Pseudo race report of the horsey adventure over 25 jumps across 2.6 miles. Me and about 200 other curious runners/walkers/adventure race types toed the line this morning for a tour around the Red Hills Horse trials cross country jumping course. The jumps ranged from 3 to 5 feet high and most were uniquely carved wooden structures topped with bushes. There were two water jumps that horses could probably cruise through in 3-4 strides, but were actually about 20 meters of knee deep chilly muddy water - most of us lowly humans didn't fare too well on these. After about the 4th jump, I was reduced to climbing/crawling over the majority of the jumps. The jumps, mixed with the hilly terrain and the majorly chewed up surface (actual horses raced the course the day before!) made for a very challenging run. I finished in the top 10, a bit over 22 minutes, and was perfectly satisfied with my effort. Travis won the silly thing in 17:20. Speaking of Travis... on Friday evening he successfully dropped into the low 4:30s for 1600 meters with a fine 4:32 - a 5 second PR. He went out well in 66, then ran 68, 70, and finished with another 66. Add in all the tenths, and thats 4:32. We had talked about keeping his slowest lap at 68, and he said he actually thought he was flying and felt pretty good on that 3rd lap - oh well, he's getting there. Here's the video of his race - he's in white over blue with 88 on his back. |