YMCA Critz Tybee Runfest

This event was both a running challenge and a fun vacation with a big group of friends! The event consists of 5 different races over the weekend and of course I signed up for all 5. The group of about a dozen arrived at various times, some as early as Thursday evening and stayed as late as Tuesday. 

First Night in Tybee

Walking to find food

We found a bar

Night 1 with good friends!!

The first event was on Friday evening, the 5k. With a heavy mileage load on Saturday I knew I should hold back, and I certainly didn't have any time goals. The excitement of event #1 and being the first race on fresh legs, I went a good bit faster than I probably should have and finished with a 21:53 (although the course was nearly 0.1 mile short). Splits were incredibly consistent (7:16, 7:17, 7:16) due to the flat course. 

First Tybee sunrise

Third AG = dangle charm for the medal!

Saturday was the big day... four races in a row! 

Sunrise #2

First up, the 10k. I once again went faster than I should have considering there were 23 miles to run that day... I had a couple of miles in the low 8's in the first half of the race and then intentionally put the brakes on for the second half knowing I'd already done the damage. 10k time = 50:51 (another short course, right at 6 miles). 

There was about a half hour between finishing the 10k and starting the half marathon, so I ate some food and removed my jacket (it was warm enough by then) before heading back to the start line. 

The half is where the wheels started to come off 😂 and I knew the speedy first 2 races were coming back to haunt me. By about mile 4-5 I was already feeling exhausted, got a little boost/second wind for the next few miles, then struggled through the last 5k of the race that felt like it would just never end! The island was beautiful and I tried my best to just enjoy the sites, but my legs were protesting.

Lighthouse!

Finished!

I somehow managed to keep all of my miles below 10:00/mi pace, which felt like a struggle. Finished the half marathon in 2:04 and some change. Once I finished that one I had nearly an hour and a half before the next race was to begin. I made the mistake of collapsing in my chair and sitting for at least half of that time, which was not good. I was so stiff and sore when I tried to stand up and walk to the start line for the 2.8 mile beach run!

The 2.8 mile beach run was just what it sounded like... a run up the road to beach access, out onto the sand, then run back on the sand to the finish line. It was the first time I'd actually set foot on the beach during the trip, so that was exciting! But oh man I could barely move my legs. I was honestly worried I'd have to end up walking the whole thing but somehow I managed to move enough to get just under an 11:00/mi pace for the duration. 

The final race was the one mile run, and I was SO glad to be done once we lined up for the start of this one! Ended up with a 9:40 time and had one of our group hand off a beer at the final turn 😁

All the medals!

Overall this was a super fun event to do with friends, but I think if I do it again I'll select one or two races to focus on instead of doing all of them. It was a fun challenge but definitely didn't make for any stellar performances overall!

Group pic from Friday night 5k

Ladies on Saturday!

Tybee sunrise 🌅

Obligatory 2025 in review

So, one thing is for sure - I did not keep up with my blogging this year. Started off strong with a training plan and a goal (which I met!) and then fell off with... life, things, etc. I've been sick more this year than I can remember... mostly allergy-like symptoms, but probably a few bouts of flu and cold mixed in. Need to focus on more consistent schedules for sleep, good meals, hydration, etc... (don't we all??). I could dwell on all the things that I could have or should have done better, but I'd rather focus on all the amazing things from this year...

The Good Stuff

• Over 1,300 miles of running this year
• Achieving a lifetime half marathon PR of 1:37:52 (Greenville Half Marathon in February)
  
  
  
  
  
• Completing the GORUCK Bragg Tough and Basic to earn my Cadre Barbarossa V Patch
  
  
  
  
  
• Earning my first 100-mile buckle at the Country Mile 48-hr race
  
  
  
  
  
• Running a few races and doing some rucks with my little dude #SuperD including the Greenville Turkey Day 5k where he ran the entire way (he was so proud of himself!)
  
