My first attempt at a trail race and man was that tough!!!
Throughout my run, I kept realizing that the only similarities to road racing and trail racing are that you wear running shoes and you are moving from point a to point b with a bib number. Other than that, they are in worlds of their own!
I had absolutely no idea what I was getting into, so at the start of the race, I positioned myself at the back of the pack. The first 2 miles or so, just followed what the people in front of me were doing. When they walked, I walked. When they jogged, I jogged. But after a while, I realized that I needed to go off on my own and really feel out this whole trail race.
The course was tough. 4200 ft of elevation gain and no forgiveness. But through it all, it was absolutely beautiful! The day warmed up and I started to realize that maybe I actually like this.
The first 3 miles just kept going up and up. Buy once the first aid station appeared, the course was downhill and glorious. I definitely had to have loose knees with the terrain but it was a great change compared to all of the uphill climbing. But you never get to go too long without more climbing.
The part that really got to be was the last uphill climb. It was endless. There were parts where I felt like I could just cry, especially being out in the middle of nowhere with only occasional people insight. But once I arrived at the last six station, I grabbed some chips and a sip of soda and I had all of the energy in the world! Knowing only 3.1 miles were left in front of me, I had a new jolt of motivation!
The race was fantastic and the volunteers were great! 4 hours and 5 minutes was a long day out on the course for me but its a great prep for my upcoming The North Face Endurance Challenge 50k! Now that will be a long day but I'm feeling ready for it!
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