Such an iconic loop. I’ve shared many miles on these trails with many different people over the years, but had never given the full loop an all-out effort. This is mainly because there is soooo much beauty to take in every step of the way. Very fortunate to have this beautiful place in my backyard.
In the weeks leading up to this attempt, I did a few harder runs on the route to get an idea of a target goal time. I decided sub 5:30 would be the goal but thought this was only achievable on a perfect day. I also knew I would need to be extremely efficient with my aid stops and the weather in June could make or break the attempt. The weather turned out great, high 40’s at the start and reaching only low 70’s by the end.
I started at 5:44 AM from Dragon’s Tooth trailhead going counter-clockwise. I carried a handheld and swapped this out for another with my crew just before the Blacksburg Rd crossing. I arrived at McAfee’s lot in 1:41 and picked up a hydration pack and my first pacer, Noah, to tackle the next 12.7 mile section. We moved very steady but were fairly conversational for most of this stretch. Descending Tinker Cliffs, I had a couple of minor falls which ironically happened on relatively smooth terrain. Nevertheless, I was able to resume running rather quickly and arrived at Andy Layne lot in 3:42:35. My crew quickly helped me swap out packs and I picked up an ice bandana as well, as it was heating up. My good friends Jordan and Danny headed out with me to tackle the last 11.4 mile section. Sub 5:30 was still very much on the table. The climb up North Mountain took a toll on me and when we finally reached the ridge, I didn’t have as much spring in my legs as I had hoped. With 3-4 miles to go, I realized sub 5:30 was not going to happen but had made up my mind to run every remaining step to the finish. Shortly after this, I fell for the third time, landing on both knees which became covered in blood immediately. I had to walk this off for 30 seconds but then was able to give a strong push on the remaining ridgeline and the downhill to the finish. I finished in 5:32:31. I sat down on a large rock and then my crew and I celebrated and recapped parts of the day from each other’s perspectives. In this moment, the whole run felt like a blur.
I am very fortunate and grateful for a wife and friends who selflessly give their time to help me fulfill my goals. This record will undoubtedly be broken at some point, but I will always remember this as a day well spent, doing hard things in beautiful places with awesome people.