By David Lee

New Year’s Eve in the western North Carolina town of Morganton is probably very much the same as it is in other small towns across the south. People gather for greasy finger foods, adult beverages, and while away the time near the television set. At the stroke of midnight a few kisses are exchanged, perhaps a few shotgun rounds are fired off the deck, and it’s over. All that remains is the hangover.
 
The Brown Mountain Running Club has been looking into the viability – and desirability – of an alternative: a new 24 hour ultra run set in Morganton’s Freedom Park over the New Year’s holiday. Six-hour and Twelve-hour options are also being considered, with start times set to allow all participants the opportunity to ring in the New Year in the middle of a really long group run.
 
For the BMRC, which hosts the Ridge to Bridge Marathon in October and shorter races throughout the year, this would be its first ultra. Before moving ahead with the event, one question still remains: should it go ahead with a New Year’s 24 hour run? Informal conversations with area ultra runners and inquiries elsewhere indicate a strong interest in a 24 hour run, but the BMRC would still like to hear from the broader community of ultra runners across North Carolina before committing. A firm decision would have to be made before the end of June if the race were to be kicked off in 2008.
 
Please weigh in with your thoughts on the idea. Would you be interested in coming?

Photo: Bruce Chapman

The Winston-Salem Journal has a nice story about the forthcoming New River Trail 50k along with a profile of the Race Director, Annette Bednosky. The article mentions that there are already 48 runners registered for the first edition of this race, which will be held on October 11th. This race should be a lot of fun. It is a scenic course that is mostly flat and October is a beautiful time of year in the New River Valley. If you haven't seen this area of Appallachia you are in for a real treat. The race is also a fund raiser for the National Committee for the New River. Don't hesitate to register for this race.

By Bedford Boyce

Massanutten, THE race for me in the first half of 2008. I had been anxiously awaiting a return to Front Royal since the day after the race last year. Much of my training and other races were used as "experience" for this years race. After entering in December, I was ready to begin focusing on training hard for the big day. I will spare you the details but the training was as much mental as it was physical. Much of my issues last year were created in my head so that I was already defeated when the physical issues surfaced late in the race. Last year, I felt as if I "grew up" at Massanutten, at least a bit. With the augmented training and another year of running ultras, I had grown even more. This year was all about a new experience for me. After all, I had more course knowledge, was in better shape and was so excited for the race that I felt I could improve significantly over last year. As a bonus, my family (wife and three daughters) were coming up this time - the first ultra race they have been to.

We rented a great house in Front Royal with Mike Mason and his family and Todd Walker. We also had crews, pacers and other friends staying with us so we had a great group at the house. My family and I arrived Thursday afternoon and fell in love with the Gooney Lodge the moment we arrived. Arriving a little early gave me a chance to get the family settled and figure out where the local attractions were to occupy the kids while I was running on Saturday. On Friday, Mike and I hiked up to Buzzard Rock to check out the course and noticed how wet it was. No surprise as it pured rain on Thursday evening. We also stopped by Kerry Owen's house and talked with her, Mike Bur and Rich Limacher. Although I am a member of the VHTRC, living in Charlotte, NC does not afford a lot of opportunity to hang out with other members, so I enjoyed this immensely. We had a great dinner at the house Friday night and the rest of the crew arrived that afternoon. Before I knew it, the alarm was going off signaling 3:45 AM - time to ROCK!

UNC British exchange student Lisa Moran was killed while running last week in Chapel Hill. Police today said that she contributed to the accident when she crossed a busy intersection.

Moran “contributed to the collision by failing to yield to traffic,” police said Tuesday. The investigating officer concluded that (Lisa) Moran lost her footing, causing her to eventually slide under the bus. Ms. Moran was wearing an iPod when the collision occurred. No charges were filed against the bus driver. Moran was trying to cross the intersection of South Columbia Street and Manning Drive, not far from UNC Hospitals, around 11 a.m. Thursday when the bus struck her. She was taken to UNC Hospitals, where doctors pronounced her dead.

