Pre-Race

Let me start by saying, “OW,”  this was one of the most difficult mental/emotional/physical battles I have ever undertaken during a race.  So my wife and I had been following the weather ten days out and laughed to ourselves that it was supposed to be colder on Saturday than the rest of the week.  The joke was on us, as the day crept closer the weather forecast morphed into what would be a bitterly cold, wet, muddy, sleeting, windy, overall vicious brew of elements.

When my wife and finally got to the TADRA area of the LBJ National Grasslands, we wondered out loud how on Earth our little SUV was going to brave the mud roads to get close enough to even check in to the race.  Thankfully, because the 50 mile race and marathon had already started the hour before the half marathon, the areas to safely park cars had already been filled and the incredibly dedicated volunteers working parking detail had to send us to the best parking spot in the campgrounds about 50 yards from the check-in tables and starting lines.

It is never good when the lady checking you in is wearing a full rain suit that looks more suitable on the crab fishing boats from “World’s Deadliest Catch” than an area just northwest of DFW and she is wearing boots that she says she purchased to go dog sledding with her husband in Canada. It is also a foreboding sign when you get your bib and they ask you if you are actually going to run their race, like they are in disbelief that you are stupid enough to wake up see the weather, drive 2 hours to the middle of nowhere and run a half marathon while the weather continues to deteriorate around you.

The Race

Pre-Race

Again I don’t think I can heave enough praise on the NTTR volunteers for all of their hard work in executing this race in the conditions handed to them.  About 15 minutes before the race, they walked all the half marathoners which were supposed to number somewhere in the 200’s but looked to be struggling to be over 75 to the starting line.  At this point they gave some quick last minute details as to the trail conditions we were to expect and that if we came here to PR that we will be sorely disappointed. Basically, we should have fun and try to just finish.  With that said they asked the question, “Who here is a first time trail runner?”  It was incredible that over half the crowd raised their hands.  With that we were told to start running and as our large mob of newbies started running, I had to laugh when a lot of the crowd started tiptoeing through the mud in hope that somehow they would not get dirty today.

Within the first half-mile, the crowd started to thin and you could see that there was going to be a nice concoction of red mud, brown mud, and clay vying to rip your shoes off for the rest of the race.  The overall course was relatively flat but still had its share of up and downs as you went through gorges and a few rolling hills through the woods.  Royal Gorge was a particular landmark that comes to mind, when approaching Royal Gorge I almost had to laugh to myself as I saw grown adults unwittingly taking an almost slip and slide approach to the creek bed below.  I thankfully was able to keep my footing but thought that at any moment I might join my brethren on their luge style descent to the creek below.  Other than this ‘major’ crossing, the race was such that you became numb to the fact that the wind chills were dropping into the 20’s and teens and that you were running through puddles and feeling warm and happy about it.

Both aid stations were well stalked and had smiling volunteers at the ready with SUCCEED energy drinks and snacks. All the other runners were also very inviting and shared a connection as we passed each other along the way.  The half marathon course ended with an abrupt exit from the woods into the camping grounds parking lot and a harsh right turn to a 15 yard sprint to the pavillion where your time was recorded to the nearest minute since they only had one time keeper for all three races.  I was awe stricken after I came across the line turned around waved to me wife then noticed behind her that the marathon and 50 milers were not taking the same right turn I did.  These racers were stopping at the food tent in the middle grabbing slices of PB&J and a hand full of M&M’s and going on their way to the next loop of the course for who knows how many more hours that day.  The frightening thing was that the weather was getting progressively worse throughout the day, it might have been snowing by the time they finished.  After I got my PB&J and hand full of M&M’s and Whoppers my loving wife helped me limp to the SUV get my post race food from our cooler and turn on the car and heater while I unabashedly changed in the parking lot.

I thought overall, even with the weather, this was a well organized race that I will try and participate in next year with the hopes that it will be a drier course.  Thanks for reading my recap, please feel free to comment.

Post-Race legs