Kathy and I ran the loop at Pumpkin Holler today, and chatted with the owners of Eagle Bluff. Keep your fingers crossed--they are a bit concerned that the race is 5 calender days later than last year, as they normally winterize their bathrooms and close the place down on Sept 30 or shortly after. The way the days fall in the month this year, the third weekend is October 20, 21 instead of 15, 16 like last year. I am sure they'll still be good with letting us use the campground, and the BATHROOMS/SHOWERS. Otherwise, we'll come up with a plan. 
The course was in great shape. Roads were smooth, with only a couple of short spots a tad bit rocky. The hills seemed to have flattened out somewhat, but did ebb upward later in the day as the temperatures climbed into the 80s.
We stashed water at the Y near the start, and at Bathtub Rocks. We then started at the Nickel Preserve building, and ran the course in reverse.
I liked that direction--a lot at first. But in the later miles, we found short annoying inclines that go unnoticed when running the race clockwise. We decided that the best direction to run it is the way we did last year--so no changes there.
The course runs along the Illinois River, and a good view can be seen in five different stretches of the loop.
Running in the shade was good. Running in the sun was rough--especially in the last three miles.
By the time we hit Bathtub Rocks, the running water and natural pools was more than tempting.
We soaked our 18 mile ridden feet for about five minutes, and it seemed to breathe new life into them--for a few miles anyway.
This year, there will be an aid station here, and I recommend the healing waters of this stream.
The lopp we did was 27 miles. Add the out-and-back at the start, and the one on the course, and you'll have a 50K. There are other shorter loops possible there too. We'll plan a couple of training runs there in coming weeks.
The course was in great shape. Roads were smooth, with only a couple of short spots a tad bit rocky. The hills seemed to have flattened out somewhat, but did ebb upward later in the day as the temperatures climbed into the 80s.
We stashed water at the Y near the start, and at Bathtub Rocks. We then started at the Nickel Preserve building, and ran the course in reverse.
I liked that direction--a lot at first. But in the later miles, we found short annoying inclines that go unnoticed when running the race clockwise. We decided that the best direction to run it is the way we did last year--so no changes there.
The course runs along the Illinois River, and a good view can be seen in five different stretches of the loop.
Running in the shade was good. Running in the sun was rough--especially in the last three miles.
By the time we hit Bathtub Rocks, the running water and natural pools was more than tempting.
We soaked our 18 mile ridden feet for about five minutes, and it seemed to breathe new life into them--for a few miles anyway.
This year, there will be an aid station here, and I recommend the healing waters of this stream.
The lopp we did was 27 miles. Add the out-and-back at the start, and the one on the course, and you'll have a 50K. There are other shorter loops possible there too. We'll plan a couple of training runs there in coming weeks.
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