Now that I've got that out of the way I can get on with my report of the Run for Hunger 4 Mile Trail Race. My Team reGen teammate, Tom, is the director for this race and he sure knows how to put on a great event. My husband decided to participate in his first trail race which made the day even better.
We barely made it to the start on time (2PM). My husband underestimated the drive time but thankfully I'm a lead-foot. We pulled into Birdsfoot Golf Club and parked on a steep hillside (thank you Jeep!). Shane ran over to the tent to register while I gathered our gear and donations. I made it to the table to sign my waiver right as Tom was leading the group of runners to the starting line. We did a quick introduction and left it at that for now.
At the starting line I missed the instructions in my rush to use the Port-o-john. Shane filled me in right as Tom blew the airhorn and we were off! We started up a golf cart road that was curving and first up then down. About a quarter mile in the grade increased sharply and I decided to slow down a bit. A young girl and a woman passed me so I was now third overall woman and it didn't seem like there was anyone close behind as we made a turn into the woods. The trail was very technical single track and I was concentrating hard on not twisting my ankle when I heard heavy breathing behind me. I looked back and it was a woman who appeared to be in her 30's. I almost let her pass because she wasn't in my age group but since I was in third place overall I decided to try to outpace her. Less than a mile into a race that probably wasn't the best idea.
At the 1 mile mark we came into a field and at this point the woman overtook me. We made a left turn back into the woods and I tried to stick to her but the voices in my head were telling me I was asking for an injury that would prevent me from running the Baker 50 mile next weekend. I started to let her pull away and hoped she would slow more than I would in the next 3 miles.
The trail met an access road and the race course turned to follow it. The access road then met a dirt road and we turned onto that. This was the one and only water stop and I was glad that I had chosen to carry a handheld on such a hot day. I thanked the volunteers and then turned left to follow the blazes into the woods again. The trail became even more technical and we were travelling uphill once again. It was at this point that I lost the woman who had passed me, just before the two mile mark. I was by myself now and was cautiously trying to follow the switchbacks up the hill without slowing too much.
At the top of the ridgeline we made a turn down the other side. Instead of switchbacks the downhill was a straight-on attack and it was covered with loose rocks and larger, immobile rocks and roots. I started to really worry about getting hurt here but I pushed on. I could hear people on the switchbacks behind me and it wasn't long before two men and a woman overtook me.
There were 4 stream crossings at the bottom of the hill. We criss-crossed Buffalo Creek and at first I tried to stay dry. While I was tiptoeing through the first crossing another woman caught me. I realized I would have to throw caution to the wind if I was going to maintain my position. I splashed through the next 3 crossings and kept a slight lead on the other woman. Somewhere in this patch my Garmin beeped out the 3 mile mark.
After the water crossings we started up the biggest climb of the race. I walked most of it and started chatting up the woman behind me, partially to entertain us both and partially to keep her from passing me. I learned it was her first trail race and she was wearing Vibram Fivefingers. Can you say ouch?! I could feel the rocks and roots through the rock plate in my trail shoes! Thankfully it leveled out at the top and I got back up to a jog and kept my lead. There were many, many downed trees and logs in this area and they slowed me down quite a bit. I scraped my thigh up quite a bit trying to cross over one of the ones that didn't have the bark removed. It slowed me enough that I heard footsteps again and I looked back to see two women moving swiftly up. I tried to stay ahead of them but I knew it was futile. Just as my watch beeped 4 miles I heard, "excuse me" from behind and stepped aside. I couldn't believe how well they were moving and it wasn't until after I finished that I realized they were half marathoners from the 1PM start and this was their finishing push. Then I didn't feel so bad about them passing me anymore.
I started to wonder if I had missed a turn as my Garmin read 4.1 then 4.2 and then 4.3. Finally I came out of the woods at the top of the golf cart road. I was about to run down it when I realized there were more pink flags leading runners back into the woods. I sighed deeply and then pushed on. Another quarter mile of switchbacks brought us back out of the woods and onto the golf course. I gave it all I had down the hill and then it began to rise again. I could see the finish line at the top and the clock read 59:50. I didn't think I could make it in under an hour but I gave my all and managed to get an official time of 59:57 and a Garmin distance of 4.8 miles.
I located my husband and enjoyed just sitting in the perfectly manicured grass for awhile. We chatted with some others and cheered in the next few runners. Tom came over and asked what we thought of his race and we agreed that it was much more technical than we had expected but enjoyable nonetheless. He told us food, a raffle, and awards would be happening in half an hour back at the tent so we headed down to get some fluids while we waited.
The event was catered by Fivestar Catering and the spaghetti and salad were excellent! Each runner was given 5 tickets to put in the bags for the chinese auction which included CEP arm coolers, technical socks, gift certificates to the local running store, handheld water bottles, a Brooks hat, and vegetable baskets from a local farm. Shane and I didn't win anything but it was still fun to hope!
When the results print out went up I couldn't find my name and I started to worry that I'd gotten missed. However, it turned out I was looking too far down! I'm used to being in the bottom 50% and this time I was 18th overall! I was beyond thrilled when I realized I'd taken 1st place in my age group. I was 6th woman overall. My husband finished in 52:28, 7th overall, and 2nd in his age group. It was a very good day for Team Brunazzi!
After all was said and done we thanked Tom for his hospitality and I slipped into my reGen shirt to snap some pics with him. (This is where the switching teams comes into play!) His daughter ran the 4 mile race as well and got 3rd in the 1-14 age group. She's going to give my daughter some stiff competition when we finally get them into a race together! We promised to catch eachother at another race soon and then my husband and I headed home.
Overall, I am very pleased with this race, our performances, and meeting a fellow teammate. I hope that next year we'll be able to do it again and hopefully place even better!
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