One of the most challenging (and stupid) things I have ever done. Started out at a decent rate, felt pretty good. Made it up the first series of uphills without too much trouble, made with little sprints through the woods to pass people (deer trails are tough to pass people on). Then we hit the first "major uphill". Ok, start climbing the mountain. Get to the top, start heading back down. Nice stretch of flats and downhills, couple rolling uphills mixed in. After the one long stretch of relatively flat, (very) hard left turn to start up "the trough". The sides were as tall as I am, and it was cut like a V, the bottom being wide enough for one person, and churned into thick red clay soup (woohoo!). Start heading up, hit a spot where I'm now eye-level with the trail in front of me. Climb up, keep going. Same thing. This happened about 5 times. Needless to say, there were parts of the trail that I walked. Plain and simple. Finished the first 15k in 1:23. Make the turn to head back out, people cheering for me (new experience there). I suck down my packet o' Gu (with caffeine!), and immediately start wishing for the dang water stop. Grr.
Keep chugging along, not seeing many people out.....(am I last? Did I even make the cut-off? Crap.) Legs are stiff, kinda sore. I can still feel the blister on my left foot, but it's not getting worse (shoes, socks, and feet all swelled from water). Within the first mile of the 2nd loop, God decided we needed a bath, so He cut open the clouds. Monsoon season was upon us (hence the swollen everything, but at least it wasn't so hot). Keep on trudging.
Get to first (4th?) water stop, no one there, but at least water is out. Suck down 2 cups worth, start off again with another runner. Some chit chat, he's taller, faster, has more in him than I do, eventually leaves me behind (after walking up the first uphill with me). Long story shortened slightly:
If anyone heard a loud thunking sound yesterday, that was me. Hitting the wall. Repeatedly. There were parts I literally had to walk because I just had nothing in me to keep going. I came darn close to saying "Screw it" several times (about every water stop, the mid point, and a few times on the trail). I had minor stomach problems (little bit of cramping) a couple times. At one point, I was kinda barely even aware of what I was doing (tough to explain, but I'm sure someone knows what I'm talking about). I was alone for alot of the race. I would have 15 minute stretches and see or hear no one else. Mentally, it can be really tough. There's no mile markers either, so you never really know where you stand in terms of being done. Just mentally and physically very VERY challenging. Heck, I placed 34th overall, and ran a 3:10. What's that tell ya?

Bring my own water. Bring more stuff to consume on the course. Twizzlers are great and all, but tough to store when it's raining.

Probably, more than anything less, lack of water and calories on the course.


Pretzel City Sports (www.pretzelcitysports.com) trail runs are generally known to be on the insane side anyways. I just didn't realize how insane they are. I saw Satan slink off the course at one point, muttering about the sheer evilness of it all. If you are at all interested to really challenge yourself physically and mentally, this is a good way to do it. Especially since it's alot cheaper than many other races.

Results are up, here's the site:
http://pretzelcitysports.com/_wsn/page11.html

I took 34th overall, 5th in my AG. 8:05 faster, I would've medalled. Grrrrrrr.......