LAUREL VALLEY-The best Kept Secret in the Ultra World

The best kept secret of ultra runners has to be Laurel Valley ! Here is a race that has a low entry fee, magnificent trails and the one element that we all crave and why we run ultras- the chance of failure. This seems strange to most, but we all know that when we go out there is a change we will fail. When we enter a 5 or 10k, we know we will finish. Maybe not the PR we had hoped for, but we will finish. With an ultra, there is always that possibility that we can on sometimes do fail.
Laurel Valley takes place in the NW corner of South Carolina in an unspoiled wilderness area. There is little to no access from the outside which makes the run that much more treacherous. Once you make it past the point of no return, it is finish or remain in the woods until they come and get your body.

I had signed up for LV after Mike O'Melia talked me into seeing if I could get in. The race was already full. A couple of emails to Claude Sinclair, along with a few promises, commitments and dropping of a few names of runners in the LV community got me entry as a 5 am Sweep. I rode to SC with Mike and Byron Backer (3rd place 2008 LV) put us up for the night along with about 6 other runners. He was a gracious host and everyone had some good discussions the night before. Just before stretching out in the old sleeping bag for the night, carefully laid out my gear for the following day. Among the gear was a new pack (I had never worn before, bad thing to try something new in a race), a water purifying pump, clothes, shoes, socks, and headlamp. Headlamp, where is my headlamp. A 5 am start requires a headlamp. I know I packed the headlamp in my new pack. I had tested it, and packed it. Wait a minute, the pack had fell off the bed and turned upside down. Could the headlamp have fallen out of the pack. By shear luck, I had my drop bag with me that I had taken on vacation a few weeks ago. We were at the beach and I had been looking for crabs and had put my bigger and bulkier headlamp in it, All is not lost.
We laid down at about 10 pm. Earlier we all met at Pizza Inn for gorging on pizza and pasta.
The floor had more lumbar support than my bed at home and I had a tough time falling to sleep. As I lay there, I kept going over my training since the Chattanooga Stage races. Let's see. two eleven mile runs and a handful of 3 milers (flat course). What in the crap am I doing here. Surely I will die tomorrow!
03:30 came early. A quick bagel, a water bottle filled with black coffee and off to the 5 am start. Thanks to Jim Musselman driving us to the start even though he was a 6 am starter. After the briefing by Claude, the race was ready to begin. The night wasn't as cool as I had hoped but was much better than the days prior. The group stood at the base of a long stairway at the start, He said go and everyone looked at each other and just stood still waiting on the first brave soul to start this grueling march.
The pace was slow due to the darkness and being unfamiliar with the course. The last thing I needed was a face plant off some ravine, I have my looks to think of. As the morning wore on, the trail became more beautiful. The air was cool and light, but with the hint that heat was coming later. The first part of the course was of the rolling variety, nothing to speak of. Then about halfway, the best I remember came the climbs and a downhill that blasted my quads. By this time the 6 am runners were passing. All of them,animals!
There was ample water along the course, even though this region is suffering from a severe drought. At the first bridge, Mike was waiting on me. We made water and went on our way. During the next 20 miles, Mike and I would leap frog, dragging the other on. At no time, was there any competition between us. There was a bond that was to look out for each other and make sure that we succeeded. In this race, there can not be failure. We ran (walked and shuffled) the last part of the grueling course. Sometimes, as the miles add up, the course seems harder. This is not the case. The course actually gets harder! By mile 25, I was out of food, except for some GU. I was tempted to pick up lost Gummi bears and wash them off, that's how bad it got. On the bridge, someone left a bag of granola bars. Mike still says it was a bag of trash. Either way, it provided a boost.
I normally mix my own sports drink, that provides all the sodium I need. However, because of the hassle of making water and/or pouring water from my pack, I got behind on my sodium. At about 8 and half hours I had the sensation of being bloated, knees hurting. The wheels were starting to wobble so, I decided to pop an S! cap. After about 15 minutes, the wheels straightened up, but the energy levels were low. Mike gave me a Clif bar. Taste like S@&! with S@&! icing, but it did raise my energy levels.
At about 34+ miles, Mike and I were struggling to stay focused and determine how far was left. We came across a map on a board and determined we were about 2 to 3 miles from the finish. We got a little farther and Mike stated that his energy was gone. I suggested we sit for a minute and he eat one of his GU Octane that he had been saving. He gave me one along with some Clif shots. Boy, that is what I needed! I told Mike, what we need is for some hiker to come by and tell us that we are real close. Well, we met 4 hikers and they told up 1 truth and 1 lie. They said we were within 2 miles (truth) and that we looked fresh (lie). We headed out with renewed hope. We got to the last bridge. A rather tall bridge that requires you use all 4 limbs to climb up to get on the bridge. After the bridge, home free? NO A long technical climb, then some more of the 5000 total steps on the course. Almost there? NO We are on a viewing platform for Whitewater Falls, I never saw the falls. On this platform were several sightseers, and did they see some sights. Now to negotiate, I guess 150 feet of stairs. Finally the top! Now about half of mile downhill to the pavilion where Claude and his wife were working the finish. Several of the earlier finishers were on hand to cheer on the survivors.
This is a race where DNF is not an option, you must overcome. Below is a quote from longtime ultra and LV finisher Bill Keane.

"Once you enter the course you have to adapt and overcome each and every obstacle to achieve the objective and finish. Along the way, you learn a lot about yourself and discover character traits that flow into every facet of your life."

I am relatively new to ultra running, I do have a hundred miler to my credit. By far, this was the most challenging course I have encountered. The terrain, no aid, the heat all add to the experience.
A day after the run, would I run it again? Already started planning on my equipment.

Laurel Valley- the best kept secret, shhhh don't tell anyone.