Cruel Jewel Race Report

The Cruel Jewel 100 is easily the hardest east coast 100 and one toughest in the US. It boasts 110 miles after a course re-route in 2019 and over 33,000 feet of climbing.

I rolled over my registration from last year but for a variety of reasons did not actually plan to run until about 6 weeks before the race. The short story is that I ran out of excuses, so I made plans to head down to Georgia and was lucky to have my Dad come and crew for me.

Training was a bit different than usual for a big mountain 100. I did lots of speedwork earlier in the year and lower mileage than usual. I had a great race at the Terrapin 50km (4:53 and 6th place) and then squeezed in 4 weeks of focused training. I’ve worked with Coach Damian Hall for over a year now, and he has been doing his best to keep me from doing stupid things and focus on quality vs. solely quantity. While I put in some solid mileage, my longest run was only 25 miles. I was worried about finishing such a long, difficult course without my usual 25-40 mile training runs in the Shenandoahs. But Damian is faster and smarter than me, so I followed the plan and hoped to not perish in the woods towards the end of this ridiculous course!

Dad and I drove down Thursday and had a great time catching up. The forecast couldn’t be better with highs in the 70s and nighttime lows around 40. I was excited to run in beautiful mountains and explore a new area!

Start / finish area. The weather couldn’t have been better!

“Poor decisions make for better stories”

Our cabin near the start / finish, which worked out perfectly

Start to 32.5: The Dragon’s Spine

I started at noon in the first wave of 50 runners. After a mile through Vogel State Park, we climbed up on single track trail followed by a nice descent down to the 3.7 mile water only aid station. I was cruising along easily, making sure to keep my heart rate nice and low. It was great to catch up with Sheila from Happy Trails, who I figured would be contending for the win.

Next up was a long ascent to the high point of the course at 4,250 feet. I enjoyed the long climb and was in around 25th place. As we went higher up, the early spring, bright green foliage thinned, giving us good views of some surrounding mountains.

We hit the first aid station at mile 8.5, and I blasted through, carrying everything I’d need for a while. Until mile 32.5, we’d primarily be on the relentless, punishing Duncan Ridge Trail. The trail stays up high on the ridge going up and down very steep knobs without a switchback in sight. Better still, we’d come back this way on the return trip with over 80 miles on the legs at that point!

I occasionally ran with a few others, but I mostly wished I had more company through these miles. I was fueling really well, primarily relying on Spring Energy gels, Nuun, and grabbing bits of real food at aid stations. I hustled through the Fish Gap aid station at Mile 16 and would see my Dad for the first time at the next aid station, Skeenah Gap, at 21.5. Big chunks of the next section had controlled burns, which were really cool to see and allowed us more views than usual up top.

I was really enjoying this stretch and moving well, but the trail was still super tough and not exactly quick going! I started to feel a bit off and realized I was probably low on salt 4+ hours into the race with temps heating up. Roctane caps and slugging Nuun did the trick, and I rolled into Skeenah Gap in 4:48, 7 minutes up on schedule. I swapped packs and was soon back out on the trail.

This next section seemed longer than advertised, but I think that was just a theme for the entire race? I powered along and was still ahead of schedule at Wilscot, a marathon into the adventure. The first stop was crowded since basically every crew was there waiting for their runner. This was much quieter, and Dad let me know I was in 19th. I needed to switch up nutrition a bit so I got a baggie of chips to go and filled a bottle with ginger ale. Dad sorted me out with Nuun and more gels, and I was out!

The Dragon’s Spine was starting to all feel the same at this point. Up, down, up down, up down. I was moving well enough though and finally hit the last descent down to Old Dial Road, in 7:29 and just 1 minute up on my planned split. This was an important stop with night approaching in an hour. I swapped packs again and made sure I had my headlamp, spare battery, and warm clothes. I was looking forward to a change of pace and hitting the next road section!

Through the green tunnel on the Dragon’s Spine

Not a bad day to be out in the mountains

Mile 32.5 to 77.5

We had another ~1 mile difficult trail section and then spilled out onto a road running alongside a river. After 33 miles and 10,000 of feet, it wasn’t exactly easy to run. But I coaxed my legs into turning over and was pleased to start clicking off 9-10 minute miles on the slightly uphill road. Brett (Sheila’s husband and crew) was at the bridge and said she wasn’t too far behind. I hoped she would catch up to get some company for the nighttime miles!

