2017 Doan Creek Trail Run 25K
Earlier this year I got a FB message from the race director that Doan Creek registration is open. It's "free" for runners. To enter, you just have to donate money to a charity that the RD selected. I heard good things about the race from people who ran it last year. I heard that the trail was technical and full of roots and rocks.
This race was part of the BBA 50K race series. All the money raised from the race will go to a charity. The day before the race (Friday) I went to try Masters swimming practice in the morning and did so many kicks that my legs felt like jello. I woke up on Saturday morning felt like I had run 50K the day before.
The 25K race started at 10am (50K started at 8am). The race was in Shaker Heights in Cleveland. Nice neighborhood. From my experience with the familiarization run and course clean up day, I knew the parking would be hard to find as there were not many parking spot near the park. We had to park on the streets that the RD told us on the website. I arrived at the race early as I was afraid I was not going to find a parking spot. The good thing about this race was that it felt like getting together with your favorite friends. I knew many people there including the race director. It's nice to see everyone.
I walked around, talked to people, and hung out until it's go time. One loop at Doan creek was about 7.5 miles. So, the 25K did 2 loops and 50K did 4 loops. The trails were technical and hard. Certain part of the trails went by the creek and it was full of slippery rocks. My intention was to take this race as another long run. So, I did not pay attention to time. Just follow the people in front of me. Ran when I could and walked when I needed to. I took it easy.
After the first loop, a couple of friends took off and I ran by myself most of the time. My legs and quads were super tired. Not sure if it's because the Masters swim or the course itself. The weather started to get warm during the 2nd loop. So, I slowed down a lot.
The race was supposed to go through a "scary tunnel" full of scary clowns. However, the RD ran into city engineers the night before and they said we could not run through the tunnel as they were afraid of safety issue. So, no scary tunnel.
The race was hard but nice and friendly. I ran with different people throughout the race. I was glad that I finished. After I crossed the finish line and was going to get the buckle medal, the RD told me that I placed 3rd in my age group O_O I couldn't believe it as it was the personal worst time in my 25K lol
This race was part of the BBA 50K race series. All the money raised from the race will go to a charity. The day before the race (Friday) I went to try Masters swimming practice in the morning and did so many kicks that my legs felt like jello. I woke up on Saturday morning felt like I had run 50K the day before.
The 25K race started at 10am (50K started at 8am). The race was in Shaker Heights in Cleveland. Nice neighborhood. From my experience with the familiarization run and course clean up day, I knew the parking would be hard to find as there were not many parking spot near the park. We had to park on the streets that the RD told us on the website. I arrived at the race early as I was afraid I was not going to find a parking spot. The good thing about this race was that it felt like getting together with your favorite friends. I knew many people there including the race director. It's nice to see everyone.
I walked around, talked to people, and hung out until it's go time. One loop at Doan creek was about 7.5 miles. So, the 25K did 2 loops and 50K did 4 loops. The trails were technical and hard. Certain part of the trails went by the creek and it was full of slippery rocks. My intention was to take this race as another long run. So, I did not pay attention to time. Just follow the people in front of me. Ran when I could and walked when I needed to. I took it easy.
After the first loop, a couple of friends took off and I ran by myself most of the time. My legs and quads were super tired. Not sure if it's because the Masters swim or the course itself. The weather started to get warm during the 2nd loop. So, I slowed down a lot.
The race was supposed to go through a "scary tunnel" full of scary clowns. However, the RD ran into city engineers the night before and they said we could not run through the tunnel as they were afraid of safety issue. So, no scary tunnel.
The race was hard but nice and friendly. I ran with different people throughout the race. I was glad that I finished. After I crossed the finish line and was going to get the buckle medal, the RD told me that I placed 3rd in my age group O_O I couldn't believe it as it was the personal worst time in my 25K lol
I personally believe it was pure luck. I've never placed in a race before and never thought that I would. I am not a fast runner. However, I was glad that I placed. This might be the first and the last award lol
After the first loop, I used the porta potty before I went out for the 2nd one. Below is the picture of the toilet paper in the porta potty. THE BEST!
I went home and showered. Still could not believe I got an award. Doan Creek was a nice race with a fabulous race director, and the running community was terrific. I had nothing bad to say about this race.
The next morning I hosted a group run on the Run with Scissors course. Arrived at the parking lot when the sun came up. Ran 8 miles with the group. After this weekend, it's the beginning of my "tapering" period. Some people love it but some have a hard time running less :D I will see how I take it.
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