Boyce Park 5K Trail Race

Yet another race report....

I got there really early cause I wanted to get breakfast on the way over and I wanted to eat 2 hours before the race. So I had a bagel at Panera with peanut butter of course. Then hit starting line and still had 90 + minutes to kill. I talked to the race organizer for awhile. But this was the first race my wife made it to so this time I had a cheering section. Plus we brought the dog with us, so she was cheering for me as well. This race was being held by a running group that I joined last week called the Greater Pittsburgh Road Runners. Their fee is extremely cheap and their races well 3 dollars for non members and a whole buck for members and they have one a month!

I finally met Brad AKA Sumorunner and we started the race off together. This was a true trail race, with very little paved or gravel trails and TONS of hills. I finally got my trail shoes dirty!

The start was not at the same place as the finish but very close and the trail was very well marked so there was little chance of getting lost. We started out at a nice pace and Brad and I ran close to a mile before I needed to back off and walk a bit. Then I kept telling Brad to go on and not wait up for me, which he did at about a mile and a 1/4. On the trails there were some trees laying over and there were a few small streams that we needed to jump over. But for the most part it was dirt and mud. At about the 1/2 way point there was a hill that was a gravel path then you ran through a little asphalt parking lot, then back to the trail which was the hilliest part of the course. I had to walk most of the second mile. I was tired my legs were working well and running on the soft dirt I had almost no shin pain. But I held back a little as well back there because I didn't want to hurt them agian. They are getting better and I am getting better, but there is still the fear of really hurting them again. So I walked ran the rest of the race. I was feeling really good until I hit the last hill up to the finish line. WOW that was a long hill, It really wasn't that long but it felt like It was going to kill me. But I kept pushing up it and after I got past the steepest part I could see the finish line so I started to run and I finished in 45 mins.

I feel pretty good about that time because I am hitting 43 on nice paved roads, I had to cross a few trees and streams and acutally let a couple runners past me. The trail was pretty narrow. But I do feel that this type of running could over take the road running for me. At least I will be training a lot more on trails in the future!