I don't know why they label this race a 100. It is most definitely 110 miles, maybe even more. And the name? That name just barely skims the surface as a description for this beast. Cruel is an understatement. I have never in my life been so tortured mentally and I sure as hell hope I will never experience that again. Oh, let's don't forget the elevation... 33,000 feet of mountain gain and 33,000 feet of loss. 94 miles of trails, lots of climbing the dragon spine. They give you 48 hours to finish (this should of been my first sign to pass on this race) and require a previous 100 mile finish to toe the line...
This my friends...
is Cruel Jewel 100.
I arrived to Vogel State Park Thursday night around 8 pm. I had worked several nights in a row and had a certification class Thursday morning, so I went into the race behind on sleep (I tend to walk around in a sleep deprived state on the daily though). I put up my tent on the campsite with my good friends and got in bed to sleep by 10 pm. The race begins Friday at 12 pm, so I had time to sleep in and get a good breakfast. Sleeping in didn't go all that well and I was up and moving by 8 am. David and Dawn Wilkerson made me exactly the breakfast I asked for! Mrs. Dawn made the most delicious biscuits and grits, David cooked up eggs and bacon on the Blackstone... I was in breakfast heaven. After breakfast, Bekah and I headed down to packet pick up to get my bib and take some pictures. We dropped off my drop bags in the trailers and headed inside. I got a good look at the buckle and things felt a little more real. I was incredibly excited to get a Cruel Jewel 100 hat, that may have been the highlight of the day. We returned to the campsite and I took a little cat nap until time for the race. I got dressed, ate one more biscuit and made my way down to the start line.
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One would think with a race of this caliber, I would have a pacer and crew and everything all lined up for a successful race. For some reason, I just decided to wing this one. Although, it turned out I would have a little help from friends before it was all said and done.... now, on to the race.
The first leg of this race- from Vogel to Skeenah Gap is approx. 20 miles and broken up into 4 aid stations (although 1 of them is just water and unmanned). I run ultra's from aid station to aid station. I just focus on getting to the next aid station. I think I have said this before- if you look at the race on a whole- the big picture- it is far too overwhelming. Take it apart, break it down and make it manageable... get to the next aid station.
The first 20 miles are the hardest of the race. Unfortunately this is an out and back.. so the last 20 miles of this race are also the hardest. With fresh legs and a desire to run, you can knock out those first 20 miles a hell of a lot faster than at the end. I had started the race with a good friend and we had a game plan to run the race together in under 40 hours (if we could). And if things weren't working out, then we would just throw the plan away and come up with a new one. I let Rich pace and lead. We sped through Coosa and the Dragon Spine in no time. I laughed when I got home and looked over my Strava data- apparently that Coosa Climb was a PR for me.. aka- I did it way too fast. I knew as we were climbing that I couldn't keep that intensity up. I was using far too many calories to maintain that speed. I held out as long as I could though and banked as much time as possible in the beginning.
I left a drop bad at Wilscot Gap, which is mile 25.5 (or so they say.. lol). I had the wonderful pleasure of starting my period the day before the race, so my drop bags came in handy for tampons, wipes and Advil. I spent the majority of the first 24 hours dealing with cramps and tampon changes every 3 to 4 hours. I also had a big box of stuff at the next aid station too, Old Dial. Old Dial is at mile 31 on the way out and it is where all my friends were at! I was very happy to see Bekah, Dan and David. They had a chair ready for me in the shade with my box of running stuff and they got me all taken care of. Water pack filled, trash dumped from my pack, pictures taken, cold red bull... and then they sent me on my way!
The next section of the course we ran through the first night. Stanley to Deep Gap and onto Camp Morganton- which was the "turn around". This was mile 31 to 58. I still felt good running from Stanley to Deep Gap. We had a nice long section of road to run and it was a good break, especially on my eyes since it was still dark. (When leaving Old Dial you run about 6 miles on the road to Stanley Gap) Deep Gap is an area you pass by 4 times at this race. There is an aid station here as well. At deep gap there is a 6 mile loop called Flat Creek, you do the loop then head out on a little trail to Camp Morganton. Camp Morganton is a free standing building at mile 50. There is a nice warm fire inside and bunk houses if you need a little nap. I had some delicious soup and a quesadilla here and changed into a dry sports bra and shirt. I also picked up my poles at this aid station. I had a hard time deciding which drop bag to put them in and went back and forth on whether to leave them at mile 50 or 75. I decided to go with mile 50. I found Rich and Sean and we headed back out into the night. This was technically the turn around point- although there was a little twist with that statement that would come into play later. We headed back to Deep Creek to repeat the 6 mile Flat Creek loop. I actually like this little loop! It wasn't flat... but it was nice rolling and I knew when I came off that loop for the second time I was headed back home! I also enjoyed this point of the race because the 50 milers had started and we got to see them as they started on their Flat Creek loop. I was very happy to get to see my friend Shannon too as she zoomed by me to a 3rd place finish!
At Old Dial I made the decision to change my shoes. My feet were blistered and it was only mile 75, I still had 31 miles to go. I decided to put on "real" trail shoes and see how things went. I had another pair of Vibrams in my drop bad at the next aid station if the Altras didn't work out. I rested me eyes for about 15 mins here at Old Dial after I ate my burger and changed my shoes. David knew Rich was pretty far ahead of me at this point and he didn't want me to run the rest of this course alone. He knows the course well and he knew I still had another night ahead of me. So he had decided to borrow Dan's pack and water bottles and meet me at Skeenah Gap to pace me to the finish. I agreed and told him I would see him there. I felt much better after this aid station and the jaunt to Wilscot Gap wasn't bad at all!
