Can You Conquer the Rock? Try This Tough Trail-Race Climb

Can you Conquer the Rock? This trail race held in South Carolina's Table Rock State Park has some epic views and challenging vert. 
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And it has all the feels of a small-town, grassroots trail running event. 

• The 2024 25K Bear Crawl trail race had 134 finishers.
• The Foothills 50K trail race (two laps of the 25k course) had 67.
• 4 runners completed the “Dare You Double,” running the 50K Saturday and 25K Sunday. 

I opted for the 25k, which began at 8 a.m. on March 3, 2024, from the Pinnacle Pavilion.

While South Carolina is hardly local for me, I love finding:

• Highly recommended
• Well-established
• Locally-run trail race events
• And filling the days before and after with fun family activities exploring the region

Even better if the family road trip encompasses a grueling gem of a race like Conquer the Rock.
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Here's what happened...

• A mostly challenging, rigorous, technical course 
• With lots of vertical gain and equal descent (see below for specs)
• Full of boulders and hands-and-knees scrambling
• With waterfalls and creeks
• Single track consisting of brown dirt, rock, roots and some classic slick southern red dirt
• Excellent course markings 
• An extraordinarily FUN downhill single track finish (great for making up for slow splits on the climbs)
• An easy, flat, approximately two to 2.5-mile pavement start (also great for making up for slow splits on the climbs/ technical portions)
• With magnificent above-the-clouds views on two mountain tops (Table Rock and Pinnacle)
• And a festive start/finish area 

• 4,066 feet of elevation gain (that’s an average of 265 feet per mile)
• 4,077 feet of descent
• 15.32 miles, according to my Garmin fenix 6s Pro Solar sports watch
• The climbing begins gradually…
• The very steep and technical section begins sometime in mile four, where racers summit Table Rock, do an out and back, and turn around to come back down
• By about mile 10 (more or less), racers begin climbing up to Pinnacle Rock
• The course ends with about a four-mile descent that starts off technical and becomes less and less so as you get closer to the finish
• Racers turn right off the trail to run up a very short (40 yard?) paved hill to the finish

Favorite part of the Conquer the Rock 25k Bear Crawl
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Three things:

• The long descent to the finish, when I ran stride for stride with race buddy Philip right behind me, pushing each other to the finish
• The views 
• The laughably arduous climbs

Most difficult part

• High steps, like the ones up the exceptionally technical middle section, can sometimes aggravate my recovered yet sensitive frayed hip labrums
• Pace yourself. So I had to be careful not to overdo it and take the steps too quickly or with too much force. 
• Crawl if you have to. I managed by using my hands to get up and over the boulders and by taking small, gentle steps as much as I could, sacrificing speed and propulsion for physical health and safety. 
• Be patient. Taking the high steps delicately and slowly worked: I had zero post-race pelvic pain. Not to mention the 100 PT exercises I do on a daily basis for labral issues! 

• 50 degrees, misty and cloudy at the start 
• Sunny after a few miles
• Sun glaring down on me on the mile-10 climb 
• 60s and sunny at the finish 
• 89 percent humidity 

Twenty minutes pre-race, the bite valve of my two-liter hydration reservoir got pinched in the car door and drained itself completely of my CarboRocket 333 Half Evil All-in-One Endurance Drink mix.
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For three seconds, I silently panicked...

• Then I ran to the check-in area to see what liquid fuel source was available. 
• A volunteer pointed to the five-gallon dispenser of Lemon Tailwind Endurance Fuel.
• First thought: Tailwind is what Courtney Daulwater uses, it’s gotta be good!
• Second thought: Does it have caffeine? What if there’s too much caffeine?! 

But it was too late to fret over details.
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It was Tailwind or nothing, so I filled the two-liter reservoir and prayed for the best.
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Thankfully, it worked well and tasted good. I’ll probably start using it regularly!
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I also consumed:

• a mini Larabar 
• four squares of dark chocolate

Not only did I use a new fuel, albeit inadvertently, I also wore a brand new pair of shoes, intentionally: 

• The Topo Ultraventure 3, purchased from Jus’ Running in Asheville, N.C., where we stayed with friends over the weekend.

