2011 Mt Cheaha 50K

This weekend I ran my first ultra-marathon. And it was a doozy. For reasons unknown, I decided my first ultra, and first significant trail run for that matter, should be the Mt Cheaha 50K. On top of it all, my training for this race was less than spectacular, as I didn't run more than 7 miles during any given run. In any case, I was more prepared than I had been for my two previous street marathons, for whatever that was worth.

Anyway, one of my fellow Screeching Seagulls and I left town at about 9:30PM eastern time Friday night and pulled into Cheaha State Park after 12:00AM central time. We managed about four hours of sleep in the car and then hit the prison bus for the 50 minute ride to the race start.


"Sweet Home Alabama" kicked off the race as we all squeezed onto the single track. It was stop and go for a few miles as everyone was fighting for position and spreading out. The trail was nice early on, but about mid-race we started to hit a lot of rock gardens and it became a lot slower going, not that I was cruising in the first place, but it didn't help. The volunteers manning the aid stations were fantastic. Big props to aid station #5 for giving me what I needed not to drop out! The five to six mile segment between aid station #5 and #6 probably saw close to my best pace aside from very early on in the race. We pulled into the last aid station about 25 minutes ahead of the cut-off time and didn't linger long before attacking the blue hell.

The blue hell was perhaps the most aptly named segment of trail I've ever run. The trail brought memories of my three attempts at climbing Gannett Peak from the west: nearly vertical boulder hopping. It was truly brutal, but I powered through it and didn't let my legs cramp up until I had cleared it. Once at the top, both of my calves seized up hard. My buddy was about 100 yards behind me and said he could see the muscles contorting and quivering in a very unnatural way. It took me a couple of minutes, but I worked it out and trudged on. Alabama's state high point was not far in front of me and it was nice to finally hit it. Just past the high point, I could hear music being played at the finish line not too far away. I powered through and finished with about 35 minutes or so to spare. It was a great race: great course, well-organized, all in all a good time, no matter how tore up my legs were at the end.