I was picked up at the Tot Hill Trailhead at 3:30 AM by Shanan Hogan and his daughter of Uwharrie Woods & Water on Saturday, April 1, 2023.
They drove me to the 24/27 Trailhead in Troy, NC.
I hit start on my watch at 4:11 AM. I carried 2 - 16 oz soft flasks with Gatorade as well as a 2L water bladder and lots of snacks/chips/etc.
I ran solo until approx mile 21 and arrived at the Jumping Off Rock Trailhead. My mother Darlene Mitchell was waiting for me here as planned with McDonald's hashbrowns, ketchup, and a big plastic cup of ice. I refilled my water flasks and chatted with her for a few minutes while I fixed my feet and that is when the rain really started coming down. The winds were brutal this day (25-45 mph winds if I remember correctly). It was also a very hot day.
My friends Adam Shirley and Brandy Hite met me along the road section of this route on Lassiter Mill Rd, somewhere around mile 32-33 or so? The rain had stopped by this point and it was so hot and sunny. No shade on the road. They ran/ultra shuffled/power hiked with me for the remaining stretch. Adam Shirley gave me some of his Tailwind powder to mix in one of my flasks when I had around 3 or 4 miles to go because I felt so hot and low energy and felt that I was going to pass out from the heat of the day (my legs and mind were still good, was just overheated and did not want to eat anything but needed calories). My Garmin GPS watch tracked 37.96 miles. Elapsed time 11 hrs 52 min 20 sec. Moving time 11 hrs 14 min 8 sec (Avg page 17:50/mile for moving time only) The other 38 min and 12 seconds of non moving time was time spent when I paused my watch to use the bathroom, take pictures, and the biggest thing was I had to stop to fix my feet multiple times due to blisters on my feet. I had to stop at least 4 or 5 times to pop blisters and reapply moleskin/K Tape. The heat, rain, countless creek crossings, and humidity really did a number on my feet that usually does not happen otherwise for this distance.
My husband Daniel Massingale, daughter Luna Massingale, mother Darlene Mitchell and her dog Harley all met me along the trail when I had perhaps 0.2 miles left to go to reach the Tot Hill trailhead (the very end and northern point of the Uwharrie Trail).
I was home in time for dinner with my family and I am excited to attempt this again and improve my time, my goal was just to complete and finish. I achieved my goal and am very happy!! I was not attempting a FKT and I am not a fast runner, but was encouraged by my other ultra running friends to submit my run here regardless. I was told I was the first female to do this on the UT and that would be really cool if that is really true!!