The Bear 2016 Race Recap

 

Dear Bear,

 

Exactly 10 years to the day we met.  I was 32 and trying to regain some fitness lost in my late 20's - and yes, I know I haven't aged a bit.  My resilience was greater, my stride longer, metabolism faster, I was much less easy to get along with but most certainly just as stubborn.  I don't recall going to great lengths to sign up and frankly don't know who introduced us.  If I knew, I would punch them in the throat.  That year I would finish 99th among 795 complete strangers.  I hated you.

 

It was 2013 before I returned under duress - the summer before Hey Jack! fielded our first full Blue Ridge Relay team so how could I say no.  I wasn't registered but was able to slide in under the alias of another runner that wasn't able to participate.  Having just been introduced to several of these guys I was eager to perform and really wanted to turn in a good showing.  I got off to a horrible start and watched Knox, Joe, and Eric whom I'd just met gracefully glide up the mountain like a bunch of gazelles with Hank in tow.  I tried to keep up to no avail, rolled an ankle off the side of the road, then tried to regroup.  A few minutes later I would find myself walking before we even hit 2 miles. 

 

I waited a few minutes for the masses to pass and was resigned to jogging it straight back to my car and packing up shop.  My name wasn't showing up in the results which made the decision that much easier.  Banks and LT would check on me - "I'm good." I told them, "Just tweaked my ankle.  I'm coming."  Then it happened.  Mark, f'n, Huegerich happened.  I had just told bold faced lies to two guys I actually knew with every intention of bailing and for some reason I found myself putting one foot in front of the other with Mark.  This couldn't be happening.  Mark managed to coax me out of my only would-be DNF (excluding last year's BRR) and I went on to finish a dejected 171 with a medal around my neck but again, no mug.  I still hated you.

 

I skipped you the following year but would return in 2014.  I knew we didn't get along and that we never would.  I probably didn't appreciate your beauty and maybe even took for granted the God given health and ability to absorb and recover from the havoc you wreaked on my quads and lungs.  We made amends that year as I came with a greater respect for your ridiculous elevation and the indiscriminatory beating your altitude bestows upon my oxygen supply.  I finally walked off the mountain that day with a mug, not just "a" mug but "the" last mug handed out as the 68th finisher....but I still hated you.

 

And there we were, 10 years wiser and dancing the dance we had for the past decade.  I can't say no and you keep letting me in.  But it's time - it really isn't you, it's me.  I think you're amazing but I just don't deserve you.  I don't train for you like I should, I take your beauty for granted, and being with you just requires entirely too much effort.

I know I'll never run another race like you but honestly I just don't think I was built for it. Considering it took only 5 minutes for you to find 900 takers you'll undoubtedly rebound with someone younger, fitter, faster, more fun, and more deserving of your grandior.  Saying goodbye is never easy, except to you, which has proven to be exceptionally so.  I no longer hate you, but I'm going to enjoy July a lot more without you in it.

All the best,

Jason

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Well I'm glad that's over - and I'm assuming you are too.  For a race that fills up in 5 minutes somehow I'm always 'lucky enough' to get in and I believe a lot of that has to do with peer pressure.  The night before registration there was a flurry of text reminders from the usual suspects.  The group text says Hey Jack but there was a lot of jabbering from HE -- otherwise known as Hank Eimer.  First one to register and one of the only ones to get in before the server blew up.  HE coordinated hill runs although I don't believe the participation was high and even went as far as to guarantee a mug (top 10% of men and women finishers receive a mug at the finish) to anyone of us that was able to follow his charge up the mountain.  And then came this text string the day before the race:

JM:   What's the plan for tomorrow for the Bear that I'm registered for and regretting?
LT:   Plan is to see who's going, exclude Mark, and carpool up the mountain.
HE:   I'm registered and headed to the beach at the moment.  Good luck.
EM:  I'm in Denver, I'll run up a mountain in solidarity.  Actually just going to drink beer and watch the Rockies game.  Good luck.
Everybody:  WTF
(after the race)
HE:   Did you get my shirt?
MB:  How about my shirt?
Everybody:  FU

That about sums it up really.  In total six guys from Hey Jack! there made the trip including LT, John, Ben, Joe, Mark, and myself.  Like any close knit group would do we left Hickory just after 4:00......in 4 separate vehicles.  LT and Mills representing the social group that would stay after for dinner and drinks, Ben had the honor or chauffeuring the spouses that were running not including my wife who was riding in a 5th vehicle with her running friends.  Mark was driving solo from DC with 8-1 odds of showing up and Joe and I were in the let's-get-this-over-with-and-get-back-home-asap vehicle.  Actually Joe was boarding a plane early the next morning and I had to pick up the boys or we would have been a little more social.

