City of Lakes Trail Loppet - RunHalf Marathon

As with a lot of these small local races, the start was very informal. We were informed that there was going to be some obstacles on the course due to the storm that had rolled through on Thursday evening but that the course was generally in good condition.

I started out going fairly easy knowing that there would be plenty of opportunity to turn it on later in the race. That turned out to be a good decision since it got tough very quickly and stayed that way. Within the first half mile, we were on singletrack along a creek and had to do some interesting technical work to try to avoid running in the creek. Following that section was a serious hill. Nothing like a quad burning, HR maxing challenge in the first mile. About mile 3, a group of us found ourselves off course due to some really, really poor marking. I lost at least a couple of minutes there and covered some extra distance. Fortunately, a volunteer was coming through with extra flags to mark the turnoff more clearly. In the process of that I hooked up with an older gentleman and he and I hung together for the next 3 miles or so. Miles 4 - 6 were relatively uneventful with some easier singletrack and some paved path sections. I hit the 10K mark at about 1:01 and thought that I might be able to hit my previous trail half mary mark of 2:04:30. Mile 7 took us back offroad onto more MTB singletrack. These were smaller hills but again it was up and down constantly and pretty technical. Lots of roots and rocks to negotiate. After a brief paved section we were on broad, muddy MTB trails for another half mile until some very interesting singletrack near "bare-ass beach" - a frequent spot for the naturists but none were out today. From this point - about 1:20 on, it was a pretty lonely run. I left behind a pack at the aid station and didn't catch the pack in front of me 'til the last half mile. OK, back to the course. At one point, there was a tree that had fallen over some stairs and it required a 3 foot jump up over the tree and on to the stairs. The next 1.5 miles was a lot more hilly singletrack and then hilly dirt trails. I passed one woman in red and said, "Isn't this course a trip?". She said, "I've never felt like this! Marathons are easier than this!" Back past the same aid station meant there was a little more than 3 miles left. We were routed over to the snow tubing hill which meant the biggest hills of the day. Thank God this was the last of the monster hills but I was really starting to feel the effects on my legs. Most of the little tweaks and cramps had come and gone but the fatigue was setting in for good, especially in my hip flexors. After clearing the tubing hills we were sent into the woods for the wildest trails of the day. They were little more than wildlife trails and were essentially like just running through the middle of the woods. A good portion of this was on a hillside and it was a challenge to get a good foot plant without either slipping or feeling like you might turn your ankle. I think sections like this favor me since I feel pretty light on my feet. I keep my cadence high and pick my spots hit them with quick light steps. While it was really taxing, I LOVED this section of the course and was just flying through the woods. The last 1.5 miles or so was on paved trail and I could start hearing the finish line announcer. This was definitely the toughest portion of the race. I was hurting and was having trouble just picking up my legs with my hip flexors totally sapped. I spotted the older gentleman I'd run with earlier ahead and used him as my rabbit - I almost caught him, too. He finished only 15 seconds ahead of me.

I'd have trained better. The last few weeks have been pretty light between tapering for my HIM and the subsequent ankle tweak. Fortunately, the ankle felt pretty good and I'm glad to be back running fairly quickly.

Felt like I might puke for a little bit but that passed pretty quickly, thank goodness. Got some water and milled around a bit before going back to my car to stretch and drink my Recoverite. Went home and took an ice bath.


Training. Course difficulty


I love these small races and I love trail running. A perfect combo! Race tee was a nice black long sleeved tee with only the race's very cool logo on the front. No sponsor crap. Niiiiiiice.