Racing in a completely new-to-me make and model of shoe?!

• Risky, I know. 
• Against a major golden rule of racing, I get it. 
• Sometimes, though, rules are meant to be broken. Besides, I ran two miles in them the day prior, so I wasn’t going in completely blind.
• Nor am I prone to blisters or hot spots. 
• Plus, from the first moment my feet slid into them, they were OH SO COMFORTABLE, like the Altra Lone Peaks but with more cushion and support. 

And guess what?
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Throughout the race, the Ultraventures felt comfortable and performed well on both the extremely technical ups and the super steep, rocky downs, as well as the (very few) flats.
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I’m looking forward to covering more miles in them!

• Friends recommended it.
• It didn’t overlap with our son’s extracurriculars. 
• It was a good excuse to visit friends in Asheville, a city near and dear to my heart. 

And once upon a time when my boys were very young, I had the idea of running a race or Fastest Known Time in every U.S. state. 

• This one gave me South Carolina, making it the 10th state in which I’ve run a race. 
• I’m not sure if I have that goal anymore, but it sure is fun to take our kids to new places. 

Things I’d do differently

• Maybe I could’ve shaved some time by not fumbling with my phone to take photos. 
• Nah… I’d still take photos. 
• Perhaps if I ever run it again, I’ll skip the pics. 
• On another note, I may forever bring my bags of fuel to every single start line.

• Place: Second overall female 
• Time: 3:20:02

Said the race director as he lovingly announced the podium: “...second female, at the ripe old age of 41…” 
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Thank you for the compliment - chalk one up for middle-aged moms! 

For anyone interested in how a full-time working middle-aged mom trains for something like Conquer the Rock 25k, here is a brief, undetailed outline:
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January:

• 12 days of running, three to 8.25 miles
• 12 days of backcountry and cross country skiing, one to four hours
• 6 days of strength training with weights, 15 to 60 minutes 
• 2 days of snowshoe running 
• 2-day family backpacking trip
• 1 day of ice skating with kids
• 31 days of some combination of yoga, mobility and/or meditation, 15 to 90 minutes 

February:

• 18 days of running, three to 12.4 miles (all but one run on trails)
• 8 days of strength training with weights, 15 to 60 
• 2 days of backcountry skiing
• 1 mountain bike/trail run duathlon 
• 1 mountain bike ride
• 1 four-on-four basketball game 
• 1 coed, all ages 45-minute dodgeball game
• 29 days of some combination of yoga, mobility and/or meditation, 15 to 90 minutes 

Three days before the race: 

• 45-minute early morning weight training
• 7-hour drive to Asheville, N.C., with husband and sons (ages six and 10)

Two days before the race: 

• Rest and explore Asheville with the fam!
• Shopping at three used bookstores 
• Eating Indian food at Mela’s 
• Visiting the French Broad Chocolate Factory & Cafe
• Trying on five pairs of running shoes at Jus’ Running in Asheville, N.C with the help of three knowledgeable, enthusiastic female staff  

One day before the race:

• Two-mile 6 a.m. easy road run in my brand new Topo Ultraventure 3 trail running shoes
• 75-minute warm Align and Flow yoga class at the Asheville Yoga Center, where I received my registered yoga teacher training in 2015, taught by the wonderful Joe Taft, one of my teacher trainers
• Binge-watching Young Sheldon with the boys 

Racers receive: 

• Socks 
• Finisher's medal
• A bag of protein powder (I opted out)
• Stickers 
• Post-race pancakes (I opted out) 
• Tailwind at the start if needed - thank you!!! I was saved from a terrible race, bonk, panic attack and/or DNS because of this!
• An optional t-shirt with additional purchase at race registration (I opted in)

If you live within driving distance, run this race. 
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If you’re looking for a fun city to explore, stay in Asheville, N.C. - it’s only 65 minutes north of Table Rock State Park, S.C. 
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Thank you to all the kind and supportive volunteers and staff.
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Congratulations to all the runners who Conquered the Rock!