Dash Point 10K Trail Run

After Spartan I realized that I had no idea what I was doing when it came to running trails. 

Step 1- Buy trail shoes.

Step 2- Start running tails. 

Step 3- Sign up for a trial race.

Missions Tail Running= Accomplished!

On Saturday I ran my first 10k and my first trail race. 

It was MUDDY and WET! 5 other brave and amazing friends came out to run with me. At least it was warm. :)

(L-R: Erin, Sharla, Andi, Jennie, Jennifer and Me!)

Check-in was easy and the port-a-poties were clean. The race was put on my Evergreen Trail Runs. I definitely want to run another race with them. From start to finish I felt supported and at ease. 

I ran the race, I got dirty, I finished. My friends were amazing! We went to Panera afterwards for some hard earned soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. 

This blog post isn't about me. It's about Erin. 

Erin was my motivation during this run. 

A few months ago Erin joined my weekend running group for a trial run. It was her first group run ever. We promised 2 miles easy out and back. We got lost and it ended up being 4 miles. Amazingly, Erin came back! Over the past few months I have seen her getting stronger every week. 

While driving to the Dash Point run she mentioned that this was her first ever race. 10k trail run in the pouring down rain is a pretty hard core first race. I did tell her that she gets double bragging rights because of the weather.

As always, I told my fellow runners to leave me at any point and that I'd meet them at the finish line. Erin told me to go ahead, but I was committed to sticking with her until the finish. 

Within the first mile Erin had slipped (did I mention the mud?). She got right back up and kept on running. The first 2 miles were STEEP. At mile 2 there was a fuel station. We fueled up on PBJ and Nuun. How cool is that?! Homemade PBJ sandwiches as a fuel. Loved it! They also had M&Ms and other goodies. 

The volunteer told us we were halfway. I knew that was a lie. We were 1/3 done.  Can't fool me when I'm plugged in to my Nike app. :)

Erin took a deep breath and started back on the trail. At this point there were 3 of us in our group. The others had gone ahead. Erin took the lead with Jennie and I right behind her. She was amazing. She just kept going. Our scenery was amazing. 

Erin took this picture of me. She was already at the top of the hill. 

4 miles down. At some point I was in front and Erin kept pace with me. I know that she was tired. I was tired. It was hard. The 1/2 marathoners were starting to lap us. It didn't matter. We had our own race to finish. The coolest part of the race was when we got stuck behind someone and couldn't get around her. Erin tapped her on the shoulder and said "Excuse me, can we please go around". It was great! Erin, who 3 months ago had never run on a trail, was passing people. Being able to be a part of her success made me giddy. 

At mile 5 I made them stop for a mid race selfie. 

We finished. 

We were dirty. 

The rest of our team was waiting for us at the finish line.

 Erin's sheer determination to finish was such an inspiration to me. 
I always say, "I'm not fast, but I always finish". There are days that I don't feel like finishing. Watching Erin run her first 10k reminded me of how amazing it feels to achieve goals that seem impossible. 

This race was amazing for many reasons, but most of all because it reminded me what can happen when you remind yourself that the impossible is possible. 

Thanks Erin!

~Kari