Since moving to the area about a decade ago, I've logged thousands of miles at Umstead. It's my favorite place to run in the Triangle (and pretty much anywhere) and I've made many great memories at the park and had some of my best races there (it is still my 100 mile PR). When I saw Kevin McCabe did this last year, I knew it was something I would have to try.
I started a little after 1pm, which was several hours later than I'd planned, but I'm a disaster of a person so this was very on-brand for me. Ari dropped me off at the Reedy Creek gate and the plan was for her to pick me up when I was done. I carried a handheld filled with Tailwind and three gels, and wore a Nathan belt that had my phone and Tailwind refills + some Sport Legs pills + my phone to call and maybe take some pictures along the way. I opted for my Hoka Torrents because while I normally run Umstead in road shoes, the amount of single track and length of time running, I figured my feet could use something more substantial underfoot. This was a good choice, and the Torrents are light enough to not be cumbersome on the bridle trail.
My plan was to run the "traditional" route that others have done and attempt not to get lost and have to run extra. This wasn't a major concern, as I've covered most of the park countless times over the years, but I was curious how much more difficult navigating the trails close to the visitor's center (the one's I am least familiar with) would be on tired legs and with a tired brain. While I didn't have any concrete plan beyond the route I was taking, I knew I wanted to run under 6 hours. I felt, given my fitness and familiarity with the park, that would be manageable without putting myself into too deep a hole while still being a solid improvement over the previous FKT. The weather was perfect - slightly overcast and mid-60s (unseasonably cool, really). The first few miles along Reedy Creek bridle w/ fresh legs were the quickest and most enjoyable. I knew the single track would inevitably slow me down so I didn't bother reigning things in early, opting to enjoy the quick-ish miles while they lasted.
I made a quick bathroom break at Harrison lot before heading into Company Mill. I hit Inspiration loop on the way out and did Company Mill clockwise, the direction I'm most familiar with. This was, unsurprisingly, the most crowded trail I encountered all day, but never enough to slow me down. I felt great all the way through the first bridle trail crossing and along the section that the Umstead Marathon utilizes. I had my closest near-fall right after making the spur out to Graylyn, as I turned around I kicked a rock and took several staggering, off-balanced steps, certain I was going to get a face-full of dirt, before righting the ship. The adrenaline helped one of my least favorite slogs back up to the bridle. On the climb back to Harrison lot, roughly 11 miles in, my legs first started to feel the effort and I took a Maurten gel before going onto Loblolly.
Loblolly is a real grind. After the initial downhill to the creek crossing, it's all winding and mostly uphill with plenty of rocks and roots to slow your roll. On some of the steeper and gnarlier sections, I switched to a quick powerhike (especially in the section sandwiched between bridle trail). I took a quick picture and bathroom break at the park boundary sign, then ran back to Turkey Creek. I was hoping my legs would feel a little better on the downhill to the lake, but the previous miles of single track had worn down some of the freshness. This was probably the lowest I felt all day, knowing I wasn't even halfway done, feeling kinda flat, and what was still ahead. Even still, after a stop to refill my bottle at the spigot where Turkey Creek and Reedy Creek bridles connect, I managed to enjoy the rest of Turkey Creek. The only issue was realizing my nipple tape had come off and my shirt was rubbing. I made the quick decision to go take the shirt off and leave it tied to the bridge where I would eventually finish - an added incentive not to quit, as if not having a way home if I did wasn't incentive enough! I only powerhiked the first big hill and my legs loosened up a bit on the easier surface.
When I got to Sycamore, mentally I felt really good. I had passed the lowest patch I would experience all day, I was more than halfway now, having hit mile 21 right before the end of Turkey Creek in a little under 3:08. Barring a major disaster, I was going to accomplish my goals so it was just a matter of continuing to fuel and persevere. Sycamore was more fun than Loblolly, thanks mainly to my familiarity with the loop. I thought about running down to refill my bottle at the Sycamore lot but opted not to, hoping I'd find somewhere closer to the visitor's center without having to add mileage. Sure enough, I popped out to the end of Sycamore and headed down to the lake to do the out & back along the lake and then Sal's Branch and while the fountain by the lake was off, the spigot underneath worked and I downed a full bottle of water and then refilled with my last packet of Tailwind. I took a gel here too. The combination of figuring out how to get the spigot working, drinking extra, refills, stretching out my legs, led to my slowest mile of the day.
Sal's Branch went fine. I had my second, and last, near fall here when my legs just didn't get all the way over a root, but once again I managed not to eat dirt or pull anything, though I was not getting high marks from the judges for sure. I saw a really good dog on the campground spur, which was the most exciting part of Sal's Branch, by far. The earlier concern about navigating Pott's Branch and Oak-Rock trails was unfounded, I breezed through both, managing to avoid all the tempting unofficial side trails, with relative ease. Back to the parking area and a quick trip down the start of the Sycamore trail popped me back out on the park road. I was finally done with the single track. Aside from a few minor hills, it was almost all downhill and on runnable bridle trail remaining. I was definitely fatigued but knowing that perked me up and I was able to pick up the pace some.
I stopped to fill my bottle one last time at the spigot at Sycamore lot. I tried to send Ari a text that I was roughly half an hour from being done, but my sweaty hands sent a barely intelligible string of letters. Up to Graylyn, then down the hill (weeee!), then up the last bit of hill to the start of Cedar Ridge. It was at this point that I realized I was definitely going to break 6 hours. I had been operating under the assumption the mileage would come out to ~39 miles, but without any detours or mistakes, it was going to be closer to 37. Running down Cedar Ridge and knowing, for once, I didn't have to immediately turn around and run back up was a real treat. I was running almost as fast as those first few miles, hours ago, and feeling great. I hit the bottom, splashed through the creek and popped back out onto Turkey Creek, finishing in 5:37:39.
I'm really pleased with how things went. This is a deceptively tough route, as the entire thing is eminently runnable but the single track definitely grinds you down over time. There's really no long stretch beside the beginning and ending few miles where you can lock into any sort of rhythm and cruise. In an ideal world, I would have had 1-2 more bottles of water and maybe another gel, but the places to refill are spaced pretty far apart so there's not much that can be done to that end. I'm looking forward to coming back to this in the future and trying to get closer to 5 hours.