Ok, so I've never done one of these trail runs, and this one is supposed to be intense. The actual name is the
Cross Country Challenge. The 10:00 start is generous - I should be able to get a few winks unlike most races that start at some ungodly hour. I leave the house around 8:40 hoping to get there in an hour or so. Brief pit stop at Walgreen's to buy duct tape, which you're supposed to use to make sure your shoes stay on during the race. I arrive and park the car at the end of a long snowy lot, tape up my shoes, and head to the large barn where the race packets are. A bit disoriented without my glasses, I eventually find the A-D line and wait to get my championchip and t-shirt (a nice long-sleeve technical one). I eat a chocolate goo and drink some water in line, and get my stuff. By this time it is 9:50 and announcements are made that the start line is a mile away. Oh, great! I will have to run to the start. I get my bib number on and my chip tethered to my shoe (the non-duct taped part), shove my new shirt into a corner of the barn, and start jogging toward the start. I have 8 minutes to get there. I slow down figuring it's chipped, but turns out the timing is done only at the end - everyone just lines up in a huge swath at the start of the race. Well, it's pretty cold out here, about 16 degrees is what was announced. I am only wearing my running shorts, sweat pants, short sleeved shirt over long sleeved (tech fabric) and an old sweat shirt. Of course, hat and two sets of gloves. Lots of people are still heading out there - down a road, across a bridge, then along a snowy road packed down by tractor tires. As I approach the start, it's obvious the runners have already headed off, so I basically just keep running. There is a large open field followed by two monstrous hills.
The trail winds through the farm where there are lots of things to be dodged -- fences, logs, roots, bogs, ice floes, branches, and other runners. Running steep downhills is scary, and there are many hills on this course. Some of the water or mud is knee deep, and keeping my shoes dry is pointless. Once I am out of the water though, my feet warm up again slightly and running with the mud and manure squishing around is not so bad. Many areas of the course, there is no option but to run single file - I try to pass when I can. I notice that the bit of water in my water bottle has frozen. Neat. After running for what seems like an eternity, we are given some helpful guidance - "Only a mile and a quarter left!". "Are you sure?" "No, not really, that's just what we've been telling people". After a few more twists
and turns, the end is in sight - I can hear the tollway again. I pick up the pace toward the end and see my time -- 1:12:56. I gulp some water at the finish area and manage to extricate my frozen-on chip, then trudge back to the barn. I am cold, but elated that I finished. There is catered food in the barn,
so I load up my plate with mostaccioli and fried chicken and beef sandwiches, and grab a banana and sit for a teeth-chattering meal. My shirt is still there from before the race, so I make a mental note to get it later. I grab a couple of Clif Bar samples and head to the car to change. Then I notice the horse stalls and venture around to see them. Magnificent animals. Some are friendlier than others, so I stop to rub their noses and whisper sweet nothings to them. Two are especially friendly - I find out their names are Chief and Lug.
I decide I have to get a photo, and head to the car again. When I get there, I manage to break ice off my shoes and sweat pants by repeated hammering with a 3/8 socket wrench, so I can get them off. I put on clean clothes in the car and then realize to my dismay that I forgot a change of shoes! Do I put on cold muddy shoes over my clean warm socks? Not a chance. I carefully get stuff off the hood of the car without stepping on the ground and drive nearer to the barn. Here, I tie and tape plastic bags around my stocking feet, grab my cell phone, and start walking on the slippery ground with my new found footwear. Almost lost it a couple of times. Once in the barn, the dirt floor is a bit warmer than the snow and ice outside. I go back to the horse stalls and visit with Chief and Lug again. Chief likes his neck rubbed and he returned the love by nuzzling my neck with his nose. I could feel his warm breath - it was so sweet, but I was nervous to have him so close to my jugular! (one bite and it's all over...) My foot bags and I went back to the chow line, and I stuck around to hear some prizes given away, and grab my t-shirt (yes, still there). Amble to the entrance of the barn where the sun is streaming in and it's quite warm in that one spot. Chat a bit with a lady who's done these every year and she said this was definitely the toughest yet. So next year I will definintely do it again. I get back to my car, take of my "shoes" and turn them inside out, and fire up the car (and the heat) for the drive home.
