Inaugural Asheville Marathon on the Biltmore Estate

It’s Sunday morning, 6 a.m., and 23 degrees.  Thirteen hundred runners have gathered to take part in Asheville’s first marathon.  The venue is the beautiful Biltmore Estate and I couldn’t help but wonder what the late, George Vanderbilt, would have thought about a bunch of people running around, single file, in his fields and woods.  I’ve never heard any running stories about George, but I do imagine he was a great thinker.  And I can imagine that he would, somehow, understand that internal desire to test one’s limits.  And this past Sunday was just that.

I didn’t run, but was there to cheer on some close friends and grab a few shots if and when I could.  The Scratch Ankle Athletic Club, of Candler, NC was well represented by these brave souls.  The Troll on the bridge could not stop them….

Tony Ong and Rick Purcell running strong at Mile 11 and crossing the bridge to the vineyards……and hills!

Jason Bodnar leading race back over the river and into Mile 22

  

Jason winning and setting the bar high for the 2nd annual AVL Marathon

      

Jeff Trantham, Rick Purcell, Mike Patton, and Tony Brown

Congrats to all of the Scratch Ankle group.  Very well done!!  Apologies to everyone else that I didn’t get a photo of.  Either I didn’t see ya…..or my fingers were frozen.

Proud of ya’ll

Ford Tri-Motor…the “Tin Goose”

Recently, EAA, the Experimental Aircraft Association, made a stop in Asheville with their Ford Tri-Motor airplane. It was a chance to see, touch, smell, and ride in this 1929 vintage aircraft. From what I gathered, Henry Ford kicked butt with his all-metal commercial airliner. At least, in the early ’30’s.

The main reason that I showed up, was that my late dad, loved vintage planes. He was in the Army Aircorp and had a great appreciation for anything that could maintain altitude. He especially loved the beauty of exposed radial engines and the Ford Tri-Motor, obviously, has three. It was fun to see this plane, inside and out and smile with the thoughts of how much “Papa” would have loved to see it. I’m sure there would have been tons of questions for the men who brought the bird to Asheville. Miss you, Papa. I kicked the tires for ya! Until next time…

Hawksbill Mountain Sunset

Been a while, huh?  I have no good excuses, so let’s just get back in the groove here.

Two weeks ago, I had knee surgery.  Something about a torn medial meniscus in my right knee.  I don’t know about all that, I just know it hurt and I couldn’t run more than a half mile before I had to stop and walk back home.  So, at least I could walk and that’s what I did this day in late May.  Hawksbill Mountain, on the eastern rim of Linville Gorge, has always been a favorite spot of mine.  The hike is short but steep.  The empty trailhead parking area was a good sign and sure enough, I had the summit to myself.  The summit is just over 4000′ and the Linville River is around 2000′ so standing on the edge makes your gut do crazy things.  The bare granite reveals a time in history when the gods were mad and decided to rearrange the landscape.  Potholes usually found in river beds now hang in mid air over the gorge.  To the south, Table Rock and Shortoff Mountain, also show testament to a time of shaky ground.

If you’ve never been, put it on your list.  Make a day of it and visit Wiseman’s View, Linville Falls, and Table Rock.  If you’re in the mood for some good eats, find Judge’s BBQ in Morganton and enjoy their grub with a cold beer along the Catawba River.  Until next time….

Hawksbill Summit. Table Rock and Shortoff in the distance.

Hawskbill sunset.

Cooper River Bridge Run

A few weeks back, I spent an extended weekend with a small crowd of friends in Charleston, SC.  The focus was the annual 10k Cooper River Bridge Run, which begins in Mount Pleasant, crosses the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge, and ends in downtown Charleston.  In our group, there was a wide spread of running talent but an equal amount of desire.   I think the final count for “Finishers” was a little over 33,000 runners and I’m happy to say I wasn’t last.  Most everyone ended up running by themselves so we shared our experiences as we stood in line, sweating, at the breakfast buffet in the Holiday Inn.  The winner ran the race in about 28 minutes…..I think that was the guy I saw running back across the bridge as I was descending into the city.  I’m pretty sure I beat the guy that was running while pushing his buddy along in a shopping cart.  Oh, and I do remember passing up the whole gang from the Wizard of Oz.  Anyway, the weekend was a blast because of the friends, old and new, the kicked back and forgot about things “back home” for a while.  We will be right there again next year, cheering each other on and raising our glasses to…..well, just about anything.  Until next time…..

“The Patch”

On Feb. 18th, I  made a trek to the top of Max Patch Bald, in the Pisgah Nat’l Forest.  Snow had been on the ground since early December and the night before, another few inches had fallen.  I was hoping for clear blue skies and I wasn’t disappointed.  Snow drifts, waist deep, were on the windward side of the bald and the high winds had shaved the snow down to only a few inches “on top”.  As usual, “The Patch” was showing off and the view from the top was incredible.  The rime ice was thick on the Appalachian Trail markers, bluebird houses, and anything sticking up in the way of the wind and snow.  I met a couple of guys from Tennessee that were out with their skis looking for virgin snow and they had it all to themselves.  From what I gathered, they had called in sick at work.  Great day in the snow and away from it all.  Until next time……..

A quick trip to the “high country” around Linville, Boone, and Blowing Rock a couple of days back.  Stopped at the Mast General Store in Valle Crucis and asked about an old mill along the Watauga River that I remember from my college days at App State.  After much discussion with four different employees, about whether it still existed, I took off to look for myself.  Not too many miles down the snowcovered road, I found the old mill, but not as I remembered it.  The waterwheel was gone but the building was still there.  It was once a grist mill as well as a sawmill.  I’ll for sure go back and hope for better lighting.  Of course, the best shot would be from the other side of the river.  At the higher elevation, the trees were covered in ice.  This tree was close to the Moses Cone house along the Parkway.  I must invest in some cross-country skis to explore the Parkway during snowy weather.  Until next time……..

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