Today I got up early and headed to Wolf Mountain for the first in a series of Xterra races put on by Striders. The race director, another injured runner and myself hitched a ride up the mountain on a 4 wheel drive cart and set up the aid station. It was available at 2 miles and again at 5.25 miles. The race was a 10K. The weather was cool and overcast with occasional rain. The course was very muddy. We were setup at the bottom of 1 mile of downhill switchbacks and the runners had to make a sharp right at the bottom without crashing into us - which was fun in the mud.
After most of the runners had passed us twice, I volunteered to police the first two miles of the course in reverse and pick up the course markers. I didn't realize the first mile was literally uphill, but walked it slowly and felt pretty good. I ran the last mile (slowly) downhill and overall felt pretty good. My arms were tired from carrying all the stakes and clothes I found along the way.
I talked to the race directors and am going to be the sweeper/course cleanup on the remaining races. They will provide me a backpack to load the stakes into which will help. That way I can get some trail runs in without paying race fees or worrying about going fast as I continue to recover. My friend Leslie might come along and help me with my duties. | 