Tecumseh Trail Marathon - RunMarathon

My plan was to run at a relaxed pace, walk the hills, stop to eat and drink at all the aid stations, and make it through the race without bonking. No time goal. Given the forecast, I had gone out and gotten some YakTrax the day before, and boy am I glad I did! I felt like Spiderman (or maybe a yak), running without slipping on even the most slippery downhills and stream banks.

The first mile+ was on a gravel road, and I kept to the plan and just cruised along while people streamed past me. The first group I fell in with when we entered the single track was going a little fast for me, so I let them drop me at the first aid station (mile 3ish). I generally fell in with a different group between each aid station, and had nice chats with some of the folks I ran with along the way. Special shout-outs go to V., who completed #49 of 50 that day; my friend in the orange shirt who paced me through the middle third of the race and was so kind when he went on ahead because I had started to slow down; and K., who I followed through miles 24-25, where we ran all the little ups and downs that I had barely managed walk last year.

Some highlights of the race were: seeing the lead guys screaming past in the other direction and cheering them on; chatting with the Hoosier Hikers volunteers at the aid stations, especially at mile 18.5, where I stopped to change into dry socks; seeing the first sign for the Run Run Rudolph aid station, which had been set up in time for our return at mile 22.5; and not hearing a single complaint or sour word all day - everyone seemed really happy to be there.

When I hit the gravel road again with just over a mile to go, the change from the nice soft mushy trail was a shock to my legs and my pace turned into a shuffle. I took a brief walk break to collect my thoughts, shuffled some more, walked the last hill, and then shuffled the last half mile or so to the finish. I asked some spectators along the way whether I was running or walking, and they confirmed that I was running. It's entirely possible they were just being kind, but I'm going to go with it!

Carry my own water. I've been carrying water on all my long runs, but left the water bottle in the car because I thought I'd be slipping around more on the trail. I drank 2 cups of water at every aid station, but still felt thirsty, so it was not enough.

I went straight to the shelter, where I sat for a few minutes to recover, and then went out to get some soup. I ran into K. and V., and chatted with them until I was too cold to stand it and had to get in the soup line. Nothing could have tasted better than that scalding hot, salty soup!!


I'm happy with my race.


Awesome race. The course is mostly single-track through the woods, with hills and stream crossings but not too many roots and rocks. The brave HHC volunteers, who spend the day at remote aid stations in all kinds of weather, warmed up the water for us and provided plenty of tasty snacks.

The conditions this year forced the race organizers to change the course at the last minute to an out-and-back instead of the usual point-to-point. The organizers and volunteers made the necessary changes in time for an on-time start, and I didn't hear a single complaint from the runners.