Newberry Ultra-Fecta Weekend 11/16/24

Nov 15, 20248 min read

Updated: Feb 7

Overview

The South Carolina Ultrafecta weekend, one of the final races of the year, offers a fantastic opportunity to either complete your goals or begin a new streak. Designed to accommodate both experienced ultra-athletes and first-time OCR racers, it sets the stage for winter training and goal planning for the season kickoff in So Cal in January.

Disclaimer

I only did the traditional Beast, Super, Sprint trifexta this past weekend. However I did the Ultra last year at this venue so my comments are informed by that experience.

History of this Race

Since 2014, there has been a trifecta weekend in Carolina, although it has moved between several venues. Initially, it was held in Winnsboro, SC, then moved to the University of South Carolina campus, and later settled for a few years at the Tryon Equestrian Center near Asheville. When Spartan lost the rights to host the Super and Sprint at the rock quarry in Asheville, they temporarily relocated that race to the Tryon Equestrian Center. In 2019, the relocated race faced one of the worst weather challenges documented. Freezing rain and unseasonably cold temperatures flooded the starting line and festival area. About 40% of Beast participants did not finish, with an even higher rate for Ultra participants; parts of the course had to be closed due to hazardous conditions (Newberry South Carolina, 2024) was exacerbated by an Amber alert that left us all shivering in our cars while they resolved the situation of a missing child who wisely found a warm place to stay. In hindsight, this may have helped me, as I battled hypothermia in the car before driving 2.5 hours home. It was much more enjoyable than it sounds, but you really had to be there.

The Venue - Johnson Farms

After Covid Spartan kept the August Super/Sprint at that venue and moved the fall race to Newberry,South Carolina. The race has now been in Newberry for the last two years and by all accounts it hasbecome a favorite on the Southeast calendar. Newberry South Carolina is located about 30 minutesnorthwest of Columbia, SC and 2 1/2 southwest of Charlotte, the nearest major airport. There are few options hotel options in Newberry. This year I decided to stay in Columbia, and the ride to the venue at5:30 am (using Rt. 26) took about 30 minutes or two cups of coffee (international calculation standardsused). However, if you are running the ultra with a start time at 6am there is one zero star hotel about 6minutes form the venue, but it sells out quickly so booking well in advanced is advised.The venue, Johnson Farm is a private, family owned piece of property much different than other farmvenues we saw this year including venues in Florida (Double D Ranch) and Concord (Porter Farms). Thefarm area is ringed by many acres of heavily wooded hills and this terrain includes multiple creekcrossings, technical trails, gradual gravel road inclines and several short but steep inclines.

This terrain surrounds a large flat open area that forms the start and finish lines which are completely flat in an openfield.This year’s version had the same parking area but since registration was set up differently, it turned out tobe about a half-mile walk from the lot to registration depending on where you parked in the huge openfield. Though this is not punitive compared to some other venues, just be mentally prepared after yourrace that there is one remaining obstacle left, so grab that Reign (Reign Energy Drink, 2024) and tightenup your shoes. For racers with afternoon start times there was a spillover parking on the other side of theroad making the walk further (thank you 5am alarm clock).Race StatisticsI talked to Spartan staff (Interview with Spartan Staff, 2024) about the accuracy of their statistics andwant to amend past information. Spartan cannot differentiate between multiple event runners. Forexample, I ran three races this weekend and they count me as three, not one racer. So, their projection of10,000 racers this weekend is somewhat invalid. This weekend had many racers doing three races, so I amgoing to project they had 6,500 individual racers and 10,000 tickets sold. So past statistical reporting issomewhat misleading but accurate based on total tickets sold. If only Spartan knew someone with abackground in statistical analysis, understood database management and ran races.WeatherWe run into a lot of races on the calendar that are in tough months weather wise.

This time of year(putting aside the trauma of 2019), in the Carolinas is in the middle of fall foliage and crisp morning thatturn into sunny, warm afternoons. This year’s race started out in the low 50’s for Ultra and Beast runnersalike and ended I the low 70’s under sunny skies. I started out with a compression shirt underneath mysingled that I took off and lashed to my hydration belt with a caliper after 3o minutes. This is one of myfavorite times of the year to run, in an area that has a real fall feel to it. The one caveat I would advise isthat for runners used to summer trial running, the sudden blanket of leaves on the ground means you mustkeep your head in the game to avoid tree roots. This can be mentally draining over the course of an Ultraor Beast, but you must pay attention. Also, early start times leave dew on the obstacles making themslippery for the 6am Ultra start time and the 7:30 Age Group heats. I rarely recommend OCR gloves(listen to the OCR Kings I’m a knucklehead) but it might make sense to use them early on.

