Held at the Gifford Pinchot State Park, Squirrelly Tail is an amazing awesome half marathon through the wonders of rich Pennsylvania landscape. As unpredictable as Pennsylvania is, the course is usually muddy, frozen, wet, boggy, dry, rocky, dirty, woodsy, rocky you name it. Welcome to Penn's Woods!

I'm going to be honest, I went into this race with zero expectations, other than to just have fun and enjoy my time on the trails. And that's exactly what I did. In the beginning, I blew past a lot of people, and as humbling as trail running is, a handful of them passed me along the way later down the trail only to finish way ahead of me - and that's okay. I enjoyed the ups and downs of the trails and the beautiful scenery on the way. I even snapped a picture during a full-blown runner's high. Squirrely Tail, it was a great time.

See my complete review: https://kenstandsonthings.wordpress.com/2019/02/21/squirrely-tail-twail-wun/

I’m going to be 100% honest, this is the hardest race I’ve been in to date. Mile for mile this is one of the toughest trail races in the world (source the Frozen Snot Facebook). Despite the heartache, the views and experience are like no other.

The first mountain climb comes immediately after the first mile, a smooth run to the trail head. From there it’s all uphill. You climb and climb and climb. And when you think you’re at the top, surprise! you’ve got to keep climbing.

There is a Bacon Aid Station smack dab in the middle of the course, with the happiest bunch of volunteers I have ever met. They send you on your merry way to yet: another hill climb.

The last hill climb is the worst of the bunch, mostly b/c you are plain exhausted from all the climbing and the downhill that follows is pure chaos. I think the downhills are worse than the uphill climbs.

This is the most technical course I can think of, it requires sharp mental alterness and the ability to adapt. I had to change my game plan twice during the race, it was a humbling learning experience. One I soon won’t forget.

https://kenstandsonthings.wordpress.com/2019/02/03/race-recap-the-frozen-snot/


It was oddly warm for a rainy and dreary December Sunday, but a bunch of us felt it necessary to run in the woods along some of the gnarliest, muddy, hilly, soggy, soul crushing trails in York, Pennsylvania in a 6.66 mile race known as the Hex Hollow Half. The race is held at Spring Valley County Park, in Glen Rock, PA.


Now it's called a half since it is a 13.1 mile race if you decide to run the 6.66 mile loop twice. But let's be honest, only the crazies attempt that. Since this was my first year, 6.66 miles was just enough for me to handle. So I guess I technically ran the Hex Hollow Half-Half.



Did I mention it was muddy?
 The race begins on a downward trail that run along the border of the park's woods. You feel great, the air is cool and damp, your footing is strong and the slight drop in elevation teases you into thinking Hex Hollow is a nice and easy quick race. I saw my 9:30 pace and chuckled as I jumped over some course obstacles. I left my Ultimate Direction hydration pack in the car, I mean it's only a little over 6 miles, did I really need it?


The answer was yes. I'm an idiot. And it's not because I needed hydration per se- it's the fact that I started the race wearing too many layers. The pack would have been ideal for toting all my junk versus me awkwardly carrying everything the entire race.


Mile 1 was a freaking tease. The course never got any easier after that. What's the saying? "What goes up, must come down." Yeah, we went up alright and some sections we came down, but it never was easy either way. Going uphill seemed to be the theme of the day, and my heart rate was at maximum threshold the entire time. I would walk when the incline was just too much, but it didn't seem to help the mental games the course played. I doubted myself in some spots, stopping was never an option because if I did I was calling it quits.



Miles 2-3 were tough. Coming down to the aid station at mile 3 was tricky. The trail was wide and looking inviting, it was a downhill section that was asking for trouble. The leaf covered ground hid rocks, twigs, and ankle twisting moss covered roots just salivating at the sight of runners. My quads burned as my internal Jake-brakes kicked in and I jarred and jolted my way down the hill. I'm not sure if I drank the water or just poured it all over my face, either way it was ice cold.


Most of the race was single track, sopping wet and muddy with no room for mistakes. The mud did everything it could to suck the shoes off your feet.

