Kevin, Larry's wife Jolene, and I ran in the Gruesome Grizzly 8K today. It is a trail run in the Cascadia Trail Series sponsored by Runner's Corner and the Sojourners Running Club. There is a section of the course known as "The Grizzly" from which the race takes its name. It is 1/2 to 3/4 mile of steep uphill that climbs about 400 feet. It occurs during the 2nd mile and the rest of the course is mostly gradual downhill. I'm not quite sure why I ran this race. I guess it just sounded...fun? ...different? ...small? ...inexpensive? ... a challenging trail run yet easier than the Squaw Peak 50? I'm not quite sure. Maybe it was because Jolene and Kevin were running and Larry was volunteering (still recovering). It was probably some combination of the above mixed with a dash of lunacy. Kevin and I met up with Rich Lamoreaux just before the start and the three of us ran much of the race together. I was in front on the single track trail most of the way to the start of The Grizzly, but they were just behind me and both passed me going up. I've run The Grizzly without walking before, but I walked nearly the whole thing today. Rich and Kevin, and most everyone else around me, were walking it...faster than we could run it...so I did, too. When the course leveled off I caught up to them and we mostly ran together along the upper road. When we dropped off the road onto the single track trail down to the Great Valley it was Kevin, me, then Rich. I started feeling blisters in both arches as we ran along the upper road and they hurt as we descended on the trail. I was running on Kevin's heels and he graciously allowed me to pass. This allowed me to see the trail better and not have to brake as often. As we leveled off in the Great Valley Rich and Kevin both went past and pulled ahead. I may have been able to hang closer to Kevin than I did, but the blisters on both feet were really hurting. I hung on pretty well and finished strong. I could see Kevin ahead as we ran the final loop in the parking lot, but couldn't close. Rich, Kevin and I finished 39th, 40th, and 41st. The weather was warm but not too hot. My only goals were to finish not too far behind Kevin, and ahead of Jolene. I managed those goals. As a bonus, I also won the Men 50 and Over age division. There were only 4 of us, but I beat the other 3. I finished 41st overall of 81, which means I missed being in the top 50% by one position. Not really significant...just trivia. I'm not sure why I got the blisters. That's a mystery. Today marks a milestone of sorts for me. I think this was my first race as a member of an "and Older" division. I hope there are many more to come...at least I think I hope that. My feet hurt. | 