Ultra and Beast

The Ultra is extremely well attended, especially for first timers. I realize that this is not NJ,

The course heading into and out of the festival area is flat and runnable.

Killington, or other venues but in the final analysis 50k is 50k, so there are no easy Ultras. This course lends itself torolling hills, large open field running, a variety of creek crossings and a few minor hill scrambles. Thereare no major inclines, but the accumulation of the rolling hills means you need to include someStairmaster or hill training in addition to long runs to make the second loop less destructive. This year theUltra had two mile loops totally four Ultra loops for the entire course. I have not seen this before (usuallythere is one per loop or one total). From a Beast perspective the other major difference this year vs. lastyear was the technicality of the terrain. I thought the 2024 was much more technical which added to thedegree of difficulty over a long race. Lots of loose rocks, obscured by leaves and rooty (I don’t thinkthat’s a word) trails multiplied the technicality. But the great thing about this course is that this type ofrunning was combined with some open field running in the beginning, middle and ending sections whereyou could pick up the pace and give yourself a mental break. This is where better runners can improvetheir time and runners staying on pace can give their legs a break. Several seasoned runners I know, andone guy I see in the mirror every day went down on this course early. So just be prepared for theunexpected on partially hidden terrain.

Super and Sprint

The Super was almost 7 miles by my watch, and it might have been the most aggressive Super layout Ihave seen in the last two months. Some solid times were posted but the course was muddy from theprevious weeks rain and the running was technical. Great layout with a lot of hill inclines, some longinclines on a service road in addition to the opening and closing sections. The obstacles were basically thesame for all four distances (I could not get intel on the Ultra loop obstacles) so the Super course combinedthat with some solid trail running. The Sprint course felt short to me and was very fast. It eliminated thehill sections and just had a short one mile into the woods before coming into the final gauntlet. I think theSuper and the Sprint are great races for first time OCR runners. You get a combination of good trail running with some challenging obstacle placement.

Obstacles

Before you report this venue to an International War Crimes Tribunal (War Crimes, 2024) let me defend Johnson Farms. Beside the open areas near the festival/farm area there are not many places toput obstacles since the course winds its way through heavily wooded areas. This is not a ski resort, it’s afarm with a larger wooded acreage surrounding it. The Johnson Farm, (which is a family owned farm)wouldn’t give Spartan permission to build Rolling Mud Pits or a Dunk Wall so placing obstacles in theback part was probably denied. This doesn’t take Spartan off the hook, but it seems to me to be acompromise with a venue that seems perfect for a fall race. So, with that weak argument out of the way obstacles are severely front and back loaded on this race. They were able to put bender, Multi-Rig,Monkey Bars, Bender, Plate Drag, Armer, Sandbag Carry and a few others on the course in a few smallclearings but it felt sparse over the course of the miles. The final section of Bucket Carry, Rope Climb,Atlas Ball, Spear Throw, Herc Hoist, A Frame, Vertical Cargo, Slip Wall was not bad, but it was ahandful in rapid succession. Without Dunk Wall and Rolling Mud they decided to have a modified IrishTables as the last obstacle which presented some real problems for first time Beast racers, as I saw a fewinjuries.

The front loaded obstacles were primarily walls and smaller Irish tables and were spicey with themoisture from the previous evening.I look at it this way, the first mile and final two miles were pretty much open running in a field; the costof that life of luxury was a series of obstacles that tested upper body strength. That seems fair to me, but Iunderstand if it annoys some racers and OCR Kings subscribers because it is not ideal. I just play thehand that dealt to me.

Festival Area

There were multiple vendors and some solid food options. They had coffee and breakfast burrito optionsfor those of us who get to the venue way too early. There are two incomprehensible things to me in thisknown universe; decaf coffee and breakfast that opens

Solid turnout with local vendors and military organizations

at 7am. There was also a Hawaiian Noodle Truckthat has been at most Southeast venues this year as well as the Border Patrol and Air Force NationalGuard. A Spartan race mainstay the good people at More Hearts Than Scars (MHTS, 2024) had a hugetent and was well represented in the later waves in the Beast, Super and Sprint. This is a greatorganization that is assisting veterans with a grass roots approach, that is appreciated and respected byeveryone who participates

Summary

Everyone can do an Ultra, it a test of mental strength more than anything. If you are looking to step up the50k distance the Carolina Fall Ultra is a good choice. You avoid the heat of summer and have the entireseason to prep obstacle training, get in some miles and prepare for the event with tough races. Though thehotel situation is not ideal there are plenty of options within 30 minutes making it cost effective and doable logistically. For racers looking at their first Beast or Trifecta weekend this is a well-attended event with plenty of like-minded racers looking to improve their times and step up to a longer distance.