To sign up for this race is an act of showing the fitness level on has achieved in their running. In my case a friend had been saying I was going to do it with her. I had prepared by running another 50K, Holiday Lake, and a mountainous marathon, Terrapin Mountain, that ended up being 29.7 miles. I felt well prepared from those races.

The race starts at 5:30 am when the only light is moonlight. I used a headlamp until Aid Station 1. It is a slow climb to the first aid station. You go straight up a mountain for 3 miles. Even though it is a steep climb it didn't feel hard because my legs are very fresh at that point. At aid station 1, I drop my headlamp off as the sun is coming up. Next up is section of track I have seen from Terrapin mountain marathon. A bit of a climb up Onion Mountain to a nice wide grassy road. It has some lovely views of the sun as it peeks its way above the horizon. After running along the road we eventually get to Aid station 2. Still feeling very good coming into here at around 8.5 miles. Next up another slightly grassy road that starts with a bit of uphill. After climbing the hill it is across the parkway to a gravel road that parallels it. It was all downhill so it was a nice section leading into Aid Station 3 at Sunset Field. Still feeling really good coming into here. Next was a nice trail heading down Apple Orchard Falls that was very much downhill. It was a long time going down so it was a nice, but got to hurt a little bit. We crossed a stream 3 times and I got to get some nice cold water on my feet each time that numbed them some. The thought that crossed my mind was I will have to go back up all this sadly. Tab and I running were running with a friend of her's from Mountain Masochist named Matt. We ran into him a bit before Aid Station 3. We chatted along the way. We got to Aid Station 4 which is where my Dad was helping out with the race at. I was still feeling pretty good at this point. Another top off of my water bottle with some Cliff and more various food from oranges, oreos and potatoes. Then off again down a gravel/hard surface road that was downhill. It was a nice gradual downhill so keeping a steady run going was not a really a problem. Tab and I kept a nice pace going. The course then turned off to the right back into the brush. I believe this section was pretty close to the lowest elevation of all. The course was now barely wide enough for one person and it was impossible to pass unless the other person let you. A miss-step here would have meant about a 10 foot or so drop. I led our little group of 5 or so people through this section. After a bit of up and down on the goat path we made it to aid station 5. I really felt good at this point. It was around 18-20 miles into the race. I loaded up on some water and Cliff again and refilled again. More oranges and other food. I believe I made an error at this aid station. They had some ice cream, which being pretty hot sounded like a good idea. However, after to talking to others this may have been a really bad call on my part. We then started on an old road that went up and down for a long time it seemed. It was during this section that I was forced to remove my shirt. I have never had to do this in a race before. The band-aids that I had on, one had come off. My shirt given time would grate my skin like cheese and open up a nice wound. I started the fun process of transferring my race number from my shirt to my shorts. Not easily done when running. Matt offered to carry my water bottle while I made the transfer. After some real fun of putting safety pins into my shorts I had made the transfer and took my shirt off. I tucked it between my body and the belt for the pack I had on. I retrieved my water bottle back and kept going. This section of the trail seemed to go on forever. I wondered if I would see another aid station. The trail was going up and down repeatedly. I finally could hear a stream and new we were getting close. It was all downhill as we ran parallel to the creek. We had some nice muddy patches through here, but nothing too bad. We finally got to aid station 6. I was happy to see this one. It seemed like it took forever to get here. This is the same aid station as 4. I got just water in my bottle this time. I down 3 cups of water and a cup of Cliff and shoved some food down in my mouth again. I was not smiling because it was about 23 or so miles in and next was a huge climb up. As we left the aid station I had heard the next section was hard. Having never been on this section I had no idea what I was in for. After seeing the inclines ahead I told Tab that I had no intention of running this section at all. I planned on a nice hike. It started off being up, but not too bad. As it went on it got stepper and stepper. It even had stairs at different sections to help. The stairs just kept coming and coming. It was up and up and up and up some more. The falls were lovely and, if I didn't feel like I was at death's doorstep, would have loved to stop for a longer look. Sadly we never got to run through the water really. It would have felt sooo good on my feet at that point. Somewhere along the line the photographer was taking pictures and I tried to crack a smile, but I will have to see the results later. Finally we got above the waterfalls so I figured the Blue Ridge Parkway had to be close by however as I looked up the hill it didn't seem to be that close to my dismay. Somewhere in the rocky section of the falls I had lost Tab. She caught back up to me in the dirt section above the falls. I saw a sign that showed the distance to the parkway, which was 0.9 miles. Now given the distance covered, that may seem easy. However at this point it was a challenge to even take a step on this dang incline again. I was in great pain and said it would take 20 minutes at this pace to cover that 0.9 miles. Never the less it does no good to cry about it so keep taking a step followed by the next. We got to a sign that said 0.3 miles to go and it wasn't long until I saw cars above, which meant we were close to being at Sunset field again. We finally took the last incline up to Aid Station 7 Sunset fields. I was overjoyed to see this aid station. I drank 2 cups of water and 2 cups of Cliff. I ate some M&Ms, oranges, oreos and crackers. After a minute to catch my breath and talk with some people at the aid station it was time to move on. However, one comment from the person at the aid station said the last 98% was downhill. My comment back was that 2% uphill could be a problem at this point. It wasn't long into the next section that we found that last bit of uphill. Tab and I made it up slowly until it flattened out. From here on out it would be nearly all downhill. I was sore and tried, but could run downhill. Tab was not feeling quite up to running just yet. So I started off going slowly as we began a run downhill. We picked up some speed as we bounded over the rocks and was more of a controlled fall than anything else. It wasn't long before we reached Aid Station 8, same as 1. From here it is a steep downhill for 3 miles to the finish line. I got a cup of water with some ice in it. They even put some ice in my water bottle which felt great when I put it on my hand. I think I got one item to eat, but my stomach was getting a bit upset so I wanted water and that was it really. I made sure Tab was ready to run and we started again a controlled fall down the steep downhill section. I told Tab we have less than a 5K to go and we can do 5K's for breakfast. It was more of keeping on your feet and not falling down. The road is really steep and dodging the rocks and ruts in the road was key. After going about a mile or so down Tab need a bit of break. I am not sure if it was dehydration that was her problem, sickness or a food item that caused her problems. We walked a bit and she told me to run on ahead. However, I said we have been together for over 7 hours in this race and I wasn't leaving now. I picked a point and said lets start running there for a bit. We again started running at that point and went to less than a mile to go before Tab needed a breather. She said she was having double vision at this point, but I knew how close we were. I said she could sit and not have to take another step once we got there. We got to where we could see cars and I said I know you can run from here. I had a corny joke ready too. I said Tab I can see the Promise Land. We started a run for the final push to the finish line. We finally made the right-hand turn into the grass field and took a slight detour at first, but got back on track quickly. The cars had blocked our view of the finished when we came into the field. We both ran the last bit to the finish line with Dr. Horton waiting to congratulate us. Tab and I crossed the finished together and were finally able to stop moving ahead. We were both sore and very tired. I didn't really want to eat because my stomach was very upset now. After sitting for a few minutes I walked to the creek nearby and just sat in it and took my shoes off. It was a great way to cool off, clean my shoes and my legs from the mud and dirt that had accumulated during the race. Mom had made it from her spot of taking pictures to the finish line area and I handed my shoes and socks to her.

