Saturday Chrissy and Michael Whitten put on the 3.5 year annual Warrior Princess trail Run.
This years event has moved from Keystone State Park moluntain bike trailz to Chandler Park.
There were 40 or so runners who elected to do the longer event--running for 103 minutes through the labyrinth of trailz winding through the bluffs overhanging Avery Drive and the mighty Arkansas. A few of the crowd knew what awaited them once they dropped down into the maze, but I am sure a few were surprised.
RD Chrissy gives out some last minute directions. It has rained just before the race, and caution was issued due to the slick rocks and mud. Still, I didn't see any blood and only saw one person slip in a muddy descent.
Arena has a smile of confidence, having traversed these trailz once on a TOT field trip. Jenni was on board to help Mitch with the timing, and I particular like this pic because it shows it is possible to inflate a balloon to the point where it's bigger than Mitch's head.
The "GO!" was declared and we were off for 103 minutes to commemorate Little Lillian's 103 days here on this earth.
I ran with K2 for much of the way. We clicked off the 1.03 mile laps like clockwork, running each in 17 minutes and change. While there were not any tremendously long steep hills, there were a few ups and downs, and several sections where the trail was rocky enough that walking was a good choice.
A good portion (but not all) of the course was an out-and-back, so you got to see other people as they ran their race. "Good job", "keep it up", "looking good."
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| Picture taken by Ken Saveth |
Because part of the trail was through narrow hallways between craggy rocks, every now and then it was momentarily crowded, but never a real problem. But if this race grows like I think it will, we may have to rethink the course.
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| Picture taken by Rafael Santiago |
Chrissy had professional photographers on the course, and many many pictures will be available for viewing soon.
Unlike the Snake Run, there was no "finishing lap." If you were on the course after 103 minutes had passed, the lap you were on did not count. K2 and I finished with a mere 15 minutes to spare. I wanted to go out for another even though it was gonna have to be my fastest lap of the day. K2 was good with stopping at 5 laps, and I ran out hard to try to squeeze another lap in. All things were clicking, and I ran all but one brief uphill, and passed a few runners along the way.
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| Picture taken by Ken Saveth |
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| Picture taken by Ken Saveth |
Rounding the last corner, I crossed the Leap of Faith for a 6th time and made it in with almost 3 minutes to spare, meaning I had ran the loop in 12 minutes. I was very happy with that, and laid around for a few minutes composing myself. Results are not yet posted, but I will put a link here when they are. This is a race you will not want to miss next year.
There were 40 or so runners who elected to do the longer event--running for 103 minutes through the labyrinth of trailz winding through the bluffs overhanging Avery Drive and the mighty Arkansas. A few of the crowd knew what awaited them once they dropped down into the maze, but I am sure a few were surprised.
RD Chrissy gives out some last minute directions. It has rained just before the race, and caution was issued due to the slick rocks and mud. Still, I didn't see any blood and only saw one person slip in a muddy descent.
Arena has a smile of confidence, having traversed these trailz once on a TOT field trip. Jenni was on board to help Mitch with the timing, and I particular like this pic because it shows it is possible to inflate a balloon to the point where it's bigger than Mitch's head.
The "GO!" was declared and we were off for 103 minutes to commemorate Little Lillian's 103 days here on this earth.
I ran with K2 for much of the way. We clicked off the 1.03 mile laps like clockwork, running each in 17 minutes and change. While there were not any tremendously long steep hills, there were a few ups and downs, and several sections where the trail was rocky enough that walking was a good choice. 
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