I ran my first virtual race on Satutday Feb 27, 2021 - a Virtual Mt Mitchell Challenge & Black Mountain Marathon
On non-pandemic years, the race starts in the town of Black Mountain, NC. The Mount Mitchell Challenge is a 40 mile race to the Mount Mitchell's summit (elevation 6,684 feet) and then back to town (20 miles each way). It is located in the Black Mountain range of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Western North Carolina, is the highest point east of the Mississippi River. The peak is located off of the Blue Ridge Parkway and just 35 miles northeast of downtown Asheville. Asheville, NC is the Seattle of the east cost (or Seattle is the Asheville of the west coast).
The Challenge run has an elevation gain of 4,324 ft, as the town of Black Mountain is at 2,360' above sea level. There is also a Marathon option that turns around at the Parkway (at elevation 5,340'), so it has an elevation gain of about 3000 ft. If you ever go, I recommend the Challenge over the Marathon, as you don't get the really nice views until after you hit the Parkway...
It's a fun race, pretty area, nice swag and Race Director Jay Curwen is a great guy.
Race info:
http://www.blackmountainmarathon.com/
https://ultrasignup.com/register.aspx?did=81007
For 2021, the race was "virtual" due to pandemic / permitting reasons. For the virtual race, runners were asked to log their time for a February run of at least 26.2 miles and 5000 ft of climb - which is actually more than the Challenge!
How do I know about the Mount Mitchell Challenge?
I had the pleasure of living in Columbia, SC for 5 years and hooked up with a bad crowd. Yes, the infamous Harbison Trail Runners, otherwise known as South Carolina Runners Of Trails & Ultra Marathons (aka SCROTUM). Every February, Harbison Trail Runners make a pilgrimage to Black Mountain for a weekend of running, mayhem and shenanigans (not necessarily in that order). They even elect a SCROTUM Of The Year on Mt Mitchell weekend, based on whoever best represented the Harbison Trail Runner ethic (whatever the group thinks that is...). And yes, all genders (well, at least 2) have represented Harbison as SOTY. They're a fun bunch....
Here's a few pictures of the Actual Real Life Non-Virtual Mount Mitchell race from a few previous years I went there, between 2010 - 2015...
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| Race Director Jay Curwen |
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| Harbison Trail Runners |
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| Passing through the cute little town of Montreat |
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| Pretty steep road up to the trail |
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| Time to put on your spikes & yaktrax |
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| Harbison trail runners enjoying the trail |
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| You're almost to the top... (almost is relative) |
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| The snow was banked on both sides of the road and this vole (maybe) took shelter by my foot |
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| I think that's ice in Rick's beard |
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| Dean expounding upon the joys of distance running |
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| Some guy wearing a Traildawgs (DE/PA/MD/NJ area runners) hat |
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| good place for spikes |
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| some guy in a Seven Hills Running Shop Seattle hat |
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| know your butts |
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| the race finishes with a loop around the lake |
The Virtual Event
Finding elevation near Seattle is not really a problem. Seattle is a hilly city and 20 miles away you hit the "Issaquah Alps", a series of "small" mountains near the city of Issaquah, WA. As you head a few miles further east into the Cascades past North Bend, WA, they get a bit larger. The problem with some of them for this virtual race is that they tend to be steep and more of a hike and take forever. Both Mailbox Peak and Mount Teneriff are over 4000' and have trails that get to the top in about 3-4 miles. Oooff. Those trails are hard enough in good conditions, but when they're covered in snow... you can be out there a while. Yes - there is a mailbox on top of Mailbox Peak. This is from January.
There is an unofficial route called the Issy that has various 50K, 100K & 100M options. I scouted out some of the 50K trails trying to come up with an interesting course for the Mitchell virtual run. I didn't really want to do an out & back. I could do repeats of something of smaller elevation. Ended up, trying to do some of the portion of Issy that goes over Mount Teneriffe and over to Mount Si but then run out to Snoqualmie Falls, which is 6 miles away. The Issy section up Teneriffe goes up an unmaintained trail called Kamikaze. My original plan was about 26 miles one-way, although I still had to get back to my car after I got to the falls. Things didn't go exactly as planned.