Miles 4, 5, and 6 weren't any better. The stream crossings were refreshing and fording the knee deep water at one point was the highlight of the race. The air was cold, damp, and foggy, but as soon as your heart rate increased you could feel the humidity and weight on your chest. At mile 6 in a sharp incline an older woman passed me and grumbled something to God that there were no more hills. She hexed us, as we rounded a corner the hill only kept rising and if I had a rock I would have thrown it at her.


This race was a humbling experience. Beyond humbling if that. As I ran up to the finish line at 1:30:05 the race director asked if I had fun as he put his arm around me and matched my weak jog. I looked him in the eyes and said, "how do I politely tell you that I hate you guys? I'll see you next year, I've got unfinished business." He laughed and told me that is what he loves to hear, so many people have a love hate relationship with the race that it draws them back for more. He's right. I'll be back, it was an awesome race and a great experience I'll remember until next time!

Let me start off by saying that the Hershey Half is one of my favorite races of the year. I think Hershey has a lot of great things going for them, and being able to support the Children’s Miracle Network is a major win.

The course is challenging with its share of hills and twists and turns, but it’s not soul crushing like some other races I’ve entered. The venue, packet pickup, and attractions- all good. Like I said, it’s one of my favorite races all around.

However, my only complaint (rather suggestion) is that they:
A. Have the runners sign up in waves based on pace
B. Assign corrals, and Include pacers

To clarify, at the very beginning of the race, they tell everyone to line up based on their pace – but no clear direction is given, everyone just crams to the front as best as they can. Having corrals will ensure the fastest runners are in the front, and progressively slower runners will make up the rest of the pack. During the start there was a mad dash or confusion as I passed people by and people passed me by. Corrals would certain help with congestion and make it safer than having runners cut you off in a tightly packed herd. Also during the race, pacers go a long way in keeping the crowds moving… and purely for selfish reasons I do better when I can spot pacers, it helps me regulate my speed.

I realize pacers and corrals carry their own logistics, but the Hershey Half is a seasoned race where the added extra steps would go a long way and I’m sure the event organizers could handle the change.

Anyway this year’s race went rather well – I felt good about my training, my nutrition, and my overall plan of attack for the 13.1 miles.

Training is what it is, my goal of running 100 miles a month really helped me put mileage on my shoes and prepared me physically for the endurance needed to succeed. Despite whatever weird pain it is that I have in my shin, I was able to maintain a fairly stable pace throughout the entire race.

Nutrition is clutch, leading up to race day and during the race, fueling can make or break your success. I made sure to eat balanced meals the entire week before the race, and took extra care to not over indulge. I drank plenty of water on a daily basis to stay properly hydrated and the day of the race I made sure to maintain my hydration levels. I also decided to use Tailwind Nutrition’s Endurance Fuel over the course of the race to help sustain my energy levels. Fueling on the move can be a pain, and I didn’t want to have to mess with gels or jelly beans during the race, so I made the decision to go with Tailwind. Spoiler: It was an excellent move.

Having a Plan of Attack is always a good idea. Since I’m pretty horrible at knowing how far I can push myself, I decided to pick a comfortable pace and just maintain it throughout the race. I know I can run 8:30 min/miles for 4-5 miles, but was concerned at 13 miles if I would crash and burn after I passed my safe zone. So, I decided to pick a safer pace and I know I could maintain with easy effort. I settled on a 9:30 min/mile pace, knowing that I could always increase my speed near the end as long as I had the energy.

The plan paid off, it was painful at first getting passed left and right, but my patience to maintain my pace rewarded me in the end. In the beginning I didn’t mind getting passed by… but after mile 9 came and went and I was still getting passed, I started to doubt my pace of choice. It wasn’t until mile 11 that I noticed I was gaining ground and passing a lot of the people that had initially passed me. I ended up really picking up ground on mile 12 and just felt unstoppable. I entered the stadium with blazing speed at a 7:45 min/mile pace and hurried past others like they were standing still – the crazy thing was, by the end, I still felt like I could have kept running.

Well, thanks for sticking around to the end:
2016 finish time was 2:14:00
2017 finish time was 2:13:51
2018 finish time was 2:01:57