well they definitely weren’t kidding when they warned us there was mud.
my morning didn’t start off that great. i did my usual pre-race routine, but my phone charger broke and so my phone wasn’t fully charged which just irritates me. then, when i got in my car to go pick up katie and jolynn at our meeting spot my car wouldn’t start. fun times. luckily chris was home and didn’t need his truck so i was able to take it to meet them and was only a couple minutes late.
we made it to the start of the race around 8, so we had an hour to spare. i had picked up our goodie bags and bibs but we had to get our timing chips there so we picked those up, hit the porta potties, and got back into the car to stay warm. about 15 minutes to race time we headed to the start line to line up. we said goodbye to jolynn since she was doing the 10k and starting later than us and katie and i lined up. neither of us had any big plans for this race, we just wanted to have fun and enjoy ourselves. i brought my camera along and got lots of pics for the report!
the course had to be changed since there was so much mud out there, and it was still very muddy. the half marathon started, did about a mile out and back and then joined in with the 5k and 10k that were just starting. we were running on wide fire-ish type roads just cruising along for the first couple miles.
around mile 4 the mud and hills got really bad. hills are hard enough to run up but when they were soaked in slippery mud it made it nearly impossible. katie and i were sliding ALL over the place and she even had her shoe come off in the thick mud.
the shoes don’t look too bad yet
those people way up there, that’s where we are going!
we made our way to the top of the hill and were rewarded with some beautiful views. the half marathoners had to go on another out and back portion. at first it was a runable wide path, but then we were greeted with more mud.
we were having a great time chatting and laughing through all the madness. there were MANY parts of this race where it was just impossible to run, but we made the most of it. it was a beautiful day out and we were happy to be out there enjoying it.
after the out and back we made our way back up to where we split from the 10k, then went up another big hill and were rewarded with beautiful views in each direction. you could see martinez, the bay, walnut creek and mt. diablo!
mt. diablo straight ahead!
stopping for a timer pic 
then we were greeted with more mud. at this point i was just having a blast flying through it all. i didn’t care about my shoes or my feet or anything anymore and i was splashing around in the mud like a 6 year old kid
i think we got lost somewhere between mile 10 and 11 because we couldn’t find the mile markers or ribbons, but we heard a group of people and were able to get where they were. finally we were at mile 12 and were rewarded with the best present of all… single track trails! i had been telling katie these were the most fun to run and we didn’t have any up until this point, so we had fun running these and trying not to slide off.
we were sooo close to the finish, i could hear the cheering, but we had to climb down some SUPER slippery muddy stairs (someone was there warning people), then we got to cross through a creek and climb some more stairs before coming out into the open and seeing the finish line!
i heard jolynn scream for us and we both ran through the finish with big smiles, arms in the air, and covered in mud.
garmin results: 12.91 miles/2:41:58/12:32 avg pace (once again i forgot to turn off auto pause)
official results: 13.1 miles/2:55:52/13:25 avg pace, overall 62/93, AG 3/5
katie, me and jolynn already cleaned up
overall it was SUCH a fun time. the mud was rough, i would have liked to be able to run more and better, but it was definitely an experience i will never forget. it was a beautiful day and we lucked out with not having any rain in addition to the mud. i had so much fun running the whole thing with katie and i hope we can get out on the trails again soon!
I'm putting my post together right now. It was a riot!
mud = fun!! love all the pictures and your recap. feeling like a 6-year old is the best feeling ever!! and now i want to go running again today
Oh man! That seems like so much fun! The views were so beautiful too! With such a rough morning you sure did kick some butt in the mudd!
That looks freaking AWESOME! How fun and great views! Thanks for bringing your camera.
Congrats!! It looked like SUCH a fun time
I definitely want to look into trail runs soon.
How FUN!! A friend of mine ran the 10K this morning and got lost with a group of guys. They somehow ended up in a residential area and knocked on someone's door to get directions. Too funny! Love the mud!
Congrats! It looks like a ton of fun, mud included!
