“Grin & Bear It” 25K Trail Race in Crested Butte, Colorado
All smiles at the starting line
This past weekend I ran my first trail race ever. This spring I had a desire to sign up for something competitive that I would need to train for so I decided a 25k trail race was just what I was looking for. The “Grin & Bear It” trail run in Crested Butte, Colorado caught my eye and next thing I knew, I was registered.
I had hoped to train for the race for 2-3 months, but unfortunately the sprained ankle from the Canyonlands backpacking trip we did in April made my training calendar much more abbreviated. I didn’t really start training until June which gave me 6 weeks, including a taper, to get in shape for the race. I quickly ramped up on miles, doing most training runs either in Dillon or Breckenridge after work. I tapered my training in July.
I had no idea how ready I was for the race or even what pace to expect. I had confidence I would be able to finish the 25k, but I had no idea how I’d do on a relative basis to the other racers. There was only one way to find out!
On the morning of Saturday, July 16, Mike and I lined up at the starting line for the race. The race would start at the Crested Butte Nordic Center, go up Baxter Gulch, up and over Gibson Ridge to Green Lake, and then loop back down the Green Lake trail back to the Nordic Center. The route was between 15-16 miles with 2800 vert.
The race started out in a big mob of people, with many going too fast (myself included) right from the start. In the first 3 miles, I both passed a lot of people, but also got passed by a lot of people. At this point, the racers started spreading out so I really had no idea how close I was to the back of the pack (I knew I certainly wasn’t in the front!).
The first six miles were a combination of running and striding as it was a pretty consistent uphill grade those first six miles, and they contained most of the vert. Once I got over Gibson Ridge, I was able to run for the remainder of the race as the uphills weren’t too long and it was mostly downhill. When I got to Green Lake, I tapped the tree and turned around to go back down the Green Lake Trail. I passed quite a few people on my way down to the finish, but had no idea if they were in the 25k or 15k race; the 15k race was also on this trail as well. I really picked up my pace in the last mile, mostly because I was ready to stop running and there was French toast waiting for me at the finish line.
Later that afternoon the results were in and with my time of 3 hours 14 minutes and 33 seconds, I had come in 11th place out of 39 for the women’s 25k division. I am very happy with that result and wonder if it means I should do another race next year… :)
For now, I’m happy to give my body a rest from running and focus on some other activities.
