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