i was having doubts about this race. friday i was kind of freaking out. i haven’t been running on the “real trails” since my half marathon at the end of january. sure i had endurance on the road, but trails with all the hills are another story. on top of that a big storm came into the bay area on friday drenching us with more rain. i seriously considered dropping down to a shorter distance, or even not showing up at all. friday afternoon i told myself to suck it up and to do the whole 30k (18.6 miles), because i knew i would be happy i did.
i woke up saturday morning to the sound of rain. i had been checking the forecast and saw it wasn’t supposed to be raining in oakland, where the race was held, by the time it started. i prayed the forecasters were right. i do love to run in the rain, but that i would say is more pavement running. running on the trails in the wet mud is a different story. i wasn’t sure i was up for 18+ miles of mud like i saw in the last trail race i did. i hoped for the best got ready and was out the door by 7:15.
i decided to wear shorts since the temps were in the 50’s. then i went with my nike vest on top incase it did rain since its waterproof. i wore short sleeves under that and then added my arm warmers to keep my arms warm at the start and wherever else i needed. this was the best outfit choice ever! i was so glad i decided to wear this.
i made it to oakland by 7:40 and parked very close to where the race started. i picked up my bib and came back to my car to sit for a while. just after 8 i decided to head to the bathrooms then to the start and i got out of my car and ran into my friend layla from twitter who i had met at the PCTR angel island race! we seriously couldn’t have planned it better if we were trying. i was very happy to see her since i was there all by myself and feeling pretty lonely at that point.
after waiting in the bathroom line for a while, i made it down to the start just as everyone was lining up for announcements. the 30k and the 50k were starting together so it was actually a really big group! i was chatting with the guy next to me and i said my name and somehow tim overheard me and introduced himself. it was nice to have another friend out there!
soon enough we were off! it’s always so congested at the start of these races as all the runners funnel onto narrow trails. plus there is usually a hill to start with too. about 1.5 miles in all of a sudden EVERYONE was stopped. we couldn’t really see what was going on, but eventually we got there. a huge tree branch had fallen and each person had to climb through one by one to get on the other side. i think we spent almost 5 minutes waiting there! i got to chat with some girls behind me though, and one was telling me about how amazing big sur marathon is so i was stoked 
i continued on running, we were on some wide trails and eventually made our way to single track. it is SO beautiful out there, so green and lush. it was pretty muddy too so you definitely had to watch your feet, but it was runnable. i ran quite a few miles with tim so it was nice to chat with him! eventually we split up and i went on my way. i tried taking some pictures but turns out most of them were blurry. i was trying to multitask by taking them while running but that didn’t seem to work out so well with all the tree cover. i will get it figured out! it’s too bad cause i really wanted to show you guys how pretty it was out there!
booo blurry 
the 30k is the 20k course with a 10k section of out and back in the middle. this part was a little rough going out, but we got to climb to the top of the mountain and have some great views.
since it was out and back on this section, the leaders were coming back at you and there were a couple of big up and down hills, plus it was really muddy. i was pretty tired in these couple miles, but i eventually made it to the aid station and had them refill my water bottle and got out of there quick. i had taken a gu around 5-6 miles, and took another one between 9 and 10. up to this point there had been tons of runners around me, but as i headed back out i noticed it was getting scarce.
pretty soon i was by myself all alone out on the trails but i was enjoying myself. i was getting tired and my legs were sore but i kept pushing along. it was weird, i remember being at 4 miles… then i remember looking at 9 miles, then i would be at 15. i guess i just wasn’t really paying much attention to my watch or something?
around mile 13, still all by myself, i came upon this huge puddle that covered the entire trail. i stopped for a minute, looked for alternate routes around it, but nope it was the way. there was even a pink ribbon hanging right above it. only one way through…
this puddle was cold! although my feet were muddy before, they managed to be semi-dry. not anymore! i got through and made it to other side
i got warm a couple times and rolled down my sleeves, but then i would hit a cold patch again and pull them up. this was so great.
i would come up on runners every now and then and i continued to pass people. i was trying to run as much as i could, but there were still some sections where the hills were just too big! i was still having fun though and took another gu around 14 miles.
the last aid station was around mile 16 so i knew i only had a couple more miles to go. i started seeing a lot of runners here and would use them as bait to pass. it felt like we kept going up and i was ready for the downhill back to the start. well i got it finally but it was a pretty rough downhill and muddy too so i had to be careful. soon enough we came into the clearing and i saw the finish line ahead. happy!!!
layla even had perfect timing to snap a couple of pics of me finishing – thanks girl!
chris had joked to me the night before that it would take me as long to run this race as it did my last marathon. i didn’t think that was actually so funny, i thought it would be pretty close. turns out i hit the magic number
garmin results: 18.2 miles/3:40:22/12:06 avg pace
official results: 18.6 miles/3:40:34/11:52 avg pace
overall: 43/90, AG 4/10
the website says 3070 feet of elevation gain… but when i plugged in garmin it says 4914!
i chatted with layla and her friends and saw tim come in to the finish line too. it was nice to have friends out there when i thought i was going to be alone i walked back to the car where all my warm clothes were but made sure to snap a pic of the muddiness first.
overall a great day out there! it was TOUGH… it was hilly, muddy and very tiring, but it was awesome. i am so glad i did it. my legs are pretty tired today now but nothing a good night’s sleep and recovery run won’t fix. i still definitely have things to learn when it comes to trail running, but i am really proud of the effort i put out there today, especially since i don’t have “trail legs” right now. i kept strong, picked it up the second half (my avg pace on the second half was 46 per mile seconds faster than the first half), and finished with a big smile – what more could you ask for?
