So I did a training run last Sunday on some trails near race territory. The trails happened to be hike/bike trails and I didn’t think much of it – until I got there and noticed the lot was packed - and I was the only one on foot. Nervous and new to the one-way system that keeps runners counter-clockwise to avoid be ran over by bikers, I set out on the most crazy yet beautiful ten-mile trail run of my life.
The completely wooded and winding trail was 18 inches wide on average. Mountain bikers whizzed by sporadically, shouting “Runner up! Two more behind me!” I pushed my headband off my ears and tried like heck to catch the sound of whizzing of bike wheels and flashes of neon jerseys in enough time to hop off the trail and prevent a major crash and burn. My eyes were in constant search of the next safe place to hop to; there were many angels on this trail, I am certain. I was glad to be called a runner, not a hiker or jogger.
The scenery was absolutely gorgeous and the trails were adventurous. There were limbs to duck under, logs to hop over, ridges above swamps to fall off of, and thorns, thorns, thorns. I didn’t make the complete ten-mile run, I switched over to a run/walk at mile six and a complete walk at mile eight.
I must say that I will never run a shared trail again. Not that I have anything against mountain bikers, in fact I learned that they are some of the friendliest, most down-to-earth athletes out there, like the hippies of bikers (I was asked if I needed bug spray, cheered on, and even asked if I wanted to share a watermelon when I returned to the parking lot). It’s just not worth the stress.
But it was amazing. And every time I get out of my office chair, my calves and hips remind me just how amazing it was. Talking with a runner/biker in the parking lot on my way out I learned that there is a run/ski only trailhead across the street. That’s where I’ll be next Sunday with my new Camelbak – one with pockets big enough to carry a travel-sized Off.
Tags: nature, Running, trail, trail running, VFF
Sounds like a good run, I run around mountain bikers and they are allways cool. But it is nice to be on a trail with no one at all, so you just do your own pace!