Elm Creek Trail Race, Playing in the Mud

I can now officially say I am a trail runner, I completed my first trail race on Thursday and had a blast. The race was held in the evening and it had been raining since the previous night, but had decreased to only a mist by afternoon. This race was 5.75 miles, mostly on trails with a short portion on paved paths. I went into the race with three goal 1) Don’t get injured 2) Don’t get lost 3) Finish under 50 minutes.

The race started at 6:30 and the rain promptly returned making the grass extra slick especially the steep hills. I stayed with the group and spent a lot of time looking down to avoid injury. At about the halfway point I started running and chatting with a guy who had done all the previous races of this series. The conversation started as we navigated our way around and through a series of mud puddles. I’m not typically one to talk during a race, but since I was just doing this for fun and taking it easy, why not. Soon we caught up to his running buddy and the three of us talked and ran. They encouraged me as we ran up the final steep hill to the finish. 46:30 (8:06 pace) I was the 4th woman. Looks like I accomplished all three of my goals and had fun doing it.

I was a muddy mess and my shoes were soaked, good thing I opted for the old pair. The best part of this race was the Summit beer and pizza along with all the typical post-race foods. All this for $10. I had a blast trail running and plan to run more of the series races next year and start looking for longer trail races for next year.

The muddy legs, the picture doesn't quite show the entent of the mess.