Texas Trail Festival trail marathon 2022 race report.
While looking at the Tejas Trails events page to see what events might exist that would get me a supported trail run somewhere other than my normal haunts, I found this Texas Trail Festival. I feel like I'd heard the name, but it was all 'family friendly' and all day, and I didn't know what to make of any of that. BUT it turned out to have a marathon-distance option! AND. It had this really stupid thing called the trifecta, where you do a marathon in the marathon, 10k in the afternoon, 5k in the evening. That's really dumb! I ran it by Trista, and she was also interested.
Anyway, long story short, eventually she realized a marathon in June in Texas sounded really unappealing (agreed), and not worth the cost of travel, so I had to make a decision. I ran the options by coach, and he said just do the marathon. So the marathon I did.
Priscilla has been doing a lot of the Tejas races in preparation for TransRockies, so I sent her a note asking if she was going to do TTF. And she was! But the half marathon. But at least maybe I'd actually get to see her! Also Matt has been training up his walking and then run-walking lately, even in this stupid heat, and decided to go out with me and do the 10k. For someone who is almost always solo, I was going to have so much potential company!
Unfortunately the marathon didn't start until 7am, which promised a very, very hot day eventually, but I tried to prepare myself for that. The half, 10k, and 5k didn't start until 7:30, so at least Matt might get to see Priscilla at the start, and probably she would eventually catch me on the course.
On our drive to Krause Springs, where none of us had ever been, but somehow was only like 45 minutes away (near Muleshoe!), it was doing a dramatic lightning show. There hadn't really been a lot of warning about a storm, but conditions came together to send one directly for us, and it looked like this time, unlike normal, it was actually going to hit us, not split and go around at the last minute. It was a little exciting to think we might get to run in the rain! But it looked like it might be gone by the time the race started.
We parked and did packet pickup, then hung out in the car to avoid the rain. It continued to storm, with some impressive lightning. As it got close to 7, we decided to go put our stuff out at the start/finish line and get ready for me to start, and just then the RD started walking around to all the cars and telling people there was a one hour start delay. Not surprising. Lighting is tough for races. But for someone who is used to starting her summer trail runs at 6:20, as soon as it's even vaguely light enough, the thought of STARTING a marathon, a trail marathon which was going to be slow, at 8am was rough. Also I was already hungry, and now had a bonus hour to kill. I ate a whole thing of bloks over the next hour.
Meanwhile Priscilla had arrived for her 7:30 start to find her start was also now at 8. We made an effort to hook up, but all had stuff to do, so didn't manage to find her until we finally actually went to the start line for the 8am start. The rain had mostly slackened off, and it was just overcast and very humid.
Meanwhile.. everyone was starting together. A much bigger start group than it would have been for just marathon. Aaaand.. I got to start with Priscilla! We ran out together and chatted, and I immediately told her that I was slower than her in general, and I had to be conservative to make it through all 4 loops, so she was welcome, once she felt warmed up, to take off and run her pace. I would not be offended at all.
We kept chatting, and I ran in front to set our pace, and we just had a really nice time. She's brand new to trail running, and tends to go out at road pace, and also is still getting used to not falling over on trails, so she let me set a conservative pace and pick the line and all that. Meanwhile I was trying to not slow her down TOO much, so was probably going faster than I should have that early in the run. But I knew it wouldn't last forever, so just enjoyed company while I had it.
And she stayed with me the whole first loop! We skipped the manned aid station and the unmanned aid station. We walked up the biggest hills, including that dumb giant one in the last mile, and then we were back at the start/finish line! Things go so much faster when you have someone to talk to!
As we refilled our water, and I grabbed some new gels to restock my supply, I said she could go ahead and take off when she was ready if she wanted. And she didn't. We started the second loop together. And.. spoiler.. we did the entire second loop together. She clearly wanted company more than she wanted a respectable time! And I was LOVING it. Having company for fully half my race was never even on my radar. And we just talked about everything, catching up on, as it turns out, about 8 years of stuff. We last ran together at a Texas Iron run in 2013, according to my workout log.
The sun came out during the second loop, but it was fitful and the clouds would sometimes cover it.
Skipped all the aid on the second loop, and just cruised through, and then the second loop was done! And so was Priscilla, since she'd just done the half marathon! She was actually signed up to do the 10k in the afternoon, and I tried to convince her to just do another loop with me, but she was having none of it. So we snapped a few pictures for proof, ate a slice of watermelon, refilled all my stuff, and I sadly finally headed out alone for loop 3.
I made her take this taunty picture. Best part is she didn't even realize I was flipping her off until she saw the picture later.
I hadn't seen Matt, which meant he probably finished his 10k and went back out for another 10k loop. A mile or so into the 3rd loop I actually thought "I should make sure he hasn't sent me any messages or anything.." and got my phone back out and walked a minute while I checked just to make sure. And no messages, so things must be good!
