On Saturday, January 4 my hubby Bill and I traveled with our friend Nancy to R.B. Winter State Park in mid-state Pennsylvania to participate in CJ’s Resolution Challenge, a three-hour timed race to benefit autism awareness.

This was my fifth CJ’s, so you know I love the race, which is always held on the first Saturday in January.

This race is actually two events rolled into one. When registering, you can opt for the RC Revolutions Race or the Last Man (or Woman) Standing Race.

In the first option, racers run a 1.5-ish mile loop for three hours. The man/woman who completes the most loops wins the race. Pretty straightforward.

In the second option, participants run the first loop in 20 minutes, the second loop in 19 minutes, the third in 18 minutes, et cetera. The last man/woman to successfully complete the loop in the designated amount of time wins.

We chose the first option.

The loop is a mix of single-track trails filled with roots, rocks, and mud and gravel park roads.

The weather conditions at the seventh annual CJ’s were overcast skies, intermittent light drizzle, and hazy. The temperature hovered in the mid-forties, 45 degrees higher than the temperature at the beginning of the fifth CJ’s two years ago. You never know what the first week of January will bring in central Pennsylvania.
To read the rest of my review, please follow this link:
https://meditationsinmotion.wordpress.com/2020/01/09/resolutions-revolutions/

Last Saturday my hubby Bill and I woke up before dawn, walked the dog, then set off for Elkton, Maryland and my phavorite race of the year, Phunt.

The weather forecast was ominous; snow changing to sleet and freezing rain threatened to make the race a slog and the drive home (a little over an hour) treacherous, but we signed up for this race 13 months ago with the understanding that winter weather in Maryland is not always optimal for running.
Or maybe, like many trail runners, you consider snow, sleet, and freezing rain optimal race weather.
We arrived at the registration hall, picked up our race bibs and goodies, met some of our friends (including this lovely lady from Prague), and waited for the race to begin.

At exactly 9:00 we were lead to the starting line (using the most circuitous route possible, according to tradition), given some last-minute instructions, and at the sound of the official starting horn, were off.

Snowflakes began falling right on cue. I saw the first ones floating lazily down before the sound of the horn stopped reverberating through the woods.

The trails at the Fair Hill Nature Center are not especially gnarly by trail running standards, but there are rocks, roots, and rolling hills, along with at least one climb that certainly gets your attention.

The first aid station, decorated to look like the M*A*S*H set, was at mile 4.5. Volunteers, dressed as soldiers or doctors, dispensed crackers, candy, orange slices, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, bananas, pretzels, Gatorade, Tailwind, beer, and Jello shots to runners along with encouraging words.

To read the complete race review, please go here:
https://meditationsinmotion.wordpress.com/2020/01/23/phabulous-phantastic-and-phun/

On Sunday my hubby Bill and I were joined by our youngest son Chris as we traveled to Perkasie, Pennsylvania for what I believe was our final race in 2019 – The Freeze-Up 5K. The race started and ended at the Free Will Brewing Company.

We arrived early, picked up our race packets, goodie bags (which included a kit to make your own hot chocolate, complete with marshmallows and candy canes), and nice, soft cotton long-sleeved race shirts from friendly volunteers in the Free Will Brewery, then checked out the tasting room and studied the course map.

Fifteen minutes before the race, we headed over to a paved path near the Perkiomen Creek to get our last-minute instructions from the race director: Follow the arrows; you can’t get lost.

Bill and I tried to start near the front of the pack. The path was fairly narrow and there was no chip timing. Race time began for everyone when the race director gave the starting signal.

The narrow path was really not an issue. As we began running on the scenic path near the creek, runners quickly spread out and I settled into a comfortably hard pace. The course was almost entirely flat, with only one road crossing where a policeman was on hand to stop traffic for the runners.

To read the entire race report, please click here:
https://meditationsinmotion.wordpress.com/2019/12/12/fast-fun-freeze-up-at-free-will/

On Saturday, My hubby Bill and I traveled to Williamsport, a town about two hours north of us, to take part in the Williamsport Community Challenge trail race.

One intriguing feature of the race is that the race director changes each course every year, so even if you do the same distance two years in a row, you will not be running the same race. Another interesting feature is that you get to run on the Williamsport Water Authority property, a place usually off-limits to hikers, bikers, and runners.

15 minutes before the start we ambled over to the starting line (two orange cones set up on a dirt road), looked for our friend who was also doing the race, listened to the race director’s brief instructions (Follow the orange ribbons!), and were off.

The first part of the race was run on a dirt logging road. It was crowded with 400 runners and difficult to settle into a comfortable pace. We turned onto another, even rougher logging road at the half-mile mark and began climbing. And climbing.

To read the rest of the review, please click the following link: https://meditationsinmotion.wordpress.com/2019/11/10/the-challenge/