Pretty interesting morning. But a lot of fun. The course was beautiful and the two guys I ran with for the majority of the race made it all the more enjoyable. Typical of Oregon this time of year, we dealt with rain off and on throughout but the course held up fine and there were only a few sloppy sections. Also typical of trail races (so I hear) was the unclear course markings that made for a 24"ish" mile race. I'm still not clear on how far I actually ran. I'm pretty sure it was less than the required distance but I'd rather that than 29 or 30 miles. I was in second, about 30 seconds behind the leader, when both of us found ourselves off course and turned around (maybe 5 miles into the race). As we attempted to find the course, the 3rd place runner caught up and the three of us ran together to the turn around point (13 miles) and then the next 3 miles or so. Due to the course confusion at mile 5, the run quickly changed from a "race" feel to simply a training run (which was fine with me). If one of us needed a bathroom break, the other two waited. My family was along the course at a couple points and the other two guys waited as I stopped to give my son a hug and wife a kiss. About 17 miles into the race Chuck Engle (the eventual winner) took off, not content to have a three-way tie at the finish-line. More course confusion around mile 20 (Chuck thought we had to run another loop section, the second runner said we'd already run it, I didn't have a clue as the course was blending into mush in my mind. I mean, seriously, how can you tell one section different from another after 26 miles of singletrack and thick forest on both sides of the trail?). In the end though, I think Chuck was right so that's why I'm guessing I only ran 24 miles or so. Maybe 23? Perhaps 25? It's all good. I just wanted to have fun and enjoy myself. I doubt I'll convert to a trail runner (too many variables can mess up a race) but I did LOVE the beauty, killer hills, stream crossings, soft footing, low entry price, laid back mentality of most participants. Good stuff! | 