State Farm Run

State Farm Run

State Farm Run

( 2 reviews )
100% of reviewers recommend this race
  • Lincoln,
    Nebraska,
    United States
  • March
  • 3 miles/5K, 10 miles
  • Trail Race
  • Event Website

Jeremy Murphy

Lincoln, Nebraska, United States
33 21
2017
"Mud Run Fun"
Overall
T-Shirts/SWAG
Aid Stations
Course Scenery
Expo Quality
Elevation Difficulty
Parking/Access
Race Management
Jeremy Murphy's thoughts:

Ran this race for the second straight year recently. It was a fun muddy run. Roughly 8 miles of the race is held on the East Mopac trail (I ran my first 50k on that territory), which is composed of crushed limestone and dirt or if it's rainy, mud. March weather in Nebraska is always interesting to say the least. Very unpredictable. Last year for this race, we had snow. This year, we had rain and mud. The first mile of the course shoots south from State Farm Insurance on 84th Street and the finish is held at State Farm Insurance also. The easiest miles to run fast on this course in normal conditions are the trail portion. With the trail being muddy, we had to be careful, there was a lot of slipping and sliding in spots and once, I almost fell due to mud. It would be wise to wear trail shoes if it is muddy. If not, probably not necessary to wear trail shoes unless that is your personal preference. On the MoPac trail, you have to be careful once the leaders head back to the finish to stay right (out of their way). There were gigantic muddy puddles on the trail. It was like a steeplechase course in some spots. Also, be careful crossing some major streets that intersect with the trail as they are busy intersections. The police always manage this very well with stopping traffic but best to be safe. There was water every few miles or so but I didn't stop for that as I was carrying my OrangeMud hydraquiver single vest. I was too preoccupied with trying to stay upright, didn't hydrate much during the race. It's important in this race to wear layers and bring gloves if it's cold because you are really exposed to the wind (especially the north wind). There is a little windbreak on the trail with trees protecting us but the wind usually jabs us at least one direction on the trail (so adjust accordingly) for this race. So the course heads east on MoPac trail, then winds back after the 5 mile mark, runners return west from whence we came. The bridges on the trail portion of this race are epic in scenic view and length (see photo). Aiming to run under last year's 1:19, I set my target to run steady splits in the 7:00-7:30 range and mostly hit those targets. I ran with two ladies who were good pacers, one was doing run/walk like me. I did run/walk for the whole race, sprinkling :15-:30 walk breaks throughout. It worked. I was amazed to see I was in zone 2 heart rate for almost the entire race. Just felt very relaxed. At 8 miles, I knew that the course PR was within reach, I just needed to execute my strategy and not slow down too much. I was about an hour into the race at that point. Finally, we neared the race finish and I knew that I was going to run sub-1:19. Finished with 1:18:11, 7:45 pace, 9th in my age group. I met my only goal for the race. And I didn't slip and fall in the mud (although avoiding that was definitely not graceful). If you wish to read my full race report, please visit my blog at RunningGrooveShark.com and it's the Stay the Course post. Fun to see families running the 1 mile with their kids before this race. There is a 5k option too. Some people ran that. It looked like the attendance for this race was down a little, possibly fewer people running it from Omaha. It's a great test race for running the Lincoln (Half) Marathon in May. Nice to run a race longer than a 10k but less than a half: very comfortable middle-distance race. Well-run. Weather is frequently a factor. Just bundle up with layers and prepare for precipitation. Watch out for mud on the Mopac trail. I basically just watched other runners' feet/shoes to see where they were slipping or not slipping to know what to avoid. That helps. It's an enjoyable fun race. Try it, you'll enjoy it!

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