Two Sundays ago I ran my first 15K race. http://www.trailrace.com/missiongorge.html It went better than I expected, especially considering the conditions. It rained the night before and all morning. It was a “mud fest” with some steep hills up and down, five creek crossings and lots of slipping and sliding. I actually had a lot of fun and increased my pace/effort slightly throughout the race. Just for fun I bought one of those disposable, one-use cameras and took pictures along the race. I actually ran out of film before the end of the race. There weren’t many good pictures between rain and movement, but here are some. Before the race: search & rescue team in orange, the white truck is the race director’s and got suck on a mountain top fire road. I don’t think they got down that day. Before the start there was a short break in the rain. It got wetter. The rain kept us from seeing the real top of this hill. This was only the beginning of the hill. Some more of that hill. This race volunteer at the top of a hill was at the farthest least accessible point. You’ve got to appreciate folks like this. It was hard to see the guy in front of me at times. One of the creeks… then we ran through the wash ahead. Sometimes it was hard to tell the difference between the trail and the creeks. Mile 7 marker Another crossing. This was a mile and a half from the finish and a nice section of trail. I hope this wasn’t too many pictures and they come out OK in the post. I did OK in the standings. Only the die-hards were there. I’d like to think the more “fair weather” runners would have improved my standings. I’m happy with my 1:36:31.41, 10:22 average pace and muddy shoes . I think the socks are unsalvageable though.

Awesome! I'm betting you're still smiling...like a kid playing in the puddles! Great pics, nice job of capturing the trail conditions. Congrats on the race, Lynn B

That was a great tour of the run! thanks for the pictures and captions. Great job, sounds and lookks like a ton of fun! Where was this race, near San Diego?

Thanks folks. No it isn't normally like that in San Diego. Occassionally each year it rains heavy though. The temperature was around 45-48 degrees f. I dressed well so the race was no problem, but I got a little hypothermic hanging around after eating. There was a great after race breakfast even with the rain with lots of eggs, muffins, fruit, and other pastries. I think I'm going to run a 14 miler trail run in May and maybe a 5K in April for the t-shirt and food. I race for fun, food and t-shirts. Yep, I still smile thinking about the race and mud. I think mud running is actually less pounding on the body.

Thanks Dan. It was fun and I think I will.