Okay, so this is possibly the furthest thing from a traditional trail race that you can get. The temperature today was a cool 9C at the start line (important to remember this for later in the report) and it was quite windy with gusts of over 50km. The ground at the start line was soggy and it seemed like my feet were frozen just standing there watching the kids race (which included its own water crossing in the form of a kiddie pool, priceless!).
When we were marshaled to the starting corral we were asked to line up according to the number that had been written on the front of our bibs. It was this number that determined how far you had to go out before you were to turn around and come back. Your task was to run along the blazed "trail" until you got to a sign with a number on it. Under the sign was a bag of coloured wrist bands (much like Livestrong's) It was in this way that the race was Handicapped so that anyone in their prospective "time" bracket could win. It also meant that we would all be finishing in roughly the same time frame. Looking down I had an eight, I almost wished that I had a nine because then I could have maybe said that I misread it as a six and turned around early. We were soon off and running.
The stampede of runners took off and we all filed into order, quickly finding that the trail narrowed and if you wanted to pass, you would have to find your own way. The course followed many marked and established trails as well as many trail blazing sections (usually hills that you had to scramble up because they were so sheer that running was nearly impossible.) The organizers even provided ropes to get up a couple of the hills. What I wasn't prepared for was the number of water crossings and the effect that the cold (really cold, remember the temperature today?) would have on me and my feet. As we passed the many early numbered wristband stations, a small group of us were staying together. It was at this point that running also came with the added chore of keeping your head up to see the next flag or blaze tape that marked the trail. Many times, the four of us running together, had to stop and backtrack a few meters because we had missed the fork in the trail. On we went until until at the top of one climb I found my "eight" station. I grabbed my wristband, bid a heartfelt good luck to my cohorts (who were all 9's and 10's) and turned around to come back.
This is where the fun part of the race began. It was a lot of fun charging down the hills that other racers were struggling to come up. What was also nice was that there was a steady stream of people to blaze the trail ahead of me. I passed thru most of the field of runners and finally got to the point where I could only see the odd racer who had already turned back and were heading to the finish. Finally with only one racer in the distance to chase down (it turns out that it was Bob M-fellow Team RF'r), I arrived at the final stretch on the soccer field. Unable to reel him in I ran across the final stretch looking for my personal photographer. It turns out that I came in 5th overall. I wonder what my total distance ended up being?
The food and awards afterwards were very well organized. The top male and Female finishers got giant dog bones as well as some really great swag. Overall prizes were given to the 1st, 2nd, and 4th places overall. This was truly a great race and I can't wait until next year. I just hope that I will be "blessed" with as good a handicap next year. Fun was definitely had by all. Thank you to XSNRG and all the organizers, volunteers, and sponsors for putting on such a great race!
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