South Mountains Marathon

Saturday morning, I journeyed to South Mountain State Park for the South Mountains Marathons. Specifically, I was doing their 50k event. The race was previously scheduled for the 2nd week of January but when snow threaten to make travel and the race a bit harder for us runners, Brandon, the race director, did the smart thing. He postponed the race. 

The postponement worked out fantastically this past weekend. The trails were for the most part dry and clear of snow and ice. The temperature was perfect - starting out around 24 degrees and only rising to around 44 mid day. 

For those us runners who don't run terrain like this on a daily or even a weekly basis, this course  can really test one's metal. 

The course runs in what is basically 3 progressively larger and and larger loops. 

The first loop is about 10k, and it took us along the Upper CCC, Sawtooth, and Chestnut trails. Of these only Chestnut is single track. It meanders down to the H.Q Trail. This section is extremely narrow, and often tilts toward the downhill side. Not sure if I would want to run it down hill after a rain. It could be a ticket to a quick decent to the bottom. 

The second loop forms a lollipop shape off the H.Q trail. This section leads off on the Shinny Trail, then Possum, Horse Ridge, and Lower CCC, and back on Shinny to the H.Q Trail. Roughly, I would say that it is about 10 miles. Possum is a tight technical uphill single track section. I hiked as much as I walked it. Horse Ridge and CCC were easily runnable but with some gnarly climbs. Shinny Trail was overgrown in sections. As I pushed forward the Bull Pines along the trail pushed back. Toward the last section of it, the trail runs down the ridgeline and is super technical. I was following a guy during this section, and he schooled me. I just couldn't keep up with him. 

The 3rd loop is the largest at about 15 miles. A number for trails are hit Upper Falls, Fox Jacob, Turkey, Raven Rock, and Saddle Back. I think that I got all of them. Like I said this was a big loop. Similar to the others, it had everything. From some very runnable trails to some very technical trails. There some really long climbs and long descents. It evens had a paved road section. Probably the harder climb of the day was on mile 29. It took me about 16 minutes to go about a mile. Most notably in this part of the course is the 600 or sod steps. I will be the first to say that I hate steps. I especially the hate steps on a trail. There is no consistency so they were nearly impossible to run. These steps were no exception. I was just glad that I didn't fall down to trip over them.  

Brandon likes his stream crossings. There was one 1 in the first loop which I got just a little wet. There were 4 crossings in the 2nd loop where I was wading across the streams. Probably the widest stream crossing in the 3rd loop which was about a mile or so from the finish. So what was this like. Well, I am not sure any ice bath can describe it. With the air temperature in the low 30s, and the water at what maybe mid 40s, my feet instantly went numb when the water saturated my shoes. Each time, I think that at least a mile passed before I could feel my toes again.  

I also learned that Brandon starts his races with the playing of his banjo. Not sure how well he plays. We were soon out of hearing range.

If I understood the other runners correctly, Brandon's wife made our race ceramic medals. My medal was a really cool looking snow flake. I think that I will hang it on my tree next Christmas. 

All in all, I had pretty good day. I got in a bunch of trail running of all different varieties. I got in plenty of climbing and descents. From what I understood, this course had over 11k of elevation change. I believe it, and my legs can vouch for it. 

It took my 5 hours, 40 minutes, and 1 second. 

A few things worth noting, Brandon and his team do an awesome job marking this course. Every turn was clearly marked, and he used plenty of blue and white checkered ribbons to clearly indicate which direction to go. They had 3 different aid stations on the course which was awesome to see. Everyone was masked up. Brandon's prerace live streams were huge assist in understanding the course and setting expectations. 

Anyone interested in doing one of Brandon's other races, check out his website. I have run a couple of his races. Everyone of them has been top notch. 

Cool Down Runner Adventures.