The start/finish area is also different. I'm not very familiar with Pilot Mountain State Park, but I'm guessing that the old course started in the Yadkin River section and followed the corridor to the Mountain section while the new course started basically at the end of the corridor, which necessitated more miles in that area and thus the double summitting of the knob.
It was a rainy/misty morning with temps in the 40s. Not remembering what the trails were like--rocky or muddy--I decided to run with the Speedcross 4s. With their big chevron-shaped lugs, I love these shoes in the mud and soft ground, but they are not as good on smooth wet surfaces. More importantly, I brought my UltimateDirection rain jacket--the ultralight one that stuffs into its own pocket for storage. I'd used it at Mont Blanc and on a couple of local runs but this might be its toughest test. With my pack on my back, my biggest concern about the jacket was whether I'd be taking it off and on a lot as the weather and temperatures changed throughout the day. I had various granola bars in my side pouches and one soft water bottle with water and one with Tailwind.
As the 9:00 a.m. start approached, runners filed out of their warm cars to stand near the finish line tent, trying to avoid the rain, wind, or both. We assembled at the start and got a few course instructions from Alison and then some follow up directions from Jason, who'd be running in the 20K. Jason was giving some specifics about the turns which I could hear but didn't really understand, not being familiar with the various trails. Ultimately, it wouldn't matter as the course was very well marked and I was counting on whomever was ahead of me knowing the route.
As we took off, it was 1/10th mile at most before we hit the near-single track trails, I gathered that you wanted to be in your spot from the start. That wasn't totally the case. There was room for passing in spots early on. I only did it a couple times in the first few miles because I was in with people going a comfortable pace and I didn't know the course or how well I'd do racing a marathon distance, being accustomed to a more casual pace/effort level.
The trail in the first few miles was pretty smooth with not terribly many roots and rocks. As would other trails throughout the day, it reminded me a lot of the Lake James State Park trails or the Fonta Flora Trail. Below is the profile of the course that shows the two climbs up to the knob.
I ran on through the first aid station around mile 3.5 and started the big climb up to the knob. After a bit, the trail switches to stone steps that we mortals can't run. I followed a guy up them, making conversation to pass the time and climb. He didn't offer to let me through but I didn't care to go by. I wouldn't go any faster and I knew I'd be coming up this again later. After the top of the stairs, we'd descend and then do a loop around the knob and head to the parking lot at the summit, where the second (mile 7) aid station was. Both me and the guy ahead of me skipped this aid station. After enduring the tough climb, we were rewarded with a pretty fast downhill along a wide section of trail with some wide but irregularly spaced steps which made it hard to get into a rhythm. A mile or so into the descent, the trail divided and the marathoners made a hard left while the 20K went straight. The guy ahead of me, and one other person I could see in the distance continued straight, heading back to their 20K finish. I veered left and saw that we had caught up a little with someone in the marathon. There were a number of people wearing red jackets in the race and it made them easy to spot in the distance.
I caught up to a guy wearing green and orange and follwoed him for a bit before he pulled over to let me by and said that he was not in the race, just training for another upcoming event. We talked a little bit as we continued along this mostly downhill stretch, slowly catching up to another marathon runner. He was tall and lean and looked fast, making me wonder why I'd be passing him this early on. This downhill section did require a little more concentration as it was more heavily covered with tripping hazards.
It seemed to stretch on forever, possibly because I was mostly running alone without the distraction of conversation, but also because I was in a 6.5 mile stretch between aid stations. When I reached the mile 13.5 aid station (which was also the first aid station) I was directed back up the path we had followed earlier. It was time to begin the second climb up the knob. I felt pretty good. I wasn't running the steep climbs, but was able to push myself to run moderate uphills that I might have been walking had this been an ultra.
The second time on the stone steps didn't go as well as the first. 3-4 times I didn't pick up my feet high enough to clear the next step and fell forward. It wasn't a fall to the ground, just caught myself with my hands on the next step, but it was frustrating. I wasn't terribly tired, I was just not as focused on what I was doing this time around. Still, I made it back to the top safely and as I began my loop around the knob, I saw Rob Livengood coming down from it. Like with the previous trip to the summit, it was very windy up here and it made me glad I had not shed my jacket during the climb. There would be several times throughout the day where I'd be just about ready to remove the jacket and a few minutes later I was glad I did not. Ultimately, the jacket would stay on the entire time, keeping me dry yet not making me sweat terribly much.
The final visit to the summit parking lot, this time at mile 17, was the first time I stopped at an aid station, this time to refill one bottle and add a new pouch of Tailwind. There was a female runner there explaining that she didn't know where she was and had gotten lost on the course. I don't know what race she was in or if it was her first visit to the top, but I didn't linger to find out. It was back down the Ledge Springs Trail, past the "danger" sign that warned that people had died on this trail. It had to have been someone running because I could see no danger to hikers short of badly tripping. There wasn't a dangerous ledge that I noticed.
In this second long section of downhill, I passed a couple people, feeling pretty good but ready to be done. I was a little mentally prepared for this to be a long section and was able to remember some of the minor landmarks along the way which helped give me a feeling of progress. I caught up to two guys who I'd seen ahead of me on the trail when I pulled into the final, mile 23.5, aid station. I went through the aid station, only getting water, quicker than them, but let them go by as I put my bottle in its vest pocket.
We were all in the home stretch. I didn't care so much about catching or passing them as using them to pull me through the final miles. I felt pretty good for this late in a tough marathon, but I was still aware that my energy was fading. After staying the same distance behind the guy ahead of me for a while, I suddenly caught up to him pretty quickly. As I passed, he sounded extremely gassed. This section of trail I had been on early in the race slowly became more familiar as we drew closer to the finish. The guy ahead of me was running pretty quickly but I noticed he began having more trouble once we got into some muddy sections. Then, I began catching up very quickly. My gamble on the Speedcross 4s had paid off big time. I had zero traction issues despite the slick conditions. After passing him, I was feeling a bit more lightheaded and felt somewhat confident that he'd catch me back as I bonked going up some hill. Even though I did have to take a few short walks on small hills, I was able to move quickly enough to keep ahead of him and eventually found myself exiting the woods and heading up the short, grassy hill to the finish.
Alison was handing out the hand-made pottery finisher medallions. My pending "bonk" seemed to set in after I stood there for a moment with my peripheral vision wavering noticably. I spoke briefly to Jason and Rob as I tried to recompose myself and watched other runners come in. To me, Jason is one of the "old guard" of the regional trail runners. Along with Mark Lundblad, Will Harlan, Anne Riddle Lundblad, and Annette Bednosky, they were the big names when I first started out and I hate not seeing them out there on the trails much anymore. For Jason, it's been ongoing back issues that have forced him to be more selective with his runs and turn his attention to race directing to keep in teh sport. That said, he still won the 20K by about nine minutes and set the course record. He's still very fast, even if not compared to his own past standard.
Despite the weather, this became one of my favorite trail marathons I have run. Had the weather been better, we'd have had some nice views and much of the trail was runnable. It doesn't have the huge finish area of say the Black Mountain Marathon, but for me it's more about the course and the people putting the race on than the swag or finish area. I hope to get back in future years.
The results made it up to Ultrasignup pretty quickly. Unfortunately, I did not take a camera so I have no pictures.
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