Super Bull Run 12.5K

Well, this was different.  Very different.  It's been several years since I have entered a true trail race.  I got the itch and found this new race in nearby Wooster.  The course sounded very challenging and March is usually a quiet month on my race calendar.  I signed up for this one without taking a good hard look at the course description.  It wasn't until about two weeks prior to the race when I found out there are 8-10 stream crossings.  That would be great in mid-summer but we're talking Ohio in early March.  Naturally it was a bit below thirty degrees at the start.  There was also a 25k and 50k attached to this event.  I can't imagine what those folks went through!

I was actually a bit nervous for this as there are not many trails in this area.  I figured it would be like riding a bike, but I forgot how much concentration it takes to run technical trails.  You can't just zone out like in most road races.  Rocks, roots, and streams are ready to take you out of your comfort zone.  With that in mind, this was more about having fun than racing.  What a novel concept!  I sort of kept splits for the race, but the constant changing terrain made them meaningless.  I'll just post some thoughts on this race.

Miles 1-4: The race started off well as we started in a field and made our way to the dirt trail.  It hadn't rained in a while, so the trails were in excellent shape.  I really felt out of my groove and started near the back of the pack before passing a few people who were running about an 11:00 pace.  We hit a few simple downhills/uphills which us acclimated to the terrain.  Going downhill felt different compared to road races, as you have to do that thing where you put your arms out to the sides to keep your balance.

We hit the first stream crossing in just under one and a half miles.  Good grief, was it ever cold!  It certainly woke me up!  I was worried that the water would make the entire race freezing cold.  My feet actually warmed right up after a half mile or so after the crossing.  We continued up a wicked hill around two miles and everyone was reduced to walking.  I vaguely remember writing about the comradarie at these trail races in the past.  It was on full display here as runners chatted, laughed and cursed at this trail.  This was up there with the Horseshoe Hill 20k I did a few years ago as far as difficulty goes.

The second stream crossing came after some nice downhill and simple trail running.  It was difficult as you had to jump in off the rocks.  One runner in front of me almost went in face first and thankfully recovered.  The worst part was when you got out of the water.  There was water from the faster runners on the rocks and ground after getting out of the crossing, which had frozen.  That was the most dangerous part of this race.  But being a sick person, it was still kind of fun.

Miles 5-7.7:  Mile 5 started out just fine as we made our way around a large field.  We all were able to make up some lost time during this section.  Then we made our way back to the woods and another decent downhill.  Then all heck broke loose.  I'm talking six stream crossings, most about halfway up my calves, in a one mile stretch.  This took whatever spirit I had left.  The first two were somewhat fun.  Then it got progressively worse as my feet just could not warm back up and the water kept going into my shoes.  This was a really rough stretch.  It took the air out of me every time we hit one of these streams.

But that's not all!  After the stream crossings of doom, we had a fun mega-uphill waiting for us.  It felt like we were going at a ninety degree angle up this thing.  And it was so close to the finish!  The race organizers really did a great job fitting in such different terrain with lots of difficulty into a 7.7 mile race.

I finished with a respectable time of 1:24:14 and 15/52 overall.  Not a bad day considering my lack of trail running.

I would HIGHLY recommend this race, but do know what you are getting yourself into.  It's very tough, but you get to run with a great group of people.  Very well done!

W will be joining me at my next one.  We've decided to head south for a few days and I will be doing my second race in Georgia.

Next race: Kilt & Kolor Run 5k- Savannah, GA

Horseshoe Hill Climb 20K

I've been wanting to add more trail racing over the past few years and have slowly done so.  With a 5k, 10k, and five miler under my belt, I wanted to try something a bit more challenging.  Enter the Horseshoe Hill Climb 20k. 

The race was held at Marmon Valley Farm in Zanesfield, OH, which is only about 20 miles away from my parent's house.  Nice bonus being able to visit them!  I knew going in that the race would be more challenging than any other trail run I've done, and twice as long.  If you're familiar with Zanesfield, you know about Bristol Ridge.  It's a cursed hill that has its own name!  Part of the trail was parallel to Bristol Ridge and, good grief, I will have nightmares about it for many days.  Plus, we had some torrential rains in the days leading up to this one.  Trail running is difficult enough without mud up to your knees.  One positive is that the race offered three distances (10k, 20k, 30k) on one single loop.  So at least I could feel out the course on the first go round.

