Enoree Passage 40 Mile

Has it really been 4 months since my last race report? There have been plenty of races during that time, just haven't sat down to write anything up. Short recap:

1/15 Weymouth Woods 100K (only did 50K)
2/19 Pilot Mountain Marathon
2/26 Thrill in the Hills Marathon
3/5 Umstead Marathon
3/20 Tobacco Road Marathon
4/9 Kings Mountain Marathon
4/16 Sweet H2O 50K

All of these were total trail or had major trail sections. I just don't enjoy road races all that much any more. I've made an exception for Grandfather Mountain this year though.

Anyway, the Enoree Passage 40 mile was a Terri Hayes ultra. I had run the 30 mile version last year but knew I could handle the longer distance now. I was up early Sunday morning for the short 1.5 hour drive to Whitmire, SC. The race is very easy to find and I got there early enough to not feel rushed getting all my gear together. Supplemental water carrier was required as the aid stations were about 5 miles apart. I decided to wear my Nathan hydration pack as I did not want to carry water bottles for 40 miles. I am so used to it now that I barely notice it.

Was nice to see lots of familiar ultra friends at the start (Jason, Psyche, Charles, Daniel, Connie, Jimbo, Scott, Greta just to name a few). Mingled for a bit and then all of a sudden we're off and running. I settled right into my place near the back and spent many enjoyable miles joking around with Jason, Psyche, and Charles. The miles were clicking by very easily and it was almost a surprise when we reached the first aid station. Psyche and Charles had stayed back at one point to check on a runner who had fallen (Greta) so it was Jason and I continuing on for many miles together.

The trail was quite varied but mostly single track. Lots of fallen trees along the way. For the most part shady which helped alot in the later miles. There were a couple sections along some roads but not for any long distance. Some runners were getting off track at these points but I can only remember one point where I came out of the woods and really had to look to see where the orange steamers were down the road. The trees along the trail were also marked with yellow paint so I made sure I kept yellow markings always in sight. There was also an abundance of hills. None very high or steep but just relentless up and down the entire day. I think looking at the Garmin data that Jason posted there was about 4000 ft. in total elevation changes.

Aid stations at miles 10 and 15 came and went. Very happy volunteers and lots of good munchies. It was nice to have volunteers who knew how to fill up a Nathan pack so I could concentrate on stuffing my face. But no hanging out too long, relentless forward motion. It was somewhere between miles 15-20 that I started to feel not quite as chipper as the earlier miles. I was starting to drag more up the hills and look for reasons to walk a bit. This was also the stretch where returning runners started going back by. It was nice to exchange encouraging greetings with each other. Around mile 18 was a horrible stretch of a wide open road. In some parts it was thick grass and others parts rutted clay with rocks. Very hard to run through and of course most of it was uphill. I was also starting to get puffy fingers. I was taking S caps regularly and drinking ample water so not sure what that was all about. The day was warming up so I mentally told myself to really watch the hydration. This would come back to bite me later in the race.

Finally the turn around came into sight. They had the 20 mile aid station on a gazebo on a little spit of land jutting out into a lake. Very scenic and I was very happy to get to that point. Many tasty treats here but I really wasn't hungry. I did eat a boiled potato and some pretzels. Figured the extra salt couldn't hurt. We made the turn around in 4 hours and 30 minutes. My secret goal of 9 hours was not going to happen. Even splits on this course with the increasing temps was not going to happen.

I was back on the wide open road when I took my first fall. Just trotting along and bam, I'm in the dirt. Must have tripped over a rock. I was a mess. Red clay dust, bloody hands and right leg. Nice. I had on compression socks so I think that helped prevent worse cuts from the rocks. I sat there a bit to make sure nothing serious was wrong and then got up and headed onward. I felt completely deflated after that. Just no energy and it was hard to run even a little bit. I struggled on trying to walk as fast as possible. I guess I should have taken in more calories at the earlier aid stations cause I was definitely bonking.

I was so happy to reach the mile 25 aid station. I think it was at this one that they had rice krispie treats! I scarfed several of those down while the volunteer filled my water for me. Also drank a couple cups of Heed and trotted off with a handfull of pretzels. Jason had gone ahead at the 20 mile station but I caught back up to him and a couple other runners. He was having some stomach issues so I gave him some ginger chews. I was getting some energy back so went on ahead. The day was getting very warm and I really started to drink often along this stretch. I hadn't been totally filling my Nathan knowing water would be available every 5 miles. DUMMY! I got to the 30 mile aid station totally empty and they were OUT OF WATER!

They did have some ice left in the water container so I had them scoop a bunch into my Nathan and then sucked down several cups of Heed. I figured I could manage the next section with sips of melted ice water. It wasn't very much though so I had to be frugal. I also did a lot more walking through here to conserve energy and not get as heated up. The last aid station at mile 35 seemed like Nirvana. Lots of cool water and 2 great volunteers....Connie and Jim. Was sorry to hear that Jim's race had ended at 25 with dehydration problems. I must have thanked them a couple dozen times for being there, they probably thought I was crazy.

The last 5 miles were pretty rough. I don't think I totally recovered from the low fluids situation. I fell several more times. Most of the time I couldn't even see what I tripped over. A group of 3 guys had come into the last aid station at the same time as I did so I stayed pretty close to them the rest of the way back. The last hill made for some pretty slow going but finally we came out of the woods and hit the road for the last half mile or so back into the campground area. Came across the finish line in 9:47. It was the 2nd farthest I had ever run.

Terri made some of her beautiful SC plaques with pictures of the trail on it for finishers. I snagged one with the Enoree River. Plus I won a pair of Montrail socks so that was cool. I don't know the final statistics of the race but I think there was a fair number of DNF's. I probably should have stopped at mile 30 and waited for water. That would have been the smart thing to do.......