Sweet H20 50K

“Michele, as we run farther shouldn’t we be getting closer to the finish?” A seemingly logical question had a very illogical answer at the Sweet H20 50K in Lithia Springs Georgia on Saturday.

Before I explain this riddle, let me just say that the Sweet H20 50k is an awesome race that Mr. Bimble would be proud of, and perhaps even helped designed. Billed as a 50k the event is more like a 55K with multiple repeats of a series of hills, known as the power lines, that each rival the climb to Bluff Head, a 360 view of the entire state at a place called “top of the world” and not one but two water crossings, which required you to pull yourself across class four rapids holding on to a safety line. When you throw in miles and miles of single track alternating between smooth, technical, and sandy, you have the makings of a great race. And that is exactly what Sweet H20 was for Shelly Girl and I.

The reason we ran Sweet H20 was because it very nicely tied in with an opportunity to visit my parents during the Easter weekend. We are still getting ourselves in shape for the year and decided this would be a great chance to see my parents and get some training in for the spring racing season. We toed the line with about 150 other runners and took off following the starting gun, actually a canon, fired by the confederate veteran’s battalion. We thought about mentioning that we were form Connecticut and Yankees but decided not start a new civil war before the race.

After a road section of about a mile, we entered single track trail and settled into our pace. The first five or so miles were largely uneventful, except for the beauty of the course as we closely followed the shores of Sweetwater Creek (I assume this was Sweetwater Creek, it certainly was pretty and it certainly was water.) At about mile seven we had our first encounter with the “Power lines”. These are billed as the toughest challenge of the course and they certainly were difficult. I never really mind hills, because they give me an easy reason to hike. That being said, it was still pretty daunting to see as far as the eye could see a series of ups and downs, each similar in challenge to the Bluff. I think there are four major hills on the power lines but when you add all the minor hills the total might be closer to eight. Oh, and you have to run these twice! To complicate matters the section is open and the temperature was beginning to reach the mid 70’s. We were not worried about our first visit but were already hoping for a batch of clouds to descend before we came around later in the day. After the Power lines we ascended a fairly steep pitch and suddenly came upon a wonderful Julie Andrews “The Hills are Alive” opening called “Top of the World”. We knew we were at this much ballyhooed place because it had amazing 360 views but also because there was a sign on the trail that said “welcome to the top of the world”.

After Top of the World we settled into a rhythm and completed the first loop of the quasi two loop course.
The second loop started with one of the major lows of our run. Back on the road, blazing sun and the smell of gasoline combined to pull us into a funk that remained for the next few miles. Luckily, another major highlight of Sweet H20 comes at about mile 17. It is here where you get to make not one but two major water crossings. The waist deep water and roaring rapids was just what the doctor ordered for our sore legs and diminishing spirits. After completing this 2 mile loop we arrived at the mile 19 aid station, where we were anticipating picking up our drop bags. Upon arrival we were told the drop bags were back at the water crossing, about 400 yards in the opposite direction. Yikes! Luckily, a very nice young man ran back to get our bag. I love that guy!!! After resupplying we took off, feeling good that we only had eleven miles to go. I could tell you about the lawyer from Georgia we ran with, or our second trip around the power lines, but the real remaining story is our final four miles. This section will forever be known to Shelly Girl and I as the longest four miles in trail running history. Ok, here is the gist. We finish the power lines for the second time and run the remaining 1mile to the aid station, where we are told we are mile 27 (mind you I asked for verification and was told without a doubt we were at mile 27). Great! 4 miles to go, let’s go! We run the mile back to the next aid station where we are told we are at mile 25! What? We were just at 27! No use spending energy talking so we chug on but we are definitely sent immediately into a low period which takes a bit of time to get out off. “OK, let’s just keep going”. We run up and down a series of brutal hills, in the baking sun and get to a course director who, when asked, says we have four miles to go! What! We have run about 45 minutes since we had four miles to go and apparently we still have four miles to go. Agh!!!! What can you do? We journey on. We run about one mile and get to an aid station where we are told we have two miles to go. Again, what? What can you do? We journey on. We run a good fifteen minutes get to the last aid station and are told we now have one mile to go. I was happy that the math was beginning to line up. So, foolishly, I say “a real mile or more” and the guys says without batting an eye, “More like 2”. What!!!!!!! What can you do, we journey on. By this time our minds, hydration and eating are all amuck and we are feeling like…. well… not good. We get to the end of the race and guess what? We are directed back into the woods for additional mileage. Now, being Bimblers, Shelly Girl and I understand races being longer than advertised, but enough is enough. No not exactly true. We emerge from the single track to be directed up a big hill where, we are promised the race will end. Okay, we journey on. To put the icing on the cake we are rounding the corner and the volunteer says “it’s about sixty yards, right around this corner”. Guess what? Not true! We run a little ways longer and finally we see the finish line.

Now I don’t want anyone to think that SweetH20 is a nightmare race. It is not. The course is wonderfully challenging, there are lots of great places to run and the people were awesome. If you go, just don’t ask where you are in the race; just keep going till they say you can stop.