I waffled a bit about whether or not I wanted to wear my headlamp. The sun hadn't quite risen yet and even so, we would be in the trees about 99% of the time. I decided to go ahead and wear it, especially since I had not run this trail before (although I had hiked it several times.)

I started a couple people from the back and we ran single file as the trail is pretty narrow and VERY rocky in the beginning

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The trail becomes less like a staircase but still rocky as it winds its way through the thick forest

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I was glad I had my headlamp as it was VERY dark and obviously the terrain was quite unpredictable.

It was about here, maybe a half a mile in that I made my pass. Since it is such a challenging trail I went ahead and passed everyone at once so that I could keep my own rhythm.

I made my move firm and accelerated a bit. Maybe a little too much, but I just wanted to get a little distance so that I could run this the way I wanted and not have anyone breathing down my neck.

I dialed it back just a little and got into a great rhythm. Luckily the terrain was a little less rocky as we continued upward. The wind was howling pretty good through the trees but the effort brought my body temp way up and I was glad to be wearing shorts.

I ditched my gloves and continued up. The trail was in much better condition, with hardly any rocks but it got very steep and there were some root sections. The "sun" had come up and I was able to turn my headlamp off. I came through a series of switchbacks and looked down to see if I could see anyone coming. I didn't see anyone. I pushed on and focused on keeping my breathing even and as relaxed as possible.

There was a flat section towards the top which I tried to capitalize on and lay down some speed before the last climb. Finally, I could see the light peaking through the trees, signaling the clearing where the finish was. I pushed hard and ran all the way to the fence, making it to the top first.

Sam, the husband of the event organizer came up a few minutes later (he wasn't running with the group as he started later but technically he probably had a faster time than I)

About two minutes later the first person in the group came up the trail and then it was a steady stream as the others made it to the top.

You should probably know, Poo Poo point got it's name from the trains in the distance, not for the more obvious reasons you might think :)




I could have run that first half mile that I was behind the others a little faster but it was probably good for the first time.

I'm also just working off of base at the moment so getting some speed under my belt couldn't hurt.