Was really excited about making this my first 100 miler as it goes through some of the best single track in The High Country (northwest NC). Started off with a perfect cool temp fall morning from Stone Mountain's upper lot trailhead at exactly 8am. Enjoyed the first climb up to the granite balds with a couple friends and then set off on my own up to the Blue Ridge escarpment where most of my route would take place (also known as Segment 5 of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail).
Met up with first pacers at Devils Garden Overlook under anticipated time and felt completely in control of pace (HR low, nutrition sufficient, impact minimal), so kept the momentum instead of questioning speed. Ran into my first memorable obstacle at mile 13, coming within 6" of wearing a dead possum as a shoe ornament. Once we made it into Doughton Rec Area, the trail opened up and I enjoyed taking in the wide span vistas (reminiscent of Grayson Highlands or Roan Mountain) as the fall colors popped all around. Still feeling really good, I pushed my crew from Bluff Restaurant to Basin Cove Overlook and took my first main pit stop to restore feet and pack on calories.
I took the next small section alone and ran into my second memorable obstacle, a 45 pound Pit Bull that charged me from an old farmhouse along Miller Road. I refused to make eye contact and stopped moving long enough for him to circle and sniff me several times before he finally retreated back to his home, knowing I had very little meat on my body. Arriving to Hwy 18 early without crew (or my phone), I grabbed a seat at the bar of Freeborne's, drank a water, and watched Christian Pulisic score his first goal of the season for Chelsea. Although my beard was comparable to most of the gentleman in the bar, my 5" shorts were not, and felt the hot gaze of just about every rugged, 2-wheelin' patron as I waited patiently for the crew to catch up.
The next 15 miles flew by as me and my pacer navigated the back and forth routing of the MST over the parkway, while maintaining comfortable conversation topics from college basketball to trail running consumerism. Popped out around mile 40 to the sound of cowbells and cheering to see my family and a large group of supporters. Again took some time to fix the feet, warm the body, grab some pics, and gobble up around 600 calories. As me and my next pacer took off, I started to hit a mild low point. The sun was setting, my stomach was bloated, I missed my family, and my brain was asking if we were done yet. I had expected this moment and tried to let the negative thoughts roll off my annoyingly slow pace due to the low light, rocky terrain, colder temps, and uneven trail grade that was giving me knee and arch pain on just my right leg. As the moon started to rise (a full Hunter's Moon), and light up the adjacent cow fields, I finally reached Tompkins Knob Overlook with a more positive outlook knowing the next sections were much faster and familiar.
Fresh from a big bowl of ramen and a young blood pacer, the next 15 miles felt primal and speedy. Could have been the ibuprofen or the Navajo pow wow playlist, but either way my focus was honed. Added another pacer around Bamboo and took several miles to verbalize how momentum stopping Goshen was (sorry for the whine session). By the time I got to Thunder Hill Overlook, I was out of positive thoughts. However, the crew brought the energy, helped me strategize the last 25, and I picked up an unexpected but much needed pacer that knew how to keep me moving towards my goal.
As we made our way up and over the Cone Manor trails and down to Trout Lake, I knew I needed to just keep moving until we got to Holloway Mountain Rd. I managed to muster up the strongest power hiking of my life, picked up another pacer at Shulls Mill and was flying around Boone Fork Loop as if it was my midweek tempo run. Ultimately this backfired, as I came into Holloway with a weak stomach and a shivering body. With 10 miles left, we quickly downed some caffeine, warmed up in the car, and set out for the final push.
From here the zombie walk started. I would have been a perfect extra on the set of Walking Dead if only I had an appetite. We picked up the last pacer at Boone Fork Parking (not to be confused with Boone Fork Loop, because "yeah" it's really confusing), and made our way up Scout to Calloway for my final climb. As we made our way up at a casual pace, the sun rose and we summited with the most perfect sunrise you could imagine. Just kidding, it was cloudy, cold and after a couple pics descended at a snails pace.
As we hit the Profile connector trail, I could smell the finish. The last of my "beast mode" energy came out and I started running with everything I had. Hugged my wife and son just before the last creek crossing, and let my little girl pace me home as she yelled out "I'm faster than you Papa". Touched the Profile Restrooms at 26:33:10 to a crowd of my favorite people, finishing one of the hardest goals of my life.
Can't thank my crew and family enough for helping me achieve this. It was by no means a single person effort.