I was in Austin for a conference the weekend of this race. I initially signed up for the half marathon but I wasn't sure I was up for a trail … MORE
I was in Austin for a conference the weekend of this race. I initially signed up for the half marathon but I wasn’t sure I was up for a trail half marathon given my training hadn’t quite been what I wanted this summer after returning from injury so I requested to change to the 10K about 2 weeks before the race. The race staff were very responsive and quickly changed my distance. The race had 2 options: Either a Friday open start or a Saturday mass start (you could also do open start Saturday if you didn’t want to do the mass start). I loved this. While I think most people by now including myself are fine with mass starts, I do have a few friends who are either immunocompromised or who have loved ones who are immunocompromised who would prefer a safer option so having both options was great. I chose the Friday option not so much because I wanted an open start but because I wasn’t sure I would be able to make it Saturday morning with my conference schedule (that ended up being the case as I signed up for a different cheap race Saturday but couldn’t make it). The race is located at a park about 45 minutes out of Austin. There were good directions on how to get there sent to us but I did think there could be a few more markings in the park about where the park. The start was obviously very laid back or “mellow” for the open start. I picked up my bib and also got a nice race shirt. There is an ankle timer for timing. There were also some porta potties by the start. For the open start you just go whenever you want. There is a 5K course which the 10K does twice and a half course which the marathon does twice. The course was extremely well marked. One thing I liked is along with markers telling you which way to go. They had red signs telling you where not to go and had other areas taped off. It would be nearly impossible to get loss. The course was very pretty with some cactus and a mix of other natural scenery. Prettier than I expected for Texas. It’s a tough but not crazy tough course. There are some technical sections and I did see a runner fall but it wasn’t crazy. It was one of those courses that is a relatively easy hike but a tough run. I would have loved to have been able to do to half if I was fully trained but I was glad I only did the 10K as it did get a bit hot and I haven’t really done any trail training this summer. I was very slow but I was mostly just enjoying the scenery and making sure I didn’t get a new injury. There was an aid station around the halfway mark which was well stocked along with one at the finish line. For the 10K you did 2 laps. One warning is this appeared to be much longer than a 10K. My GPS had this more of a quarter marathon distance. I know most trail races aren’t exact and I’d prefer longer than shorter but just set expectations. At the finish the race staff cheer you on and you get your medal. The medal is very nice for a 5K/10K. It is not distance specific and I would say it is an average half marathon medal and probably slightly disappointing for a marathon medal since it doesn’t have the distance. However a lot of trail races I’ve done don’t have any medals. Overall this was a nice, challenging but not too challenging trail race. If you are a fan of trail running I would definitely recommend this race. If you don’t have much trail race experience this would be a good race to try it out. This is probably a one time race for me but if I end up in Austin again the weekend of this race I would do it again
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Lovely, mellow trail race
I was in Austin for a conference the weekend of this race. I initially signed up for the half marathon but I wasn't sure I was up for a trail … MORE
I was in Austin for a conference the weekend of this race. I initially signed up for the half marathon but I wasn’t sure I was up for a trail half marathon given my training hadn’t quite been what I wanted this summer after returning from injury so I requested to change to the 10K about 2 weeks before the race. The race staff were very responsive and quickly changed my distance. The race had 2 options: Either a Friday open start or a Saturday mass start (you could also do open start Saturday if you didn’t want to do the mass start). I loved this. While I think most people by now including myself are fine with mass starts, I do have a few friends who are either immunocompromised or who have loved ones who are immunocompromised who would prefer a safer option so having both options was great. I chose the Friday option not so much because I wanted an open start but because I wasn’t sure I would be able to make it Saturday morning with my conference schedule (that ended up being the case as I signed up for a different cheap race Saturday but couldn’t make it). The race is located at a park about 45 minutes out of Austin. There were good directions on how to get there sent to us but I did think there could be a few more markings in the park about where the park. The start was obviously very laid back or “mellow” for the open start. I picked up my bib and also got a nice race shirt. There is an ankle timer for timing. There were also some porta potties by the start. For the open start you just go whenever you want. There is a 5K course which the 10K does twice and a half course which the marathon does twice. The course was extremely well marked. One thing I liked is along with markers telling you which way to go. They had red signs telling you where not to go and had other areas taped off. It would be nearly impossible to get loss. The course was very pretty with some cactus and a mix of other natural scenery. Prettier than I expected for Texas. It’s a tough but not crazy tough course. There are some technical sections and I did see a runner fall but it wasn’t crazy. It was one of those courses that is a relatively easy hike but a tough run. I would have loved to have been able to do to half if I was fully trained but I was glad I only did the 10K as it did get a bit hot and I haven’t really done any trail training this summer. I was very slow but I was mostly just enjoying the scenery and making sure I didn’t get a new injury. There was an aid station around the halfway mark which was well stocked along with one at the finish line. For the 10K you did 2 laps. One warning is this appeared to be much longer than a 10K. My GPS had this more of a quarter marathon distance. I know most trail races aren’t exact and I’d prefer longer than shorter but just set expectations. At the finish the race staff cheer you on and you get your medal. The medal is very nice for a 5K/10K. It is not distance specific and I would say it is an average half marathon medal and probably slightly disappointing for a marathon medal since it doesn’t have the distance. However a lot of trail races I’ve done don’t have any medals. Overall this was a nice, challenging but not too challenging trail race. If you are a fan of trail running I would definitely recommend this race. If you don’t have much trail race experience this would be a good race to try it out. This is probably a one time race for me but if I end up in Austin again the weekend of this race I would do it again