Grand Viduta Stage Race

The Grand Viduta Stage Race took place at the end of April 2023 and was an amazing adventure over three days with over 40 miles covered and 4,600 feet of elevation climbed. The race took place near Huntsville, Alabama in the Monte Sano State Park. This was the tenth and final time for the event. @RunningLaneEvents did an amazing job providing support for all the runners.

I was invited to participate in the event with some guys in the F3 group from Spring Hill. We were 10 of the 200 participants. Since I was one of the first of our group to arrive, I picked up all the t-shirts and bibs.

As a group we had three campsites. We had campers and tents set up.

The first day was 13 miles and 1,400 feet of elevation gain. The biggest challenge to Stage One be was the heavy rain from the day before making the course muddy and the rocks slippery. I managed my first serious fall ever while trail running, but still managed to finish in under three hours.

After the first day, I was cramping pretty bad and could not even get into the back of the jeep. So laid down in the bed of our pickup truck. Not sure that was any better, but I made it back to camp just after lunch and had until the next morning to recover.

Day two was just over 15 miles and almost 1,600 feet of elevation gain. I had my left knee taped as well as braced. I walked to the start not knowing if I was goi g to run. Started walking and then jogging with the intention of just finishing. After a little bit it became my goal to run it faster than the day before. Finished in 2 hours and 54 minutes.