Looks SO FUN! I love all the beautiful views. The views in trail running make it all worth it hey! Can't believe how much mud you had on your shoes/legs though!!
Sounds like a lot of fun! Thanks for all the great photos! Awesome recap!
It looks like you had a wonderful time! I love the before and after shoe pics.
Yikes on the mud!! I love the before and after of your shoes, too! Those races are the best, though – just going out and having a blast with good friends. And mud! Congrats!!!
My word, those are some sweet looking views…great job Aron. The race looked like it was a BLAST!
That just looks like so much fun! And you look very happy – what a way to start the weekend!
Ok I'm seriously jealous! That looks like so much fun! Uber muddy or not! Great job ladies!!!
looks like a great time!!!
Looks like a lot of fun!! Love all the pics!
Your pictures make me want to be there playing too! There's so much greenery and so much mud!
Great job on the run, and congrats on third in your age group!
Looks like a great time!
so pretty!
Squish squash! I can just imagine the feeling of slipping and sliding around.
Awesome pictures Aron. Thanks for taking thm and sharing them!
you got some really great pictures!!!!! it does look like a beautiful day and a fun course, tho you would have to take a more laid back approach to running it for sure! glad you enjoyed yourself
and had friends there, too!
Great pictures! Your race sounded like so much fun! Great that you guys got to run it together.
Whoa, that is a lot of mud!!! Glad you had such a good time and congrats on doing so well!
Whoa! That is a lot of mud…and looks like a lot of fun! I don't know if I could do 13 miles in this mud.
Even though it was muddy, it looks like you had a great time!! Way to go girl!!
Looks like so much fun and great new challenge. What a beautiful course.
Sounds like good, dirty fun!
Looks like a beautiful trail run! SO much mud though! I hope those shoes get clean! Great job!
This product has been a HUGE HIT for marathon runners-thought I'd share!
http://www.youtube.com/nurichegoodness#p/u/15/OSuplzv56Ys
http://www.NuricheWell.com
I'd love to get your thoughts!
Awesome! That mud is insane. What a beautiful route though- definitely worth it.
Great job out there!
Those views look amazing! Congrats on a great run!
I think you did a lot better with the mud than I would have.
Looks like a very challenging but fun run, glad you enjoyed love all the pictures wish it got that green here.
That looks INSANE!!! I can't imagine running 13 miles through that mud. Awesome that you had so much fun and those views are incredible.
That looks like so much fun…mud, hills, trails, and great scenery. You guys are hardcore runners! Congrats.
That sounds absolutely amazing! I love when I'm running and I get to feel like I'm a kid again. It's the best.
Happy Monday!
Fun stuff! Yuck on the mud but those views look absolutely amazing!
I had a blast! I think I'm in love! So glad we got to get dirty together!
Fun, Fun, FUN!!!
I don't know how you managed to not get mud on the camera lens, though. Awesome job!
What amazing views! I can't imagine running in so much mud! Awesome job!
Sounds like it was a blast! The pictures were great. Thanks for sharing! Great job!
It looks like so much fun!! Congratulations on the trail race!
Great job! It looks like so much fun!
Looks like a complete blast! Minus all the mud! Sheesh, that is hardcore. Great pictures though, super glad you brought your camera!
Trail races sound more like an adventure than a race =).
Looks like a great time!
Looks very tough but also looks like a lot of fun!!
Looks like such a fun race. Man your socks must have been squishing around in your sneakers like crazy with all that mud.
that looks great!! how fun! and the views, what a great race!
How beautiful! Those views were definitely worth getting a little dirty
looks like SO much fun!!!! I wanna run one you with
Woooooooooooow. They weren't kidding when they warned about mud!! Looks like you had a good time though.
Great running, Aron!!
What a great race! Mud, views and trails = awesomeness.
i love the pics! soo pretty. i would have definitely wiped out in all that mud somewhere
I don't know how I missed this race report. Thanks for pointing me back to it on Twitter. Yep…I can see how 19 miles of this could be tough. 19 miles… random distance, isn't it? So when are you taking the leap to a 50K? I am seriously considering it.
Great race report, btw.