Swampstomper 25k Got R Done!

My friend, Hilde, and I trained over the summer and fall for a few trail races and this one was the last one for me. We had signed up last year for this race but bailed because of the excessive rain and mud but we made it this year. The temps were very cold while we waited around for the start.

The 50kers went first and then an hour later the 25kers.

We got started at 8:30, a nice late start. The sun started to come out and warmed up just a tiny bit. I layered up and was able to regulate my temps by taking off/on the jacket and gloves. This trail race is actually 16.3 miles for the 25k. It's an out and back loop and if you do the 50k, you will hit the very hilly Red loop twice. I was very thankful to just do the loop one time. By the time I finished that loop (approx 3 miles) my legs were screaming from the lactic acid build up.
To get onto the Red Loop from the Chickasaw Bluff Trail you have to climb up a little section that the Locals call the Devil's Spine. Its a little narrow ridge that if you are not careful you could fall off the sides. There are several trees whose roots are exposed giving you the illusion of a spine. Its kind of hard to see the drop off on the sides in this next picture. 

 My friend, Marian, was doing the course for the first time and was a little nervous so she hung with me for the most part. We split up at the 3rd aid station when she made a stop and I kept going. They had 3 different aids stations but you actually crossed 4 aid stations if you did the 25k. They were well stocked with all kinds of snacks. I didn't eat so I don't know exactly what they had but I am sure it was the usual grub at trail races.
It was 38 degrees when we got started and 41* when we finish but there wasn't any wind - at least, I didn't feel it on the trails. The trails turned out to be in really good shape, I was afraid that they would be very muddy and live up to the name "Swampstomper" but only in a few places it was muddy but not so muddy it would suck your shoes off. We could still see a little bit of snow in places that haven't melted.
There were some climbs that really cause some major lactic acid in my legs. According to my HRM I hit 7 different hills. Here is a snap shot of the elevation. 

Marian caught up with me pretty quickly about a mile later. By now I have been over 10 miles and my IT band was starting to get a little achy so I went ahead and put on my knee strap. After this point it was pretty level and only had one more real descent to cause any problems. My Performx CWX pants helped a lot but don't completely help with ITB support. I had also taped up one of my shins since I have been having some pain there when I start walking. I almost stopped and took off the taping early in the race because it didn't seem to help and maybe making it hurt longer. Eventually the pain when away and I had no more problems.
Down near the Pioneer Springs, which is kind of the swampy area, there are lots of Cypress Trees and you have to be careful where you step or you could trip over the little knobs that are sticking up out of the ground. 

Shelby Forest Meeman State Park is off of the Mississippi River so in the lower parts during the wet season it can get really muddy so you will see a lot of the little board walks to cross over on. The trails were recently fixed due to the bad weather in the earlier part of the year. They had replaced or fixed a lot of the little bridges. So when we had our race, the trail was in excellent shape and all large downed trees were either cut or moved. 

 

I fueled with Hammer products and water. I did not eat any thing at the aid stations until I finished. The last biggest baddest hill is about .25 of a mile from the finish line. By now I am just about totally wiped out, I am ready to have this race done! Here is a picture of part of the hill. 

Then I have another .2 of mile of pave road to get to the finish line. Here I am with Marion almost at the finish line. My total time is 4:14:04 which is a good 14 minutes faster than my goal! Yippeee! 

Mike Samuelson, the race director donates a good portion of the money raised from this event to the Friends of the Forest, a local group that helped take care of the trails and raise money for things that the Park needs. I think they are giving $3000 to the FOTF this year. It will help maintain the trails and other things.

If you are interested in signing up for this race, you will have to do it quickly because it has a very limited number (175 people for both races) and sells out in a few days. Usually it opens after Labor Day. His site is
www.runacrossamericaontrail.com/Welcome.html 

Edited to add:
I found out that of the 175 people signed up only 105 actually crossed the finish line to earn the finisher awards. The winner of the 50k - Feb Boswell 4:45:36 and the 25k Andrew Oberst 2:13:06
Here is a picture of the T-shirt and the medallion.