H9 Dragon | 50 Miler
💥📄🏁Race Report🏁📄💥
H9 Dragon 8-7-21
Blairsville, GA
54 miles 12,350 feet vertical
17th OA 16:40:00
Strava Link: https://strava.app.link/sa8Cb9MNIqb
Nutrition
Pre-
2 scoops Xendurance protein, Oatmeal
During
5 servings EndureFuel , 5 servings Xendurance Focus, 10 go go squeeze apple, 4 Muir energy cocoa almond, 3 Muir energy cashew vanilla mate, 2 salted caramel Honey Stinger waffles, 2 packs honey stinger chews melon, 1/2 grilled cheese, 1/2 PB sandwich , 1 bag pizza combos and a PBandJ wrap, Lots of coke
After
Everything
I have been wanting to run this race for awhile. Labeled as one of the hardest <100 mile races on the bEast coast. Pretty uneventful morning. 430 am wake up for a 630 start time. Got to the event at 6 to get my number written on my arm tri style(no bibs). Went through my pre race routine and we were off. Stayed with three fast guys out of the gate. Hit the trails in 4th. Kept pushing for the next 15 miles still getting passed by vets that didn’t go out too fast. I was hanging in 9-10 place leapfrogging folks for the first 8-10 hours. About 6 hours in at noonish the thunderstorms started and it basically stormed from then until about 7pm. The rain made it a bit cooler but between storms the humidity got pretty intense. The effects of being wet most of the day were felt mostly with my blistered feet. By the time I got to my drop bag with shoes (26 mile) we were expecting more storms so I decided to wait out the shoe change. From here we had a 12 mile loop and back to fish gap. Lots of climbing and 12 miles later I had more issues than wet feet. At this point I was very nauseous and having trouble getting any calories down. Needed to fill my pack with lights, food, and hydration for the last 16-17 miles and 5k of gain. I was crushed at this point but never once thought of dripping. I thought about rim to river 100 and knew I had unlocked a few more levels of tolerance and perseverance. My mind was in chaos but confident. I went through my pack and got back on trail. While pushing through a few more 1,000ft+ climbs I made it to fire pit before dark. 8-9 miles left one more major climb! As I started the last climb the darkness set in and I heard loud thrashing in the brush around me. Least of my worries at that point was the wildlife. My legs were fried on this climb and I just wanted to reach the top before my blood sugar bottomed out. Made it to the top and more go go squeeze. Really the only thing beside coke and Muir I could stomach for the last 6+ hours. Wanted a sub 16 hour finish but with a 54 mile course I missed it by about 30 min. Great race! Well organized and a great challenge. I’ll be back for that jacket. (5 finishes and you get a jacked and aren’t allowed back)