Not only was it my first half marathon, it was also my first trail race.  Okay, it was my first race EVER!  I really had no idea what I was in for.  Running trails is probably ten times harder than running on the side of the road.  During my training I thought the only difference would be dirt instead of pavement.  Boy, was I wrong!  There were roots and rocks and sand.  I even had to hurdle over a fallen tree three times!  I must have rolled my ankle at least a half dozen times and came close to face planting twice.  By the time I crossed that finish line I was a sweaty mess, covered in dirt.  But you know what?  I loved every  minute of it!  I even took a wrong turn that took me about a 1/4 mile off the course, but I just turned around until I was back on the trail.  It was this race’s first year and they even admitted that their signage could have been better.  I was still one of the top finishers, coming in 3rd for my my age group.  I will definitely be back next year.  Crossing that finish line was such a great feeling!

Even the medal was rough and rugged.

This was such an amazing experience for me.  I did something that I never thought I could do.  An even though I felt like throwing in the towel halfway through my training, I think I caught the competitive running bug and am now looking for the next race…