Running Trails w/the Men in Green 5k - Run

With such a small field my plan was to take the first half mile comfortably hard and see what the competition was. My achilles was sore and if a few people took off hard I was going to let them go. If not, I was going to step it up and see what happens.

After the few overly exuberant kids tired after a few hundred yards, there was only one guy about 10 yards ahead of me. Given that I was tired and sore I figured I'd just shadow him for a while. I was running hard but very comfortable as this section was relatively flat. There had been a huge windstorm the week before and the first of a few downed trees was laying across the path. In steeplechase-like fashion I leaped up onto and over the tree. I had to chuckle as I went over because I just as easily could have landed flat on my face. It was kind of a leap of faith as I am no spring chicken.

At about the half mile mark, the course took a turn onto a single track loop. The guy I was following missed the turn and went straight though it was clearly marked. I yelled to him but he just kept going. I had studied the course map before the race and had the RD (talk me through it). I've done a lot of races in this park and the trails are somewhat of a labyrinth.

The single track was very windy and narrow through thick brush. I could hear lots of heavy breathing behind me as I entered. I decided to put on a burst and quickly get out of sight of those following. I wanted to be out of sight out of mind if I could. I have been running a lot of much tougher trails in training and felt like a deer scampering left and right, up and down. After about a quarter mile, the trail linked back onto a wider gravel path. I didn't hear anyone behind. I continued to push until the path came out onto a residential street.

The street traverses the park and had a nice downhill grade. I was afraid to look behind me but I didn't sense anyone around. I used the downhill to settle my heart rate a bit while focusing on good leg turnover and keeping strong form. I had a great section down this stretch and figured I had a good lead heading back onto the trails for a very tough uphill grind to the finish.

The pain in my legs was building and my breathing became much more rapid. I did not want to implode so I took it down a notch. I was not terribly fast on this section but was strong enough to keep a steady pace all the way to the finish line.

Though the field was small it still felt great crossing the line first . I was sore and tired before the race but I felt like I made good race decisions and did the best I could with what I brought to the race.

Not much.

Walked around for about ten minutes and drank a few bottles of water.


More recovery from training before racing.


For a new, small race it was very well organized and had some nice little extras. The shirts were great. I get a lot of shirts and most go into storage but this is one I'll wear often. Also had drawing for some nice prizes. Beautiful trail system.