Rockin’ Rockwoods Trail Race
Wildwood, MO
- 53K, Half Marathon
- Trail (Unpaved)
- Official race website
The Rockin’ Rockwoods 53K and 1/2 Marathon are simultaneous trail races that will be held across the scenic Green Rock Trail. The terrain ranges from hard pack dirt to loose uneven rock and extremely hilly, technical trails. This is a challenging course of steep grades and rolling terrain. Runners will be … MORE
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A well-organized, brutal course
I ran my first ultra since the pandemic started. It was so great to get back to racing. Here is my take: The Good: -The race director is great. She … MORE
I ran my first ultra since the pandemic started. It was so great to get back to racing. Here is my take:
The Good:
-The race director is great. She is organized, on the ball, all the details were managed perfectly. We received the right amount of emails to feel prepared, not so many that they were annoying.
-Aid stations were solid. I brought a water bottle. Everything is else is covered. There was more than enough food, water, sports drink to sustain me the entire race. There was some runner food like gels and gummies, and plenty of real food too. Standard fare stuff like chips, pretzels, bananas, oranges etc.
-The race made a conscious effort to have low environmental footprint. As an extremely eco-conscious person, that was much appreciated!
-End of the race: this was a MAJOR highlight. About a quarter mile from the finish someone spots you and rings a cowbell. Then everyone stands up and cheers until you cross the finish line. It is such a great way to end the race. I ended up sticking around much longer than planned so I could return the love for the runners finishing after me. The post race beer and BBQ was solid too!
-The course was well-marked. I made 1 wrong turn (my first one in 18 races, grrr), but even that one was pretty well marked.
-The results were posted on ultra-signup the next day!
-Runner safety was a clear priority- at every aid station you check in and check out with volunteers. If a runner has trouble, a volunteer would know quickly where you were based on the last aid station you visited.
Tough parts/Ways to Improve:
-Parts of the course felt borderline comical in the difficulty. Miles 17-25-ish had so many steep hills that I spent way more time power hiking than running. This was by far the hardest course I have ran in 18 ultras and at times felt excessively so.
-I appreciate when the courses have mile markers. Even if the markers are every couple of miles. The course has lots of confidence flags which was great but I would have loved mile markers too. That helps my motivation (“keep running until you hit the next mile marker!”)
-Not a criticism just a comment: the weather was steamy! Mid September could have touches of cool in Missouri, but the 2021 race felt like mid-summer. The temps got to the 90s and with the humidity the feels like almost got to 100 degrees. There was a lot of cramping and puking on the course.
-The bibs are underwhelming. I frame my bibs and medals (medals are solid by the way) and this bib is quite basic. It’s a blue number on a white background. No name, date, race location, distance. It’s literally a blue number on a white background.
Overall: this is a fun (most of the time) and challenging course. It’s organized and has everything you need resources wise that you don’t need to bring anything hydration or nutrition related. Between the challenging course and the steamy weather, it was by far the hardest of the 18 ultras I have done. Do not go into this race expecting to PR compared to other courses. Glad I did it, glad it’s over.
Very technical
Warning, If you aren’t used to running on technical trails you could get hurt! I did. I pulled a muscle(s) around my knee and couldn’t run for half the race … MORE
Warning, If you aren’t used to running on technical trails you could get hurt! I did. I pulled a muscle(s) around my knee and couldn’t run for half the race and 2 months after. I would suggest running/walking the trail before signing up or don’t signup. I gave this race 1 shoe in scenery because in trail races you can’t enjoy the scenery because you are busy looking down so you don’t trip! I’m still bitter about this race (years later) and wanted to share my input, since getting hurt isn’t fun.