I scouted going up Teneriffe on the official trail in January. It was quite passable. I used spikes but maybe could have got by without.. It was a clear day and the views were great at the top. The elevation is about 4800'. When you do run into people, most are pretty good about having masks.
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| Volcanic Mt Rainier in the background |
However, it rained almost every day in February. Rain down below translates into snow on the mountains. I tied taking the short but steep Kamikaze trail up Teneriffe, which has about 4300' elevation gain in under 4 miles. I took snowshoes with me, but they don't work very well, for me anyway, going up steep inclines. I followed someone else's trail up and they stopped short just before the summit. I was not manuevering well, and was not exactly sure how to get where I wanted to go, and it was below freezing, so I turned around as well. But at least they left a big smiley face in the snow for me.... Here are some scenes from this trip, which took me about 4 hours to cover 3.5 miles....
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| a frozen Teneriffe falls |
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| it kind of freaked me out a bit when the trail stopped at this mischievous smile |
I was using a handheld water bottle in one hand and a trekking pole in the other. Somehow with all of my falls in the snow, the bottle worked it's way out of the strap and went flying down the mountain, never to be be seen again....
The Big Day
I ran out of time in February so on February 27, I had to go for an official time. I figured I better skip going to the top of Teneriffe, but thought my elevation would still be around 5000'. However, I would have been bummed if I came up just a bit short, so made a trip up "Little Si" mountain which added another 1000' and 3 miles.
Also decided if I am going to run out to Snoqualmie falls at the end, the falls were featured in the original Twin Peaks TV series, so I should also try to stop by some other Twin Peaks locations from the show. Because why not.... They filmed a lot in the North Bend and Snoqualmie, WA area,
I would need to get back to my car so figured I should just record the whole trip. However I really am not in distance running shape these days so knew I would probably be walking by the end. I would also be carrying spikes and snowshoes with me on the first section - the mountain section - of my run and they weighed a ton, and by a ton, I mean, eh, maybe 10-12 lbs. Not to mention I'm carrying 20 lbs of pandemic isolation fat. You'd think training for this run work it off - but nooooo
Intro Video
(wasn't able to upload from my phone, so put on YouTube)
Car to the Trailhead (3.5 miles)
Now the fun begins... Start by going up to Teneriffe falls
Video
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| Teneriffe Falls |
Video
Back on Teneriffe Trail heading up!
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| Finally put 'em on. It went faster with them but were a pain to put on & take off |
On my way over to Mount Si
What happened to all the snow? The rock garden is at the bottom of Si
Up Little Si
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| Sun over Rattlesnake Mountain |
BACK TO MY CAR! First 20 miles only took 8 hours!
Another YouTube Video
I actually ended up doing 15 more miles - but probably walked half of that
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| The green "mound" is Little Si in front of Mt Si |
Twedes Cafe in North Bend was used as the Double R Diner in Twin Peaks
North Bend takes advantage of it's Twin Peaks fame....
Somewhere around here was the "Welcome to Twin Peaks" sign. North Bend put up a replica at one point but it's in the middle of nowhere. I don't think it lasted long....
This railroad bridge has been converted to a "rails to trail" It was also used in Twin Peaks where Ronnette Pulaski was found after the horrific night where Laura Palmer was killed.
These shots from the town of Snoqualmie were taken on a scouting run, but I did use the same path again.
This big log was used in a scene (maybe closing credits)
The Great Northern was the hotel in Twin Peaks. The Salish Lodge in Snoqualmie was used for the exterior shots, but the filming inside the hotel was done elsewhere. Snoqualmie Falls was used in the credits.
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| from Twin Peaks |
Finally! Back to my car - just 6 more miles.....
Only took me 13 hours total! Can you DFL in a Virtual Race?
Here's the link to my Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/4862655585
