Beta:
Location: US National Whitewater Center, Charlotte, NC
Date: October 14, 2017
Distance: 51 miles
Elevation Gain: 5,000ft
Surface: 90% single track, 10% double track
Weather: 60-83 degrees, mostly cloudy
New course for 2017, covering three 17-mile loops instead of the typical 4 loops of 13 in previous years. Each loop had approximately 1700 ft. of elevation gain, but the short rolling hills that make up the 1700 ft. make it feel like twice as much. Few times will you find yourself grinding out a climb with hands on your knees, aside from Goat Hill, Toilet Bowl, and one on the East Side Main. There are only a few runable stretches where you can get good turnover, one reason the race is notoriously difficult.
Pre-Race:
The US National Whitewater Center is like a playground for outdoorsy adult kids who’ve had too much candy. It’s a magical place. Over the years, I’ve completed a dozen races at the USNWC ranging from 5Ks to a back to back half marathons (one at night, one midday). The trails are well maintained mountain bike routes, easy to run if you can save your legs from all the rollers and switchbacks. In my grand plan of completing a 100 miler next year, I thought the WC-50 Ultra Trail Race would be just the thing to add to my schedule. I registered for the 50 miler and adjusted my training plan accordingly.
First off, very few of my friends are runners. Even fewer would agree to run 17 miles in the woods with me. After a few sour beers at the Funkatorium, my friend Katelyn said she would pace me for the 50 miler. When you’re looking for a pacer, it’s important that they are realistically positive while physically able to cover the distance and remind me every once in a while that I’m not dying. She was the perfect person for the job.
Packet pickup was on Friday night in the Outfitters along with a group shakeout run with Karl Meltzer. The opportunity to run with a true legend in the ultrarunning community is something I couldn’t pass up. As a group we blasted down the trail, flew up goat hill (for Speedgoat), and went much faster than I would have gone if it were just me… but it’s not like you can bitch out when Karl Meltzer is running with you for 3.5 miles. We took a short break at the bottom of a long descent and Karl gave us some words of wisdom. He discussed discipline and had an opinion on the Sage Canadays, Jim Walmsleys, and Hayden Hawks of the world who put in 120 miles a week of speedy mountain runs but haven’t had success in 100 mile races (which Hayden hasn’t attempted… yet). Karl runs 60 miles a week and is the winningest 100 miler of all time, so perhaps he had a point but I took it with a grain of salt. To his credit, I have noticed in my personal experience that putting in more miles hasn’t necessarily helped me in racing as much as cross training and more focused running. He discussed the mental aspect of ultras and what it takes to keep pushing. This is something I have been working on in my training and races leading up to the race, so it was a nice reminder with the start only 12 hours away.
After our break, we got back into the shakeout, running the last stretch of trail to the USNWC and ended near the beer garden. We capped the night off with a showing of “Made to be Broken,” the story of Karl’s record setting run of the Appalachian Trail in 2016, and a quick Q&A with Karl. At one point, Karl discussed rest and said “I hope there aren’t any of tomorrow 50 milers here, they should be in bed.” Figured that was my cue to finish my beer, sneak off and take his advice.
The 5am race start made for an early morning, but with race day nerves it makes little difference. Runners went through race day rituals and prepared for 3 hours of darkness to begin the race. The whitewater center creates a great atmosphere, with a DJ playing your typical “Born to Run” songs you hear at every race start combined with a few pop songs that inevitably end up in your head the rest of the day. As start time approached, a pre-race meeting reminded runners of the standard rules and trail markers. It was time to go.
The start was quiet, as most runners waited back from the start line to let those that wanted to go out fast do so at their own risk. This was my plan too, since I wanted to run my own race and not get caught in the 7:00/mile group that seems to always blast off the front. A few of us awkwardly stood there and looked at each other when the horn blew, laughing because we realized we were all doing the same thing. We crossed a bridge, shuffled over a hundred feet of gravel, and turned onto the trails.
The first section of the course goes along the Figure 8 trail and continues back to the Carolina Thread Trail. I settled in with a group running at around 13:30/mile, which felt really slow and was exactly how I wanted it to feel. There are some steep sudden climbs and drops that are great on mountain bikes, but when you’re trying to preserve your legs for 50 miles prove to be a little precarious. A lot of runners were stopping during this time to get their gear situated and make final adjustments before they got too far into the race. I, on the other hand, had to stop to piss 3 times in the first 10 miles. The hydration paranoia is strong with this one and never fails to show up at the beginning of a race.
While not as technical as other sections, the Carolina Thread section is where I ate shit pretty good on Lap 2 AND my pacer ate it on the third lap in broad daylight. Beware. A lot of sneaky roots and ruts but those dirt smears on the jersey tell everyone you’ve seen things.
Working around through North Main, a steady but runable climb parallels Long Creek. Just as you see the Catawba River for the first time, a steep hill takes a sharp turn back into the woods to a set of undulating, maze like trails that seem to go on forever. The first aid-station is at 4.5 miles, but you SEE the aid station only ten meters away before 4 miles. The trails are packed in tightly and it’s a relief to finally arrive at the aid station.
