Athens to Big Fork 2006
As you can see to the left, we both survived. So here we are at the finish, in front of the Big Fork Community Center. This was the 4th time I've run A2BF and the 3rd for Tim. So far we've had exceptional weather each year. Temps were in the mid 30's at the start of the race, probably in the upper 60's when we finished.
Athens to Big Fork is a trail marathon that starts in the community of Big Fork, gets near Athens and then returns to Big Fork. The first 2.4 miles are pavement and dirt road and there is another .4 miles of dirt road to get to the turn around but beyond that the rest is rocks....err trail. The race is put on by Arkansas Ultrarunners Assn. www.runarkansas.com Here's Tim loafing on a relatively non-rocky section of trail.
The race is billed by the AURA as the toughest marathon east of the Rockies. Not sure of that but it boasts as much ascendinga and descending as Pikes Peak Marathon, but at a lower elevation. I'll also say I've run PPM faster that A2BF. The trail is located in the Ouachita National Forest. Here's their description of the trail. Rather than running east to west along creek beds like other trails on the Caddo Ranger District, this trail runs north to south across the mountains. Crossing eight mountains, the trail is considered extremely strenuous. Trail features include spectacular views of the Ouachita Mountains from such high points as Eagle Rock Vista, Brushheap Mountain, and Hurricane Knob. A mystical cave, located 35 feet below the trail on the south side of Brushy Mountain and a geologic outcropping, located 150 feet south of the highest point on Brushy Mountain, add to the hiker's experience. There are maybe 5 creek crossings each way, with Blaylock Creek was a shin deep wade last year. This year not so bad.
We drove down with Mike Joffe who, having done the fun run (17 miles!) knew better and just did some hiking. We stayed in Mena Friday night and drove to Big Fork in the morning. One of the cool things about the race is it's free. The race director asks only that you make at least a 5$ donation to the Big Fork Community Center. The usually have coffe, snacks and a nice fire in the wood stove before the race start. I just wish for once they'd spring for a 4 pack of Charmin before all the runners get there. The pre-race meeting is filled with a fair bit of hellfire and brimstone about not getting lost and how tough the run is. All of which we believe. The trail is well marked, but there are a few intersections where you have the opportunity to turn the marathon into a 50 miler pretty quickly. So, pre-race meeting over, we grab our packs and get to the start just as the gun goes off. Joffe drives ahead to the trailhead while we take it pretty easy on the roads. The parking lot for the trail head is the last piece of level ground we see for quite a while. The trail immediately heads up. Straight up. The first few hills aren't super steep, but they are steep enough to make walking a very good option. There were a few flat sections between hills. Here's Tim on a flat, smooth part of the trail. He's smiling so it must be on the way out.
The 5th hill descending down to Blaylock Creek is pretty bad and the last 3 hills towards the turn around are the steepest. By hill 8 both Tim & I were experiencing 'quad quakes' on the downhill. Tim had set a firey pace on the way out (we'd eaten at Papa Poblanos in Mena before the race) and we hit the turnaround at 2:50. Last year, Tim's downfall was the potato soup at the turn around aid station. Not only did he eat a bunch of it he had to get the recipe! With no soup to slow us down we refuled on normal aid station food and started back. Knowing that we had to retrace our steps, we were both aware that the wheels could come off at any time. Heading back towards Blaylock Creek and the next aid station, I would gain time on Tim on the uphills and he'd catch me on the down hills. The climb up Blaylock Creek is below. It's steeper than it looks and seemed like it went on forever.
Here's Tim getting ready to round one of the few switchbacks on the trail. How he did it with his eyes closed I'll never know.
After Blaylock creek, I began to pull away from Tim and I realized I might have a chance at breaking 6 hours. Now you might think that's slow, but hey, the course record is 4:34! I pressed onward and managed to get back to the trailhead at 5:30, with only a little over 2 miles to go. Of course it still wasn't in the bag. If you've ever jumped on a trampoline for a while and then tried jumping up and down on the ground, you have an idea how my legs felt. That has to be the hardest dirt road known to man. What was an easy jog on the way out was now a serious shuffle walk to the finish. I managed to beat 6 hrs by a few minutes and Tim was just a bit over 6 hrs. Besides being 'free' the race is also a time yourself race. You just write your name and time on a sheet of paper and that's it. Defenitely low key. No blisters or broken bones but I think I might have lost a toe nail or two. I can never get my shoes tight enough for all that downhill. Mike had done a bit of hiking and met us back at Big Fork. I don't know what it is about that race, be we sure enjoy it. It takes a lot of commitment (or stupidity) to put on a race for nothing out in the middle of the woods for just a handful folks. Hats off to every who helps with A2BF. We'll be back the first weekend of 2007 and this year we're going to train!
Results at http://www.runarkansas.com/ABF2006.htm
posted by Bjorn Toulouse at 7:33 PM
1 comments
