Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Western Pacific Marathon (Trail) Mini Race Report, Fremont, CA. Event date: April 16, 2011

Me, frying around Mile 13 or Mile 14.  Pic taken by Endorphin Dude.

A bunch of running crazies very happy we had finished.  From right to left, me, Diane, Endorphin Dude, Ultra Woof, Mattsaurs, David and Chriss Bliss.

 Overall:
  1. This was my 1st trail marathon.  I generally prefer road events.
  2. Although most of the course was flat, the gravel kicked my behind.  I don't own any trail running shoes, so I couldn't tell if it would have made a difference or not.
  3. The weather also changed quickly from cold and windy to very hot past the 12.25 mile turnaround.  There was also no shade.
  4. I have the BMO Vancouver Marathon 2 weeks after this one, so I didn't want to messed things up for the event in Vancouver.
  5. Happy I finished and saw some familiar faces.  Very happy I finished!

The Course:
  1. Quarry Lakes Regional Park, Fremont, CA
  2. Initially, I jumped on this one because the course was flat. What I didn't expect until I was on the course was that the gravel made it way more challenging to run on.
  3. The only "hills" along the way were the descent and ascent underneath bridges where vehicles passed over from one side to the other side.  There were quite a few of them along the way.
  4. The multiuse paths were not too crowded.  I saw a few horses along the way.  A few folks were walking their dogs.  Once, I had to stop running because a dog decided to sniff me out.

 Weather:
  1. Windy and cold early on.
  2. Then, suddenly, it got very hot.

For this course next time, I'd shoot for a Half Marathon instead.

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