XTERRA Harbison Half Marathon - Long, Long Run

Megan asked if I was interested in checking out a trail half marathon in Columbia a few weeks ago.

I thought "sure, I needed to get started on my marathon long runs so getting in 18 miles on a new trail sounded perfect".

We left Charlotte at 4 AM this morning and arrived at the Harbison State Forest West of Columbia just before 6 AM. In fact, the race director was just arriving when we pulled in to the parking lot. Mind you, the race started at 7 am.

I should have realized that this would be a precursor of things to come.

Because stuff wasn't exactly going smoothly right from the start. We had to find our names in a list of stickers and the names weren't in alphabetical order. I must have gone through the list at least 5 times before I found my name.

Then, there was the restroom. I guess with the government cut backs they cannot longer provide lighting so we had provide our own illumination – think cell phone open. LOL

We all gathered at 7 am for the ½ marathon start. There was also a 5k race which was to start 10 minutes later. Our race directors went of the usual instructions such as course markings and chips. Of which, two guys went sprinting back to the registration area to obtain their chips. I am sure you can guess – we waited for them.

Finally, we were off. I told Megan up front to not wait on me. I wanted to take it out easy and be the "hunter" rather than the "hunted" today.

She quickly disappeared in to the forest ahead.

Once my legs felt warmed up, I started passing a few people. On the tough sections, I would slow down and follow then surge pass them when the trail opened up.

By 3 miles my legs were starting to find a good trail rhythm. And my strategy was working perfectly for me. I would chase someone down, follow them for a few minutes to recovery, pass, and then chase down the next guy.

Things were going smoothly until a detour occurred. For some reason, the race organizers decided to overlap the 5k and ½ marathon courses for a small section. Well, I was flying along through the woods chasing guys down when I see these fast looking guys turn right. There were XTERRIA ribbons and survey flags just as we were told so for all I knew I was on the right course.

For the next two miles, I passed a bunch of people them popped out into this field where they had the finish line. There must have been a puzzle look my face because the guy asked "are you running the ½ or 5k". I said "the ½" to which he replied "go over there". There were about 10 other guys standing around fuming about how the course was marked.

Their conversations were not where I wanted to go. I planned on running 18 miles for the day so I decided to just back track to where I messed up and continue along the course.

Getting a good overall place was out of the question, but I could at least get in my miles. Besides, why would I want to waste a perfectly good morning and unexplored trails?

Backing tracking along the trail I found a course worker who pointed me back to right trail.

Off and on, I would see a few other guys and would chat it up. Each aid station, I stopped and drank as much as I wanted, talked the aid workers, and then moved on.

After about 2+ hours of running, I cruised back up to the finish line. Oh, but this was not before a female runner came flying by me like she was just about to win the NY City marathon. She hurdled a log and sprinted for the finish. Kudos to her. I wish I had that much energy.

I heard them ask her if she ran the entire course. Her reply was "Yes, and more". At the time, the only thought that resonated through my head was "as did we all".

Was I disappointed in the run? In all honesty, not really. I enjoyed this race as much as any that I have ever run. In my 25+ years of running, I have never come up to a water stop and just hung out. Let alone found an aid station that serves "Sweet Ice Tea".

Thanks Megan for the Adventure Run today.

PS. As yet they have not posted the results for the race. LOL.

 

 

Thoughts from the Cool Down Runner