Barkley Fall Classic - A Beautiful Disaster!

BFC last year was very disappointing. I tore my ATFL ligament in my right ankle at mile 4. It’s been a year long road of recovery and finally felt close to 100% going into this event. Leading up to the race I was nervous. I mentally prepared as much as possible, knowing this race is designed to test you mentally as much as physically. I felt calm but uneasy, but that could have also been the 3:30 alarm and being half asleep affecting me. 

 

I got into the corral with about 7 minutes to go and saw some familiar faces. It was nice to catch up, but before you know it, Laz lit a cigarette, and everyone took off! It’s a short 1/4 mile until we hit the Chimney Top trailhead. I take off at a steady pace, but some people are going all out to get in an ideal position. I don’t think it’s a big deal based on the course (I’ll explain later). 

 

It was an uneventful 2 hours to rat jaw along the chimney top trail and the water tower. I’m settling in as anxiety creeps up with rat jaw ahead. Starting down Rat Jaw was okay for about 50 feet until we hit the conga line. There are about 15 people in front of me trying to bushwhack through the briars. Razor-sharp barbs are poking and prodding you from every direction. 

 

There are a few brave souls who are fearless and charge through the briars down the 50% grade. They are pushing, sliding, dragging, creating their own path sometimes being impatient. It’s absolute carnage as we slowly navigate downward. A huge dust cloud erupts being in a huge drought. Some sections are so deep that you must crab walk and butt slide down. Several people who jumped the line and tried to carve their own path lay injured on the side of the trail. Thankfully the bottom section is more defined, and we navigated safely to the prison. Brushy Mountain Penitentiary was a maximum-security prison and is infamously known for holding James Earl Ray, the man who assassinated MLK. We “broke into” prison via a ladder. I took 2 minutes to clean out the dirt and rocks in my shoe go underneath the prison, and through a tunnel of 0.1 miles and run through the complex. There’s a brewery and gift shop now. 

 

We’ve finally got to where the course opened heading towards Meth Lab. This is the 1st major climb and it’s quickly apparent who has vert training and who doesn’t. I steadily work my way through people on the steep ascent. I feel good as I reach the top and start descending testicle spectacle. It’s very slick going down, forcing us to best crawl and crabwalk down once again. The mesh on my shoes starts to rip at the base of the laces, allowing debris to get into my shoes. I get to the aid station and both bibs are trashed lol. Thankfully one of the aid station volunteers helped me fix them. I quickly took off the backup testicle. That was a treacherous climb because there was 2-way traffic. I carefully navigated up the terrain and could pass a lot of people while creating a 2nd lane of traffic. I flew down meth lab and made it back to the prison without issue. 

 

Climbing up Rat Jaw was an adventure. The summer heat was upon us with the sun shining brightly into the briar patch. It was difficult to navigate because I got held by slower runners. A couple runners refused to move out of the way despite multiple requests. I eventually passed but my calves and quads were fried having to start and stop unexpectedly so many times. My shoes fell apart on Rat Jaw, but I stayed focused on the next step or sequence. I refused to look up to see how much further I had to go. Instead, when I struggled, I would look down to see how far I climbed to reassure myself I was making progress. I finished Rat Jaw at 12:30 before it started getting hot out there! 

 

I got down the mountain and re-adjusted my pack. My legs are trash, forcing me to shuffle efficiently. I reached the yellow gate, briefly paid my respects, and headed up Bird Mountain. Soon after, I experienced shooting cramps shooting up my right groin. I couldn’t walk or stretch it out. I drank 1 flask of electrolytes took a ton of salt to loosen everything up and struggled on my ascent of Bird Mountain. I turn onto the Cumberland trail. I’m feeling better and moving smoothly. I came upon an intersection with a sign that said Rocky Fork Trail. Another runner and I looked at our map and it said Ross Gap Trail, so we agreed to continue straight believing the turn would come up soon. Then, 2 more runners double-backed on a logging road to us lost. We all looked at the map and concurred we should reach the trail soon if we go straight. 

