Laurie Hess's Staging Area

During a recent visit with my sister and brother-in-law in Florida, my husband Bill and I thought it would be fun to incorporate a race into our trip.

A quick internet search turned up the Pump House Run, a trail race, in Apopka. Initially, I thought about signing up for the 5K, but Bill had other ideas. He suggested we do the eight-mile race, so that’s what we did.

We were instructed to line up 10 minutes before the race start. The Star Spangled Banner was played, an enthusiastic volunteer led us in some pre-race warm-up exercises (optional) and the eight-milers were off, just after sunrise. The 5K race began 10 minutes later.

I had no idea what to expect from a trail race in Florida but I saw from an online map the trail followed the lake for four miles, to an abandoned pump house (hence the race name), where runners would turn around and run back to the starting location. Both races (the eight-mile and 5K) followed the same path; the shorter race turned around sooner.

At the beginning of the race, we ran on a paved bike path which sloped slightly downhill. While I enjoyed the downhill start, I knew that meant an uphill finish. We ran on the paved path for about a half mile, then transitioned onto a flat, unpaved trail.

The surface of the trail was packed dirt, but it actually had the consistency of rough concrete. It was very easy to run on.

Before the race, I hoped to be able to finish the race in 1:15. I never look at my watch during a race, preferring to run by feel, but considering the surface we were running on, I thought my goal could be within reach. I settled into a pace I considered “comfortably hard“.

The lakeshore path’s scenery was pretty and I entertained myself watching Florida’s exotic flora and fauna. At one point there was an anhinga, a kingfisher, and a great blue heron all in one field of view. Even weeds growing among the grasses by the lake are pretty in Florida.

To read the rest of the race report, please go here:
https://meditationsinmotion.wordpress.com/2020/02/06/pump-house-run-trail-race-review/

On Saturday, January 4 my hubby Bill and I traveled with our friend Nancy to R.B. Winter State Park in mid-state Pennsylvania to participate in CJ’s Resolution Challenge, a three-hour timed race to benefit autism awareness.

This was my fifth CJ’s, so you know I love the race, which is always held on the first Saturday in January.

This race is actually two events rolled into one. When registering, you can opt for the RC Revolutions Race or the Last Man (or Woman) Standing Race.

In the first option, racers run a 1.5-ish mile loop for three hours. The man/woman who completes the most loops wins the race. Pretty straightforward.

In the second option, participants run the first loop in 20 minutes, the second loop in 19 minutes, the third in 18 minutes, et cetera. The last man/woman to successfully complete the loop in the designated amount of time wins.

We chose the first option.

The loop is a mix of single-track trails filled with roots, rocks, and mud and gravel park roads.

The weather conditions at the seventh annual CJ’s were overcast skies, intermittent light drizzle, and hazy. The temperature hovered in the mid-forties, 45 degrees higher than the temperature at the beginning of the fifth CJ’s two years ago. You never know what the first week of January will bring in central Pennsylvania.
To read the rest of the race report please click on this link:
https://meditationsinmotion.wordpress.com/2020/01/09/resolutions-revolutions/

On Saturday, My hubby Bill and I traveled to Williamsport, a town about two hours north of us, to take part in the Williamsport Community Challenge trail race.

One intriguing feature of the race is that the race director changes each course every year, so even if you do the same distance two years in a row, you will not be running the same race. Another interesting feature is that you get to run on the Williamsport Water Authority property, a place usually off-limits to hikers, bikers, and runners.

We arrived at the race site early, picked up our bibs, and went back to our car to stay warm before the race start. The temperature was 19 degrees when we woke up that morning, quite a difference from the 80-degree temperatures at the Marine Corps Marathon less than two weeks ago.

15 minutes before the start we ambled over to the starting line (two orange cones set up on a dirt road), looked for our friend who was also doing the race, listened to the race director’s brief instructions (Follow the orange ribbons!), and were off.

The first part of the race was run on a dirt logging road. It was crowded with 400 runners and difficult to settle into a comfortable pace. We turned onto another, even rougher logging road at the half-mile mark and began climbing. And climbing.

The climb soon worked to thin out the runners and the trail quickly became much less crowded. I ran for the first part of the climb but soon switched to a run-walk strategy. As we climbed, I passed people when I ran, then saw them pass me while I walked. The runners who passed me, however, began to diminish as the climb wore on past the one-mile, then the two-mile mark and I wound up passing a bunch of runners on the way up.

To read the rest of the review, please click on the following link:
https://meditationsinmotion.wordpress.com/2019/11/10/the-challenge/

Last Sunday my hubby Bill and I traveled to Forest City, Pennsylvania to run the D&H Distance Run, a half marathon.

We arrived at the trailhead on an overcast, cool race morning to pick up our race packets and were instructed by a volunteer to park in a nearby field. We parked and headed downhill to the pavillion, where we stood in a short line to receive our race bibs and T-shirts. The short-sleeved T-shirt was a soft poly-cotton mix, my favorite kind.

The starting line was actually on the road leading to the field where we parked, up the hill from the rail-trail, giving us a nice downhill start.

As we waited for the start of the race, I chatted with a woman standing near us. “Have you ever run this race before?” she asked. I told her that I had not. “The first part, when you are going out, is very, very slightly uphill and the last part, when you’re coming back is very, very slightly downhill.”

I liked the sound of that.

There were aid stations approximately every two miles. Bill and I decided to get a drink and walk through the aid stations. I was feeling fine until about mile four, when I began struggling again, just as I had done in a similar rail-trail half marathon (The Hellbender Half Marathon), which we had run three weeks before.

