Flint Ridge Trail 10 Mile

This was the inaugural Flint Ridge Trail race, and the first race in the Big River Running Trail Series. You could chose between the 4 mile or the 10 mile race. I signed up for the 10 mile race to be eligible for the Trail Series (you tally points from each race, including the Flint Ridge, Skippo and Castlewood Cup).

It took me around an hour to get from home to the race location. I got there plenty early, got an awesome parking spot, picked up my bib and shirt, and then I had a little over an hour before the race start. That part sucked, but I was able to catch up on some work in my car (sounds horrible).

I've never run these trails before, so I had no idea what to expect. So I just told myself to have fun with it. This is not a competition, rather I'm just going to enjoy being out of the City and enjoy being mentally away from some things that have been bothering me.

I started in the 10:00 pace group, near the back. We started and the trail was pretty flat! I was having a lot of fun. Then around mile 2, we started to see some inclines. We also ran through a swarm of hornets, and I got stung by one on my leg. That sucked a lot. I've never been stung by a hornet before. The next mile, it was pretty hilly, and a bit challenging, but I was running with a group and that kept me going. I knew that the course would do a loop after we passed the finish line at the 4 mile. I was psyching myself for when or if we'd have to run through that portion again. Luckily, at 5.5 miles, we made a turn right before the hornet incident.

Smiling, knowing that I wasn't going near the hornets again.
And yes, walking...

The next miles were really peaceful. A lot of people had finished their 4 mile race, so the trail wasn't as packed (and we were more spread out). I was feeling really good, and the miles just kept going by. I did start walking some portions, but I was just really thirsty.  I should have brought my water bottle.

Flint Ridge Trail.

I finished in 1:49:27. I thought I did really well! The course didn't measure out to a full 10 miles, rather it was 9.25 on my watch. I then saw that I placed 145/168... so I didn't do all that well. Bottom 86%, hmmm. I placed 10/12 in my sex/age group.

Smiling at the Finish!

Anyways, I'm happy with the results. Trail running isn't easy, especially when you see people tripping in front of you and the hornet sting didn't help much.