PC: Last Light Productions

Since 2014, I have managed to squeeze in at least one marathon or ultramarathon every year. Intent on continuing this streak, I urgently sought closeby ultras throughout the remainder of 2024 and came across a local event in Washington, North Carolina, a two-hour drive from my residence in Raleigh I would do the morning of. In honor of Goose Creek State Park’s 50-year anniversary, TRAILthirty, on November 9, 2024, hosted an inaugural Goose Greek Trail Run & Hike that included a 50K on a non-technical trail. This would be my first-ever legitimate, though not technically, trail ultra, which made me uneasy about the navigation and the inevitably more challenging surfaces than I have become accustomed to. Following many prayers, I registered a couple of nights prior, a few hours before the online registration deadline.

PC: Last Light Productions

We ran a lot of the final loop together!

The course went around a roughly eight-mile loop four times, and I took off without music to remove any potential distraction until I became confident in my ability to interpret the patterns of signs and flags. With countless roots hiding under fall leaves, which I ended up kicking 40-50 times, and other characteristics of trails, I felt my calves burning early on. (A half marathon participant informed me a gentleman tripped and dislocated his shoulder and I was the only one she knew who never fell.) After slow running for the first 11 miles, I started mixing in walking, although I never allowed a full mile of walking at any point. Psychologically, I struggled the most in the third loop, as I ran almost the entirety alone in the woods, albeit I enjoyed praying to God observing His awesome creation in the quiet. Nearing the halfway point of the final loop, on the Palmetto Boardwalk, I ran into a young military man running his first ultra and suffering from an injury. He decided to keep up with me as long as he could, and we ended up conversing and covering most of the rest of the race together, with another first-time ultrarunner joining briefly toward the end. This interaction mentally revived me and led me to run much more than I planned, including the last 2.5 miles nonstop, feeling stronger than I did in the previous loop and reminding me how much of a mental game ultramarathons tend to be. With just over half a mile to go, I pushed forward alone with all the energy I had left, which became my fastest mile on the day. I crossed the finish line officially in 6:51:23.66 at 31.45 miles on my COROS, likely meaning slightly farther in reality. Ultra #13, still challenging, humbling, and memorable.