I have looked at this run for several years now, since my second year at Athens/Big Fork, when Chrissy Ferguson was seemingly recruiting to get as many peeps to commit to running it that year. I have read the course description over and over, and at times thought the course would be way to much of a climb for a runner like me to do. Somehow, I always envisioned it as single track, running straight up and straight down huge Arkansas mountains, but the description in this years web page (and maybe it was there all along?) said it was on well maintained forest service roads. The web page also said there was 3,500 feet of climbing going out along with 1,900 feet of decent, and of course those numbers are reversed on the way back. Sounded like a lot like the Midnight 50K, which I regard as an easy run.
The race headquarters is at the Turner Bend store, a station for rafters, canoe-ers, and possibly hunters and fishermen to get their supplies and food stuff. It's adjacent to a camp ground, and near the Mulberry River. Tom Robinson and I left out of Tulsa at 5:00 am and made the 165 mile drive in time to take an early start.
We were told the race started about 3/4 of a mile up the road, on the second road to the left. So we parked right off the highway, and I used the back of my Prius as a camera stand for a "before" pic.
Then, we cleared garmins, started stopwatches (you have to keep track of your actual time) and took off at a slowish trot.
Several cars turned and headed up the road we were starting on, and I explained to Tom that they were aid station workers, and ham radio operators. We cruised along about 1/4 of a mile, and came upon what seemed to be an aid station (already???) and then we noticed a chalk line across the road....DOH!!! So, instead of being .25 miles into our race, we had just had a little 1/4 mile warm up run. The cars people congregated there were starting line peeps, and other early starters. (More egg on the face here as I type than actually on our faces at the time.) we laughed about it, reset watches, and started again.
This course, which I still deem as fairly easy, had nary a level stretch the entire way. Every step was either UPHILL or DOWNHILL. The first hill climb was 2.62 miles, and we walked most of it. I worked on my walking and in the early doing, was keeping around a 16 minute mile average on the uphills. Then, a long sweet downhill followed, and while we were not screaming down the hills, being careful to not run all the gas out of the tanks too early, we did bring our overall pace to a mid-13ish pace....slow to a die-hard roadrunner, but not too bad for a trailrunner.
Tom and I ran part of the way with Greg Bourns, a man who at 70 years old, still does trail marathons and 50Ks, and routinely beats my butt. Greg and I have ran together at Athens/Big Fork, and Lovit in the past couple of months. I tend to be a little faster in the early going, but he is steady and a faster walker and climber, and he usually passes me by in the later stages of the race. (This day was no exception.)
About the roads....these were more dirt roads, with a few rocks here and there, as opposed to gravel roads which gradually take a toll on your feet. I found the running surface soft and forgiving, and a pleasure to run on, although there were a few short muddy sections which were a minor annoyance. (Mud is supposed to be fun for a trailrunner, right?)
Another hill topped, and now a 2 mile downhill decent!! Candy!!
And then back up again. Here, Tom and I get passed by a Volkswagen.
Aid station # 1, manned by Charlie Peyton at the 5 mile mark. Thanks Charlie, you always rock!
Did not catch this guy's name, but I do know he ran the entire way with there Vibram Five Fingers shoes--the next best (worst?) thing to running barefoot. I was amazed.
It's always good to see old friends. Patty is always all smiles, and this day, despite only being out of a cast on her foot a week, helped out at some of the aid stations, and then drove to the turn-around and ran a few miles out and back from there.
At approximately 8 miles into the race, and up and down 3 or 4 hills, we saw the big daddy hill in the distance. White Rock Mountain, which was clearly twice the height of the ones we had been messing around on.
Tom and I had started our race 45 minutes before the official start, and soon we were being passed by the speedsters. Stan Ferguson, in the blue, was cruising, and pulled away on the return trip for the win in the 50K by over 8 minutes.
No water crossings this day. We saw a lot of small waterfalls along the way, but the only creek/river/stream of any size was crossed on this low-water bridge.
Another view of White Rock Mountain. Actually, we climbed the one in front, and then descended a little on a saddle and climbed the White Rock, the one in the back. May not look like it here, but it was a big one.
