Black Bear Run (Read 309 times)

We were on vacation in Michigan's U.P. and my family talked me into entering the Black Bear Run on the fourth. I was hesitant because I've run it before during marathon training and had a tough time. The Black Bear is a 12K run that starts in Engadine and ends in Naubinway, both small towns in Michigan's upper peninsula. It starts with a deceptively easy two miles on asphalt but then turns nasty as it takes to 2-track logging roads that are a mix of sand and mud with a few steep hills thrown in for good measure. I haven't been training for anything lately and my mileage has been way down so I definitely had some trepidations about entering. The weather was perfect for the race, a sunny 58 degrees for the 9:00 AM start. It was a small field with around 35 of us running the 12K and maybe 100 or so doing the 6K. The first two miles were easy as expected and even the first mile of the trails was well traveled and hard packed. At mile three, the course took a turn for the worse and changed to an access trail along a pole line through the forest. There was soft sand along most of it with one very muddy area that had us tip toeing between tire ruts. After that, there was a very steep quarter mile climb that had most of us with our hands on out knees climbing it. I payed dearly at the top of that one and lost a minute or so trying to get my stomach under control. The next half mile was a gradual climb but then it was down hill the rest of the way. I took advantage of the downhill stretch and was able to pass two of the three other runner's I was hanging with and crossed the finish line at 1:06:38. To give you an idea of how nasty the course was, that pace is 30 seconds per mile slower than my easy training pace. This was the first time that I actually placed in a race, finishing first in my age group. I even got a medal! I'm looking forward to running the Black Bear next year and may even train for it. Tom

Nice job, Tom! Congrats!!!!