 

We followed the map for 10-15 minutes before facing another steep climb. Now we know we are not on the correct trail and headed back. When we returned to the sign, another runner joined us as they walked up the Rocky Fork Trail and told us that turning down that trail was incorrect. Now we’re more confused about what to do than before. The 5 of us decided to continue along the CT again because it was impossible to miss the turn based on our notes and directions. We go until the CT dead ends. I’m out of water, hyperventilating, and battling panic & anxiety attacks. I’m lightheaded and dizzy. We finally returned to the sign, and an experienced veteran confirmed that we needed to turn down Rocky Fork Trail. We go down the trail until we hit the road. No markings were seen, so we got back up the road, and about halfway back up, there was a hidden trail labeled “Ross Gap.” 

 

We finally found it! We did an extra 3 miles and 45 minutes worth of work! I am destroyed. I can’t see straight and slurring words walking down to the decision point. I ran out of water 90 minutes ago. I’m ready to take my marathon finish and forego the full course. Laz is waiting for the runners to make their decision. He asked, “Were you in the group that got lost!?” Yep!! He laughs. I’m not amused. Laz then asked, “Are you doing the 50k?” Impulsively, I say, “Let’s go for it!” I walked away from finishing disoriented. 

 

Thankfully it’s only about a 1/4 mile to the aid station. I see a couple people I know but can’t process their names. I chugged water until I became coherent again. Had to be nearly a gallon. Thankfully I have a 2L reservoir for the last 8-9 miles. In 20 minutes, I drank all the water I carried, ate the remaining food, and took all the leftover salt. This is it! 3 tough miles left and 8 total until the end. I felt good enough to power-hike the last couple of technical climbs. I passed several runners on the trail as they struggled to traverse the final climbs. 

 

Before I knew it, I hit the last aid station. They only have water, and that’s plenty. Only 3 runnable miles downhill left. I shuffle down the single track carefully. I pass several more runners going down the trail. When we hit the bottom, I caught up with a group of 3 other runners I got lost with lmao. We take 5 seconds to confirm turning left. There’s about 1 mile to go. I’m ready to finish and race these guys in. I hold a steady pace until we exit the trail. We hit the park road for a couple blocks before darting back into the woods to finish. 3 of us race it in, and I’m leading the pack. Once I got out of the creek, I dropped the hammer. As I crossed the finish, I am immediately blinded by the photographer and completely spaced out. I wish I had the presence of mind to absorb the moment, but I was exhausted. 

 

After recovering, I decided to cheer on other runners. With 20 minutes to go, 20 runners are still out on the trail. The course is dark, so the crowd goes berserk for any headlamps. Every light is a cause for celebration. Every runner that finished went all out to make it in time. The sweepers make it in with 3 minutes to go and there are 7 runners still on course. Suddenly, there are several headlamps in the distance. The crowd goes crazy, one after another coming in. 4 more runners cross in the last 3 minutes before the time cutoff hit. The last runner crossed with 30 seconds to spare and had nothing left to give after crossing. 

Only 3 runners missed the final cutoff and got a DNF. I’m splitting hairs here, but I think the decision point cutoff was too early. They gave runners a 3:20 buffer minimum to finish. I did that section steadily in 2:40, albeit in daylight. My friend Stephen missed the cutoff by 3 minutes and I’m confident he could have run the last 9-mile section in 3:15. Based on the data, I think a 3:00 cutoff would’ve been appropriate and given 10 more runners a chance to finish. All things considered, I’m happy with how things transpired. I aimed for a sub-11:00 finish and a top-20 result. I finished 20th but missed my time goal by 18 minutes despite getting lost and having issues. My vert training needs to improve. I felt steady and consistent, however I didn’t feel capable of being dynamic. I wasn’t capable of really running after that climb, so spending more time climbing will help.

Hennepin 100: 10/5

Chicago Marathon: 10/13

Currently figuring out my 2024 schedule: