Sundown Trail Race @ Ann Spring

 I was perusing my Facebook feed when the Sundown Trail Series @ Ann Spring caught my eye. The races are the first Wednesday during the summer months. I made a mental note to follow up. 

This past Wednesday, I made good on that mental note. 

At 6:30 PM, we were off. While I have been to Ann Springs a number of times, I never made any attempt to learn the trails. I just followed the others that I was running with. Luckily for me, these guys did a pretty good job marking the trail. 

Marcus took off ahead of everyone. I settled in to a group of 5 guys: two in front and two behind. A rain shower came through about 30 minutes before the race. This didn't agree with my racing flats. I found myself slipping at just about every turn. At one point, I nearly went down. I took a second to catch my breath, and readjusted how I was attacking the trail. 

The two guys in front of me looked to be making pretty good time. I didn't know if I could hang-on. Then, we made the turn to head back. My legs were heavy. Tuckfest was taking its toll on me. But for some reason even thou my legs felt heavy, I still felt good in the heat and humid. Strange. 

I passed the 3rd place guy before we started the Trestle trail. I was working the trail but the 2nd place guy was making good work of the downhills. His trail shoes were definitely an advantage. Then, the course straightened out. This gave me the chance to close up on him.

We turned on the connector trail to the Wagon Loop Trail. I was doing everything possible to keep him close. If I was going to make a race of it, I needed to be in striking distance. 

As we turned on to the Wagon Loop, I got to his shoulder. Without a second thought, I pushed past him. 

Then, we turned on to the uphill gravel road leading to the finish. Oh were my legs hurting, but I keep digging. This hill seemed to last forever. 

I didn't stop until I was well past the finish. I was coated in sweat. 

The heat and humidity were tough. With the cloud cover, the trails were pretty dark. 

All in all, I enjoyed the race. I cannot make the June race but I might just go do the July, and Aug races. 4ish is miles is a good workout distance. 

If you are interested in running over of these events, here's the link https://runsignup.com/Race/SC/FortMill/SundownTrailRaces

The course starts a 100 yards or so from the Cantina. It follows the gravel around crossing the water and picking up the Steele trail. From the Steele trail, we pick up the Blue Star Trail back to the Trestle trail, and the Muscadine trail. We follow this back to the Wagon Loop connector trail, and the left on the Wagon Loop to the gravel road. Then, we went up the hill by lake to the finish. 

Check it out if you get a chance, 

Cool Down Runner