September 21, 2019

Focus on what you have …

Prologue.

The first sign that this day was going to be great was this – You were following the long line of vehicles slowly moving to get to the event’s parking lot. You were the last one allowed to get in. The rest was directed to the park’s parking lot, which was half-a-mile away. And having a small car, you got the best parking space next to the event’s staging tent.

Score!

Then, while putting everything on, and prepping for the start, you realized you missed your supplementary nutrition – your maple syrup gel left at the hotel fridge, and some of your nutrition pills not in your ziploc, a sense of worry sipped in. And you tell yourself…

Focus on what you have … you’ll find things along the way.

… as long as you have your Tailwind, you’ll be fine.

And at 7am, the adventure begins.

Section 1 – Start to Bird Mtn to Bald Knob Aid Station to Rangers Aid Station.

~10miles. ~10am. ~3hr race time.

Sunrise was around 7:30ish, if I remember correctly. Like most runners, I started the race with my headlamp on. I stayed in the middle of the back of the pack.

What the heck is the middle of the back of the pack?

The first mile was on the park’s service road passing through Big Cove Campground and the famous yellow gate before hitting the trails. The big conga line formed the moment the race entered the trail to Bird Mountain. Everybody was still jolly at this point – making friendly talks, bird calls, even taking pictures.

Bird Mountain/North Bird Mountain was the 1st hard section in this race. It’s no joke. With ~15 (some folks say it’s more) switchbacks, it’s like Frozen Head’s version of going up Alp D’Huez, on foot.

It’s ~6.9miles to the Bald Knob Aid Station, followed by a gentle jeep road downhill to the Ranger Aid Station for a total of ~10miles.

Doing some research, I found a matching AllTrails map for this section, in case anyone happens to be in the area for some camping/hiking adventure.

AllTrails Bird Mountain and North Bird Mountain Loop.

I grabbed some rice krispies from the aid station to augment my already crumbling mini cruller donut nutrition.

Focus on what you have … you’ll find things along the way.

… the rice krispies would serve as my main solid food on the course.

The ~3mile downhill to the Ranger Aid Station was a blast! It was a fast downhill and I reached the Ranger Aid Station at ~10:00am.

But I might just have overdone it…

Section 2 – Ranger Aid Station to Chimney Top to Tub Spring Aid Station

~16miles. ~1pm. ~6hr race time.

The low point in the race…

Leaving the Ranger Aid Station, it was a brutal climb on Chimney Top. No, it’s not just one climb! It was never ending climbs, one summit after another. I started to feel the effect of going fast on the previous downhill. Cramps started to build up on both legs. I knew that I needed to have this under control if I wanted to finish this race. So I walked. And walked. Slowly. Slower. Runners that I have passed in the first section started to pass me. Even those who were just behind me on the first section started to pass me! Making things worse, I forgot to refill my hydration system at the ranger aid station. I was running out of water. Crap! Making some mental calculations, I told myself…

Focus on what you have …

… control your intake… just get to Tub Spring Aid Station. You’ll be fine...

I was doing stop-and-go, stopping and touching/talking to the trees, like I did in ES 100. The trees have always been my spirit-lifter. They always keep me on the positive side.

Talking to trees? Is this guy crazy or what???

Reached the aid station, with dry mouth and stiff legs. No pickle juice, but they have this spray on anti-cramps stuff. Applied some on both thighs and simply hoped it would work. Re-stocked, rested, and continued slowly. The next section is where the real fun begins…

Section 3 – Tub Spring Aid Station to Testicle Spectacle / Meth Lab to Brushy Mountain Prison.

~19.8miles. ~3pm. ~8hr race time.

This section can be broken down into 3 parts.

3a. Tub Spring to Top of Testicle Spectacle.

Just a flat jeep road section to the top of Testicle Spectacle. A section to compose yourself again. Before Testicle Spectacle…

See, Laz is not that cruel…

3b. Down and Up Testicle Spectacle.

Ok, I take it back. Because now Laz is telling us to go down Testicle Spectacle THEN go back up. This is cruel!

There were some volunteers atop Testicle Spectacle giving water and salt pills. Salt pills!

Focus on what you have … you’ll find things along the way.

… I asked for some salt pills before going down Testicle Spectacle and upon reaching it back on the climb.

Going down Testicle Spectacle was already hard. Lots of butt-sliding sections with nothing to stop you from going down fast. Now, imagine trying to get back up on the same route on all fours with nothing to hold onto! And competing against those going down for some real estate.

Crap!

3c. Testicle Spectacle down Meth Lab to Brushy Mountain Prison.

It’s not a break either after getting back to the top of Testicle Spectacle. It’s now time to descend Meth Lab before getting to the Brushy Mountain Prison Aid Station. More butt-sliding sections here and there, and finally a relaxing walk/jog to the aid station.

I was super thirsty when I reached the aid station. I joked with some kid volunteers and told them I started my hike from New Jersey and could really use some cold soda and ice. Lo and behold – they have ice! And when one of the kids grabbed some ice from a cooler full of soda cans, I whispered if I could have one cold soda. He sheepishly smiled, took one and gave it to me.

Coke adds life …

I was rejuvenated after a big gulp. Saw some chewable electrolyte tablets from the aid station table, and grabbed some for later. I was thankful and in high spirits leaving the aid station.

