Nailed It!

We've been running The North Face Endurance Challenge Trail Race Series since it began in 2008. This was our 7th year. With the exception of last year when we did the half marathon distance, we've always done the 10k (6.2 miles), as it typically fits best into the bigger training picture. We both PR'd in a big ways today!

A quintessential fall morning awaited us - bright blue skies, crisp 45° air, dewy grass. Perfect race conditions. As usual, the famous ultra trail running icon, Dean Karnazes (ripped legs, sinewy body, hollow weathered face), The North Face (TNF) ambassador, gave us the start line pep talk to "disregard rules and run with abandon." 8:59:58 a.m., 8:59:59 a.m., 9:00:00a.m. and we're off, scurrying down the road from Ottawa Lake to connect into the rolling hills of the Scuppernong Trail. Recent rains left the trail soft and wet, but not too muddy. Recent rains also unearthed loose rocks and eroded dirt covering tree roots, presenting the mind with obstacles of distraction on the more grueling uphills or crumbly downhills.


Joe with his award bag



We both ran strong and faster than previous years. In no time the race was over, medals were around our necks, TNF bottles full of Clif chocolate recovery drinks were in our hands and we beelined it to the results tent where laptops were ready to spew out our stats. I was beyond excited to see I shaved off more than 5 minutes from my former PR. I finished in 1:02:24 equalling a 10:04 pace. My best pace in past years was a 10:56. Just as exhilarating was that I finished 7th out of 21 in my age group! Trail running is not easy and to be in the top third really speaks to the hard work I've put in in 2014. Next, we entered Bib #2008 for Joe, and Holy Shit Batman - he placed 1st in his age group (M 40-44, he was 1st out of 13), BUT even more impressive was that he placed 6th Overall! Joe finished in less than 47 minutes with a 7:33 pace. Next stop, the Awards Tent, where Joe received a bag of miscellaneous goodies featuring really cool TNF arm warmers in black with red trim - a piece of gear he had just decided 2 days ago that he needed ☺ The icing on Joe's cake is that as he crossed the finish line he hit 800-mile mark.