RUN PHARR: THUNDER ROCK 100 TRAIL RACE 2016

Last year, I failed…as far as running my 100 mile race goes. I let the pain, the elements, and all the other frustrations that lead to a DNF get in the way. As I sat at the mile 75 aid station, all I could think about was how bad I hurt and how far I still had to go. Then in one moment, I told Will, the aid station worker, “I’m done.” Almost every run since then, I have thought about that DNF. I thought about being better prepared, being more focused, about being tougher—about finishing.

This year I had the best day of running in the woods I have ever had.

The weeks leading up to the race were worrisome. I had trained hard, but 3 weeks before race day I had gotten a bad cold that turned into walking pneumonia. I was on antibiotic and prednisone. The antibiotic would not stop until just two days before the race. I was concerned what health I would be in for 100 miles. However I took it easy on my daily runs and tried to rest as much as possible. Come the week of the race, I was feeling pretty good and just had a really great week leading up to the race.

Wednesday night I put all my stuff together knowing that Thursday night I would want to get in bed early and had more prep to do. As far as prerace sleep went, I slept great. I work up race day at about 7:30 and we were planning on leaving the house at 9:40 or so to drive the 1hr to the race start. While I was laying in bed, I was reading through the words of encouragement from my friends and I decided to watch a video that my best running buddy Nick Horvath had sent me. It is called “This is your day” and it follows a few different runners, especially Rob Krar through last year’s Western States 100. It was good, motivating, and fitting for the adventure I was about to start…I too wanted it to be “my day.” And do the best I could in this race.

We packed the van and I gave my wife Amber, who was going to be my crew, some final instructions. She was going to be putting herself through a lot for me. She was 35 weeks pregnant and was going to tote the other 3 kids around with her and all sleep in the van waiting on me. She did a wonderful job all day long and I am very thankful for her and my kids. We arrived to the start line with plenty of time to get my bib, take pictures, and prep my feet. The downfall of last year other than just not enduring was my feet got so badly blistered. You can read last year’s report HERE. This year I had tried to figure out what would be best so that would not be an issue. It ended up being a combination of socks (Swiftwick Pursuits) and a special tape called Leukotape that I used on the bottoms of both of my feet. This tape and this technique is what I learned through some research on pages like THIS.

Nick Horvath, Nathan Judd, Josh Cole
Photo by Jobie Williams

Minutes before an ultra are some of my favorite of the day. You get to see friends and training partners. Families give their last hugs and kisses.

Photo by Jobie Williams

You get to feel the contained excitement of the battle that is about to take place—the battle of will and determination, of grit and perseverance. The famous Jobie Williams was there taking pictures and Randy was giving his final instructions…3, 2, 1, Go!

The Thunder Rock 100 Trail Run takes place in the Cherokee National Forest in Polk Co., TN. Starting at Parksville Lake Campground, the route climbs over a couple mountains, crosses one river and multiple creeks. It is set in what most would call the middle of nowhere. It is remote, it is green, it is wet, and it is beautiful.

I usually try to give a blow by blow of the race, but I have already described the trail and other race specifics. So instead of that I want to mention some goals and what made this a great race for me.

Photo by Jobie Williams

Focus

I wanted to focus on the situation, problem, mile that was in front of me and not the 100 miles or 80 miles or 36 miles I had to go at any point during this race. So I broke the race down into aid station to aid station and mile to mile. Or sometimes trail marking flag to flag.

Last summer, I had the wonderful opportunity to crew Joshua Holmes at Badwater 135 during his successful “Slamwater” attempt. (If you don’t know what Badwater is, then look it up! The Grand Slam is 4 of the “original 100 milers” all done in one summer…if you add Badwater it becomes Slamwater.) While the entire experience was truly incredible, I also learned a lot in the desert. One of those was how to focus on the mile and not so much the race. So I did just that. I was just going to run each mile the best I could. If I screwed up one mile, I would have another chance in just a few mins. When I did great one mile I would try to let that help me focus on the next.

Headed toward the River
Photo by Jobie Williams

This strategy worked great. Last year I was so consumed thinking that I had a marathon to go, not realizing that I really only had 8ish miles to go to get to the next aid station,and really only one mile at a time.

I used this idea of focus when I didn’t want to run. If there was an incline I would try to run up it for a 20 second count. I would just focus on getting that 20 seconds done. There were some miles when I was with my pacer,

Pacer for miles 41-64 Jeremiah Lackey
Photo by Gregg Gelmis

Jeremiah that I just wanted to focus on running for the next half mile or quarter of a mile. Or I would say let’s run to that next flag. Focus went a long way when I was by myself for most of the last 36 miles. I would focus on running for a whole song on my ipod or maybe just till the chorus or till the singer said a certain lyric that I knew was coming up in the song. Even when I wasn’t running, I wanted each step to count. So I would focus on walking with purpose, never taking a lazy step. Focus on that next step to make it the best towards your goal.

