Muddiest Win in the City

Me and Race Director Roger Michel

I've placed in all sorts of positions.  In races, that is.  But never first, until Soaring Eagle 50k.  It's fun to win, but in ultras it's pretty low profile to win, even to win a high profile race, which this was not to be honest.  I  like to punish myself after what I feel like is a bout of poor performance, so I entered the Soaring Eagle 50k the week after doing Yakima Skyline Rim 50K (the toughest 50k in Washington I promise).  Races are a mix of punishment and pleasure, and the challenge of experiencing the edge.  I love racing.  I'd race every week if I didn't have other responsibilities and training priorities.  I love how races push me to run harder than I normally would.

Evergreen Trail Runs puts on a bunch of races throughout the year in the Seattle area, ranging from 5 miles to 50k.  Check out their website at: http://www.evergreentrailruns.com/

I had no idea what speed of runners were behind me, but after the first loop I decided that I was going to do all I could to keep my lead.  The race consisted of 3- 10 mile loops plus a 1 mile loop at the end of the race.  The last loop, as expected, seemed really long.  The course was incredibly muddy, especially the beginning few miles, which we repeated several times.  You can see from the pics of my shoes that I got a little muddy.  Wish I'd worn shorts instead of tights. I got way too hot from mile 2 on... but by the third loop my body temp had evened out and the tights were OK.

I might try to get a few more Evergreen Trail Runs in this season.  We'll see... they're close by, well organized with good aid, friends, but it seems like almost every weekend of mine is scheduled this summer.  Maybe see y'all at Taylor Mt?