RRC Run the Woods race recap

Talk about the down and dirty of trail running!

This race had everything… hills, mud, downed timber, mud, and cow pies. Oh, did I mention mud? 

Given the wet (and muddy) race day conditions, the RCC Run the Woods could have been called Run the Mud. It definitely called for digging deep into ones perseverance vault to withstand the rough, slippery and challenging terrain of the Goeldner Woods County Park.

All those factors made the finish line all that more sweet. At least that’s my glass-half-full perspective, LOL!

This race was very comparable to the Living History Farms Race (recap) I ran last year. There were endless hills, numerous tree roots underfoot, lots of wet leaves on the ground and several downed tree trunks to hurdle. Let’s not forget the plethora of cow pies to avoid as well.

My running group, the Altoona Running Club was well represented. We even had special team shirts made for the occasion.

Pic courtesy of Altoona Running Club

The weather played a big part in making this year’s event so challenging. We hadn’t seen much for precipitation in recent months, but that all changed during race week. There had also been a good amount of rain overnight and race day morning, lucky us! Spoiler: most of the rain held off while the race took place, though there still was some residual mist in the air and the wind didn’t want to play very nice. Again, lucky us!

Most of us were organized into teams of four. The benefit of being on a team was an increased competitive spirit on race day; not only amongst all runners, but also within our running club.

The race began with a loud gunshot, comparable to a cannon firing. The first 1/4-mile or so was along a very wet and sloppy dirt road. Although it was a wet and muddy mess from the recent rain, there still were pronounced divots from tire tracks. I tried to keep on the edge of the road, kind of in the grassy shoulder, to avoid any excess slipping and ankle wear. I can’t say it was a very successful move, because the backs of my legs were still plastered with the “up splash” from the muck of the road.

It was near the 1/2-mile mark where the route veered off-road, into the open grazing area. First, though, we had to make our way over a 3-foot high barbed wire fence (not a big deal). This open-grazing area was like a battleground for cow pies, some of which looked like boulders.

This part of the route had several twists and turns, but the overall terrain wasn’t too treacherous (hence my 9:27 split on that first mile).  It wasn’t until the 2-mile mark that we were finally entering the woods.. I knew things were about to get a little tricky…

I have to admit the few remaining leaves on trees made for a pretty woodland backdrop. I’m sure this was quite a sight of autumn beauty just a few days prior, before the rain stripped the leaves from the trees. The course was very well-marked with orange “caution” flags, but they were difficult to spot in a few places due to the vast amount of similarly-colored leaves blanketing the trail. 

Did I mention all the mud? Where there wasn’t leaves, there was mud (and lots of it) underfoot. At this point, I was taking more caution with my footing than I was pushing my pace. Let’s just say there was a lot of slipping and sliding. I also had a couple of near-falls, but was able to catch myself either with my palms (on the muddy trail nonetheless) or at least right myself before I hit the ground. I even had to accept a helping hand from a fellow runner because I couldn’t get my footing secured to climb out of a (dry) creek bed and back onto the trail. Ugh, it as SO slippery!

There also were numerous downed trees to hurdle over in the second half of the race, as well as continuous hills on the curving trail. Of course, all the uphills rewarded us with some decent downhills…but it was almost impossible to enjoy them because (again) the mud and wet leaves made things very slippery (aka: dangerous!).

Can you spot the route-marker flag?

The majority of the final mile was uphill, and it certainly felt like it. My body was feeling pretty trashed by then, so I walked a lot and felt zero shame in doing so (because a lot of others were walking as well, LOL). I heard a few more “cannon” blasts, and then I could hear the faint sound of a crowd cheering, reassuring me I was getting close to the finish line.

After a few more token twists and turns, I found my way out of the brush and spotted the finish line. I could see clusters of those who had already finished, and I could smell the bonfires burning. As soon as I spotted the finish line mats, I forged onward!

Whew! I survived! And, I finished, still vertical but with remnants of mud and muck all over me, like on my chin (see pic below).

A unique feature to this race was the pull-up challenge that followed the finish line. Although this was optional, I’d say most of the runners willingly took part. While I do a lot of upper-body strength work, pull-ups are NOT my specialty. This was so humbling, LOL. I did muster two measly pull-ups, and they were both done with a little bit of “assistance” from the gentleman acting as judge (pictured below). All pull-up participants were rewarded with a hat.

As mentioned, this race was a tough one! Check out the elevation!

I’ve hinted at it being a muddy adventure, and that was no exaggeration. The “after” pic (below) doesn’t do justice to just how much mud we all finished the race wearing. My poor shoes!

Pics from teammate Rachael

The swag was nice! All finishers received wooden medals, as well as a red beanie, both of which had the event logo on them.

Pic from teammate Rachael 

I was able to snag a third place age group finish, so I got the red mug (pictured below) for that. It wasn’t until the awards ceremony that it was announced this race was actually the USATF Open and Masters Cross Country Championship for Iowa, so that’s what the bonus medal is from (also pictured below).

So, not a bad haul for withstanding four miles over numerous hills as I ran through the woods of Goeldner Woods County Park. I’d like to return, next year, and take on this trail again…hopefully under better weather conditions.

How do you feel about trail races (or trail running in general)? Would you have showed up or taken a pass with these weather conditions? Would you have taken on the pull-up challenge?

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