What a freaking cool race. #that.is.all. No, that’s not all… Big River Running sure knows how it’s done. This was so well-organized with plenty of volunteers, heaters as we waited for the race to begin, water stations throughout, chip timed, BEER at the end and official photographers.
The race was done in loops. One loop for the 10k-ers, two for the 20k-ers and a ridiculous three for the 30k-ers. I was just coming off a marathon three weeks ago, so knew I had the mileage down, so went for the 30k. With all of us starting together it was tough not to get carried away with the quick start but we knew who we were competing against because everyone wore either a 1, 2 or 3 on their back…this was great in theory but I’m pretty sure NO ONE finished the race still wearing their number…I saw hundreds of them littering the trail…someone will have a fun job. I think next year they’ll need to be pinned. We did have different colored bibs but you can’t see those from behind!
The trails are gorgeous and range from sand, packed dirt, rocks and roots, running along the river, climbing 200 stairs, SICK hills, creek crossings and prairies…you get to see nature at its finest. There were even some leaves left on the trees–gorgeous. There were aid stations with water/Accelerade every couple of miles and friendly volunteers cheering on the runners. Along the course, spectating is super tough because of the mostly single track trails but a couple people managed to find spots to lend their support.
The race was limited to 400 spots total and I believe the 30k only ended up with 43 runners. I do know that I ran the majority of the last 10k alone. At the last aid station, one of the volunteers called out that there were only 4 girls in front of me. I asked how far…he said she’s not far off…SWEET! My goal was to catch her. He ended up being wrong because I *did* pick her off and still ended up 5th female overall. Oh well–pushed me when I probably wouldn’t have pushed myself!
OH! I almost forgot the swag! Dri-Fit Nike Skippo shirts were issued and not the yucky “unisex” kind. They actually had men’s AND women’s sizing. I *heart* it. That’s not all! They had mugs printed up for the race but weren’t delivered in time–no fault of Big River, though. They ordered two months in advance! Can’t wait to pick up my well-earned mug. Placers in every age group got a super cool flask/canteen with the race logo, too. I ended up first in my age group and came home with one of those babies.
My only gripe is that I had to pee after the first lap and instead of having any port-a-john’s along the course, I had to completely veer off to the finish (and even pass it). I lost some good time there…ended up having to pee again on the second lap but that time, I gave a quick look around and just found a tree. HARD.CORE. Overall, such a cool experience and I’d run this race again in a heartbeat.
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I think I was right ahead of you in line for the bathroom before the race. GREAT job out there! And your pictures from the race look amazing. Mine…not so much. Oh, well. It was still a great race and a lot of fun.
NO WAY! Thanks, Kate–fun race, right? A friend's dad took those pictures–his parents froze for all three loops–what support!
Great job! You look too fresh in your photos, you probably could;ve done another couple loops. It definitely was a great race.