We arrived to find out there was talk of shortening the course as a result of 66 mph wind at the top of Grandfather Mountain.  Having run this before I was actually excited about that notion.  I wanted no part of a cancellation or a re-do some other day but I was really hoping the stars would align and we would run the 2.5 up to the Highland Games and circle back down to the start.  I mean it was perfect.  But as with most of my ideal scenarios that never gained any traction.  Instead the course was cut short about 0.3 miles which meant that the final switchback was cut and that last straightaway to the top of Grandfather was out.  Rather than make the cutback we just dropped off to the right into the parking lot where the finish logistics would remain the same for the most part.

I hate running The Bear, just in case you missed that.  I have never, ever, at any point during the race have stopped and thought what an amazing view.  But I have cursed myself and anybody that supported this nonsense countless times...

So in summary, The Bear is held every year during the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games which is one of the largest Scottish Games in America.  And yes I took that directly from the website because my Scottish game history is a bit lacking.  It starts at the corner of Hwy 105 / 221 and is advertised as a 5 mile run or an 8K but even the 'normal' course to the top of the mountain is closer to 4.6-4.7 miles.  The first 2.5 miles are predominately on a winding gravel trail which take you up about 625' of elevation.  After that you get a brief reprieve through the Highland Games where it flattens off momentarily before the march up to Grandfather that takes you up another 900 feet to the top.

The first 3 miles are manageable which is to say if you're chasing a mug you need to get through the first 3 miles as quickly as you can without running out of oxygen in the process.  A delicate balance to say the least.  Awards are only given to the top 3 overall men and women so there are a lot of mug chasers heading up the mountain.  My best guess based on my placement in the 9.9% percentile of top 10% male finishers is that's about 60 mugs available give or take.

Last year I got my hands on the very last one so my plan was to replicate the formula from last year and run just fast enough to get a mug.....and not a second faster.  Joe and I parked in the usual spot, got our bibs, checked a bag, and jogged a mile because it seemed like the thing to do.  All of that and we didn't cross paths with the rest of the crew until we met at the start.  With little to no fanfare the race began and I lost track of everyone in our group.  The first 100 yards didn't feel too bad but when we turned onto the gravel road I was really not feeling it. 

I do a fair amount of running in the heat but zero running at higher altitudes and getting started is just a huge punch in the guts for me.  Running on the gravel roads does nothing for my jacked up feet either.  I'm not saying it slows me down (I'm not saying that it doesn't either) but from afar I probably resemble someone walking amongst broken glass trying to find the next soft landing.  I'm just not a great Bear runner in general but I knew I had to keep my first 3 miles at paces under 8:30 to have any shot at a mug.

Heading into the Highland Games area I felt slower than last year but my total time through 3 miles was only 3 seconds off.  I was able to turn my legs over a bit faster through the games area and get some decent strides in but my legs were heavy and I was coming to grips with the potential of going home empty handed.  The real work begins as you exit the games and starts with a steep grassy hill that just has my number because I am physically not capable of running up it.  As I trudged up the hill and hit the pavement it was actually a relief to be on asphalt again.

Again there's a very slight reprieve from climbing before you really start getting your money's worth.  I could see John up in the distance while Joe and Ben were a few seconds behind.  From here on it was just head down, arms pumping, and legs turning over.  I tried to find a rhythm and stick with it and while I wasn't running fast I knew if I stopped I might not start back.  Mile 4 was a 10:30 pace which was better than last year so I knew that once again I would be close to a mug but by no means did I feel confident about it.

Soon I would hear people in the distance so I knew the finish was near.  My time was 39:30 which was all but irrelevant considering I had no point of reference with it being a short course.  All I knew was there was an outstretched hand holding a mug pointed in my direction and I grabbed it.  Another Hickory runner (Adam Oakley) was steps behind me and snatched a mug and I believe there was one more male mug passed out after that.  Once again I had gotten lucky and run within seconds of the bare minimum which is all that mattered.

The ride back down was a bit of a cluster with the new finish area.  It took a while to find the bag check truck but once we did we added a layer and headed for a seat on the bus for the drive down.  I had every intention of having my phone with me at the top to take some pictures, catch Julie and her friends crossing the finish, and capture the amazing view from the top of Grandfather but obviously that didn't happen because my phone was sitting on the kitchen counter.  And then it ended, just an unceremoniously as it began. 

As always I loved seeing so many familiar faces and Hickory was well represented.  Ten years ago I didn't know a single person there and this year I probably knew at least 30 and maybe more.  Mike Lawson cracked the top 25 to turn in the best finish from this area with the Hickory Knuts and F3 Hickory well represented as well.  Congrats to Julie and Tom on their first Bear and everyone else that made it as far up as they let us go!