Ragnar Trail Florida
Lithia, FL
- 120 Mile Relay
- Trail (Unpaved)
- Official race website
The ultimate end of season trail running party Our last race of the season is just 30 minutes outside of Tampa. Alafia River State ParkNestled at sea level with little elevation gain, you and your team will cruise through your loops while you embrace the festivities happening in the village. … MORE
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First Trail Race - not bad
I was asked on Tuesday if I could join a team and I have never run a trail race before so I didn't know what to expect. First off - … MORE
I was asked on Tuesday if I could join a team and I have never run a trail race before so I didn’t know what to expect. First off – I’ve never known of any event to service the portapotties and handwashing stations as frequently as this Ragnar event. I’d like to just let everyone know that right off the bat. that’s a major Kudos!
The trails were marked well – they were tough but I’m a road runner and didn’t know what to expect. The green loop was the easiest. I did it at night – I’m told that it is brutal during the day because there is no shade. I did the yellow one next (again at night) – lots of mug, BMX-style “jumps” and boardwalks along the way. I did the red one last and started at about 9:30 a.m. It was mostly shaded but the toughest physically because there are some steep climbs. I broke some palm tree “sticks” and made myself hiking sticks for it after the 3rd hill I climbed.
Overall, it wasn’t bad. Like most Ragnar events, your level of enjoyment is going to be influenced most by the people you have around you. I had a good group so it was a good time. The shirt was nice. The medallion was cool and we came in 1st place in our category (I’m not sure what the category was but it’s still cool to come in first place.)
Sorry for the weird review on this one but here’s a note for road runners doing their first trail: expect your pace to be about 1 minute slower than on the road (at least). I slowed down quite a lot to make sure I didn’t hurt myself and just to make sure I could see where I was going. It’s all good.