Southern States 200 Race Report

Southern States is a 200-mile, point-to-point route on the Pinhoti Trail through Georgia and Alabama. I signed up for the inaugural year, excited for a new adventure.

With my return to Tor des Geants in September, I was looking for a 200 miler in the first half of year that fit with the family schedule. While Tor went well, it was my first time going past 30 hours. I felt I left some time on the table with sleep management and multi-day nutrition. Plus, another 200 miler under my belt might make me less terrified at this year’s Tor. Sure, I’m sure that will work.

Jade Graham generously agreed to crew me throughout and planned to pace the last 21 miles. Travel was uneventful, and we kicked the adventure off at a civilized 12pm start time.

Start to Mile 69

This section was too much fun. We started on the road with a small group up front, and no one was in a rush to blast ahead.

After a few miles, we hit single track and climbed up to the ridge. Most of this section featured some excellent single track and lots of ridgeline running. It was a stellar day, if a bit warm. Dave, James, and I ran together with James and me pressing forward at some point.

Feeling great coming into mile 16
*Photo Credit: Schreiner Photography*

I came to first aid at mile 16 way up on splits but feeling amazing. James blasted ahead, and I left in second. It was the last time I’d have anyone to run with until Jade paced me at mile 180. With a small field, I figured I would likely run almost all of this on my own, so I was mentally prepared for it, but I sure wouldn’t have minded more company!

One of several nice lakes / ponds we passed

We had a steep climb up to waterfalls that were a highlight of the course. Shortly after was the mile 25 aid station, which was perched at a beautiful overlook. I made good time on the next, long stretch that went through a few controlled burn areas.

Waterfalls coming into mile 25 aid station

Views from the top before the mile 25 aid

All business in the aid station
*Photo Credit: Schreiner Photography*

The third flask in the back of the pack was key for many of the long stretches between aid
*Photo Credit: Schreiner Photography*

Feeling good!
*Photo Credit: Schreiner Photography*

View from mile 25 aid. Not a bad spot to hang out for a day …

I was now over an hour up on splits when I saw Jade again at mile 39 and 7h35min into the race. This would be the last crew point until the following morning at mile 97, so I took a longer stop to fuel up here. Jade brought some fries, which tasted great, and I also had lots of avocado and quesadilla.

Soon night fell and temps dropped. It was in the 40s, but I felt comfortable in arm sleeves and a t-shirt. The stars overhead were epic on the clear night, and I turned off my headlamp a few times to enjoy it.

Mile 60 aid station. All business …
*Photo Credit: Schreiner Photography*

Just like that, I arrived at mile 69, the first sleep station of the race. It was 2:45am, and I had been going for 14h45min so far. A big debate I’ve been having for Tor is whether I should sleep the first night. I decided to try not sleeping night one of Southern States to see how it would go.

My feet were feeling a bit beat up after some water crossings, so I took the time to change socks while eating lots of food. With such a small field that would spread over two days apart, the aid stations were primarily cooking hot food to order. I worried this might slow things down, but they were fast with making food, and there was plenty of time while I was doing other things. My hot grilled cheese here was amazing, and I definitely felt spoiled!

Nutrition had been spot on, spirits were high, and I felt like everything was right on track as I set back off into the night.

Mile 69 to 118

I was least looking forward to the flat 30-mile section coming up, featuring 12 miles of rails to trails and 18 miles of pavement. I am at home in the mountains, and 30 runnable miles after already running 70 miles sounded horrifying.

I forced myself to take at least one walk break each mile to not overcook it. I was still hitting 10-11 minute miles as I balanced preservation with wanting to get this section behind me.

The first stretch went well other than dogs barking at me constantly. Why were these poor dogs out in the cold? The mile 81 aid station was manned by a solitary, awesome volunteer. Shortly after, I started getting sleepy and was worried there wouldn’t be anywhere for a dirt nap on the upcoming road section. I tried for a short nap on the side of the trail, but it wasn’t successful.

