It is without a doubt the hardest trail race I have done. There are 8 mountains you cross over going out, and then you get to climb them again on the way back. The first and last 2.6 miles are on gravel roads, the last .6 miles half way into it at the turnaround are on gravel roads, and there are maybe 2 miles of fairly flat sections along the way along streams.
That leaves about 8 miles out and 8 miles back of technical single track that is either severely uphill or downhill. It was in the low 50s for the start of the race and warmed up a little right near the end. It was misty and foggy all day, and had an eeiriness to it which had its own intrigue.
Some of the downhills are too steep to run, and some of the uphills are so steep all I could do is walk 40 steps, grab a tree, huff and puff, and repeat.I was moving at my usual pace (slow) and was so far out of the mid-to-back of the pack that I opted to drop down to the 17 mile fun run. This meant I got to skip 6 mountains and only deal with 10.
I ended up finishing in 5:44:30, and got to visit with all the fast horses some of whom finished 26.2 before I finished my measly 17. The good thing about me doing the shorter distance was that we got home at least 3 hours earlier than we would have otherwise. Randy finished the whole race plus a few accidental extra miles about an hour after me. Brian slept all day while manning an aid station. He had the audacity later to tell us how tired he was!!
This is a race I will always do, but I am not sure why. I guess if I can do it, I know for sure that I am not dead, but maybe right next to it.
No comments:
Post a Comment