Yesterday I ran my second 50k trail race, this one being over near Bend, Oregon close to the Three Sisters Mountains. It was a long and generally speaking beautiful day. The running part was challenging for me, especially after mile 23. I figured it would be difficult, but not that difficult. Of course once you start one of these things you can’t really stop in the middle so I just kept going. Photos with some commentary below:

The milling around before the race starts. This is always a strange time with everyone showing up, training completed, often goals in mind, some people know one another, but many don’t. It’s a nice time to say hello to a stranger, ask where they are from and what distance they are running. Yesterday had 30k, 50k and 100k distances on the menu.

This is one of the mountains in the Sisters Mountain Range – Mt. Bachelor. This is pre-eclipse when shadows started looking slightly subdued.

Another shot of Mt. Bachelor.

Evidence of participation. The race was hard after mile 23 for me as I mentioned above. I thought I might be able to finish with a better time and yet, I also hew to the idea of time not mattering all that much. A day of trail running is simply a day in the woods, which I love. At the same time, the pull of the time is a nudge during these events, too. Overall I am pleased and now sore.

This was the map from the online tool I use to track it all – Strava. My watch connects to the app and I can see my per-mile pace splits throughout the run.

Driving home I went up over the “old” McKenzie Pass Highway, highway 242. It drives you through old lava fields and is high up on a plateau (5200 feet). The mountains above are North Sister and Middle Sister.

This is looking north across the lava fields. More info about this highway can be found on the Oregon Department of Transportation website. It was a nice way to end the day in central Oregon.