We started out with, you guessed it, the hill.  Right from the start.  It felt like we were going straight up for a mile, in mud.  This first mile was basically a brisk walk since the trail was single track and footing was iffy at best.  It took 14 minutes to get one mile into this race.  No joke.  And I had mud in my shoes and up to my knees.  What a way to start! 

The easiest section was next.  We made our way across a field, to a turnaround, and back towards the woods.  It was almost two miles of basic running and provided a nice breather.  But then back to the woods and more mud.  You could speed up at times but it was difficult to maintain any kind of pace.  I was able to strike up some good conversations with other runners along the way.  There is definitely more of a sense of comradarie in a race like this than in your normal road race.  The ridiculousness of the course makes you laugh out loud with fellow runners.  The best part...people were having fun. 

There's not much more to report on the course itself.  Uphill and downhill until we made our way back to the farm.  Lots of twists and turns.  My first lap was in the 1:04 range, which I was fine with since my goal was to come in under 2:15.  The second lap felt faster, but I had to stop for water once, another time to clean off my hands at a stream crossing (after a nice little fall), and once more to retrieve my shoe after some mud sucked it right off my foot.  The sock is still down there somewhere.  But, again, I had a blast.  My finishing time was 2:10:02, good enough for 13/26 overall and second in my age group.

I've been debating how to finish off 2013.  I've looked at some half marathons, but I really don't have the time to train properly.  Instead, I'll look at doing a couple 5ks since I've only ran two this year.

Next race: Run Like the Dickens- Tiffin, OH

Flirt with Dirt 5k

If you can't tell by the race name, this past weekend's event was set to be a trail run.  Unfortunately, monsoon season hit NW Ohio last week and most of the race course at Riverbend Park in Findlay was flooded.  I'm not talking a small amount of water.  It looked to be knee to waist deep in some spots.  But the race organizers did a wonderful job in marking out a new course on paved trails throughout the park.  They did this on Thursday and Friday for a Saturday race AND sent runners an email explaining the situation.  Kudos!

I was prepared for a trail run, as I haven't done one since living in Dayton, and was a bit disappointed.  But, to be honest, I hadn't really planned on racing so much as just getting a good hard run in the books.  With a half marathon next weekend, it certainly wasn't the time to race.

We started out on a paved trail and I took off at a conservative pace.  I was pretty surprised that the lead pack also took off slowly.  Last year's times from this race were extremely fast, especially for a trail run.  The temperature was good, but the humidity became a problem later.  The first mile went by fast as the last half of the first mile was on an equestrian trail.  I clocked in at 7:02.  Pretty well right where I wanted to be.  But the second mile felt horrible.  We made our way back to a paved trail for a short loop around the starting area.  I really started feeling the humidity and slowed down some.  Oddly enough, there wasn't really anyone around me.  I knew I was behind the lead pack and the second pack was somewhere behind me.  I guess I was stuck in no man's land.  The second mile clocked in at 14:22, so I knew I had definitely slowed down.  Mile 3 was not much better, though a battle with another runner helped me along.  We came back by running the same portion from the first mile and the equestrian trail felt excellent after paved trails.  True trail running, for whatever reason, gives me a little extra boost.  I battled back and forth with another runner and finally left him with a quarter mile to go, surged ahead, and clocked in at 21:52 (though my watch showed 21:45).  Not a bad time considering the humidity was getting to me.  It was good enough for 15/265 overall and third in my age group. 

This is the last (of only two!) 5ks for this year that I have scheduled.  Maybe I'll get another later in the fall, but this shows how much I prefer the longer distances nowadays.  There's not much time to rest from this one, however, as I knock off state number ten next week!

Next race: Presque Isle Half Marathon- Erie, PA

Sugarcreek 5 Miler

I wanted to do one last race sponsored by the Ohio River Road Runners Club (read: well organized and free for members) and this one couldn't have been better! It was held in the ever-popular Sugarcreek Metro Park near Bellbrook. The technical trails made for a very interesting trail race. Thankfully, the footing was a lot better than during the torrential rains we had at the Twin Creek 10k. But it was still a race full of uphills, downhills, tree roots, and rocks.

