I really liked this race. We started out on a wide trail that was pretty easy, no big inclines or declines. It was in the middle of trees so we were shaded from the sun (something I sorely missed later in the race). I was trying to focus on a correct stride on the uneven terrain. The altitude felt fine, I didn't have any problem with that.

I was keeping a pretty nice pace but I had to peeeeeeee. So finally after 5 miles or so I pulled off to the forest and squatted. I am sure everyone got a nice view of my ass but apparently I had more modesty than another woman who just dropped trou right in the middle of the trail.

We left the trail and started running on a road with lots of steep declines. I tried to keep my stride in check, no over extending or lengthening, as I went downhill. Everything felt good. On this road there was barely any shade and it was HOT running directly into the sun, so I dumped water on my head at every water station I passed. I was sweating something fierce and my sunblock started leaking into my eyes. What a bitch! It hurt so badly that I ran with my eyes closed for awhile, just opening them to make sure I wasn't veering off course.

There were some good climbs on this run too, which I enjoyed. The scenery can't be beat for a road race, we were running along gorges and through the mountains. I loved it.

The mile markers were pretty funny b/c someone had written rhyming sayings under each mile. I don't remember any now but they were cute. The whole race had a nice home-grown feel like that.

The last four miles were tough b/c I felt sick to my stomach and like I might crap my pants the whole time. Some guy with a ton of cologne ran past me at mile 9 and it made me want to barf, and that feeling never completely went away. Is anyone else totally sensitive to smells while running?

Anyway, my pace was harder to maintain after mile 9 but I was maintaining it after that, but I went back and forth a few times about whether to stop and try to go to the bathroom. I ended up just running through the feeling and eventually I could ignore it. I focused on reeling people in and keeping my stride in good form.

It seemed to go by so quickly. Before I knew it, I saw signs from I-70 that said: Georgetown 1 mile. By this time I just wanted to be done and was kind of over the idea of a PR (although I was sure I'd get one). Coming into Georgetown my garmin lost the satellite signal so I couldn't see where I was at or what my pace was. But after mile 12 it was like I was hit by a ton of bricks. I actually stopped and walked for a couple seconds. Ughh. Finally I pulled myself together and said that even if it was the most miserable mile of my life (which it was!), it was only a mile. So I picked it back up and started running again. I can't really explain it but I lost all juice and it felt like my body weighed 300 lbs.

But then, after a little hill, there was the finish line! It was in front of my way sooner than I thought! And the next thing I knew I was grabbing an otter pop and drinking some nice cold water. Bada bing.

Mental toughness was pretty weak the last mile of the race.

I walked around a little bit, checked out what they had going on for post race stuff. What a cool little post race party! They had big bins of grapes and bagels, otter pops, free beer... it was a good time. Too bad I couldn't hang out b/c I had to get right back to work.

I meandered back over to the final stretch of the race and waited for Megan to come in. She ran it like a champ considering she was hung over and hasn't done much up/down running. Then we got our tshirts, looked around the beer area for Dime and couldn't find him, then headed back to the car and went home.


Stomach issues and some heat, otherwise a good race


This was a lot of fun. Gorgeous course. I would totally do this again. As long as your legs are in shape for some pounding, you can have a great race. I like the point to point aspect of it. And the spectators on the course, while not HUGE crowds, are very good. You seem some really fit mtn people at this race. The post race vibe is awesome. And it's pretty cheap- $40 the week before the race. Two salty enthusiastic thumbs up!