ZombieRunner Bay Trail 1/2 Marathon Review, Palo Alto, CA. Event date: December 19, 2010.

Event:
ZombieRunner Bay Trail 1/2 Marathon
Baylands Nature Preserve
Palo Alto, CA
December 19, 2010

Palo Alto Baylands Nature Preserve, Palo Alto, CA.

This event was some experience.  By the time I finished, I felt like I did an agility event instead.

I went without my Garmin and didn't run with a camera.  Weather.com listed 100% precipitation during parts of the event, and it was spot on.  I am not ready to plunk down $$$s on another Garmin or another camera.

 

The following sums up how my event went: 

1. Snails crossing the trails - I had to slow down to avoid stepping on them.
2. Cold - Brrr!!!
3. Rain - Wet. Ugh!!!
4. Wind gusts – At some points, trying to walk straight was a challenge; never mind trying to run.
5. Puddles galore – It felt like I was doing tire drills without the tires but trying to avoid the puddles, and there were lots of puddles.
6. Very slippery muddy sections – Nothing like slipping and sliding around each time my foot hits the ground.  I am amazed I didn’t fall down and went splat in the mud.

The following were unique things I saw along the way:

1. Palo Alto Municipal Golf Course - I kept thinking some errant golf ball was going to whack me as I went by.
2. Palo Alto Airport - The commuter planes look great to me when they were sitting on the ground.  But, it was a bit uneasy running when I had to run perpendicular across the runway where the planes came in for a landing or take off.

Overall, I am very happy I didn't slip along the muddy surfaces and fell into mud.  I'll be even happier if I am not sick the day after this event.

Here's a pic of the bling:

2010 ZombieRunner Bay Trail 5 Mile, 1/2 Marathon and Marathon bling.

For the event course profile, click here.

Gun time:  3:03:27
Guestimate gross calories burned: 1,400


A big thanks to ZombieRunner, a trail running and hiking store in Palo Alto, CA, for the awesome goodie bags.

Nibbles in the goodie bag, included a Bonk Breaker bar and a Clif gel.

A nice surprise in the goodie bag:  a ZombieRunner cap.

And, a BIG hand to the great volunteers who braved the cold and rain to support the event.  It was cold enough running and wogging along during the event for the participants.  I can't imagine what it was like for the volunteers who didn't move much during the event.