Charlotte running company trail run 01-19-19 recap

Pre Race

The registration process was easy and quick.  Email was sent as a confirmation.  You got a race sweatshirt for the registration as long as it was before the deadline and the sweatshirts were really nice.  You could choose 4, 9, or 13 miles.  I registered for the 13 miles and the recap will be based on this distance.

The website provided a good map of the course.  The aid stations would only have water and gatorade which proved correct on race day.  There was not mention of what mile(s) the aid stations would be at.

Getting any info from the race promoters was difficult if not impossible before the race.

Course

The first mile of the race was on the gravel as a way to spread out the groups before we got into the trails as it was a large group of people registered.  This helped with reducing the slow down of getting onto the trail that would have happened if they had not done this.

The course was decently marked.  Hard for you to get lost but mile markers and trail markers were not seen.  This really was not a problem because there were a lot of people on the course.

The conditions on the course were really bad.  LOTS of mud which was slick and many spills by people who did not have trail shoes.  The course also had lots of rolling hills.  Only one small creek crossing.

Post Race

The pavilion was packed after the race which made it hard to find food.  They had some bananas, cookies, oranges, and bagels at the end along with coffee.  I think I saw soup but never located it.  Awards ceremony was on time but very confusing as distances and age groups were not really in any order.

How my personal race went:

I did not feel great before the race and went out too hard the first 2 miles.  I was worried about getting bottlenecked once we got on the trail so I went way to fast that first mile.  At mile 3 I felt so bad I decided it was time to take a gel.  That helped and was able to get in with a group of people that had a good clip.  They kept it going for the next few miles and between mile 6 and 7 I had another gel to get another boost as I was still not feeling great.  I was able to get in with another group at this point which was good but I think they were going a bit to fast.  Most of them turned off for the 9 mile finish and I continued on.  Between mile 9 and 10 I had another gel which helped a little but at this point I was not feeling great at all.  The last 3 miles of the race would prove hard and I struggled with feeling lightheaded and nauseous.  My time for the 9 miles was 1:26:?? and my time for the 13 was 2:32.  My training was spot on before I believe that my crash the last 4 miles was due to nutrition which I will need to get figured out.