Salt Fork Spring Challenge
Salt Fork Spring Challenge 10.5 12ish miles.
When D. told me about this race and said a group of runners were going to run Salt Fork and had a weekend getaway, I thought it was a good idea but was not sure if I could do it because it's at the end of the semester.
Turned out that I could get away on that weekend so I signed up for the race. I love the idea of girls getaway weekend. I did one last year with MOTR ladies (Superior Spring trail 25K in Duluth, MN) and that was very fun.
There were 9 of us running the race and some ladies planned on staying for 2 nights. Too bad the race was at the end of the semester and it's usually the busiest time for me. I could only stay one night (Friday) at Salt Fork. We rented 2 cabins. I drove down there with D. and M. on Friday afternoon. We arrived at Salt Fork State Park around 5:30pm. Picked up the package, checked in the cabin, and had dinner at the lodge.
This is the view from our cabin.
The race started at 9:30am on Saturday morning. It was sprinkling in the morning but stopped before the race started. The trails were VERY muddy and slippery. Some runners lost their shoes in the mud.
I was running on tired legs from the marathon last weekend. So, my plan was to go by the feeling. The first 3 miles were okay. Twisted my right ankle once (yike) but luckily I was able to keep going. I did not start to feel good until Mile 7. Then, I got in the "flow" and was able to keep a consistent pace until Mile 10ish.
The race was re-routed due to fallen trees and we were told it was going to be "a little bit short" so I did not stop at the aid station. It turned out that the course was 12++ miles instead of 10.5. I had to hand a waffle that I had in my bag to a guy who looked like he was struggling to go up the hill at Mile 11. I did not see him coming in and I hope he was okay.
I came in about 2 hours and 45 minutes. They said the cutoff time was 3 hours but I doubt they would still keep that cutoff time given the trail condition and the extra distance. I ran faster than my average trail pace. Have to give credits to the Buzzard 50K, which taught me to run in any condition.
Overall, it was a fun weekend with the ladies and the course was challenging (1,700 ft elevation gain according to my Garmin watch). Definitely would do it again.
When D. told me about this race and said a group of runners were going to run Salt Fork and had a weekend getaway, I thought it was a good idea but was not sure if I could do it because it's at the end of the semester.
Turned out that I could get away on that weekend so I signed up for the race. I love the idea of girls getaway weekend. I did one last year with MOTR ladies (Superior Spring trail 25K in Duluth, MN) and that was very fun.
There were 9 of us running the race and some ladies planned on staying for 2 nights. Too bad the race was at the end of the semester and it's usually the busiest time for me. I could only stay one night (Friday) at Salt Fork. We rented 2 cabins. I drove down there with D. and M. on Friday afternoon. We arrived at Salt Fork State Park around 5:30pm. Picked up the package, checked in the cabin, and had dinner at the lodge.
This is the view from our cabin.
The race started at 9:30am on Saturday morning. It was sprinkling in the morning but stopped before the race started. The trails were VERY muddy and slippery. Some runners lost their shoes in the mud.
I was running on tired legs from the marathon last weekend. So, my plan was to go by the feeling. The first 3 miles were okay. Twisted my right ankle once (yike) but luckily I was able to keep going. I did not start to feel good until Mile 7. Then, I got in the "flow" and was able to keep a consistent pace until Mile 10ish.
The race was re-routed due to fallen trees and we were told it was going to be "a little bit short" so I did not stop at the aid station. It turned out that the course was 12++ miles instead of 10.5. I had to hand a waffle that I had in my bag to a guy who looked like he was struggling to go up the hill at Mile 11. I did not see him coming in and I hope he was okay.
I came in about 2 hours and 45 minutes. They said the cutoff time was 3 hours but I doubt they would still keep that cutoff time given the trail condition and the extra distance. I ran faster than my average trail pace. Have to give credits to the Buzzard 50K, which taught me to run in any condition.
Overall, it was a fun weekend with the ladies and the course was challenging (1,700 ft elevation gain according to my Garmin watch). Definitely would do it again.
Comments
Post a Comment