Category: Race Reports

I’ve journaled about my runs from 5K to ultramarathons. Some with shoes, some without shoes, and some in costume just because.

Race Report: 2018 Pilot Mountain to Hanging Rock 50 Miler*

October 17, 2018By y2kemo
running shoes, backpack, hat, and race bib
running shoes, backpack, hat, and race bib

Over the years I’ve spent a lot of time hiking, running, and camping at both Pilot Mountain and Hanging Rock state parks in North Carolina. So when I learned about the Pilot Mountain to Hanging Rock (PM2HR) Ultra connecting to the two, I immediately added the race to my bucket list. Fast forward a couple of years to this past spring when my buddy, Coop, mentioned wanting to run his first ultra. I offered to run with him once he picked a race, and as luck would have it, he sent me a message a couple of months later that he had decided on running the PM2HR 50 miler.

After signing up, I prepared myself over the next four months by running a ton, working on my nutrition, and not sleeping in. By race week I was ready. I mean, I WAS READY! Better? Too much? OK, I was ready. Well, two days before the race, Hurricane Michael blew through the course with heavy rain and straight-line winds, swelling creeks and rivers, and knocking down hundreds of trees. The race directors, along with the folks at Pilot Mountain State Park, Hanging Rock State Park, and the Sauratown Trail Association, worked tirelessly to get the trails in shape for the race. Unfortunately, with one day to go, the race directors notified the 50 milers that the first 7 miles were simply too unsafe and they had to move the start line and re-route a bit of the course ultimately reducing the overall mileage by about 4 miles. A bummer? Totally. A deal breaker? No.

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Blue Ridge Relay 2017: Déjà vu all over again

September 14, 2017By y2kemo
post race team photo
post race team photo

The Blue Ridge Relay (BRR) is a really long Benny Hill episode where thousands of masochists abandon both sanity and dignity to run 208 miles from Grayson Highlands State Park in Virginia to Asheville, North Carolina. This year’s race hosted 194 teams of 4 to 12 runners who ran a total of 36 legs ranging from 2.5 to 10.5 miles per leg over the course of a day and a half.

That sounds awesome! How do I sign up? All you need is a group of people that won’t kill each other, a couple of vans, a roll of toilet paper, a llama, and a bag of pretzels. Get that stuff, get registered, and you’re ready to run the Blue Ridge Relay.

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Blue Ridge Relay 2016: Tired, Thirsty, and Nauseous

September 13, 2016By y2kemo
brr2016_coffee mug
Blue Ridge Relay Team GO FAR 2016
Team GO FAR 2016

The Blue Ridge Relay (BRR) is a 208ish-mile running relay from Grayson Highlands State Park in Virginia to downtown Asheville, North Carolina. This year’s race hosted 196 teams of 4 to 12 people who run a total of 36 legs ranging from 2.5 to 10.5 miles per leg over the course of a day and a half; the ultra runners do it less than 20 hours.

On the surface the relay is pretty simple: get a team, rent vans, run a bunch, stay healthy, try not to stink too much, don’t kill each other, and don’t die. OK, it’s not really that simple. It’s actually way more complicated.

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Running a 5K as a Nutcracker

December 12, 2015By y2kemo
My son and I finish the 1 miler
My son and I finish the 1 miler

Each year my running buddies attempt to convince me that the Christmas-themed race they’re going to run is the bees knees. They do their best to pitch their race to me. Quite frankly, they’re wrong. There is only one Christmas-themed race that has my continued support as numero uno—the Reindeer Romp 5K in Jamestown, NC. The community of runners is a top notch group of elites, weekend warriors, first timers, and kids who train as part of the GO FAR fitness club for kids.  The atmosphere is fantastic. Santa, the big man himself, is there. And…AND…the race encourages runners to run in a holiday-themed costume.

This year marked my sixth year running the Romp. I’ve run as a Christmas present, the Grinch and his sleigh, a Christmas tree, as a conductor pushing the Polar Express, and last year I managed to complete the race dressed as a 6 and 1/2 foot fireplace. My pattern of costumes is one that includes my son every other year. This year, he and I talked about several costumes. All of them involved me pushing him. He’s 5 years old now. He’s nearly 50 pounds. Pushing him in a stroller would be difficult enough without a costume. So we talked about what we could create and he, whilst channeling his inner Tchaikovsky, suggested something quite appropriate—a nutcracker.

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Race Report: Army Ten-Miler 2015

October 13, 2015By y2kemo
atm-2015-jimandi
Jim and I post-ATM

This past weekend I ran the Army Ten-Miler (ATM), a 10-mile road race in Washington, D.C. that starts and finishes at the Pentagon, passing by landmarks including the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, Jefferson Memorial, and the Capitol Building.

Since the inaugural race in 1985 the ATM has grown from 1,379 finishers to 26,069 finishers in 2015. Nearly 375,000 runners have participated since the race began, and only one man, 65-year-old U.S. Army Col. (Ret.) Lew Goldberg, has run every Army Ten-Miler since 1985.

Since 2006, I’ve run the race four times. I ran the race with shoes in 2006 (1:13:05) and without shoes in 2011 (1:17:29) and 2012 (1:12:06), and in Vibrams for the 2013 race (1:11:50). This year, for my fifth running, I went with a pair of Brooks Pure Flow.

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Race Report: Doggettville 12 and Kenny Rogers

September 21, 2015By y2kemo
dville12-running
Running with SuperChad as we approach the start/finish line

If you’ve ever thought to yourself, “I’d like to run a 1-mile loop for 12 hours” then Doggettville 12 is the relay and ultra race for you. Whether you convince yourself or five of your friends to run in circles for the duration you’re sure to enjoy this well-organized and very challenging run.

The course is a mile long and transitions from paved road to gravel to grass to pine needles to gravel to grass before turning back to gravel as you cross the start/finish line. There are just enough downhills and uphills to trick your brain into thinking 12 hours won’t be so bad. And there is more than enough support from the organizers to make you believe you can do it.

Just remember that 12 hours, in the day, means Ra will most likely be calling the shots from 11AM to 4PM.

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Blue Ridge Relay 2015: Elevation Gain is Overrated

September 15, 20151 commentBy y2kemo
BRR finish line
BRR finish line

The Blue Ridge Relay (BRR) is a 208ish-mile running relay from Grayson Highlands State Park in Virginia to downtown Asheville, North Carolina. The relay hosts 180 teams of 4 to 12 people who run a total of 36 legs ranging from 2.5 to 10.5 miles per leg over the course of a day and a half.

This year marked my fourth time running the BRR with Team GOFAR. It would have been my fifth, but I missed last year due to an “unexcused absence” (I had shoulder surgery). Lucky for me, there aren’t many people in the area who want to endure two days in a van with sweaty runners and their equally odorous belongings.

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Race Report: The Pickle Run 30K from HP to GSO

August 3, 2015By y2kemo
logo_ff_pickle2

The Pickle Run is a 30K course that follows the Bicentennial Greenway from a Fleet Feet store in High Point, NC to another store in neighboring Greensboro, NC. Runners can put together a relay team of two or four, or they can go solo. My buddy John and I went with the latter option, made our $25 donation, and showed up at the HP store on a cool August Saturday morning.

National Anthem, some instructions, and a countdown prefaced a cheerful start to the fun run.

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