epicdad
Dazed & Confused Runner
Posts: 27
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Post by epicdad on Sept 2, 2011 17:42:16 GMT -5
Does anyone know anything about this trail? www.honestabetrailrun.com/My mom-in-law (63 years old, runs a street 26.2 in around 05:30:00) is thinking of coming along with us to give it a try. I can't seem to find any ratings or even any information about the trails, and I would hate for her to go that far away from home for a disappointment. Any help or info on this place would be appreciated. The run is only 3 weeks away.
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epicdad
Dazed & Confused Runner
Posts: 27
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Post by epicdad on Sept 29, 2011 7:45:53 GMT -5
Well Mom-In-Law got a DNF. But that's ok. Lisa and I felt bad about going on without her, but she insisted that she would be even more angry if we didn't finish, being that we drove all the way from GA to Indiana for the race. So, after the proper amount of socially acceptable banter, we went on without her. It rained for three days leading up to the race, and poured off & on during the race. This made the course a muddy, soupy, slick, sloppy mess. Rain runoff was sharing much of the trails (a good part was dry creek bed on any other day) with the runners splashing, tip-toeing, and slogging through... (all of which made the run a LOT more fun for me & my wife!) However it just wasn't possible for Mom-in-law to finish in the allotted time limit. The RD was outright adamant about finish time limits before the race began and understandably so. His support team was 90% family members. Me & the Mrs. had so much fun at this race. The park is beautiful, even in the pouring rain. There was one section where the trail follows alongside a sort of hidden pond in the deep woods. Then a couple of downhill miles into the heart of the forest you might say. Just when you feel like you're miles from anywhere, the trail abruptly springs out of the woods and you're running along an earthen dam with a 30 ft drop on the left, and a huge beautiful lake on the right. I could see a pack of 6 or so runners waaaaay across the lake, just before the trail dives back into the forest. One of the runners let out a "Wah-hooo!" that boomed across the expanse. I've never heard an echo repeat like that. In a few seconds I heard another runner from somewhere behind me, answer with a tremendous "Arr-ooo!!!" It really was a moment of joy that a lot of non-runners may miss. It was the mood of the small set of runners just doing what they love, and enjoying that unspoken, common ground that runners loosely share. In that weather, on that trail, nobody was going to get a PR nor chase a course record. So it was the general demeanor of most participants that today was a day for running for the sake of being in the moment. Around mile 24'ish, we knew we were in no danger of the RD's time limit cut off, so we stopped in a particularly enchanting part of the hardwood forest to admire our surroundings. Lisa is pretty hard core and isn't given to whimsy and "silliness" like I sometimes am. But here in this area, even she was slightly taken aback (though she tried not to show it) by the stillness, and quiet, and beauty. The trees here were large, tall, oaks, cypress, and other very tall and very old trees. We have 7 kids, and we don't get out to places like that very often, so when we do, the moment tends to leave an impression. We were tired from the wet terrain, crossing rail road tracks, running under bridges and alongside pastures, through woods, and maybe some slight runners' high was upon us. Soon as I was snapping off photos with my cell phone, we had a rare moment of silliness. Lisa is a doctor (and mother of 7 children) and is NEVER ever much of a goof off. She's always so stern and serious, always. It was a welcomed time where she was able to relax and enjoy life, if only for a brief time. All in all the race was a lot of fun. I would do it again, but probably won't get a chance. There are so many other races in so many other locations that are certainly equal if not even more inspiring than this was... like Pine Mountain! See you all in Dec !
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