Hitchcock Woods 50k (Read 581 times)

It was a race that was hard to resist: the inaugural Hitchcock Woods 50k Trail Run in Aiken, SC. The race description on the website read: Course is 100% trails, a 10 1/2 mile loop repeated 3 times. Surface of sand and pine needles, a few hills, a few roots, no rocks, lots of shade. Limit of 25 runners, no cut-off times. Plus it was only a 4-hour drive and the entry fee was a whopping $10! An aid station every five miles. What's not to like--Chips? Shirts? Bands? $100 entry fees? Who needs 'em?
 The last email before the race from RD Terri Hayes said: "Weather is looking to be HOT". Several online weather forecasts said the same--hot and humid, slight chance of showers, as I prepared for the drive to Aiken, SC so I carefully packed plenty of electrolyte caps, sunscreen, and sunglasses. I figured that road shoes would be fine for this route, but threw in a pair of Inov-8 trail shoes just in case. Then Tropical Storm Barry moved in from the Gulf and quickly covered the Carolinas. By the time I arrived in Aiken it had been raining steadily for hours and it continued to pour down all night. The trail briefing was held in a downpour under umbrellas and a not-so-waterproof canopy. Everything and everyone was drenched. I switched to my trail shoes just before the race started. Off we went through the deluge. The normally dry, sandy trails were now covered by puddles and running streams. Some of the runners had nice Gore-Tex raingear on but they quickly removed it and got wet like the rest of us. Better rain than sweat. Much energy was wasted vainly trying to avoid the deepest puddles and streams. After about a mile a group of 8 of us came to one of the many trail intersections in the woods and realized there were no trail markers. Lost after only one mile! Oops, backtrack a few hundred yards and there was the "right turn" ribbon. This was the first of many "offs" for many of us. The route wound through thick forest, fern fields, and rhododendron on a mix of single- and doubletrack, mostly sand but also plenty of roots and some muddy parts. I was glad I had my trail shoes as they drained well and gave good traction on the tough sections. Soon we came to the "dry creek" that RD Terri had mentioned which now was a calf-deep stream. The pack was spreading out by then, and I was running with a couple of guys from Columbia for awhile. Eventually they went on ahead and I was alone for most of the next 26 miles. I reached the halfway (five-mile) aid station and felt bad for the volunteers who were huddled under the liftgate of a van, drenched yet cheerful. As I left the station they warned, "look out for the mud!". Soon I found out what they meant, as the next section was a moderately steep descent down a dirt road which was by now deep, sticky mud. I saw lots of tracks from the leaders and one human outline. Somebody had done a face plant! I carefully picked my way through the sticky mess and continued. After that it was fairly nice, mostly dirt (now wet sand and mud) doubletrack. A few times I had to stop and backtrack to make sure I was on the trail, as there are dozens of trail intersections here. The rain continued and got even harder with some thunder, but at least it was nice and cool, and most of the trail is under a thick canopy of trees so I wasn't too concerned about becoming a lightning rod. I reached the start/finish, one loop down, two to go. On the second loop I was starting to feel my legs getting tired. I hadn't done much trail running lately and the wet sand and mud, along with the effort of trying to stay out of the deeper puddles and streams, were taking a toll. I came to the "dry creek" again, which by this point was a thigh-high torrent and almost knocked me off my feet. On I went, to the halfway aid station, where the volunteers had finally gotten a canopy just as the rain started to let up. I ate some salty boiled potatoes, one of my favorite ultra foods, and proceeded down the muddy slope again. I liked the "back 5", a quiet, cool run through forest on nice sandy doubletrack. Eventually I reached the end of loop two, legs very tired, but the rain had stopped by now and the sun peeked out a couple of times. Loop three started badly--I thought I had lost the trail again and backtracked a few hundred yards, then realized that I was on the right trail, but by now the two Columbia guys who had left me behind earlier were now right behind me. You would think that I would know the route by the third time around but hey, one tree looks like another. They must have gone off trail, and now they were catching me again. Strangely, after another half mile or so I didn't see them any more, they must have taken another wrong turn. I did come upon three runners who were walking the wrong direction, back toward the start, and asked me where I was and which way to go. I told them I was pretty sure I was on course but apparently they didn't believe me because they continued to go the wrong way as I resumed running. At the halfway aid station I was glad to see that the volunteers were now dry and they invited me to "sit a spell" as they refilled my water bottle. A little Mountain Dew and I continued on my way. Once the rain stopped the water had quickly drained from the sandy trail and the last 5 miles were nice, despite my now tired and sore legs. Soon it would get very hot as the sun came out. I finished in 6:42, 11 of 27, collected my cool handmade finishers medal with Alfred Hitchcock silhouette, and feasted on the freshly delivered pizza. Hot pizza! I've run plenty of high-dollar races that just gave you a warm bottle of water and a green banana. 8 minutes later the Columbia guys came in, and about an hour later the two guys I had earlier seen going the wrong way came through (the third was just a local guy out for a short run), only on their second loop. Better them than me! They had been seriously lost and had probably run a full 50k, but not on the course. They took off again and eventually finished around 9-10 hours. There is no cutoff time in this race, either! This race is a great deal--for your $10 you get a nice course, great volunteers with all the goodies you could want at the aid stations (which are 5 miles apart), a handmade finisher medal, free photos and great post-race food. One of the runners even designed and ordered nice tech t-shirts and sold them at cost. The trails are marked as advertised, but just a moment's inattention and a missed marker can get you seriously lost in this wooded area, which has dozens of intersecting trails. Terri says that she will hold this race yearly, and will try to keep it an inexpensive but well-run race. If you live in the Southeast and are thinking about running an ultra, this might be a good race for you. Look for it next June.

PerfesserR, Nice finish!, and once again, a great race report, thanks!

wow! what a great race report! I've always wanted to get into ultras but as fun as it seems, the more I read, the more it seems clearly, out of my league! YOu guys are awesome!

Good job, Russ! This Tropical Storm Barry guy, what was his bib number? Sounds like a great time...thanks for the report. Lynn B

Sounds awesome. I was in Aiken once for a wedding. Gorgeous place. My in-laws have a place in Beaufort, SC (just off Hilton Head Island), so I might just have to check out this race one of these years. As the licence plates say: Beautiful places, smiling faces...

Way to go #191! It was great to meet you at Hitchcock. Man, that second loop flash flood was SWEET! They almost had to search for my sorry carcass down river! #540

Thanks, it was a really memorable race. Here's another, much better, report from fellow Marathon Maniac Dean: http://zerotoboston.com/race-reports/2007-hitchcock-woods-50k/