This run came with a little excitement this particular morning in the form of about 5 inches of snow everywhere and temperatures in the teens if we were lucky. We lined up at the start and, after a few words from the director, started the race. I got out in the first mile fairly fast. My game plan was to run around 7:15s through 3 miles and re-evaluate there, but with this snow I didnt really have much of a plan. I missed the first mile marker but was 15:29 through 2, so I probably went 7:30,7:59 or so. The third mile was a mental struggle for me. I was running in no man's land with the pack that was ahead of me now out of distance and the people behind me but I can't hear them, besides the bells of Mrs. CLaus(I think?) jingling faintly. With a half mile or so a lady comes up slowly and passes me, but I know I have some left. But I let her by with no resistance and latch onto her for a couple minutes until we make the turn with a quarter mile maybe a tad more left and I kick it into another gear. I passed the lady and she had some words that I couldnt understand. I started feeling the pain when I got within sight of the finish and I'm sure I slowed down because I felt like I just lost all the adrenaline. Anyways I managed to stay out ahead and hold onto my position.

The snow was like running in sand. I had my yaktrax on, the wiry things that go on the bottom of the shoes so they helped but many places the snow was just too deep and felt like we were running in sand a little bit.

got my chip clipped off and walked over to my car to get warm and drive home. I had icicles all in my beard and along my upper lip, like I had been skiing all day or something.


The snow


Budget race. Long sleeve shirt, donut halves, bananas, water. No aid stations, none needed in 0ish (yes zero) degree weather. The snow made it fun, and I even got a candy cane at the finish!