I’m not even sure if it should be called a race, maybe more of an event. The whole idea is that you can run a 50K, a Marathon, or a “Fun Run” completing as many of the 5 mile loops as you wish. My plan was to do the Fun Run version of the event, to complete 3 loops running approximately 15 miles.
Not only was the event extremely laid back as far as which distance you wanted to run, but there was no definite start time, you could stop after each loop and indulge on a wonderful spread of homemade cookies and treats, grilled cheese sandwiches, water, gatoraide, coffee, and more. Sounds good doesn’t it?
We arrived in Milledgeville in plenty of time to get ready to run. Only to discover that there was only one bathroom and the line was very slow moving. Not using the potty was NOT an option. After that we still had to go back to the car and get our Garmins and stuff. Once we got back down to the start line, the race had already started. This is the first race I’ve ever missed the start of. Guess what? It didn’t matter. You could really start whenever you wanted to. So we started the Garmin and off we went.
The loop went something like this:
For about a mile we ran on singletrack trails. It wasn’t too technical. I just wore my regular road shoes. Not too hilly, not hard at all. Then we wended up on some kind of crazy newly made trail that seemed to be freshly bush hogged. It was grassy and uneven. There were holes everywhere and these nasty little small tree stubs that kept trying to grab my shoes. This lasted about a mile or so. Then for a good mile and a half we were on service roads with decent packed surfaces. I remember 1 GOOD hill and another not too bad hill up a power line road. The last mile and a half was back on a double track trail that was pretty easy to maneuver.
I ran loop #1, felt great. Stopped for a few minutes for a cookie and some fluid. Then headed back out for loop #2. On the second loop Chuck’s ankle and Achilles was bothering him really bad. So I kept up with my pace but he slowed down so he wouldn’t hurt himself any further. After loop #2 we stopped again and I ate a rice krispy treat and drank some more gatoraide. Chuck decided to sit out the last loop because he was really hurting. Mom and I took off for our final loop around the forest. The last loop felt the best for me. I ran it faster than each previous loop. While running the last section of trails back to the finish line I saw Chuck up ahead. He decided to run the course backwards to the water station then turn around to get about 3 miles. I finished my “fun run” strong and felt like I could handle two more loops and do a marathon. I have good sense so I quit while I was ahead. We snacked on some of FM’s fudge then headed back to Byron.
I finished with in a total of 2 hours, 30 minutes and some seconds. Not too bad.
Sunday morning when we got up I felt like I had been beat with a really big stick. My whole right side was sore. I guess “good” sore, not injury sore. Today is Monday and I still have some soreness in my calves, quads, and hips. Wow, those hills and uneven terrain really did me in.
Next year, I plan to do the Marathon.
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