Logan View Raider Run

After asking about other races in Nebraska and getting mostly a “I did such and such and it was okay” response, I decided on Logan View because it benefits the local school. I knew it would be a small race (I’m quite certain the volunteers outnumbered the participants) and I also knew it would be challenging. I had never run a night race (and likely never will again) so I was not sure what to expect with this. I was not sure how to fuel during the day but I knew I needed to pre-hydrate as it was going to be a hot one.
The temp at 5 PM at the start of the race was 85 F and there was nary a whisper of wind. The sun was out in full force with nary a cloud in the sky. Thankfully the aid stations were well stocked and the students and volunteers helping were more than helpful and made sure we got plenty of fluids. There was also a random farmer that was out with his kids cheering us on and offering us water, Gatorade and a cold shower he had set up.
The course was mostly through the rural country side and was pretty enough but provided little to no shelter from the blazing sun. Corn and soybeans lined the roads on both sides with the occasional farmstead to break up the fields.
There were also the hills late in the race. I went from the thought of “Keep pushing so you can finish in under 4 hours” to “You might want to slow it down so you can live through this one!” The latter self-talk won out. By the time I started climbing the hills, the sun had sucked most of the life out of me and I walked up many of the hills. That was until I hit the “Mile 26” marker (which was on the final hill with a nearly 200′ ascent in just over a mile), at this point I knew the end was in sight and I could pick up the pace and finish strong.
I will say that it was kind of fun finishing in the dark…and by dark I mean out in the country with no street lights pitch dark! I wore my Tracer 360 vest in flashing mode and it was a lot of fun in that darkest of darks.
Even though this was by far the toughest race I have ever run, the people made it a great race. There were hand written notes from students in our packets, there were students manning the aid stations and encouraging each runner and the “medals” were wooden and were etched with my finishing place…Very cool! There was a dinner afterwards that was excellent and one of the directors from the school sat and talked with me about my training and such, genuinely trying to find out what goes into preparing for a marathon. All of the people involved were genuinely interested in who we were and what brought us to their little race in their little town in the Heartland. Even though it was the most brutal and challenging race I have ever run to date, it was the people that made it what it was, a great race.