There are no age group category for this race, just overall male and females. I was 26/115 of all males and 29/159 overall. Three chicks beat me!!! I started out conservative b/c I had run the 8-mile course two years earlier and knew how hard it was and did not want to bonk in the middle. I got through the 8-miler in 1:23:22 which would have placed me 28/122 in the 8-mile race. I kept my footing pretty good but the steep downhills really take a toll on you with the rocks and turns. I wore my running shoes b/c I had not practiced in my trail shoes....I wanted to go with what I new and not change anything up on race day. One mistake I made though was I did not tighten my shoestring enough. I tightened them enough for road racing but not for trail running. After, I stopped at mile 11 aide station, which ellasdad was working, I started to feel that my foot was sliding around in my shoe more that it should be but I kept going. By aide station 14 I had a blister on the bottom of my left foot. It was in the middle of my foot as well. How do you get a blister in the middle of your foot? Okay, I wised up after this and stopped and pulled my laces as tight as possible. That worked great!! I was still cruising along and felt good. I had made up my mind that I had enough in the tank to really work the last three miles so my goal was to stop at the 17 mile aide station fuel up and Let'R'Rip the rest of the way. So I get to the aide station and there is one guy already there with a Duke shirt on and he looked like he was hurting bad. I joked with the volunteers about the last three miles being flat, right? Of course they assured me it was!! As I was fueling up one guy passed the aide station without fueling. I had passed him earlier and knew I had time to catch him. So I took off with the Dukie in tow. I start to climb the hill from the aide station and my left knee just starts killing me out of nowhere. I was shocked for a minute and all I could think about was how I have got to start Ironman training on Monday. I can't have a bum knee!! So I started to walk and told the Dukie to go around me but he assured me he was okay staying where he was at. It hurt with such intensity that I thought about going back to the aide station and getting a DNF but after some thinking I figured if I had damaged it bad enough, then three more miles wasn't going to be a big deal and if it was going to throw off my Ironman training then I damn well was going to finish. I started doing the straight leg jog and steadily picking up the pace, after about half a mile it loosened up enough to start my normal gait but was still hurting. After the knee acted up like that I decided just to keep a steady pace and then with 10 minutes left I would run hard and pass the guy in front of me. Well, I had been running 10 minute miles or so for a while and figured I would at least be doing that or slower for the last three. I left the aide station at 3:15:00 and figured that would put me around 3:45 finishing. I see the guy in front of me when my watch in at 3:31 and he keeps looking back so I figure he will be easy prey with 10 minutes of running left and then I pass this chick on the side of the trail spectating and she says you are almost finisthed, aren't those good words to hear. I look at watch and go, yeah right!! You are not fooling me!! All of a sudden a hear a lot of noise and look up and what seems to be the finish is only about 50 yards in front of me. I take off like crazy but can't catch the guy in front of me!!! That was not three miles!!! With that said though the aide station are probably approximate locations b/c they have to carry the stuff in for the most part. The last distance between aide stations was probably more than 3 miles. I was with the 2nd and 3rd place chicks for a while. I was hoping to catch them in the last three miles but they finished 3 minutes ahead of me. It would have been tough to make that up with my knee and the last section not being three miles!!

Definitely tighten my shoelaces more and I probably would practice in my trail shoes. I might even go out at a slightly faster pace but not too much!! Run hard from the 17 mile aide station all the way in.

Ate some goodies, put on some warm clothes, and stretched. I also got my cool piece of pottery!!


My knee, blister, and lack of lactate threshold training, especially on the hills.


Keep in mind that this race is not going to attract a lot of volunteers and there are very few places they can put in aide stations. If you are one to want an aide station every mile then find another race but to me this is what trail running is all about. It is tough but it is fair. It treats everyone the same!! You will be muddy, bruised, and wet but you will experience a great race atmosphere. Very quite and easy to get off course. You may find yourself running alone for a while at times. I definitely recommend this race to any trail runners and any ultra people looking for a bigger challenge....well here you go. I was glad I did not have to turn around and go back!!! The gear you get is awesome as well. We got a long sleeve dri fit shirt, a water bottle, and a piece of pottery for finishing. Also, REI has taken this race over as the number one sponsor and from what I heard when I stopped by the night before for packet pickup; if you sign up for the pasta dinner REI gives away plenty of door prizes and almost everyone gets something. If I do the race again I am definitely doing the pasta dinner!!! I look for the race to become bigger and better each year!! It already fills up within the first few days of registration!!!