It's lunch time January 1st 2020 and this event has already sold out. My 51st birthday on December 31st was spent with the kiddos and helping my mom run errands while my better half Gina worked. It had been a productive yet exhausting day so after returning home to pick up my wife to go to a local fav called "Cubbies", we would return back home to get relaxation before the new year but home before all the parties started. My wife was tired as well so we decided to go to sleep. I had decided to set my alarm to not only see the ball drop but to also register for the Hinson24 Ultra after midnight. So the alarm was set for 1145pm. In true Tim fashion, the alarm goes off and I'm a bit confused thinking it was the morning work alarm. As habit held true, I would press snooze one too many times and miss the entire ball drop thinking it was the morning before realizing in fact it was not. The good news is that I had remembered it was indeed time to register! And that I did. With a limit of about 450 runners, it was already down to 254 slots left. Before going to bed at about 1250am, it was down to 235. I woke up to 155 slots and later I checked at about 1040 when only 33 slots were left. Clearly, this event is a big hit and one that I am obviously not the only person that enjoys.
Perhaps this may be the one reason of more interest. This year all runners completing at least 100k(62 miles ish) will earn this medal. Of course, 100m finishers will continue to earn the BUCKLE! My record remains about 85 miles in 24 hours and was actually set at this course the year I placed 8th overall. My ultimate goal would be to earn the 100m Buckle.
THE COURSE
"The course is the 1.5032 mile inner loop that circles the lake. It is a certified course with certification code NC14103DF. The surface is sand/gravel maintained trail through the woods. You will run over 16 small wooden foot bridges including an 300 foot bridge that crosses over the lake. The trail will be marked on race day and will use chem-lights at night." HINSON24Ultra Website
Here is a teaser picture of the 2020 January Southern Mountain 50k I endured. Check out that blog post!
Example run on 2.23.2020 when I ended up running on a Sunday afternoon when it was oddly 60 degrees just days after our only real snow this winter in eastern NC. It was a 10k at 9:02pace followed by about a mile cool down to total 89.46 aerobic miles for the year.
This is one of my typical running courses. This one was created by running friends Jenny W and Brad G. It is a 10k(6.2m) up and down hills course winding back and forth until eventually looping back to the start. I'm weak sauce when it comes to hills despite loving the ones with scenery as you might see on a mountain trail hiking or completing an ultra. After completing the January 2020 Southern Mountain Ultra, I developed plantar fasciitis again so in my attempts to let it somehow heal while also increasing fitness I've reduced my running but have continued to do martial arts and weight lifting.
I finished February 2020 with a total of 713,635lbs lifted for the year. I have a goal of at least 3 million pounds lifted this year.
I can't say enough positive things about my martial arts training with my son Landon. The 8 classes I teach each week however aren't exactly great for my healing process with my plantar fasciitis. All that being said, it's great to get that yoga and karate in for cross training.
Meanwhile, as I ended leap day Feb 29th and thinking that it was this day in 2004 that I proposed to my wife Gina in New Bern at Union Point Park and all the great memories that go with that, the reality that March Madness and Matness was upon me too. Had I lost my mind? About a half year left to train seems like a lot but with work, family, vacations and the unexpected, I was not sure. March would have to begin more serious training.
May 31st 2020
It's time to get serious!! ok ok ok past time!! I've been waiting for my plantar fasciitis to resolve but that may never happen but it does feel lots better so I'm very hopeful!! Landon had a soccer training session in the Holly Springs area so I took advantage of this great trail. Unfortunately I took a fall and rolled my ankle. I feel hopeful it will get better quickly since it happened at mile 2 and I was able to jog it back in. Time will tell!
Social weightlifting is back at the MMG (Mediocre Muscle Gym)
June 1st 2020
Landon and I started the 1 aerobic mile streak today. I hope to use this to jump start my training for Hinson now that my plantar fasciitis has finally been minimized. Of course yesterday's fall on the Peninsula Trail did NOT help! Here we go!!
June 17th 2020
Training for Hinson has not been going well. My ankle is still having issues but on a positive note I'm lifting consistently and my son Landon and I have now ran 17 straight days together (18 for me if you count the trail run that resulted in my fall and injury). I'm super proud of my kiddos! Kamryn likes to wrestle but will also do a little gym work. My low mileage is NOT the way to prepare for this race!!!
First Month of Summer Streak Complete... My ankle feels better and my Plantar Fasciitis appears to be resolved overall...
Goofing off with round kick... Landon and I also typically warm up with a kata while we wait for the GPS to get ready
These sunset shots were from 6/29 just half day before we ran to complete the month of the streak
July 24th 2020
Well dang... the training will continue so I shall be back and I will continue this post to show the progress for hopefully next year's HINSON24!!
