chocolate dip

"A large chocolate dip, please." Those were just about the first words out of my mouth upon completion of yesterday's Garden Mountain Fat-Ass run. The reward for finishing any run should be so delicious.

Friday night I drove up to the Cavitt's Creek Campground in Tazewell County, VA to meet up with the group from the Iron Mountain Trail Runners. I didn't know a single person, but they welcomed me with open arms. There were runners from Tennessee and various parts of North Carolina and Virginia -- about 15 runners in total. Most of the night was spent talking and telling stories around the campfire. I retired to my tent at 11:30 to rest up for the morning.

In the morning, the logistics of getting to the start needed worked out because the run traveled a point-to-point route that started a half hour away from the campground in Burke's Garden and finished even further away in Bland, VA. We managed to pile into two cars, a mini-van and a Land Rover, and then headed to the start. I won't confuse you with an explanation, but there were actually three cars at the finish, so getting back to the campground was not a problem.

It was windy as could be when we arrived in Burke's Garden. We started along our way around 8:15 am.

Miles 1 - 3.5: This was a paved section through one of the most beautiful rural settings I've ever seen. The mountains set the backdrop as we passed beautiful pastures. Herds of cattle, separated from us by fences, of course, ran beside us for short stretches. It was magnificent.

Miles 3.5 - 25: Leaving the pavement, we took a steep incline up to the Appalachian Trail. The next twenty mile section was mostly technical single-track trail. I don't remember any unrunnable sections. That said, later in the race I walked the steep uphills. On the brutal downhills that followed, my quadriceps expressed their disfavor.

There was aid available at the 10 and 17.5 mile marks. At mile 10, I decided not to reload because I was carrying two bottles of Cytomax and hadn't even finished one. I thought I could comfortably make it another seven-and-a-half miles with enough fluid. Big mistake. The humidity kicked up and I was dry a little past mile 15. It wasn't a huge problem, but once you get a little dehydrated, you're fighting an uphill battle. At the second aid station I guzzled a bottle of water and then reloaded both of my bottles. Fortunately, someone dropped a few extra gallons of water around mile 24. If they hadn't, I probably would have been dry short of the finish.

From mile seven until the finish, I ran with Kevin Townsend. He didn't camp with us on Friday night, so this was the first time I talked with him. For the next few hours we talked about his experiences at the Naval Academy, his service in the Navy, horses, training, trading, football, his parent's 40th wedding anniversary, the community orchestra he directs, and who knows what else. I obviously enjoyed talking to him, or I wouldn't have kept up with him until the finish.

Miles 25-28.5: After 21.5 miles on the Appalachian Trail, we arrived at a lightly traveled highway. With the temperature now around 90, high humidity, and no tree cover, I was ready to finish. For two miles it was a gentle downhill that passed through a small town. We knew the finishing line was a Dairy Queen, so we thought this small town was our final destination. After not seeing the DQ, we asked someone for directions and they said it was still two miles away. That was a bit demoralizing, to say the least. Nevertheless, we got ourselves moving again. A final agonizing hill led up to the finish.

Before I knew it, I was inside the Dairy Queen ordering a large chocolate dip. Delightful. Shortly thereafter, I had a large Cherry "Arctic Rush" (slush). The Arctic Rush was refreshing, but I seemed especially susceptible to "brain freeze." Ouch. And I feel bad for the other patrons that had to stand within 100 yards of us. I stunk. As an aside, this Dairy Queen is supposedly a popular stop for Appalachian Trail thru-hikers, whom I presume to stink too.

After waiting for the final finishers, we eventually made it back to the campground. I took a shower, had some cookies, cucumber dip, and trail mix, said my goodbyes, and headed back to Durham. I would definitely do this run again. The sights, the terrain, the ice cream, and the people involved could not have been better.

For the geeks, 4213 feet of climb, 4734 feet of descent, 5 hours 55 minutes...