Awesome race!!! Getting your "trail legs" under you isn't easy! I'm running a PCTR race next weekend down here and my tail legs are no where around! I'll try to channel you!!
I'm so glad you had a great race!
Muddy legs are hot!
Congrats on a well run race!! I am glad you enjoyed yourself and I cannot wait for our run next weekend!
Congrats on the race, it looks like a lot of fun!
Great pictures and recap. You were awesome out there!
Awesome job, Aron! It's funny…I literally said out loud OMIGOSH when I saw that puddle…it resembles some of my snow water puddles in the park (you sure you don't want to trade your mud for my snow). I can so see it being beautiful though, although what is up with your trail races and mud? Haha! Great job! Officially jealous now =P
I'm so glad you had a good time and that the weather cooperated with you, for the most part.
I am doing a PCTR race next weekend (the same one as Penny) and will think of you. There is a river crossing that really has me nervous. But if you can go through a huge puddle, I can cross a little river.
Great race! Isn't it nice to run a race without the pressure of the clock. We run so many road races with time goals and PR's in mind. On the trails, it is just about the running.
Great job! Sounds like an awesome race … well, except maybe for that puddle!
congrats, Aron! It sounds like fun – I'm glad you had a good race!
Puddles are such a dilemma. I had a couple on my long run yesterday (we got a ton of rain). Great job on the run!
Great job being able to fight the mud!
Hi Aron,
I am a follower of Tim's at Bay Area Runner. He had your link included in his race report…I had to check it out:) Awesome job on the challenging trail run!! You finished like a pro and with a smile on your face!! I was just looking at your times and you are so fast!! Good job!!
Great job Aron! It looks like a beautiful race! That puddle seems huge!! Congrats!
Great job girl. I've never run a trail for that long. Very respectable pace for sure!! I'm sure the pictures don't do the elevation justice!
awesome job! i don't even want to know how hard this was… that 4mi trail race i did was the death of me
i can imagine how hard it was – i am impressed!
Great pictures. Looks like you had a blast. Crazy mud puddle. Glad you had a fun time out there. Well done!
love the pictures! and muddy races! congrats on a wonderful job, makes me want to go back out and hit the trails
I enjoyed your race report & am glad you enjoyed the muddy trails of the Oakland hills!!
Whoa, that is hardcore! Nice work.
Wow, it seems like all the bloggers I read are doing trail races these days! Thanks for such a great race report and congrats on the awesome performance!
Sound like it was a great trail run! Congrats on a job well done.
I love all the pictures!
Nice job on the race! And nice mud patterns!
Great report and awesome job!! That elevation must have been rough. And 4th in your AG…nice work!
that looks like a beautiful and BRUTAL race. so fun! i loved the pics, even if they were blurry!
Great job on the trail race! Looks like a fun time.
Nice trail race sweetie!!
You rocked it out there! So proud of you!! that sounds crazy!
Nice Aron! I ran in similar conditions today too as far as the mud was concerned. Even encountered a big puddle just like the one you took a pic of.
The 30K is a good distance. Challenging enough to get a good workout in without taking too much out of ya.
Great job Aron – so happy you're getting into running on trails!
Congrats on a fantastic race! The pictures being blurry just make it look like you're running super fast!
How funny that it turned out to be your (BQ!!!!!!) marathon time. Congrats! That is a long way to run on the trails. Sounds like a great experience.
Great run girly! Wish I had joined you!!!
nice job on hitting 3:40 again
I know trails can be tough, I swore them off after Malibu last year because of the elevation! 
Great job though you mud lover! Hope the soreness goes away soon.
Great race! So glad you did it and took us through it with you.
Funny – I try to take pics on the run as well. it just doesn't work.
Wish we had a trail race around here – now you have my heart pumping.
Good, GREAT job!
Congrats on the return to trail racing! I've only done one so far, and it was so easy that it shouldn't even be considered a trail… so I'm still scared to do more. You're inspiring me though!
Congrats on pushing yourself to do this, despite the elements!! It's def not easy to hit the trails when you know what your'e in for (i.e. mud, puddles and more mud!
)
that's the fun thing about trail races – you end up racing by yourself against yourself. that way you always win! good job.
Awesome job on the trial race. It looks like a blast!
You are turning so hard core! See, if I did these types of trail runs, it would take me ALL day! Looks like a lot of fun! Maybe I'll try a 10K or something one day.
GOOD WORK! Love the pictures.. oh looking at those dirty shoes makes me CRINGE…
Very cool run! Well, except for the puddle. I HATE SQUISHY FEET!!! Four thousand feet of elevatoin gain – that's impressive!
Great race!!! I'm so glad you did well and had a blast! I keep losing track of when you are a racing…you are doing so many!!!
Love the mud and views.
woot woot you rocked it girl! such great scenery and I am glad the weather cooperated for you
I need to get out there and check out some of the trails soon…we should plan a run one weekend we're all free 
I haven't done much trail running but what little I have done has been TOUGH, much more difficult than running a road race, for sure. Congrats on getting your butt to the race and finishing with a smile!!!
(Can you believe I used to live in Piedmont and had no idea that park was even there?)
That's awesome!!! I really want to get into trail running but sadly, we're getting out of trail running season in Texas. I'm all ampe dup about it, but, the races don't start up again until the fall!
The puddle- loved that puddle! You don't know me, but I ran through that SAME PUDDLE last weekend in the 30K! Honestly, cold but never felt anything so refreshing on my burning feet. Glad someone else took the direct route and got a photo of it too! Nice work on your run. What's next? ~Sarah Weigel