My Color Run

From the Color Run website:

The Color Run™, also known as the Happiest 5k on the Planet, is a unique paint race that celebrates healthiness, happiness, individuality, and giving back to the community.
Less about your 10-minute-mile and more about having the time of your life, The Color Run is a five-kilometer, un-timed race in which thousands of participants are doused from head to toe in different colors at each kilometer. The fun continues at the finish line with a gigantic “Color Festival,” using more colored powder to create happiness and lasting memories, not to mention millions of vivid color combinations. Trust us, this is the best post-5k party on the planet!
With only two rules, the idea is easy to follow:
1. Wear white at the starting line
2. Finish plastered in color
Now the single largest event series in the nation, The Color Run is exploding since our debut event in January of 2012 and will grow from over 50 events and 600,000 participants in 2012, to over 100 events and over a million participants in 2013.
Be Healthy. Be Happy. Be You.

I did not run THE Color Run, although I did man the TATUR tent at the event. 18,000 to 20,000 runners did though, and they seemed happy.

I came home, put on a colorful bandana, leashed up Jake, grabbed my camera, and headed to the trailz for a color run--TZ style.
I am in taper mode, and a 5-6 miler was all I needed. There were 5 newer geocaches on Turkey Mountain that I had not found, and today was the day.

Looking for spectacular color? Look to the work of the Master Designer. Greens and blues never looked so good.

My first geocache of the day had me up one hill, down another, and then back up. Some crafty hider found some cool rock formations between two lesser used trailz, I got some unplanned hill work in. I also plowed through a nest of saw briers. Notice the nice green and mauve weapon of mass destruction.

More color--I donated a little blood here. My legs had a bit of shredding as well, and after a 15 minute search, I found the cache!!

Lots of color in this geocache too. I had no goodies to leave so I took nothing, signed the log, and hid it back in it's place. On to the next one, which was a half mile away. Jake and I ran at an easy pace north on the Ho-Chi.

Just as if it were placed just for us, this leaf gave us the yellow for our run. We found the next cache after a 30 minute search. It was not where I thought. My iPhone was jumping around, as it often does in the deep woods. Another good find, and we ended up finding a total of five for the day, including a FTF (First To Find) on the far west side.

Those in the big Color Run missed out on this....

....and this.

"But wait a minute, TZ," you say, "The Color Runners are supposed to get color splattered all over them."

And so it was. Brown is a color, right?

And after a good hosing off, there are remnants of red, that I get to show off for a few days. And I don't have green and pink stuff behind my ears.

Make plans for this race next Thursday

Next week--Thurdsay evening to be more precise--is the third running of the Warrior Princess Trail Race.
This unique race is a 10.3 mile run that is half trail, and half rural county road. There is also a 10.3K race that is all on the road. Throw in a 1.03 mile fun run, and you have an event with a distance for everyone.

The location--the Keystone Mountain Bike trailz just south of Keystone Dam on the east side of the highway. Cross the dam heading south, and follow the cars. I recommend getting there early for a decent parking place. This is a sweet course, with 5 miles of winding single track under a canopy of trees. Much of it is smooth and runnable, but there are a few rocky technical sections, and a few steep climbs and decents. It's a challenging course and fun to run.


This race, in it's thrid year, is the creation of Chrissy Whitten and is held to honor her daughter Lillian Grace Whitten, who came into the world on April 25th 2010 and was with us for 103 days before earning her wings August 5th. Chrissy loves the trailz as much as I do, and a trail run to celebrate her memory is so cool.

In the first year, there were a few water crossings, but none that could not be crossed easily. This year, I expect a few shoe soaking opportunities, but there is still a good probability of dry feet.

For those running who are not obsessed with running a PR, enjoy the run and take your camera. This is one of the most scenic trailz in the area.

Keep your eye on the trail, but look up often. I have bumped my head here once. It won't happen again.


When you pass the powerline tower, you're about halfway through the trail portion.

You'll have a couple of awesome views of the Arkansas River near the tower.

Here's one of the rocky sections. Actually, walking these rocky inclines is not really much slower than trying to run them--unless you're a mountain goat.

Once you finish the trail portion, you hit the road. The first half mile is a long downhill where you can really pick up the pace. At the bottom, the 10.3 milers head east, while the 10.3K runners take a left to do a short out-and-back, and then they head east. It's well marked, and there's a course marshal here to make sure everyone goes the correct way.

The road section is tree-covered for most of the way. About 2.5 miles out there's an aid station with water, Gatorade, and all sorts of yummy goodies.

Last year, the train track crossing was under construction, but all is repaired this year. Hopefully, no one will have to wait for the train to pass.

