Sunmart 50K Race Report

Very, very, very slow run, which I ran deliberately so! I ran cautiously since I'm unfamiliar with trail running, there were numerous hazards throughout the course, and finally since I treated the run as a training run - with the Houston Marathon scheduled for 1/18/09.

The final 9-miles, though, I felt strong, so picked-up the pace and I absolutely loved the feeling of passing many runners while feeling much more confident about the trail!

1 10-K loop, followed by two 12.5 loops. Ran first 10K well (probably too fast), and finished strong. Weakest part of run was the first 12.5 mile loop, as I walked essentially every up-hill, and slowly and deliberately ran every down-hill being vigilant for hazards.

Official Race Results: Time: 06:30:57; Age 50-54: 29/45; Male: 159/278; Overall: 220/481.

Sunmart 50K Race Report

My first trail run was the Sunmart 50K in the Huntsville State Park. The weather was absolutely beautiful, and the course was fantastic! The scenery in the Park was consistently beautiful, and the varieties of foods and snacks prior to, during, and after the race were absolutely incredible.

The race expo/registration the night before the event featured as speaker the famous New Zealand coach Arthur Lydiard, of whom we learned days afterward that he had tragically died in Houston the day after the event.

I ran with Tim, Paul and Mary Beth for stretches of the run, and finished slower than all of them - but I truly didn't mind! That's the great thing about trail runs; one's time and pace is far less important than simply enjoying the experience.

Official Race Results: Time: 05:56:17; Age 45-49: 26/58; Male: 155/343; Overall: 217/620