The Bartram Forest 50K/Marathon is one of my most favorite races. It is a relatively easy trail race with all the works. The food is plenty, the volunteers are da bomb, the bathroom is inside an building, there is no time limit, it is local, and my running buddies make up about 25% of the race. The course itself is a 5.25 mile loop. There is some single track, some gravel, a little mud, but mostly it is like running on a mowed front yard.
I had the pleasure of running with a friend on her first marathon attempt. You know, it is always an honor to be with someone when they cross the finish line for the first time.
Before race day we are told to wear bright clothing. It is hunting season and apparently this park is now open to hunting. Ahhh, there is nothing like running in the woods with the slight nagging fear of being mistaken for a deer and shot. I bought 2 bright orange hats for my friend and myself.
As usual I made a wrong turn and got off the race trail. What makes this odd is that it happened about the first 1/10th a mile of the race. I went out for an early start with a few friends that wanted to finish early. (Allowed by RD as long as we keep track of our start time). Silly us followed the trail the race took the previous 2 years. The course was changed from the year before. It was really fun to see the front runners jog past us on their first loop. (We of course are now going the wrong way on the trail). OK, so we did a 5K before we hit the trail for the “real” loops.
Stef (accidental marathoner), Tim, Deb (doing her 1st marathon), and me
So, we hit the aid station shed outerwear, get some water, snacks because the fudge was really good and headed out onto the trail….this time in the correct direction and trail. So we run loops 2, 3, 4, and then take the trail backwards (on purpose) for loop 5 just for a change. We still had a few miles to make up so we went back out onto the trail for another 1.75 miles, turned around and came back in. Thank goodness for Garmins!
Another thing I like about this race is the finish prize….A gingerbread man. OK, so it is not really a good finisher medal for someone’s first marathon but it was darned tasty.
Oddly enough one of the ladies that went out with us in the beginning only planned on doing just 15 miles (3 loops). We were having so much fun (and she was still feeling good) that she continued with us until the end. So not only did she run an accidental marathon but she PR her marathon time to boot. What an incredible day!!!
As for my friend who finished her first marathon, I think I’m going to give her one of my generic medals from a previous race and make some type of plaque for her that contains her finish line photo and medal.
| 