In 2005 many of us were pleased to see a new ultramarathon in North Carolina. The Triple Lakes Trail Race promised a 40 mile trail run just outside of Greensboro. I quickly registered for the race and was pleased to see a good number of my running friends also sign up to run. The Triple Lakes Trail Race also includes a marathon. Some of us were worried about sharing the course with the marathoners, but such worries were unfounded. The marathon course diverges from the 40 course in the early hours of the ultra and we have the trail to ourselves for most of the day.

The course is genuine trail, mostly single track with lots of roots and rocks. It is a fast course, provided you manage not to stumble too frequently. The fall is a great time to run in North Carolina. In 2005 the weather was outstanding and the trails were in great form. I enjoyed the 2005 race a lot. The 2006 race was even more popular. Now in its third year, the Triple Lakes Trail Race is adding a 10 mile format for runners who prefer something shorter than a marathon. I intend to run once again this year, although race day is one week after both Hinson Lake and Iron Mountain.

Registration for 2007 is open and now would be a good time to enter the race. Its only five weeks away.

Early registration is almost over for the 2nd annual Iron Mountain 51 Mile Trail Run. After September 8th the cost will go up $20 to $100. Even at the full price this race is a bargain. I'm still hearing raves about the first version of the IMTR. Unlike the venerable Mountain Masochist 50++, Iron Mountain is almost all on sweet single track. The Iron Mountain trail is a beautiful section that was formerly on the Appalachian Trail. The area around Damscus, VA, where the race is held, is one of the most beautiful areas of the Southern Appalachians.

Runners of last year's race remarked that the trail is surprisingly runnable. Finishing times are comparable to MMTR, despite being 90% single track. Race Director Eric Grossman (who is an elite ultrarunner on the Montrail national team) has posted a great training page to help prepare for his race.

Be sure to read the reports from last year's race.

Some calendar housekeeping. In addition to the traditional fall runs Consider the following additional adventures:

12 Hour Trail Run
Dupont Waterfall Bonanza
TR and More in 24
3rd Annual Pitchell 100k & 2nd Annual FAC 50k!!
24 Hours of Momentum

All of these races or adventures are in North Carolina or Virginia. Special thanks to Adam Hill who organizes all of these mountain adventures!

Photo: Carl Laniak (r) and Matt Kirk

Carl Laniak has been obsessed with stage running for years, from the one-time Tuscarora stage run to multiple attempts at the Vol State stage run, which traverses Tenessee from East to West. Years of obsession paid of this month as Laniak won the  2006 Vol State by averaging over 50 miles per day on the hot backroads of the American South. Laniak's daily progress was reported daily in the Greenville, SC newspaper. Laniak became a road running machine and covered more than 300 miles in six days.

Once again I travel down to Rocky Bottom, SC for the illustrious Laurel Valley Trail Run. Like most runners, I had been watching the weather to determine what we would have to deal with during the race. In my hometown of Hamlet, NC the temperatures had been in the triple digits most of the week. They were calling for a high of approximately 97 for the areas contiguous to the event. That did not sound nearly as dreadful as 103 or 105 degrees. Still, it was going to be one more hot and humid Laurel Valley.

Laurel Valley has rapidly become the race of races. It’s a 35?-mile self-supported trail run through a beautiful section of the AT that goes through North and South Carolinas. The race starts at the trailhead located near Rocky Bottom, SC and finishes at the White Water Falls parking lot. It is conducted by Runner from Hell ruler, Claude Sinclair. Claude makes the rules straightforward. Pay your entry fee, run the race and maybe, just maybe you’ll get some coke and pretzels at the finish. It’s a race with little or no amenities. It however does promise to give spectacular views. It’s running in its purest form.

How woud you like to spend a week running and hiking some of the most scenic single track in the Eastern US? At the end of each day you arrive at a comfortable camp and enjoy a big meal sit around a campfire with friends. That's exactly what seven ultrarunners did during the first week of August.

