300 to compete at Mt Mitchell

CITIZEN-TIMES.com

Ready to run: 300 to compete in weekend races

By Lindsay Nash
LNASH@CITIZEN-TIMES.COM

February 22, 2007 12:15 am

BLACK MOUNTAIN- Soggy, sloggy, muddy, icy and full of adventure.

That’s how four-time winner Will Harlan described this Saturday’s race, where he will attempt to defend his reigning title as the monarch of the 40-mile Mount Mitchell Challenge.

The race, along with its dubbed “fun run” counterpart, the Black Mountain Marathon, will feature some of the best runners from Western North Carolina and across the country in a race to conquer the highest mountain east of the Mississippi River.

“It’s just the challenge of meeting the mountain, of climbing the highest peak east of the Mississippi, and the elements,” said Harlan, who has been described by local runners as the Lance Armstrong of the Mount Mitchell Challenge.

“It’s a personal journey for me,” said the 31-year-old runner who in the last year wasn’t sure he would be able to run as he battled a gastrointestinal disease.

“All along that course, it’s sweat and tears and memories of previous year’s runs and training runs and personal experiences up there,” said Harlan, who recently started the nonprofit Run for Africa. “And when you get to the top of that mountain and look out into the valley and Black Mountain, everything comes into focus.”

Elevation and the elements

The Mount Mitchell Challenge and Black Mountain Marathon will take place at 7 a.m. in Black Mountain, with some 300 runners taking part in both races – the largest field yet for the popular marathon and ultra marathon, said race director Jay Curwen.

Both races start together in downtown Black Mountain before traversing the nearby Montreat trails, including the old Toll Road, up to the 6,684-foot summit of Mount Mitchell, before it turns back to finish at Lake Tomahawk in Black Mountain. The marathon turns around at the Black Mountain Gap of the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Along with the 4,324-foot elevation gain for the challenge runners (and about 3,000 feet for the marathoners), there’s also the weather element to deal with, said Curwen, part owner of Black Dome Mountain Sports who helped design the original course.

“There is a lot of ice and snow,” said Curwen, blaming the late, yet cold and wet winter WNC has experienced. “There will be a significant amount of ice on the trails. We’ve had some pretty cold temperatures, which has really solidified quite a bit of ice up there.”

But it’s that element that really adds to the experience, said Drew Shelfer, who has finished third in the 40-mile race three times.

“With it being snowy (last) weekend and really cold during the nights, regardless of how warm it gets this week, there will be ice at the top,” he said. “It’s going to make it really technical, which I like a lot.”

A little competition

Every year, it seems the runners get faster and more competitive, Curwen said. And this year is no different.

The races always attract the local elite – Harlan, Shelfer, and this year, Mark Lundblad, of Swannanoa, who will be running the challenge for the first time.

The women’s field will be a race between Anne Lundblad, who was named the 2006 Ultrarunner of the Year by UltraRunning magazine, and Annette Bednosky, who has won the challenge twice.

“She pushes me,” said Bednosky, 39, of Jefferson, who recently aggravated an old running injury and is not sure how she will perform on Saturday. “She makes me a better runner. I really like that.”

Also running the women’s race is Sarah Almodovar, 30, of Asheville, who placed third in the marathon last year and will be running in the challenge on Saturday.

It’s more up in the air for the marathon standouts, Curwen said. Frontrunners could include Asheville triathlete Tommy Pintacuda, Asheville runner Michelle Shelfer, Chris Beddingfield, who finished in the top 20 at the Shut-In run, and Erinna Hegarty, a local adventure endurance racer.

Running for different reasons

But along with the elite, the races also draw new and seasoned runners looking for a challenge.

It attracts runners like Jon Snow, 35, who will compete in the marathon. A resident of Washington who recently returned to Asheville to be with his ailing mother, Snow signed up to train with Mark Lundblad’s training group to run in the race.

Snow grew up in the area, but never got into running until he had to pass physical fitness tests for his job with the FBI. He has run the Marine Corps Marathon several times and has been running local races since he returned to the area last year.

“I wanted to get a new outlet on some things,” said Snow, who has turned to running to get through some of the stresses with his mother’s Alzheimer’s. “I just want to do it, feel good about myself and really enjoy the whole Black Mountain Marathon experience.”

“The training has been the highlight for me,” he said. “I really enjoyed running up that mountain, running past those weird cabins, and getting to know the people in my running group. It’s been a real treat. I can definitely say it’s the highlight of my running career.”