Promise Land 50K++

It's mostly downhill from here.

Pre Race

After Perennial I had 7 weeks to get my legs ready for a mountain 50K. I had done a decent job with working on my speed and endurance during the winter but was a bit nervous as to my climbing abilities. With many trails in Western NC, including my go-to park; South Mountains, still closed due to Helene damage, I had few options. Luckily, Heartbreak ridge was open so it would have to do. Coming from the bottom of West Star Gap to the top of Heartbreak is 5 miles with 3,000' of elevation gain. Continuing to the Old Mitchell Toll Road adds another 400' in another mile. There aren't too many climbs of this caliber in the east coast so I decided to make several pilgrimages over the next month. My first training run on it was 29 miles and I made the initial climb without hiking a step. I was shocked at how well I handled it given my lack of mountain running. My next two runs on heartbreak were more of the same and gave me some really good confidence as no climb in Promise Land was taller than 2200' or longer than 4.5 miles. I was feeling really good about my training as I made the drive up to Virginia.

If you ever run this race, make sure you get there Friday night and camp out, there's really no better way to do it. The camp was already a buzz when I arrived around five. I set up my tent, checked in and caught up with friends, old and new. The pre-race pizza dinner and briefing from Dr. Horton is a can't miss. After the briefing I caught up with a few others and then turned in right around nine, just before it started to rain. I slept decently and woke up around 4:10, 20 minutes before my alarm and decided to get up and get ready to run.

Dr. Horton Telling Stories

Start to Sunset Fields 1 (Miles 0-13.7)

I checked in, ate my breakfast with a bit of coffee, warmed up a bit and made my way to the starting line. I lined up in the second row and had a brief chat with 5 time winner Michael Owen about mutual friends in the Ohio ultra scene. After the singing of the national anthem and a prayer from Dr. Horton, we were off. One kid took off like a bat out of hell and a pack of 9 developed behind him. I found myself about 5 feet behind the pack and decided to hang as close to them as felt comfortable. After a few minutes Michael caught up to me and we ran together and chatted for about a mile or so until it started to get steep. Once a few others caught us, Michael went with them but I was unable to hang. The initial climb starts out innocent enough, gaining only ~300' in the first mile, however, it gets much steeper as you pick up ~550' in mile two and a staggering 775' in mile three. No part of Heartbreak ridge is that steep. The steepest part forced me to hike and I got passed by a few others. I was relieved to see the turnoff onto the single track switchbacks for the rest of the climb. 

As I started climbing the switchbacks after Overstreet Falls I was within sight of three or four runners and after hiking a few sections early on, I told myself I need to be running more so I decided to run for at least the next minute and would count off in my head. No hiking until I got to 60. I made it a minute and decided I could still run so I counted off another minute, thinking two on, one off would be a good strategy, but I still felt like I could climb when I got to 60, so I counted another 60, and another, all the way to the top. I was surprised at how well I was able to run this section after the steep climb, but equally surprised that rather than catching anyone, I actually got passed by Sean.

The grassy road in the early morning fog

After 4.3 miles and 50 minutes I finally topped out and started to descend. I started to push a bit and quickly caught three runners and within half a mile I popped out onto the grassy road. The descriptions of this section don’t do it justice. Everything was a vibrant green with boulders strewn about up and down the mountainside. The first 3.5 miles of the grassy road were largely downhill and I really started moving fast. I passed Sean right away, chatted a bit and got into a really good flow and just enjoyed the beautiful rainy morning. I was told I would be greeted with an awesome sunrise here but the rain kept that hidden but the misty mountains were a fair trade. The last mile and a half to the Reed Creek aid station were slightly uphill and flat. I made good use of the low grade and caught the first female runner, chatted with her for a bit and set off after another guy. Upon reaching the out and back to the aid station I saw Mark on his way out and Matthew was at the aid station when I arrived, I quickly topped off my water and left ahead of him and set off on the hunt.

After leaving Reed Creek, you climb another 850’ or so in the next 2.5 miles. It’s the easiest of the three big clubs but don’t let it fool you, 300 of those feet come in a half mile just before the top. It started out fairly gentle and I was able to run it fairly well. When I saw Mark hiking it gave me a boost of confidence needed to run him down. I caught him about halfway up but by time it got steep again, Sean and Matthew had caught us and the three of them passed me slightly before the top. Finally we reached the parkway and a nice 2.7 mile gradual descent along a gravel road. I could see ahead of me that Matthew had dropped the others so I focused on catching at least those two. I felt strong and let gravity do the work quickly passing Mark and then Sean about a mile later. I made it to Sunset Fields to an abundance of cheering and heard someone say my name, I looked over and saw Jordan Chang telling me “the race starts here”. He was right. I flew through the aid station and on down the trail.