3rd loop was by far the hardest, mentally. And also physically, actually. I got super clumsy in the third loop. Never fully fell, and never had a terrible hamstring pull like at Hell's Hills, but had a couple times where I tripped and pitched forward, and one where I tripped, caught a tree with my left arm, swung all the way around with momentum, and then had to stop myself on another tree. That did NOT feel good on my left shoulder.
But it was a lot of clumsiness, and I was so afraid I was going to end up messing myself up. And the sun was coming out more now. And I had to do all this again, and I couldn't even seem to get halfway through the loop to the aid station. When I finally did get to the aid station, I stopped there for the first time to refill my one empty bottle, because I was drinking a LOT more water now on this loop.
The second half of the loop, and the big hill, were miserable, but once I saw the arrows back to the start/finish line, I knew that as long as I didn't overthink it, I was going to finish this thing. I wanted to have done a marathon, and if I just started that last loop, I was going to do one.
And there was Matt! He helped me refill my water and got me the gatorade I was craving while I restocked my gels. I was a mess, mentally, and couldn't really articulate anything or be as appreciative as I was. He knows, though, how that feels, and just did what he could. I told him I was going to finish. And then I headed back out for my last loop. Matt made a comment on how this overcast thing was really nice. It was.
Someone else commented on the overcast in the first mile. I wasn't sure why people had to keep talking about it. I'm fairly sure all that talking about it is what made the sun come out and stay out for the rest of the run. It was miserable. Fortunately a ton of the course is covered and wooded. But a lot of it isn't, especially in the last half of the loop.
I was so paranoid about my clumsiness and tripping that I started running very upright again, going overboard to pick up my feet. Slowed me down for sure, but I also never had a bad trip or almost fall in the last loop, so at least it worked. I was going through water SUPER fast, and at the aid station, which fortunately came much faster on the last loop, I refilled my 1.5 bottles I was down. Also felt really bad for the person laid out with their feet up, with a volunteer on the phone with medical. Hopefully they were okay. That's a tough thing to see when you're feeling really dehydrated and cooked and have to go back out for 3 more miles, and they're the sunniest/hilliest miles.
But I just kept my eye on the prize, kept telling myself to be smart, it didn't matter how fast I went, just keep moving forward. A cow and I startled each other at the fenceline, but he was gone before I could get a picture.
I did get my camera out for my only on-course picture at the big hill, I wanted proof of that MFer. Fortunately there was a guy ahead of me, for scale. I ended up passing him when he stopped at the top and was clearly not happy. I asked if he was okay, and he said he was just cramping. I saw a lot of cramping out there.
At least you can actually tell it's a hill. Sometimes you take a picture and you just can't appreciate how terrible it is.
I was taking a salt pill every hour, and a gel every 30 minutes, and drinking when I felt like I needed it, which wasn't much at the beginning and was insane by the end. I never got hungry, and I never cramped.
After the big hill, there's just another little bit, but that bit took forever this time. The only thing standing between me and being DONE. It was so sunny and hot at that point. But I got through it. There's a hill up to the finish line, which I walked every time, and I told the guy coming down the hill as I walked up that I was considering DNFing the marathon on that hill, even though the finish line was literally 30 seconds away. So done.
But I made it up and over, and then I was done! And Matt was there for me, just as wrecked as I was, having done the half marathon, since he had the time, which was the longest thing he's done in a long time! I'm super proud of both of us.
<3
I wasn't sad that I wasn't doing the trifecta. I was ready to be done with that course. Priscilla had gone back out to do her afternoon 10k while I was on my last loop, so I didn't get to see her again, but she rocked it and then her family came out to enjoy the springs with her.
Overall it was really tough day, but I'm glad I did it. 4 loops is really dumb, and it would have been a COMPLETELY different run if I hadn't serendipitously had company for half of it. Priscilla saved my race.
I had mentioned to Matt that it might take me 6 hours, and he had scoffed at that, but actually it ended up taking 6:21:07. My loops were 1:25, 1:27, 1:38, 1:49. Glad I used the overcast and the company to get some faster loops in before I was exhausted and the sun tried to kill me. It looks like there were 14 DNFs for the marathon, with a lot of them completely only 3 loops. And there were several 8+ hour marathoners, and only almost 9. That had to be rough in that sun.
Temps ranged from 73ish and overcast in the morning to 94ish and full sun by the time I was finished. Oddly enough, in the very wooded parts, sometimes a cool breeze would come through. If it could have just been wooded and lightly breezy all day, it would have been a very different run!
So that's done, thankfully. And no run the day after, only a swim, but just like Hell's Hills earlier this year, my legs actually felt pretty decent afterward. Stiff as hell the rest of the day, super dehydrated for a few days, but no terrible chafing, and nothing injured or even particularly hurty afterward.
