Wow! What a hot day for a trail run. With one of the mildest summers on record, the heat index of 101 for Saturdays race made for a very hot and sweaty day. Having run this course three times before, I knew we were in for a good time-that is if you call running up and down rock covered hills, maneuvering single track trail and watching out for nature's obstacles coming out of the ground in an effort to stay vertical, all while trying to run 31 miles of trails, a good time. Since my friends and I could think of nothing better to do on a Saturday, we were not disappointed. The race was set to start at 8:00 am and we were ready to go.
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Prerace with my running buddy and sister in Christ, Shannon Briscoe (L) Laura, Sandra, Nii, and Shannon getting ready to get into the starting area (R)
Below we are off and running, notice Nii starting his GPS
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| Post race picture. We were all so happy to be done. |
Laura, Sandra and Nii were registered to run the 20 mile distance which would require them to complete two laps while Shannon and I were set to do the 50k consisting of three laps. I must say the day went amazingly well. These are the best aid stations I have ever encountered. On a hot day like this, it was essential to take in the needed electrolytes and fluids to avoid dehydration and overheating. There were electrolyte and sodium capsules at every station along with Heet, lots of ice, water and food. The volunteers took care of all of us even filling up our cups for us and giving us wet towels. And they were so encouraging! I don't know if they realized that their cheers and motivating words inspired so many runners to keep going.
The course was challenging with many hills, rocks, a few water crossings, some logs to jump over and more than a handful of stumps that you had to watch out for. In other words, a perfect trail. Absolutely love this race and God willing, will be back next year for butt kicking number 5!!
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| Just a few of our race pictures. |
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| Giving God the glory for another finish by His strength. |
In Philippians 4:13 Paul declares that, “ I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” We all have different abilities. The goal for all of us should be to start the race, run with perseverance during the race, and finish strong. We believe that Christ enables us all to to do that while using our gifts, talents, blessings, tests, trials, and troubles to share His love with others. For those of us who have a personal relationship with Him, He asks us to know Him and make Him known – this is our calling!
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