My experience - 5/5 (it was that tough)
Let’s start with some statistics, 190 runners signed up, out of which approx 80 showed up and 68 finished. The weather read '34 degree F (1C) and feel like 29 (-1C) with light snow' and to top that there were elevation changes with included treacherous trails, fallen trees, frozen streams, muddy tracks and one comfortable fire trail. All of it for just a 10 mile run. Must be crazy right. Yes it was that kind of day, and I was with, and was one of that kind of people.
Let’s start with some statistics, 190 runners signed up, out of which approx 80 showed up and 68 finished. The weather read '34 degree F (1C) and feel like 29 (-1C) with light snow' and to top that there were elevation changes with included treacherous trails, fallen trees, frozen streams, muddy tracks and one comfortable fire trail. All of it for just a 10 mile run. Must be crazy right. Yes it was that kind of day, and I was with, and was one of that kind of people.
One week after my
maiden marathon finish, the Pink nation team met for 4 short miles season
finale. Good chilly morning, but we were all in good spirits. Coach Mike and
Alex were talking about this trail race in Cumberland which was a tough one. I
asked more about the race, but the registration was already closed. Alex asked
me to mail the race director Barry K. A
fter a few mails the next day, Barry was
kind enough to let me register for the race.
The race was on
Dec 12th and I planned to car pool with Alex as he was bringing his minivan. What
we did not plan for was the winter storm just before the race day. The temperature
dipped drastically and reached early 30s, and with snow, ice and sleet on the
trails, the race day morning got more exciting.
Alex, Coach Mike,
Ralph and I met at the carpool location. The roads were bad with sleet and ice
so Alex drove carefully. Near the Cumberland forest it was much colder.
Everyone was inside the hall trying to warm up. The crowd was thin, as expected;
many people just did not show up due to inclement weather. The starting point
was at the start of Bear Creek trail, and it was really cold. Even with my cap,
gloves and full sleeves shirt, I was really cold. The problem with being a
runner is that you cannot have any heavy gear and you wish your body to do the
trick in winter.
The race started
promptly at 9 am, and we were off to trails. Our route was marked by colored
ribbons. Yes, ribbons hanging on branches. Miss one, or don't notice one for
some time and you are definitely lost. Ah.. the beauty of trail running.
 |
| Crossing the first stream |
For first half a
mile trail was wide and we went up a hill, so pace was good. By the end of mile
1 the trail was just enough for a single person, and we crossed our first
stream. The trails were slippery due to dry leaves and sleet on top of them. So
we continued slowly in a row for another mile maneuvering through little bear
creek. As we found some wide path near the road crossing, our pace increased,
but we were still huddled in a group as we expected another stream soon. At
some places, due to fallen leaves it was hard to see the tree roots or stones,
and trails were winding at angles where there was a lot of pressure on ankles,
but we carried on.
 |
| Photo by Ed K. This was one of the slopes hidden in fallen leaves |
We crossed Bear
creek and now we were on the wide trail, which continued for more than a mile.
This was the fire trail where we could pace ourselves. The weather was still
cold but with already 4 miles of running my fingers were warming up.
As we approached
Winston lake and the turnaround point, the field was scattered, and now it was
time again to maneuver creeks and thin trails. As I reached turn around point,
faster runners were already coming from other side. The turnaround was at mile
5, and now I had to go back to the same trails I came from. Here, I had to jump
across a fallen tree and also go under trees, muddy trails and branches in with
frozen leaves. So I again went through the trails, but this time I was faster,
probably because I knew what to expect. I maintained my pace for another 2
miles which included the fire trail.
 |
| Frozen leaves |
Now there was new
problem, there was nobody in front or back, and I am never the person, who can
follow directions, and the trails looked new now, but I continued. Luckily on
mile 9 I found someone ahead of me, so I just followed. 'The end is not far' I
thought, just one more mile. And then after some time, I saw the runner
returning. I was puzzled. He said, he couldn't find any markers so it must be
the wrong path. What? I thought. Just when i did almost 10 miles. So we went
back for a minute to find the correct route and saw Coach Mike coming. Great!
Either he is also lost or we all are on correct route. And we were on correct
route, so we went ahead and finished.
 |
| The sweat turned in ice in my cap |
It was really
cold. Corey was volunteering at the finish line with few others. It was harder
on the trails but being at the finish line was much harder in this cold. And
then came the surprise. Barry gave us a medal for the finish. That was
unexpected. I never heard getting medals for trail races, but I must say we
deserved that for just coming to run during that weather. After the run we had
a snacks and couple of beers and then we were off to the real world.
It took me 2.5 hrs to finish 10 miles.It was one
harshest run I ever did, and it felt great. Like an achievement, and the medal,
PRECIOUS.
