Congratuations, Bert, on a tough race. I'm sorry you didn't meet your goal, but considering those pictures what you did was impressive. Everyone has a ramen story, don't they?

Holy cow, that is a lot of mud. Cannot stand mud, mostly because running in those conditions really does a lot of damage. Do you know if they have plans to come in and do any trailwork post-race when/if things every dry out?

 Cannot stand mud, mostly because running in those conditions really does a lot of damage. Do you know if they have plans to come in and do any trailwork post-race when/if things every dry out?

I'm actually quite concerned about the mess that a portion of the trails were in when we left. The bad part is that they were really, really horrible. The good part is that they are rarely used. If they are left alone for several weeks with little traffic on them they will heal up fine due to how they lay in relation to the creek and other land around them. They are flat and the river mud doesn't drain well so it turns to mud quickly. The thing is that they are not situated where fast running water will come through, causing erosion. The mud that was there should dry in place. My biggest concern is that some fishermen who are politically connected will have tried to slop down through there, get frustrated and cause problems for the RD. In a week or two I'd like to go back up and take a look at how they are.

The field where the start/finish line is, is used for baseball and lacrosse at this time of the year. There we also made somewhat of a mess that I'm afraid someone will complain about.

To be honest some or our other trail races here in central PA cause more damage because they are not run on existing trails but they will just take a leaf blower and blow a path through the woods. Then you have hundreds of people running up and down that, then when it rains the water follows that soft path and carries away the loose soil.

WC - NC24 looks enticing.  Thanks for the links.  We'll see how DW's father is doing as we aren't travelling until things settle down.

XT - I'll keep Boulder Field 100K on top of the list for a fall race.  I like that you can camp there for the race.

LB2 - Thanks!  I'm about as thick-headed as a turkey, so it won't be long before I'm back out again.

Dreamer - I'm sure we crossed paths a couple times during the night, but I couldn't see you because I was cursing at my fading headlamp.  Sounds like you were doing the same.

Gatsby - Thanks.  Both DW and I have family in the Bay area and she loves Carmel.  It won't take much to convince DW to make a trip out there for a race.  Probably not for a 24 hour attempt, but I'm sure there are a lot of other good races, especially for the scenery.

runtrail - I'll defer to what Dreamer said about the trails and the conditions, but I was thinking much the same thing during the race.

Dr Jamie - Thanks!  It was a wild guess about that song... or was it????

valerie - Thanks, and I hope your knee gets better soon!

58ish miles in that crap is an accomplishment. In a point-to-point run, you never know exactly what conditions lay ahead, but with the short loop, you knew those sloppy and cold mud pits were there on each loop, so I think the mental aspects of setting out on each loop would really be amped up.

Also, you should not under estimate the emotional aspects related to your Mon and FIL in the lead-up to the run, they can also weigh on your (and of course Mrs Bert-o's) brain.

Congrats under some tough conditions.  And thanks for the RR (including the various Trailer Trash shout outs).  I'm sure your next one will go great.