Focus on what you have … you’ll find things along the way.

… I walked with the coke in hand until i reached the prison wall.

Section 4 – Prison Aid Station to Look Out Tower via Rat Jaw to Tub Spring

~22.2miles. ~4:30pm. ~9:30hr race time.

From the aid station, it was a short walk to the prison facility, ‘escaping’ it by climbing over the wall, and walking through the dark and eerie tunnel. What awaits outside the tunnel was…

It’s Rat Jaw time! It was ~3pm. ~5:20hrs to finish the race, with ~12miles left. Rat Jaw is ~0.89mile to the tower. It took me 1+ hr last year to get to the tower. I am giving myself the same allowance this year. As long as I can get to the tower by ~4pm and to Laz by ~4:30pm, it would be fine.

How to best describe the ascent on Rat Jaw???

I don’t know… except to not think, to not stop, to not quit. This climb was and will always be a drag (unless Laz shows mercy and removes this part in the future BFCs). You will have your lowest point here. You will be on all fours most of the time, with briers everywhere. You will suffer. 0.89 mile in 1+ hr.

There were EMS personnel stationed midway Rat Jaw.

Are you getting the image now how hard this 0.89 mile climb is that they have EMS personnel midway, and not just regular volunteers?

Two EMS personnel were having a discussion, one giving advice to the other on how to provide support to the zombies coming in. I was not paying attention to the discussion until i heard…

“blah, blah, blah. Encourage them… to quit.” 🙂

New this year was a bib-punch in rat jaw, before the clearing and the tower. There was still a required bib-punch at the tower. I found out that there’s a trail from the woods to the tower. Perhaps this was the reason for the bib-punch in rat jaw.

There was a beautiful face waiting for runners atop rat jaw, all smiles and taking pictures…

I don’t know her, but I believe it was Misty Wong waiting for runners atop rat jaw, all smiles and taking pictures. I learned that she’s a popular figure in BFC.

After the tower was an easy jog to Tub Spring Aid Station. There was a soda can still half-full, I remember. I asked if it was for the taking and the volunteer said go ahead. Gladly took it and downed the whole thing. Another reminder of the phrase below.

Focus on what you have … you’ll find things along the way.

Laz was waiting just after the aid station, with his puncher ready. This was the decision point. Cutoff here has been increased to 10 hours, from 9:30 last year. See, Laz is not that cruel… Got to this point at ~4:30p (~9:30hr race time). Laz punched my bib and checked if I have my headlamp. Last ~9 miles in under 4hrs. With all the gnarly sections done, with a controlled effort, a little jog here, a little walk there, yes, it’s coming home time!

Section 5 – Tub Spring to Bald Knob to Bird Mtn to Finish.

~31.2miles. ~7:50pm. ~12:50hr race time.

I might have taken my time leaving Tub Spring Aid Station, and have forgotten about the 10:30hr cutoff at Bald Knob Aid Station, that I was just 15min away from the cutoff when I reached it! From the map, it was just 2 miles from Laz to this aid station, but it took me ~45min to cover it. And this was on jeep road! But no worries, I’ve already done my calculations. But I was hungry! On the aid station, there was 1 piece of uncrustable PBJ. Grabbed it and told myself again…

Focus on what you have … you’ll find things along the way.

In this section, I was running out of nutrition pills. Luckily, I still have some of those chewable electrolyte tablets I have grabbed and stashed from the prison aid station. I kept popping them in and it worked.

Focus on what you have … you’ll find things along the way.

… after the race I found out they are not electrolyte tablets. They are caffeine tablets!

I reached the final summit at Bird Mountain at ~7pm (~12hr race time), with ~3miles to go. All downhill from here – my comfort zone. I was all relaxed going down. Enjoyed the moments touching the trees and telling them, “Just checking in”.

When I realized I could finish the race before nighttime, I did a little hustle to avoid having to use my headlamp.

Got to the service road still with daylight. Last mile to the finish. I could not believe I could still jog at this point – so I did. Finished the race in ~12:50hrs. No headlamp needed.

Official Time: 12:49:31hrs.

Epilogue.

BFC 50k has become a very popular race among veterans and newbies alike in the trail running community.

Some already have an idea on how hard this event is given the cut-off time.

“13:20 hrs for a 50k? This must be a very difficult race! Should I sign up?”

Some are totally clueless and think this is an over-rated event.

“13:20 hrs for a 50k? How hard could this be??? I should sign up!”

Come race day, you meet different folks with different mindsets. Some will succeed. Some will fail. But it’s not about the success or failure in this race that matters. It’s about the mindset when you do this race. If you have set your mind to finish the race, you’ll have a good chance to finish it, no matter what the odds are.

I hate to hear runners say this before, during, or after the race.

“Oh, I came here to finish the marathon. I’ll do the 50k next year.”

No! There is no real marathon finish. This is the BFC 50k, not the BFC Marathon and 50k! The marathon finish is a consolation for those who came here, did the 50k, failed, got cutoff, and forced to finish and accept the marathon finish. It’s a motivation to come back. And that is still something to be proud of.

I hope you see the difference. And with that, see you next year with the BFC Croix.

I also expressed this opinion from my last year’s post.

THANKS.

Same heartfelt words of gratitude from last year…

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, once again, for always giving me the positive mind during races like this.