Last September Mal registered to race all 5 ‘Enduro’ races in the 5 PEAKS trail racing series for the 2018 running year – you can read all about them HERE. It was a bold ‘sign up’ as Mal had little training under her belt, but she was more than motivated, and the best way to do it, is to dive right in and give yourself a reason (or 5 reasons) to train hard and stay committed to a training plan.
The GOOD, the BAD & the UGLY!
The Good: The weather was a perfect sunny day with a little wind which made for a beautiful day of running. Also it seemed that Mal still has some fitness leftover from last season, and carrying around a baby and keeping up with 2 very active little girls also helps keep you in pretty good shape;)
The Bad: The race was originally suppose to be in Terra Cotta which is a beautiful set of trails down by our place and would have been a great first run of the season, however due to ice damage and water logged trails the race organizers cancelled and relocated to Kelso. With that said, the Kelso course seemed to be in pretty good shape however it was held on the ski hill, which means there were a bunch of rolling hills and some tough climbs which is kind of tough if you haven’t done any real hill training.
The Ugly: Nothing really, it was 12km, how much trouble can you get into in 90min!?! Just kidding, things can always go wrong, however Mal did a great job and didn’t seem to struggle that bad. She took a little walk at the finish line and looked like she might vomit (like most athletes did ) but she recovered fairly quickly and was cheery and breastfeeding Sydnie within 10min. The finish line was pretty rough go as they had you come down a steep trail, which were the mountain bike trails so they were banked, fast and fun, and then you turn to the right and have to race 200-300meters uphill to cross the line – pretty brutal finish!
Overall this seems like it will be a fun and challenging series with lots of opportunity to tests ones skills and ability. Mal’s official race results can be found HERE. Also her friend Erin and Katie both ran this race and they did a GREAT job. Way to go TEAM!
Looking ahead – with some more training, especially hills, I think Mal could climb the ranks and be a competitor in her age group. Congrats to ALL that ran on Saturday, including Erin and Katie, and good luck to everyone at any upcoming races. We are very proud of you Mallory and you are an amazing role model for our 3 little girls! #SuperMom #GirlPower
For those of you wondering what the race looked like from Sydnie’s perspective… There was the before race feeding, the chill time with Daddy plus the cheering all the athletes on the course, (even though Syd slept the majority of the race) and then the reunion at the finish line!
#OutTrainThem #BeBetter #DoEpic
CH
Run Far Crew. 