The Oconee 50k/ Half Marathon at Oconee State Park in Mountain Rest, South Carolina is something special. Tucked away in the North Western corner of South Carolina is Oconee State Park. It is the terminus of the Foothills Trail. This race takes place at the foothills of the mountains. The race was put on by Run Bum Tours race director Sean "Run Bum" Blanton.
On Friday night I checked in and picked up my race bib at the Oconee State Park visitor center. Registration was quick and I was able to get in and out without much wait. It was exciting to see and meet some of the other runners that would be running with the next day.
Friday Night
My wife and I had rented a camping cabin for the weekend and ended up heading down to Walhalla to find a place to eat. We found a pizza place that served pasta that was large enough for the both of us to share. Then, it was back up to our cabin and early to bed so that I would be well rested for the race.
PreRace Saturday Morning
I woke up around 4am on Saturday to make sure I had time to eat a Clif Bar and drink my morning cup of coffee. I let our camping cabin and drove the 2 miles to Oconee State Park and went to the visitor center where all the runners were gathered. The race director, Sean, met with all the 50k runners at 5:50 to go over course markings, and other information that we needed to know about the race. We then made our way to the back of the visitor center to the starting line.
The Start
Sean counted us down to the 6am start and then lead us through the park to the start of the trail. It was a cool 50 degrees and I was a little chilled at the start, but I knew that I would warm up quickly once the race began. Also, it was dark and all runners were required to run with a headlamp. I had done most of my runs up to this point in the dark with a headlamp, but these runs were on roads so this was a new thing to be on the trails. I quickly found a pace and fell into line with some other runners.
Miles 1-4 (Junction Aid Station)
In the first four miles I was getting warmed up and trying to get into a rhythm that I felt like I could sustain for the race. Since I was running with a headlamp I was running a little slower, and because everyone was bunched up in these first four miles. I have a tendency to start slow and get stuck behind people going slower than what I felt comfortable with, so I spent the first two miles in a conga line running the flats and downhills, while walking the hills. After two miles I couldn't take it any longer and ended up passing the people in front of me until I had some open trail in front of me. I was able to get to a comfortable pace and run the next two miles to the Junction Aid station. Around mile 3 the sun had come up enough that I was able to see and turn off my headlamp. As I approached the first aid station I was still filling real strong and wasn't low on water so I just blew through the aid station and continued on the course. This allowed me to pick up some time, and pass some other runners.
Miles 4-9 (Choehee Road Aid Station)
Since I didn't stop at the aid station I pulled a GU out of my pack and ate it while I ran down the trail. This section of the course was some great single track with a few uphills, but mostly flat runnable terrain. I quickly found myself alone and running at a comfortable pace. I would hear people ahead of me every once in a while and ended up passing a few runners along the way. Once I got to the aid station the workers there began helping me to fill my water bottle, and I began snacking on some PB&J. I also took a S-Cap to make sure that I was replacing any salt that I was loosing, and I downed another couple of GU gels. The aid station workers were so friendly and helpful!
Miles 9-15.5 (Cherry Hill Aid Station)
The Choehee Aid station was on a gravel road that the race course followed downhill for about 2.5 miles. I was able to enjoy the free speed of running downhill, but the whole time was thinking about the fact that the race is an out and back, and I was going to have to run back up this hill. Once I got to the bottom of the hill the race kicked back into the woods on some nice single track. This section of the race was a lot of uphill. I had practiced running up some hills in my training, and I was determined to run as much of the course as I could. I quickly shortened my stride and just kept plugging along up the hill. Around mile 13 the first runner passed me going back down the hill. As I continued running up the hill I started counting the number of runners that were passing me and tried to figure out what place I was in. When I got to the top of the hill and to the aid station I had figured I was somewhere between 12th and 14th place. Feeling great I still took some time to stop fill my water bottle, eat some more PB&J's, eat some watermelon, take a couple more S-Caps, and ate another GU.
Miles 15.5-21 (Choehee Road Aid Station)
Still feeling really strong I bolted out of Cherry Hill and started blasting the downhill. As I was running I was passing many other runners who were heading up to Cherry Hill. I even passed a couple of other runners who had left Cherry Hill before me. Once I got to the bottom of the trail I hit the gravel road that was I knew was going to be a long hard 2.5 miles all uphill. I also need up hitting a wall and did not feel motivated to run up the gravel hill. Luckily for me as I started up the hill another runner came out of the woods heading up the gravel hill. We ended up power walking the whole hill and talked the whole way up to the aid station. I have to say that if it had not been for them I probably would have walked up the hill a lot slower. On the way up to the aid station I ran out of water, so I knew that I needed to take some extra time drinking water at Choehee. I drank about two water bottles full before filling it up to put in my pack. I ate some more PB&J's, took couple more S-Caps, and another GU.
Miles 21-26 (Junction Aid Station)
Since I took a little longer at Choehee Aid Station I had a few runners that ended up passing me while I was getting some extra water. Out of Choehee the course went back into the woods onto some single track. We ran up hill about a mile and then ended up doing a lot of downhills and some rolling hills. Around mile 24 my right toe caught a rock as I was running down a hill and I lost my balance. I ended up doing a superman slide on the side of the trail. My calves immediately cramped up and were causing me a ton of pain. I rolled off my stomach and sat up trying to massage my calves and ease the cramping. After about 30 seconds my calves began to relax, but I knew if I didn't get up quickly they were going to cramp again. I grabbed a tree in front of me and pulled myself to my feet, brushed myself off and started running down the trail again. I ended up rolling into Junction Aid station a little beat up, but feeling good that I only had 5 more miles to go!
Miles 26-31 (Oconee State Park)
I set out of Junction and followed the marked path for the course. The aid station workers had told us that some of the 13.1 mile runners had gotten lost, so they had tried to mark the course a little better for us. I was glad they told me this because I knew I needed to pay close attention to the course. There were a couple places where I almost got lost, but I was able to quickly see my mistake and find the right path. The race finished up by running around the lake to the finish line. As I crossed the finish line I was amazed to see 5:47:09 as my finishing time. A new 50k PR for me! I also later leaned that I had finished 16th overall.
Final Thoughts:
The SC Oconee 50k was a great second 50k for me to run. It had some great single track, and lots of easy runable trails. I would definitely recommend this race to someone, and especially for someone wanting to do their first 50k!
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