Eastern Divide 2016: Chasing the perfect day (and some windmills).

If you want to make an omlette, you gotta crack a few eggs.

On the drive to the starting line Saturday morning, Brett read us Zach Miller’s recent blog post “If I’m Honest” that talked a lot about giving everything you have to a race. Miller lamented the lack of blood and guts and willingness to lay it all out on the line he sees all too often in racing. Combine that with the refrain from a recent article by Laz (that was basically a requiem for the lost art of going out too fast) running through my head and we had all the makings for a special day at Eastern Divide. Oh, and Kirby calling me out in the pre-race email. Yes. That too.

Oh, and Reeve (The OG Bad Idea Club President) was here too. When you put all that together, I knew I had to burn the ship on Saturday. I knew I had to run the race harder than I’ve ever run a race before. I just HAD to see what was possible. I HAD to toe the line with the mindset that I would blow up and walk the final miles if needed. When we lined up at the Cascades trailhead, I knew I was heading off in search of the elusive “perfect” day.

So, here we go: EDU 16.

After a fun morning of hanging out at the trailhead catching up with good friends, Brett, Chris, Erik, and I lined up near the front of the pack. I kissed Ginger goodbye and said thanks for everything and got locked in.

The plan was simple. Run the first climb just shy of the limit and then fly down the forest service road and stay in contact with the head of the race (Not the top 3, we KNEW we had to let Frank, Mike, and Jason go). I knew we just had to stay in contact with the top 10 and see what happens.

The first 5 miles felt great. We ran easy up the climb and hiked a couple of steep pitches to save the legs for the first road climb and the first long decent. We passed Jordy and Sean (Thanks for making the course AND working the RAVE Station, btw) near the top of the climb in a tight pack that represented 9-15 place. Jordy shouted encouragement and Sean made me laugh. I was happy. The legs felt good, and the first climb didn’t hurt me too badly.

We rolled right by AS 1 and powered up the first road climb. Chris, Brett, Erik, Ian, and I started reeling in the faster guys like Joe Dudak and cool dude named Brad as we rolled through AS 2.

On the long, fast forest road section, our pack stayed together. It was weird to be in such a big group dropping sub 8 miles. I have to admit it was stressful. Losing contact would mean losing 10 spots in the race. I tried not to think about it, and just tried to think about running smooth, eating, and drinking. Chris, as always, helped me stay relaxed and focus. We always run faster together.

Somewhere along the way, a strong local runner gave me a some good natured ribbing. He said, “You’re kind of a big guy to be in this group.” I smiled and said, “I’m representing for the fat kids” and laughed it off telling myself he was just appreciating how fast a guy who can actually lift something heavy when needed could move. Inside, I told myself, “I’m gonna make him pay on the next climb” and I smiled.

Fast forward a bunch of low 7 minute miles and we hit the long road climb. To me, this is a one of the best parts of the course. You’re at mile 16 and you have a long, steady road climb. The kind that suits someone who runs in the mountains every day and enjoys a bit of suffering. Chris asked me, “Where’s the walking stick?” A reference to Brett’s strategy from Umstead. I just grunted, “There isn’t one here. We are solidifying a top 10 finish on this climb. We are going to put some space between us and that pack here.” Chris accepted my strategy and pushed the pace. Chris, Brad, and I pushed ahead hard on the climb. We hit AS 4 like a cyclone. I grabbed a fresh water bottle filled with gels and tailwind, chugged some Coke, said hey to Andy, dumped water over my head, and took off chasing Brad (Thanks, Andy). Chris followed quickly behind me, and we settled into the chase. Hoping to keep Brad in sight. The goal was simple. Put time into the others and try to keep Brad in sight until we got into the techy trails again.

That was not to be. Well, the second part. Brad proved too fast for us, and he outpaced us to the woods. When we got to AS 5, Chris and I were still sitting 6 and 7. Joe Dudak was chasing hard, but we didn’t know how far behind he was (which was waaaay too close for comfort, as it turns out). Kirby kicked us out of AS 5 and off we went.

I kept thinking: “I think this might be THE DAY. I think I can sustain this til the finish line.” Chris and I don’t talk much when we run. We just settle into the pain cave and shovel coal into the hopper to fuel the pain train.

