Uwharrie Marathon

 

After Scott picked Stéphane and I up from Dunkin' Donuts at 6 am we carpooled together to the Uwharrie Trailhead on Hyw 27. We arrived at about 7:30 am or 30 minutes before the start of the race. After getting our bibs, dropping off our donations for the aid stations and finding some other Raleigh Trail Runner friends, we shivered in the cold (40) until the race started. Considering the rain the day before and following, we felt very lucky to have such perfect weather for race day. 

The trail of this 26 mile race almost exactly follows the backpacking trip I did in February. Although it took me two days to hike this distance I didn't feel too bad about the situation I have gotten myself into as I had done this race before in 2022 and under much worse conditions.

Mile 0 - Mile 6 (Aid station 1)

Starting on a relative flat first mile it didn't take long for the 107 runners to disperse into smaller groups. I maintained my pace to follow Stéphane as he led with a good non-aggressive pace. I hadn't had breakfast and started feeling very hungry at about mile 4. When we finally reached the aidstation after about 1 h 10 min I gobbled down a hot meatball, a ham pineapple muffin and two large slices of bacon. This was a very welcoming treat! I filled up my water bottle and continued on following Stéphane.

Mile 6 - Mile 11.5 (Aid station 2)

I knew the next 5 miles would bring a lot of elevation change with two hills to cross requiring a lot of walking. This dropped our pace to below 15 min/mile for two miles. However, once the hills were crossed at about mile 9.5, the trail remained flat for a mile following along a creek. The last mile to the aid station included some gradual climbs and I felt pretty hot (and exhausted) when we reached the aid station 2 h 30 min into the race. I didn't eat much. A couple of orange slices, a banana. There was a bottle of fireball, but I wasn't tempted. I had been drinking a lot and I refilled both of my bottles although it was only 3 miles to the overall turnaround. 

Mile 11.5 - 17  (Aid station 2)

Continuing on the struggle at about mile 13 I decided I needed to run my own pace and passed Stéphane. For the rest of the race I would run alone - almost. Arriving at the turnaround felt good. Every step would now get me closer to the finish line. However, at mile 16 or so serious doubt set it. Why was I doing this again? It's still 10 miles to go! I want to stop now. As I got back to the aid station I filled up water, had another orange slice and banana and quickly (or not) moved on.

Mile 17 - 20 (Aid station 1)

Although only 3 miles this section was tough as I got more and more exhausted. I don't remember much, but just trying to move on. Finally, 4.5 hours into the race I pulled into the aid station. Not hungry. Just filled water bottles back up and onto the last 6 miles.

Mile 20 - 26 (Finish)

I ran the next 1.5 miles as it was a good descent, but I knew what was coming. The last miles of the race a brutal. A long uphill climb followed by continuous up and downs. I sought every possible reason I could justify walking. Too steep up, too steep down, too many rocks and roots anything that would allow me to shift down into a walk. This continued until maybe mile 23.5 when Stéphane caught back up to me and passed me. This cannot happen! I found some remaining energy and maintained pace with him until finally just before the finish we found a mutual agreement to finish together - which we did - after 5 hours and 52 minutes. We were 29th and 30th out of about 100.

There is talk about a runner's high. I never experienced this. However, after completing a hard race I experience the high of not having to suffer anymore. Paired with a few beers I feel on top of the world for a few hours. We stayed for another two hours to cheer on other finishers, grill some brats and hamburgers and talked about next adventures to come.