• Exquisitely planned route with aid stations every 2 miles or so (no need even for a hand bottle)
• Trail markers every quarter-mile!
• Mostly single track, occasional jaunt through a field, a little bit of asphalt–almost entirely runnable

Opportunities for improvement

• Start time was pushed back 30 minutes but I had no idea until I arrived on race morning–a bit annoying but I assume there was a good reason for it
• Confusing to navigate at major intersections (coming out of north loop, where to go after coming into start/finish after finishing north loop)
• Better beverages – only Gatorade as electrolyte replacement and unfortunately no soda :-(
• Directions to the race, particularly getting through Stillwater, weren’t that great

Heading back out for the south loop

The weather was absolutely perfect. Unfortunately, earlier in the week the weather was anything but perfect–tornado warnings, heavy rains, and continuous thunderstorms for days. That resulted in high water at the lake and only a mile into the run, I encountered water up to my knees at a creek crossing and then water over the ankles along the road. Oh, but there was more to come … a lot more. Shortly after the first aid station, I was noticing that the trail seemed to be going directly into the lake. Then it took a left turn but there was still a lot of water right in front of me. There was a reason for that. Upon closer inspection, I could spot wooden stakes with orange ribbons tied to them. I eased down into the water and proceed to cross about 30 yards of mid-thigh-high water. Oh yes, and did I mention that it was in the 40s at race start?! Truly, if I’d had a bike I could have made this a triathlon because this water was deep and wide enough to get in a swim.

But the water crossings turned out to be a good thing. I’ve really not had to deal with them in a major way before. Save for the standing water in McAllister Park in San Antonio at Prickly Pear, I have definitely never encountered the type of water crossing where you might feel more comfortable with a rope to hold onto. But I made it through, of course not without another crossing on the south loop.

Endurance wise I did very well through even the 10-mile mark. I was power walking the uphills and really never stopping except to get a quick sip of Gatorade and a piece of dried pineapple at the aid station. I did a good job of not taking any more time than was necessary at the aid stops, too. After I went through the aid station on the south loop (and met the TATURs crew for the first time), I started feeling like my energy was running out. I throttled back the pace to try and keep going as much as I could. Along a long inlet, the trail was rather runnable on both sides so I tried to take advantage of that. The constant quarter-mile markers were really helpful in staying motivated to keep going because at this point I could tell I would finish without having to do much more walking.

The last 1.5 miles could have gone a little better and I was definitely having to push it to maintain a decent pace. I started leapfrogging with a few guys who were trying to manage their amount of walking, too. They probably started 30 minutes after me and were hauling it a lot harder than me. But I was content just doing my own thing (I didn’t even have a watch on and was truly out there enjoying my time on the trail).

After a staircase style finish (reminded me of the Rockledge Rumble, particularly with the lake backdrop), I bagged my first finish since Lean Horse and collected the famous set of coasters as a finisher’s award. All in all, this was one of my favorite trails and ranks right up there with Palo Duro in terms of enjoyment.

I’ve picked out my first race to enter, the Lake McMurtry Trail Runs over in Stillwater on April 19th. Today I mailed in my entry for the 25K which should still be a formidable challenge given that I haven’t been running since I got to Tulsa. I’ve got to get at it this weekend which is why I picked up a new pair of trail shoes tonight. After the blister disaster at Lean Horse with the Montrail Hardrock, I’ve decided to go with the New Balance 608.

And I couldn’t move to Tulsa without joining the local trail running club. I am now member #160 in the Tulsa Area Trail & Ultra Runners club.