We hit the burly climb from the techy trail up to the meadow, and shifted down into powerhike mode until we hit the top. Brad was nowhere in sight, but we couldn’t see Joe behind us either, so it was all good.

We rolled into AS 6 (The RAVE STATION) happy to see Chris Clarke (a local legend) along with Jordy, Josh, Jill, and the other awesome volunteers. Sean (Mao Mao) was MIA. All I wanted was to fill my handbottle and get rolling. I was worried that the clock was ticking on how long I could sustain this effort. I knew we had to move. Jill was right on time with the pitcher to fill my bottle. I grabbed a handful of something and an orange slice and took off as fast as I could yelling “Thank YOU!” over my shoulder. I’m sorry I didn’t stay longer to laugh and say thank you properly to everyone. It was a great AS (like all the Aid Stations as EDU). The volunteers are amazing and deserve a lot of thanks. Thank you again to every volunteer that so generously gave their time Saturday, so we could be knights and chase our windmills.

Chris and I ran hard through the next section of techy trail. To be honest, I had given up on chasing Brad. I knew if we hadn’t caught him yet we weren’t going to reel him in. But, I did know that anything is possible and someone else could blow up. Plus, the goal was a 4:30 finish and top 10. We had to keep our eyes on that prize. We did.

We hit the last forest service road connector section and opened it up until we went back into the woods at the 1.5 miles to go road sign. 4:30 was slipping away. But, we kept pushing. Chris and I stumbled and staggered through the boulder garden. We looked at the lake over our right shoulder and closed the final miles as hard as we could push.

As we hit the final climb to finishing road section, my legs were cramping. Quads screaming, I heard a noise behind us down the hill. There was Joe Dudak smiling up at us. “Guess, I was too loud. Was trying to sneak up on you,” he called.

“Oh, #$@$ NO!” I said to Chris. His legs replied: Let’s go, T! Chris took off and smashed the final steps into the clearing. A quarter mile to go. We hammered it. Legs cramping, I made my final effort to outrun reality and find that elusive windmill. I pushed as hard as I could and caught up to Chris. We sprinted to the finish line. 6 and 7!! 4:34. We did it! A huge course PR for both of us. Joe came in right behind us. He was smiling and just generally being an awesome nice guy. Great race, man. 

We found the elusive perfect day. We cracked some eggs. We poured blood and guts out all over the trail. I like to think Zach Miller and Laz would be proud of our race. We left nothing out there. We didn’t cheat the gift. We made use of the perfect day we had been given. And, I’m grateful for it.

I sprinted across the line and gave Ginger a sweaty, salty, smelly hug. So happy to see her. 

I gave Chris a huge hug too, and slurred a grateful thank you to him for pushing me all day.

Then, we commenced to hanging out with our amazing friends and their families.

I was proud to see that Reeve had crushed the 8 mile race and came in second. Ginger had a great day and a solid finish in the 8 mile too. She’s amazing! Brett had an 1 hour and 45 minute course PR and came in right after us.

So many people did amazing things at EDU. Locals Frank and Mike came in 1-2. Erik ran a tough race and finished his first Ultra in a long time. Dan Woods did us all proud and had a great showing at his first 50K. (So proud of you, Dan). Josh Starner stuck to his plan, and ran a smart race leaving it all out there. Royce became the only 5 time finisher and had a great day after a post- Umstead injury. Matt crushed his first 50K. Jim Trixler had another great showing as he preps for his first 100 miler in August. Adrienne represented VT Ultra and had a great day. My main man, Nelson came though smiling and inspiring like only he can. Bryan Jennings had a great first 50K (Bryan, it was great to re-connect with you and Peggy). Julia was 2nd female and 7th overall in the 8 mile. And, so many other people accomplished their goals.

We all owe Kirby and the volunteers a big debt. Thanks!!

After the race, we went back to our house and had a great cookout. 

It was so fun to have our friends and their families hanging around, eating, talking, and just being awesome. Ginger and I are so lucky to have such an amazing community. Thank you to everyone for making our day special.

Then, we ran the Sundown 5K. Jordan and Andy laid down sick times. And Chris won the combined (unofficial, but I'm sure he did. He SMOKED the 5K). 

