Owls Roost Rumble Half Marathon 2010

Good thing about this trail run is that I survived no sprains or strains yet I did receive minor scrapes and bruising via left elbow into tree.



I signed up in the elite wave along with 21 other runners. I had doubts about doing this since I thought I could possibly slow down other runners on the trail. But I felt that my training has been consistent and progressing for the last month and I wanted to push hard and run near my maximum effort capacity.



It had rained all night before the race and when I awoke race morning it was still raining and thundering. Glad I brought my Adidas adizeros to tackle the mud on the trail. They also proved to be effective going across the many wet wooden bridges that are along the trail. Luckily the rain did subside before the race. Guess I could of worn my white running shorts after all.



When we lined up for the start it looked like I was running against superheros. Many of the runners looked to be in great conditioning. Off we start on the road for about .5M we then transitioned onto Owls Roost Trail. I for the most part ran this portion of the trail at a comfortable pace. No hills just a few minor inclines and lots of ROOTS so if you don't keep your eyes on the trail you are at risk to fall.



I stopped briefly at the first aid stop for water and electrolyte drink. I was passed by a couple runners yet I manged to pass them and maintain my lead. 100 yards before entering Nat Greene trail I saw a runner ahead of me look back to check his lead and as he did he stumbled on a large rock. I was determined to pass him and I picked up my pace after about .5 miles and I was only about 10 yards behind him when he ran onto one of the many wet bridges and fell. I asked if he was ok and he just smiled and said yes. It could of happened to anyone on this trail.



Nat Greene trail consist of about 3M of single track trail and littered with roots and just a few rocks. I was able to pass two other guys on this trail before stopping at the second aid station to grab a cup of water and a gel. I keep walking as I consumed the items so as to not lose precious time and ground.



Next was Piedmont Trail and is also around 3M and has a few small hills. I looked at my Garmin and noticed that I only had about 2M to go and decided to increase my pace. From behind I could hear the sounds of feet slapping the ground and I had to increase my pace so I took advantage of the down hills letting gravity do most of the work and increasing my stride slightly to cover more ground until I could no longer hear the sound of feet from behind.



Finally I was near the finish and attempted to finish strong. I was surprised that I finished 10th overall with a time of 1:37:57. Overall I enjoyed the race and I plan to enter it again next year and break 1:30.