This MLK weekend, Lily, Uwharrie and I visited with some familiar faces and places out west. We camped out along the AT north of Hot Springs, NC on Friday night. We drove the rest of the way on Saturday morning to Norris Dam State Park in time for an 11AM start of the Norris Dam Challenge 12K.
Six years ago, Lily had run the Norris Dam Challenge while living and working in the park. This was a stroll down memory lane and a good chance for us to visit with her friends. It turns out that Uwharrie got to run too. I started in the middle of the pack with Lily and Uwharrie and slowly moved up to finish in 3rd place in 45 minutes. This was a very hilly course. All the recent bushwhacks up Mt. Ida must have helped!
Afterwards, Uncle George treated us to the best sushi and Japanese cuisine in east Tennessee. Then it was on to a fish fry with Sarah’s family where we sampled some delicious homebrew including an excellent high gravity 1554. It was time for Uwharrie and I to depart to meet up with some Barkley legends for dinner including race director Gary Cantrell. Raw Dog graciously welcomed us to crash out at his place for the night.
Sunday morning, Carl, Hiram, Uwharrie and I set out into the foggy hills of Frozen Head. These two vets showed us the first half of last year’s loop. We got to sample some of the classic obstacles that have afflicted runners in the past including S.O.B. ditch and Testicle Spectacle. Our slog through the cold rain and briars took all day, but was honestly a lot of fun and very useful. Although the course will likely be quite different this year, any opportunity familiarizing myself with the terrain is time well spent.
I hope to return at least one more time before Lazarus Saturday.
1 comments:
I knew I recognized the location in some of those photos! I did a loop there. Once.
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