Tim Mullican's Staging Area

Running for 24 hours around a high school campus may not seem to be a great idea for some, but after running three ultramarathons organized by Alexis Bautausa and the Tug Valley Road Runners Club, I have come to love the friendliness and hospitality of the people of the Coal Country in WV and KY. This course for this race started out by circling the track at Belfry High School, then meandered around the perimeter of the school campus. The total distance of the course was exactly 1.00 miles, but didn’t seem boring due to the surrounding steep hills of the Cumberland Plateau of the Appalachian Mountain Range. In the middle of November, most of the trees had lost their leaves, which made me want to return to see the fall colors earlier in the fall. There may have not been too many runners there who can break speed records, but they are some of the nicest people you could ever meet. The food at the main aid station was second to none, including takeout Chinese food, pizza, and a lot of baked goods. Bottled Gaterade and soft drinks were also available. For a small fee, runners could reserve a cot to take a short nap, but a large propane heater outside was enough for this runner to keep warm during pit stops. The only downside to this area is that it is about a two hour drive from the nearest airport, and there are few motels nearby. The night before, I stayed at a motel in Pikesville, KY that was about a 30 minute drive to the race start.

What could be less appealing than running loops on a 0.411 mile paved course? I can’t think of much. However, I was pleasantly surprised by this run advertised as “fat-assed style.” Even though it was supposed to be self-supported, which I had prepared for, the race organization provided quite a bit of support. They served pizza on Friday evening, and provided breakfast pizza on Saturday morning. They also had a table for sharing donated food with other runners, and water and an electrolyte drink for hydration. The race director and volunteers set up right near the start finish and cheered on the runners for almost the whole race. There were also two young girls dressed in rainbow unicorn costumes, who I think were the children of one of the runners, that walked the course in the opposite direction and high-fived everyone. The park where the run was had one stretch that was densely shaded most of the day, and the rest was surrounded by stately White Pine trees that provided shade in the morning and evening. There were no shirts provided for this race, but there were very nice homemade finisher awards made out of wood that were provided. Given the short loop, it was easy to meet new runners and chat with them for a while, so it seemed like a very friendly environment. The one downside was the heavy rain at the start, but there isn’t much that anyone can do about the weather. If you don’t mind running short loops, I highly recommend this race at a time of the year when it is a little harder to find a fixed-time race.

This was the second time I’ve run this ultra and I enjoyed it more than the first time. The rail trail is a double-wide trail that is mostly gravel with some dirt. Part of the trail is very fine gravel, whereas other parts have larger rocks up to about three inches in diameter, which means that you have to keep an eye on the trail to avoid tripping. The rocks also can be hard on the feet, so either trail shoes with a rock plate or road shoes with plenty of cushion should be used. The course was well marked along with volunteers with flags at major intersections. There was a lot of community involvement with this race. For example, there was a coupon for a free huckleberry shake from the St. Regis Travel Center in the swag bag. I expected a small sample, but it was a full sized shake. There was a nice free lunch/supper after the race which included beer, pulled pork sandwiches, potato salad, homemade pork and beans, cole slaw, and cookies. It was one of the best post-race meals I’ve had. The 50K runners received a white technical shirt at the packet pickup and the finisher’s award was a railroad spike with an engraved plate with the event and name of the race.

This is one of the hardest 50Ks that I’ve run, right up there with the Bighorn Wild and Scenic Trail Run 50K. The scenery along most of the course is worth it though. I say most, because there was a 4-mile stretch where the road that we ran on for the out and back served as a service road for I-80. It was along one of the higher points of the course, so there was more wind there and a lot of traffic noise. The rest of the course was beautiful and wound through the Medicine Bow National Forest, including the Vedauwoo climbing area that had unusual granite outcrops and rock formations that some people call “hoodoos.” There were four major hills along the 50K course, the last of which made me want to quit. I stuck it out though, and I’m glad i did, as the last hill turned out to be slightly easier than I thought it was going to be at the 8,000 foot plus altitude. There was a 9 hour time limit for the 50K, which was the same amount of time given for the marathon runners, but I made it with 35 minutes to spare. For the marathon, 9 hours is plenty of time, even for us flatlanders. The 50K runners were given a long-sleeved cotton shirt at the packet pickup and were presented with a nicely detailed belt buckle at the finish. The volunteers were very friendly and supportive; however, not all of the aid stations had hydration with electrolytes made up ahead of time. They did have a powder drink mix that they could mix up, but that took a little longer and it was hard to get the powder to dissolve in a smaller water bottle like the ones I had in my hydration vest. I finished dead last, but I am happy with that given that I was doubting whether I could finish for about 6 of the last 10 miles. Incidentally, the marathon is rated as one of the top 10 most difficult marathons by one of this website’s lists.