Here’s my first attempt at a trail run RR. I ran the Bear Creek Trail Run on Dec 2^nd, and it was my first official race on trails. A bit of history…I’ve been running since 2010, starting in NYC. Most of my runs there were on roads in the city. In 2011, I moved to Richmond, VA and discovered a love for trails! The trails I typically run on are not that technical; they’re clean of tree limbs and creeks for the most part. In October, I was browsing our local races and ran across this 10 miler and thought it’d be fun.

The morning of the race started off a little stressful. I woke up way early but then got caught up on the running boards and time got away from me. I’m usually a Type A kind of person—preparing in advance and obsessed about arriving early. But, not that day. I thought the race was only 45 minutes from my place and it turned out to be an hour and 10 minutes away. When I realized this, I started scrambling to gather my race bag (at least I had prepared this in advance) and headed out the door. Thankfully, it was a Sunday morning and the traffic was light. The race started at 9 am, and I got there at 8:35 am—just enough time to hit the bathroom and connect with another (former) ROWLer (TThomas).

At 8:50, the RD gave us some instructions about the course. This was a single track, out and back course, marked with white markings and ribbons on trees. There were several “hills” (what seemed like mountains to me J) and 5 creeks to crossover. There were two water stops—one at mile 3 and the other at the turnaround at mile 5. The weather was perfect...high 40s/low 50s and cloudy.

Race Director at start:

For some reason, I had the bright idea of starting with Tina (she’s much faster and more experienced on trails than me) towards the front. There were only 150-160 of us, so we were all kind of bunched up at the front together. We ran together for a bit but she took off, and I settled into what I thought was a reasonable pace for me (11:30 min/m). However, the more hills, creeks, and trees I ran up and over, the more I realized that I wouldn’t be able to maintain that pace throughout. So, I stopped along the side to let a few runners go by and settled into a slower pace. During the first 3 miles, I was just trying to figure out how to navigate the trails without falling. I had a lot of trouble with pacing because of hills and trees/tree limbs along the trail. It was hard to look up without the fear of tripping.

And, we're off...!

I made it to the first water station at mile 3 in about 40 minutes. I met up with a group of runners who were running about my pace, and we ran together for the next 2 miles until the turnaround. I felt the strongest during this point of the race. I finally felt like I was getting my groove on. The best part of it was seeing the leaders—as our group was approaching the turnaround, the leaders were on their way back. That was awesome. It was crowded, so we stopped and stepped to the side to let folks by. We cheered everyone on as they passed us. This was a lot of fun, even though we were losing time.

We made it to the turnaround at mile 5 in about an hour and 8 minutes. I was feeling hungry, so I took a gu and had some water. And then 3 of us took off for the second half. It was at this point when things started going “downhill” for me. A few minutes after we started up again, I fell…flat on my face (well, I caught myself before a total face plant happened). My running buddies stopped and made sure I was ok. I told them to go on without me. I was in pain, especially my knee so I walked it out for several minutes.

My souvenir...

I think I was shocked that I fell and never fully recovered. After walking for a bit, I ran and felt like I was tripping over every single tree stump and limb on the ground. Some of these were hard to see because of the leaves. I started feeling a little dizzy and decided to go with a run/walk method—I walked the hills and ran the downhills and flats. I made it to the water station at mile 7 (same as mile 3) and took a brief break, after almost gagging on my water. I had a coughing attack and waited there for a few minutes for it to pass. And then I continued on… I was feeling a little better after that break when…

Yes, that’s right…me, the noob, fell AGAIN!! At that point, I just sat on the ground for a second laughing hysterically at myself. But, I wasn’t going to let the terrain or my downfalls defeat me, so I pulled myself up and moved on.  These last few miles were tough with countless trips and near falls, but it was an awesome feeling crossing the finish line with everyone who stayed behind cheering for me. Even though this was my slowest 10 miles ever (2 hrs, 33 min), I was happy and proud to finish. Overall, the race was well organized. It didn’t have the bells/whistles of other races, but it was a lot more fun and everyone was so nice and supportive.

Thanks for reading!!

Part of race course:

I had no idea you could run trails and have shoes that clean.

Sorry about the leaves covering things up--one of my duties

in the park where I do volunteer mischief is to use the leaf

blower on one of the trails so the weekend walkers (young,

old, not so old, mom with stroller, ... ) have a well-groomed

trail from which to experience nature.  It feels really silly to

be out there on the trails clearing the leaves away...

Good story, thank you for it and the pictures.

rgot

Nice job, and congratulations on losing your trail virginity.  Falls can happen on any trail, but are especially common on those covered in an autumn blanket.  Those cuts are your badge of honor, so wear them with pride.

Congrats on your first trail race! Consider the blood part of the initiation rites--now that you're in the cult, the trail gods will surely go easier on you next time. Uh, maybe.

Nice job on the race report, too--well done all around.

Great job, Jen.  Falling is just part of the territory when it comes to trail running.  Sometimes roots and rocks sneak up on you, especially in the fall when covered by leaves.  It also happens when you get tired and lose form, at least for me.  When I get tired, I forget to pick up my feet and that sometimes makes me meet the ground face to face.

Regardless, enjoy every minute of it.  yes your times are going to be slower on the trails.  I was just thinking the other day how a 10 minute mile on the road seems slow but a 10 minute mile on trails feels like I'm zooming.  

Nice RR, and great pics.  Like John said, you got clean shoes.  Time to get dirty!

Well done!  And nice write up.  Be sure to put some Neosporin on that knee, or you'll get some cute scars like I have. I'm a fan of wearing dresses come summer. So, while my top 2/3 are all cute and dressy, my bottom 1/3 is full of scrapes and scars.  I kinda like it that way. 

I like 10 mile to 1/2 marathon distances. For some reason, it seems like food and beer taste so much better after those distances. Once I get out to marathon or longer, I don't really want to eat food or drink a beer until much later. Ten miles might be the perfect distance. Nice looking woods over there. Congratulations.