Aid station # 2. At this point, we were about 6 miles from the turn-around, and had a solid two mile climb, then a short reprieve, and then another long and very steep climb.
Another friend, and fellow TATUR, Jason Thomas passed us and went on to have a good race, finishing in under 6 hours.
For a second, I thought another old friend was gonna show up, but this is as close as the sun came to breaking out of the clouds all day.
Oh is got steep after the 14 mile point. This 50K, which was 25K out and back, was actually almost 16 miles. But we ultra runners love bonus miles, right?
Up up up! And just when you thought you were at the top, surprise! It was a switchback, with more climbing ahead. This last two-tiered climb took us from around 900 feet to over 2,300 feet. (Athens/Big Fork has a more than a few climbs like that!)
One tired climber. Actually, there was another tired climber....behind the camera.
I got to say HI to Colleen, aka Cynical Dirt Doll, a blogger-friend who has turned out to be a great ultrarunner, and a 100 mile babe. She ran steady and finished her 50K in 6:31.
Why this picture? Well, someone told us that a bear did all the damage to the post. A little claw sharpening? Or teething?
We are close....less than a mile away. Somewhere along here, Tom semed to be laboring, and we had both mentioned possibly calling it a day at the 25K point. I know Tom wanted to do the whole 50K, and I did as well, but we both knew the return trip was gonna be ugly. Plus, I thought I might earn favor with my DW by getting home a few hours earlier than my previous ETA. I asked Tom to rate his enthusiasm on doing the 2nd half of the 50K on a scale of 1-10, and he rated it a 2. Good enough for me to sanction a vote, and we agreed to call it a nice 16 mile run.
But still, there is a little more uphill to deal with. Gotta reach the top.
And finally, we were there, but we still had to go just a little further down a bit to a gazebo overlook where the sign-in book was. It was a good place for some pictures, but on this cloudy day, it was hard to get any exceptional photos.
Well, HERE'S an exceptional photo!
We told the folks at the turn-around of our intentions, and we were able to get a ride back to our car. Driving the course took a 4-wheel drive SUV nearly 30 minutes, and the ride was exhausting, but much less so than running it would have been, although I am sure we would have made it in before they closed the course. No regrets, and we both agreed it was a good call. That being said, this race is definitely on my list for next year.
The race headquarters is at the Turner Bend store, a station for rafters, canoe-ers, and possibly hunters and fishermen to get their supplies and food stuff. It's adjacent to a camp ground, and near the Mulberry River. Tom Robinson and I left out of Tulsa at 5:00 am and made the 165 mile drive in time to take an early start.
We were told the race started about 3/4 of a mile up the road, on the second road to the left. So we parked right off the highway, and I used the back of my Prius as a camera stand for a "before" pic.
Then, we cleared garmins, started stopwatches (you have to keep track of your actual time) and took off at a slowish trot.
Several cars turned and headed up the road we were starting on, and I explained to Tom that they were aid station workers, and ham radio operators. We cruised along about 1/4 of a mile, and came upon what seemed to be an aid station (already???) and then we noticed a chalk line across the road....DOH!!! So, instead of being .25 miles into our race, we had just had a little 1/4 mile warm up run. The cars people congregated there were starting line peeps, and other early starters. (More egg on the face here as I type than actually on our faces at the time.) we laughed about it, reset watches, and started again.
This course, which I still deem as fairly easy, had nary a level stretch the entire way. Every step was either UPHILL or DOWNHILL. The first hill climb was 2.62 miles, and we walked most of it. I worked on my walking and in the early doing, was keeping around a 16 minute mile average on the uphills. Then, a long sweet downhill followed, and while we were not screaming down the hills, being careful to not run all the gas out of the tanks too early, we did bring our overall pace to a mid-13ish pace....slow to a die-hard roadrunner, but not too bad for a trailrunner.