To read the rest of the report, please visit:

https://meditationsinmotion.wordpress.com/2019/09/15/going-the-distance/

On August 10, my hubby Bill and I traveled 45 minutes south from our son’s house in Corvallis through the farm country of Central Oregon to Junction City to run the Scandia Run 5K.

The Scandia Run is part of a Scandinavian Heritage festival held each year in Junction City. Streets are closed to make room for stands selling Scandinavian foods and crafts, and Scandinavian music fills the air. Modern-day Vikings in horned helmets stroll the streets with women dressed in traditional Scandinavian attire.

The 5K race course was almost completely pancake-flat (and I mean the American version of flapjacks, not the round Scandinavian “aebelskivers” given to race-goers before by the run). We quickly ran outside of town, into the surrounding farmland.

To read the entire race review, please go here:
https://meditationsinmotion.wordpress.com/2019/08/15/the-scandia-run-race-report/

My hubby Bill and I traveled to Harrisburg, PA on Saturday morning to run the Central PA 10K. The one-mile fun run associated with the 10K race was named “The MIlkshake Mile” because all participants in both races received a world-famous (OK, maybe just state-wide famous) Farm Show milkshake after the race.

The course begins on the campus of Harrisburg Area Community College. It quickly transitions to a flat bike path, which is part of the Capital Area Greenway. After running on the bike path for about 1.5 miles, runners circle Wildwood Lake on some rolling trails, some paved and some cinder for about 3 miles. You then return to the same bike path and return to HAAC campus and the finish line.

Waiting at the finish line is a good array of post-race food, including soft pretzels and milkshakes, a DJ, vendor stands giving out free samples of various products.

I loved the race and the post-race festivities. If you are in the area, it is definitely worth running.

Hubby and I had to get up early the morning of the Marine Corps 17.75K race, before sunrise, before the hot breakfast was available at our hotel. The U.S. Marines are master event planners; when they tell you to be at a shuttle location before 6:00 a.m., you get to a shuttle location before 6:00 a.m.

3,300 runners registered to run this race. Registration opens on February 20 at noon for the March 23 race and sells out in a matter of hours. It may seem surprising that thousands of runners wait by their computers to sign up to race this unusual distance, run entirely in Prince William Forest Park in Triangle, Virginia, but (1.) the race is sponsored by the Marine Corps and (2.) finishing the race in under three hours gives you guaranteed access to register for the Marine Corps Marathon in October. (You can read about my registration saga here.) Typically, you must take your chances in a lottery in order to run this very popular marathon.

At exactly 7:00:00, as the sun was just peeking over the horizon, the starting horn sounded and we were off.

After running for a very short time on a highway, we quickly transitioned to a narrow dirt and gravel park road. The road, rutted and full of potholes that had filled up with rain from the previous day, gave the race almost a trail race-like feel for the first four miles, which I liked. The gravel road had some pretty good rolling hills, some of them steep, but none very long.

To read the full race report, please go here:
https://meditationsinmotion.wordpress.com/2019/03/28/marine-corps-17-75k-race-report/

My hubby Bill and I traveled to Downingtown, PA last evening to participate in the Trail Blazer Run five-mile trail race.

After picking up our goody bags and T-shirts, we looked around the pavilion and grounds where registration was held. The place was hopping! There was a cover band playing some fine tunes, corn hole games set up to play, and the Vicory Brewing beer-mobile was getting set up for the post-race festivities.

At exactly 6:30 p.m. we lined up at the starting line and were off.

The race began on the grass, but we quickly transitioned to a paved park road. We were on the park road for only a quarter mile, all of it downhill, before we turned onto a dirt path through the nearby woods.

The trail, which had a few rocks and a few more roots, climbed up, up, up the hillside and Bill and I began taking walk breaks to catch our breath. Eventually, we reached the top, where it leveled off, followed by a very nice, gradual descent.

To read my full race report, please go here: https://meditationsinmotion.wordpress.com/2019/06/16/trail-blazer-run-race-report/

This is a race report that I don’t know exactly how to write. It is uncharted territory for me. Usually, the gist of my race reports is this: the race was wonderful; I had a fabulous time; I would recommend this race to everyone. Well, this race was wonderful; I would recommend this race to everyone, but, I most definitely did not have a fabulous time.

First, this is a seriously fast course. It is without a doubt the easiest marathon course I have ever run. I just wasn’t having a good day.

The race, a point-to-point, started about an hour east of Seattle at Hyak in Snoqualmie Pass. My hubby Bill drove us to the race start, which meant we didn’t have to ride the shuttle bus, always a plus. It was chilly at the start, so we were glad to be able to sit in our car to wait. You can pick up your race bib the day of the marathon, a nice perk.

A unique feature of this race is the old railroad tunnel that you run through beginning half a mile into the race. Runners are instructed to wear headlamps or carry a flashlight. The tunnel is almost 2.5 miles long, and it is completely dark inside. I never felt claustrophobic, however. There are hundreds of runners, all wearing lights, going through the tunnel at the same time. You can see the light at the end of the tunnel almost a mile before you reach it, so that gives you a nice point of reference.

You can read my full race report here: https://meditationsinmotion.wordpress.com/2018/08/24/tunnel-vision-marathon-race-report/

This race featured a rolling course on country roads through beautiful Virginia Wine Country. Some of the course was on paved roads and some was on gravel roads. I love the T-shirt and the medal can serve as a corkscrew. The post-race festival featured wine tasting from various local wineries and a very good blues band playing live music. My one suggestion for improvement is to set up changing tents so that racers have a place to change out of their race clothes to enjoy the festival.