September 15, 2018.

Prologue – An Opinion.

There are those who came to do the 50k, and failed.
There are those who came to do the marathon, and succeeded.

One runner came with a mindset to do the 50k, and failed. And settled for a marathon finish.  Another came with a mindset to do the marathon, and succeeded.

Now, who is the more deserving participant?

Both finished the marathon.  But there’s a difference.  The first one came and tried, failing in the process.  The second one came and succeeded, but he actually failed even before the start of the race. You see, the race is called ‘The Barkley Fall Classic 50k’, not ‘The Barkley Fall Classic Marathon and 50k’.  And in my opinion, the more deserving participant is the first one. The marathon finish is for those who failed to have motivation to come back to do it again, and finish.

Why start this post with the above statements?  If you google ‘Barkley Fall Classic’, you would see lots of blog posts and race reports from folks who have done it in the past.  I’ve read some of these reports.  Some stories are from those who came and tried, and suffered.  Some are from who wanted to have a taste of Barkley, and suffered.  Some are just plain ‘amusing’ to read (and they still suffered).

Introduction – BFC What?

BFC is a 50k trail run in the Frozen Head State Park created by Laz and Dub, following the tradition of the famous Barkley Marathons (BM) – probably the most difficult 100 miler out there.  BFC is NOT one loop+ of the real BM.  I guess Laz created BFC to showcase some of highlights of the real BM, without giving too much, to give people a better sense of what BM is about.  I guess he gets bombarded with BM applications since it became ‘publicly’ popular.

BFC is no joke either.  It’s a hard 50k.  Very hard.  It’s a no-GPS event.  A cloth map is given to runners on packet pick up.  The course consists of 5 notable sections – Bird Mountain Trail (BMT), Testicle Spectacle, Meth Lab, Rat Jaw, and Chimney Top Trail (CTT).  The first and last sections are regular hiking trails in the Frozen Head State Park.  You’d see them on the park’s trail map.  The 3 sections sandwiched in between are off-trail sections.  You won’t see them on the map.  They are part of the real BM.  I guess these are the sections that get the attention of those who sign up for BFC, both novice and experienced runners.  “Hey, I got do part of Barkley”, and “How hard could it be?”

The Details – My Recollection.

All aid station distances are from the map provided.  I have no way of checking the accuracy of these distances.  Again, it’s a no-GPS event.  I wore an old casio watch.

Bird Mountain Trail – The Conga Line.

The course starts at the Rocky Fork Field, just outside of the Frozen Head State Park.  It goes to the park, through the now-famous Yellow Gate, then starts the trail to the the first climb, Bird Mountain Trail + North Bird Mountain Trail.  This was a very long and relentless, single-track climb, with countless switchbacks, leading to AS #1 – Bald Knob @ mile 7.6.  This is a regular hiking trail on the park, and you can see the switchbacks on the park map.  True to what others have written from previous years, a long conga line forms on this section.  I was caught in the middle.  No worries, it’s early.  Time to enjoy the company while everyone can still laugh and talk.  Suffering would come later.

Road to Salvation – The New and Unknown.

What followed was a rolling section with muddy jeep roads leading to AS #2 – Salvation Road @ mile 14.7.  This section deviates from the Frozen Head trails.  No way to study this section before the race.  Some runners who have done the previous BFC call this the ‘unknown’ since it’s new.  As it turns out, there was nothing to worry about on this section.  It was a fun and ‘runnable’ section.

Testicle Spectacle and Meth Lab – Where The Fun Begins.

Did you say a prayer at the church on Salvation Road?  No?  You should have.  Because right after the aid station was the ascent on Testicle Spectacle.  The 1st of the 3 off-trail sections in BFC, and the introduction to briars.  Time to put on the gloves. Just a mile to the top, says the sign at the bottom of the climb.  Really?  This was a very hard 1 mile ascent, I’d say.  Testicle Spectacle was immediately followed by the descent on Meth Lab, leading to AS #3 – Brushy Mountain Prison @ mile 17.5.  The 2nd of the 3 ‘fun’ trails.  While descending Meth Lab, the guy in front of me stopped on an almost vertical section, and asked, “How do we get down?”. I just said, “Slide, butt first.” And in mind, I added, “Just make sure I don’t stumble and become face first.”

Brushy Mountain Prison – No Tour For You!

From what I’ve read from previous years’ reports, runners had the opportunity to go inside the prison building, and into the cells where the prisoners used to live.  This was not the case this year.  Brushy Mountain Prison opened to public in August and became a tourist attraction.  Go visit Tour Brushy.  This year, runners are still fortunate to be allowed inside the prison walls, stay on the perimeter, and then ‘escape’ by climbing the wall via a ladder.  And as an added bonus, some nobody was waiting patiently for every runner just outside the wall.  Guess who?  Jared Campbell – the only 3-time BM finisher! He was there as a volunteer bib-puncher.  And in my case, he even asked my name.  This was the highlight of my race.

