My first ever trail race. Tons of fun.
I have had the Great Lincoln Steeplechase on my radar for a couple of years now. It's not really a "Steeplechase", but more of a play on words since this trail race starts in a Church parking lot. There ended up being about 70 entrants for the 2014 race. I thought that my buddy Kris was going to run, but the stars didn't align for him and he couldn't make it. Anyways, I wasn't feeling very competitive and thought that I might just make this a 6.7 mile trail jaunt instead of a race. The temps were in the low 80's with some good humidity and my excuses for not wanting to run hard were adding up. I saw some young cross-country guys and some very fit looking older dudes in the parking lot. I heard one of the older dudes say that he was looking to run about 48 minutes. Perfect..... I knew who I would be following for the beginning of the race.
Right from the start, a pack of fifteen runners took the race out hard. I was content to stick with Frank, as I would learn his name from people cheering along the course. Frank took us through the first mile in under 7 minutes. He was right on track. I then felt him slowing and passed him on the biggest climb on the course, "The Stairway to Heaven". There were actually railroad ties set into the side of this hill acting as a sort of staircase. Once at the top, I ended up catching two young guys and hung with them for a bit. I could tell that these guys were struggling and pushed ahead. Right after the pass there was a rooty, rocky bomber of a downhill. It was the type of hill that was so steep and long, that I was windmilling my arms on the way down riding the edge of out of control. I made it to the bottom unscathed and was rewarded with some flat smooth single track. I rolled through this section in no man's land for a mile or two. After what seemed like a long time alone, I was able to see another runner far down a long straight stretch. I had my rabbit! I reeled the shirtless man in after a half mile or so and passed him just as we came out of the woods and onto the sidewalk for the last .7 mile stretch. It felt good to be on familiar ground, and I was able to drop the pace to 5:59 and come real close to catching the 6th place runner. He beat me by three seconds. Not enough real-estate left for me to get him. I know what he looks like...... next year. 6:54 avg.
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