2024 Grand-Further Mountain 25k

Christa, Callie, and I pulled into the parking lot of Lowes Foods of Banner Elk right before 7 a.m. I scarfed down a banana and chugged some coffee, and then we gathered all of our necessary items and made our way up to the Profile Trailhead parking lot, where packet pickup and gear check were taking place. I got checked in, and then we walked over to a group of familiar faces and chatted for a bit while we waited for the start of the race.

Around 7:45, Brandon Thrower gathered all the runners and led us down the road about 0.15 miles from the trailhead to the spot where we would be starting. He read through some final notes and acknowledgments and then the race started right on time at 8 AM.

The Grand-Further Mountain Run is roughly 25km on 99% singletrack that takes you up and over Grandfather Mountain 2 times. The only part of the course that’s not singletrack is the first 0.15 miles of uphill road running. So, naturally, many people start out running pretty hard with the goal of reaching the singletrack before the rest of the field and avoiding getting trapped in a position that could potentially hold them back. I decided to run from the start to put myself in the top third of the field, figuring this would be necessary if I was going to try and hit my A goal of a sub-3-hour finish.

About a mile in I saw Chris Mershon, a fellow TUFF Run Club member, come blazing past me on my left side and continue to pass the 5-6 runners ahead of me. Chris is a strong runner who crushed his debut 100-miler at the Umstead 100 earlier this year and was out here running his first true mountain race. I wanted to keep up with him but knew it would be foolish for me to push so hard so early on. Regardless, watching him take off helped set the tone for me of what kind of intensity it would take to reach my A goal, and I began picking up my pace as well.

We started to climb the mountain around 1.5 miles and by 2.5 miles I could feel my heart in my throat. By 3 miles, I was starting to get concerned about the back half of my race because my heart rate was out of control. I was in my head trying not to panic and just stay confident in my fitness, telling myself I would recover once we reached the summit, when I heard the guy behind me say, “Hey man, tell me your name, I feel like I should know it by now.” The guy was Adam Corey. Adam and I have a lot of mutual friends and have raced each other in a handful of NC ultras in the past, so it was funny when I heard him because I was thinking the same thing when I saw him in the parking lot just before the race. Adam and I chatted for a few as we continued to climb, and it was just the distraction I needed to take my mind off of my heart rate.

At mile 4 we approached our first series of ladders which meant we were getting very close to the summit. A few short minutes later, we popped above the treeline, standing on top of a large boulder, looking down at the land below. It was a beautiful sight.

We shimmied through a ridgeline trail for about a 1/4 of a mile and then we made our way down the descent on the other side of the mountain. I was still running with Adam during this stretch and we started to open it up a bit. This section of the race was a lot of fun for me—bombing down a mountain on a gorgeous trail, trying not to trip, while laughing about whatever silly things we were discussing. This lasted for about 2.5 miles or so until we found ourselves at the bottom of the mountain, only on the other side from where we began.

The next aid station was right around mile 7, and I didn’t waste much time there. I grabbed something small to eat and received an awesome compliment from a volunteer on my ChicknLegs porta-potty shorts that Callie got me for Father’s Day. This put a smile on my face. I also realized I was more than halfway through my race at this point, which made me smile even more.

After the aid station, it was a slight but steady incline on a fire-service-type road that I chose to hike and take easy. I knew we would soon be climbing back up the mountain and I wanted to save my heart and my legs here. It wasn’t long before I made a sharp left back onto rocky singletrack that seemingly was going straight up. There were a few small rock scrambles, tight squeezes, and a lot of greenery that made this section of the trail difficult to maneuver quickly but also a visual treat to be appreciated. I emerged from the green tunnel to a giant rock with a great overlook and turned around to see Rob Redding taking photos up above. I gave him a quick double biceps pose, thanked him for being out on the course, and then kept it moving.

By this point, I was running by myself, approaching mile 9, and suffering a little bit. I knew I only had about another 1-1.5 miles to the summit before it would be all downhill to the finish, but it didn’t sound easy when I told myself that. My hamstrings were on fire and my heart was inching its way back up my throat. I decided to slow down a little for this final section of hiking. I passed a few TUFF Run Club runners on this section where the course doubles back to the summit and they helped to uplift me a little and put a little extra pep in my step.

I approached the ladder section again, climbed my way up, joked with some of the volunteers, and then climbed my way back down the other side knowing that I would soon be back on my way down to the start/finish.

The final aid station was just after the 10-mile mark on my watch, and I was fresh out of fluids. I chugged some Skratch Labs Lemon Lime electrolytes there, a cup of Coke, and filled one of my flasks with water. I thanked the volunteers for spending their day on the mountain supporting us and then I hurried out of there.

The final 3+ miles to the finish were mostly all downhill running and luckily I still had some life in my quads. I ran this stretch pretty well, passing a few runners ahead of me.

Soon I could hear the cowbells ringing and people clapping at the finish so I put a little pep in my step and emerged from the trail ultimately crossing the finish line in 3:26:59. Callie and Christa were waiting there for me with smiles.

That was fun!