Race Report: North Face Endurance Challenge Atlanta Half Marathon

I won an entry to the North Face Endurance Challenge race of my choosing from Elizabeth at the Running For Bling blog.  This was truly a weekend festival of running because I had my choice of distances ranging from a 50 miler down to a 5K.  I was still in recovery mode from Frogtown and Mystery Mountain the weekend before so the 10K might have been the more rational choice, but I was not about to drive all the way out to Calloway Gardens to run a 10K.  Am I becoming a distance snob?

Running the half-marathon race at a recovery run level felt like the right option.  My body felt fine earlier in the week after my big running weekend but there was no need to push it.  Scratch that, I felt great until Friday’s CrossFit session.  I hadn’t been to the gym in 1.5 weeks because of tapering.  Friday’s workout kicked my butt.  75 Thrusters (a front squat into a push press) and a slew of burpees left me with lingering “toilet soreness” on race morning.  Still I figured that I could casually run the half in maybe 2:30 hours and then go about my day.  I was wrong!

I arrived in what I thought was plenty of time to park and handle pre-race business.  However, in spite of creating a nice 50 page race guide document, North Face didn’t really include clear directions of where the race shuttles were parked.  They listed the address of Callaway Gardens so I naturally went there.  Umm…Callaway Gardens is a huge property with a hotel resort section and then a gardens section.   Where was I supposed to go?  I wasted like 15 minutes driving around in the dark trying to figure out where to go.  I had to use the bathroom really, really badly at that point (gotta chill with the water in the car) and I was beyond pissed – no pun intended.

I went inside the hotel which looked to be full of businessmen and not runners.  The concierge said that I had to drive out to an entirely different entrance to find the shuttles.  She also said that I wasn’t the only one who was confused about what to do.  I’m just thankful that I arrived (barely) early enough to figure everything out.  Racers were being shuttled to the park and the last shuttle which departed at 7:15AM for the 8AM race start.  I made it onto the 7:05AM shuttle even though I had been circling the grounds for 20 minutes.  Some signage at the Callaway Gardens intersection would have gone a long way!

I was very stressed out when I arrived at the race site but I had time to calm down.  The race “village” was thoughtfully set up.  North Face had created a big city race atmosphere but with a medium sized trail race attendance level.  Three different races were being run that day, but they started an hour apart which was smart & necessary organization.  It kept the crowds down and would help prevent a crazy bottleneck on the trails.  There were plenty of bathrooms and I was able to easily continue my new tradition of going twice no matter what without dealing with a long line.  Heat lamp umbrellas were placed on the grounds so we didn’t have to freeze to death before the race.  It wasn’t that cold but I appreciated the gesture.

Dean Karnazes kicked the race off with a little speech.  It was cool to see him since I just finished listening to Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner on audiobook.  There seem to be mixed feelings about DK in the ultra community.  Whatever.  I enjoyed the book and I wouldn’t have minded getting a picture with the guy if I had the chance.

The race started in 3 waves and I started in the last wave.  The waves were split by about 3 minutes so we were off by 8:06AM.  I couldn’t find my running watch that morning so I was running a race pretty much blind which is new for me.  I set a timer on my Ipod Nano but accessing Nano functions is so annoying that I didn’t plan to look at it very often.*

The half had two aid stations – one at about 5.3 miles in and another after 5.4 miles.  I don’t remember too much about my trip to the first aid station except for the fact that the course was very rocky.  I would classify at least 1-1.5 miles of it as a “rock garden.”  The rocky parts came in spurts so it was hard to get a good groove going.  Then if the course wasn’t rocky, it was rooty.  At least 3 people in front of me took a tumble and I kept waiting for my turn to eat dirt.

As far as major hills, the first portion of the course wasn’t too bad with the exception of the .5 mile climb mentioned at the beginning on the website.  It wasn’t particularly steep or long though so it didn’t make a big impression on me.  Or maybe my legs were fresh then so I didn’t care.

I love that I look so happy here! This must have been early in the race.

The first aid station came up quickly and I was feeling pretty good.  I think I did a good job of keeping my pace in check sometimes running behind people who deserved passing for way too long.  I checked my annoying Nano time and saw that I was at 1:12 minutes or so.  That’s pretty slow progress for 5.3 miles but given the terrain and the fact that I wasn’t pushing it, I was fine with that.

The aid station was kind of sparsely stocked for a trail race.  They had Nuun flavored water and Roctane gels – that’s it.  Roctane is primo GU fuel so I grabbed a few even though I was carrying my own.  I drank a cup of Nuun which tasted absolutely disgusting.  I actually like Nuun and use it during all of my runs.  This stuff was just mega-watered down.  It tasted like nasty purple water.  I was wearing a 26-oz water bottle in a waist pack that was half-full of properly mixed Nuun, but I neglected to fill it up.  I figured I would be OK until the next station.

I resigned myself to another long stretch of running since there were 5.4 miles to run before the next aid station.  I think this was the longest 5 miles of my life even though in reality it took me about the same amount of time to complete as the first 5 miles.  The first 1/2 mile or so was great flat ridge running which I tried to enjoy.  I was a bit too busy sucking down a GU though.  I was also swigging water like crazy.  I suddenly realized how very warm it was that day.

The course started rolling, rolling, rolling like a river for real now.  The climbs were a little tougher and there were a lot of them.  I was started to get tired but I tried to maintain a steady effort.  I tracked two girls dressed in matching outfits and stayed behind them most of the time.  They were moving at a good clip that kept me on my toes.  If they got too frisky, I didn’t hesitate to drop back my pace.