Other than a few brief walking breaks, I pushed well on the road, hoping to get to Stanley, the next aid station, before night and putting on my headlamp. I passed a runner for the first time in a while as the road became gravel and steeper. The sunset was beautiful, and it was looking like it would be a great night in the mountains.

At the aid station, I got more ginger ale and chips, which worked well for me for a long time. They had soup that went down well, which would be another staple for the rest of the race. They let me know I was in 12th and that the 1st woman, Liz Canty, had just left. I was very far from being in racing mode at this point, but it was great to hear I was steadily moving up!

The last light faded as stars started coming out. I’ve come to really enjoy nighttime running and was in a good flow state chugging up the mountain and down the other side to the first of 4 Deep Gap stops. I was surprised when someone came up behind me, as I thought I had been moving really well. It was Brandon, who I’d shared some miles with earlier in the race. He didn’t seem in a rush to pass, so we ended up working together for a while.

We cruised down the mountain into Deep Gap # 1, fueled up, and headed out for the first of two 6-mile Deep Gap loops. This was a fairly runnable section, and we worked well together here to keep the pace moving. I was nervous we missed the hole punch to prove we did the loop, but fortunately we got to the bridge with the punch and soon were rolling back into Deep Gap. Now it was only another 2.7 miles to the 53ish mile turnaround at Morganton.

It was getting chilly as we popped out of the woods. I ran this well under 10 minute miles and was pumped to see Dad again at the aid station! It was a bit before midnight, and I was slightly behind but still very close to my originally planned splits. I downed some avocado and other real food and threw on a warm long sleeve layer. I grabbed my phone and Airpods to keep me awake through the night, and I’d see Dad again in 25 miles at Skeenah Gap, hopefully around dawn.

Temps were dropping fast as I hustled my way back to Deep Gap. Soon I arrived for my second Deep Gap loop. The aid station was bustling with people starting and finishing their first loop, and it was nice to see a bunch of people and soak in the energy. I walked more of the gradual uphills than I probably should have on this loop, but I still moved fairly well and ran the flats and downs.

I had over 60 miles on the legs at this point but felt fantastic. I charged up the mountain out of the final Deep Gap stop, running a good portion of the uphill. I crested the top, and we now had the 6 mile pointless out-and-back that you only do on the return trip. It is a long steep descent and then right back up the same way purely to add mileage and vertical to this already tough race. Welp. We all have to run the same course so no use whining about it and nothing to do but get it done!

Two guys were waaay ahead of me and finishing the out and back as I headed in, and one guy was 20-30 minutes up on me. I rolled into the aid station, and they told me I was in 8th, which was pretty exciting. In hindsight I made my first real mistake of the race here. I didn’t fuel up enough and didn’t take much with me for the climb back up.

There was a slew of people close behind me. I hit the top at mile ~70 and started the 40 mile return straight back the way we came out. Then the wheels came off …. hard. My nutrition was way off, and I felt light-headed and depleted. The sleep monsters also showed up, and it was a devastating 1-2 punch! I was falling asleep on my feet and weaving back and forth on the trail.

Someone was fast approaching behind me, and I was thrilled to see it was my friend Sheila. She told me she didn’t want to pass me, which urged me back into some decent running. Eventually though I had to stop to pee and told her to go ahead and crush it (which she most definitely did, finishing 1st place and 2nd fastest time ever on the course!). I was constantly peeing, which didn’t seem normal and was probably linked to whatever was causing my bonk. I did my best to assess my nutrition in my bleary state. For nearly all of the night I had switched to water instead of Nuun, I hadn’t taken any electrolyte pills, and recently I hadn’t been eating much salty food at stations (see before on my mistake at previous aid). I guessed that maybe I was low on salt and therefore couldn’t absorb anything.

I checked everywhere for my Roctane caps but couldn’t find them. Unfortunately, they got swept up when clearing garbage out of my pack back at mile 53. I had a bit of water left and popped in a Nuun, making it a super concentrated mix. I didn’t know how well it would go down, but at least it didn’t seem to make things worse!