Thanks to organizer Eric Grossman I was fortunate to join Eric, Kevin Townsend, Roger Sutton, Doug Blackford, Byron Backer, and Neal Jamison on a six-day stage run starting near Irwin, TN and finishing at Grayson Highlands state park in Virginia. Each day's stage was between 15 and 39 miles, which made for some long days on the trail. Eric, Byron, Doug, and Kevin each completed the entire 160 mile run (Byron was short on the last stage by a few miles), while Roger, Neal, and I finished some but not all stages.

Each day's stage was self-supported. While we were on the trail, our crews took down camp and set it up at the next stopping place. Eric designed the stages so that we would end near a nice campground. As the run progressed the crews and runners developed freindships and enjoyed the camraderie of a shared experience. The run couldn't have happened without the crews: Robin Grossman, Irene Backer, Anne Townsend, and Melinda Day.

The stage run was not all fun and games. Each day the runners suffered blisters, black toenails, sore muscles, and exhuastion. The worst part of the entire run was when I was stranded in the woods without a flashlight at dark on the longest stage. I had to bivouac seven miles from the end of the stage. My crew and the entire group suffered a night of uncertainty until I emerged from the woods the next morning. This was undoubtedly the one aspect of stage run we could do without. It was due to a stupid mistake (forgetting to pack a flashlight) and totally preventable.

photo: Chris Kostman
Charlie Engle, the NC ultra runner who recently traversed the Sahara Desert, finished 5th at this year's Badwater. Engle had finished 3rd in '05 and '06 but had a better time this year despite a lower positional finish. This year's Badwater saw Scott Jurek's course record crushed by Brazilian Valmir Nunes.

Posted for Nick Whited:

The Garden Mountain FA is finalized – The run will begin on Saturday, August 18, 2007 at 7:30am.

The run will begin at the old Burkes Garden Elementary School (now called the Community Center.) It will proceed South on paved 623 for 2 miles before climbing the ridge. The road turns to gravel at 2 miles and after proceeding through a number of switchbacks we will turn left on the Appalachian Trail heading North to I-77. It is 18 miles to the bridge over I-77 once on the AT. It is 4.5 miles on the road before getting to the AT.

The course is a simple out and back and will end once you get onto gravel 623 (where you proceeded to get onto the AT.) This will make the distance approximately 36 miles. This is a tough and rugged run. I will have water placed in gallon jugs along with some energy bars and soda at 4.5 miles, 10.5 miles, and 19.5 miles. I will set them out the night before and hopefully no one will mess with them, if so, we will depend upon a few sparse mountain streams. There is an option of doing an 18 miler, but you have to come back to the top to pick us all up. Last year running it moderately hard I ended up with a 7:35.

With the heat indexed temperatures well into the 100's on Saturday 13 athletes faced tough conditions on the Umstead single track. The only 50K finisher, Brad Smythe, started 2 hours ahead of the field and had a slight advantage due to marginally low temperatures. But conditions were hot and humid at dawn and only got worse during the day. The 10am start was convenient, especially for those arriving from out of town, but put the race firmly into the hottest hours of the day.

When it was all over, the SB50 had a finishing rate of around 8%. (not a typo.) Brad Smythe started early and completed all three laps in 6:46. The rest of the field finished either one or two laps. This was not the kind of day to push people to their limits. Brutal heat like we had is dangerous and the field was smart to stop when they did.

Our daughter Ashley provided a lot of logistical support during the day. Overall people liked the course, which proved tough. Most said they would like to come back in the Winter and run it again.

Results and Photos.

Many of you may remember Annette Bednosky's post about her 2005 injury. This week she writes in her Blog about overcoming the injury and returning to Western States. This is a unique kind of race report that shows humility, perspective, and describes the satisfaction we all feel by being out on the trail:

"I am home now writing this. This was as powerful in a much different way than winning in 2005. I feel so human and humbled and grateful for George and my life. I cried more during the post race interviews. I had endless patience in the airport the next day as flights were overbooked, luggage locked up and it took me 24 hours longer to get home."

Congratulations Annette! And congratulations to all of you who competed at WSER, finish or not!