Fossil Rim 9 hour Run

   The previous weekend I had ran 44 miles with the highlight being surving a near DNF because of time.  All week my feet hurt and walking was limited, much less dreaming of running a race.  Blisters under the pads of your feet heal slow  unless you go see a doctor. Which being a man, I'm hard headed and so I suffer through it.  Running a race was the last thing on my mind but really wanted to get a few miles in Saturday  morning and the plan was to take a cooler of beer and cheer on my friends running the race.

   Saturday morning rolled around and I made plans to meet my friend Lisa in Oak Cliff to try out my feet and see how I felt. She mentors a group so we got there early to make sure the trail was clear before her group arrived. Away we went with me taking the spider webs on. I'd never ran that trail before but it was great. Great until about .10 before the loop ended and I tripped up and crashed into a log. After shaking it off we headed back. Next loop was with the group and I still had a little blood coming out so I go to the rear and 2nd hill I hit the ground again. Dang, just wasn't my morning! I let the group drop me and go on and I decided just to jog n get my head straight. After a wrong turn n doing the main loop twice I was ok. I finally met back up with Lisa and we finished out her group run plus the extra miles she needed. I was at 13 and was happy but sore. Off for a tacos and a nap. 

  After a great nap and hot shower I felt awesome so I made a quick decision to give up on spectating Saturday night and go run Fossil Rim.  It's a 2.69 mile loop at Cedar Ridge Preserve. I heard it had 300ft of elevation gain per loop and after running numerous times there  I know it well. The format is either a 3,6 or 9 hour race with everyone doing as many loops as possible during their allotted time. My goal going in was to hit 27 miles in order to have a 40 mile weekend and then just see friends. I got there early to get my face time with friends I seldom see. That's part of why I run in the 1st place.  

 At 10pm sharp the race started with the 6 and 9 hour runners with me doing the 9 hour. A friend told me on a Facebook post that when he thinks of me, he thinks of moderation.  Pretty sure it's not running Sam! The race had the usual suspects with speed up front. Those guys and girls are fun to watch! I started with a friend and we hung out mid pack until the trail and runners separated us. We hooked back up at the start but her pace at that point was more than I wanted. The next 3 loops I ran alone other than chatting with a few people along the way. Just a nice easy night! Loop 5 I hooked up with my friend Jacqueline and we walked a lot  just talking and solving the world problems. Yup, the girl has all the answers!!! It's always fun running with her! After that loop and looking at the clock, I had plenty of time so I sat down with a Coke n Snickers I'd brought and chatted with my awesome friends manning the one aid station until my friend came back around. After 40 minutes she showed up and we ran the next 5 loops together finishing up at 7.  This was a great event! Thomas Orf won it but stayed and cheered on every finisher! The guy is a great runner and 1st class act. Seeing so many great runners from all over Texas was great and the volunteers were wonderful! Endurance Buzz ie:David Hanneburg always puts on great events and I would recommend his races to either a first time trail runner or an elite. They never dissapoint! 

Takeaways- I felt like crap all week but after getting started it went away and I felt great! Never convince yourself you can't do anything! Also it's possible to spend the night with someone,lose your underwear ie:chafing and still have fun running! The feet feel great and now it's about getting ready to finish the Captain Karl 60k series! Til next time #RunStrong