Fools 50K/25K Trail Race

On Sunday, all 3 members of the RBRC, myself, Bob and Rick, went to the Cuyahoga Valley National Park to particpate in the Fools Trail Race. It has a 50K and 25K, we were doing the 25K. I had woken up at 4 am. Exactly what you want to do on a Sunday morning. We planned to get there an hour before the start of the race. Me and Rick got to Bob's house at 5:30 and off we went. I had gone toVertical Runner - Ohio's Premier Running Store the day before for packet pickup. No shirt for this race they did something different and gave away a pair of shorts. Nice Brooks shorts almost worth the price of admission. They also put in 2 Hammer energy Gels.
We arrived there and sun was coming up. We made some bath room breaks and waited for the start. For those that haven't done a trail race the whole atmosphere is differnt, lot more laid back.

So the race starts and its lot more muddier then I thought it would be. It is also hillier then I thought it would be. I run in a hilly place with tough technical trails on a regular basis. This was different. I was prepared for the mud. The hills seemed longer then I was ready for. Some of them had wood steps which at time may of been tougher to climb. But a large portion of the trail was smoother then im used to from running at Mill Creek park. Then you would have to climb a big hill. Then another hill.

Then we started to have to do pit stops. Some things simply cannt be controlled. Other then a few road crossings there was no pavement. If your someone who doesnt like to get dirty and dont want your new running shoes to get dirty, this wasnt the race for you.

For someone who wants a fun race where getting dirty is part of the fun this was a good race for you. The 3 of us stuck together for the race, eventually finishing. It was a tough run, But we did all PR in the race. Being it was our first time running a 25K had nothing to do with it. They had some good food afterwards, the potato soup was great. After a few beers and trip to the Winking Lizard we were on a way home. Ready to pass out.