Skip to main content

Bernheim Trail Marathon Recap

Wait, what?! Trail? Marathon?! Another year, another Bernheim Trail Marathon and this time I wasn't going to miss it! So, those who can't do, volunteer! I've done some informal trail running and have always really liked it but have never done a trail race. In my world, the easiest way to check something out is to do it or in race terms volunteer at it. The threat of severe storms made me reconsider heading out at 6 am but I knew rain is no bother to the true trail runners so if they were going to be there, so was I. Autumn went with me even though she doesn't like trail running or nature but she was a good sport and came along so I could check things out.

We got there late for various reasons but luckily the storms delayed things just a bit and we ended up not missing anything. We were assigned to aid station 5 with another woman at what we were told was mile 16 of the full marathon.


Trail marathons are the real deal. During road races I think it's safe to say the stations have water and some kind of electrolyte replacement drink, maybe some oranges and/or bananas and probably some form of goo (Gu). At this race, our setup was legit. Gallons upon gallons of water and Heed, flat Coke and Sprite, peanut butter filled pretzels, Chips Ahoy mini chocolate chip cookies, oranges, bananas, peanut butter and jelly on the good whole grain bread, Hammer Nutrition goos, and salt tablets.


We set everything up including our fold out chairs and waited patiently for the first runner. We also had a sheet with the bib numbers of the runners and we were to mark down what time they came through as a way to keep track of everyone.


With my Deep Woods Off applied I was doing alright in the forest. It was gorgeous and stopped raining so sitting outside wasn't an issue...although I did have a poncho just in case. Finally we got our first runner. First impression was that he was more badass than any character Jason Statham has ever played (and I love Jason Statham). He was also surprisingly nice and looked completely chill. He chatted with us a bit while he refilled his bottles and had a few bites and then he was gone. Second place was over 3 minutes behind him but pretty much the same impression. They kept rolling in, one at a time, every few minutes until I saw an old friend I met in college about a hundred years ago. "Oh. Hey Evan!" He had that determination/misery/badassery/I'd kind of like to stop running and be finished now look that we found quite common in trail marathoners as the day wore on but was also perfectly nice, refilled his pack and off he went. I was surprised to only see 3 women out of the 36 total marathoners but they were hanging tough just like the men. Trail aid stations are so different because the runners really do stop to take a breather, consume some calories, stretch and throw away articles of clothing and ring out socks decimated by the multiple creek crossings and obstacles they'd already passed. The worst part of the whole day was having to tell people they were at Mile 16. About half of the runners had GPS watches which all said they were at Mile 18-19 and we had to be the messengers that in fact, they had 10 miles to go instead of the 8 they had convinced themselves they could do on the way to our station. *Did I mention we were located at the top of a particularly grueling hill? We of course didn't know this until people told us...which every one of them did. But that did make everyone really excited to see us! I also happened to see another guy I knew who is a board member for the organization I used to work for. I'd only ever seen him in a suit and tie so the wet and muddy shorts and tee, trail shoes and a backwards baseball cap was a little bizarre, but cool all at the same time. Even cooler when I informed him that I wasn't working and that this was just something I do because I got a new level of respect I think. Like maybe the real trail runners might consider opening the door to let me into the trail running club. Anyway, we only had one scary moment and that was the guy who looked us in the face and said, "I'm done." We asked the standard "How are you feeling?" and everyone was ok despite the occasional "I feel like shit." said with a laugh but when he said he was done we pulled up a chair for him. He was in his 50s and obviously in great shape but he told us he just knew when to call it, especially since we were Mile 16 and not 20. It was obvious how seasoned he was because he knew exactly why he was feeling that way and what could have been done differently and that he physically could not finish the race and was ok with it. We called a medic and Nurse Autumn sprung into action taking his pulse and such. Once he was sitting down with some water he just chatted with us and that was pretty cool. He also talked to lots of the runners who came through while we were waiting for his ride. The camaraderie made me jealous and that was when I decided for sure to join the trail running club.



All in all it was a blast and I can't wait to do my first trail race! There's something about volunteering that gives you a weird insight into worlds you want to enter but don't know how. I'm excited to have been there to help them and am looking forward to racing myself and having others return the favor.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Why I Hate the Ironman

I figure it's about time to put this out there and I'm pretty sure if you know me really well, you won't be surprised by any of what I have to say. I've been having a lot of issues lately. I've been working hard with my counselor to determine who I really am and what brings me true joy in life and it's been surprising, frustrating, difficult, fun, exhausting, enlightening, exciting and hard....to sum it up in a few words. I spent some time in Puerto Rico back in March and finally got back into doing some writing while I was out there. It wasn't anything long and certainly not anything particularly newsworthy but it made me feel good. I enjoy writing. When I was young I used to write short fiction stories on my mom's computer whenever I had free time and though a lot of them remained unfinished, they were always fun for me and surprisingly effortless to compose. Blogging has never quite been the same as my true writing and I've been working hard t

A Sad Announcement

It is with a very heavy heart that I make an announcement. Because this is where I spend so much time recapping my races and weight loss struggles and successes, it seems that this is where the announcement needs to be made. I told The Colonel earlier this evening when I got home from school close to tears and I need to make it official before I change my mind. I will not be doing an olympic triathlon this year. Sounded much more serious than that, didn't it? Well all joking aside, it is serious to me. In my mind, I'm now a quitter. I'm a wimp. I'm giving up on my goals and soon will start giving up on all of them. This isn't the case of course but for now it's really hard for me to be rational. I am a goal setter and rarely has there ever been a goal I didn't *eventually* reach. So for me to seriously and actually "give up" is heartbreaking. I'm also abandoning my quest to lose 40 more pounds this year. It would be great if it happened, but I

Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure 10K Race Recap

Wow, what a title right? Although I also could have titled it the greatest race of my life. Wanna know why? Yeah I thought you might. The week leading up to the race wasn't a great one. Stress at work, general grumpiness etc. etc. etc. So I really wasn't expecting much as far as performance but I wanted to get a 10K in really badly before the marathon relay this Saturday so I thought What the hell and signed up. The atmosphere at Komen events is like none other. Pink everywhere and people....so...many...people. For someone who hates crowds (i.e. ME) there are few things that will lure me to a crowded place. Races just tend to be one of those things. Anyway, there was a great survivors parade and all kinds of booths and music and general funness. What there wasn't plenty of was parking. Which I guess is the norm for an event of this caliber. Survivors' Parade Great Ladies I never got the chance to meet... Seriously packed at the start! Autumn Alexis, The Colonel and I g