On a freezing cold Sunday morning, 25 non-whimps lined up for Alex Morton’s latest Fat Ass Recovery From the Holidays adventure.  It was 26 degrees when I left the house at 5:30 AM.  Not sure about the wind chill, but it was down there.  I decided on a long sleeve wool top, gloves hat, Buff (very cool item that is a must have for outdoor sports), and some compression shorts.  I NEVER really warmed up during the race.  The wind kept pulling any heat built up away from my body - oh wait - no whining.  I was fine.  Also carried a Mini-Mule Camelbak pack.  Great for unsupported runs.

At 6:30 AM a small group started out at a fairly quick pace, staying within 30 seconds or so of each other up and over the bridge into downtown.  As the sun came up, the group started to stretch out along the battery and back up East Bay to the bridge.  My goal was to PR by 15 minutes.  Things were going well.  The Perpetuem I was using always goes down well, and combined with Endurolytes, it is a winning combo for self support.

Back down Coleman and past Alex’s restaurant, I switched bladders in the pack and headed for Sullivan’s Island.  It had warmed a bit, but the wind was still blowing.  Having a clear sky and full sun is great for these runs...the views along this route are always gorgeous.  A turn-around point down by Ft. Moultrie allows you to see who might be chasing you down.  The fast and furious had already blown past me, so it was just a matter of holding my current pace and position.  I traded positions a number of times with two other locals runners for the remainder of the race.

Heading out on the beach can be a deceiving 4 mile stretch to beach access 41.  It always seems longer.  The tide was quite high, and on several occasions I was dodging waves to stay dry.  Once you get off the beach, it is a short stretch to the marathon point.  I was sitting in sixth at this point and realized I was well off my goal.  The back of my legs were pretty tight, not sure if it was the cold, but I usually don’t have that issue.  I could still PR, just not by 15 minutes.  Chugging back out onto the main drag on IOP and down to the connector, it was a short clip over the bridge and to the finish.  I was in 6th place at this point in time and was pretty much destined to stay in this position.

All was good as I crossed the finish line.  It was a 6th place finish and only 1 minute off my PR for that distance.  I was happy with that.  Now a quick recovery before the Weymouth Woods 100K in a couple weeks, and the Uwharrie 40 mile race two weeks after that, and then the National Breast Cancer Marathon in Jacksonville two weeks after that.  Looks to be a good stretch of winter runs!  

Thanks to Alex for another great race and to everyone that helped out. Look for his race write up and complete results in a future UltraRunning.

- Mark Nowling

The race started at 8 AM on Saturday with mostly clear skies, good temps, and over 160 entrants.  My goal was to hit 90 miles before Sunday morning at 8 AM.  With such a small loop course, 160 entrants seemed like a stampede, but things thinned out quickly.  Not everyone enters this race for the full 24, so as the morning progressed, more and more people left the course after reaching a specific goal or training distance.

The weather started heating up as the sun came out, but all was going well.  I decided to use water, Endurolytes, a protein shake every 20 miles, hot soup, and the boiled potatoes at the aid station for the day’s fuel.  All went well for the first 25, and while I was taking a shake break, I did some quick math.  If I picked up the pace, and I continued to feel good, I could hit a 50 mile PR. So I changed my goal on the fly.  If I hit the PR, then I would simply see what was left in the gas tank for the rest of the 24.

Picking it up in the heat became a struggle while trying to stay hydrated.  I dug a pretty deep hole as I started running negative splits for the last 10 to 15 of the 50.  In addition, I was only 1 loop back from making the leader board.  Never got there, but it was fun trying.  I hit the PR by almost 40 minutes (was gunning for 60) but my legs were trashed.  Happy with the PR, but bummed about the legs, I took another quick break.  I heard someone say “pizza’s here,” so I nabbed two slices and decided to keep going.

The rest of the race was a bit more social since my new goal was met.  I would just see what I could from here.  I helped push a number of people when they needed some pacing, caught up with some folks I had not seen in a while, and tried to keep two toasty legs moving around the lake.  I was tired, everyone was tired, and day had long since turned to night with head lamps bobbing through the woods.  Steve Rogers showed up and helped me get to 71.44 miles.  I was pretty happy with that considering the change in plans and pace I ran for the 50.  It was good to stop, climb in a sleeping bag, and watch the last several hours of the race - drifting in and out of sleep.

Some of the things that punctuate the race include the winner hitting 132.24 miles, an 8-year-old reaching 50 miles, and over 200 people showing up to run.  A quick recovery, and I will back at it to get ready for a couple 50Ks, a 100K trail race, and a marathon.    