I rolled into next aid and tried to regroup, downing soup and chips. Sheila was there with Brett, and they kindly hooked me up with a bunch of S-caps. I reluctantly left the aid station a bit after 5am, still miraculously close to my planned splits. But I was a hot (or maybe cold?) mess. The sky was slowly lightening, but I couldn’t shake my crushing sleepiness.

I was falling asleep while moving and swerving all over. The narrow road had no shoulder, and I was with it enough to realize it was not safe in my current state. I found a sheltered stairway and closed my eyes for 1-2 minutes, which was enough so I could at least safely navigate the road, albeit veeeeery slooowwwllly. Brandon came flying by me with his pacer, looking amazing.

I was now in 10th, getting passed, struggling mightily, and coming up on the toughest section of the course, the 32.5 mile return trip on the Dragon’s Spine. This was the make or break moment. When everything feels impossible, it is easy to throw in the towel. 75+ miles is a good accomplishment. It was too far to the finish, and the rest of the course was too tough. Let’s just hop in the car with my Dad at the upcoming aid station and call it a day, huh?

No. As my 5-year-old likes to say: “that’s not how I roll baby.” I knew I could do this and believed in myself. I have the experience and fitness and somehow could turn this thing around (“Right Now” by Van Halen, anyone?). I resolved to stop for as long as needed at the next aid station. Dad was there, and I would do what it took to bring myself back to life. I didn’t get all dressed up for nothing!

Mile 77.5 to 110 / Finish

I told Dad I wasn’t doing well and needed a big stop to reset. Not that I had to tell him – I looked like death shuffling. I told him a few things I needed refilled and announced I would take a short nap in the car. I set my alarm for 8 minutes. I did briefly fall asleep and was kind of dozing, but I knew I needed to get up and refuel. The sun was now fully up, and I didn’t really need a nap - I needed food and salt.

I ate an entire avocado doused in salt. I drank tons of salty soup and Coke. I ate chips, PB&J, and peanut M&Ms. I changed shoes from the Hoka Torrents to my trusty Salomon Speedcross. I could feel myself coming back to life. Another of my 5-year old’s saying: “skills that pay the bills.” It was time to get out of there. It was still cold (low 40s here) so I was layered up and hit the trail. Giddy up!

I really did feel much better. I kept on eating and drinking as I climbed, and I revived more and more. Game back on! I had managed to keep the stop to around 15 minutes, which was pretty miraculous considering the shape I was in. After a tough few hours, I was about an hour behind my splits and left at 7:20am, 19:20 into the race. I estimated it would take 11 hours or a bit less to cover the brutal section from here to the finish. That put 30 hours on the bubble.

The goal was to hit Wilscot at 9:20am. It was another beautiful day, and I stowed my warm hat and jacket as temps climbed. I didn’t see a single person on this section. I felt like I was moving well, but it is hard to tell with 80+ miles on your legs. I bounded down into Wilscot at 8:59, 21 minutes ahead of pace. Hell yes! I quickly refueled and stuffed my face with food.

Despite charging hard on the last section, I got passed in the aid station and was now in 11th – ack! I really wanted top 10 coming into the race. But we still had a marathon+ and 8ish hours to go. Anything could still happen. It wasn’t time to race yet. That would come later, and for now I needed to just focus on running smart. I was eating and drinking regularly, and all systems were go. My goal was 10:40am for Skeenah Gap, where I would see Dad for the last time.

I started cranking up the pace, running more of the uphills and opening up on the downhills. I was honestly surprised to not see anyone over this section. Why weren’t people coming back to me?! You can only control your own race though - keep eating and drinking, run with good form, pace yourself well.

I tumbled into Skeenah at 10:25, again way up on my splits. I was so fast over the past 2 sections that Dad hadn’t arrived yet! I went to work at the aid station eating, drinking, resupplying, and putting on sunscreen. Dad rolled up just before I headed out, so I grabbed some avocado and reapplied Body Glide. I intentionally chose to not grab my headlamp – good motivation to get this done well before dark!