Blog entry for my 17th Ultra the PM to HR 50k
So the show continued with the PM to HR Ultra but the reality that I must train if I ever want to run well became very clear... sure I finished and Rich and I had a great time but my goal for the now 2021 Hinson24 hour run was not just to beat my 85 mile record but to get 100 miles under 24 hours. My only 100 hour run completed was Tunnel Hill which took my about 29 hours. I would need serious training to beat that! Sadly, my sorry self would need another race on the calendar. It looks like it will be the Uwharrie 40 miler in February which gives a 12.5 hour time limit to finish. Here we go!! The first step was getting in which meant to make sure I registered November 1st asap before it closed out.
Blog Entry for my 30th Marathon or > Distance
Nothing better than dragging friends into the pain cave with you! haha!
So I went on Spring Break with the family and gained about 10lbs... not good! So training for this Hinson24 will definitely help me get back in shape!!!
About 10lbs lost since April 11th!! YAY! Fat % dropped from about 14 to about 11%. Now to keep it up!
September 1st 2021
Here we are less than a month away from Hinson24 take 2... The summer heat has been madness and consequently so has my schedule and resultant overall training. Oh well... I'm still going for the 100k because this will be the first time they are giving medals for that distance. Before it was simply a buckle for the 100 in 24 hours. Sure, I still want that buckle!! I only have one buckle for that 100m at Tunnel Hill but this is the course I want that 100 in 24 hours!! This will not be the year as my training has been terrible. Yesterday, I did manage to finish the GORUN Summer Cardio streak but in the last month I only averaged about a marathon in aerobic miles per week. Bless. The good news is many friends will be there and my running partner through several races and karate partner Rich Keehn will now be in the race. He was in it then because a concern was changed to the same weekend he was out. Well now with the Delta Variant of Covid terrifying everyone, the concert was cancelled again so now Rich is back in!
Nearly 9 miles total completed on this near 100 degree heat index day! Kamryn helped me pull through! 6 min run 4 minute walk repeats! Whew!
September 5th 2021
Although I completed the GORUN Summer Cardio Streak, I am still on a streak making this day the 97th day!! I completed over 11 miles today which is low for my usual training. Unfortunately, my college coach Choo told me many moons ago that the only thing I can really gain within 2 weeks of a big race is an injury. So in true Timmy form, I once again have not trained enough. Here is the current cardio stats as of today:
1.08m (9:40 pace)(7:58 fastest pace during run) 132 HR
8.05m 1:25:35 (10:38)(7:54) 6:4 run walk 143 HR
2.05m (11:51)(6:50) 136HR
YTD Run/Hikes 473.3
YTD Bikes 224.63 (74.88)
YTD Swims 2.84(11.36)
YTD Aerobic Mileage 559.59
Note swims I multiply x4 and cycling I divide by 3 for aerobic mileage
September 24th 2021
We both decided to take the day off and get to Hinson Lake early so we could pick up our bibs and get a good camping spot. It's located near Rockingham NC.
CUBBIE'S
After Rich was kind of enough to drive from New Bern to Greenville to pick me up I figured I'd treat him out for lunch at one of my favorite places. It was the least I could do on top of splitting travel costs. I got my traditional shrimp burger but went for the water this time. He was better than me and got a grilled chicken sandwich. The original one was down down near ECU Campus but that no longer exists. This is near the mall in Greenville off of Arlington near BW3's another good eats place.
We made it safely right in time to miss most of the school bus traffic!!
HISTORY OF HINSON LAKE
A new sign! Well, at least a sign I didn't remember...
PACKET PICKUP
David Tim Rich
After parking, we immediately saw our ultra buddy David Soloman as we walked toward the packet pickup. You may remember from previous blog entries that this guy was with me in my very first ultra with Jeff Dufour as we endured the MST Falls Lake Fat Ass 50k. I hadn't even done a half marathon race yet haha... Jeff talked me into it and the rest is history.
We got another cool shirt, previous year beer glass and a new coffee mug. They even changed the color to blue which was cool! We were only bummed out that we didn't get a new sticker but oh well. This race is still the best!!!
RACE SWAG
Rich and I with our swag! but now time to drive around the other side of the lake, park and find a good campsite
We got our old spots back! Awesome! I am glad I brought our beach wagon to tote everything. I definitely recommend folks do that! I was a little upset about several folks setting up camp on good spots but never sleeping over. It was a bit selfish considering they took good spots for a supply station but then left to sleep in a hotel. Oh well... Rich and I will definitely bring a hatchet etc next year.
