Recap: Charlotte Running Company Trail Race

A few months ago some of my non-runner friends started kicking around the idea of signing up for a trail run at the US Whitewater Center sponsored by the Charlotte Running Company.  It seemed like a good way to get back into the racing scene after a few months of reduced mileage and jump start my training for Boston.  Of course their kicking around of ideas is often short lived so they bailed but fortunately several guys from our Hey Jack! relay team were planning to run as well.  I had my clock set for 6:00 but about 4:30 am I got a tap on the shoulder from my super sweet 8 year old asking me how long my trail race was going to take.  Half asleep and a little disoriented my first thought was that I had overslept and my next thought was that sleeping in sounded like a phenomenal idea.  My Feels Like iPhone app was telling me it was 20 something outside and my biological Feel Like app was telling me I Feel Like cuddling with my little one instead of running 13 cold miles in the shaded woods.  Knowing he wasn't remotely concerned with my performance I told him I would be back for his basketball game and proceeded to get another hour of sleep before heading out.

The race offered 3 distances; 4 miles, 9 miles, and 13 miles.  Initially my thoughts were to run 9 because a few weeks after seeing my podiatrist and miracle worker (Bill Johncock) my feet have been feeling pretty good.  Not wanting to slow the healing process this just made sense but when I floated that idea to the guys (Hank Eimer, Michael Banks, Eric Meredith, LT, and Ben Duke) I was met with a series of wussy comments so I gave into the peer pressure and signed up for 13.  Either way I was just in it for the hoodie.

CRC always does a great job with their races and Start2Finish really has the timing thing figured out too.  We arrived at the WWC about 8:00 with the 9 and 13 milers scheduled to start at 9:00 and the 4 milers going out at 9:30.  Packet pick-up went smoothly and I have to say the hoodie is the best race shirt I've ever gotten.  Of course it's already hanging in my oldest son's closet so I might never see it again.  Depending on when you register it's $30 / $40 / $50 for the 4, 9, and 13 miler respectively with the hoodie included in the entry fee for each distance and finisher medals for the 13 milers.  Point being that the entry fees weren't jacked up to cover the cost of the sweatshirt.

The weather forecast was great but it was definitely a chilly morning.  Of course sitting in a nice warm mini-van we were all manning up deciding between short sleeves, racing singlets, threatening to leave our gloves behind, and shedding our arm warmers.  Oddly enough after spending about 2 minutes outside of the van I decided to dress more like I was headed for the Iditarod than a trail race.

Having run one trail race at the WWC before I knew these early trails were single track and passing runners once you got in the woods especially in the early going was particularly difficult.  The course is laid out so that there's a good half a mile or so to create some separation before hitting the single track to allow for some spacing.  In total there were about 1,100 runners and it looks like approximately half of those ran the 4 miler and the other half ran either the 9 or 13 mile course.  I 'borrowed' the picture to the right from Bobby Aswell who along with his daughter Nicole both left with the WWC with awards.  I'm in the blue long sleeves with the gray singlet over it and Banks is to my right in the white long sleeves.  Hank is the tall hip wagging gazelle in the blue shirt to Banks' right and Ben is to the right of Hank.  Eric and LT are either tucked in behind the herd or already on the ground.

I knew the course was laid out so that we would be running the more difficult single track trail sections for the first 6 miles or so followed by the more single track trails through about miles 9-10.  I really couldn't tell much difference in the difficulty of the trails but that probably goes back to my lack of experience the fact that I just try to keep up with the guy in front of me and not fall in the process.  I had heard from several runners that the course measured a little short of 13 miles and that the last 2 miles or so was a fairly flat packed surface without the single track tree cover looping a small lake.

My strategy was simply to get in decent position going into the trails, run comfortably for the first 4-5 miles, push through 5-10, and then hopefully have enough left to take advantage of what I was hoping would be a fast finishing 2-3 miles.  Before I even hit the trail head I knew footing was going to be a problem.  Even running the packed dirt / gravel surface it was noticeably different than the roads where I do nearly all of my running and needless to say I wasn't crazy about it and my feet were already grumpy.  I don't have any 'real' trail shoes so my shoe choice really came down to one thing - how dirty were my shoes going to get...

Since there hadn't been any rain in a few days I decided on wearing my Newton Motions over the Sir Issacs.  I rarely wear the Issacs unless I feel the need for additional support and/or stability which in hindsight would have been the wiser choice with my feet issues but I went with the Motions anyway.  As far as footing goes I'm not sure it would have mattered because I was fine running the flats and uphills but going downhill would have been slick in either shoe.  About two miles in I had my first close call and after watching the runner in front of me lose his footing on the frozen dew I followed suit with an arms flailing slide but recovered to keep my cheeks from kissing the ground.  The girl behind me wasn't so lucky based on the squeal and subsequent thud.  About a mile later I lost it though.  A slight change of direction to the left that my upper half was completely fine with but my feet -- not so much.  End result:  muddy glove, sore left butt cheek, and bruised ego.  I would later learn that Eric also joined me in the dirt squatters club while the others clearly were not matching the unleashing of our inner Dean Karnazes.  That or they are just more coordinated.

