The True to the Brew 10k is the OG Palmetto Conservation foundation race, started in 2018 to promote the Palmetto Trail. It has been a mainstay on the Blue Shoes calendar ever since. I even slog jogged it in the virtual covid year in 2020. My affinity for the race is based mostly on my desire to do anything for free beer and breakfast sandwiches. Believe me, nothing hits like bacon and IPAs at 10 in the morning. Plus, the swag is always on point per GRIT endurance standards – great blue quarter zips last year and white ones this year. Mugs and hot sauce for awards. What’s not to love?

Let’s not forget packet pickup. Free beer at Craft and Draft. As you might guess, it takes zero arm twisting for me to do this one. Apparently everyone else too, since the race capped out at 300 registrants and had a wait list.

 

Despite my enthusiasm for the race, I was feeling a bit antsy about this year. As per the usual since 2023, I am perpetually fighting off some nagging injury, and this year is no different. I had pretty much healed my hamstring issue, though as it turns out, running 32 miles at the Sand Monster was not part of any established rehabilitation plan. Luckily the right leg was feeling better and this course is ideal for not hurting you too bad. People always think of it as a trail race, but it is pool table flat with almost zero turns. I’ve even brought out the vaporflys and I’ve had no problems. There is some gravel but nothing to give you too much trouble. It’s point to point with a start at Wilson’s store in Pomaria and the finish at the Alston trailhead just over the Peak trestle over the Broad River. 

Retired CRC pointsmaster Matt McGrievy and I decided to do the two-car strategy again for this year’s race. I should say that the race buses are big and it’s super easy to get back to the start, but I am generally an extremely entitled elitist who likes to drive his own car. Sue me. Unfortunately, Matt and I made our plans a couple of IPAs deep at packet pickup resulting in us getting to the start insanely early. To be fair it was my fault, I am forever an eager beaver, arriving early for everything. Seriously, I will show up 3 hours ahead of my plane’s boarding time. But if you ‘ve ever seen the absolute psychosis of me driving late to something, then you’d understand.

 

One very important benefit of earliness – proper poop management. I am forever scarred by the double dip TRUE TO THE POO incident from 2019, so I made sure the colon was fully done this time. https://tourdeblueshoes.com/2019/03/31/prosperity-fire-department-5k-and-true-to-the-brew-10k-double-dip-prosperity-pomaria-peak-sc-3-30-19/   I slog jogged a half mile because surely that also prepares the body for elite performance. Lots of people on hand. I even did a brief sprint to outpace a large chapin high girls contingent to make sure I didn’t get behind them in the portapotty line. Teen girls take forever. 

 

By race time, everything looked pretty good. Picture perfect day and pretty cool, there was a bit of wind but that’s neutralized by the forest. Not a whole lot of elites in this one except some fast looking singlet dude for the guys and Ashley Graham surely taking the women’s crown. Pretty good CRC representation despite Cooper River and three other local races going on.

 

OK, so there is not much to report on the course. It’s flat, with a few bridges, one road crossing and one underpass that accounts for the only incline in the whole route. It’s a race from Pomaria to Peak, so it’s not exactly 10k. More like 6.3-6.4 miles. I went out very conservatively at first. The race start video looks like I’m jogging. Not quite that bad, but I figured north of seven minutes would be fine for me today. Hamstring was slightly tight in the early going. I hit mile 1 in about 7:19, which is pretty much what I was aiming for. I decided I was going to be OK from an injury standpoint by then, so I started to focus on the competition. The really fast people had already left me in the dust, but there was one guy just ahead that had, like 1987 Grateful Dead, a touch of gray in his hair. Masters dudes must be taken down at all costs. I surged ahead in mile 2 and managed to steadily drop him. Pretty soon it was just completely quiet. Zero people around. That’s kind of nice, but it’s also a mental struggle for me, so I just picked out any landmark that I could as my next goal. Once I made it there, I picked out a new one and repeated it like 50 times.  I’d much rather have someone to blue shoe. My pace gradually ramped up a bit but I was just trying to maintain it.  I kind of wanted to look back, but I didn’t want anyone tracking me to think I was slowing down. About 5 miles in, I started gaining on one of the female runners. She looked pretty fit but then I realized she was running with a dog. Here I am trying to blast away decent pace and she’s out here whipping my tail while walking her pet. I slowly creeped up on her for the entire next mile. As the trestle appeared, and mile 6 chimed on my Garmin, I went into full on kick mode. Which is super great for your hamstring. But hey, if there’s someone to be blue shoed, then blue shoeing will be done. I blasted ahead on the trestle, making triple sure I didn’t trip on the boards, probably looking even more graceless than usual. I do recall trying to not look like a complete idiot at the finish line, but I’m not sure I accomplished that. The 6:20 pace kick still resulted in me making sweet love to the forest ground at the finish. Time was just over 45 minutes. Not my finest performance, but good enough for 2nd masters. I never saw the winner, since he was about 2 minutes ahead. As soon as I finished my make out session with the forest leaves, I made a bee line for the beer tent. Again, IPAs at 10 am are amazing, especially when paired with a bacon, egg and avocado sandwich. Chef’s kiss to Palmetto foundation CEO Mary Roe, who cooks all morning. I scored some more official Palmetto trail hot sauce and a steel camping mug. Another successful TTTB trophy hunt. Now I just have to decide on that half marathon in Spartanburg for the TTTB trifecta. Hmmm.

 

In the overall, Jake Skory, the aforementioned fast looking singlet dude, took the win in an impressive 37:48, with Bruce Edmonds 2nd and Kyle Logue 3rd. CRC and Strictly Running’s Ashley Graham took the women’s win in 40:49, with Hardin Edwards 2nd and Mary Connolly 3rd.  

 

John O’Brien from Atlanta crashed my trophy hunt in male masters, with Chris Newman 3rd.  JK Sipes, Maria Gurovich and Agnes Bolinska took the female masters podium.

Age group honor roll (women) – Marian Nanney took the 50-54. Colleen Towery and Lisa Powell went 1-2 in the 60-64. Melody Kreiling won the 65-69 and had the highest age graded score for the race! Cheryl Outlaw and Margie Shelburg went 1-2 in the 70-74.

 

Age group honor roll (men) –  Mark Stout took the 55-59. Robert Ornelas won the 60 to 64. Tommy Outlawa was 3rd in the 65 to 69. Pete O’Boyle, Jerry Rich and Harry Strick swept the 70-74 podium.

Notable finishers: Patrick Hall, Marty Wentzel, Olesya Gelfond, Ashleigh Carpenter, Michael Jensen, Chaz Evans, Matt McGrievy, Darci Cannon, Stefanie Hauser, Mark Chickering, Sara Kozar, Teresa Harrington, Lois Leaburn, Missy Caughman, Gretchen Lambert, Jenny Schneider, Cassidy Carter, Rick Gibbons, Stevie Dee Dukes, Amy Coward, Jamie Zug, Karen Vidra-Zug, Dianne Steadman. I’m sure I forgot someone – please let me know:  drachtungbaby@yahoo.com.