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The Exodus from the Road to the Trails
I’ve noticed a recent phenomenon that I feel compelled to address, because it’s a topic near and dear to my heart. And because I have an opinion about everything. But it may sound like I’m being an elitist bitch (if the running shoe fits…), so I brought my Colorado-based ultra running superstar runabler, Heidi, into the fray for a slightly different perspective. Warning: we’re both talkers – snag some coffee before settling in! There appears to be a mass exodus from the roads to the trails. More importantly, there seems to be a significant increase in the number of runners wanting to do ultra marathons. Which is great! There is always room…
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Bearly Ultra Race Recap
Ah, the Bearly Ultra. The name says it all. The time I was bearly recovered enough from Pinhoti to actually try and run fast. The day I bearly survived because it was unseasonably hot. The race I bearly finished. (See what I’m doing here?) I signed up for the race on a whim—my friends asked me to run on their relay team, Cougars and the Kitten. You can’t say no to running on a relay team, especially if there are costumes involved! I had originally planned to run all 27 miles (run my leg and then keep running) for the fun of it, but quickly changed my plan when I saw the temperatures.…
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The Day I Ran a Trail
Yesterday, I came back to the trails. It had been months since I stepped foot on Ruffner dirt. Everything was the same, yet different. The leaves had changed. The air was cooler. The hills were harder. But I was home.
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Memorial Day 12-Miler Race Recap
What’s this? A timely race report? Give this girl a gold star! On Saturday I ran the Southeastern Trail Series Memorial Day 12 miler at Oak Mountain and had an absolute blast! Remember how much fun I had at the Chicago Marathon? This was its trail equivalent. It was a three hour-long runner’s high (or actual high—there were some Dave Matthews fans hidden somewhere along the course still enjoying themselves). Keeping with this theme for a sec, let me tell y’all about the most memorable part of the race. I met Chris Turner on the course (hey buddy!) and he was wearing a kilt. A kilt. A man-skirt. So naturally, I thought…
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Ruffner Mountain Trail Running Festival Recap
This past Saturday I ran a 15K at the Ruffner Mountain Running Festival—my first race since my Mississippi 50 mishap. The Ruffner Mountain Running Festival, sponsored by Alabama Outdoors and Resolute Running Training Center, is a laid-back, no-frills trail race. I’m talking fewer than 100 runners (no conga lines!), no bibs, and an index card finisher system. Perfect for a comeback race. Or a big trail run with friends that happened to be a race. My only goal was to run the distance—slowly—and have a good, pain-free time. Why not dust the cobwebs off my thighs and race, you ask? Slow runs are less likely to piss off my groin, and…
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Mercedes Marathon Race Recap
So you can’t really recap a race that you didn’t finish or technically start, but I’ll keep the name for consistency’s sake. Here’s my Mercedes Marathon in a nutshell—I was dead-set on pacing the hubs in his first marathon and thought that going from 0 miles to 26.2 with a bum hip/groin was a fantastic idea. Right. I ran, it hurt, I cried, and stopped at 13.1. The rest of the morning was spent cheering on friends, drinking beer and high-fiving runners at the BUTS aid station, going absolutely crazy when the hubs crossed the finish line, hobbling home, sleeping, and eating my feeling with Thai food. Oh well—there will…