Aid stations were fairly consistent across the course. Each had water (VERY cold, too cold), Powerade, Coke, Red Bull, chips, M&Ms, boiled potatoes and salt (which quickly became my new favorite thing), and some awesomely enthusiastic volunteers to get your spirits up. If you told me before this race I’d be drinking coke and eating boiled potatoes at each aid station… I’d laugh. Not laughing now.
The trail continues to a long descent leading to the river. From here, enough zig zagging toward South Main that the Rickon Starks of the world would hate. Connecting to South Main, we move along the river and get some great views on the second and third laps… the first lap is just darkness.
The trail moves up a long stretch of right of way and makes it to Goat Hill, the hill climb many of us had previewed on the shakeout run with Meltzer. Goat Hill is a steady climb just around half a mile and provides a nice opportunity to put your hands on your knees and grind away. From the top, the trail winds down in a gradual descent and then comes out onto a double track road climb. Some chose to run this. I was sure as hell not one of those. Popping back into the woods, the trail descends slightly and pops back out at the entrance to Goat Hill and continues on South Main. From here, a long straightaway leads up to Toilet Bowl. Although it is a slight uphill, this section is very runable for over half a mile and is a good way to make up some time. Must take advantage of this! I saw a couple walking this. They must have voted for Trump.
The Toilet Bowl, for me, is a low point in the race. This is one of those areas that zap your energy. Named after a toilet found just off the trail on the initial descent, it winds around in a loop as if you’re being flushed down and then climbs back up in a similar set of loops that seems to drain a lot of energy. Lots of puns about the Toilet Bowl, but I’ll spare you guys.
Coming out of the Toilet Bowl, runners wrap around a natural gas station on the edge of a right of way, then across a long clearing that in the sun is brutal and exposed. Once across the field, the trail dives back into the woods for a long rocky descent paralleling the Lake Loop but pops back out on the edge of the right of way. A steady packed dirt double track, this section is hilly and requires sporadic hiking and then flat out running. Tucking back into the woods for a very rocky downhill, runners quickly come onto an aid station at the Lake Loop trailhead. I considered this the halfway point of the loop mentally.
Coming directly out to the edge of the parking lot, this is a good chance for your biggest fans to see you mid-loop and provide some encouragement. A quick section of gravel makes for a runnable quarter mile that starts the East Main Loop, the beginning of which is also user friendly. On lap 1, I passed a runner here going the opposite way. This guy was definitely lost. Then, I realized how. I got caught looking around too much and saw an arrow meant for the end of the loop. Another runner followed me when I made the sharp right turn to find myself back on the same trail I had just ran down. Her and I debated on the direction and I told her I was turning around. She seemed pretty pissed off toward me, but every race brief says “follow the arrows, not the runner in front of you.” Sorry not sorry.
The East Main is a rolling, flowing, very rocky trail that features one steady climb around mile 10. Once out, a section of freshly bush-hogged double track turns and takes you around in a nice horseshoe. This is where, on lap 3, I told my pacer I was pretty much done running and settled for a trot when possible simply because my legs were smoked. In early laps, this is a good place to gets some time in the bank if concerned about cutoff times. It was here that she asked if I wanted to run up a slight uphill and she said I gave her a look like I was going to murder her.
On the backside of East Main, around mile 13, is the absolute low point for me on each lap. I call it the “canyon,” which is really just a creek bed twisting around. Here are more sections that would be great on a mountain bike… not so great running. Sudden climbs steeper than 45 degrees followed by sudden downhills just as steep. Over and over. To make things worse, when the trail finally settles out, a series of intertwined undulating loops that seem to go on forever for the next 3 miles. Particularly on the final lap, when they never seem to end, it can be demoralizing. Key here is to stay strong and survive!
The loop pops out of the woods on the only section of backtracking offered in the race, coming out at the point where I had made a wrong turn earlier and coming out into the parking lot. A trip across the gravel parking lot leads back to the whitewater center main area, coming out to the gravel road that travels the perimeter of the rafting/kayaking area. Coming around the south end of the whitewater center, a clear view of the start/finish area comes into view. Its time to look strong for photos! Not a lot to ask on the first two laps but rough on the final lap when legs are shot. Cross the bridge to Belmont Abbey Island and the timing mat and you’re home free!
The race overall went very well for me. I kept a pretty steady 13:30 pace for the first 2.5 laps, at which point my legs just gave up on me but I kept pushing. My goal, being my first 50 miler and not having a great training block going in to the race (my own fault) was to survive and finish below the cutoff. I crossed the bridge the final time in 13:10!
Looking back, it was a great race for me. I ran about as well as I could and believe the distance would have inevitably slowed me down at ~43 miles. Just need to work on distance and time on feet, not to mention losing some of this beer and pizza weight I enjoy accumulating.
Mountains n' Shit 