This was the hardest, yet the funnest race I have ever been in! I was the 6th person overall to finish and I believe the 2nd female. The race starts on asphalt, then after a mile you fall off the road(literally, it's almost vertical going down for a minute) and hit a sandbar. Sand is the hugest speedkiller ever! You plod through this sandbar which kills your legs, then you hit the trails. The trails alternate between soft, deep sand, and firmer footing. I quickly realized that rather than try to keep a pace(impossible), I would just try to keep the same effort. The trail twisted and turned, and shot up and down so fast it almost gave me a headache. On the sandy areas I would just try to keep the same effort, and then would charge when I had better traction. There where a few thick grassy areas which would kill speed, but nothing like the sand did! Anyways I actually had a lot of fun. I passed a lot of people in the third mile and then after that was on my own. There was a girl way ahead of me that I would catch glimpses of now and then but I had no hope of catching her. Anyways, for the last mile you get dumped back out on blessed asphalt, but, unfortunately, have to run uphill for the entire last mile. I tried to charge the hill as best I could although my legs were beat up from the sand. Anyways at the end there were 3 guys milling around that had finished and I didn't see the girl I was chasing so I was either 2nd or 3rd female--cool! I got a dreadfully unattractive picture of myself running(I swear the camera added 30 pounds) and a fudge brownie for my efforts. I will definitely be back for this run next year! | 