Conquering Hell's Hills

This past Saturday (6/13/15) I took on a half marathon that was 90% trail. The name of the race was Hell's Hills and the course lived up to that name! My wife and I left the apartment at 4:30 in the morning to make the two hour drive to the town the race was being held in. We arrived 30 minutes early which gave me enough time to pick up my packet and get warmed up for the race. Before we started, the race director had a meeting with all the runners to let them know what to expect from the course. The race also had a 5k and 10k option as well. But since I was running the half marathon, I would be running one lap around the lake before heading into the woods with the 5k and 10k runners. Also, since I was running the half marathon, I would be required to make a double loop on the 10k course. After the meeting, we all lined up and waited for the signal to take off! Once the race started, I took off with the half marathoners and began the loop around the lake. It was not long before everyone started to slowly separate according to the pace in which they were running. I stayed behind the first place runner and let him set the pace. We finished our loop around the lake and off into the woods we went! The hills started almost immediately and for the first mile, it was hill after hill after hill! Around the second mile into the woods, the course got a little easier and was flat most of the time. But occasionally I would run into small dips on the course that required me to slow down to avoid falling. The last big hill was downhill and almost looked like a slide because it was so steep. After we got out of the woods. we got a little lost due to a wrong turn me and some other runners took. We were falling orange tape which marked where we were to go along the course and the last bit of orange tape was next to another hill and also next to an exit from the woods.We ended up taking the hill instead of the exit from the woods which we were supposed to take. This only slowed us down for about two minutes, but we got back on course and began the second loop on the trail. Due to the confusion from earlier, the guy I had been staying with since the race started was now in third place and I was still right behind him in fourth and holding strong. Before I knew it, I finished the second loop and sprinted toward the finish line! My time was 1 hour and 49 minutes! After the race ended, it was time for the awards ceremony! I was not sure if I had won anything, but I stuck around to enjoy the moment with the others. As it turns out, I won first place in my age group! After leaving the lake, my wife and I met up with a fellow team member of mine who ran with me in the Rouge-Orleans in February of this year, We had lunch and discussed the upcoming challenge of the 777's which will have me running 25.4 miles. All in all it was a successful and great race! Now I look toward the challenge I will be tackling this weekend! Bring on the 25 miles of trail!!

Picking up the pace on the trails!

Showing off my medal!