Fueling

My fueling plan was pretty simple but I think that it had a huge impact upon my performance. I used Cliff Shot Bloks, Tailwind, Endurolytes, PB and Honey sandwiches, and what I could find at the aid stations. Every 45 mins I was going to take 3 Shot Bloks. Every 1hr 30, I was going to eat a sandwich. I was going to drink tailwind the entire time in both bottles and take 2 to 4 endurolytes at each aid station. The plan worked well for the first 30 miles or so, but then I got tired of the sandwiches so I just kept taking the Shot Bloks, Tailwind and some aid station fair. The best was the hot ham and cheese sandwich at Manning’s Cabin Aid station. The other aid stations had great stuff but I just wanted to keep moving.

Chowing down on something at mile 75
Photo by Whitney Franklin

I think one of the main reasons that I did so well and never had a true low was from fueling properly. Without the constant and continual intake of calories I would have definitely gone deep into a pain cave and hitched a ride on the struggle bus.

I can’t say enough good things about Tailwind. If you haven’t tried it, you should. I am not sure how many bottles of it I had while out there, but I know it helped me reach my goal and I had no GI issues. This year Tailwind was actually at the aid stations too. I had known that going in so I didn’t pack several baggies of it to fill up. However at the first aid station they evidently didn’t get the memo and still had Heed in the water jug…I asked about Tailwind and they had a bag there so I threw in my two scoops per bottle and went on my way.

Friends and Family

A highlight of this year’s race for me was that I was constantly surrounded by people I knew. Not only did I have the stellar crew of Amber (35 weeks pregnant), Kherington (7), Lukas (5), and Linkoln (2), but I also knew someone at each aid station except for one.

My family crew did great. They were at each spot on time and had my bag of stuff that I needed. They were most helpful at mile 17 when I needed a full sock and shoe change after the river crossing. They dried my feet and helped me put on my calf sleeves, socks and new shoes. Lukas was especially helpful in trying to fix my hair and unwrinkle my shirt. I don’t know why he thought either were important, but he was being helpful. They camped out in the car for me all night and were just a great blessing to have. There is something special about seeing your family after being alone in the woods for a few hours when everything hurts.

3 of my crew--Kherington, Lukas, and Linkoln

As I mentioned I had friends all over the place. Some I am closer to than others, but they all knew my face and my name and I knew them. At the first Aid Station I got to see Kris Whorton. This was not her official aid station to be in charge of but she was there with all of her encouragement and a big hug. She does so much for the Chattanooga trail community and most of it is behind the scenes, and is just an awesome person. At the bottom of Oswald before crossing the river I got to see part of “The Crew” and their families for a split second. To see them and have them cheer me on was great, and Jobie got a pretty good pic in the process too. Once I was in the river, Monica Manning was there to see if I needed anything and to encourage me. Once I got to the other side, I saw Nathan Judd’s parents, Daniel Hamilton, and Missy Emerling.

Selfie with the great Kris Whorton

Iron Gap at mile 25ish was the only time I didn’t know someone. By the time I got to Bullet Creek Randy and Kris Whorton were there. I snapped a pic with Kris, since I was her runner. (Each Aid Station Captain got a free entry, and Kris gave hers to me). I told her that I was going to try and do her proud. At Servilla I got to see my crew again and pick up my pacer. I had never had a real pacer before, and Jeremiah had never been a real pacer. I think we both did okay for our first time. He reminded me to eat and drink and plus he pushed me to keep moving when I wanted to just walk sometimes. It was great to have him through the dark miles in Coker Creek. When we got to Manning’s Cabin aid, Erin Thurman and some of the Scenic City Trail Runners were there. Erin is a great encourager of runners of all levels and distances. And the SCTR group is a great place for all types to learn about some of the great trails we have in Chattanooga. At Coker Falls, I believe Monica Manning was there again, meaning that she probably had not slept, since it was now close to midnight.

Fording the Hiawassee
Photo by Gregg Gelmis

As Jeremiah and I finished the Coker Creek section we came up to the party known as the Powerhouse Aid station. It was run by the Hollands, Bakers, and the Williams--all great families and great friends. It was there last year that I got to really talk to Nate and Katie for the first time. They did a wonderful job with their aid station. At Reliance I got to see Amber, but the kids were thankfully asleep since it was like 3 am. I also saw Samuel Hammonds and Cary Long. Jeremiah left me there but I knew I would see more friends at the top of Deep Gap. There I got to see the Pistol crew including Whitney Franklin. It was just wonderful to see her even if it was just for a couple mins.