- Mark Nowling

Tour de Moore was by far the hardest race this season. It's a constantly rolling course with a few good diggers and the usual headwinds coming back home. An early break formed with 3 guys out of sight at 1.40 ahead and 2 guys trying to bridge across about 35 seconds ahead. I was a little worried that it might get away except that too many big guns were still in the pack and a couple teams were not represented. Eventually the chasers came to the front and with the help of some attacks harder chasing started and quickly the 2 chasers were brought back and the trio was within sight and continually being reeled in. Carolina Masters team was by far the strongest team and when they saw the break coming back with one of their guys in it they were all over the front of the peloton. Even before the break was brought back, some very earnest attacks started to take place. At that point it was full gas, I was spinning so hard I didn't even notice the break getting swallowed up and probably spit out the back. One attacker would get reeled back in and another one or two would go. Gaps were occuring everywhere, even on the back side of hills. There were several times over the course of these relentless attacks to form a break that I thought I wasn't going to hold on or close a gap. Finally there was a bit of a reprieve, and I found myself rolling to the front of a now diminished front group of about 25 instead of 70. Since we were at the base of a hill when I rolled to the front I decided to let the group have another attacker. When I let off the gas the front group was splintered to pieces again and my move was counter-attacked by Carolina Masters, this is where it got really painful. I grabbed on to the last of twelve guys by my teeth. This painful experience went on for about 5 more miles until the motorcycle came up to report that we had a 1.15 minute advantage. So this was the break and Carolina Masters managed to get 4 of their six guys in it,ugh. So they started attacking, and whether you were up to it or not you had to go, or you might be sitting out there by yourself waiting to get gobbled up. While half the break or more were up the road. Two guys got away, a very strong (eventual winner) John Patterson from Carolina Masters, and a lucky heads-up tag along. The right hander off of the loop to return back to the finish line marks the 15 mile death march into the wind. After a few lame attacks in our group I started attacking on the diggers. Two more guys popped off the back but I was counter-attacked and two more guys got away. With 5 miles to go I attacked 4 more times and each time LeDuc brought it back. Then I found myself just soft pedalling away as Leduc sat up to make the others participate, then I built my speed up without standing up and jumped on the next digger and rode solo for 3 miles to take 5th. 

It was a race I wasn't going to win anyway, Patterson was too strong for anyone that day, but I was happy with my aggressiveness at the end (Klatt and D.Hall were in my ear). That 5th place was harder earned than any of my wins this year.

On a side note, Nathan (trader from the Pacific Northwest) won the 30+ race. Nice prize winning day for both of us.

- Scott Miner

It was only a lap or two before the bigger teams started throwing their attackers off the front, everything was controlled early on because everyone was fresh. Then a group shot off and formed a break that I thought was sure to stick. Thad Dulin, Emile Abraham, 2 Globalbike riders a Time guy and somebody else. It took about 2 seconds for a Time guy and a Globalbike guy to jump on the front of the pack to slow things down. I had jumped on the Globalbike's wheel for a ride to the front and then shot off for the break like I was falling off a mountain. My heart rate hadn't even caught up with my effort by the time I caught the break. When I got there guys started looking around and seemed uninterested in moving the break along even though we had a nice gap and teammates were blocking. The only thing I could figure is that a team like Globalbikes or Time didn't have the guy in the break they wanted. I felt good and thought about having a go at it but knew that a solo bid would end in doom without the big dogs. So back in the field we went and then the attacks started over and over again. Emile countered one time near the end and he went by me like a little rocket. The field was strung out single file and guys started popping off never to rejoin. With 4 to go everything was back together and jammed tight. It was going to be a bunch sprint and unless you were on the front for the last turn you had no chance. So the last lap was mayhem with 26 riders trying to get to the front. No, I didn't get there. I have to admit I was more concerned about staying upright than my finishing place (16th, not much for the retirement kitty). But I was happy to feel so good during the whole race and after. I saw another CBC kit today too. Luke joined the race scene today racing Cat 4 which was combined with the Cat 3's. One Cat 3 rider was solo almost the whole race and won, the rest of the field pretty muched stayed together until the end when two more Cat3 riders slipped off the front, and Luke took 2nd place among the Cat4's in the field sprint. I bailed on the Pro 1/2 race because it was cold and rainy and I was dry and warm and my bike was so nice and clean.I decided to wait and see if the weather would clear for the Master's racing. It didn't, and they announced they wanted to start early so I ran to the car and suited up and got to the line. After a couple of laps warm-up I got away with another rider and we rode away from the field so I got another win. Nathan (traitor from the Pacific Northwest) was going to bail on the Pro 1/2 race but decided 20 min before the race to jump in and finished 14th in a bunch sprint. He probably would have done better but he (like me) had a 53x12 and it was a fast long downhill finish.

- Scott Miner

Our race started at the top and a few guys on the front ripped down the decent and opened up a 90 sec advantage 4 miles into the race. I knew one of the riders was Sperry and he's not much of a climber so I let it go, besides I needed to warm-up a little more. When we came to the base of the climb for the first of 6 times I decided to test my legs and everyone else's and see how much time we could make on the break. As we neared the top of the climb I could see the leaders about 15 seconds in front of us and our group of 60 had dwindled to about 20 very winded riders. After everyone recovered we gave a little chase and brought the 3 break away's back in. The second time up the climb we dropped a couple more and then settled into a little game of silly attacks here and there. I set the tempo up the climb each lap being sure to make it look easy while making sure everyone else looked a little uncomfortable. On the last lap Sperry took off again with another rider and I sat back while the group chased him down. Then one guy countered solo and the group let him go. He was always in sight but had a good 25 seconds or so going into the base of the climb for the last time. It seemed like the group was content to let that guy win the race as we started climbing, I was waiting for the pitch to rise or someone else to start the attack. And sure enough someone jumped, and I jumped on his wheel until we had a couple bike lengths gap and then I slung shot off him to chase my rabbit. When the leader looked back to see me coming I could see he was already thinking 2nd place. I flew past him and crested the climb zipped up the jersey and combed my hair and looked for the camera, win number 3. 