I asked the aid station if anyone was close ahead of me. They said one runner was close and not looking great. I was still sitting in 11th, and it was time to start hunting now. After the last 2 sections, sub 30 was very much within reach. I was about 30 minutes behind sub 29 pace. That seemed like an awful lot to make up, but I would push hard and see what happened.

The aid station folks said I looked great, and I was feeling really good with 88 miles on my legs. I charged out of the aid station running uphill and ready to rock. I kept pushing hard on this section and continued to be surprised that no one was coming back to me. What was it going to take?!

I came into Fish Gap aid station and finally came upon another runner. I pounded Coke and food while getting bottles refilled. The aid station folks were talking about how the re-route on the last section made the course even longer and more like 110-112 miles. They said they shouldn’t be telling us that at this point. I said it didn’t really matter. We had to get to the finish line, whatever distance that happened to be!

I left here at 12:05pm with 7.5 miles to the last manned aid station. The folks here warned this next section was brutal just in case I somehow forgot. I figured I would need to hit the next aid station at 2:15pm to have a shot at sub 29, which seemed like a real stretch.

This section had endless steep climbs and descents. On the positive side, I came on another runner, moving up into 9th. But the climbs were relentless. Every time I would think it had to be the last one, looking for Fire Pit aid station to come in sight. But then there would be another punishing climb. I was really feeling the toll of the race. Everything was hurting, and things were getting hard.

Finally Fire Pit appeared like an oasis among the steep knobs. It was 2:31, and I wrote off sub-29 – there just wasn’t time. I fueled up well for the last 9 miles to the finish. The runner I passed came into aid before I left. I trudged up the steep 1.5 miles back to the course high point. My legs were shattered, and it was tough to get them moving as I started the 4.3 mile, 2200 foot descent.

I’m not quite sure what happened when I started down the mountain, but a switch flipped. It was time to ignore the pain and pour out what I had left. If I ran really well from here, sub 29 could still happen. I popped in my “Facemelting Playlist”, which consistents mostly of ACDC, Whitesnake, and Van Halen. I was flying now and amazed at how well I was running.

A little over halfway down, I came up on another runner. I flew past and kept pounding down the mountain. I beat my planned split by 20 minutes (!) and had sub 29 well within my sights. I filled one bottle at the water only aid station and kept the gels going to make sure I avoided disaster.

We had a 2+ mile climb up from there. I ran the less steep parts and power hiked the rest. I kept expecting to see the road crossing, but this stretch just seemed endless. At 4:30pm I finally crossed the road with just one short downhill and the Vogel park road left. My legs (and I guess everything?) were super beat up. When I hit the road, I opened up my stride, excited to get this monster done.

I was soaking in the finish of a loooong, tough race. Wait, what was that? In the distance I saw what I was pretty sure was another runner. Yep, it was Brandon. What should I do? It seemed a bit ridiculous to sprint it out after such a long adventure. I was gaining on him and kept slowly accelerating. It didn’t seem like there was enough runway no matter how fast I went, but I kept gaining.

Maybe I could actually catch him? I kicked into a new gear, knees raising and stride lengthening behind me. Was it bad form to pass someone right in the finish chute? Screw it, this is a race. I turned it up to 11. He finally noticed me, and crowd started going crazy as they realized it was a sprint finish! Everyone was screaming as we were in a dead sprint. I ran out of runway and finished just behind him. We were all smiles as I fist bumped Brandon and congratulated him. At least we gave the crowd some good excitement. Later I realized Brandon started in a wave 3 minutes after me, so it was a moot point anyway – ha! Still made for a good story and video.

I finished 8th place in 28:44, hitting my A goals. This race is very difficult both in obvious ways and ways that are difficult to describe. For my skill set, I think it is slightly tougher than UTMB. I’m glad to have experienced this race and earned the world’s biggest belt buckle. I’m super happy with how it went and glad I worked through a very rough patch to still finish strong. There are a few more things I can work on, which hopefully I can put in action for UTMB in late August.

A huge thanks to my Dad for crewing, Jen and my Mom for holding it down while I was away, and Dumass Events for putting on an epic race!

Ridiculous sprint to the finish

The Cruel Jewel buckle could eat my Vermont buckle …