Thanks to the folks at Runabout Sports for putting on a great race. Thanks to Stephen and Heather for letting us borrow strollers, so X and P could race with Reeve and Ginger. 

Look at Ginger pushing that stroller like a champ!!

 And here is Reeve showing us all how it's done! I was chasing him from the start. 

Thanks to Kirby for getting Reeve a late entry to the 5K. And thanks to everyone for a great day. I loved every second of it. I continue to be amazed at how lucky I am to have such an amazing wife, a great family, and the best friends in the world. Thank you all for making life grand and chasing windmills possible. And one last shout out to Jordan and Brett for putting in so many amazing miles with me this year. Without you guys, I couldn’t have put this perfect day to use. 

And Kirby, thanks for the motivation, man. You put on a great race. I

f you haven't run, Eastern Divide, be sure to sign up next year. Kirby's race is amazing!! 

Looking Back to Look Forward: Taking My Own Advice

As 2015 comes to a close, it is a good time to reflect on the year of running (and life) and think about goals and plans for 2016. It starts before 2015 though. When I ran my first "Ultra" in 2008 (The Mystery Mountain Marathon put on by the Georgia Ultra Trail Running Society) I never really thought I'd get into running as a thing. I was just there to hang out with Reeve and spend some time on the trails with him. He'd gotten me into distance running as a cool way to see the mountains. We went out for long days together to just explore. It was a lot of fun, but I hadn't considered myself someone who would make running a major part of my life. I was into climbing, kayaking, and riding bikes. But, Reeve wanted to run a lot, and I wanted to hang out with him, so that's what we did.



Fast forward to 2010 when my Marine buddies and I decided to put on 100 Miles for Swisher.  I started running every day and figured I'd run a 100 miles to honor my friend and that would be it. Along the way, I ran my first 50K, 50 miler, and eventually in August of 2011 my first 100. I was hooked.

Even then, though, racing wasn't really on my radar. Running was just a way to get out in the mountains and explore. I never thought I'd be fast enough to really race. The following year, I ran Rocky Raccoon 100 and still I didn't see myself racing. I just didn't think I was "built for racing" and just decided it was a fun way to meet people and challenge myself. I had always seen myself as someone who's just good at enduring. Here's the "life" part. I had gotten in the habit of encouraging people and telling them they could do things they didn't think they could do. But, I wasn't really taking that advice. I was just running and doing things that I liked because they were hard. I didn't think I was capable of going "fast" on those long runs. It really wasn't until Umstead last year that I began to see the potential that I wasn't seeing in myself.



Ginger was a huge part of helping me unlock this and access my own advice. Jordan and Brett were also instrumental in helping me push past the limitations I was placing on myself.

Ginger and I decided to do the "Whole 30" diet in April, and that's when things really started to change for me in terms of running. I wrote about that here. 2015 was an incredible year in terms of racing for me. Here's a little recap of my gradual progression from "happy to finish" to "exploring what's possible" in terms of running.

January- Lakeside Trail Race 15 Miler: 10th Overall 2:21
February- Dirty Double Trail Marathon: 11th Overall 5:11
March- Umstead 100: 55th Overall 22:51 (Over a 2 hour PR)
June- Eastern Divide 50K: 14th Overall 5:23
August- Draper Mile: 5:16 (huge mile PR)
September- Iron Mountain 30 Miler: 7th Overall 4:59
                   Barkley Fall Classic: 22nd Overall 10:49
October-New River Trail 50K: 2nd Overall 4:00 (50K PR)
              Pacing Reggie and to the boys at the Always Brothers 100 (the night after New River)
November: Richmond Marathon: 135th Overall, 11th in AG 3:09 (BQ and 26.2 PR)
December: Frosty 5K 6th Overall, 1st in AG, 19:03 (Fastest 5K since 1999)

Getting a huge PR at Umstead and breaking 24 hours was a big day for me, but the biggest highlight for me in terms of my own running this year was New River Trail 50K.





I never thought I would find myself on the podium at an Ultra. I just didn't think it was possible for me. But, here's the thing about taking your own advice: You gotta do it. Ginger, Brett, and Jordan really helped me see that I'm capable of more than I think. Chris Larson really pushed me that day to run hard, and my friend Pawel has helped me immensely in terms of learning to run smart races. I am grateful for that support. It really carried over at Richmond where I was able to smash my 26.2 PR and run well under my BQ time requirement.

