I don’t think I’ve mentioned it, or not a lot, that I have a race coming up. I use the term race loosely though, as I don’t really “race” trail races. The trail game is strong here in Arizona; I think the trail game is strong everywhere, lol! Those runners are a different breed! So I don’t go in with any expectations other than to have fun running where I love to the most, out in the middle of nowhere.

I love road running, too. But I think it’s easier to get bogged down by the numbers. Out on the trails, I always absentmindedly turn on my watch, mostly out of habit than anything else. Because out there, time doesn’t matter.

The cacti, the dirt, the purple mountains, the breeze, the wild—all of that matters. They don’t care about how fast you’re going.

On the road, everyone seems preoccupied by numbers. The cars zooming to their destination over the speed limit, the stoplight and its countdown blinking how long I have before I can cross, the people on their phones distracting themselves , tapping their steering wheel impatiently. And me, looking down at my watch, how long have I been running, how far have I gone…

****

Anyway, I’m looking forward to my race on Saturday. It’s a 27k out in the mountains closest to where I live, so it’s not too far, and it’s trails I’m familiar with. It’s at night with a start time of 7:30.

Here’s the course elevation (I learned from my first one to look at those things, lol):

It’s a 3 loop course of the 9k–I kinda like that because that means I’ll pass through the start, and the crowds, a few times. I have a ton of friends doing this race and I know that it’s just going to be a blast 🙂

More after the race!!

–Do you like trail running/racing?

–Have you done a night race before? How’d you like it? (I’ve done 3– two trail and one road one in Canada!)