127 Reasons I Did Not Finish HAROC 50K
And other excuses
During the 2024 iteration of the Pilot Mountain to Hanging Rock 50 miler, I was assigned bib number 127. The day before the race, Hurricane Helene blew through and tore up the course and I ended up dropping at mile 34, just before entering Hanging Rock State Park. Again, I found myself wearing bib 127, this time at the HAROC (Hanging Rock Challenge) 50K. I assumed it would be a chance at redemption; a chance to finish what I started at PM2HR four months earlier. I was wrong. Turns out it was a curse. Bib 127 was the reason I did not finish the HAROC 50K.
While we are on the subject of Helene, HAROC would not have happened without it. Traditionally, the South Mountains Marathons are put on by Tanawha Adventures during the second weekend of January. The hurricane completely decimated the state park and it is currently closed until later in 2025. Brandon Thrower, the race director, pivoted and created the HAROC 50K and Half Marathon, to be held on the same weekend at Hanging Rock State Park as a replacement event.
When I first heard the announcement, I was filled with both excitement and disappointment. Besides Umstead State Park in Raleigh, Hanging Rock is where I have spent most of my time training because the 2023 PM2HR 50K was my first ultra and I was very concerned about the climb up Tory’s Den Trail at the time. When I signed up for the 50 miler in 2024, I also spent more time running in the park because the hardest part of the race is the Hanging Rock section due to it being at the end of the race and the technicality of the trails within the park. Hanging Rock being such an important place to me, I was very excited for a race that was completely contained within the park.
The disappointment came from the timing of the race. My training plan for the Umstead 100 had me running a 50k distance two weeks after the announced date. With the terrain being very different than the Umstead 100, I decided it would not be in the cards this year. However, the week of the race, a snowstorm hit and resulted in a park closure and postponement of the race to the exact date I needed a 50k. Tony from the TUFF Run Club (he also helped me at aid stations at a couple of races in the last half year) offered me his entry for free since he could no longer make the race. The race is not ideal training for the Umstead 100, but I decided to accept Tony’s offer and throw it on the calendar. I had originally been signed up for the Willis River 50K Fat Ass race in Virginia that weekend and since it was a free race, I had no problem withdrawing.
It was definitely the bib number. I could not believe my bad luck. It was not the fact that I am a big ole boy and technical running and tight cutoffs are not my strength. It could not have been the fact that I have been training for the Umstead 100 exclusively on the smooth gravel roads of Umstead State Park. It was most certainly not because I have been eating everything I can get my hands on since I finished Uwharrie 100K in October. Just that damned bib number. 127.
Race morning was cold. It’s January. It started from the Lake parking lot within the park. Since the race had been rescheduled, there were not many people starting. The banjo went off (not a typo) and we headed out of the parking lot and to the trails. I hung out at the back as always and ended up running with a few folks from TUFF, Mary, Ruth, and Alex.
We made our way around the frozen lake and up the Moore’s Wall Loop Trail, which is a gentle, but moderately rocky climb up to where it meets the Tory’s Den Trail. This started our descent down the north side of the mountain, also known as “Tory’s Terrible Trench,” for how technical it is. It is not a fast descent. Eventually, it meets up with the Ruben Mountain Trail, a smooth three-mile section that is runnable in both directions. The whole time you are on the trail, Moore’s Knob, the highest point in the park, is teasing you to the east. During the warmer months, aside from the top of several peaks, you cannot see much in the park due to the dense foliage. We were fortunate to have the race at a time of year with the leaves down and have the opportunity for expanded views.
Ruben Mountain Trail rejoins Tory’s Den Trail and takes you to the parking area where our first aid station was located. I had an icicle forming on my hat and a few volunteers made me lose valuable time so they could snap a quick photo. Then we headed back up the way we came down. Two of the bridges were completely covered in ice from the snowstorm two weeks ago. On the way up, I lost some more valuable time having to drop the kids off in the woods. The toughest part of the climb going back up is the Tory’s Terrible Trench section, just before the trail rejoins with the Moore’s Wall Loop Trail. Once there, we hung a left and headed straight up the most technical section of the course to the top of Moore’s Knob. I pulled out my European Cheater Sticks (trekking poles) at this point. It is a relatively short climb, but it is straight up and requires navigating through rocks the entire climb.
It tops out at the watch tower on the summit, and we were required to go to the top of the tower and punch our bibs to prove we were there. From the top you can see the entire Sauratown range, which includes the range’s namesake and Pilot Mountain. You can also see the mountains in Virginia to the north. We climbed down the tower and continued on the trail and down a long, rock staircase. This was difficult for me to navigate but I imagine lighter and more nimble runners fly down this section. It eventually led to the second aid station which was back at the start/finish line.
This was the start of my troubles. We headed up to the Cook’s Wall Trail. Four miles of rocks along a ridge that requires thinking about the foot placement of every step. I had stayed on top of calories and hydration to this point, but my pace slowed to a crawl. Had the trail been smoother, I think I would have been able to continue on pace to finish. I started doing some “ultramath” and realized I was not going to make the next cut off if I continued at the current pace, but I was unable to move any faster through the ice and rocks.
Knowing the trails, the thought occurred to me to go ahead and cut it short, head back to the start/finish area, and call it a day. A few things kept me moving. First, I had received this entry for free from Tony and quitting on my own, while uninjured, was not going to be something I was going to want to own up to. Second, I reminded myself that I want to consider myself a mountain runner. It would be hard to call myself that if I could not handle a few 2ers. Third was that cutoffs are not always absolute. At PM2HR, I missed a cutoff at the halfway point, but they had given us an extra 20 minutes and I was forced to continue. If I quit early and cut the course to do so, I would not even have that possibly of an extended cutoff. So, I kept moving.
Eventually I reached the Hanging Rock Trail. This was the only part of the course that I had not run on before. The trail was essentially a gravel road with a gentle slope up to the peak. It was new and plush. I encountered quite a few day hikers due to the ease of the trail. I had never seen that many visitors in the park at once since I mostly hung around the more technical trails. The top gave way to views of the surrounding area, including the peaks we had been to earlier in the day. Once at the top, Mary told me we were not going to make the cutoff, which I had already known but did not want to say out loud.
I descended hoping someone would tell me to head back to the start/finish line instead of the next aid station. That never materialized and I decided to go to the next aid station to make them cut me off. I had been overserved anyway. It was only going to be an extra half mile to the start/finish area in the Lake parking lot so I figured it was better to let that aid station mark me off so they did not send out a search and rescue party for me while I was driving back home.
It was too cold. There was too much ice on the trails. The trails were too rocky. The aid stations were too far apart. There was not any cheese in the quesadillas. I could go on and on with reasons why I did not finish. Not finishing does not feel great, but I was proud of myself for making the race cut me off and hitting all the high points of the course despite knowing I was going to get cutoff. I kept my mouth shut and did not complain once about my condition or situation. Overall, I was satisfied of the effort. My 100-mile training plan called for a 50K and if I had done it on the Umstead 100 race course, I would have been done in a similar time I spent moving at HAROC. I won’t consider the day a full success, but I left uninjured and more experienced so I will take a few wins.