WWC Shot in the Dark 10 Recap 11/2/18
This past Friday night, I headed to the WWC for their Shot
in the Dark 10k night race. Of the things gave me pause about this race was the
recent rain over the last 24 to 48 hours. In fact the trails at the WWC had
been closed much of the week because of the rain. This meant that the trails
would be leaf covered and slick.
On my warm up, I found this pretty much to be true.
Both 5k and 10k races start at 7:15 so darkness is well
underway. I was sporting my double head lamp combination – wearing one on my
head and one at my waist. Going around the channel, the runners were stringing
out pretty good. I was thank for this because it was going to allow us to enter
the trail without being all jammed up.
I had opted for my trail shoes over my normal racing flats.
I hoped that they would give me better traction.
I never went down but I did hit more than a few slick spots.
With the leaves covering the trail and everything being wet, I found the trail
a bit more difficult to follow in sections.
Given these conditions, I found myself holding back more
than usual. To me it was more important to prize my neck over my pace.
After the race I talked to several runners that had gone
down. Some of them went down several times. One was even stepped on by another
runner.
I placed 10th overall in a time of 48:24. This
placed me first in my 50-54 age. Surprisingly, my time as more than 3 and ½ minutes
faster than last year. Then, last year, this was really my first night trail
race. I had no experience and by in large felt like that I spent most of my
time avoiding running in to the trees.
Interestingly, the women made a strong showing on this night.
They took the first and 3rd spots overall. I am glad to see this,
and I wish more of this happened. I feel like there are a lot of strong and
fast women that hit the trails around Charlotte. Hopefully, this strong showing
will inspire more of them to come out.
With the arrival of November, I have a few more races on my
calendar before I close out ’18. Two will be on the roads, and I plan to close
out the year with the WWC 5k in December. Closing out the year with a trial
race just like I started the year only makes sense.
Happy Trails,
The Cool Down Runner
Comments