BMW Center, yawn, and windy. A few different guys showed up for this one though, some sprinters and track guys. And I knew Sperry wanted some revenge. I almost missed the break that started to form with 10 laps to go. I was dodging the headwind so I was pinned to the right side of the race track up against the grass with the field surrounding me to my left when some of the stronger riders starting making a break for it. Doug Pomeranz was behind me and came around in the grass, I thought about it but wasn't going to do it, but then he did it so I didn't think about it anymore. I managed to get to his wheel and we were chasing 6 guys that were going all out. Doug started to fade thinking he was alone and I came around and we finished off the chase in short order and then we were a break of eight. The group chased hard for several laps but then gave in to the reality of the situation, the break was strong and working well. In the last lap coming into the headwind the sitting up and game playing began and no one wanted on the front. At one point we were all scattered across the track checking each other and we just kept creeping into the wind until it almost felt like we were all track standing. I didn't want it to become a 200m sprint so I flinched first and got a little gap but Tom Sunday was on me so fast there was nothing I could do and I was committed. We had a little break going into the final turn but then the group of six came beside us like a train. Tom jumped around me for the eventual win. I jumped on the back of the train and tried to gather some momentum for a second dig not wanting last place out of the break. Then I felt the tailwind and took off around the exploding train and saw that I could take 3rd place from Sperry who was also blown. 

So Team CBC rocked the Greenville Spring Series with 3 wins and two 3rd place finishes out of 5 races and ran away with the overall title. Going to Italy next to scout out my retirement home. 

- Scott Miner

If I managed a gap they would chase like hell to bring me back. And having left the house at 5:15am and stepping out of the car into the cold rain right to the start line, I didn't feel particularly frisky so I sat in the back and waited for the sprint. Moved up near the front on the last climb and stayed behind a wheel making sure to keep a door open for the sprint. Knowing it was a little uphill sprint I didn't take off till the 100m sign, 2nd win. Different race than I expected but still wasn't jinxed by Cromer's guess. Retirement is just around the corner, can you guys feel it? Looking forward to River Falls. And Steve Sperry says he's coming for me at the BMW Center, I asked: "You and how many of your teammates?" Game on!

- Scott Miner

At the start of the Masters race I was looking around at the field to see the competition faces and saw that Doug Pomeranz was there. Once you spot him in the field you don't need to keep looking around, he's going to win. So the race started and I made my way up to him and said hello and chatted a bit while keeping an eye on the over-caffeinated action on the front. During the first lap there were some lame attacks and I had a few more conversations with other riders. Then a few more serious attacks starting happening and they started forming a decent looking break with a little gap. I wasn't worried because I hadn't seen Doug make a move off the front. While looking around for Dougie in the peloton the break had turned into eight guys with a nice size gap. Well just because I didn't see Doug go didn't mean he hadn't, because that sneaky bastard did go and he was in that fast moving break. Then a couple guys near me said "Well, that's gone." I was pretty much in agreement with them, but then, I hadn't tested my lungs yet this year or done any threshold work. So, I thought I may as well leave the 60 strong peloton and get a workout in since I got up so damn early to race. After 40 minutes solo at threshold and more than twice around Donaldson I was gaining on the break away and it was starting to crumble and I started passing the remnants. A few riders managed to jump on as I came by them and then my target broke away from the last two survivors and was off the front solo. I knew he was going to win but I wanted to catch him and say hello again before the finish. I just managed to catch him with 4 guys in tow, but with both of us so tired it was hard to carry on a conversation. With 1500m to go, Doug pulled out one of his patented marathon sprints, I followed with no gas left dropping 3 guys but one guy glued to my wheel. He, of course, came around me near the line leaving me with 3rd place (aka second loser). 

Sunday was a little cooler and a hell of a lot windier and minus Doug Pomeranz. I decided the day was mine. At the line they announced one less lap. I took off first time up the hill by the golf course with 5 guys in tow. Tired of not winning, I decided to play it smart and make the other guys work some. Lap by lap I would take a pull hard enough to drop a guy on a hill or into a 30 mph head/cross wind all the while ignoring their pleas to keep it together. Until there was only one guy left begging for mercy for me to tow him to the line saying he would settle for second (aka first loser). With the win in sight, and not allowing myself to trust him, I made him pull to the 500m mark. I came up beside him and he looked at me and said "Don't forget to straighten up your jersey", so I smiled and took off for a long overdue victory.

Payout's being what they are in the Greenville Spring Series and the prominence gained from victory at the Donaldson Center, you can bet I've almost secured my retirement. But don't come knocking on my door for any handouts.

- Scott Miner