Sunset Fields 1 to Cornelius 2 (Miles 13.7-26.1)

After you cross the parkway you enter what is referred to as the “Dark Side” of the course. From Sunset down to Cornelius is almost entirely all downhill with one small climb, dropping more than 2,000’ in just over four miles. The first section of fairly smooth switchbacks were a lot of fun. I was in sight of Matthew and could see another unknown runner hot on my tail. I was slowly but steadily reeling him in and pulling away from my pursuer. After a junction the trail took a left on a considerably rockier trail, something of a specialty for me. I could tell he was being a bit more tentative on the rocks and knew I could drop him here so once I closed the gap and found an opening I went for it. Possibly one of the better, more aggressive passes I’ve had in a while. My high school cross country coach always said to pass with authority and I did just that. I practically took a lap down the mountain in huge strides narrowly avoiding rocks and when the dust settled I was alone.

One of the many creek crossings between Sunset Fields and Cornelius

This stretch of trail was one of the most beautiful stretches of trail I’ve ever run. Just simple, vibrant green old growth forest with a pine straw covered trail running along a creek. No vistas, just pure unadulterated forest. I was so enamored with the forest around me that I didn’t initially notice Trevor up ahead of me on the trail. After a few minutes I was within striking distance. When we came to the first creek crossing, he cautiously rock hopped while I splashed through and cut the lead in half. The next creek crossing was preceded by some stone steps down to the crossing. I slipped a bit on a wet stone and decided to do the safe thing. While he once again rock hopped, I plunged in to what I thought was thigh deep water to his left. A slight misstep and I was in up to my waist but I exited the creek ahead of him and took off. It had been a while since I’ve had one aggressive pass like this in a race, let alone two in as many miles. I was pretty fired up and came into Cornelius on a high. I refilled one bottle, thanked the volunteers and took off down the road. As I was leaving, Emma, who I was chatting with the night before but wasn’t running, yelled out the passenger window of a Jeep at me “You’re 13th!”. With all the back and forth I figured I was somewhere in the top 15 so to get some concrete info was welcome. “Hell yeah!” I said as I took off down the road.

Leaving Cornelius you have almost exactly two miles of gravel/paved road dropping only a few hundred feet before turning off to single track. The entire length of this stretch I was putting in low sevens but I could constantly hear Trevor right behind me. At one point I put in a mini surge for about a minute and could feel some separation but a few minutes later he was back. I couldn’t seem to shake him. He pulled ahead of me after a mile and a half but I pulled back in front just in time to be the first on single track.

The single track climb up to Collin Hollow was only a few hundred feet in a mile and the shallow grade felt good so I pushed pretty hard and was seemingly pulling away from him again only for him to overtake me a quarter mile out from the aid station. I didn’t need to stop so I was able to overtake him in the aid station and ran the next mile really well.

Trevor passed me at one point during that stretch but I got back ahead of him and was running a shallow slope really well and thought to myself ‘This is where I make my move’ I had been running the lower grades really well all day and thought I had a chance to pick off a few more runners. It was then that I heard him behind me again. He passed me on my left and almost as quickly as he was there he was gone. Completely vanished from sight in about a minute. I had just passed him on a similar grade, but now he was reborn and on a tear. I tried to pull him back in but my legs seemed to be losing power. I could still run uphill, but it was slow.

The next two miles were a grind and quite possibly my lowest point of the race. I had hoped to cruise through this section and instead it beat me up. Somewhere in the last three miles of this section, Matthew caught me and subsequently dropped me. Even though the last two miles to Cornelius were all downhill, I still was barely managing a nine minute mile. As I reached the out and back to the aid station, I saw Trevor coming my way with Matthew not far behind. I made it to Cornelius and topped off both bottles for the brutal climb ahead knowing that my goals of a top ten finish were all but gone.

Cornelius 2 to Finish (Miles 26.1-34.5)

Apple Orchard Trail. Ask anyone who’s run Promise Land and they’ll likely tell you it’s the crux of the race. With 2,000’ in three miles that hits you a marathon in, it can blow a race wide open. That’s what I kept telling myself throughout the race. ‘Anyone can’t blow up there, just don’t let it be you and you’ve still got a chance’.

Heading out of the aid station I saw 16-18 hot on my tail. I knew I had to run as much of this climb as I possibly could. I was caught by Paul pretty quickly and as he passed, I noticed his bib was 19, I was 20. “You’re supposed to be ahead of me” I joked with him as he started to pull away. The first mile or so was very runnable, however, my pace was still over 13. I didn’t care, I just kept running. I could see Paul hiking sections that I was determined to run. I eventually caught back up and passed him but realized we weren’t alone. Mark had caught up to us. I didn’t even see him on the out and back section which told me he was moving really well. After we passed some backpackers and reached the Boulder section, the other two passed me and I was relegated to 17th. I kept pushing, running, hiking, whatever I could until I reached the bottom of Apple Orchard Falls. They were pretty magnificent and I walked the slippery wooden boardwalk beneath them but I didn’t stop to soak in the view as I had work to do. I reached the steps and climbed with hands on knees. When it leveled off I ran what I could and kept pushing. I had glimpses of Paul in front of me but my main focus was get this climb over with.

