I ran the Dirty South Half Marathon trail race on Sunday, Dec 8 at Meade’s Quarry in Knoxville; the final race in the 2024 Trail Running Series. The race is located south of Ijams Nature Center, which I ended up having to park in since I arrived so close to the start time. Last year I ran the 10K and admired runners who stayed straight and ran 13.1 miles on that cold morning. I wanted to do the half so today is my day.
In June I finished the Motus Half which has a similar course but Dirty South is longer and more elevation gain.
Race Day Morning:
I woke up not feeling great about racing today. I thought about not going; which is par for the course for almost every race. I had to cheer myself on by saying I love trail running in winter AND I needed trail miles. I have to do this as Step 2 of my Do Hard Things year. Step 1 was completed by finishing the Philadelphia Marathon. Step 3 is Beast of the East marathon.
But today just 13 plus miles on runnable trails, is what I’m thinking.
I got my gear ready and started driving to Meade’s Quarry.
The Race:
The Dirty South race course is touted as “a mix of rocky, technical singletrack and buffed out, flowing mountain bike trail”; and that is exactly right. I love this course because it’s so runnable and flowy. It’s rocky and rooty, and just perfect. I always forget about the first mile, which has a steep, hikable trail and a significant hill climb. Then it evens out to flowy mountain bike terrain.
Just before the first aid station I met Kara and started running with her. She is an ultra runner too and it was great to talk to someone.
During the run at this point I hit a snag in a root. My left foot was caught but miraculously snapped the root and I didn’t fall. My left foot hurt for a minute, I stopped then walked it out. I didn’t think of it again.
My first mistake during this run was made at the first aid station. I didn’t fill up my bladder to the top and I didn’t drink any Tailwind. I wanted to keep going since I was feeling good. I realized, too, that usually I bring one booby bottle with Tailwind and I didn’t today. It just wasn’t on my mind in the morning. I did bring enough food this time, gels and bars; sometimes I don’t bring enough. I learned from a runner that the next aid station was around mile 10. I ran out of water at mile 8. I hate it when I make rookie mistakes like this. Then, the situation got worse – there was no aid station at 10. I felt a bit delusional at times and would go a while not sure I was on course. The trail didn’t look the same from the spring (It was a different course, different organizers). At one point I had to yell ahead to Kara just to see if I was on course and she was so awesome to run back to me to make me feel better (Thank you Kara if you read this).
Once I realized that maybe there wasn’t a second aid station, I just settled in and tried not to panic. I walked a lot and just concentrated on getting to the finish. At mile 12 the aid station appeared. I drank a bunch of Tailwind and filled my bladder to the top. I was spent. I lost a lot of energy worrying and just felt dehydrated. Then, at mile 13.1 I wasn’t at the finish. I walked and run and finally at mile 13.97 I crossed the finish line. Yahoo!
Post Race:
The Good: I finished
The Bad: My left foot is a swollen mess from the root and it hurts to walk on it.
As with any running injury I question everything about running. This injury could’ve been much worse if the root didn’t release my foot. I start to think I’m too ambitious in my running goals. I’m too old. I’m too fat. I’m not strong enough. I’m not going to trail run anymore. I’m going to play my life safe. No more risks.
But luckily, the nurse practitioner at urgent care says it’s not broken. I might be able to run Saturday if the swelling subsides – and BOOM – everything is okay in the world.
In 2024 I did many of the races in the Treadin’ Trodden Trails race series. I will sign up again in 2025.
Race Website: https://ktc.org/events/dirty-south-trail-races/
Distance: 13.97 miles.
Elevation Gain: 2,753 ft
Time: 3 hrs, 14 mins
What I ate: Pre-race: 3 eggs and veggie scramble, During race: 2 GU gels, 1 Honey Stinger waffle
What I drank: one cup of tailwind endurance at 2nd aid station, 1.5 L water
What I wore: Salomon hydration vest, winter running tights, green ¼ zip long sleeve, blue Mountain Hardwear jacket, beanie
What I saw: I heard a lot of birds and squirrels in the forest. No wildlife encounters.
Rate this trail run: 10/10
