Nov. 9, 2013 - Dillard, GA
Distance: 50 Kilometers (31 Miles)
Elevation Gain: 6,900 ft.
Time: 7:16
Place: 30th / 72 finishers
Finishers Percentile: 58th Percentile
Jason and I were looking for a 50k to do. The Stumpjump 50k was sold out so we found this one. It looked so appealing with the views and the climbs. It was the inaugural race for the GS2S 50k. Runbum did a great job putting the race on. We climbed the summit of Rabun Bald (the second highest peak in Georgia) twice. There were three major climbs in this race as you can see by the elevation profile. The last one did about kill me. But we got to end with a nice two mile downhill.
The night before, we met up with Run Bum and the other runners at a lookout point that overlooks Clayton, GA. It was beautiful. A ranger told us all about the area. Then we found this italian place to eat pasta. Zeppelin's Pasta House. It was AWESOME. The lady that ran the place was the chef and everyone called her Mama.
The morning of the race was FREEZING, about 26 degrees F. Don't worry, it got warmer throughout the day. I always like to wear my BYU beanie and I found two other runners there wearing BYU apparel. Madison did the 8.5 miler that summits Rabun Bald once. She did great.
The race started and we climbed 4.5 miles up to Rabun Bald. Then descended about 7 miles down to a turn around. At the turn around there was an aid station with lots of warm food and a fire. I loved that aid station. Jason caught a video of me leaving the aid station.
Then we climbed back up to Rabun Bald. On the climb, my socks were falling in the back and the shoe was rubbing on my heel. LESSON: Wear good socks. I changed socks when I got to the tower at the summit, but that didn't help much cause I just changed into the same junk socks, just dry ones. I made sure to drink electrolytes at every aid station. A guy at the top gave me some electrolyte caps which were great too. In this video, I was 18.5 miles in.
Then I started my second decent down from Rabun Bald. It was pretty steep, I couldn't run for about the first quarter of a mile because it was steep and technical. Then we went through a gorgeous area on the back side of the mountain.
We got down to a gravel road where the next aid station awaited us. It had TONS of food. I literally had 2 slices of pumpkin pie. They had the music blaring and I did not want to leave. But I did. and I headed up the gravel road.
After a mile or so on the gravel road, we popped onto more single track and I passed by this sweet waterfall.
Before the run, I had studied out the course and thought that the 3rd and final climb would be the easiest. I was WRONG!!! It was the hardest. At times, I was grabbing onto roots above me to help me pull myself up. It was rough. I thought there was an aid station soon, but there WASN'T. I ran out of water because I didn't fill up at the previous one and didn't have any for about 2 miles. After 27 miles, you need to constantly have water with you. It got hard. Another LESSON LEARNED. Fill up at every aid station. The last aid station was at 29 miles. I had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, m&ms and lots of Gatorade. Then the last two miles were pavement all down hill. Not bad at all. I pulled in at 7:16. I changed into dry clothes and had the post race pasta.
Jason finished a little later yelling "I hate you Sam!!!" as he crossed the finish line. I guess I had coerced him into the race. I am so persuasive without even trying :)
Anyway, Georgia Sky to Summit 50k was everything we had hoped and dreamed...PAIN and BEAUTY!!!
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