My last drop bag was located at Wilscot Gap, mile 80.5. I think the only thing I got out of it was my baggies of Sour Patch Kids. I knew my stomach would need them. I had battled nausea from very early on in the race due to the lack of calories. Every time I would get hungry, it would be followed by waves of nausea. I also dropped off my charging cords for my phone and watch and my battery pack- I knew they were both charged enough to finish and it was just added weight- so I left them all in my drop bag. I cleaned out as much of my pack as I could. The weight of my pack for the last 80 miles had taken it's toll. I was super happy to run into my good friend Marlene at this aid station! I had another burger and beer here and then I was on my way. I left out with Marlene and we tackled the mountains to Skeenah Gap. Overall I was moving pretty well and we were making good time. David had arrived at Skeenah and hit the trail backwards to find me. I was happy see him and so very thankful that from that point on... I knew I wouldn't be alone.
Things just go downhill from here... well.. with me. Not with the course... there was mostly uphill with the course. Skeenah to Fish Gap became a slow effort. The climbs were tough and I was getting so sleepy. It was dark and it was cold. When we arrived into Fish Gap at mile 90, I was very exhausted. I had plenty of time to finish the race and I seriously contemplated sleeping for an hour or two and finishing after a nice nap. However, I wanted to get the damn thing over with, so I settled for a 15 min cat nap in the chair. I wish I had eaten more food at Fish. It was over 7 miles to Fire Pit and I was so behind on calories. I took a zip bag of snacks, but nothing tasted good by this point so I was surviving on Sour Patch kids and little sips of water. This was NOT efficient enough to sustain the energy needed to climb the dragon spine back over the Duncan Ridge Trail. But it was all I had to work with.
The last aid manned aid station with food is Fire Pit. It is located at mile 97.6 and it is basically 8 miles from the previous station and 8 miles from the finish. So if you do the math... in the last 16 miles you only have 1 stop. Fire Pit. And let me tell you... those 16 miles seem like 50 and those climbs seem to go on for miles and time simply STOPS out there. The last stretch encompasses the Duncan Ridge Trail climbs as well as climbing up and down Coosa Bald. There was a crazy stretch of trail about 2 miles up high on the side of the mountain that had been freshly redone.. paired with a huge rain and trail race... this trail was a mess. Without poles to help balance, the trail was slick and almost impassable in spots. David didn't grab his poles before he met me, so he spent most of his time in this section on his butt! I eventually forced him to take one of my poles because I literally thought he was gonna fall off the side of the mountain. We moved very slowly through this section. I looked back and we had 30 to 35 min miles here. The trail was just too sketchy to move swiftly on in the dark. We finally made it back up and over Coosa and began our approach back towards Vogel. I was in a really bad head space by this point. I knew I was moving at turtle pace- 35 min miles at times, I was so hungry I was crying- literally- crying. I would wait until David got up ahead of me enough that he couldn't hear and I sobbed and cried over the hunger pains and nausea. It was so overwhelming it was all I could focus on. I wasn't hurting anywhere, I mean.. my feet were sore.. but for the most part I just wanted to be done. And I was hungry and I was sleepy. That was all I could think about was being done and going to bed. As we came into Fire Pit, I knew I had to have protein or there was no way I was finishing this race. I was so happy to see Alex at the Fire Pit aid station. I asked if he had any protein to offer and he looked around and found me a spicy bratwurst. I didn't care what it was... I had to eat. So I graciously took it. I was only able to handle about half of it and I felt like puking it back up for about the next 2 miles... but finally the food settled and I was able to carry on.
The last 8 miles dragged on. I knew we were running the course backwards.. the same way I had come in.. but I think I was so sleep deprived I forgot about sections of it. I felt confused on where I was and how far I still had to go. I kept thinking in my head "surely I am almost back, surely I am almost done". But as each mile ticked by and I didn't see the road crossing to Vogel, I became more and more discouraged. The overwhelming desire to be done with this cursed race overtook my thoughts. Every step consumed me... I had to be done. I needed to be done. I just wanted it to be over.
Finally, over 4 hours after leaving Fire Pit... we cross the road back into Vogel State Park. We took the trail back into the campground. It was quiet, but day break had already brought in the sunshine. I was so happy I was FINALLY almost done. I looked at David as we approached the finish line and I told him I wish I would of just quit. Then I would of already been in my bed sleeping with a full belly and not still out there, on that rugged course fighting to keep moving one foot in front of the other. I don't know what I would of done if David wouldn't have jumped in to pace me. I couldn't imagine being out there all alone for those last 16 miles of hell. He is definitely a God send and I will never be able to repay him for his kindness that night.
I have NEVER been in such a place mentally that I wanted it all to end. I have never experienced rock bottom like I did at this race. I have proved to myself over and over again that I am physically tough. I know I have what it takes to finish a 100. But I learned something new out there on that course about myself this Cruel Jewel weekend... there is definitely a breaking point mentally for me. A point where I break down and cry and want it all to be over. It is such a helpless, broken state. No one can fix it, nothing can make it go away.. unless you choose to end it all right there. Or... you just keep putting one foot in front of the other. Every minute you make the choice to keep putting one foot in front of the other ... until you finish. There is far more satisfaction in finishing than ending it early. I'm not a quitter, I'm a finisher. But Cruel Jewel... man she had me there for a minute... she had me right there at that breaking point. Not this time though... not this time. I continued to choose finishing. I continued to choose putting one foot in front of the other.
There is no greater feeling than crossing that last timing mat and saying "it is done, I finished"
Final Time: 43:16
Stats: 155 men started, 114 finished.
26 women started, only 15 finished
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