Great race. This race has a totally different feel to it than any other race I've done. It just seems to be more laid back and it really is all about finishing. Was a little worried about the weather being too cold, but it turned out to be perfect. Finished in 3:48:00. The goal was 4:00. Finished last year in 4:35:00. It amazes me to think that I did this race about 4 minutes faster than this year's Ogden marathon, and only 12 minutes slower than Desnews Marathon. This race seems to be a lot more difficult than those other two. I wanted to be at the front of the pack at the beginning. This is because once we get on the trail it becomes very difficult to pass people. So, if you get behind somebody that is quite slow then, it makes things a bit difficult. I hit the 10 mile mark at about 1:25:00. The first 5-6 miles were pretty rough. You climb significantly on this part and the minute I started going up any hill my legs immediately felt it. Hit mile 15 at about 2:08. Was doing pretty good up to this point. A good portion of these miles were downhill and flat. Miles 15-20 are probably the toughest miles I've ever encountered in a race. Lots of climbing and my legs felt like jello. I knew once I made it to about mile 20 I had a steep drop pretty much to the end. There was definitely some walking on these miles, but overall I was quite happy with this part of the race. The last 6 miles felt great. There is a little uphill that slowed me, but I went pretty good at the end. I have not been this sore after a race for quite some time. The trail running (lots of rocks, tree stumps, etc) really does a number on my body. This was a great run though and I look forward to doing it again next year. | 