This is a tough but fun trail race! Even though I have run over 75 half marathons, they have all been road races. This run was my first Trail Half … MORE
This is a tough but fun trail race! Even though I have run over 75 half marathons, they have all been road races. This run was my first Trail Half Marathon, and I had a blast! Many of you already know this, but Trail Running is VERY different from Road Running…. especially when the ground is covered in loose leaves that hide treasures below like roots and rocks and patches of mud! I fell down twice within the first two miles. I learned the hard way that watching your footing is a MUST in trail running! This race had a lot of elevation changes, and the downhill sections were more challenging than the uphill sections due to the leaves. The volunteers were great, and the two aid stations along the Half Marathon course were well-stocked and attended to by friendly volunteers. When I finished, I mentioned to a fellow runner that this had been my first trail run. She told me, “there are much easier trail runs to do as your first one!”
For those of you new to trail running, my time was extremely different than my road racing times. It took me a full hour longer to run this trail half than my most recent road race half, but the scenery was amazing and the pure joy involved in running through the woods made this a delightfully enjoyable experience!
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Trail Run through the Hilly Woods
This is a tough but fun trail race! Even though I have run over 75 half marathons, they have all been road races. This run was my first Trail Half … MORE
This is a tough but fun trail race! Even though I have run over 75 half marathons, they have all been road races. This run was my first Trail Half Marathon, and I had a blast! Many of you already know this, but Trail Running is VERY different from Road Running…. especially when the ground is covered in loose leaves that hide treasures below like roots and rocks and patches of mud! I fell down twice within the first two miles. I learned the hard way that watching your footing is a MUST in trail running! This race had a lot of elevation changes, and the downhill sections were more challenging than the uphill sections due to the leaves. The volunteers were great, and the two aid stations along the Half Marathon course were well-stocked and attended to by friendly volunteers. When I finished, I mentioned to a fellow runner that this had been my first trail run. She told me, “there are much easier trail runs to do as your first one!”
For those of you new to trail running, my time was extremely different than my road racing times. It took me a full hour longer to run this trail half than my most recent road race half, but the scenery was amazing and the pure joy involved in running through the woods made this a delightfully enjoyable experience!
Very Enjoyable Trail Marathon
The Bobcat Trail Marathon gets 5 sneakers because it was everything the website said it would be: a challenging single loop course with rolling hills and several creek crossings, entirely … MORE
The Bobcat Trail Marathon gets 5 sneakers because it was everything the website said it would be: a challenging single loop course with rolling hills and several creek crossings, entirely within Burr Oak State Park. The trail was well marked, the aid stations first class and well spaced, and warm food was waiting at the finish, even past the 8 hour cut off (tomato soup with potato chips added in is now a favorite).
The marathon starts and finishes at Burr Oak Lodge, the race reserves the whole lodge and it sells out. We were too late so we stayed in Athens, a half hour south. But you can imagine the benefits of staying at the lodge (someone said in the hallway, after the half marathon, that her shower was “life changing”, and of course no pre-race bathroom worries).
Packet pick up was smooth, the lodge lobby restroom seemed to be enough (the half marathon starts at a different location so it was just the 90 marathon runners). Parking was close by and sufficient. In 2022 it was nice to have a warm indoor place, it was a cloudy 38 degree day with rain and a little sleet the day of the race and the day before.
The course was a nice run around the lake, my watch had 3,143 ft of ascent, pretty close to the course map. The rain from a hurricane/tropical storm hit the area the day before and it seemed to rain about half the day of the race, so the trails and up & downs were muddy and slick. The half marathoners start an hour after the full, and run the second half of the course, so the trails were already pre-churned by the time the marathon got there. But, on a dry year, the second half seemed more free of roots and rocks than the first half and would make a very nice dry trail, so the shared use wouldn’t be an issue, and really wasn’t this year, it was going to be sloppy no matter what.
The aid stations had a variety of food and drink, and friendly helpful volunteers.
The swag was nice – excellent, attractive long sleeve tech shirt and a nice medal (mine will be mailed, they ran out at the very end). I missed the 8 hour cut off by 13 minutes, going down those slick trails got to me, I am tall and have a long way to fall and although I love running in sandals, mud is definitely not the best environment for them. But Western Reserve Racing kindly showed me as finished in the results and saved the DNF for runners that had to pull out early.
Everything was so nice about this race, I can see why then have many repeat runners.
Ridge Runner's Race
Great race but very technical with lots of roots and rocks hidden under fallen leaves. No cell service but volunteers do a great job of keeping track of the runners … MORE
Great race but very technical with lots of roots and rocks hidden under fallen leaves. No cell service but volunteers do a great job of keeping track of the runners with frequent check points.