On the road section, it was hard to stay motivated and awake. One stretch was on a 4 lane highway with fast-moving traffic, so I suppose fear of being hit by a truck kept me from falling asleep. The miles ticked off monotonously, but sunrise was coming soon. I often get sleepiest just as dawn approaches, and that was the case again this time. I tried another dirt nap and successfully dozed off for a few minutes.

Dawn broke, and I felt rejuvenated. I ran into the mile 97 aid station, excited to see Jade again and refuel. The aid station volunteers asked if we knew this was a 200 mile race and not a 100 mile race. The pace was pretty hot, so I suppose that was a fair point! I ate a veggie chorizo and egg backpacker meal, more avocado, and lots of other food. The S-Lab Genesis was no longer enough shoe, so I changed into my trusty Speedcross.

Feeling great on a new day rolling into mile 97 aid
*Photo Credit: Jade Graham*

I was off into a new day for a few more road miles before turning back onto single track. I ticked over mile 100 on my watch in 21h40min, quite a bit faster than my planned splits. Technically this was also the second fastest 100 I’ve run after Vermont. Granted all the others were mountain 100s with 20K+ vert, but I was still nervous about the pace being sustainable.

As I turned onto the trail, I felt like I was crashing. My legs were dead and nutrition felt off despite the good aid station stop. I was developing a large and painful blister on my pinkie toe. I slowed down and resolved to take time to regroup at the next aid station.

I rolled into mile 105, happy to see the volunteers set up in the middle of the woods. These amazing folks had brought a portable cot, so I laid down for about 20 minutes. I didn’t sleep, but it helped reset my system. I popped and taped the blister and got down lots of food and soup. Third place came into the aid station just as I was leaving, and he said he too was planning for a longer stop here. I set out and said I’d see him down the trail.

I felt much better after, but the toll of miles was adding up. It was time to switch into what I now call “Tor Mode”. I found the pace that was sustainable for days on end. This was a difficult, steeper, technical section. It was also the middle of the day and very hot with exposed sections. With 13 miles between aid, many struggled on this tough section and bonked hard. I felt strong though and was optimistic for the rest of the race after the reset.

This section also had one of the more surreal experiences I’ve had on the trail. Over 7 miles went through private land with these crazy steep dune buggy trails. I guess this weekend was the annual festival, and there were thousands of people on ATVs ripping up and down the mountain. Music was blaring and most were what I’d call “not sober.” One woman pulled up alongside me and said, “you’d better watch out. There are a bunch of idiots back there, and they’re haulin’ ass!” Yep, got it.

I came into mile 118 feeling good despite the tough section and going through the Fast and the Furious 11: Dune Buggy Edition. The lead runner took a longer stop here and was wrapping up a nap. I had soup, avocado, pizza Jade brought, and quesadillas. I felt great and took off now in the lead of the race.

Coming into mile 118 aid
*Photo Credit: Jade Graham*

Mile 118 to 139

We had a decent climb coming out of mile 118. James’s stop seemed to do him well, and he blasted past me a few miles up the trail looking really strong. I descended towards the mile 125 aid station and towards the bottom noticed some unusual pain in my hip flexor.

I took a bit longer at this stop. I had plenty more food and tried to stretch out the hip flexor. One volunteer had a theragun, so I gave that a shot as well. It was around 6pm and 30 hours into the race at this point. Night two was approaching, I hadn’t had any meaningful sleep yet, and the next aid was a long 14 miles away. My hip flexor did not feel good, but this was a small, remote aid station, and I really couldn’t think of anything else to do. I set out and hoped for the best.

I did not feel good on the flat section out of the aid station. We started climbing, which was worse for my hip flexor I tried doing the math on how long it would take to get to the next aid station. As my hip deteriorated, it seemed to be getting further and further away. I felt like I was moving backwards.

With 12 miles to next aid 2 miles to backtrack to the last stop, I briefly contemplated turning around before I got myself into something I couldn’t get myself out of. But here I was running in second place, and it felt way too early to throw in the towel.

Night fell and things got worse. Hiking was painful, and running was out of the question. The next aid station was originally not a crewed one, but prior to the race they said crew could join any time after mile 97 if they helped volunteer. I had enough reception to give Jade a call and update her, asking if she could get to the next aid. She graciously agreed and headed out into the night to get there.

