So I decided at the last minute to run the Coureurs de Bois Trail Race in Kenosha Petrified Springs Park. It was advertised in laps of 4 miles, apiece, so you could run 8, 12, or 16 miles. Most opted for 8 it seemed. I have always wanted to do a trail run, so when I saw this race I was like why not!Anyway I had never done a race like this so I opted for 8 miles, since it seemed like the best option given what I read about starting running trail races. That was the right decision because of the second thing I learned about 100 feet into the trail portion of the race. Racing flats are not designed for muddy slick trails, trails shoes are! if I do this again, I am running with trail shoes. I went down at least 3 times with significant splats, and had at least 4-5 times I went down to at least one hand on ground.
The good thing about crossing the Pike River 3-4 times per lap was the ability to clean up, but even then, 10 minutes in the shower, barely got it all off me.
Fortunately for me all the really good runners went 12 or 16, so I think I also finished in the top 15 in my race, but we shall see when results are up. What I do know is that I won my age group, which is not something I have ever done before, very pleased with that! The other thing I discovered is that the laps were closer to 3.5 miles, although my Garmin had some issues with the signal in the deep woods. I am guessing the 7 miles is correct since I was not running 1:51 for 8 miles, that was way to fast for me in that mud, although I am super pleased with my time. See the details below from Garmin.
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