2016 Georgia Death Race

GDR definitely lived up to it’s name. Prior to the start, I thought about doing this race on an annual basis. It was only a 100K and in a great location. After the race, I never want to do it again. It takes as long as your typical 100 miler and beats you to a pulp within the first 20 miles.

Plan: My plan was to follow one of the two athletes I knew who had previously done the race. I was a little worried that one of them would be a lot faster than me, but I was confident/naïve to think I could keep up. I started with the faster athlete, but soon overheated and stopped to take off my raincoat. Ultimately it was for the best as he finished several hours ahead of me.

Punch in the Face: The first 40ish miles of the course were steep. There were no switchback. They just went straight up. Imagine hiking up and down Woodland Mound for 40 miles. On the one occasion were the trail leveled out, the race director deviated from that route and directed us up through the brush.

Overcooked: Ever since I returned from Cancun, I felt a little flat. I don’t think I accounted for all the walking we did each day. By mile 20 of GDR, I was fine aerobically, but my quads were throbbing and I still had roughly 52 miles to go. A small relief occurred as I witnessed a female runner use a tree branch as a hiking stick. From there on out, I climbed every hill with a stick. It helped me survive and stay upright. Around mile 40, I found two nice sticks and used them for the remainder of the race, on hills, flats, and descents. They alleviated the pressure on my legs and kept me from falling. I was even able to run a little at times by applying more pressure to the sticks.

Redemption: Around 8:30pm, I turned on my headlamp and delighted in my ability to see the course. It was such a blessing after my problems at the Thunder Rock 100 mile race. That DNF has irritated me for 10 months. I was determined to finish this race no matter what. A DNF was not an option. Having that mindset helped me through some low points. I even cried at an aid station pleading with another runner to keep racing. Eventually I joined a group of three athletes and stayed with them until the last few miles. We would run a little (20 seconds) then walk.

Rocket Fuel: My companions were great, but getting to the last aid station took forever. My legs and back felt like they were going to give out. I even needed assistance going under a metal gate. They had to push down and pull me forward. Once we reached the aid station, I desperately swallowed a 200 mg caffeine pill. A few minutes later I saw Tiffany and my spirits soared. We were on a gradual descent and I used my sticks to help me run. I was ready to be finished.

Cruelty: Unfortunately, I forgot about the 3.5 mile loop in the park which turned into a cruel joke. You go from a fairly smooth runnable dirt trail to a rocky technical path that forced me to walk. THEN when you get to the bottom of the valley and can hear the finish line, a volunteer tells you there’s “only” two miles left. Two miles with 175 steps and 729 feet to the top of the tallest waterfall east of the Mississippi. It was beautiful, but I could have seen it Sunday afternoon. From there we ran down a paved road and that’s how I thought we’d finish. But in another evil twist, the course entered a rocky technical trail with switchback after switchback to the valley floor.

I finished 72ish hilly miles in roughly 18 hours and 30 minutes. If I hadn’t DNF at Thunder Rock and struggled with that disappointment, I would not have completed this race.