An Aptly Named Race


So Roger sent me a text.  He’s registered for a race, but has a family obligation.  Do I want to take his spot?  

Oh yeah, I do.   I’ve been itching to get to a starting line.  It’s been a rough month for me, and I really wanted to run through it. 

I laughed when I found out the name.  Oh well, it cant be that bad.

I got up around 6 am to head out to Rochester.  When I let the dogs out, I realized that it snowed pretty hard last night, and the roads were not cleared yet.  I decide to get going sooner rather than later. 

The roads were brutal.  It took me an extra stressful hour to get to the race site.   THEN, I couldn’t find the start.  Seriously, I was in the park and could not find the start.  Uh oh, I giggled as I thought of the name of the race.

The website clearly stated that you had to check in by 9:45 in order to start the 10 am race.  I peeled into the parking lot at 9:43 (insert name of race here).   I booked it from the car, wearing nothing but what I normally wear under my race clothes.  I was shivering when I got to the registration table.  They let me run, but I only had minutes to dress and prep for the start.  (Name of race).  

It is a rugged course that was to be run through an un-cleared, snow covered trail, in 12-degree weather, with a few ski-slope sized hills to add to the fun.   It snowed the entire time, very hard at times, and that snow was really starting to stack up.  The wind chill froze my hair; literally, froze my hair.   (Name of race). 

I loved the course, but it wasn’t my best run.   I wiped out a few times on the ice and snow.  I regretted not grabbing my yak trax or my microspikes, as the footing was somewhat tenuous, especially on the one near vertical climb I had to hit three times. It required both hands and feet to summit. 

As I neared the finish line, I let the name of the race slip from my mind, and I thought about how lucky I felt to be able to accomplish this.  The running gave me my center back and I felt ready to take on the hurdles that have been placed in front of me. 

 The struggles of a challenging race reminded me, that sometimes, I just need to move my feet, in order to clear my mind.

And, the name of the race: "WTF" by TrailsRoc.

 Thanks Rog!




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