Memorial Day 8 Miler @ the Whitewater Center
What a muddy run. We were slip sliding
the entire race.
The 8 & 5 mile races started at the
same time so there are people racing around me with totally different
agendas. My personal agenda was to not fall. Warming up, I hit some
of the race trails, and it seemed that I was spending as much time
staying vertical as I was moving horizontally.
The opening portion of the first mile
is around the channel so not much chance of falling here, but
entering the connector trail to the South Main Trail was another
matter. It was slippy. My arms were flailing as I attempted to
maintain my balance. At the last downhill section before the South
Main Trail, my feet went out from under me, and I went down on my
hands and “but”. Runners were streaming by me on both sides.
FlaVia went by me saying something about wearing trail shoes. Yeah,
the thought did cross my mind as I set there on my “but”.
Everything is a risk vs. reward. At least only my pride was hurt and
nothing more.
Back on my feet, I settled in behind a
long line of runners that had passed me. Over the next 7 miles, I
slowly worked my way back up through the field. Trail passing is
tough, and sometimes you just have to follow until the trail widens
enough to pass. Ultimately finishing 5th overall was good
for me all things considering while finishing in 61:02 and first in
my age group.
Looking around after the race, I wasn't
the only one with mud marks. But isn't that the fun in doing a muddy
trail race. The extra challenge is what creates a memorable race.
Would I have preferred a nice dry coarse. Absolutely! However, this
mud run will likely never be lost in the my lifetime blur of races.
Kudos to all of the runners that
completed on this muddy coarse. You all deserve a pat on the back.
The Cool Down Runner
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