Promise Land 50k

Promise Land 50k
April 28, 2007

The start to Overstreet Falls (mile 0 to 2.64, +1500 ft elevation gain)

Mical: The first climb was longer than I expected (mainly b/c I didn't study the profile enough) and started pretty much from the beginning - I thought we'd be able to run a few miles before really climbing. Seemed like we ran for 10 minutes, than started walking...
Lorrin: This was a well-packed dirt/small gravel road that we would come down at the end. As you are walking up, just as you think it can't get steeper, it does. Where it is really steep, you finally see the first aid station as you leave the road and head further up on single track.
Michelle: It’s really dark at 5:30 am! Jeannie Craig sings the national anthem, then Horton leads rousing cheers of “let’s go Hokies” as a tribute to Virginia Tech. And then we’re off! This was a really long climb, but not so bad since it was so early, we just tried to walk at a steady pace all the way up the hill. Carried a flashlight which I dropped off at the first aid station.

Overstreet Falls to Reed Creek (mile 2.64 to 8.55, +750 then -750 ft gain/loss)

Mical: The next section was very nice- downhill, soft grass, and you could really fly. It was not a punishing downhill.
Lorrin: awesome views during this stretch, but sometimes I felt I was going so fast trying to catch up to Mical & Michelle after a pee break that I didn't enjoy enough
Michelle: we hit single track and still had some climbing until we reached the top. Maybe the front runners got to see the sun coming up from the ridge top, but we didn’t! It was still beautiful pushing up this mountain as the sun rose. We crested the ridge top and started downhill, then hit these really wide, grassy, very runnable fire roads. Right at the transition from single track to fire road, we passed through a clearing, the guy behind me mentioned that we would come back into this clearing on our way back to the finish and only have around 4 miles to go. I stored that little tidbit and wondered what I’d feel like then!! Lorrin caught back up to us here. We discussed how fast the speedsters probably went through this section, that’s when Lorrin said that Horton’s ultras are designed for runners, so true…

Reed Creek to Sunset Fields (mile 8.55 to 11.94, +1374 then -624 ft gain/loss)

Mical: I don't have a good recollection about the section after the 2nd AS- I know we climbed and pink skirt girl passed us, and stopped for a pit stop, but I don't remember a lot of running, and remember walking a lot up hills. I think there was some running as we approached the next AS (Sunset Fields).
Lorrin: This section was more wooded, I would say an 'older, less frequently used' fire road that would be slowly returning to single track. Sections just gradually uphill enough that you couldn't really run, but not very rocky. Took this up to the parkway aid station.
Michelle: This is where I really started to notice all the wildflowers. We were seeing lots of Large-flower Trillium, Trillium grandiflorum, as well as Star Chickweed, Stellaria pubera. We saw lots more than this, but my wildflower id skills are a little rusty!

Sunset Fields to Cornelius Creek Trail Junction (mile 11.94 to 16.09, -1900 ft loss)

Mical: The downhill after the Sunset Fields (blue ridge pkwy) was a little rocky, and my tired bull run legs didn't really like the rockhopping downhills very much! Then we hit one of the prettiest sections of the course, along a stream with mini waterfalls. It was gorgeous.
Lorrin: rocky like Catoctin, but with the gorgeous mossy waterfalls.
Michelle: This was once again a section where speedsters could fly. Bob Phillips passed us here and said he needed to take advantage of the downhill. This section was very rocky, on both sides of the trail I could see tons and tons of the beautiful wildflower called Dutchman's Breeches, Dicentra cucullaria. For about a ½ mile after the aid station, we were on a trail that we would return on to Sunset Fields after coming up Apple Orchard Falls, this seemed a long way off!

Cornelius Creek Trail Junction to Colon Hollow (mille 16.09 to 19.26, -350 then +375 ft loss/gain)
Mical: Next section (16-19?) had that boring road and then a climb to an AS.
Lorrin: after going down the dirt/gravel road, this climb was more single track and seemed pretty narrow in some places. Here there were more areas with pine trees.
Michelle: Try as I might, I found very little memorable about this section. Like Mical said, it had a boring gravel road, then we turned off to a trail. It was definitely drier and we saw pine trees for the first time all day.

Colon Hollow to Cornelius Creek Trail Junction (mile 19.26 to 23.89, +375 then -750 ft gain/loss)

Mical: The section from 19-24 seemed to go on forever (though the flowers were pretty), and there were gentle uphills that probably should have been runnable but none of us felt like running. We did discuss the strange 8 hour cut off at mile 24- seems you should want to be here before 8 hrs if you are to make the 10 hr finish. I think it took us 2:15 (longer?) to finish from here?
Lorrin: A more 'gentle' uphill, lots of switchbacking - another grassy wide forest road but we stayed to the worn path because Michelle noticed what looked like young poison ivy. Here there were multiple boggy crossings that were pretty easy to navigate without getting feet wet. This was true for all of this course, considering it was a 'dry' year.
Michelle: Lots of poison ivy! Also stopped to take picture of a cool wildflower called Fire pink, Silene virginica, in this section.

