Southern Tour Ultra
A Wholesome Kickstart My 2024 Year of Racing
Reflecting on last weekend, my mind flutters between all the different aspects surrounding the Southern Tour Ultra race event, as I try to evaluate the entire experience as a whole - but I’ve decided to segment this weekend into two separate sections so I can emphasize what each perspective brought and represented to me. I can’t think of a better way to start things off than with the grand finale which ultimately brought the weekend to a close:
Crewing Adrien Cooper at Last Man Standing
Adrien hadn’t initially planned on racing the Last Man Standing event, but a last minute window of opportunity opened up, so there he was - and there I was, once again finding myself volunteering as part of his crew, ready to take on whatever responsibilities this race entailed.
The field of 55 entrants began the race at 8pm Friday night in already sub-freezing temperatures. 4.167 miles every hour on the hour until just one person remains - a truly unique racing format.
I stayed up for the initial 6 hours of the race (until 2am) helping Adrien, Eric and Wes at the top of every hour before crawling into my tent to embrace Wilmington’s abnormally arctic overnight lows. I earned 4 hours of sleep for this first night and awoken already pre-fatigued heading into my own race event of the weekend, the 50-mile relay.
By the completion of my event, participants in the Last Man Standing race had run 80 miles over the course of 19 hours. I immediately jumped in and resumed my crewing duties hour after hour. I quickly learned what Adrien needed and how to optimize the few minutes of time between his arrival and the bottom of each succeeding hour: Soup, coffee, chicken and rice, chocolate milk, seltzer water, spring gels, coke, extra gloves, change of hats, eye drops etc…
As night fell, more and more runners dropped out, as by its rules, the race has no end until only one remains. Wes had unfortunately succumbed to his premature ailments, and Eric hung around until 8pm, deciding to stop after an even 24hrs and 100 miles of racing.
Three hours later, the old course record was broken after 27 hours and 112 miles, but for the final two competitors left (Adrien and Russ), the race would continue on into the depths of night number two.
The temperatures fell once again to beneath 20 degrees Fahrenheit, and coupled with the howling wind that pierced its way through the open field of the race venue, it made for some bone chilling cold. For the race crew, family members and myself, it was a testament of fortitude to embrace such hostile conditions while eagerly awaiting the remaining two runners lap after lap. I couldn’t imagine how they felt by this point - the fact that they were both still wearing shorts was insanity. But, whatever works I guess!
Just after the start of the 29th hour, Russ officially tapped out. He had finally had enough and proceeded back to the warmth of his camper. All that was left was for Adrien to complete this final lap within the hour - completely solo - to earn victory of the race. 55 minutes and 36 seconds later, he arrived back to camp just before 3am having completed an incredible 125 miles, thus winning the 2024 Southern Tour Last Man Standing.
There comes a point when we choose to sacrifice our comfort in the pursuit of something grand, whether that’s racing an event ourselves or crewing one for our friends - these ultimate successes do not ever come easy. But even though Adrien’s name is what gets posted as the winner for this year’s race and he goes home with the incredible plaque honoring his performance, it feels like I’ve also walked away with a small piece of that prize too.
It occurred to me this past weekend, I’ve been present and either helped crew or pace him (or both) at every one of Adrien’s FIVE 100(+) mile races so far! Regardless if it was pre-planned or sorta coincided last minute, I’m honored to do what I can to help him achieve his potential. So thank you, Adrien; thanks for providing such an opportunity, and absolutely HUGE congratulations once again for another remarkable finish.
Southern Tour Ultra - My 50 Mile Relay:
It began with Katie’s semi-sarcastic Facebook comment reply following my initial inquiry of hopping into the 2024 Southern Tour Ultra: “Want to run it as a two-person relay? Lol”
Any thoughts of registration hesitation quickly diminished as I immediately became interested in such a proposal: to tag-team the 50 mile relay race comprising of 10 laps of a 5-mile trail loop around Wilmington, NC; I mean how much more fun could it get!?! A little bit more digging revealed new for this year, relay teams could run up to two participants at a time with each person’s leg counting towards the overall distance. So I had the great idea of both of us running the first and last laps together, cause what better way to experience such an awesome event.
The weather on race day was frigid. Low 20’s with a fierce wind. Yikes! Katie and I began conservatively, not quite sure of what to expect throughout the day and simply just enjoyed each other’s company. What a beautiful and crisp way start to start our morning.
We’d then proceed to swap the race baton every other lap, taking turns circumnavigating the course on our own. It was difficult balance of refueling, resting, recovering and staying warm in between laps while also managing our time as to not miss each other at the exchange point. We developed a system of quick text updates allowing each other to gage the remaining time before needing to go out again.
What I initially anticipated as a low-key event just to enjoy the day with Katie quickly tuned competitive as I couldn’t help getting sucked into the supportive energy both on and off the course. The cold also fueled my desire to run fast. I ended up pushing 11 of my 15 solo miles at a sub-8:00 pace through muddy, choppy and rather undulating terrain; no, flat does not always mean easy.
By our last lap together I was dead. All my pieces to a successful final lap had fallen apart, but in the truest form of ultra-running camaraderie, Katie was right there to help me put them back together again. We started off slow and I could tell she was itching to go faster. I struggled my way through the initial miles until the end drew nearer. We began pushing each other hard, taking turns setting the pace and adhering to each our own limitations.
We crossed the 10th and final lap stride-in-stride just as we began, each having completed 25 total miles. Our final combined finish time was unbeknownst to either of us, but in the end that doesn’t even matter - because the overall experience to kick off this 2024 year of racing was way more worthwhile, and I’m sure Katie would most certainly agree.
Thank you Katie! It was awesome running with you, and I look forward to more fun events together this year!
Awesome Scott you are always doing something cool and helping others out. Maybe I’ll be able to have you tag along on another crazy adventure this year.
Great write-up! I had a few friends at both events! What an incredible opportunity and experience to crew the winner.