Soon I could only take a few short steps and then had to stop to lean on my poles and relieve the hip flexor pain. It was now taking way longer than an hour to cover just a mile. I gave Jen and call and told her the situation. She told me to stay strong and reminded me that I worked through something similar at Tor when I pulled my calf. She told me to stay in it, get to next aid, take the time I needed to regroup, and keep going. It wasn’t what I wanted to hear, but it was what I needed to hear.

The pain was extreme and unbearable. I figured sleep was the only thing that could help at this point and tried a dirt nap. It was 40 degrees and windy up on the ridge though, and I was way too cold to sleep. I put on every layer I had and tried again, but it wasn’t enough. After hobbling a short way down the trail, I dug out my safety blanket and managed to doze off a few minutes before shivering awake. My hip flexor was the same.

I checked my watch and saw it was now taking me over 2 hours to cover a mile. I had over six miles left and really didn’t know if I could make it. I had just enough service to text Jade and tell her I was struggling and asked what the extraction options were. The last 5 miles were on road, so she could get there if it was an emergency, but she encouraged me to continue.

I finally hit the dirt road and managed a decent shuffle for a mile. Then as the road turned uphill, my hip flexor locked up and was worse than ever. I was also completely depleted and long out of calories and fluids. I had no cell service, so there wasn’t the option of telling Jade to come get me.

Finally, after about 10 hours of this nightmare section some runners started passing me. I asked them to tell my crew at next aid to come back and get me. I wanted out.

I crawled up the road. I had been doing the math on when Jade would get the message and how long it would take her to come back. It took me 2.5 hours to split a mile, and I eventually realized Jade wasn’t coming. I don’t know if it was that realization or dawn arriving, but a switch flipped. A bit of righteous anger bubbled up. I knew it was only up to me to get me out of this situation. Somewhere deep down, a fire was relit. I stopped hobbling, forced my left lag back into a normal gait, and shoved down the pain. I covered the last 2 uphill miles to aid in about an hour, which felt like light speed compared to where I was before.

I crested a hill, and then Jade was there. The long, dark night was over. Jade gave me a pat on the shoulder that said everything. There were no words, and I didn’t want to talk about that last section. It took me 13 hours to cover that 14 miles. But that was the past, and it was time to look forward.

The end of the long, dark night
*Photo Credit: Jade Graham*

I resolved to eat, sleep, and take all the time needed before making any decisions. Hot food was just incredible after 13 hours with minimal calories. I ate well and went to sleep in the back of our SUV rental car. We decided to just let me sleep as long as I needed to.

So … hungry ….
*Photo Credit: Jade Graham*

I slept less than 1.5 hours and woke up a new man. My hip flexor still wasn’t great, but it was better. I ate a lot more food and started gearing up. I was going to try to do this. This felt like a very long stop but was actually less than two hours – less time than it took me to cover a single mile on some of the previous section. Wild.

A new man after a nap!
*Photo Credit: Jade Graham*

OK, I guess i have to get back out there
*Photo Credit: Jade Graham*

Suiting back up
*Photo Credit: Jade Graham*

Let’s gooo ….
*Photo Credit: Jade Graham*

Jade, a million thank yous for making the right call and then piecing me back together.

Back out into the woods after being pieced back together
*Photo Credit: Jade Graham*

Mile 139 to 200ish

The first part was on rolling fire roads, which helped get my left leg moving again. I had to be careful with the hip flexor and needed to adjust my gait, but I was able to power hike the uphills and shuffle the downhills. I suppose that’s about as good as you can hope for at mile 140!

We turned back onto single track trail. This next section had a recent controlled burn, and the air was heavy with smoke. We hit a beautiful lake and started to navigate around it. In my foggy state, it slowly dawned on me that this was Coleman Lake, the next aid station. I was surprised to hit this sooner than expected. I was moving well again, and this section was also 3 miles shorter with re-routes due to the controlled burns. Regardless, it sure was nice to have a 3-hour section after a 13-hour section!

