I made my way to Wilmington, NC for my 3rd attempt at the Southern Tour Ultra: Last Man Standing race with the goal of reaching 120+ miles in the Backyard Ultra format. This would have been a PR distance for me, a new record on this course, and would likely have been enough miles to secure a win over the rest of the field. Spoiler alert—things didn’t quite work out that way.

My alarm startled me at 4 a.m. as I awoke lying in the passenger seat of my wife’s Volkswagen Jetta. I was alone, surrounded by all my gear and supplies, and I felt great as excitement rushed through me. The day was finally here—it was time to run the Uwharrie 100.

48 miles of mountain running is tough. 48 miles of mountain running up and down Mt. Mitchell and out and back along the Black Mountain Crest Trail without any aid or support other than what you can carry with you is really tough.

This was supposed to be my peak training run leading into the Uwharrie 100, but I should have known better.

It’s been almost a week since the inaugural Sugg Farm Ultra and I’m still riding a noticeable high.

It’s crazy to spend almost a year planning and preparing for something that ends in a matter of 12 hours or so. And it’s even crazier when all that planning and preparation is almost undone by a freakish day of unexpected rain, wind, and lightning.