This part of the trail crossed all kinds of terrain.  It was rocky and rooty and then it bottomed out with several creek crossings in a cool, damp, jungle-like atmosphere.  I really liked this part of the course.  Then we went back up again and caught a nice view of a valley below.  When I spotted the valley, I realized how sneaky the climbing was on this trail.  I didn’t even think I had been climbing enough to catch that kind of view.  The race elevation chart lists about 3500ft of change but it all seemed to be split up into endless 250ft climbs.  Those kinds of climbs aren’t bad on their own but when you hit the 12th one in a row you get worn down.  I was now putting myself in the “worn down” category.  I really hadn’t expected all of this.

I was also in a bit of distress because my water was running out.  It was really warm at this point and my 11oz of water had quickly turned into 4oz of water.  I wanted to drink but I had to conserve what I had left.  I really should have filled it up at the first aid station but I wasn’t thinking straight.  I took my last sips of water when I was about 2 hours and 10 minutes into the race.  Then I started to panic wondering when I would reach the next station because I was still thirsty.  We made at least 3 road crossings and everytime I was hoping I was approaching the aid station.  I was wrong every single time.  I felt so dumb for letting my water situation get out of hand.

I finally reached the aid station near Mile 11 and refilled my bottle with yellow Nuun that was mixed much better.  The volunteer was kind enough to fill my bottle from a jug of pre-mixed stuff.  Thank you Mr. Volunteer!  I gulped down at least two cups of water at the station and then left for the last 2.6 miles of the course.

I hate to gripe about a race I attended for free, but people planning to run this event need to know the deal.  I feel like the aid stations were set way too far apart for a race with such expensive entry fees.  It was actually quite warm that day (mid-70s) and I feel sorry for people who didn’t bring their own water.  My personal suffering was unnecessary but I still feel like 2 aid stations in a half marathon is not enough.  There wasn’t even an issue of access because we crossed several roads where they could have easily placed an extra station.  North Face needs to do a little better by the halfers in this regard.  This course was challenging too so it wasn’t like the average runner was going to be ripping through this race in under two hours.  With race fees of $65-$100, I think a little more water is in order!

With water in my belly, I felt a little better about tackling the last bit of the course.  My goal of 2:30 was clearly out of the window.  I was already at 2:30 when I hit the aid station.  I wasn’t disappointed though because this course was much harder than the last trail half that I ran at Red Top.  I clearly had no clue of the effort required.

I hoped to tackle the last 2.7 miles in about a half an hour but guessed that might be wishful thinking.  I was tired and feeling kind of pukey from not drinking enough water over the duration of my run.  But, the trail was nice and flat and I did some good running even though I felt kind of yucky.  I figured that feeling would go away as I got a little more hydrated.

I found a new duo of chicks to follow and played chicken with another guy.  I passed him and he passed me and then he joked that I would be passing him again shortly.  I usually don’t like being around others on the trails.  However, I was really tired and the people in front were inspiration for me to keep going.  The people behind me were inspiration not to get too slow and get passed 10x at the end.  I might not have been racing, but I have a little pride!

Eventually, someone said that we had a 1/2 mile left to go.  I could hear the crowds and finish line announcer through the trees.  This was motivation enough to hustle to the end.  When I popped out of the woods, I stepped right into a kids fun race.  It was a confusing setup and maybe something they should alter next year.  I was trying to bring it home and parents and their cute little toddlers were all over the place.  I can’t wait until I can participate in this sort of event with Lewis.  When I do though, I hope it isn’t hosted on the course with tired runners who are in the last .25 mile of a long race!

Unintentionally running with the kids

You know its a tough half when the first women’s finisher completes the race in 2:07.  I finished in 3:04:50 which is a far cry from first place.  I was 21st/36 in the 30-39 age group, 53rd/98 in the women and 153rd/212 overall.  I think this was the hardest half marathon that I’ve ever done.  If I were actually racing this one (and not toilet sore), I might have finished 10 minutes faster.

We played chicken all the way to the end. I think it ended up even!

The post-race party was nicely handled (except for offering Pepsi in a Coke town LOL!) and full of vendors.  I had picked up my race number and shirt early and was surprised that it was just a plain T-Shirt.  I found out later that the shirts were being customized on-site at the race party.  The line wasn’t long and the process was quick.  I was annoyed that I had to bring my T-shirt to a race (stuffed it in my waist pack) but I can see how this cuts down on waste.  It was also practical given the number of different races they had going on.  I really like the shirt too.  It is a high quality, North Face women’s V-neck shirt.  I also received a pair of North Face arm warmers and a water bottle.  No medal though.  Odd for a half-marathon but they do spell out exactly what you get on the website so this was not a surprise.

Thumbs up to North Face for putting on a race that lived up to the Endurance Challenge hype.  With the exception of the whole where do find the shuttles dilemma, the race was well-organized and the course was well marked.  This was a trail race with a big road race feel.  I have mixed feelings about this.  I’ve done a lot of trail races that were longer and cost a lot less (yes I am aware that I didn’t pay) but had better overall amenities during the race.  Sure heat lamps at the start are nice but I would have preferred an extra aid station or some real food at the aid stations.  Save the money on flying Dean K in and give the runners of all distances what they need.  Other trail races pull this off for a lot less than $65-$100 per person.  A runner I know expressed a bit of disdain for this particular race organization because he felt like they were all about making money off the race rather than love of trail running.  I can kind of see where he was coming from after doing the race.

So register early to get in cheap and do this one if you want a really challenging half-marathon.  Make sure you bring your own water though!