It was hot, so I cooled down with ice in my hat and arm sleeves while I refueled. Jade brought a Jimmie John’s sandwich, which tasted amazing. Veggie soup and chips went down well also. Before long, I was back out on the 15-mile next section.

I was relentlessly focused on forward progress. This next section didn’t have any extended climbs, but there were plenty of steep little rollers, so it packed a good amount of vert. I brought 3 liters of fluids, but with the afternoon heat, I still ran dry with 45 minutes until aid.

I was in good spirits as I rolled into the next aid station, which was led by the Pinhoti 100 RDs. Two runners were in the aid station as I arrived, and I was making up some of the ground I had lost the night before. I had considered sleep at mile 168 but still felt good and had some daylight to work with, so I decided I would press on. The blister on my pinky toe was a problem again, and Jade helped me take care of it (sorry, Jade!). She hooked me up with some Pad Thai, which hit the spot. I got some quesadillas for the road and pressed on to get this done.

Coming into mile 168 aid
*Photo Credit: Jade Graham*

Feeling unreasonably good at this point!
*Photo Credit: Jade Graham*

Tired, but in good spirits
*Photo Credit: Jade Graham*

Night three fell on the next section. I figured my odds were good of finishing by noon in 72 hours, and if things went well 67-68 hours might be doable. It was a bit risky, but I decided to take only a 20-minute nap at the next aid station, mile 180, and hoped that would get me through to the finish.

Jade was there when I arrived, continuing her crewing heroics and ready to pace me for the last 21 miles. I got some food and went to the tent for a 20-minute map. I instantly fell asleep and next I knew was gently awoken by a volunteer. It was easily the best nap of my life, and I felt refreshed. We took off into the night around 11:30pm.

It was a huge boost having Jade pace me on the homestretch, and time passed much faster. It was fun to catch up on our race experiences while on the trail together. We hit the final aid station, a remote outpost manned by a lonely volunteer. Soon we started the long climb to Cheaha State Park, the finish and high point of the course.

For the last few miles of the climb, I put in some tunes and started grinding. I didn’t have a lot left in my legs but pushed hard. I wanted to be done! The sun started to come up as we crested the mountain, perfect timing that made for a special finish. It was a quiet welcome as I crossed the finish around 6am in 66h58min and 5th place.

Reflections

I left impressed by Southern States and would highly recommend it. There are many beautiful parts of the Pinhoti trail, and the race is put on by some wonderful people. The volunteers were second to none.

With the amazing RD
*Photo Credit: Jade Graham*

With Tor as my only other 200 miler, I probably underestimated this race. The hip flexor issue was bad luck, but 200 miles is a long way to go no matter how you cut it. A runnable course presents its own unique challenges, which aren’t as well suited to my strengths.

A lot went well though. Nutrition was excellent from wire to wire. I didn’t lose any weight, as opposed to dropping WAY too much weight after Tor. My gear choices worked well, and I continue to get things more dialed in.

I had a lot of great learnings for this year’s Tor, which was a big goal in this race. I’m starting to figure out how to optimize my sleep strategy for 3+ nights on the trail.

Most of all, I was reminded how crew, pacers, volunteers, and community support makes all the difference in these types of challenges. My new joke is that everyone drops from 200-mile races, it’s just a matter of whether anyone listens to you. Massive thanks to Jade for extraordinary crewing and pacing over 3 days and 3 nights. I absolutely would not have done it without you. Thank you to the race organization and all the volunteers. The community support I received out there was amazing and so motivating, especially the crew that I coach. They were following along, cheering, and wondering whether I’d ever make it off that mountain.

When I finished the race, a volunteer asked me, “what’s next.” Tor popped into my mind, and I just about threw up. I went deeper into the well than I had hoped to in this race, and it is daunting to know how soon I will have to go back to that place. I would not recommend two challenges of this magnitude in one year. However, with a bit of time after the race, my body is feeling strong again, and the fire is burning bright for Tor.

Hobbling around post-race. My feet and ankles had some serious swelling.
*Photo Credit: Jade Graham*

But when I ask whether I should run a 200-mile race next year, someone please remind me I told myself I’d take a year off from them!