Do the small trails, the run was gummed up at first, not for much movement or a quick start. After my 5K experience, I started in the back of the pack and found that it allowed me to run at my own pace and pass people selectively, rather than feel that I needed to keep up with certain people. The course itself was tricky. I trained basically on flat roads, but this race was an off-road trail race. The elevation changes were a bit tricky for me and the uneven terrain was also a bit tricky, but I made it through OK in this section.

NOTE: The times for everything (except the overall time) is a guestimate because the race officials didn't track this information.

As mentioned, the elevation change and running surface were a bit tricky for me. Training on these type of conditions would definitely help my race-day results.

Fairly easy transition for me. The transition set-up I used was very good (towel, shoes opened up, helmet on bike, bike in a middle range gear to allow me to get going).

Good transition. I was very happy with how I transitioned here.

Good, fun course. Made me wish that I hadn't stayed away from mountain biking for close to 7 years! This was the first time my bike went off-road in that long! I can't believe it! About 3/4 of the way through the first loop I realized that I needed to pee. I was over-hydrated. I held it in and it ended up being OK, but I more or less had to make a beeline for the restrooms at the end of the race :)

Train offroad! Like I had said, I hadn't mountain biked for about 7 years. I'm used to more or less pointing the bike in one direction and going, but the twisting, turning, up, and down of mountain biking really slowed me down. I also need to lengthen my training rides to make sure that 10 miles is doable. I don't think I would have had issue on the road, but offroad is a completely different story.

Again, another pretty good transition, all things considered. I had made sure to keep my running shoes opened up so it was an easy slip off/on and tie situation.

Pretty happy with this transition.

About 200 yards into this leg both of my calves cramped up big time. I think it was due to being up on my toes for a majority of the bike section. I'm not sure though. Needless to say, this situation REALLY limited my speed. Also, about halfway through the segment my right quad cramped up, so I was really hobbled. I utilized a run/walk approach to this leg with the sole intent of just getting done. I probably could have taken about 3-5 minutes off my time if I hadn't experienced the cramping.

My legs just weren't ready for this absue. Running/biking off-road is something I didn't do to get ready for this race and it showed in my overall performance

Walked around, drank water and gatorade until the cramps in my legs went away (or subsided, they are still a bit tight a few hours later).


Incorrect training methods as I mentioned a few times. Off-road work should have been mandatory for me before this race and it wasn't. I need to work on elevation changes for both my running and biking, as well as re-learning a bit of my mountain biking skills. Although, I was rather happy with the 'muscle memory' with regards to my mountain biking. It came back pretty naturally.


I would like to see better timing at this race - giving an overall time doesn't really help the competitors see where they can improve their skills. There also were no trail maps available so that those of us who had never been to this Boy Scout Camp before could get a visual of the trail.

All that being said, I'm still planning on doing the fall version of this race, however I won't be disappointed if I chose to just do a road race that month instead. The 1+ hour drive and incomplete data availability does not make this race a "Have To" for me. That being said, I still think it was fairly well put together and a fun race. The course was very challenging and fun and that would be the primary reason why I'd come back to this race in the future.

Just FYI -

11/17 in the Clydesdale division
10/11 in my age group (Male 25-29) - if I competed in that