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| I had the loft all to myself! |
I slept pretty well until about 3AM, then was up and down every hour or so until I got up at 7. Had a leisurely breakfast then headed over to the race start. It was cold but not too cold since the race didn't start until 9 (a couple hours of sunlight warmed things up a bit).
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| At the start |
Went through the pre-race instructions, one of which included "Don't run up that first hill... it's not worth it", said farewell to my cabinmates who had come to see me off at the start, and then we were running! But not for long... because almost immediately we began the first big climb. Started off on the road...
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| Everybody walking |
... and continued to singletrack that climbed and climbed. Gain of 1100ft in less than 2 miles until we reached the first overlook. My calves were ON FIRE after that climb.
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| What a view! |
A little more climbing but some parts that were runnable, and we finally reached the top of Rabun Bald and the overlook tower.
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| Trail markers |
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| Signs |
We had 360-degree views from the observation tower, and the race director, Sean, even made his way up to cheer on the runners and take photos. So cool.
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| 3.25 miles in, 1600 ft climbed so far |
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| Those views though |
And then... we went down. WAY down. Like... 2,700 ft down over the next 3ish miles.
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| Going down. |
There were some gorgeous views on the way down, though, and after the steep part I actually (finally) got to do some extended periods of running!
Of course the colors on the trees were perfection. Eventually the course emerged into a clearing and we had Aid Station #1 (with oreos, oh yes). They were full of energy, cheering everybody on, and serving up fresh grilled cheeses as well. So awesome!
The next portion, after crossing the bottom of a beautiful cascading waterfall... was to climb UP next to the waterfall.
It was STEEP and hard, definitely no running here, but tried to keep a good steady pace knowing it would end eventually.
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| Did I mention steep?? |
Eventually, the climb did end and the top of the cascading rushing waterfall turned into little more than a small creek winding its way through the mountainside. Next was more climbing on a forest service road (gravel) that I'd been warned would seem as though it never ends. It actually wasn't too bad, and I ran some parts of it that weren't too steep. I tried to just enjoy the colorful leaves and got to chat with a few fellow runners as we made our way up.
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| The hill had a name |
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| Finally back onto the trail |
I was happy to be back on singletrack after the gravel climb, and I knew it meant that a few rolling hills and one steep section more would mean the end was near.
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| Little waterfalls |
I ran a decent bit of the last section, only walking when it got steep since my legs were quite tired at this point. I wasn't sure exactly how long the race was since the announcements at the beginning went something like, "I dunno, it could be like anywhere from 13 to 17 miles... I don't run with a watch... so just go have fun!"
I could hear cheering as I was trudging up a particularly steep section, so I knew the final aid station was getting close and that meant it was alllll downhill to the finish! I'll admit, I was actually a little disappointed to get there because, even though I was tired, I wasn't quite ready for it to be over. The last section was mostly gravel road or paved road, and it was pretty steep downhill. It felt good to run though, and I tried to soak up the last minutes of the run as much as possible.
I felt great coming into the finish area, lots of people cheering, and the race director at the finish line high-fiving everyone as they crossed. So cool.
Finished!
29th overall, 9th female - woohoo!
Overall, a great day with some hard efforts and all smiles. 😄
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