I went straight to the park after work and was very glad I did. The parking lot was almost full a good hour before the race start. The race organizers told us that there were two other group activities going on at the same time, which didn't surprise me considering the popularity of Sugarcreek. I had plenty of time to drink some water and stretch out. The stretching out was especially important due to my lack of sufficient training. I was really just looking for a nice workout for my last race in the Dayton area.

I don't have any split times as it's difficult to mark miles at a trail race. We started out with some technical trail right off the bat. A winding downhill greeted us at the start, followed by some winding paths. The hills weren't terrible but you could tell they were there. I started off at a conservative pace and simply ramped it up a bit on the downhills. Overall, I felt great! A tough section came around at roughly two miles in when we ran a winding downhill, crossed a stream by jumping on rocks, and then making our way uphill. The uphill was awkard because it was steep and narrow. Some runners tried running to the side, while others attempted to climb up using some huge rocks. This is the kind of stuff that makes trail running fun. You can't simply zone out and go. You have to look down and constanly watch where you are going. The halfway point was well marked, so we could get a sense of where we were on the course. I still felt pretty good but had an issue arise just past the half way mark. A rock had found its way into one of the grooves on the bottom of my shoe and was hitting the ball of my foot. It hurt quite a bit so I considered stopping. For about a second. My time was still good and I could still run on it so I tried to forget about it. Note to those reading this blog- Don't do that! Just stop and take the rock out. My foot was hurting for a few days after the race.  The second half was easier than the first half and I finished strong with a 41.27.  Surprisingly, that was good enough for third in my age group, so I'm 3/3 placing in trail races.  I will greatly miss these ORRRC races, but I'm excited to run new races in the NW Ohio area.

Next race- Either Team Jenny 5k or Run with the Little Giants 5k, both in Fremont.

Twin Creek 10K+ Trail Run

This was only my second trail race and third 10K.  To say I was a bit nervous about this one is an understatement.  It's been very dry for well over a week now but it started raining an hour before the race and never let up.  My first trail run was nice because it wasn't on a very technical trail.  This one was nothing but hills, steep climbs, turns, and stream crossings.  The rain made for some very messy spots and everyone I saw, including me, came close to wiping out several times.  Plus the course was closer to 6.5 miles.  But I have never had more fun running trails before!

I arrived at Twin Creek at 9:00 to sign up and stretch out.  This is another ORRRC race so I didn't have to pay.  I spent most of the hour in my car because the rain really let loose.  Finally made my way to the start at about 15 minutes to the start just to get acclimated to the conditions.  The mid-50s temperature was perfect but the rain was really cold.  I didn't wear a watch and the miles weren't marked, so I'll just highlight the key points for this race. 

We were thrown right into the fire with a steep downhill to start the race.  It gave us a chance to see what the conditions were going to be like for the rest of the race.  Sloppy.  Very sloppy.  We wound our way to the first steep uphill climb which everyone walked up.  It would have been challenging in good conditions, but it was downright frightening in the torrential rain.  Then we continued climbing, running downhill and winding our way through the park to where the pond is located.  There were several short climbs here which required you to grab a branch and make your way to the top.  The area was definitely scenic and I loved the view of the pond and the river.  This was the turnaround point and we made our way back to the park entrance.  The major climbs were out of the way, except for a hill that zigzagged all the way up.  Most of the race was single track, making it difficult to pass anyone.  You really had to know that you could pass the person and stay in front of them.  I trailed another runner for about 10 minutes before finally passing him.  We went down a steep hill, crossed a stream, and made our way back up.  Somebody behind me a ways was flying down the hill which is crazy in a race like this.  I had a feeling he would be pooped on the uphill and I was right.  The last two miles were fairly straightforward with no major climbs, just muck.  But the final quarter mile was just mean.  Straight uphill to the finish line.  I finished in 1:00.13 which was actually my goal before the rain started.  I was very surprised to find that I placed third in my age group. 

This race reminded me why trail running is such a different beast.  But it's definitely fun.  My legs were covered in mud.  I was wet and cold.  But I loved every minute of it.

I'm not 100% sure what my next race is going to be.  If I feel up to it I'll be running in the Sugar Maple 5k on Saturday.  If not, the Capital City Half Marathon will be next.