CROOKED ROAD RUNNING CLUB
We decided to use the bathroom near the start finish and check out some sites...
Not too long before they put up the aide station
The Lake view the Friday before the race
We would really appreciate this during the race... sprinkle system made by the race crew!
Here were some cool gnomes we would later see on the trail.
The Hinson Legend Bill Keane!
I believe he holds the record for the 2nd most total miles ran here.
Pretty cool!!!
Rich and I drove into town and decided to eat at a Mexican Restaurant. It seems like prices are going up everywhere. Hopefully we would not regret this decision the next day.
yessss the beer was great! Amber for Rich, Lager for me... and usually I'm the dark beer guy but love both of these
Our Pre-Race Dinner!!
In past years, the race would have a motivation speaker and a spaghetti dinner or something. With COVID, life has certainly changed but not stopped.
The weather was perfect but it's been weird as we had high temps and now mixed with low temps especially at night. It's the relative drop in temperature that makes it feel cold.
After we finished our pre race dinner we saw Stephanie and Rachel arriving to set up camp
Brittany and Ryan the night before the race setting up camp
Mary, Rachel, Brittany and Stephanie setting up...
Brittany-Stephanie-Rachel-Mary
The night before... Timing Mats etc soon to be set up
We headed back to packet pickup because they didn't have the coffee mugs delivered yet when we got our bibs earlier. We were also able to get a beer glass from a previous year!
Me attempting to get cool cover page shots for facebook
Which is your fav?
This was the first year I've ran that the cup was blue instead of black. Looks great! Thanks!
Rich and I decided to put some swag in his Tahoe for less chance of getting damaged in our tents etc. This old truck was sitting up on the hill above us. I still love old stuff like this.
Adam and Jamie
Traditional FaceTime with family the night before in my tent before sleeping!
September 25th 2021
RACE DAY
Rich labored in his sleep attempts but kindly got up early and got us coffee!! You da Man!
I ended up eating Fig Newtons for breakfast. Here we were on our last bathroom calls before the race.
Rich Tim & Jeff
Bathroom Time before the Race
Sunrise
Traditional pictures of David as he awaited the sunrise moments to photograph
Jimmy!
He would finish 98th with 51.1099 miles
Found my running buddy Bill early race morning
The sun was a picture menace... oh well
REVEILLE "WAKE UP!!!"
John you are tougher than me sir!
Tim & John the Barefoot King
FUEL
Checking out the fuel before the start
This is cool... not sure how comfortable and how I would change clothes though...
Jason Lucy and Jeff Moments before the start...
The walk to the race start from camp
RACE START
Rich and I right before the race start!!!
Legendary Ultra Man and Photographer David preparing at the start...
Here we go!!
Nope! We would focus on 5 minute run 5 minute walk which actually was good for the 100m pace but of course no stress as we planned only a 100k.
Gnomes appearing everywhere!
This area was not as sandy as past years thank goodness but it was still a little climb after multiple repeats. This course is like 95% flat so it's a great race for anyone.
It's always funny what nutrition sources you aim for when enduring an ultra. I love my pickles and pickle juice!!!
Just really getting started...
Some teams were getting serious... I love it!
Any sign to keep up going and laughing is a good sign!
Just another trip around...
I don't know this guy but it's cool to see so many from different cultures or simply personalities... He is rocking the Kilt!!
Yep... I didn't train well but honestly I was training late and early. Let's just say the Early Bird Timmy didn't appreciate the Night Owl Tim!! John Wayne "The Duke" once said "I can sleep when I'm dead". Okay that may be a little much but you only live once so sometimes you have to push the limits.
The Timing Mats! AKA "The Last Hill" on the loop
yep I walked everyone of these!
Well the view isn't cool but there is a neat reflection of us and of the little girl I believe made some sand castles on the trail! As the day continued, Rich and I gradually moved up in rank.
Frequent Flyers at Hinson24
(L)Debra finished 104th with 51.1088 miles (saw her with a knee brace at one point)
(R)Rosemary 147th with 40.5864 miles
Tim Bill W and Rich
LEGEND
Legendary Bill Keane on the right
Yep she's done the Last Annual 314 Mile Volunteer State Ultra twice!!! She did give a shout out to my friend Clay Vick who's also done it several times but told me he wouldn't remember her but he was unforgettable.
Slowly climbing up the ranks...
2021 GNOME
I had to take this pic! This gnome had the year!!
I think I'll move this cool gnome...
I kept forgetting to take a picture of this neat RUN24 sign... but I finally did and even moved the cool gnome here for a photo bomb too!
