Set off for the Eason Hill parking lot, about0.3 miles from the state line, at 4 am local time. Made it to the state line-or the start- at 5:23 am and set off for a long day on my feet. The first 14miles were solitary, mostly through the Talladega Forest, though, I did encounter a few loose dogs. Made it to the town of Piedmont before the welcome center opened, so I took the opportunity to change my gear- it away headlamps and took out a hat. Once the welcome center was open, I refilled my water from their fountain ,used the restroom, and kept on moving. The next 9 miles took me through the countryside into the town of Jacksonville. I arrived at 11 am to Germanic Springs park, but realized their water ounce was not great. I went up the path to where there was a dollar general and I purchased some waters and a Red Bull. Continued on the path past Jacksonville State and the train depot and continued into the town of Weaver. The trail ended roughly 1.5 miles from there, into Anniston. I arrived at the end of the trail around 1 pm. I stopped to use the restroom at Michal Tucker park and saw that I had enough water from my previous stop to continue.
So I headed back. Back past the Weaver sign, past houses and the community center in Jacksonville. I went to check if the facilities were open, they were not, and checked to see how far the train depot was, about a half mile. The train depot was open and they had water and restrooms. I took the opportunity to refill my bladder and bottles, change my gear for the night hours, and eat my fuel ready. I left the train depo back to Piedmont at 3 pm. The next 9 miles were rough. It was windy, and it got dark when I had about 20 miles left. I arrived back to Piedmont at 6:30 pm, and with little food options available, I went into the grocery store WM grocery and purchased a strawberry milk and honey bun. I still had water and plenty of fuel that I had started with, so I decided to make a final push for the state line- going through the Forest and past the dogs again. Once I crossed the bridge out of town, I stayed vigilant for the group of dogs I had encountered on my way into town- maybe walking slower to not alert them.But I made it into the Forest- 10 miles to go. I did a run/walk every half mile, passing the Pinhoti trail marker, past some more bridges. 5 miles to go. Then the rain started. I had seen the possibility of rain, but with it being mostly a cloudy day, I thought I would finish before the rain. I just had to put my head down, kept my run/walk cadence, ticking off each half-mile. FINAL MILE- I knew there was one more group of loose dogs, I had encountered them at the very start, in the dark, and they came out of nowhere. As much as I would have loved to finish the mile running, I walked as alertly as I could. When the sides of the forest were high, I ran, and when they were low, I walked. Finally, half a mile marker, but still no dogs. I knew there was one more road crossing before the trailhead. And as I saw the road, I heard the dogs behind me. With it raining, I turned around and pointed the pepper spray in their general direction, and they stopped and turned away. I was free to run now. Run the last few meters to the end, and then continue running to my car. Made it at 17:09 and change, stopped to take a pic, which was too blurry, and then crossed at 17:10:00 ,or right before 11pm local time. It was done.
I learned about this trail in June of 2023, and originally wanted to do it one way. But during planning, it became obvious that I would have to do it out-and-back. I had DNF’d my last two 100ks, and in my head this was a huge hurdle I needed to overcome. So I accepted the challenge, knowing that I could not quit on myself this time. There was no one nearby to bail me out, and I had to get back to my car. I didn’t set out to get any fkts or records. I just wanted to start and finish a 100k to give myself permission to accept my past failures and to know that this is a distance I can complete. Along the way, I overcame my self-doubt. I pushed beyond my physical soreness, and I accepted negative thoughts, but I also found positive thoughts and used all of that to keep me going and motivated to get me to the trailhead.