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| held upright with a tree branch. |
The night before the race, all participants received an email from the race organizer. The subject line stated in all-caps: “VERY CHALLENGING COURSE!” It read:
Given the conditions, each runner is asked to carefully consider their own situation and act responsibility. The towpath is covered with 4 to 6 inches of snow, ice and slush. It is slippery and wet. Temperatures will be below freezing at the start of the race and are only forecasted to reach a high in the forties all day. Our timer ran the entire course this afternoon and it was very challenging. At the start the hard freeze tonight will make the course slippery but you may be able to run on top of the snow. Once the temperatures rise the snow will become soft and more challenging. Watch for the slush bogs especially on the lower part of the course from milepost 6 to the turn around. There are a few down tree limbs but you can maneuver around them. BE CAREFUL, if you are not accustomed to this type of course be careful not to turn your ankles in the ruts. If you like a challenge, come on out. The course is not for the faint hearted. Hats, gloves, thermal shirts, and leggings will keep you warm. Bring dry clothing for after the race.
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| Sufficiently sparkling and ready to run! |
Despite the warning, there were actually a lot of runners who came to race. Just under 300 participants finished. Once I arrived, I stayed sitting in my heated car for as long as I could before I had to finally and reluctantly get out and find Cassie. Her running group carpool had gotten there earlier than me, and had kindly picked up my race packet. I introduced myself to this very friendly fun group, pinned my bib on, fastened my clip to my shoe and got in line at the porta-pot for one last pit stop before race time.
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| The Start Line |
The two ladies in front of me at the bathroom had both run this race last year and were reminiscing about how it had begun on the eve of the Snowpocalypse, the infamous blizzard that completely shut down DC last year. Apparently, it was so cold that their eyelashes froze and they had to poke through their water with their fingers because the top had frozen over. (I was hoping that would not be the case today!) The two men behind me were fretting and worried that they’d miss the start waiting in line at the porta-pot. I was surprised they were so concerned. There were only 3 people in front of them with a solid 10 minutes until the start. In some of the larger races I’ve done, the first waves have already set off while people are still waiting in seemingly never-ending bathroom lines. Besides, the chip-timing won’t actually start until you cross the start line, so even if you start ten minutes after everyone else, you can still have an accurate time. No need to be nervous gents!
Walking to the start line was quite possibly the most dangerous part of the day, as the whole parking lot and walkway was covered in black ice and more than one of us lost our balance. We all stood at the start for the singing of The Star-Spangled Banner (sung correctly, I might add!) then we were off. Right away, I realized this was not going to be an ordinary or an easy race. The course, as we were forewarned, was either ice (both smooth sheets and craggy) hard snow, soft snow or slush. All hard to run in/on, but also, since I never knew what to expect, I had to constantly keep our eyes on the ground. It’s a beautiful course along the C&O canal. The canal was frozen and the entire scene was quite picturesque. But, it was nerve racking to look around without walking or completely stopping (which I ended up doing a few times to take pictures, once it became VERY apparent that there was no chance of getting a PR here.) Cassie and I chatted and caught up on our lives, as we usually do as we run, but the miles seemed to inch by at a glacier-like pace.
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| Cassie & I trudging along... |
I had put some Christmas carols on my ipod for the run, in the hope that the Christmas music would make me appreciate the snowy scene. But, we ended up talking through almost the entire race, so I didn’t even use my pod at all. Also, because the ground was so unpredictable and the course was very narrow, it was reassuring not to wear one, so I could hear the sounds of the people around me. And, the few crazy spectators and volunteers that braved the cold and snow were so excited and supportive. I got a real boost from hearing all of them cheer!
We had to run 6.6 miles down the trail and then turn around and come back. About 4 miles in, we started seeing the fast and talented runners on their way back and I got hopeful, thinking we were almost at the turnaround…but we still had 2.6 hard grueling miles to go and it felt like it would never end.
