Horsethief Canyon Trail Run - RunOther

As the description says, we started out at the top of a gravel road, ran down 100 yards or so, and then turned onto a paved street. We ran about half a mile to the trail head. I was so relieved to hit the trail. It quickly became single track, so I saw the wisdom of running the first part on open road. I was able to pass a few people before we got to the trail. Once on the trail, passing possibilities were limited.

Before the race I had made a note of the women in my age group, and I decided to try to pass them all. I passed the first one (that I knew of) on the road. I ran with the second one for a short time -- and we chatted -- but then I finally told her I was going to dash on forward.

The first water crossing was so cold, but shallow -- ankle deep. Then we climbed for quite a while. Some time in here, I stubbed my right big toe and almost went all the way down. I really thought I was going to hit the trail hard, but I was able to catch myself before my right hand hit the ground. My toe was throbbing, but I kept pushing through. After that, I was looking forward to the water crossings because I wanted the cool water on that toe.

I passed a bunch of people, and I determined that I was passing the back of the pack. Once I passed the last person in that group, I was running alone, no one in sight, for probably 10-15 minutes. It made me a little nervous, but fortunately the trail was very well marked. Finally, I saw people ahead of me. I was so happy to reach the back of the middle of the pack, so I started passing them. So much better to be passing than to be passed.

I ended up running with a couple young women (20s, maybe 30s) for a while -- maybe two miles or more. I tried to chat with them a little, but the one closest to me was listening to her IPod (??? Seems like a bad idea on the trail, but whatever). I passed them at one point, but then on the next downhill, they passed me. I let them lead again for a while until I was pretty sure I could pass them and stay in front of them.

The last water crossing was just crazy deep. Well up to my waist, and stinky. And long -- 30-40 meters. I had just passed a guy, so he was behind me in the water, and he said, "I hope I just ran into a stick!" Well, I felt one too at that point, so I cried back to him, "Yes. I think I just felt one too." I know he was thinking snakes, and I must admit, that thought had crossed my mind, too. But I'm sure it was a stick.

At this point, with probably less than a mile to go, I knew there was at least one in my age group still ahead of me. (It turns out that there was one other, but I hadn't spotted her before the race, so I didn't know about her until after I finished.) I've raced against this particular age grouper (the one I knew about) before, and she always beats me, but never by much. I figured that I might be able to catch her, if I could find her. So I picked up the pace and passed people (at this point, mostly older guys -- that is -- guys my age) until I finally saw her. She wasn't moving too quickly and had a line of 5 or 6 people behind her, so I fell in line.

I decided to stay with that group until I could pass, just hoping that I would have a few 100 yards after the trail before the finish line to make a move. It turned out that was the case. So as soon as the trail opened up into the parking lot, I bolted. Passed everyone in that line, even the guys, and finished well ahead of her (Well, by a minute or two, anyway).

If I were racing this all out, I would have been more aggressive passing people, or I would have started closer to the front. I put myself near the back because I was treating it as a training run, and I didn't mean to really "race" it. But my competitive nature got the better of me. I couldn't help myself.

Walked, stretched. Changed out of my wet socks and shoes and into Teva flip flops. Had some Gatorade and water and four incredibly delicious homemade cookies. Also ate half a banana. Tried to stretch a little, but it was a very half-hearted attempt.


This was my first trail race, so I wasn't sure how to make it work. Single track is tricky, especially when the track is cut into the ground and each side of it is one to two feet high. My strategy was to race up to a person (or a group) and then fall in line. Usually the person would call back and ask, "Do you want to pass?" Usually, I just said, "Not yet. I'm fine right now." And I would run with them for a few hundred meters, and then yell up, when I could see a safe place to pass, "Okay. I think I'm ready to pass now."

That strategy helped me conserve energy because I would slow down to run with people, to catch my breath, and then dash forward. I don't know if this is the best strategy or not, but it worked for me in this race. I had energy to run up some of the inclines; ran down all of the descents; and all of the flats. I really didn't walk/hike too much. Some of the ascents were very steep or very rocky, and not really suitable for running. The sand got very deep on one of the ascents, and the guy in front of me started walking, and I decided he was probably right. It was really tough running up hill in 6-10 inches of soft sand.

This strategy also left me with energy to sprint the last quarter mile -- it helped that it was on the road and down hill -- but still, I watched people come in after me, and not all of them were running very fast, and some of them weren't running at all. So I felt good about my finish.

The joint of my big toe is very sore now, and looks a little swollen and discolored. I don't think anything is broken, but I either sprained it or jammed it pretty good. I am hoping it starts feeling much better very quickly.

But I am converted to trail races. This race went by so quickly. When I saw 45 minutes had passed, I was so disappointed because I knew the race would be over quickly, and I wanted it to last longer. They run a marathon and a 50 miler on these trails (plus some) in April, and it is very, very tempting. I loved this race.


Just top notch. Low frills, but unique and attractive first place "trophies." I wish I had got one of them. :-( Maybe next year. The cookies were amazing -- homemade the night before and super yummy.