Apple Orchard Falls

After the steps gave way to less steep switchbacks I started getting into a more consistent running cadence. I was catching back up to Paul as we passed a family hiking downhill. As I passed, a little girl told me “go 20 catch number 19!” I told her “I’m trying!” And I kept pushing hard on the switchbacks. I made it back to the section I descended earlier and knew I was close to the parkway. I decided I was done hiking and wouldn’t stop running till I made it to the top. After a few switchbacks I finally caught him. I kept “running” at a close to 20 minute pace but I was technically running. Even if I could hike that fast it was good for me mentally to keep a running cadence. After what felt like forever I reached Sunset Fields and topped off my water. “That was a humbling climb” I told the aid station workers. “It’s mostly downhill from here” they responded. I really didn’t like that they said “mostly”.

I crossed the parkway with 5 miles to go and, yes, after a 100’ climb it would be a screaming fast 2,200’ descent over 4 miles to the finish. I looked for traffic as I crossed and noticed a different runner, Nick had caught me. I wasn’t really looking forward to a sprint finish at this point as I knew my hopes of top ten were done and I just wanted to finish. But that’s not who I am. If I can see you, I’m sure as hell gonna try to beat you. I pushed the flat and ran the entire climb with him right behind me but I didn’t give up my lead. We finally reached the top and started descending the switchbacks. I tried to hold him off but he eventually slipped past and then I was on the chase. I kept him in sight but I just wasn’t really able to push the single track that hard.

The sight of the gravel road was a welcome one but I forgot just how steep the upper portion was. It was dark when I went up but in the light of day it was almost scary steep. I felt like I couldn’t really push here but he was also starting to pull away. Just then my timer went off for what would be my last feeding. I opened my last portion of chews and told myself that once I finished them I’d be through the steepest portion and would run him down. And I did exactly that. As I finished my last chew, I passed the ‘end state maintenance’ sign and the grade lessened just enough. I tried to lean forward as much as felt safe and let gravity do most of the work and just try to keep my legs moving. Sure enough, it worked. Within half a mile, I passed him. I kept pushing as to not give him a chance for retaliation. A few minutes later I heard voices behind me. A quick glance back showed me three runners. ‘Damn, I gotta go!’ As I looked back in front of me, there he was, almost impossibly far down the road was the bright red shirt of Trevor. This was exactly what I needed. Even if I had no chance of catching him, it’s better to be the hunter than hunted. Hopefully hunting him would keep my own hunters at bay.

With every turn I lost sight, just to see him again as it straightened out. I knew I still had a chance as I hadn’t seen the one mile mark on the road. I wanted to see it so bad but knew when if saw it soon it would likely mean I would run out of room to catch him. The mile marker came and went with me feeling no closer to him and unfortunately, I could hear footsteps getting louder. With a half a mile to go the road was getting flatter and I couldn’t rely on gravity anymore. I had to run like hell to keep from getting caught. I had no idea who was back there and I didn’t want to find out. Mercifully, the camp came in sight. This was it. Don’t hold anything back. I sprinted through the field and across the line and collapsed in a heap on the grass at the end of the chute. I looked back and about 12 seconds later, Deanna, the first place woman crossed the line followed less than 40 seconds later by second place.

Post Race

I crossed the line in 5:47:30, good enough for 16th out of 328. I was more than a half an hour slower than the 5:00-5:15 range I thought I was capable of. While talking with a few people on Friday night I mentioned that I wanted to find out if my race at Masochist was a fluke or if I had made a breakthrough in my ultrarunning. I'm still leaning more towards the breakthrough side of things. If I'm being honest, my buildup here wasn't as good as it was last fall. I could run at a lower gear all day but just wasn't quite fast enough when I needed to be. At the same time, in hindsight I could’ve pushed harder early on, especially on the grassy road. During my first 50 miler in Leadville I hit the downhills hard throughout and paid for it on the 11 mile downhill finish and I think that memory has haunted me into conservatism. Considering I ran the last 2.5 at about a 6:15 average and my legs felt pretty great the next day, I’m thinking I should’ve pushed the early descents harder. Perhaps blowing my quads isn’t as big an issue as I’ve feared, at least, at the moment, my legs feel fairly indestructible.

This course absolutely lived up to its hype and if it were a clear morning, it would’ve exceeded it. The competition was unreal as well. So many strong runners out there with a good mix of college kids and veterans. Due to Horton’s advanced running class, this race has become strangely popular among Liberty University students and there were about 60 of them registered with at least 2 finishing in the top ten. It was also pretty entertaining watching college kids support their friends at the finish line, getting their first experience of an ultra. This truly is more than just a race, if you show up the morning of and leave right after you finish, you’re doing it wrong.

Some final Stats:

1. 80 oz PH1500
2. 16 oz water
3. 120 calories of gels and chews every 24 minutes (15 total)
4. Song stuck in my head during the front side: Everybody's Changing - Keane
5. Song Stuck in my head during the dark side: Born Again - Tyler Childers
6. 34.5 Miles
7. 7,559’ Elevation
8. 10:04 pace

Results

I’d like to thank Dr. David Horton and everyone responsible for putting on this top notch event. There really aren’t many races of this caliber out there. Rarely do you see such a large race with such old school vibes, it’s really refreshing in a scene being slowly overrun by big commercial endeavors. This race is well worth the price of admission.

Race Shirt and Patagonia Finisher Shorts