Better than all of those results, though, was watching Ginger have a great year running. She hit a huge Marathon PR at Richmond, and she had a great race at Eastern Divide. She's running so strong and it's been fun to see.




Right along with that was watching my friends achieve their goals. I was able to see Jordan have a great race at San Diego 100 and help Nelson gut out an amazing finish at Eastern States 100.



Sean and Amy ran their first marathons at Richmond, and seeing them accomplish this goal was awesome.  Sharing the trails with my friends all year long was such a gift.




Finishing the Catawba Runaround with Jordan was another major highlight.






















Hanging out with Ginger at races and on the trails is just about my favorite thing to do.

Exploring the mountains with Josh, Jordy, Brett, Pawel, Sean, Royce, Robbie, Chris, and the rest of the crew makes living in Blacksburg even better than it would be otherwise (and that's pretty damn good).

So, what did I learn from a year of racing and watching my friends push themselves? We can ALL do more than we think we can. I'll take that lesson with me into 2016.

I've set a few goals for 2016 in terms of racing. I plan to race a little bit less in order to focus on a couple of goal events. #1 will be Umstead 100 in April. I'd like to improve my time there. #2 is Grindstone 100 in October. I'll do Lakeside in January because it's fun. Holiday Lake 50K in February because it's now a fun family tradition, and Eastern Divide 50K in June because it's probably my favorite 50K. But, all of those races will be done with an eye towards my two goal races. Grindstone has been become a special race to me after pacing last year and working an aid station (Reddish Knob Rave Station with Captain Jordan Chang) this year. It's a Hardrock 100 qualifier and that's a serious bucket list race for me. I hope to make to to the starting line of Umstead and Grindstone healthy and well-trained. I plan to take my own advice and believe that I can go faster than I once thought I could.

But, I'll remember the what my friend Doug Geiger said about white water kayaking back in the day: "It's just a hobby. Like model trains or something."

Running is, after all, just a hobby. It doesn't pay any bills. The results don't matter in the grand scheme of things. But it IS an important way to stay healthy and share new experiences with Ginger.


It's also a great way to build relationships with my friends, give back to my community, and challenge myself. So, I'll keep that in mind. Family will always come first, and friends will always be a major priority. Running will just be what it always is: a way to explore and be part of an amazing community.

 So, as 2015 ends I'll go into 2016 grateful for Ginger's support (thanks for encouraging me and helping me be a better person and a better runner).























I'll also be  thankful that I have an amazing group of friends to share the trail with.

Happy Running my friends.

Eastern Divide 50K: A Weekend Full of Classicly Awesome Decision Making

It's been a fun filled summer so far. June began with a cross country road trip to crew/pace my friend Jordan at the San Diego 100. Jordan CRUSHED the race finishing an impressive 11th overall.

It was a great trip. I was able to visit friends all across the country, hang out with my cool cousins in San Diego, do some exploring in Zion National Park, and get some running done in my favorite place (other than Blacksburg) in Leadville. I spent 3 days running in Pbville and was very happy to see some real progress in terms of my ability to run the Pb100 course. Check out this view from the top Hope Pass.

Getting to the top of Hope feeling good was a real confidence builder, and I'm hopeful that I'll have better luck getting a lottery spot in the race next summer. After two weeks on the road, I was ready to be home. I was missing Ginger, YD, Seamus, and Mookie. It was good to get home.

Last weekend was one of my favorite weekends we've had since Ginger and I moved to BBurg. If you've seen the movie Highlander, you know about The Quickening. That's what this weekend was like: Some of my favorite people assembling in one place to epic things. Jim (Turbo) rolled into town on Thursday, Chris, Josh, and Jill arrived on Friday night. Having a houseful of good friends is one of my favorite things in the world. Brett and Michele officially moved back to town this week, and then a whole host of awesome BBurg folks (Looking at you Royce and Linda) joined us for the Eastern Divide 50. We got an added bonus as Nelson and Robin showed up at the start line.

