Lake Youngs 50K

I completed the Lake Youngs 50K last weekend, June 12th. It is a fast rolling hills course just south of Renton. The race follows a trail that winds around Lake Youngs, the city's water supply. The lake is circled by a chain link fence and "No Trespassing" signs. Every so often the fence boasts a sign that tells how many miles one has traveled.

The loop is about +/- 10 miles and you do 3 loops, which makes the race just short of a 50K. The view is of trees, grassy hillsides, muddy trail, and oftentimes the road that closely follows the trail. You can see the large water municipality pipes through the fence and at one point as I rounded the trail counter clockwise, I saw the lake! Not the most scenic course. The loops did make it easy to have drop bags with energy gels and Nuun electrolyte tabs ready in the same spot at each loop. No complaints there!

Somehow despite the lackluster view, the race was really fun... the other runners were quite talkative and supportive, wishing each other a good job and chatting. Maybe it was the absence of serious mountain climbing, or the beautiful, sunny day... either way it was a nice reprieve from the monotony of the run.

The post race food was wonderful... fajitas! With many choices of toppings. Too bad I wasn't feeling hungry until I reached the ferry. Overall I was glad to have completed the run and I enjoyed it. The course was so fast that I PR'd by a ridiculous amount. So if you want a PR for 50K, this is your race.