After that euphoric feeling meeting a humble nobody was the dark tunnel.  Yes, it was dark, and eerie.  But what awaits outside the tunnel was worse…

Rat Jaw.

At the end of the tunnel was the start of the ascent on Rat Jaw.  There was a sign that says 0.89 mile to the top.  Less than a mile!  How bad could this be?  Without exaggeration, if there’s a word worse than worst to describe this climb, then it applies here.  It was so freaking brutal!  Straight up under the power line. Almost vertical, with no trail to follow, and flesh-tearing briars everywhere.  This was trail crawling, not trail running.  You need to be on all fours to climb up.  Seeing tiny figures of the runners ahead only adds to the misery.  Why are there runners there?  Are they lost?  No?  How the f*#$ did they get up there?  I have to get there too???  Crap.  At one point, a group of us runners had to stop because we didn’t know where to go.  It was just briars all over.  And to add salt, pepper, and spice to our wounded spirit, the sun was like a drone hovering above, following us with a 90+ degree scorching heat.  It took me more than an hour to cover this 0.89 mile!  And I almost ran out of water!

Relief #1 – The Lookout Tower.

Relief came when we finally saw the lookout tower at the top of the climb, and heard the screaming cheers of supporters.  The hardest part of the course is now finally behind. Went up to the tower to have my bib punched, and rushed to the nearby aid station – AS #4, Tub Springs @ mile 18.7.  My legs were trashed.  I was cramping.  But the next miles till the next aid station would be on a gentle downhill.  Walked and took my time until I could feel my legs again before I started running again to the next aid station.

Relief #2 – Decision Mile.

I was completely trashed when I reached the next aid station – AS #5, Trailhead @ mile 22.2.  My legs were now stiff and really cramping.  I needed something!  I’m not a big fan of pickles, but on this aid station, I drank some pickle juice like it was an ice-cold soda. My body thanked me later.  This is where the runners have to make the decision whether to continue with the 50k or settle for a marathon finish.  Laz was waiting just after the timing mat.  There was no decision to make.  I knew what I came for.  Laz punched my bib and off I went for the last 9 miles.

Chimney Top Trail – The Last Climb, Or Climbs.

What remains now is just 9 miles to complete the 50k.  “It may be 9 miles, but it won’t be all climbs. The course has to go down and back to the start where the finish is”.  This is what I was thinking while climbing, and it kept me in the positive zone.  Chimney Top Trail was just another never ending climb, like Bird Mountain Trail.  Steep.  But nothing technical that requires both hands and feet.  The surprise?  Ground-nesting yellow jackets!  Right on the trail!  I got stung, and it freaking hurt!  Can we just go back to Rat Jaw?!?!?!

Aid Station #6 – Let’s Trash These Legs.

When I reached the last aid station, AS #6 – Spicewood @ mile 27.8, the lone volunteer said “3+ miles left”.  I didn’t believe him.  But he repeated, “Seriously, less than 3 miles to get to Laz, and less than a mile after that, on the road. All downhill.”  The guy behind me said we could probably finish under 11 hours if we go fast.  “Ok, let’s trash these legs”.  I went first, the guy closely behind.  His name is Joshua, I found out later.  We bombed this last section of the course, passing one runner after another.  Every runner we passed, we asked to join us on this crazy quest.  I wasn’t even sure we’d make it.  We stopped briefly when we reached Laz.  He said, “If I have punched your bib before, you’re good to go”.  Under a mile to go, on the road back to the finish!  I really thought we wouldn’t make it.  On my watch, under 2 minutes left approaching the last bend.  We hit the last turn and saw the clock, 10:59:03 and counting.  We dashed to the finish!  We did it!  I was trashed.  Totally.  I think I just had my fastest 5k in any trail run I’ve done!  10:59:23 – my official time.

Epilogue – Words of Wisdom.

So how hard was it?  It was hard.  Seriously.  It’s the hardest 50k I’ve done, so far.  But remember, things that are worth doing are not meant to be easy.  This is one of those things worth doing.  So how hard was it, really?  Find out for yourself.  Sign up, and do it.  You may forget this post, but remember these 2 bullet points.

1. Set your goal for the 50k.  If you set your goal for a marathon, you’ve already failed before the start.
2. If you reach the decision point at mile 22 ahead of the cut-off, be it with 10 minutes or 10 seconds to spare, don’t hesitate.  Go for the 50k! To borrow Laz’s words, “If you turn left, you will regret it for 3 hours. If you go straight, you will regret it for 12 months.”

 

Tidbits.

 

 

And Lastly – Thanks.

Thank you, Laz, Durb, and crew, for creating this event.  It’s wicked, but it was worth it.

Thank you, kids, and volunteers, for the support.  Thank you, Cattleman’s Association, for the really ice-cold soda and post-race food.  Thank you, Mr. Campbell, for simply being there.

Thank YOU, for telling me, “Never doubt yourself”.