Doing this race is way out of my comfort zone. The short, speedy mountain efforts with descents are not something that I thrive in. Not to mention I am a small fish in a very, very large pond.

But that is exactly why I wanted to do this. I have fallen in love with running on the trails, up mountains, through mud and up hills. My love started while running cross-country but then I discovered this whole other world of Mountain Running and here I am!

I was looking at the start list, nearly all professional runners of some sort and was feeling a little intimidated. Me getting last place was feeling ever-likely. But you know what? Who cares. For me this was all about becoming a better runner and winning local races is not necessarily going to push me to the next level.

So I drug my ass to that start line and reassured myself that I could do this.

I kept having this reoccurring thought that I was going to break my leg for some reason. So, my goals for this race were to:

A. not break my leg
B. Put a solid effort on the uphill, not letting my arms get lactic
C. Run the downhills with heart
D. Learn everything. watch the competition see what works and what doesn't

We lined up at the bottom of the ski hill and they did a countdown the crack goes the gun and we were off in a dusty cloud up the hill.

It was hard immediately. The terrain was rocky and not very smooth. We eventually cut over to a service road so it was more smooth but still lots of rocks and sandy gravel. Traction was tough. I settled into a nice pace right away and went to work up the hill.

I passed many woman who were doing more of a hard hike and even some women who were running. My heart rate was through the roof but I wasn't feeling those cement arms. Good sign. There were parts where the grade was over 35% and I felt as though I was moving backwards.

By the time I reached the top I was maybe a minute behind the leaders. I was very pleased about this.

But then the downhill. OMG the last thing you feel like doing after a very hard climb up is to run fast down. But I forced myself. I had passed a masters runner who really looked like she knew what she was doing on the uphill, she passed me right away on the down and I tried my best to follow her moves. She was incredibly good at running the course efficiently, picking perfect tangents and accelerating and decelerating at the right moment.

She was separating slowly from me but not too much. We came to a drop off, maybe 5' that you kind of had to jump off of and land on a gravel double track then take a 90 degree turn. One girl overshot the jump and ran over the hill, overshooting the turn.

Finally we reached the bottom. I had lost maybe 4 minutes from the leaders. So, only 1 minute back at the top, but probably 5 now. Incredible! That is how good they are at downhill and how much "opportunity" I have.

We started our second ascent and I was pumped. This is where I thrive. I pushed hard and passed a few more girls including the masters runner again. I just kept my feet cycling fast and motored up the hill.

We ran the ridge and then made our way to the descent again. The masters gal passed me again, this time really accelerating. I was able to try and follow her again for a while but she eventually put a gap between us that there was no way I could make up.

I was now all alone. The front of pack was huge, and I would say I was at the back of it and then there was nothing for a long time and then the back of pack runners. There really was no middle of pack.

I just put all my focus into running the best I could (and not breaking a leg) then rounded the corner to the long downhill finish. The chute was very rough terrain but I was able to very effectively pick my way through and finish strong.

I had done it! It was the most exciting racing experience thus far.

32nd out of 50 may not sound like anything but I was just completely thrilled with how I ran. I would have felt the same if I had gotten 50th. I know I have a lot to work on but I raced to the best of my ability that day.

Now I am thinking of where to go from here. Short/fast/downhill is not my skillset but I do need to continue to push myself. I want to try some longer distance stuff where I think my endurance talents come more into play and my ability to eat whatever/whenever. I'm doing Pikes Peak Ascent in a few weeks which will be interesting to see how my climbing strength comes through. The altitude will be the one factor that might skew my results as a flat lander but who know, Kassie Enman, after all...

I don't know if I want to do ultra-distance stuff but maybe some mountain marathons. I need to keep working on the downhill but I am sure a lot of my problem is simple self-preservation. Is that something I want to change about myself?

Anyway, lots to ponder.


Just keep working at being a better runner in every way

I ran a bit with teammates, watched the mens race, had a beer then headed out to find some hot springs.

I got incredibly lost, ended up running 10 miles in the wrong direction. Shed a tear out of purse exhaustion. Found my way back and then found the hot springs



The next day I ran to the summit of South Sister for 5,000' of elevation gain (up to 10,389) and 6 miles (one way) I saw David Laney (Nike Elite) at the summit and we chatted a bit. It was so awesome to not be the only crazy person running up a huge mountain vs hiking. I was NOT the only one getting strange looks




Another thing I should mention, and be very proud of, was my completion of the Bend Ale Trail http://www.visitbend.com/Bend_Oregon_Activities_Recreation/Bend-Ale... while I was there. That is 10 breweries all done in 3 days! Mmmm hmmmm!


Skills