Another article from the Telegraph has statements from Moran's family and more information about her life. It is horrible to read of traffic deaths involving runners. Be careful when running on roads. Crossing intersections is very dangerous - more dangerous than running 100 miles or wilderness running adventures.

On our way home from Phoenix, Melinda and I are staying in Provo Utah, for a couple of days at my Parents home. We are also visiting our daughter Jessica, who is in school at BYU. During 1998-2000 I used to run at lunchtime up in Provo Canyon. Today I once again ran one of my favorite routes. It starts at an office park where I used to work during those years. During these years I would run up the canyon or go fly fishing in the canyon during lunch or before/after work depending upon the season.

Melinda and I are staying at the Arizona Biltmore resort for a work-related event and this morning I ran the 2 miles from the Biltmore to Phoenix Mountain park and started up the summit trail. The photo below shows what mount Piestawa looks like from the Biltmore.

Nick Whited is again directing the Garden Mountain FA. This year will be the third running of this great event. My son Sam and I were able to participate in the first version of this camping trip and mountain 50k two years ago, and had a great time.  Last year I missed it due to injury. The run is being held a month earlier than previously and has a new and improved course. I can't wait!


Burkes Garden and Garden Mountain offer some of the most scenic mountain and valley terrain in Virginia. The weekend starts with camping Friday night near Tazewell, VA. Nick has changed the course to be a point-to-point ending at the Dairy Queen near the intersection of I-77 and the Appalachian Trail. The course has more flat and runnable sections than before, which means you will enjoy a mix of country and dirt roads and AT mountain single track.

photo: Relay and Solo runners line up to start

Just like last year, the 2008 Blue Planet 24 was one big running-camping party with something for everyone. Runners were able to choose among a 5 mile race; 6, 12, and 24-hour relay races, plus 12 and 24 -hour solo races. Any and every type of runner was welcomed and from the looks of things all had a great time.

We arrived at camp Rockmont (just above Black Mountain, NC) around 7:30 pm on Friday. With me was my wife Melinda, and three of our sons: Sam (16), Thomas (11), and Kevin (8). Sam, Melinda, and I to run, Thomas and Kevin to enjoy the camping and fun. This year we were able to drive our vehicles onto the camping area and unload, which made setting up and breaking camp easier. The campground is right on the 5-mile course adjacent to the start/finish and the runners village. This is nice but also means that at 2am you run right by your tent and sleeping bag when you finish a loop.


Soon the field was full of tents, camp kitchens, and runner's aid stations. Next to the camp ground was a series of gazebos, tables and chairs, a media tent, and field kitchens set up by a couple of local resturaunts (one vegetarian and one with meat). The final 300 yards of each five-mile lap circled the entire complex. Facilities available to runners include nice hot showers, and entry fees include meal tickets for exchange at the food tents.

With temperatures in the 80's yesterday at the Promise Land 50k, now is a good time to discuss hydration and electrolyte replacement while running ultramarathons. A lot has changed in the past few years and some of the advice we are being offered is now different from in the past. Some of the new science has been done in response to deaths due to over-hydration in marathons.

We have been told that to wait until we were thirsty to drink is too late, rather we should drink according to a set schedule. Another thing we have been told is to consume a lot of sodium in the form of salt tablets on a regular basis, also according to a set schedule. Not every source has been repeating this advice, fortunately.

There are several links below that anyone considering an ultra in the summer should read. Some of the material is provocative, challenging the validity of research sponsored by Gatorade. (It turns out that much of the research on hydration for athletes has been funded by Gatorade.) To sum up the new research in one sentence is: trust your body and drink to thirst; also salt to taste. Read on...

photo: Virginia Happy Trails Running Club

Mark and Anne Lundblad are both running better than ever so far this year. Anne has victories at the Frosty 50, Mt. Mitchell Challenge, Bel Monte 50k, and won with a course record at last weekend's Bull Run Run. Mark won the Bel Monte 50k with a course record, and also won last weekend's Bull Run Run. Mark is consistently winning races this year where in years past he had near misses. At Bel Monte Mark won by half an hour. Unbelievably Mark also won by half an hour at Bull Run Run, a very competitive race. It's not even summer yet!