River Jam 10k - May - '22 Edition

 The WWC River Jam races at the WWC were back to normal last night. Well, they were sort of back to normal. They decided to change the course from the traditional course this year. They had us running on portions of North Main and portions of Lake Loop while adding all the Solamum Trail. 

What had most of the runners talking was the start of the race. In years passed, we ran all the way around the channel before dropping into the trail. This gave the field time to stretch so we for the most part entered the trail single file. 

With this new course, we ran may be 50 yards before dropping in to North Main. Runners were trying to enter the trail 2 and 3 abreast. Runner were all over the place pushing, holding, shoving, etc. before finally getting single file. Then, I found myself in this long conga line of both 5k and 10k runners. 

It is all down hill through this section so passing was impossible. Then, came the first hill, and the long climb along the ridgeline to the top. I was passing runners on both the left and the right. I passed several runners that were walking by this point. I was literally passing runners until I got well in to South Main. It is crazy how runner's under estimate the difference between running on the roads and running on the trails. 

In full disclosure, I and every runner standing at the starting line knew pretty much knew what to expect. Where I struggle; I am not a sprinter. Sprint out of the starting line doesn't make any sense to me, yet, this is what needs to be done for this course. It is the only way to position yourself well entering the trail. I didn't do it well which is why I spent much of the first couple of miles passing other runners. 

Overall, I like this course setting aside the start. When I go back in June, I will need to adjust my strategy. I will need to dig in to my sprinting legs. Definitely, my legs will not be happy with me. 

Cool Down Runner