  

  

  Turkey Day 5k

  
  

  

  BWM 2-Mile

  
  

  

  Pumpkin Ruck

  
  

  

  Cadre Dan's Light Challenge

  
  

  

  ZF 5k on his 10th Birthday

  
  
• Running several night races (the most difficult for me): Mountaineer Rumble 12-Hr (completed 50k), Sadlers Creek Stumble 32-Hr (completed 100k), Long Night in Lanford dusk to dawn (completed 17 miles), and volunteer overnight sweeping at the Virginia Trail Running Festival (covered 32+ miles between biking and running)
• Third year of the Blue Ridge Relay
• Bringing the fun back to some running events aka don't take things too seriously - Ville to Ville Relay, Reaper Relay, Cottonmouth Beerlay (solo), and more random group runs and run clubs than I can count!
  

  

  Reaper 50k relay team "Nutty Butties"

  
  
  

  

  Fruitcake Relay

There's a ton more good, but even just thinking back on all of it makes me feel pretty content with how the year went. Here's to more miles, more smiles, and chasing more trail sunsets in 2026....

Trail Camp viewpoint - July

Sassafras Mountain

Long Night in Lanford

Race Report: ZF Get In Gear 5k

This was by far not my fastest 5k but it certainly was special - the first actual 5k road race that I got to run with #SuperD, made even more special by the fact that it's his 10th birthday!!

He and I have done a few organized group fun runs before, and he's done one or two of the 2-mile races with me from the Brew Series, and he and I did the Tacky Sweater 5k on the trails in December. 

We got out to ZF in Fountain Inn pretty early on Saturday, and it was fairy nice weather (not too hot, overcast). We got our photo with the team and before long we were off! 

The course is a small lollipop with a loop at the midway point and a fairly long out-and-back.

First mile was a lot of walking and I was worried that we'd be walking almost the whole race. Once we got to about the halfway point, there's a little off-road portion and he seemed more interested/excited about this. Then on the return straightaway he must have gotten his energy because he was flying and didn't stop at all!

Mile 1 - 12:07

Mile 2 - 11:15

Mile 3 - 9:07 (one-mile PR for Super D!)

He was so proud of himself and excited at the end of the race. Can't say he's pumped for another one but at least he got through this one with a smile. 😁

Napped on the way to the race

Excited to run with neighbor and friend J

Race Report: Reedy River 10k

It's been over 15 years since I first ran this race, as it was my very first 10k and the first time I ran slightly more than 6 miles.

I signed up for this race without much planning since a friend offered a registration when they had signed up and couldn't attend. My thinking was that since I'd recently run a fast half PR at the end of February I might be in shape to beat my 10k race PR of 47:47 from 2017 at the Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta. I do have a 10k distance PR of 45:23 during Leg #8 of the Ville-to-Ville Relay in 2021 but since it's not an actual 10k race, it seems questionable to count it. 

Anyway...

All the thinking that I was in good shape for a fast race was a little bit off since I didn't actually continue to do any speedwork training whatsoever since the end of February. That, plus the fact that in the past 2 weeks I've done a 100-miler and the Ville-to-Ville Relay maybe made that aspiration a little bit far-fetched. Still, I decided to just show up and do what I could.

Got to the race start with plenty of time to spare and found other friends who were also racing. Opted to drop a hoodie in my drop bag to have at the finish just in case it was a little on the cool side. Temps for the run were hovering right around 60 which was super comfortable. Did a ~2/3 mile warm-up jog and lined up with about 5 minutes to go.

A few announcements, and off we went! The first mile goes down Main Street/bears left on Augusta towards the baseball stadium, goes around the block where the stadium is located, then back down Main Street til you get to the Creepy Kids Park (Linky Stone). Circles to Westfield Street, then takes Broad past the Peace center, across Main Street, onto McDaniel before entering Cleveland park and heading towards the zoo.

These first miles were pretty steady, in the low 7's for pace. I felt ok but definitely not super strong like I would have hoped. I just couldn't get settled into a pace that felt good, and struggled to keep pushing. As we looped by the zoo and back around the park, I couldn't help myself thinking about the hills that I knew would be part of the last mile of the race. We'd have to climb up by the Cancer Survivors Park, back up towards the Governor's School (though thankfully not all the way to the top of that hill), and then climb up out of the park. After that, it was one more time up the Broad Street climb from Richardson to Main Street before hitting the final block of downhill onto Falls Street. The run down Falls was longer than I expected so I wasn't able to push as hard in the final stretch.

