DNF – Palo Duro Trail Run 50-Miler

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Palo Duro Canyon, Texas
19 October 2013
37.5 miles finished in 9:02

This was my goal race for 2013 and I trained long and hard and traveled a long way to get to the starting line. Unfortunately, the finish line didn’t materialize for me.  After running three 50k races in the past 18 months, I was anxious to step up to another distance and I chose the Palo Duro Trail Run for a couple of reasons. One, it felt nostalgic and comforting to try something big and new “at home.” Two, I have hiked hundreds of miles in the canyon and I wanted to run somewhere familiar for a change.

Packet pick up took place on the night before the run at WTAMU, my alma mater. We were treated to a pasta dinner and a course overview. There was also a man there known as “The Ancient Brit” who is 86 years old and a friend of the race founder. He came to give a speech of encouragement to the runners and to present a proclamation to the park service from his home city of Westminster, England. It was pretty cool to hear about his experiences and the dinner gave me time to hang out with local runner friends and meet some new people. Read More

Run Buff 5k

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West Texas A&M University
13 April 2013
32:12 Finish

On vacation, I had the opportunity to run a 5k with my sister-in-law and her friend.  Both had run 5ks before, but not without stopping or walking, so they both had a goal to run the whole thing. I had a goal to have fun and get a good run in. The race was called the Run Buff 5k and was sponsored by the West Texas A&M University women’s cross country program to raise money for scholarships.

On race day, it was hot, windy, and stormy.  The race was delayed for about 30 minutes while we waited for a thunderstorm to blow over.  The wind, however, did not diminish.  We spent a full half of the race running headlong into 40+mph wind.   The course ran alongside the western perimeter of WT’s campus, then headed east for about a mile before winding back to the north and west—full sun, no shade.  Most of the run was on asphalt; the rest on concrete. Read More