I felt worse since I had stopped running oddly enough. My stomach was getting very upset. If I laid down I was ok, but when I sat or stood I got light headed. Well it had been thundering after a while of being at the finish line. I had to sit upright and soon my stomach finally got its way as I got rid of what little was in it. An orange and some water was all that was left in it. After that I felt a lot better so I thought I would drink some water. That turned out to be a mistake too. That water came back soon after it was swallowed. I realized that I had no business eat or drinking for a while. Tab was able to eat, but still was not feeling well from look at her. We were waiting on Ashley to finish her first race. She picked a rough one for her first one. She was talking some time, but was still going which is a big key in these races. Sometimes the mental is as big of a factor as a physical. Ashley made it to the finish just in the nick of time. I never met her until that day, but finishing that race shows she has some heart and mental toughness.

We were finally able to leave at this point. Tab was reclined in my Dad's Truck and I was reclined in Mom's SUV with Ashley in the back. We were finally able to head back all in one piece. My total fight was not yet over. After getting home I took a hot shower. I should have done a cold shower instead. After I got out of the shower as I dried off I had to visit the toilet and get rid of some more water again that was in my stomach. I did not enjoy throwing up for the 5th time since the race ended. I tried to make it down the hall to the bed and lay down. The second I stood up I knew I was in trouble because I was very light headed. I made it out the door, but apparently ran into the wall in the hall way. After I bounced off of it I then bounced off the door post and then dropped to the ground. I don't honestly recall from the time I left the bathroom until I opened my eyes on the floor. I remember some hits before the last collapse onto the ground, but that was it. Dad then came and helped me up and guided me to the bed. I was burning up and once I laid still and got cooled a little I went to sleep quick. I slept from about 5:00 to 8:30. Thankfully when I awoke I could eat again and was finally able to get something to stay inside me. Japanese really hit the spot and oh was I hungry. By 11:30 I was tired again and ready to bed. So ended the hard fought day. It was a day of great achievement for myself and others. For everyone that had prayed for me, I greatly thank you. Also I thank God for keeping me safe. The soreness that will last most of this week is a to be worn like a badge of honor. Another glorious long distance race in the books.