Ethan the Gatorade Bartender
Ethan was awesome! The Boy Scout came out of me as I wanted to stop wasting so many cups. He helped me fill up a cup I marked with my name each time I ran around the course.
Jamie is such a character. A good one of course...
She would finish 242nd with over a marathon added in the books for another ultra with 27.1625 miles
Scary Looking Gnome
GORUN (Greenville Organization of Runners)
established in 2008 by Jeff Dufour, Charlie "Choo" and Sharon Justice, Tyler Pake and my wife Gina and I officially at a Starbucks Coffee Shop which is now a Dunkin' Donuts Shop.
I wanted to help motivate our club runners but after only 1 lap you couldn't even see my stick writing. One guy laughed because I wrote this at the beginning of HINSON Mountain one of the few areas of mini climbs on the trail.
MANGUM TRACK CLUB
There's a bunch of cool peeps with the Mangum Track Club. I didn't realize they were established in 1986. That was a good year for me. I won the 4A Mideastern Wrestling title that year. I still haven't earned one of those cool Mangum Track Shirts!!
Adam in the barefoot club rocking those miles!
Moving a gnome and fueling up with Rich and Ryan
We just left the aide station
If you're thinking about a well supported race, this is it. You don't have to carry fuel etc with you. The course is only about 1.5m and the aide station and the bathrooms are right there at the start/finish.
Brittany was looking strong all day! It would be a great day for her!
Mark in number one position but only had a 50k goal for this time at Hinson24
Meanwhile Rich and I moved up to 36th and 37th as we hit about the 21 mile marker
Too cool and also beside the porta potties...
In the therapy world we often talk about Mobility helps with Motility
yep yep yep...
Several new gnomes this year... we shall see you again
Jeff passes another gnome ....
we ran many same races but this guy is a much better runner than me. I'm still trying to get used to his new haircut. He had long hair until about March this year.
SUCK IT UP BUTTERCUP
Makes me smile every time I see them still getting it done.
Bill Keane would finish 120th with 48.2997 miles at age 77
A bit of glare on this pic but I wanted to share how cool it is to see you move up the ranks as the day goes. At first you could be ranked around 400 and gradually you rank up as many don't plan to endure the entire 24 hours or they have timed goals for shorter distances they want to play with. Of course, it's a 24 hour race regardless so in the end it's always neat to see who survives and how far they made it.
We hit our marathon split in about 6 hours so at this time we were on pace for 100m but it was not our goal or our day for that with the lack of training.
So many great setups for camps/personal aide stations. All of them help to make the repeated trips around the course much better.
It was great seeing George but unfortunately he would be a spectator this year. Get injury free man! We missed you on the trails!
Another great event by Jerry! Thanks as always sir for all the memories and the opportunity to make new ones! We even got to meet his brother in law this time as we helped him move an ice cooler.
Well we were really about half way there to our goal! We were about 50k in on our 100k quest so we were ahead of schedule. Andy, John's dad, would be kind enough to take our picture so we didn't have to do a selfie. Thanks Andy!
This is John's dad! He was not barefooted like John. Andy would finish 174th with 35.5808 miles. That's pretty impressive for anyone but he's 75 here so that's incredible!!
Getting later in the race so we wanted to get one last good lake shot before it got dark. We would experience lots of temperature changes as we started off feeling a bit cold to here sweating in heat and later layering back up.
Rich decided to join John and Adam in the barefoot club... he did manage to do so for an entire lap and then changed shoes. My feet are too sensitive haha for that. One pebble and I'm in pain haha. Kudos to all who do it though.
Adam would finish in 304th with a 13.5288 greater than a half marathon finish
These signs were great and kept us from getting bored.
So many cool gnomes!!!
I don't think I remembered this gnome last time but who knows? I have CRS... can't remember shit
These 4 friends had a great weekend but the ladies picked on me about this view of them. For the record I did offer to crop the pictures
Mary would finish 82nd with 63.1344 only behind us in rank due to her 409 bib number
Stephanie actually finished with me as we ran the last lap together for 70th with 63.1344
Rachel in 59th with 63.1344
Bill in 232nd with 31.5672 at age 66
Jeff Tim Rich and David
David would lead this group at the end with an 18th overall finish with 72.3685 miles
42nd with Jeff with 64.6376 miles
68th myself with 63.1344
87th Rich with 58.4025
Ranks of those with same mileage were based on what appears to be our bib number...
Soon we would be needing our headlamps... it was even darker on the trials.
Moving gnomes really helped to keep the course stimulating. Running around different folks also helped. When you go around and around in circles over and over again, you need a change of scenery. Anything helps as we move with forward, relentless progress...
