Race Report: Sky to Summit 50k

Pre-Race

On Friday, I left Greenville around 4pm to drive up to Clayton, NC for packet pick-up at the outdoor store in town. The drive was a lovely preview of the sights to come during the race.

Mountains in the distance at the start of sunset.

Got to packet pick up without any issues and enjoyed a beverage before heading out to find my accommodations for the weekend... a little mountain cabin all to myself! 😁 It was dark and at the end of a gravel road I found it, heated up the dinner I'd brought with myself, and got to an early bedtime to rest up for the day ahead! I'd luckily decided to look up the actual start time of the race and discovered it was a 6am start 😳 (MUCH earlier than I had in mind!)... so with the alarm set for 4am, I got to sleep. 

Race Day

Got up, had my breakfast, got layered up for the expected chilly weather, and headed towards the race site (about a 20-min drive away from my cabin). Had the heat cranked up to soak up as much warmth before exiting into the chill of the early morning darkness. A couple miles from the race site, it was obvious I was on the right road to the start as there was a steady line of cars snaking their way up the mountain in the early morning hours. Got parked and found the start area, luckily there was a fire pit going that offered a bit of warmth. It was luckily in the mid/upper-30s for start temps, which was slightly warmer than I expected and enabled me to not pack on too many layers that I wouldn't need for long. I found training buddy Matt at the start, and it wasn't long before the pre-race announcements were done and we were set off on our way up the mountain!

Lined up and ready to go!

Elevation Profile... blue dots are Aid Stations, red dot is peak of Rabun Bald

Hit the lap button at each of the dots on the course profile above... check that ascent & descent!

Start to AS1

The first part of the course climbs a looooong paved driveway, that then transitions to gravel, and eventually dead-ends onto the first trail climb before you are suddenly on a singletrack climb up the side of the mountain. It is STEEP, topping out above 20% grade. 

Trail of headlamps winding up the road

After climbing for about 40 minutes, the first glow of morning starts coming up over the ridge in the distance.

It was amazing how fast the transition from total darkness to "oh, I don't even need a headlamp anymore!" was once the sun started coming up. Just about the time we reached the first major overlook, the sun was casting the early light over the valley below.

More climbing and then finally rounding over the top of the first big climb of the day, we started a nice descent as the golden light continued to rise and illuminate the ridgelines and valleys around the course.

Matt running strong ahead of me

Sunrise through the trees

Probably my favorite pic of the views... still doesn't totally capture it though. 😍

We reached the first aid station, and I began what would become my routine of picking up a couple of quesadillas and a couple of pieces of dark chocolate & nut "tree bark" - this was just the right combo of salt, sweet, sugar, and carbs to keep me feeling energized. I ended up eating just a couple of my Stinger gummies over the entire day.

AS1 > AS2

After a little snack, the course took more and more of a descent to one of the lowest points on the entire route (location of Aid Station 2) which was next to a waterfall at the bottom of a forest service road. We had a few water crossings (one ankle deep, the other knee deep) and enjoyed a little part on the out-and-back section that enabled us to see lots of other runners. I was surprised to see just a handful of women ahead of me! More snacks at the aid station, then turning back the way we came.

AS2 > AS3

Aid station 3 is the same as aid station 1, so we completed the double-loop lollipop section which was shorter but included all the climbing we'd just descended. At least it was next to a lovely waterfall and river for a while!

AS3 > Rabun Bald Summit

This next bit was a whoooole lot of climbing, and the slowest segment on the entire course. So so steep going up the side of the mountain to the Rabun Bald summit (the "Summit" part of the race name) to around 4,700ft above sea level. Caught some really beautiful views off the side of the mountain (and the location of the race photographer).

Photograph of me photographing the view

Oh hey there Mr. Photographer

Finally finally we reached the summit, and climbed the stairs to the top of the observation tower. 360-degree views!! Absolutely amazing.

Photos REALLY don't do this view justice. 

Summit > AS4

The next section was my least favorite section. After you come down from the tower at the top of Rabun, you drop down some stuuuupid steep rocky and incredibly leafy trail. I feel like I could have sat down and slid more easily than the sketchy tired-legged descent that I stumbled through. Matt got way ahead of me at this point and I was afraid I'd lost him for the rest of the race (we'd agreed to start together but didn't have a plan after that). I mentally prepared to complete the remaining ~10 miles solo and picked my way carefully down the side of the mountain.

Thankfully, after the steepest part was done, I was able to catch back up to Matt and finish the descent to Aid Station #4, completing a loss of nearly 2,200 ft in less than 3 miles. YIKES.

AS4 > AS5

This last bit could really be split into a few sub-segments... there's a long bit of time climbing on the gravel forest road, sort of a side quest on singletrack down to a pretty waterfall crossing, then a stupid steep climb back UP next to the waterfall, back to the forest road, and finally back to singletrack on the trail to Bee Gum Gap. The forest roads were mostly alternating between running 100 paces then walking again. The waterfall was lovely but the steep ascent afterwards just felt mean. 

YAY WATERFALL (and slightly delirious at this point, perhaps)

About the time we hit the singletrack to Bee Gum, Matt realized he was on pace to come close to a course PR (this being his fourth S2S 50k)... and that was the motivation needed to keep the legs moving at a pretty good pace for the rest of the trail! We ran with a few others for a while and formed a "conga line" which prompted some singing of Gloria Estefan as we trotted along, then finally reached the final aid station and knew the finish line was nearly within sight.

AS5 > Finish

The final aid station is right at the top of a gravel road (sort of a driveway?) that begins the mostly downhill section, through a neighborhood, eventually onto paved roads, and into the finish line within the Sky Valley community. It's honestly kind of silly to have the aid station so close to the finish... we didn't even slow down for any food or water, just kept moving to get to the end. The downhill on the paved roads was tough on incredibly tired legs... really just trying not to let them buckle and fall on my face at this point. Finally heard the music and cheers of the finish line and rounded the final turns to the end!! 

Finish time - 7:23:24

Sat on the ground for a while after crossing the finish line, then noticed my name on the white board by the finish arch... turns out I had somehow managed to snag 5th place overall female runner!

😲

Woohoo! 🎉

Enjoyed finish line beer and chili, then finally waddled my way back to the car. I took the longest shower ever to warm up, then a good nap before heading back into town to meet Matt for an early dinner (he was heading back to Greenville that evening). Mexican food was just the ticket for post-race meal, a beer at Currahee Brewing, followed by approximately 9.5 hours of sleep lol. 😂

Morning views as I left the cabin - really loved this little retreat! Overall a picture-perfect weekend and an amazing race experience. I juuuuust might have to do this one again sometime. 😁