The Bel Monte Endurance Races offer a 25K, 50K and 50-miler for those wanting to explore beautiful mountains in northern Virginia.
Technically — and it is a pretty technical course, but more on that later — the 50K is a 17-mile out-and-back course, meaning runners will do closer to a 55K by the time they cross the finish line. (The turnaround point for the 50-miler was at 26.2 miles.)

It was my longest race to date, and my Garmin actually counted 34.8 miles. The course is absolutely beautiful and challenging, with nearly 5,000 feet of elevation change. It was my final long run before my first 50-miler and the hills, terrain and time on feet helped me prepare for the next challenge three weeks later.

The Bel Monte race is produced by Bad to the Bone, which organizes various races, including the Ultra Race of Champions. The staff and volunteers are great, the course is exceptionally well-marked and there is helpful communication on the website, Facebook page and via emails. There was only one time when I wasn't sure which direction to head until I saw a large white arrow on the ground. A runner I met near the finish did go quite a bit off-course but this was a rarity for the nearly 100 runners in the 50K.

The race began at the Royal Oaks Resort in Lyndhurst, Va., about a two-hour drive from Richmond. Given the March weather in that part of the world, I was prepared for anything. There was no precipitation but race morning was cold — 14 degree real-feel temperature at the 6 a.m. start.

Thankfully the race crew provided a campfire for runners and their families as the race director went over the course markings, aid stations and other pre-race information.

While the Bel Monte race is well-organized, it can also be somewhat relaxed. There was no real start line. After the race instructions, we walked up the gravel driveway toward the road until someone yelled, “Go!”

From there it was an up-and-down two-mile run along a road, leading to the trail.

Immediately after hitting the trail, we were greeted by a series of roots, large rocks and other obstacles that wanted to wreak havoc with our feet. Around 3.5 miles into the race, I caught my foot and went down, landing thigh first on an unforgiving rock. “Oh, good,” I thought to myself, “only 30 more miles to go with a bruised thigh.”

That section of trail quickly led to a climb just steep enough for a power hike. There were intermittent flat sections where we could return to a run but we walked for about a mile until we reached the first aid station, which only offered water.

The next aid station, at mile 7, was fully stocked with water, colas, electrolytes, various types of fruit, salty items, candy and friendly volunteers. “The next section is completely runnable until you get to the next aid station in seven miles,” one of them advised.

Immediately after leaving the aid station, runners headed downhill via a series of switchbacks for the next two miles. It was challenging terrain to run on, given the small, loose rocks that were on the downhill — and also the 25K leaders who were walking up the switchbacks as I descended.

Once I was clear of the switchbacks — and the 25Kers, whose turnaround point was shortly after the downhill — the course flattened out and was indeed very runnable.

At the Mile 14 aid station, I wolfed down a couple of peanut butter and jelly tortillas — I really appreciated the gluten-free tortilla options — and headed to the turnaround point. The three miles to the halfway point were on a minimally traveled paved road that included a series of hills.

I didn’t spend much time at the 17-mile aid station, knowing that more PB&J tortillas were waiting for me three miles ahead. I caught up with another runner there and we decided to run together. For the next five miles or so, we took turns leading each other through the runnable section. As we approached the switchbacks, he had gotten out in front of me.

Then we hit a slow climb up the switchbacks, from roughly mile 25 to 27. It was brutal. But powering through on tired legs is what I wanted most out of this race, given that it was a training run for my upcoming 50-mile race at the American River 50.

We had caught up to a group of other runners, er walkers, going up the hill. My previous running partner was in front and I was walking behind two other racers. At this point, I decided that I was going to get out of the aid station at the top of the mountain as fast as possible. So I decided to take in some nutrition as we were power-hiking. I made quick work of some peanut M&Ms and downed them with some Tailwind Nutrition that I was carrying.

As we finally made it to the top, I grabbed some more bites at the aid station — before leaving as quickly as possible. As I left, an aid station volunteer called out, “Only two climbs to go — one trail, one road.” During the next seven miles, I alternated running when I could and walking the uphill sections. (OK, there was some walking on flat ground, too.)

At the finish line, there were plenty of volunteers, other runners and supporters who cheered me and all the other finishers. The finish line area was small but well-supported — the bonfire was still going strong, and there was lasagna, pretzels, candy, fruit and various drinks available.

My finishing time was exactly 7:03, coming in 10th place out of 89 runners.

I would absolutely do this race again — maybe the 50-miler — and would recommend it to anyone looking for a scenic yet challenging ultra.