April 14 and 15 brings a new Ultra to North Carolina, the Run for Africa 12 and 24-hour trail run. The venue for this event is the Blue Ridge Mountains, the course is on trails, and there will be a festive atmosphere with lots of support. In addition, funds from the event are used to fund wells and sustainable drinking water for villages in Africa. What else do you need for a great run?

I'm planning on running the 24 hour event as a solo entrant. Will Harlan of Mt. Mitchell fame is the race director and he was kind enough to answer some questions. I thought I would share his answers with the rest of you.

Q: What is the course like? How much elavation change on each lap?
A: The five-mile course is mix of rugged singletrack, rolling gravel roads, and flat open meadow. It offers breathtaking views of the Blue Ridge mountains, along with a couple of breathtaking climbs that are short but steep. The course also skirts the edge of Lake Eden, and the final quarter-mile loops through the festival area, where spectators and fellow teammates can cheer runners on to the finish. Total elevation gain is approximately 700 feet per lap, with most of it taking place in the first 1.5 miles; the rest is mostly downhill and flat.

Q: What type of aid will be available to solo runners?

Q: How will laps be counted?

By Susan Dummar

After last year's DNF at mile 75, I had been making proclamations that I was finishing this year so that I can get that monkey off my back and never have to do it again. Deep down, I just don't have the "suck factor" to be a 100 mile runner. So the race began.

The plan was to keep the pace slow, between 3 and 3 1/2 hour loops. Having gone out WAY too fast last year, conservation was the key. The first loop I ran with my friends Marcia Godwin and Teddy Gray. The conversation was flowing and the miles were just ticking off. Of course, while talking too much, (those who know me know I'm a little chatty) I never really checked my watch and quickly realized that we were running way too fast. I told Teddy if he wanted to pull away, to feel free. I still had a lot of miles to run.

After the turn around point, I was running with several runners. Rhonda, Sam and Chuck from NCRC were always nearby, and I eventually settled in with fellow Mangum Track Club gals Marie Lewis and Pam Carpenter. I had never run with them before and what a joy it turned out to be. We had many things to talk about. The conversation was easy and the pace was perfect. Well, maybe not for Marie. We may have been a little slow for her taste, but keeping her in check for 30 miles or so got her a spectacular 25+ hour, 1st 100 mile finish. Way to go Marie!!!

By Jonathan Savage

A hundred miles is a long way on foot. I know, it sounds stupid to start off with such an inane comment, but let me try to explain. For those who do not run, a 5K (3.1 mile) race seems like a long way. For many runners, a 26.2 mile marathon seems like a long way. But most people who start those races finish them. The marathon requires dedication and training, but given the drive, it can be done by most people.

The 100 is different; it is a distance that experienced, well trained athletes fail to complete. Last year less than 50% of starters finish the 100, some intending to only complete 50, but many DNF (Did Not Finish). If you look at http://run100s.com, 75% completion is about average, with some races this dropping to nearer 50%. Given that these races require a qualifying finish to enter this should give a sense of the difficulty.

100 miles is far enough that it is hard to comprehend the distance, even after other long distance events. Fatigue is cumulative, so 100 miles is not twice as hard as 50, but many, many times harder. 100 miles is far enough that it is very hard to train for; few people have time to do training runs of over 50 miles.

The miles go by so slowly on a 100. Instead of the usual 8-9 minutes, an uphill mile could take 20 minutes, stretching and distorting the distance until it feels like you are traveling much further.

The Umstead is a loop course – eight loops of 12.5 miles, allowing you to understand and comprehend how far you have come and how far it is to do. This comprehension seeps in slowly. You do two loops, 25 miles and realize you have to go three times further. At the half way point, the weariness of the last 50 balance in your mind against the huge weight of the 50 to come.

For me, many things went well, but my nemesis was blisters. I suffer from a rare genetic skin problem where the skin never fully recovers from injury, leaving my skin scarred and thin. Because of the care I take with my feet, I almost never suffer from blisters. Umstead was different. The first blister occurred by 37 miles, inconceivably early. The simplistic approach of duct tape did not work and by 50 the blister had spread badly and had to be lanced. By 75 miles the original blister on the inside of the left heal was joined by a mirror on the right heel, another on the outside of the right heal, my left little toe and my two smallest right toes, for a total 6 major blisters, along with some extra minor blisters.

The last lap was the worst. By mile 87, each step was exquisitely painful, with a blister on the right toe starting to spread over the top of the foot. Each footfall required care not to spread the blisters further and all my mental energy went into dealing with the pain. I made up songs about the blisters, sang ruby songs and whimpered quietly. Even with only a few miles to go, I was not sure I could make it.

I struggle to describe the race, but I am at a loss to even attempt to describe the end. To be finished after nearly 28 hours – to understand, you’ll have to do it.

