Standing Indian “Marathon” – Run Report

Standing Indian “Marathon” – Run Report
By Tim Long

Rock Gap on the Appalachian Trail (AT), January 12, 2008

[Adam Hill's photo show at bottom]
I was fortunate to come across a group of people willing to push their physical limits and immerse themselves in natural surroundings to explore the outside world and inner strengths.

The "fun runs" that Adam Hill developed are true adventures that offer beauty, challenge, and friendship. I found his schedule of runs and wrote to Adam asking that I be included in the first one of the year, the Standing Indian New Years Marathon on January 12th. His description of the day is energetic and practical. The run is a loop that begins at Rock Gap, goes up and over Standing Indian Mountain and Albert Mountain. I can't recall what the elevation gain is for the run, but I can say it is substantial.

I planned to drive the four hours to Rock Gap on Friday, stay the night in my tent, and be fresh to run the next morning at 9am. Of course, I got a late start on Friday and didn't get to Franklin, NC until dark. I didn't feel like setting up gear in the dark (and cold), so opted for a cheap motel room in Franklin. It was a good decision. I ate dinner and had a couple beers at a new "roadhouse" and headed back to the motel where I fell asleep reading my new issue of Ultrarunning Magazine (for inspiration in the next day's challenge).

After waking up at 7am, I was packed, dressed and ready by 7:45, and out the door. I was only 15 mins from the trailhead and thus very early, since everyone was meeting closer to 9:30. It left me time to walk around the area and plan what to wear. It was frosty cold at that time, but I knew it would warm up with the sun. I didn't want to carry a lot of extra clothing along with all the nutrition and water I would need for the run. It's a completely self supported run, so I'd be carrying 3 Clif bars, 1 nasty flavored gel (which I'll have to be starving to eat), a bag of Clif blocks, and two hand held water bottles, relying on the streams for hopefully un-parasite fresh water.

Drew showed up first and we chatted for a bit, mostly about ultrarunning. He turned out to be a strong runner and very nice guy. He is like most good ultrarunners and didn't expound on his accomplishments, instead let his running ability speak for itself. Plus, he carried all my heavy extra clothes in his backpack for 25 miles once it warmed up. I think there were approximately 14 people and two dogs once we finally took off at close to 10am. It was very cold at the start, and my fingers were mostly numb with a dull ache fading in and out, but I was excited to be out on the trail with great people and looking forward to what the day would hold.

Drew Shelfer, Matt Kirk and I ran alone in the front and were away from the others completely after the first 30 mins. I was very comfortable at our pace and figured with stops we would take 5-6 hours total. At the first stream before heading up Standing Indian Mountain I was last to fill my bottle, and lingered there a minute too long as Drew and Matt ran off. I figured since we were on the A.T. I wouldn't get lost. Well, I stayed on the A.T. but they had taken a side trail, so I was running alone. After 30 mins I began getting nervous. I wasn't sure where we were going, though I thought I remembered someone mentioning that once on the A.T. we would just follow it all the way back to the vehicles. However, when you're totally alone in the woods and trails in January wearing only a pair of shorts and shirt, no hat, no gloves, little food and the night would be in the 20's, you second guess a lot of things. I stopped at a small sunny opening of flat ground and ate a Clif bar and just stood there enjoying the sun, the quiet solitude, and the view. At that point I made up my mind not to turn back (which would eventually take me back to the vehicles 2+ hours away). I figured if I kept going I'd end up somewhere I could get off the trail before nightfall if I was in fact lost. I ran for another 30 mins, and walked a bit. Just when I was going to pick it up again I heard voices, Matt, Drew, and Matt's great running dog, Uwharrie. I hid my happiness at seeing them, acting as though I assumed they would show up. I immediately asked how we would get back to the cars in case wrong-way Timmy decided to get lost again.

I was enjoying the day tremendously. My damn calf and the tendons on the front of the ankles (where the top of foot and shin meet) were hurting. I was happy though and pushed the pain aside. We climbed to the top of Albert Mountain where the 360 degree view from the fire station tower is amazing. To be able to see 4 states from one point is uncommon and inspiring. If I could go back to 1990 when I first got into backpacking, I would take a couple years and live on trails, in the woods, on the mountains, in the deserts.

The last five miles were very painful, so I walked close to three miles. With the walking, the run had taken roughly 5 hours 20 mins, and mileage would be 31. I changed and lingered a few minutes with the others who were at the cars, then began the long drive home. I'm thankful for the shared adventure and for the people I met and with whom I ran.