January 20, 2013
“But especially he loved to run in the dim twilight of the summer midnights, listening to the subdued and sleepy murmurs of the forest, reading signs and sounds as a man may read a book, and seeking for the mysterious something that called -- called, waking or sleeping, at all times, for him to come.”
--Jack London, The Call of the Wild
I often feel this incessant pull, this urgent call from some unseen force beckoning me to venture off road, down a trail into the woods. It's this unquenchable need to be outside---exploring or just existing in outdoor spaces. Standing on a mountain, traipsing through the forest, swimming in a lake, riding my bike down a country road, running....well, anywhere. I love feeling like I'm on a big adventure, living on the edge of danger---but not really in danger.
And so to say I was excited about my running group's 13 mile Appalachian Trail run is a serious understatement. I was pumped! So pumped, in fact, that I declined the chance to cover President Obama's "official" inauguration at the White House that day. No, I wanted to be outside, answering the call of the wild.
We met in a parking lot in the tiny town of Weverton, MD, at the base of the Weverton Cliffs. We then carpooled to the South Mountain Inn in the town of Boonsboro. From there we would run 13 miles down the Appalachian Trail to the Weverton Cliffs and back to our cars.
This particular stretch of the Appalachian Trail is the AT section of the JFK 50 Miler. By the time we make it back to Weverton, I would know whether I could take on the JFK.
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| Badass Benita |
A woman named Benita led Roxie, Connie, and I down the trail. Benita is a shorty, like me, but with tree trunk strong legs and serious bad ass cred. For starters, she's in the military, did a couple of tours of duty in Iraq. And while she considers herself a back-of-the-packer, she has the confidence of an elite runner. Her next race? A 100 mile trail run.
Benita is the kind of person who makes you feel safe. You get the feeling that there's nothing she can't handle. Should there be some kind of emergency on the trail, you know Benita will know what to do. So off we ran, into the woods and down the trail.
Leaving the South Mountain Inn, the trail quickly becomes steep and then gets steeper. There's a two mile stretch of ridiculous steepness---a real butt burner! My Garmin pegged my pace at 21 minutes/mile. Sheesh.
After the two mile climb, you're essentially running up and down along a ridge at the top of the mountain. It's probably the most technical trail I've run. There are roots and oh so many rocks! And I'm not referring to the nice round kind, no these are sharp pointy rocks jutting up out of the ground and leaving no clear path for footing! The trail twists and turns but mostly shoots up and then down, up and down. In some sections, jagged rocks and roots are hidden beneath a blanket of leaves.
Benita, Connie and Roxie practically skip along on their toes and I try to mimic their technique. Benita offers helpful tips along the way: tuck your rear under and tighten your abs when you go downhill; if you fall, bring your arms up and in close to your head to protect your face; shorten your stride and stay light on your feet; don't take your eyes off the ground.
After about 7 miles we reach Gathland State Park. In the late 1800's, this was the mountain home of Civil War journalist George Townsend. He designed and built a lodge on the property. I think this is what's left of the lodge.
But the really cool thing in this park is the War Correspondents Arch, a monument to civil war journalists, below. Townsend also built this, so I guess you can say he built a monument to himself. You know those journalists, such big egos.
We stopped here for a short break. Okay, 7 down 6 to go. Time to get back on the trail and run! Our next stop would be Weverton Cliffs.
One of the things I love about running is the people you get to know over miles and miles of shared suffering. I found out that Connie is a 50-stater. She's on a quest to run a marathon in every state and has checked off 24 so far. We compared notes on marathons and I was surprised to hear that one of her favorites was the one in Fargo, North Dakota!
Benita told me about her adventures in the military and her upcoming deployment to Africa. Bummer, she's leaving!
After a couple of miles the trail got even rockier. By now I was really feeling it. If I were doing the JFK 50 Miler right now, I would still have to run 35 miles after coming down off this mountain!
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| Weverton Cliffs! Benita, Connie, and I |
Finally we make it to Weverton Cliffs. The view was amazing! The cliffs are perched above the Potomac River, with Harpers Ferry off in the distance.
After a little goofing around....
...it was time to come down off the mountain! The trail down was a steep series of narrow, rocky switchbacks. Four and a half hours after we started up the trail, we were finally done! My legs were feeling it, my butt hurt, and my brain was fried from concentrating so hard on picking my way through the rocks and roots ahead of me. But I loved every minute of it!
I can't imagine running 35 miles after that rocky mountain adventure...so I'll have to give the JFK some more thought. There are cutoffs to contend with....and plenty of hill repeats to be done, but maybe, just maybe I can give it a shot....
