| With impeccable planning and
preparation (i.e. entered about a week before and no proper hill
work that a race of this elevation really demands....), I entered
the Grandfather Mountain Marathon on the West Side of North
Carolina. Labelled "one of the toughest marathons in America" and, apparently, the "12th toughest in the world", this race in the Blue Ridge Mountains starts in the town of Boone at Appalachian State University football stadium and ends up 26.2 miles away on the top of Grandfather Mountain. There, you finish in the middle of the USA's largest Highland Games, with thousands of spectators cheering your last few tired steps... The start in Boone is already well over 3000 feet above sea level and the net elevation to the end adds another 1200+ feet, but the actual "up" parts of the course are around 3000 feet in total. I travelled up with some friends from where we live in Winston-Salem early on Saturday morning, arriving in good time for the start at 6:30am. This was the 60th running of this event and around 300 of us set off to conquer this tough challenge. There were some really steep climbs and punishing downhill sections for most of the first half, followed by a nice flattish section for a few miles on the Blue Ridge Parkway. The second half was almost continuously up-hill, with a few steeper spots, but more a more gradual increase in elevation for the most part. The weather back home where I live was well in the high 90's and very humid in the days prior; luckily it was much cooler in the mountains and the route was almost entirely under the shade of the trees with a very welcome breeze. Around 2 miles out, it got very steep again but, suddenly, you could hear the drums and bagpipes from the Highland Games in the distance, so the end was within reach and it spurred us all on. The finish was amazing, with the runners entered the show ground and doing a lap of the gravel running track in front of thousands of people, with Tossing the Caber and other Scottish-based sports going on in the in-field ! It was incredibly tough and I struggled with crippling cramps in both calves for the last couple of miles and had to do a few run/walk spells in the last few miles, so it wasn't a textbook finish, but completed it in under 4 hours, closely followed by my three friends. Astonishing race in breathtaking scenery. Had a "never again" moment right after, but after a couple of days of reflection, I think I'd like to have another crack at it again next year.... Rob Jones
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