The Promise Land 50K+ - Part 1

The meadow begins to fill.

The “Promise Land Youth Camp” had a bit of a “Field of Dreams” feel to it.  An empty meadow surrounded by mountains in a remote area of VA is transformed into a field of colorful tents, cars and excited runners within a matter of hours.  The Promise Land 50K+ (and the + is a critical detail here) is billed as “Not Your Average 50K” and it certainly lives up to its name.  I had been studying the trail map and elevation profile for weeks.  I had memorized the exact location of every aid station, the special instructions regarding cutoffs, the aid station checkpoints that required us to turn briefly onto side trails…all these details and images were swirling around in my head for days and days leading up to the event, but as soon as I drove onto that meadow and looked up at the beautiful cloud topped mountains, I felt the stress and anxiety fall away.

Aerial view of the course (courtesy of Keith Knipling)

I set up my camp (which consisted of finding a fairly level spot for my RV and doing a little bit of leveling) and then headed to the picnic shelter for some pizza and to pick up my race t-shirt.  I saw several familiar faces and had fun talking trails and running with folks.  I was especially excited to see Angela there.  She and I had met a couple of times previously and we had a mutual friend in Linda Banks.  We’d never really had the chance to spend much time in each other’s company, so it was fun getting to have more lengthy conversations and get to know one another a bit more.  Angela’s been running for quite some time but began running ultras roughly 3 years ago.  She had completed her first 50 miler at the Umstead Ultra just the month prior.  This was to be her first time at The Promise Land as well.

The coolest race shirt I own!

Dr. David Horton has been putting on this particular event for 12 years now.  “King Horton” or "Hortie" as he’s very affectionately known in this particular community, is a running legend.  He has set speed records on the Appalachian Trail and The Pacific Crest Trail, he’s run across America (2900+ miles), won the Hardrock 100, and possibly most impressive of all within the ultra running community, he’s one of only a handful of finishers of the Barkley Marathons.  The Barkley is billed as “The Race That Eats Its Young”.  There have been many, many years where not a single participant was able to successfully complete the course.  Total finishers to date over the races 25 year history - 13.  I listened to an interview with Dr. Horton some weeks ago and in that interview, he said that finishing the Barkley was probably the single running achievement he is most proud of.

"King Horton" on his throne.

I had known of Dr. Horton ever since my own thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail back in 1997, but this was my first chance to meet him in person. My first impression was one of energy, warmth and an absolute passion for what he was doing.  He loves humor (and laughter at his own expense is absolutely fine), he loves trail running, he loves runners and he loves people who are passionate about what they do in life.  His pre-race briefing was a hoot.  He spent a good bit of time introducing various people from the crowd and going on about their most recent achievements, or lack thereof.  One young man had just completed a run across America.  Another older gentleman was here for his 12^th running of the Promise Land and this while in the middle of attempting a thru-hike of the AT and sustaining a bit of an ankle injury that could be a possible stress fracture.  Another young man who was standing off to the side in the dark was announced as making an attempt to "run a double".  That is, as soon as Horton finished the race briefing, this young man was going to run the course through the night (34 miles) and time it so he could return to the starting line before dawn and join us for the official start at 5:30 a.m. and run it all again!  Another woman was called to the front for Happy Birthday wishes.  She was celebrating her 60^th birthday by running The Promise Land! 

Another story from the crowd was not so happy.  A young man who looked to be in his 20s was standing towards the rear of the crowd.  He was called to the front to announce that he was selling raffle tickets for a brand new Giant mountain bike to raise funds for a local cancer center.  The reason?  His young wife, who was an ultra-runner, she’d run The Promise Land several times before, she was an avid soccer player and incredibly healthy and vibrant young woman, had died from a rare form of cancer just last year.  From initial onset, it only took 10 weeks for the disease to claim her life.  The bike was hers.  Given to her by friends while she was in the hospital.  She never got to ride it. 

All of these stories and all of these lives, Hortie gathers in around him.  He remembers all the faces and names, he knows the details of their stories, he touches their lives with generosity and compassion and then kicks you in the butt and challenges you to do more than you think you are capable of.

Somehow, after that bike raffle announcement, Hortie was able to turn things back around and get us all laughing again.  The end of the race briefing is the freebie giveaway.  Hortie doles out various gifts via a raffle system (all while comfortably ensconced in his camp chair perched atop a picnic table above all the crowd around him).  His lottery system is all his own.  If he pulls out a name and doesn’t like who the winner is, he tears it up and tosses it to the side.  Gifts (and they are quite exceptional gifts at that) are given out with much slapstick humor and laughter. Hydration packs, gift certificates for Patagonia gear, sunglasses, etc, etc.  Dozens of pairs of running socks were tossed around the pavilion to runners’ outstretched arms, some pairs having been broken in as nose hankies by Dr. Horton himself.

The basic advice doled out at the race briefing: This course is well marked.  If you get lost during this race, you’re stupid.  DON’T be stupid.

We would all be called to action at 4:30 a.m. via bull horn alarm system that Hortie gleefully demonstrated time and time again at the briefing.  He sent us off with the final advice that sleeping the night before the race was overrated.  It was the two nights prior to that which were important and that we shouldn’t worry overmuch about sleeping.  Go off and have a good time at the bonfire.

Once the main briefing was over, a bonfire was started in a nearby clearing and Hortie invited any first timers who wanted words of wisdom from King Horton to come back to the pavilion for a more informal Q&A and general advice.  I, of course, knew that I wanted to hear whatever he had to say, so after warming up at the bonfire for a few minutes, Angela and I joined the small cluster of runners gathered around Hortie.  Most of his advice seemed to center around GI issues, keeping your butt clean and how to avoid diarrhea.  No joke.  That’s what he mostly talked about.  Not exactly the profound words of wisdom that I might have been expecting, but he felt very strongly that these mundane details could make or break your experience. I’m pretty sure the man knows what he’s talking about.  Other advice - Run within your means, don’t go out too fast, etc, etc.  He did warn us about the technical sections of trail and stressed that deciding you had to drop once you crossed over Apple Orchard Mtn and descended into “the dark side” was probably not the best locale for sustaining an injury or dropping as getting you out could present a problem.  That’s it.

I’m not a late night person and I really like the feeling of being as prepared as I can heading into a race.  It may be an illusion, but it works for me.  I only hung around the fire for a little while before calling it a night and heading back to camp to organize my gear.  The meadow was absolutely packed with wall to wall cars and tents and folks were still pulling in after dark.  As I looked up at the sky one last time, I could still see plenty of stars in the night sky above.  It was going to be a cold, clear night.

Here's a graphic that shows what I would be facing in the morning: