Snow Mountain Half Marathon (Race Recap)

Saturday, September 26
Granby, CO
Half Marathon #138
Colorado Half #71
Weather - sunny and warm

I had been wanting to run Snow Mountain Ranch trail half marathon for a long time. Unfortunately it is the same weekend as Bear Chase, so it was looking like it was never going to happen. Due to a lack of running and training, I opted to NOT run an ultra distance at Bear Chase, which gave me the opportunity to finally check this one out.

As is the norm for ERS races, it did not start until 9:00 am. Kinda nice to not have to get up super early, but also not great for running in "hot" weather.

A and I left the house at 6:15, made a quick stop at Dunkin' Donuts and then drove the 80ish miles to the YMCA at Snow Mountain Ranch. The parking area was very well marked and after using the (indoor) bathrooms, it just took a minute to get my bib and shirt. A started her volunteer shift early - helping to hand out shirts, and I used the bathroom a few more times. My zombie shirt and lace capris from INKnBURN were a hit. I got tons of comments when I was in line.

She is wearing a ski hat because it was 26 degrees when we arrived!

The race started right on time (yay!) and I began in the back. We had a small downhill before heading up into the trees. I was right where I usually am in a trail race - right in the back. My legs cramped up pretty early and I had to do quite a bit of walking in the first few miles. One thing I can say is that the scenery was BEAUTIFUL - so at least I had things to stop and take pictures of while I was meandering along. Finally started to feel better around mile 2. I was running the flats and the downhills (and some of the smaller uphills), and gradually started to pass people. The "turnaround" was really heading back out for a second loop. At this point I could tell that the course was going to measure short as I was barely at 6 miles.

It was starting to get pretty hot. I ran for a mile with a sweet gal named Joanie, but she ended up hanging back as she wasn't feeling well. Runners are a funny group. After less than 5 minutes of chatting with her, a complete stranger, I knew that she was ready to shit herself...

I walked a bit more than I would have liked and was pretty darn happy to see the finish area. A saw me coming and helped me run it in to the finish (up that nice downhill we had at the beginning).

Official Time - 2:34:51 (measured 12.15 miles)
Overall Place - 96/111
Elevation Gain - 1,061'
Starting Elevation - 8,681'
Garmin Time - 2:34:41 (no chip timing)
Mile 1 - 13:32
Mile 2 - 12:13
Mile 3 - 11:46
Mile 4 - 11:37
Mile 5 - 14:15
Mile 6 - 12:24
Mile 7 - 13:46
Mile 8 - 13:34
Mile 9 - 11:38
Mile 10 - 12:25
Mile 11 - 13:32
Mile 12 - 12:22
Mile 12.15ish - 11:05

A got some pictures of me with my medal. I drank a beer, A had some chocolate milk. Debated on having a burger or hot dog, but wasn't really hungry.

Have my ears always stuck out like this? :(

Thoughts

• I have run quite a few ERS races and I think this was my favorite one so far. The time of year with the changing leaves and the course itself - it was really beautiful. The pictures I took really do not do it justice.
• The course was very well marked, there were markers at every mile. With that said, the course measured almost a mile short for me. I know that there are "variances" in GPS readings, but a mile seems like quite a bit when we weren't in a super rural area. I digress.
• There were plenty of aid stations on this course, although at least half of them were unmanned. This course was not technical, so maybe not as much of an issue as other races, but I personally feel better when I am on a trail run and there is someone available in case of emergency. The aid stations had Kind bars, gels, water and electrolytes - all very well stocked.
• The shirt, if I kept race shirts, was very nice. Gender specific tech tees in a not-so-average dark grey color. 
• The medals were cute - and more race specific than the series has done in the past.

• I am really happy that I chose to run this race this year. It exceeded my expectations for sure. Not sure if I will run it again, but I'm glad I did this year. I would recommend this race for sure.