This is a no fee, self-organized trail run half marathon for us crazy Winnipeg runners who run all winter long. Unlike most races, this one is at night. It started at 7pm. It also meant that the roads weren't closed, there were no water stations or big mile markers along the way. It was just us and the run. It was a hell of a lot of fun.
Friday night wasn't very cold. It was only about -15 with the wind chill, which meant that the majority of the run, which was on trail by the river were completely devoid of wind thanks to the trees. The first 7-8km, I was way too hot. I had to roll up my sleeves to cool down! There were some nasty gushes of wind at some points, but all around, it was a really good course. The snow was packed down on the trails and barely icy.
Right after passing mile 9, my phone died. That meant no music, or any way of knowing how many miles left to run.... for 4 miles. It doesn't seem like much, but nearly the end of a half marathon, there's not much that really keeps you going, and music is one of those things. It's a good thing I was running with two great women who really helped me finish the race! I finished with a time of about 2 hours, 34 minutes. That's only 20 minutes slower than my average, which is really good for a trail run that I barely even trained for!
It was such a run race! We all had our headlamps and our reflector stripes made us look like we belonged in a sci-fi movie! Everyone was in a great mood and it definitely helped that we had an "after-party" with cheap beer and nachos! Did I mention how much I love running in wintertime?
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