I know quite a few first-time 50 or 100 -milers running this weekend at Umstead. I'm sure there are more of you out there whom I don't know of. It's neat to see athletes enter the sport and progress at different paces (some rapidly, some slowly), and for that reason this weekend will be a lot of fun. A lot of us are interested in hearing first-timer stories and comments. It would be great to hear from you and follow up on your experiences next week after the race when you are started on your recovery.

I'll be running the 50 mile race myself, if I run at all. Either way I'll be there with my camera. Good luck.

The Umstead 100 is not a trail run, neither is it a road run. The entire surface of the course is packed clay and sand, which is great for running, with one exception: the course gets road-hard when it dries out. Picking a shoe for Umstead is not always easy. Most athletes opt for road running shoes. I wore trial running shoes last year when I finished the 100 miles.

Unless you are planning to finish in the top 5 overall on April 1, there is a reason to be cautious about wearing road shoe: walking. Most finishers at Umstead end up walking 10-50 miles out of the 100 total miles. Road running shoes are not aways good for walking.They may be too flexible and soft to support your feet over the 10-50 miles of walking you may do over the 30 hours the course is open. If you are going to wear road shoes at Umstead, you may wish to test the shoes by walking 10 miles or so in them in one session between now and the race.

Here's a look at the Umstead Course using the Gmaps Pedometer.

Will Harlan won the 2007 Mt. Mitchell challenge for his fifth victory in the race, this time overcoming a serious challenge from Mark Lundblad. Both men broke the seven year old course record set by Dink Taylor. Stephen Taylor was the 3rd finisher. Anne Lundblad won the women's race, with Sarah Almodovar and Annette Bednosky battling for 2nd and 3rd place respectively. The Asheville Citizen-Times has full coverage of the race in addition to a photo gallery. Full results are here.

By Brad Smythe

I guess I’ve still got a thing or two to learn about pacing and recovery and nutrition and blister care and tapering and travel arrangements. Other than the above things, my race went perfect! That was a bit harsh I think, perhaps I did do one or two things right. One thing I did right was to keep pretty quiet about entry into the race. In fact, until four weeks before, I didn’t even know I was in. We got home from Church on a Wednesday night to a message from the race director, Paul, saying I was next on the waiting list and if I wanted to run, I was welcome. After some discussion and internal debating, I booked a flight the next day. This was good because I could keep my ambitions to myself. Another positive was the race atmosphere. I’m very glad that I went and though I didn’t quite meet my (optimistic?) goals, I had a very peaceful and content feeling when I stopped. (Granted there were some other less happy feelings going on.)

Across the Years refers not only to the race date itself but also to my car ride from the airport to the race. I had arranged a rental car and answered a request for transportation from Aaron Goldman (74 years old) and Abichal Watkins (46 years old). Since I’m 28, we had the years crossed!

The country's first-ever trail relay is coming to Black Mountain, N.C. on April 14-15. 24 Hours for Africa challenges teams of 6-10 runners (as well as soloists) to complete five-mile loops on the trails of Camp Rockmont. In between laps, teams enjoy free food, music, entertainment, vendor booths, camping, and other festivities. There is also a 12-hour option for teams and soloists. Winning teams and soloists receive impressive gear packages and will be featured in Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine.

Best of all, 100% of all entry fees go directly to providing clean water for villages in Africa, so your pain has an even greater purpose.

All NC Ultra Members receive a 50% discount on the entry fee. It's the least I can do as race director to say thanks to fellow NC Ultra runners for their advice, encouragement, and support over the years.  Team registration closes April 1.

For more information visit www.runforafrica.org.
Will Harlan  will@runforafrica.org

One week after finishing 2nd at Uwharrie, DC ultrarunner Keith Knipling became the sixth all time finisher of The Wild Oak Trail (TWOT ) 100 mile run. TWOT is an informal run held every February and occasionally in October. Knipling's time for finishing 100 miles is the fastest ever. Most participants run/hike the difficult mountain course once or twice. Occasionally someone will complete five laps and 100 miles. See the vhtrc news page for more information and photos. Here is Knipling's report to the vhtrc yahoo group. In 2006 Keith and his father Gary completed the Ultrarunning Grand Slam together.

After successfully rehabilitating my left foot and resuming training I was looking forward to finishing my first ultra in several months yesterday at Uwharrie. However, it was not to be, as I realized 3am Saturday morning when I awoke in our Asheboro hotel room and spent the next  half hour vomiting up my pre-race dinner. I'm not sure what I have but it wasn't food poisoning and I still have it today. Now I'm glad I registered for Holiday Lake, because I can try again next week. Adding to my disappointment is that I caused our son Sam to miss the 20 mile race. This kind of thing happens. Six years ago I was down for six months with a chronic sinus infection that resulted in sinus surgery. Hoping to see many of  you next Saturday in Appomattox.