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From Fellrnr.com, Running tips
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* '''Buzzard Rock.''' The first part of the race starts easy, a road section, a nice trail, then a solid climb up to Buzzard Rock. It is on Buzzard Rock that I get some of the best views, and also my first taste of what the course was really like - rocky! The narrow ridge immediately starts to tear at my feet, which are not impressed.
* '''Habron Gap.''' This is the aid station at 24.5 miles, and time for me to check out the feet. Sadly the news is not good; I have blisters that require bursting. To have problems after less than 25 miles is grim news and I have to make some hard choices. There is no way I can continue running at a reasonable pace without my feet being completely destroyed before the end. The wise course of action is to drop at this point, but I decide that by taking it easy, I can finish. (I'm still not sure if I made the right choice or not - I'll have to wait and see how badly my feet scar from the blisters.) At Habron I leave my water bottle and put on my hydration pack. Up to this point the temperatures have only been warm and the [[Aid Stations]] reasonably close together. From here on, you need to carry a lot more fluid. I also pick up my first iPod and I really appreciate the tunes!
* '''To camp Roosevelt.''' The next stage is a hard climb with a lot of sun and temperatures rising sharply. I pass a runner I know who is having a problem with the heat - [[Heart Rate]] elevated, flushed, dizzy and generally unhappy. I am worried about him, but he is resting and he seems coherent. At this point, heat stroke is a real possibility, but I feel well equipped (legionnaires hat, white [[Under Armor Heat Gear UnderArmour HeatGear Top]], full hydration pack). I've done a little heat adaptation training the previous weeks, and so I progress well. But I find myself out of fluid two miles before the Camp Roosevelt aid station, and I am grateful for the TLC I receive there. I'm not dehydrated too much, but I realize I need to conserve fluids even with a 72oz hydration pack.
* '''First rain.''' On the way to the next aid station, Gap Creek, the heat gives way to the first rain of the day. It's not too heavy, but I don a rain cover and keep moving to the visitor center aid station. At the visitor center aid station, the rain had died out, so I pack a better waterproof, and start the climb to Bird Knob.
* '''Storm on Bird Knob.''' Without the rain, things warm up quickly, with humid conditions and a steep climb. Then the first big storm of the race hits, with lightning and rain heavy enough to reduce visibility. I am amazed at how quickly I go from being too hot to shivering in the cold and struggling to get a rain coat on. (It's not often you get heat exhaustion and [[Hypothermia]] in the same race.) With just my thin top and the waterproof jacket, I have to push the pace a little to keep warm. I am worried about anyone caught up here without waterproofs, as [[Hypothermia]] would set in very quickly. I only spend a few moments at the bird knob aid station, as I need to keep moving to keep warm. The decent from Bird Knob is tough, with the rain and poor light as the sun sets. I take my only fall of the face here, slipping down a slick rock. Luckily, I am wearing padded cycling mitts, which protect my hands from the worst of the fall, otherwise that would have been a nasty way to DNF. I notice on my decent that one of my two lights is malfunctioning - it's my new, ultra-bright headlight, which is bad news.