Tom and I ran part of the way with Greg Bourns, a man who at 70 years old, still does trail marathons and 50Ks, and routinely beats my butt. Greg and I have ran together at Athens/Big Fork, and Lovit in the past couple of months. I tend to be a little faster in the early going, but he is steady and a faster walker and climber, and he usually passes me by in the later stages of the race. (This day was no exception.)
About the roads....these were more dirt roads, with a few rocks here and there, as opposed to gravel roads which gradually take a toll on your feet. I found the running surface soft and forgiving, and a pleasure to run on, although there were a few short muddy sections which were a minor annoyance. (Mud is supposed to be fun for a trailrunner, right?)
Another hill topped, and now a 2 mile downhill decent!! Candy!!
And then back up again. Here, Tom and I get passed by a Volkswagen.
Aid station # 1, manned by Charlie Peyton at the 5 mile mark. Thanks Charlie, you always rock!
Did not catch this guy's name, but I do know he ran the entire way with there Vibram Five Fingers shoes--the next best (worst?) thing to running barefoot. I was amazed.
It's always good to see old friends. Patty is always all smiles, and this day, despite only being out of a cast on her foot a week, helped out at some of the aid stations, and then drove to the turn-around and ran a few miles out and back from there.
At approximately 8 miles into the race, and up and down 3 or 4 hills, we saw the big daddy hill in the distance. White Rock Mountain, which was clearly twice the height of the ones we had been messing around on.
Tom and I had started our race 45 minutes before the official start, and soon we were being passed by the speedsters. Stan Ferguson, in the blue, was cruising, and pulled away on the return trip for the win in the 50K by over 8 minutes.
No water crossings this day. We saw a lot of small waterfalls along the way, but the only creek/river/stream of any size was crossed on this low-water bridge.
Another view of White Rock Mountain. Actually, we climbed the one in front, and then descended a little on a saddle and climbed the White Rock, the one in the back. May not look like it here, but it was a big one.
Aid station # 2. At this point, we were about 6 miles from the turn-around, and had a solid two mile climb, then a short reprieve, and then another long and very steep climb.
Another friend, and fellow TATUR, Jason Thomas passed us and went on to have a good race, finishing in under 6 hours.
For a second, I thought another old friend was gonna show up, but this is as close as the sun came to breaking out of the clouds all day.
Oh is got steep after the 14 mile point. This 50K, which was 25K out and back, was actually almost 16 miles. But we ultra runners love bonus miles, right?
Up up up! And just when you thought you were at the top, surprise! It was a switchback, with more climbing ahead. This last two-tiered climb took us from around 900 feet to over 2,300 feet. (Athens/Big Fork has a more than a few climbs like that!)
One tired climber. Actually, there was another tired climber....behind the camera.
I got to say HI to Colleen, aka Cynical Dirt Doll, a blogger-friend who has turned out to be a great ultrarunner, and a 100 mile babe. She ran steady and finished her 50K in 6:31.
Why this picture? Well, someone told us that a bear did all the damage to the post. A little claw sharpening? Or teething?
We are close....less than a mile away. Somewhere along here, Tom semed to be laboring, and we had both mentioned possibly calling it a day at the 25K point. I know Tom wanted to do the whole 50K, and I did as well, but we both knew the return trip was gonna be ugly. Plus, I thought I might earn favor with my DW by getting home a few hours earlier than my previous ETA. I asked Tom to rate his enthusiasm on doing the 2nd half of the 50K on a scale of 1-10, and he rated it a 2. Good enough for me to sanction a vote, and we agreed to call it a nice 16 mile run.
But still, there is a little more uphill to deal with. Gotta reach the top.
And finally, we were there, but we still had to go just a little further down a bit to a gazebo overlook where the sign-in book was. It was a good place for some pictures, but on this cloudy day, it was hard to get any exceptional photos.
Well, HERE'S an exceptional photo!
We told the folks at the turn-around of our intentions, and we were able to get a ride back to our car. Driving the course took a 4-wheel drive SUV nearly 30 minutes, and the ride was exhausting, but much less so than running it would have been, although I am sure we would have made it in before they closed the course. No regrets, and we both agreed it was a good call. That being said, this race is definitely on my list for next year.
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