This race, with the unique distances, is a sure PR--if you've never ran a 10.3 mile or 10.3 K race. And it's a good challenging venue for the speedsters like this trio.


It's also a good course for those wanting to support Chrissy's cause with the 1.03 mile fun run/walk.

It's not too late to sign up either.You can sign up here online, or you can sign up at the race.

There's great shirts and finishers medals for all participants, and awards for the winners. Following the race, it's been a tradition to launch a sky lantern. This will be the last year for the race in April at Keystone. The event will be moved to Chandler Park, and will be held on Lillian's angel-versary on August 5th. The format will be a timed event, where the runners will see how far they can run in 103 minutes--sort of like the 3 Hour/6 Hour Snake Run. Keep an eye out for more details in the coming months. But don't miss the Warrior Princess Trail Run next Thursday!

black white gray

Boston

I skipped my run this evening--saddened beyond words. I cannot comprehend the evil that would lead a person(s) to kill innocent blameless people in love with life. I just did not feel this evening that a run would make it all better for me. There is no fix.

Finding the people behind this bombing is futile, although I would love to see the demonic beasts tortured forever for the tragedy they caused. Bring them to "justice" and there'll be more following in their footsteps. This kind of evil never changes. Senseless crime like this cuts to the quick, but this time, it was my friends slaughtered. My friends. If you love running, you are my friend. Two strangers who run meet, and in three minutes, they are friends. I know of no kindredship as amazing as what we as runners share.

Those responsible for the bombings know only hate, and they have made me hate. I hope the killers burn in hell.

Lake Heyburn/Shephard Cove Trail/Rattlesnake Trail

After a morning run with the TOTs on Turkey Mountain, Jake and I headed foe Keystone State Park. There was some sort of biking event going on there, so we headed southwest to Heyburn Lake to run some trailz that I knew about but had never run. Always a bonus!!

These are equestrian trailz, but the are the same single track that trail crazies like me likes. Never once were there sections that were beat to death with horse hoofs, and even though it had rained yesterday, there were very few muddy spots.


Jale was a happy pup, and did his usual trail guide thing, acting like he knew exactly where he was going and coming back to make sure I did not get lost.


We passed the trail head for the Boot Tree Hill trail, and actually took that route on our return trip. The highlight of the trail was this tree.


I'd liken this trail to Lake McMurtry. Not many rocks, a few short ups and downs, and a view of the lake here and there.


One of the few rocky areas was on the Rocky Point Trail. With a name like that, I'd expect no less.


I took this 1/4 mile stretch of double track to avoid going back the way I came to from Rocky Point. At one time, Lake Heyburn had a LOT of camping. There are primitive campgrounds, spots with pads and full hookups, and almost all of it is abandoned.


"Hey Dad--you coming??"


I was very interested in this trail. I had read, and heard from a friend Clint Green that this was a good run/hike. From this sign, it is supposed to be 4.5 miles to the end of the line. I was banking on a 9 mile trip from here.


About 10% of the way was single track across open fields, which is about all the meadow running I like in a run.


Most was wooded, and if this trail had a bit more foot traffic, it would be perfect. A few fallen trees blocked the trail and quite a bit of the route was leaf covered but but gave no problems on our trip.


We crossed several drainages--small creeks that meandered into the lake. I never got my feet wet on the water crossings, but Jake did.


Towards the end of the trail, we ran alongside Brown's Creek. It's a muddy creek, and Heyburn is a muddy lake. Jake is a bit too chicken to take this dive.


Water was flowing over Brown's Creek falls. I bet it's a dry waterfall much of the year though.


From here, we headed back. If the Sunday TOTs make a road trip to run here (soon), we can put a water drop at the end of the trail which is right on HWY 33. Those wanting a 5 mile run one way could catch a ride back if we had a sag wagon. I bet we can work that out.


I took a few pix on the way back, but with a tired dog and a tired me, we just slogged and hiked it out. The day was seeming long.


Most of the color today was from the sky, but the green will be overpowering when I come again. We ended up with 10.6 here. The Rattlesnake Trail just under 9 miles out and back. The trails in the main park (Shepherd Cove, Boot Tree Hill, and another couple of spurs) can add as much as 2-3 miles.


One last swim for Jake. I actually got in the water too. I have a theory about Chiggers--if you wash your legs off soon after the run, I think you'll brush off a lot of the suckers before they anchor and bite. So far, so good. I collected a few ticks. No bites, but I felt a couple of nibbles before picking and disposing. I am a tick magnet, and in a trail run, the first runner gets the most. Jake has FrontLine, so any tick bites he get kills the tick. And he also had a good bath when we got home.