For the next hour or so we meandered through several miles of ups and downs with regular switchbacks which helped gauge the separation between the guys I was chasing and those chasing me.  The course was very well marked and I had no problem with footing after the first 4-5 miles or so.  There were some rocks and roots but no streams or water to deal with and the elevation changes weren't too bad either.  The elevation gain on the sustained uphills wasn't too great and the steeper sections were short and over with fairly quickly.  But make no mistake, the constant grind of going up and down, back and forth definitely takes a toll on your legs.  For me the aftermath was actually more soreness in my arms, shoulders and back than my legs.  In fact it feels a lot like I carried a small child with me yesterday.  If anybody would like some help with trail running form I would strongly suggest that you not ask me...

Despite most of the race being in the woods there were still several water stations - 4 for the 9 mile course and 6 for the 13 course.  The water was ice cold which is generally not my preference and was served up in small plastic cups so it made drinking on the run a bit difficult.  If you're one that walks through the water stops I guess it's a non-issue and based on the pace and temperature I didn't feel the need for much fluid during the race but if that's your thing you might want to plan for it and bring your own.

At about the 8 mile mark the 13 milers split off from the the 9 milers so if you're lucky, everyone you're chasing will be heading towards the finish but don't count on getting that lucky.  After about a 3/4 mile detour the 13 milers actually join back up with the 9 milers which creates a little congestion as the 13 milers are generally pacing a bit faster than the 9 milers but that far into the race there's enough thinning out of runners that getting through is really not that difficult.  It's just odd running near the same general group of runners for an hour plus then reintroducing a host of random runners you haven't seen before.

At 9 miles you can hear the finish and see folks making the turn for home which was awfully tempting but I made the hard right and kept on the 13 mile course.  I was feeling pretty good at this point but really had no idea about my positioning.  There was a runner about 100 yards in front of me and another 100 yards behind.  I knew I was almost through the single track portion and was really looking forward to the lake loop.  The lake loop was as advertised...flat, scenic, and provided a good opportunity to open it up a bit and get this thing over with.  I had worked up a nice blister but my legs felt good and my lungs were strong.  I was hoping for an age group award but I knew there were several quality runners around my age and trails completely negate any advantage turning over my longer legs might provide.  I also knew that several masters runners from Raleigh's Godiva Track Club made the trip last year so I expected some of them to be here this year.

Heading towards the final lake loop I managed to catch and pass a couple more runners before heading to the downhill finish where we met up with more 9 milers coming down the home stretch as well.  I finished with a respectable 1:45 which was good enough for a 2nd place age group award and took home a pretty cool cross section of a tree branch stamped with the race logo.

I've run a few trail races in my day but by no means do I consider myself a 'trail runner' so take my advice for what it's worth - which really shouldn't amount to much.  Don't ever go into one of these races concerned about pace.  My watched clocked the course at 12.5 miles but I saw Garmins ranging from 11.7 to near 13.0.  Presumably running in the thick cover makes it difficult to pick up a strong signal and obviously if the distance is off your calculated pace is going to be off as well.  You're better off just settling in and racing the field to your ability or comfort level, or to your discomfort level if you prefer.  Prior to running I had read that the race director suggested that runners should expect to run 1:00 minute per mile slower than road race pace on the trail.  I think one minute, at least on this course is really optimistic and probably only applies to experienced trail runners.  The rest of us are probably looking at something closer to 1:30.  And if you find yourself running in the rain or on wet trails I can definitely see this being a hot mess, or cold mess depending on the season which really throws pace out the window.

All in all it was a beautiful day for a fun race with great friends.  There were bagels and cookies at the finish in addition to water, Gatorade, and coffee.  Start2finish had kiosks setup so within minutes of finishing a guy punched in my number and handed me a ticket with my official results, time, and placement.  Tapsnap was also there and available for free pre and post race photos and would print, email, text, or upload photos wherever you wanted them - free of charge.  Pretty cool stuff I thought.


Any day I get to run with friends is an awesome day.  Eric Meredith and I being the elder statesmen of the group both left with age group awards and we all left with hoodies and empty stomachs on a mission to find a Five Guys which we did in short order!  Good times with good friends and hoping 2015 will be full of more of the same!