Aid Station Selfie!
Selfie by Whitney

Back in the daylight I got to see Corey and his “diversity Santa” along with my crew again who were all awake now, although Lukas had somehow lost a shoe so he had to stay in the van. I saw Nick and Josh’s family and they gave me their well wishes as I was staring the last legs of the course. At the Whitewater Center I got to see Nick Cutchens (aka Tall Nick) and to share a quick laugh with him.

When I got to the final aid station at Boyd Gap I got to see Kris Whorton again for the 3^rd time! I also saw Ryan Beckett. Ryan and I had run together a few times on Stringer’s Ridge. When I saw him at the aid he asked if I needed anything. That is the common thing to ask and usually the answer is “Nah, I’m okay” or “Yeah, do you have any chocolate, or chips, etc.” But my response was, “Yeah, do you wanna run with me?” Ryan was in khaki shorts and some type of brown non-athletic shoe. He thought for what could have only been a split second and said , “Yes!” I was hurting and I had been lonely. I wanted just some company for the last 7.4 miles. I had no idea at the time that Ryan had been up all day also and had run 24 miles as a sweeper in the middle of the night. I was so thankful for his company and his kindness to run with me those last few miles.

Besides the friends that were there I had friends on facebook and around the country that were checking in on me or thinking about me. It was great to see their messages and to know they were pulling for me to have a good day. I was especially thinking about Josh Holmes and his wife Kristie. She had recently had a massive heart attack and was in ICU hooked up to all kinds of things. I spent some time praying and thinking about them and their well being. (Check out their gofundme page)

Falls, Frustrations, and Fun

In any race I am sure there is at least one frustration that a runner will experience. In a 100 mile race, there are frustrations that always pop up. But the key is not to let these frustrations rule your race, but yet problem solve and rule your own race.

Muddy Trails
Photo by Gregg Gelmis

I fell twice during the run, once coming down Oswald and once in the Towee Creek section. Coming down Oswald’s dome was a little over grown and the thin single track trail became even thinner to the point that it was half-track in some places. This along with the decline made for difficult footing. I knew I was going to fall, at some point. I had already told myself to not let it ruin my day when I fell. Then it happened, my right foot got tripped up while my left was behind me in the air. I fell hard on rocks and 2inch wide stumps caught my thighs and shins. My mouth even hit and I had dirt all over me. I hopped up and kept running. Thankfully I would go through the river soon to wash off some of the blood. The second time I fell was with Jeremiah. We were working our way towards Reliance, and I was currently trying to run for the next half mile or .25 when I placed my right foot on a large slanted rock and I slipped falling with all of my weight on the side of my hip. I knew immediately that it would leave a good bruise, and it did for the next 2 weeks.

Other frustrations included the rain and trail conditions. While the rain kept it cool, it made the trail so sloppy. I was working hard trying to stay out of the puddles but by the time the trail became a small creek it was no use. This made some areas really muddy and that would cake on your shoes. Other areas were just slippery and nasty. Lots and lots of rain.

The cloudy view from "The Hitching Post"

Besides that, I don’t remember many other bad frustrations. Well except a elastic band that holds my left water bottle in snapped at mile 30. I ended up rigging it with a pin from my race bib. I also had the normal pains of a 100. I had the rolled ankles, twice one time in a 5 min period that really hurt. There was one of the little elastic straps on my bag snapping or losing a bag of stuff because I didn’t zip my bag up properly. These little things can drive you crazy, or you can just keep moving.

There are funny things that happen that make the journey fun too. At about 3:30 am and around mile 73 or so a song came on my ipod that made me truly laugh out loud. It was BNL “Who needs Sleep?” Hallucinations are funny too, but I didn’t have any this time. Although I thought I did. I came into the Lost Creek campground area and I looked down towards a picnic table and I thought I saw a man sitting there on the table (for whatever reason all of my hallucinations are people). I decided I was just going to run by the hallucination when he spoke and asked me where the shoe drop was. I looked around and pointed to the tarp on the ground. He was 5ft from it. I think he was more tired than I was.

In the end, the race was hard, painful, tiring, but so much fun. It is hard to explain to someone how much fun being in the woods “running” for an entire day is, and I am not going to try and do that here. But it is so much fun to push yourself and to enjoy the gorgeous creation all around you. Even though it was a nasty weather day, and the best view at the “hitching post” was a cloud, the course was so beautiful all day long. I even saw a bear!