East Fork Backpack Trail Race

This is about the trail race I ran last Sunday, July 15.

Last year was my first time at this race in a number of years, so I didn't know quite what to expect. This year I had a pretty good memory of the course, although to switch things up they reverse direction each year. I think I like this year's direction better, based on my results. I was 8 minutes faster than last year. Unfortunately, everybody else was faster too plus there were more runners, so I didn't finish any highter up in the standings than I did last year. Oh well.

I did feel good the whole way so I am happy about that. And I didn't get any blisters. And overall I enjoyed it more than I had expected I would. I had been debating entering the 10 mile race vs. the 5.6 mile. The 10 mile is just a timed run, whereas the shorter race has the handicapped start times, so you end up getting passed by a lot of the faster people along the way, which is somewhat unpleasant. In the longer race, you can just settle into the back and stay there. But I decided I wasn't up for the two-hours plus of running it would take me to finish the 10 miler.

We have had a miserable, hot and humid summer so far, but it was slightly cooler than it had been in weeks on the morning of this race. I wore my sunglasses but, unlike last year, I did not feel a need to carry a water bottle.

This year I had a start time of 15 minutes after the first runner. I think this was later than last year but not sure. I did notice that the speedy younger woman who started with me last year actually started AHEAD of me this year, which makes no sense at all. I think that Bob Roncker's system for handicapping these things leaves much to be desired. Really, I should be one of the first runners to start, because I am an old, slow, fat woman. My 9:15 start time was right in the middle of the pack.

This year I started with a little 10 year old boy, who, like the woman from last year, left me in the dust immediately. I felt savvy and smart as I jogged up the hill on the side where we would turn (taking advantage of the tangent as much as possible) and I thought maybe eventually I would catch him but no.

I actually passed maybe 4-5 people along the way, which is better than last year where I only passed 2 women, I think. Had a pretty smooth and easy time of it, with no stumbles or falls. The trails were in great shape and fairly dry. There was just a little rain the day before, which cut down on the dust and improved the traction. But there was no mud and the creeks were dry.

My finish time was 59:35, vs 1:07:40 for last year. I was 55 of 79 based on my actual running time, and 59 of 79 based on the actual time from the start of the race. I was 15 of 31 women (the only number that matters for the Dirtiest Dozen), and 25 of 70 age-graded (the little boy I started with, plus another little boy who passed me early on, both made the top ten age-graded). Last year I was 13 of 25 women, so my DD placement is actually worse than last year despite being 8 minutes faster!