Cornelius Creek Trail Junction to Sunset Fields (mile 23.89 to 26.68, +1875 ft GAIN)

Mical: Apple Orchard was steep, tough, long. What Jim C. told us was really true- you are NOT near the top when you get to the falls, I think we had about 1.5 miles still to climb up to the Parkway. Since we do a lot of hiking/backpacking in mountainous areas, I had a pretty good feel for how long it takes me to hike up 3 miles- and I was not discouraged on this climb (oh, but it was tiring!). I think if you don't do climbs like this very often, it could get discouraging how long it takes to climb something that steep/long.
Lorrin: This is where I first hallucinated a little dog, then a mink/weasel. Really, really pretty. Mical said we might see 'dead bodies' here and indeed, as we passed the falls there was a guy passed out on a bench with his friend patiently waiting. We also passed 'about to puke guy' who we gave some ginger to and 'cramping guy' who said he was beyond hope. We were just hoping the young day hikers would not pass us. We must have smelled bad because they dropped away from us. The Sunset Fields AS was running low on supplies. Fast runners didn't get supplies where some AS were not yet set up, some middle people missed out due to restocking, and late people missed out too. We were ok, but having 2 bottles/camelbak was a must because some of the hikes were soooo long.
Michelle: Boy was this rocky, definitely having visions of Catoctin and Highland Sky. But the views of the waterfall were impressive and all three of us managed to climb pretty steadily. I was really, really happy when we hit the stretch of trail I knew we had come down on, I knew we only had a little more to go to the top of the mountain and the aid station.

Sunset Fields to Overstreet Falls (mile 26.68 to 29.09, -2250 ft loss to the finish)

Mical: After we got back to Sunset Fields AS at the parkway, it took a few minutes but we got back into a running groove. Some of that trail (downhill but not awful steep) was rocky but Michelle had no problem with it. Lorrin and I were a little slower in that section. For me, I just did not have the leg strength to go very fast over the rocks.
Michelle: I can’t tell you how excited I was to be at the top of Apple Orchard mountain. I had really built up this climb and this point in the race in my mind. I could just see the elevation chart in my head and I knew from here on out it was 2250 feet all down hill!! Turns out there were a few tiny up hills right after we came into that field where the guy told me earlier we would link up with the way we came. Now I knew exactly where I was and knew we didn’t have too much farther to go (it’s all relative, in an ultra 4 miles isn’t that far to go, right?). I felt strong so started to pick it up in here. I passed the two jog bra girls and a guy with his iPod on in here. I had to tap him on the back to let me by, he had no clue I was there.

Overstreet Falls to the FINISH (mile 29.09 to 31.75, all down hill!)

Mical: Once you get to the last AS, you have 2.6 mi down a smooth (packed dirt/gravel?) road (same one you came up). It's pretty steep but we got into a running groove and probably passed 8-10 people (including pink skirt) just in this section. I think that can be a punishing downhill, but I think we all ran a pretty smart race so could handle running hard.
Lorrin: We rock'n'rolled this section!
Michelle: All road to the finish, all down hill! I blew through the aid station and headed down the hill. At first the road was really rocky and rutted and I couldn’t go too fast. I passed a few people that were walking here. Then I hit the more gradual downhill, packed gravel section and started to run hard, well for me anyway, again, it’s all relative. I passed more people, saw the 1 mile to go painted across the road, then saw Bill Potts and Robert driving up the road, briefly wondered how fricking long they had been done, then turned the corner and crossed the field to the finish line. DONE! Mark met me at the finish for a congratulatory high five. Mical and Lorrin crossed the line shortly after me! Awesome!

Final Musings
Mical: I think we all thought the course was a pretty accurate 50k- none of the sections seemed longer than advertised (unlike Holiday lake and Masochist).

Lorrin: Good: Camping the night before, bringing our own food, having 2 water bottles, enjoying the scenery, gaiters helped keep out small gravel (no blisters!)
Bad: Horton ran out of pizza Fri. night within an hour - then blamed us, aid stations not super-well stocked and ran out of water/food, Joe is enjoying men's finisher's shorts because ran out of women's size L shorts. But I'd do it again!

Michelle: Good: finishing!; running the whole way with Lorrin and Mical; definitely camping the night before; visiting with WVMTR’ers Dan Lehmann (70th place in 6:30:11), Bill Potts (25th place in 5:49:23), Robert Gillanders (18th place in 5:37:11), and Adam Casseday (6th place in 5:14:29), the night before the race; carrying the camelback; cool, not humid weather; eating 1 e-cap an hour; all the wildflowers, birds, waterfalls and amazing scenery
Bad: only 4 port-a-pots for 300+ people?? Pickings a little scarce at some aid stations
WOW: the winner, Jonathan Basham, did it in 4:41:25 and the 2nd place person was only 30 seconds back!!

Here are the pictures.

Some of the wildflowers seen:
Fire pink, Silene virginica
Large-flower Trillium, Trillium grandiflorum
Sessile Bellwort, Uvularia sessilifolia
Wild Geranium, Geranium maculatum
Narrowleaf Springbeauty, Claytonia virginica
Bird's-foot Violet, Viola pedata
Dutchman's Breeches, Dicentra cucullaria

Some of the birds seen/heard:
Blue Jays
Wood Thrush
Scarlet Tanager
Ovenbird
Black-throated Green Warbler
Northern Parula Warbler
Eastern Towhee
Dark-eyed Junco
Red-eyed Vireo

Here are the splits: