The story of this run was the weather. As race day approached it was apparent that we would have a major storm. 4-5” had fallen the previous weekend, and there was another light rain midweek. The prerace forecast called for heavy rain on Saturday morning, then strong winds with temperatures dropping to freezing. Definitely not fun, and not fast either!
After
running the race in 2001, and having two marathon finishes in 1999 and 2002, I
felt confident in my training. My major project in 2002 had been scouting all
the rides for my Blue Ridge/Smokies bike guide. But I still had done lots of
hiking, backpacking, and running, including three 20+ mile runs in the Smokies
leading up to the race. Jean and I would stay in the Black Mountain Super 8,
and Steven was running the race again. I have no pictures or GPS track from the
race.
There
was heavy rain before dawn on Saturday, but the temperatures were relatively
warm. I wore tights, short and long sleeved polypro shirts, glove liners, and
my old green backpacking raincoat (before I discovered the Marmot Precip
jacket). Any dryness was temporary as we got wet feet almost instantly from the
water sheeting down the streets of Black Mountain. The start was slow, and the
first two aid stations were missing. I supposed that the volunteers had more
sense than the runners.
The 2003 Mount Mitchell Challenge map.
The
Montreat College trails were soggy, but the trail tread was in good shape. I
wore Smartwool socks, but was still trying to keep my feet out of the water.
Forty miles of soaked feet was a perfect recipe for blisters. By the time we
reached the Old Toll Road we found patches of old snow. Beyond Bill’s Knob the
trail got rockier and had a lot more water. A few sections were like running up
a small stream. When the trail was off the crest we could see water shooting
off the nearby slopes. Farther up, the surface was glazed with patchy ice, and
the less cautious runners started going down. The last half mile toward the
Parkway was especially treacherous with water soaked snow mixed with flumes of
6” deep water over glazed ice. By then both my feet were numb.
At
the marathon turnaround they told us about the course change! Instead of
running the Mount Mitchell trails, we would run out and back on the Blue Ridge Parkway
and NC 128 on the road to the tower. Normally, I’d be disappointed in missing
the crux challenge of a race, but even 20 years later I can still recall the
joy of being told about this relocation. The standard course is wet under the
best of conditions, and it turned out that the race team had been unable to get
anyone out to the last aid station.
The
hard rain ended about that time, to be replaced by thick fog. I walked all of
the steep climb to Steppes Gap on NC 128, and then found some gentler grades to
run before the final steep climb to the parking area for the summit tower. The
entire time runoff was sheeting down the road. I had a quick turnaround at the
tower at about 4:26 race time.
I
ran most of the way down to Steppes Gap, but then both knees began to hurt a
lot. I ran NC 128 mostly because I was afraid of the wind and cold up high. I
was passed about 6 times before the Parkway, and by a few more times on the Old
Toll Road.
This
time my knee pain did not subside. I walked the entire section between the BRP
and Montreat and still could not control it. But, with the rain stopped, there
wasn’t as much water on the trails.
I
had to walk backward down the steep paved road into Montreat (not the first
time for that strategy on that road). I lost about 8 places on the steep
section. Luckily I could run most of the last three miles from the aid station
in Montreat. My splits were Bills Knob at 6:35 and Montreat at about 8:05. I
lost a few more places before the finish, but was able to pass one person
running around the lake.
My
finish time was 8:44, good for the conditions, but not for the easier course. I
was 61/76, similar to my 2001 race. Steven finished in 9:15.
This
race prompted a major change in my running. With my IT Band Syndrome
reoccurring in almost every long race I knew it was a bad idea to focus on a
race with a 13 (or 20) mile long downhill run at the end. I’d had too much pain
on the steep descents late in this course to want to come back again. And a new
alternative was revealed. Steven ran the Barkley Marathons in 2002, and survived
with great stories to tell about this then obscure race. To me, it seemed more
like an adventure race than a trail run, and I wondered if this would be a
better fit for my creaky knees. I typically had no issues hiking downhill, and
wondered if, counterintuitively, the extremely steep downhill hiking at Barkley
might allow me to avoid the knee pain I experienced on runnable downhills in
conventional ultras. Luckily I was able to confirm that idea in my Barkley
debut in 2004. I’d still come back to Black Mountain for the marathon in 2006,
but otherwise my focus for racing changed from Black Mountain/Mount Mitchell to
the Barkley.