Splits.

Ended up with an official time of 45:56, which I would say is more than respectable. I'm still chasing that sub-45 time but I know I'll have to work hard and be intentional about it. The good/bad thing is that there aren't many 10k races in the area, so it may be next year before I attempt it again. 

Good enough for 1st AG!
That was unexpected with this large of a race

The Country Mile - First 100 Buckle!

So.... I ran 100 miles this weekend. 😳

The event: the Country Mile 48-Hour Ultra

Location: Beechwood Farms in Slater-Marietta, SC

Format: 4.167-mile loop around a strawberry farm, complete the loop as many times as possible in 48 hours (noon Friday to noon Sunday)

I signed up for this race as soon as it opened up after I participated in a few beer laps at the race with D and Ivy last year. It seemed like such a fun party atmosphere that I figured it would be cool to try for a new distance record. 

Over the fall & winter chatting with various running friends, I decided it was going to be time to attempt my first 100-miler and try to earn my first buckle (yes, belt buckles are what you get for doing 100 miles).

I took the Friday off from work and met up with a group of Spartanburg folks who were doing the race. We enjoyed a breakfast in the parking lot of a gas station near the race site and once everyone collected together, we caravanned over to ensure our camp got to set up all in a row. 

Not loitering

Group HQ for the weekend

Our spot ended up being perfect - halfway through the loop (~2 of 4 miles), or about 100 yards off the beginning of the loop about 1/3 mile in, and right next to port-a-potties.

Pink star marks the spot

Everybody got tents set up and had some last minute snacks, then we headed to the start area to begin the adventure.

Sparkle crew

The first lap was nice and steady, but it was already starting to get warm. This was the first weekend of temperatures in the 80s and nobody was ready for it. 

Only on lap 1, 23+ to go

I wish I could remember which laps happened at what point. I know I continued until about 2 or 3 in the afternoon then decided to take a break for a while when the hottest part of the day rolled around. Did another lap or so before some more Spartanburg friends arrived (they had to work that day so arrived around dinner time) and brought pizza! Food and maybe a beer lap, then we established a group of about half dozen of us that continued through the dark hours of the night. I wanted to hit the halfway point (50 miles) before I took a break to sleep, but unfortunately that meant I didn't stop until about 5am. 

First half of laps

Crawled into my hatchback where I had my sleeping bag spread out and shut my eyes for a couple of hours. I would have liked to enjoy the early dawn hours to run when it's the coolest, but I needed more than just a short nap so I got back up around 7 to continue on. Got some breakfast at the start/finish area and did laps until about 1pm then took a long break of several hours to avoid the heat/sun. I was sunburned on my legs from Friday afternoon and felt like I had to avoid all of the harshest sun hours. 

Once the evening rolled around I got back out and did another session of long night hour laps in the dark. These got pretty miserable and my feet ached so badly. I also got a horrible blister on my left foot and had to stop for the night with 2.5 laps left to go. We did make a plan that, as a group, we would meet up at our camp for the final half lap in the morning. The target was to meet at about 9am, so I got up around 6 with the goal to do 2 laps before 9. Ended up having some food in the middle of those 2 laps and was delayed a bit, but made it to camp about 9:30 and then had plenty of time (about 90 minutes) to start the finish party. 

Once we finally had everyone gathered, we started the final half party lap with beers in hand and music playing. Basically danced our way to the finish line for the last 2 miles, picked up friends from other camps as we went along, and by the finish were hooting and hollering our victory!! This was probably THE most fun of the entire weekend and made allll the pain worthwhile. 

We crossed the line, celebrated with Fireball, and sat down for another meal. 

Ringing the bell with my shiny new buckle!

Sooooo tired but YAY

Yeah, I'll probably sign up for next year....