Doan Creek 25K - DNF (kinda)
Doan Creek Trail race in Shaker Heights, OH is one of the most technical races in NE Ohio. Every year there are some runners roll their ankles, fell, or break certain parts of their bodies. It's not the course that you would get a PR or even a fast time for the distance. This race is a "free" race with a string attached. Once you enter the race, you have to either donate or volunteer your time to clean up the trails (or both). It's part of the Running Forward and Giving Back race series where the races raise money for charities.
I missed the race last year because we were out of the country for my sister's wedding. The first time I ran it, I thought the race was pretty technical but I could not remember if it was THAT technical. Or maybe because I just ran the Akron marathon last week and am still dealing with the bad ankle. This course for sure would make it worse but I already signed up for the 25K and I hated to DNS.
I showed up at the race thinking I would just do one loop (8 miles - fun run) if it's too much on the ankles. I started out super slow and ran with the Ds (E.'s crew team for Spartathlon). They told me the stories in Greece and the race. It was fun to catch up with them.
Then, about 3 miles in, D. rolled and broke his ankle on the trail. He could not walk and had to hobble to get out to the road. I decided to stay with him and help him get out. He could not walk and told me to run back to the start line (about 1 mile) to get help. I came back with L. but we could not find him on the road. It turned out that a lady picked him up and drove him to the start line. Then, the RD drove him to the ER. After the crisis was gone, I decided to get back on the trail but did not want to run the whole 2 loops again (ugh). I saw B. and T. who were just doing a fun run on the course so I joined them.
All injuries aside, I love this race. It's well organized. The course was well marked. Most importantly, I like the people running or volunteering at this race. It's laid back and fun.
Oh, and someone also brought their therapy pig to the race.
I missed the race last year because we were out of the country for my sister's wedding. The first time I ran it, I thought the race was pretty technical but I could not remember if it was THAT technical. Or maybe because I just ran the Akron marathon last week and am still dealing with the bad ankle. This course for sure would make it worse but I already signed up for the 25K and I hated to DNS.
I showed up at the race thinking I would just do one loop (8 miles - fun run) if it's too much on the ankles. I started out super slow and ran with the Ds (E.'s crew team for Spartathlon). They told me the stories in Greece and the race. It was fun to catch up with them.
Then, about 3 miles in, D. rolled and broke his ankle on the trail. He could not walk and had to hobble to get out to the road. I decided to stay with him and help him get out. He could not walk and told me to run back to the start line (about 1 mile) to get help. I came back with L. but we could not find him on the road. It turned out that a lady picked him up and drove him to the start line. Then, the RD drove him to the ER. After the crisis was gone, I decided to get back on the trail but did not want to run the whole 2 loops again (ugh). I saw B. and T. who were just doing a fun run on the course so I joined them.
The course this year was more technical than I remembered. I could not believe there were some people doing the 50 miler on this course. It's suicidal. I rolled my ankles (both sides) 3 times running just one loop. So, I called it a day. The other D. fell and hit his head on the trail. Another person also rolled his ankle and DNFed the race. I saw another runner had a bloody head in the picture. Ugh.
All injuries aside, I love this race. It's well organized. The course was well marked. Most importantly, I like the people running or volunteering at this race. It's laid back and fun.
Oh, and someone also brought their therapy pig to the race.
I think it's time to really rest the ankles. I think I'm going to stay away from the trail for a while until my ankles are ready again. I still have another 50K race to run in November.
Sydney
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