Mountaineer Rumble 50k

 I ran my 2nd ultramarathon on November 4, 2023 at the  Mountaineer Rumble 50K Race at Kings Mountain State Park, Clover, SC

My last 50k was a year before at the WV Trilogy with 4081 feet in elevation and I finished in 8 hours 17 minutes   Link here:  https://grandparuns.blogspot.com/2022/10/2022-wv-trilogy-50k.html


I wanted to enter it again this year but it was full when I got around to it so I looked for an alternative and found the Mountaineer Rumble near Charlotte North Carolina. With 2000 feet of elevation it would still be a challenge but nothing like those West Virginia mountains. The entry fees covered a cabin for two nights on the grounds which ended up being very rustic and because of the typical warm climate there had no windows just screens.  the temperature got down below 30 the first night and I slept pretty badly. The race started at 7 AM and there was great support with great aid stations. I began in long running pants and running jacket, but after the first 9 miles we came back to the 1st aid station at the start line. 


I changed clothes there including a dry pair of socks because of a creek crossing. The trails were pretty rough with softball size rocks everywhere. The first time I fell I was with three guys, one who look like Maui from the Moana Disney movie with full body tattoos. When I fell I managed to do a forward roll and come straight back up at which point Maui said “great ninja roll dude” and we all continued. The second time I fell I was with three women, I fell flat at which point all three women turned and came to me asking can we help and ohh, you poor thing, which shows you the difference between men and women.
My goal was to finish under seven hours and I could tell around mile 25 or so that I was within striking distance of that. I blew through two unmanned aid stations with just water without taking water and around mile 26 I knew I was dehydrated and started cramping severely. Around mile 27 I came to An aid station and spent some time there rehydrating and using a roller from my dropbag there and by mile 28 I was running again. I was with three others who were convinced we were not on the right trail twice. They stopped to try and call someone but I was convinced we were OK and kept going. Just after mile 30 I could hear the finish line and they were convinced we were lost again again but I told them I was going on and shortly saw the finish line and finished in six hours 51 minutes and 10th out of 51..
I packed up shortly after and drove home   I was stiff and sore but not bad and ran again 4 miles 5 days later..
I probably won’t do this one again just because of the rough trail and I want to do more in WV.






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