We finally—FINALLY—made it to the halfway point, ran around a cone, and then began the long trek back to the finish line. For some reason, the last half seemed to go by a little faster. Not much, but it was nice to know I was over halfway done and that gave me some motivation. Also, because it was later in the morning, more casual park-goers were appearing on the route. They gave me something to look at and sometimes someone to talk to/about. There was one guy pulling a kayak up the trail. I joked that he should use the kayak to carry me to the finish. He didn’t think it was funny...but then again I was probably the 50th runner who made that comment to him. We also saw a foolish man walking out onto the canal on top of what I have to assume was not sturdy ice. I kept my eye on him for a while, worried he might fall in, and wondering what we as runners should do if we all witnessed this situation and had to somehow stop our race for a rescue mission. Fortunately, nothing dramatic happened, but this notion occupied my mind for quite some time.
I tried to have some GU around mile 7 and it was VERY solid. It was one big mass in my mouth, which sounds a little gross but it was okay, just took longer to dissolve and swallow. At least we didn’t have to poke through ice to get a drink of water. (above 32 degrees, but not by much!) A hot cocoa stop would have been heaven! One group was handing out peanut-butter filled pretzels, which were a perfect treat.
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| At times it felt as if I was the only runner (or just dead last!) |
Towards the end of the race, around mile ten, I did exactly what the race directors had warned us about in the ominous email: I twisted my ankle by landing wrong on an ice rut. I was growing tired—both physically and tired of concentrating so intently on the terrain—and I could tell that my feet were landing harder than they were at the beginning of the race. I came down hard and crooked and a stabbing pain went through my left foot. I wiggled it and it seemed fine, so I kept running. It hurt as I ran, but it is just one of those race-day things you just deal with and try not to focus on. (The doctor said later, that it was a good sign I could run on it. If I weren’t able to put that pressure on it, it would have been a sign that my injury was more severe.) Instead of slowing down, I picked up the pace, anxious for this race to finally end and ready to sit down to a hearty brunch.
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| Finally finished! Hooray!! |
At last I crossed the finish line—2 hours and 43 minutes after I had started—by far the slowest half marathon I have ever run. But, I think it’s also one of the races I am most proud of completing. It wasn’t expensive or far away and it would have been easy for me to skip it. And, when I started the race, I honestly did not think I would or could finish it given the harsh surfaces. It was one of those empowering achievements that you look back on and have a hard time believing you actually accomplished it. Other than my annoying foot injury, it was a great race!
Everyone was in high spirits afterwards. I think everyone was equally impressed with themselves as I was, and also ecstatic that the race had ended! I tagged along with Cassie’s running group to a nearby restaurant for brunch. As we convened in the parking lot, a few people pulled off their shoes, revealing quarter-sized blisters on their feet from where their socks had gotten wet. I thought they were all very hardcore to keep going with those monsters on their feet. (ick.) Fortunately, my socks were the super-thick wintery kind, so I was blister-free, even though I did hit a few slush bogs along the way!
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| Gross, but I had to include it. So tough! |
We had a great meal, except the restaurant turned out to be very sophisticated and fancy. We charged in--a large, underdressed, rowdy, sweaty, smelly group of nine expecting to get out drink on—and were greeted with white tablecloths, tuxedoed waiters and a place setting that involved excessive utensils. It was quite a funny picture. I asked the matrie d, half jokingly, where they usually sit the riff-raff, and he pointed me towards the bar without skipping a beat. Har. Har.
This is the first time I’ve ever hung out with a group of people solely because we all like to run, and it was a really fun experience. Everyone was so friendly and nice! I wish I could run with them more often, but the majority of them all live at least an hour or more north of D.C. (too far for a weeknight.)
Lastly, Cassie and I exchanged our overdue Christmas presents. And—wouldn’t you know it—we got each other VERY similar things! (Great minds think alike!) Check out our awesome taste:
Cassie gave me this lovely necklace:
And I gave her this lovely necklace from a fantastic Etsy.com store called “Jessica’s Gifts.” Jessica has some great jewelry and fun charms for runners. I highly recommend her site!
If I can afford to, I would really like to run the ING Miami Marathon or Half Marathon next January, but if I were in town, I would do the High Cloud again.
Race Pros:
Inexpensive
Well-organized
Convenient location
Good time of year of you’re training for a spring marathon
Race Cons:
Course is pretty, but it’s 13.1 miles of the same thing, which can get a little boring.
Swag is minimal & the medal is not high quality, but the entry fee is cheap and most of the money goes to supporting the High Could organization.
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