After a packet pickup Friday night, we had good dinner at our house and then got some sleep to prepare for Eastern Divide 50K Saturday morning. We all slept as well as you can sleep the night before the race, and then arrived at the start line pumped for a big day.

As the gun went off, Josh, Royce, Brett, Chris, and I began the first climb of the day at a reasonable pace.

Ginger, Turbo, Linda, and Nelson began the climb at smart, measured paces, which enabled all to have great races.

Eastern Divide is one of my favorite races. Kirby (the RD) does an amazing job and the course is great mix of hard climbing and very runnable sections. I had a really rough day last year there, but I knew I was trained and ready to have a good race this year.

I had a good strategy and a solid goal. My goal was to get finished in under 5:30. A reasonable goal given the changes in diet and training since last year. My strategy was to hopefully stay with Josh, Royce, and Brett without going too hard in the first 9 miles. After that, I'd begin to open it up and see what would happen. At mile 6, Brett, Royce, and Chris began to pull away. Josh and I stayed with the plan of a conservative start, so we just watched them head up the trail feeling confident in our plan. The aid station at mile 9 is where the course turns to a very runnable, mostly downhill section until the climb that begins around mile 16. I was feeling great and began to open it up. I was able to pull Brett back (his life has been crazy lately so he was basically running from the couch). During the mile 16-18 climb I was able to start reeling in people and gain some time. The climb felt easy, so I keep pushing. I was careful to be quick through the aid stations. In fact, when I got to the aid station at mile 24ish that Jordan and Kristen were running, I was so focused that I forgot to partake in the awesome freezy pops they were handing out. Jordan looked surprised when I showed up before the usual suspects, and he encouraged me to keep pushing. So I did. After Jordan dumped water on me to cool me off, I took off chasing the three people I could see cresting the hill at the end of the open field past the aid station. I was able to catch and pass this first two people and create some space. The third runner proved more difficult. I was able to pass him, but I couldn't shake him.

In the end, he was able to catch me back up and pass me again. No matter, I was having a great day, and  a lot of fun. The sub 5:30 goal was pretty much in the bag at that point. I kept pushing though. I was thinking that going sub 5:20 would be cool. In the end, I settled for 5:23 and a 14th overall finish.   (Almost 2 hours faster than last year)

Michelle and Jill were a little surprised to see me at the finish. They weren't expecting me yet. Chris had come in at 5:11, which is AMAZING considering it was his first ultra. He is a talented runner, and I was so happy to see him do so well.

After resting and stretching for a few minutes, the buddies started rolling in. Ginger came in at a very strong 6:23 looking fresh and very happy to have beaten her goal by more than 30 minutes. She is awesome, btw.

Linda, Nelson Josh, Brett, and Turbo also had successful days. It was Linda's first ultra, and she turned in an incredible time beating her goal by half an hour.  She is a strong runner, and I was very proud to see her knocking this distance out for the first time. Nelson, always an inspiration, came cruising in with his classic smile. Josh, had some knee trouble (a nagging injury), but he still took 20 minutes or so off of his time from last year. Brett pushed through all that got thrown his way from a tough spring of moving back to town and finished like a beast. Turbo wins the guts and courage award hands down. Being from Dallas, TX means that hill training is not very possible for him. He fought through cramps and big climbs to crush his goal of finishing in under 7 hours. It was such a fun day of watching my friends explore the edge of what's possible.

We all relaxed, recovered, and headed back to the house to get showers and clean up before the SECOND RACE OF THE DAY.

That's right: the 2nd race of the day was the Downtown Sundown 5K. We took Jordan's "More Miles More Fun" mantra to heart. Well, it wasn't really a race for us. It was really a way to just have more fun. Chris ran an impressive time while the rest of us cruised it together enjoying our silly outfits, glowing gear, and embracing the foolishness of doing a 5K after a 50K. We all decided to wear the Eastern Divide race shirt (great job on the shirts this year, Kirby) in the "Wear Your Concert T-Shirt to the Concert" goofy mindset.

All in all, it was a great weekend. It was great to see so many friends and have such a great sense of community around the house. Blacksburg is truly a special place, and Eastern Divide is a great race. Check it out next year. Here's a link to my Strava data from the race if you want to check out the course: https://app.strava.com/activities/329383472