We arrived at the trailhead on an overcast, cool race morning to pick up our race packets and were instructed by a volunteer to park in a nearby field. We parked and headed downhill to the pavillion, where we stood in a short line to receive our race bibs and T-shirts. The short-sleeved T-shirt was a soft poly-cotton mix, my favorite kind.

The starting line was actually on the road leading to the field where we parked, up the hill from the rail-trail, giving us a nice downhill start.

As we waited for the start of the race, I chatted with a woman standing near us. “Have you ever run this race before?” she asked. I told her that I had not. “The first part, when you are going out, is very, very slightly uphill and the last part, when you’re coming back is very, very slightly downhill.”

I liked the sound of that.

There were aid stations approximately every two miles. Bill and I decided to get a drink and walk through the aid stations. I was feeling fine until about mile four, when I began struggling again, just as I had done in a similar rail-trail half marathon (The Hellbender Half Marathon), which we had run three weeks before.

To read the rest of the report, please visit:

https://meditationsinmotion.wordpress.com/2019/09/15/going-the-distance/

Link to this review