Tour De Virginia June 30-July 14 560 Miles On The Appalachian Trail

On June 30, 2012 the Tour De Virginia Prologue stage began.

Rebekah Trittipoe, Rob French, Eric Grossman, Anne Riddle Lundblad and Myself embarked on a 560 mile stage race on the Appalachian Trail across the state of Virginia. The TDV consists of 14 stages and a prologue, each stage averaging 40 miles. We had to carry our own gear, food, and means of treating water for each stage. We camped at nights at trailheads, or stayed in hostels or houses. We had a chef, James Grossman and a crewman Adam Bolt.

Prior to the TDV, I had my first bout of Plantar Fasciitis which hampered my training substantially after a successful spring ultra season. I'd now say that after completing one of the hardest foot races ever conceived by man, PF is not a death sentence.

Now, one week after completion of the Tour De Virginia, I still find myself dreaming of the TDV every night while I sleep and missing the routine of waking to the smells, sounds and sights of the Blue Ridge Appalachian Mountains, and running all day only to stop before dinner and crashing for night.

At the end of the brutal stages running through 100+ degree temps and climbing and descending incessantly, we would often wonder how in the world we could wake up and do it again, yet we always did. and found strength and solice in knowing the bodies incredible ability to recover in only 12 hours from the previous stage.

A central theme in my run was as always, run your own race and run with patience until the last third of the race.

I'm still piecing my thoughts together and hope to complete a more thorough write up of this incredible adventure in the near future.