The last daylight picture...
This would be the last lap with Rich. He was experiencing sharp stabbing foot pains from previous injuries. He did end up getting a great PR of about 57 by waking up early in the morning and adding more miles! WTG Rich!!!!
Ryan and Ethan
Ethan on the right, really did a great job when I wanted to stop wasting cups. I wrote my name on a cup and he would refill it and have it waiting for me. Later Ryan would do a great job as well helping Ethan. Thanks guys for helping me earn that 100k medal!!! You guys are awesome!
Of course, I have to give a shoutout to all the race volunteers!! Whew! I've been there too but we all know that we can't survive without you folks! Thanks so much!! The race director Jerry always does an outstanding job along with all the race officials and volunteers to make an amazing experience!!
haha... I should of took my time with this picture... as you come around with less than about a quarter mile to the timing mat, the view of the lights at the aide station/other nearby tents was really neat. Maybe someone else took a shot I can steal hmmmm
I liked watching my rank improve but also knew the reality of when I finished many would continue or wake up early and go again. I like the monitor for memories of others on the course with me too. As we know, the journey makes the adventure!
This would be the last gnome related move for me this year...
I had creeped up to 24th... but I ended up eventually to finish at 68th... weird ranking system... some with same distance but faster or slower ranked worse than me or higher than me. I couldn't see consistencies. I thought that maybe you'd get credit for being awake longer so ok that's cool but then I saw some who were slower ranked lower than me and some higher with the same distance on the final results even after a banana lap. I'm confused. haha
So close to a 100k but nope... 1 more lap to do it! Let's gooooooo!
I ended up taking a rest on the opposite side bridge and talked to Paul who reminded me that in addition to the vaseline I was using that Desiten was even better.
GOAL MET!! 100K+
yep plus because although the previous lap was close you had to endure 1 more lap for over 63 to get the 100k(62m)
Jerry the race director was awake when I finished and handed me this precious medal to savor the memories of his great race.
A quick Relive version of the Hinson24 experience... I upgraded my relive app for the free month for premium thinking the videos were unlimited with sound etc and the pictures were unlimited but then when making this video it had a 50 picture max and a 60 second video max. UGH! I will still end up making my movie and later cancel the Relive premium and keep the free version which allows 10 pictures.
Moments after finishing 100k and deciding to end the adventure to sleep. I could of gotten over 10 miles more but I had not trained, had blisters and most importantly I wanted to be a little rested for Kamryn's birthday related events etc.
As we packed up camp preparing to leave, the race officials were measuring the distances for the banana lap. This was right by our tent site. So basically if you are still out running near the time limit, they will give you a banana with your bib number on it. When the horn goes off to signify the race end, you drop the banana where you are. Later they measure from the timing mat to the banana to give you your full 24 hour distance. Pretty cool!! I'm only done the banana lap once. This was not that year as I decided to end my adventures after finishing a 100k and go to sleep.
Rich drove us so I was able to do a little rolling to recover on our way home
18th Ultra in the Books
68/334 but nearly 500 registered
42 laps
63.1344 miles
18:57:17 (18:00pace for time out)
LINK HERE FOR
Thanks Ryan for finding your lady's buckle for the pic! You did great too! 45 miles is awesome and a new PR for you too!!
Kudos to Brittany!!! I believe this was her 2nd Buckle and first 100 under 24 hours!
4th place with 100.7 miles!!
Link to article here:
The obligatory reverse taper graph shot taken on my daughter Kamryn's 9th birthday... doesn't include my gentle cycling... as I continue the streak
Kamryn chose her favorite restaurant which made a great post race meal for me!
Yes it was my pre race meal with Rich too haha. I love Mexican food... ok ok I love all food. Check out my food blog on here.
Here is the link:
I also had a Mango Margarita
Football and Recovery
Badges of Honor
Despite low mileage and recovery after the race, I'm still maintaining that 1 aerobic mile per day cardio streak. Of course the majority was easy cycling to maintain the streak.
Well folks, do NOT train like this! Yes I did it but likely because I have years of cross training and experience in addition to walking the majority of this 100k distance. I lift weights several times a week and teach 8 karate classes a week. I'm now mindset to get back into a groove and start running more consistently now.
Past Hinson Blogs
2016 84.168 8th overall
2017 79.6
2018 55.6
2021 63.1344
Total Hinson: ~283 Miles
The Movie Version
hmmmmm.... what will be the next adventure????
Family first!
Love watching my kids rock their passions!
January 2022
Sadly this would be the last time I'd see Bill Keane at Hinson24. He was an inspiration to many including myself. Here is a link to a story about him.
