Rival: Black Bart

My greatest running rival yet would have to the infamous Black Bart.
Over in Chapel Hill people know him as "Smoke". I believe this has something to do with him burning the bodies of his victims.

Since 2007, I have raced against him 20 times. For a while at least, we were evenly matched. He would beat me in a race, and I would take the next one. Going into 2011 we were an even 7-7.

The next race was the 2011 Uwharrie 40 miler. I was chasing him the whole way and was gaining on him towards the end. That's when he ambushed me. The evil rotten bastard stepped out of the woods and shot both of my knee caps off.

I haven't been the same since, and have lost 5 of the last 6 races to him. He has gotten stronger and faster, and I've just become more decrepit. But that one recent race I did beat him in was the (Eastern) Continental Divide Trail 10K last year.

It seems that I have had the upper hand in short trail races so far. Maybe it's those big cowboy boots he wears. Or his penchant for stopping and mercilessly killing small woodland animals along the way.
But I might have lost this advantage, because he told me he has been working on his speed on trails this past year.

Our last race was 2012 Uwharrie where he crushed me (literally) by 40 minutes.
Can I make this rivalry competitive again?
We will find out if this Saturday as we head for a rematch at the 2012 Continental Divide Trail 10K.

Stay tuned!

Rivalry Stats
Total Races vs	20
Record vs (W-L)	8-12
Greatest Victory	2011 CDTR 10K (-4:09)
Worst Defeat	2012 Uwharrie 40 Miler (+40:24)
Next Race	2012 CDTR 10K
Current Status	Lost 5 of last 6