left I told Mike LeFerle’s weenie joke (ask me sometime on course). As I was leaving Carl commented that he had to explain what a weenie was to his younger daughter that was there with him. The Search and Rescue guy quickly commented that it was his decision to bring his daughter to an aid station at an ultra. He should have known what he was getting into and was lucky that weenie was the worst thing he had to explain. Especially with all the profanity on that course. 

After that aid station I got pointed back down the mountain towards the campground and the fabled yellow gate. It was about 3 miles and a good run. I only took a couple small breaks to eat the oranges I got from the aid station. They were great. At the bottom I met up with another runner and we ran the road to the camp sites together. Right when we got there we found a hose. We sprayed off in the hopes of cooling down. It helped but was short lived. I popped 2 tylenol and 2 salt stick caffeines to numb some pain and get some energy. I was struggling here. At the aid station I resupplied water and had a rice crispy treat. The next section was about 6 miles. 2 miles up and 1400’ of gain followed by about 2 miles on the top of the mountain to 2 miles down to the decision point. I figured I could do this in about 2-2.5 hours and still have time to finish the 50k. I touched the gate to start the climb with about 4 other runners within a couple minutes of each other. We went up. It took a lot out of me but I maintained a good pace. About halfway up I stopped to get another couple applesauce pouches out of my pack. They were in the back so I sat down on a big rock to get them. When I did I closed my eyes and took about 20 breaths. It was so quiet and calm. That moment was so nice and was the reason I was there. To enjoy the experience. 

When I got to the top there was a park ranger making sure we took the right turn. I chatted with him for a minute and took off trying to run. I was still pretty red lined so I took it easy. After I felt a little more recovered I started at a light jog. This section of the trail was really runnable. After about 200 feet I started to get a little light headed and tunnel vision. I slowed down and had some more water. After a little bit longer I tried again and got the same results. This left me at a power hike for the next few miles. I was doing the math and figured I would be on the edge of the cut off. The last big turn was unmarked and I had to use the map and try to figure out if my turn was right. After a minute I figured out that I was on the right trail. It was more of a Jeep road and great running. Only issue is I still couldn’t run. I was cooked. Towards the end I was able to maintain a little jog. 

I made it to the decision point. When I got there I sat down and contemplated continuing on. I couldn’t run and the next 8 miles or so would have been rough. That 1:48 on the way up was now closer to 2.5 hours. As I sat there, there was a girl arguing with Laz that she cut the course and Laz saying there was no way she could have and ended up at the decision point. She continued. After thinking about it for a couple minutes I decided to take the DNF / Marathon finish. It was what I needed that day. Even with 4 hours left and having to maintain 30 minute miles it could have been done. My decision came down to how much I wanted to beat myself up and the desire to have to come back. 

I got my last marathon bib punch as I took the shorter path back to the finish line. When I got there I received the appropriate amount of ridicule from Mike and Mike. Surprisingly Good Mike, now known to me as not so bad mike, gave me the most crap about tapping out with over 4 hours left. Then Bad Mike jumped in. It was all good fun. I owned my decision. 

It was a great day and a good run. I was super happy to do this course. Here’s to hoping I get in next year for another round of fun!

The Bad:

Not sure what went south here besides maybe dehydration. The running with the trail being blurry like that was a first for me. On good trails like that it’s easy to get injured if you aren’t paying attention. Even focused I was struggling. 

The good thing is that this is new to me and something I can learn to overcome. 

I also should have planned my nutrition a little better for that heat. I was prepared for 85. Not 90. New rule is to prepare like it’s 5 degrees warmer. The difference is more liquid nutrition and simpler foods. I probably would have frozen a couple bottles too. That way I’d have cold drinks and some cooling. 

The Good:

Anyone who knows me knows that heat is my Achilles heel. I’ve struggled for years in the heat and have ramped up a lot of heat training to overcome this. It showed during LAVS and now here that it’s working and I’m able to fuel pretty well while in hot weather. 

It seems to be working and making it easier for me to survive these brutal hot races. 

Moral of the Story:

Another strong race. It’s crazy that I’ve spent over 7 days on race courses this year. Rough math has over 168 hours. 

It was a great way to cap off the year and gives me a good goal to look forward to next year. I want that Croix. 

Best Moment:

Every moment on that course was amazing. Seeing what the big barkers go through even at a little scale was amazing. I can’t wait to find other races that can even try to approach this on. 

Worst Moment:

I’m a little disappointed that I had some issues that made me make the hard decision to stop. It wasn’t smart to continue on. Everything seemed to be going so well too. 

Good news is that I have a good reason to go back. 

Funniest Moment:

Funniest moment was going up Meth Lab there was a Canadian girl there and she starting talking with someone else we were held up by. All of a sudden she yells out “I remember you from the prison yesterday”. I think this is the only race where that doesn’t sound strange. 

The other paging part was back after the fire tower when Carl saw me and definitely realized I was indeed having fun and let everyone know. Apparently Tub Springs is a good hang out 

Map:

There is no map!

The race kind of happened here - If you know you know

Results: 

https://ultrasignup.com/m_results_event.aspx?did=116578&t=1

Gear:

• Altra Superiors

• Gymshark shorts

• Runderware compression shorts

• Blenders sunglasses

• Smart wool socks

• Dirty Girl Gaiters

• Catalpa Buff

• Patagonia Capalene long sleeve 

• Solomon adv skin 5 vest (4 bottles)

• Junk Headband

Nutrition:

• Lots of water

• Fitaid 

• Body armor

• Coke

• Applesauce 

• That’s it bars

• Kion EAAs

• Oranges

• Rice crispy treats

• Twizzlers