After coaching at the State Cross Country Championship on Friday morning, I made the 6.5 hour drive over to the Talladega National Forest for the Pinhoti 100 Endurance Run, a point-to-point trail race through the foothills of the Appalachians from Heflin to Sylacauga, Alabama. With my brother, Luke, and 11-year old nephew, Henry, as crew, we got up around 3:30am on Saturday morning after a few hours of tent camping (them) and car-camping (me) to begin the adventure.
We had a great plan and executed it pretty well, as I ran comfortably in second for the middle third of the race, once getting within 15-20 minutes of the lead, before a really low stretch from Mile 60 to 85. But with Luke and Henry's support, and many others' positive energy back home in Arkansas, I persevered and fought hard, running and competing every step of the last 15 miles for a third place overall finish. It was nice to get on the podium in an out-of-state race, something that's been a bit elusive for me despite all of the success in my home state.
The Pinhoti 100 offers a beautiful course with stunning views, rock formations, and fall colors. There is over 28,000 feet of elevation change, with the course going up and over Cheaha Mountain (2,408ft) the highest point in Alabama. Although most sections are "runnable," it's a very challenging course, largely due to the diffculty of the back half and the cumulative beating on your quads throughout the day from the downhills. There's enough rocky and technical terrain to slow you down and keep you honest, and enough soft trail and dirt road (20ish miles) to make the course considerably faster than true mountain courses.
Overall, it was a great experience with Luke and Henry, and I'm grateful that I had the opportunity to participate and run strong. Perhaps my crowning achievement was making it home to Little Rock for my daughter's noon soccer game on Sunday!
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