Dark Sky 50 Miler (2021)

We arrived at Pickett CCC Memorial State Park on Thursday, April 29th, 2021—two days before the Dark Sky 50 Miler.

I had just raced three weeks prior at the Beast Of The East 50 Miler, so I wasn’t quite sure how well my body would perform. That being stated, I still had my stretch goal of a sub-10 hour finish.

Saturday morning arrived quickly, and my eyes opened at 3:00 AM. I must have been disturbed by one of the neighboring campsites. Many of the runners that also camped out were beginning to make noise. I laid awake for a bit and eventually got up and headed to the bathhouse to take care of business.

Before I knew it, it was 5:00 AM, and I had an hour left before the 6:00 AM start time.

I ate a banana while my coffee steeped, and I quickly changed into my race gear. My wife, Christa, rolled over, and I kissed her. “I’ll see you later.”

I finished my coffee and left the warmth of the camper to head on down to the start/finish line. It was within the park, about a quarter-mile from where our site was.

Beth, the race director, said some final words before sending us off, and I quickly established my position behind the lead pack. 

The first 2 miles took us through Pickett CCC Memorial State Park, where we got views of Hazard Cave and the Natural Bridge—some epic landscapes. I had lost sight of the lead pack by this point, but I was still within the top 20, and I was pacing well.

We exited the park and made our way up a mountainous road just as the sun was beginning to rise. Around mile 2.5, we made a transition from the road to the Hidden Passage Trail—a beautiful section of singletrack that has you climbing under and around many large rock formations and boulders. We ascended rock slab stairs, and I noticed a steep dropoff to my right, within inches of the trail. The view was amazing.

The smooth, runnable trails continued for a bit, with massive rock faces emerging at what seemed like every corner. I remember feeling grateful and in awe of the beauty of the course.

At roughly 7 miles in, there was a point of confusion with how the course was marked. The trail spit us out onto a gravel fire road. There was a flag across the road in front of another trail. However, there was also another flag a few hundred feet up the gravel road to the left. Another runner was standing there when I came to the fork, and he explained that a few of the runners from the lead pack went left, but my gut was telling me to continue to the new trail. He and I followed the path and luckily saw more course markings ahead, leading us to believe we made the right choice.

From here, we continued down some runnable trails through the dense forest until we encountered our first true creek crossing. A rope was tied from one tree to another across the water to help keep people from falling in. I utilized the rope, got my feet and legs wet, and continued up the climb on the other side of the water.  

We soon arrived at our next aid station, about nine or so miles into the race, and it was simply a few jugs and bottles of water posted up in the middle of the forest. Luckily I had a few gels and fruit snacks in my vest, so calories weren’t a concern, but the other guy I happen to be trailing at this point seemed pretty aggravated.

Boulder stairs, rolling hills, and a series of wooden ladders across gaps and wet sections filled the next two miles. I slipped down one of the ladders and landed right on my right buttcheek.

It didn’t feel great.

At 17 miles in, I noticed that only three hours had elapsed. This realization was a good boost at this point because I knew I was ahead of my goal pace with a few minutes banked already. I was aware that I’d eventually be slowing down soon as the heat increased and my legs continued to take a beating. But if I could continue banking extra time for the next ten miles or so, I’d be in good shape. So, that was my plan from here.

We then got to enjoy the view from the John Muir Overlook, which was well worth the work it took to get there. Not a cloud in the sky and treetops for miles.

At this point, I linked up with a guy named Vinnie from Nashville, who provided me with good conversation and a bunch of ultra advice. It became obvious that he had more running experience than me, so I took the opportunity to listen and ask questions. He also had a pretty good sense of humor, which helped make some of those tougher middle miles go by more quickly.

We ran together mostly for the next 10 miles or so, playing leapfrog for a minute when our paces started to fall out of sync, especially up a steep fire road section at 26 miles. 

As we approached the aid station at mile 29, I could see my truck up ahead, so I knew I’d get to share a moment with Christa, my daughter Callie, and my sister Kim. It was short and sweet, but it put a smile on my face as I left the aid station and began my descent down to Charit Creek. My quads LOVED this.

It was about 2.5 miles down to Charit Creek, where there was another aid station before we set out on a 4-mile loop that took us through some more epic landscapes. There was a massive rock wall peeking through the trees that we eventually approached. The wall was so tall, and boulders littered the ground at the base that we had to navigate to keep on the trail. We emerge from the boulder fields to find ourselves running under the iconic Twin Arches.

After the 4 mile loop of awesomeness, we hit the aid station at Charit Creek once more before climbing our way right back up the massive hill that destroyed my quads just before. I mostly hiked this hill since I was still ahead of pace and began to dip into the banked minutes that I had earned earlier in the race.

I was now about 40 miles into the race, and I was on the heels of another runner, Frazer, from Nashville. Frazer and I shared stories about family, ultrarunning, and how much we both were suffering at that moment. They say you should suffer in silence during an ultra, but we chose to take a moment to laugh at our pain. It helped.

Before we knew it, we were at the final aid station and had only 3 miles left to the finish. We began to dig deep for whatever was left and kept it moving at a respectful pace. I think we both were grateful for the extra motivation and accountability to not fall apart with only miles left.

The final downhill leading to the entrance of Pickett was BRUTAL on the knees and quads, but we didn’t care. We saw a neon vest in the distance behind us and decided that they weren’t going to catch up. So we both kept our heads down and hit the gas to see what was left.

Frazer crossed the finish line seconds ahead of me, which was fine by me. I looked down at my watch as I passed through and saw 9:23. I crushed my goal of a sub-10 hour finish, and I earned 13th overall.

What a great race!