So it was great distance practice, and a REALLY great chance to practice suffering. Just gotta keep moving forward when everything is terrible. That should come in handy!
Anyway, long story short, eventually she realized a marathon in June in Texas sounded really unappealing (agreed), and not worth the cost of travel, so I had to make a decision. I ran the options by coach, and he said just do the marathon. So the marathon I did.
Priscilla has been doing a lot of the Tejas races in preparation for TransRockies, so I sent her a note asking if she was going to do TTF. And she was! But the half marathon. But at least maybe I'd actually get to see her! Also Matt has been training up his walking and then run-walking lately, even in this stupid heat, and decided to go out with me and do the 10k. For someone who is almost always solo, I was going to have so much potential company!
Unfortunately the marathon didn't start until 7am, which promised a very, very hot day eventually, but I tried to prepare myself for that. The half, 10k, and 5k didn't start until 7:30, so at least Matt might get to see Priscilla at the start, and probably she would eventually catch me on the course.
On our drive to Krause Springs, where none of us had ever been, but somehow was only like 45 minutes away (near Muleshoe!), it was doing a dramatic lightning show. There hadn't really been a lot of warning about a storm, but conditions came together to send one directly for us, and it looked like this time, unlike normal, it was actually going to hit us, not split and go around at the last minute. It was a little exciting to think we might get to run in the rain! But it looked like it might be gone by the time the race started.
We parked and did packet pickup, then hung out in the car to avoid the rain. It continued to storm, with some impressive lightning. As it got close to 7, we decided to go put our stuff out at the start/finish line and get ready for me to start, and just then the RD started walking around to all the cars and telling people there was a one hour start delay. Not surprising. Lighting is tough for races. But for someone who is used to starting her summer trail runs at 6:20, as soon as it's even vaguely light enough, the thought of STARTING a marathon, a trail marathon which was going to be slow, at 8am was rough. Also I was already hungry, and now had a bonus hour to kill. I ate a whole thing of bloks over the next hour.
Meanwhile Priscilla had arrived for her 7:30 start to find her start was also now at 8. We made an effort to hook up, but all had stuff to do, so didn't manage to find her until we finally actually went to the start line for the 8am start. The rain had mostly slackened off, and it was just overcast and very humid.
Meanwhile.. everyone was starting together. A much bigger start group than it would have been for just marathon. Aaaand.. I got to start with Priscilla! We ran out together and chatted, and I immediately told her that I was slower than her in general, and I had to be conservative to make it through all 4 loops, so she was welcome, once she felt warmed up, to take off and run her pace. I would not be offended at all.
We kept chatting, and I ran in front to set our pace, and we just had a really nice time. She's brand new to trail running, and tends to go out at road pace, and also is still getting used to not falling over on trails, so she let me set a conservative pace and pick the line and all that. Meanwhile I was trying to not slow her down TOO much, so was probably going faster than I should have that early in the run. But I knew it wouldn't last forever, so just enjoyed company while I had it.
And she stayed with me the whole first loop! We skipped the manned aid station and the unmanned aid station. We walked up the biggest hills, including that dumb giant one in the last mile, and then we were back at the start/finish line! Things go so much faster when you have someone to talk to!
As we refilled our water, and I grabbed some new gels to restock my supply, I said she could go ahead and take off when she was ready if she wanted. And she didn't. We started the second loop together. And.. spoiler.. we did the entire second loop together. She clearly wanted company more than she wanted a respectable time! And I was LOVING it. Having company for fully half my race was never even on my radar. And we just talked about everything, catching up on, as it turns out, about 8 years of stuff. We last ran together at a Texas Iron run in 2013, according to my workout log.
The sun came out during the second loop, but it was fitful and the clouds would sometimes cover it.
Skipped all the aid on the second loop, and just cruised through, and then the second loop was done! And so was Priscilla, since she'd just done the half marathon! She was actually signed up to do the 10k in the afternoon, and I tried to convince her to just do another loop with me, but she was having none of it. So we snapped a few pictures for proof, ate a slice of watermelon, refilled all my stuff, and I sadly finally headed out alone for loop 3.
I made her take this taunty picture. Best part is she didn't even realize I was flipping her off until she saw the picture later.
I hadn't seen Matt, which meant he probably finished his 10k and went back out for another 10k loop. A mile or so into the 3rd loop I actually thought "I should make sure he hasn't sent me any messages or anything.." and got my phone back out and walked a minute while I checked just to make sure. And no messages, so things must be good!
3rd loop was by far the hardest, mentally. And also physically, actually. I got super clumsy in the third loop. Never fully fell, and never had a terrible hamstring pull like at Hell's Hills, but had a couple times where I tripped and pitched forward, and one where I tripped, caught a tree with my left arm, swung all the way around with momentum, and then had to stop myself on another tree. That did NOT feel good on my left shoulder.
But it was a lot of clumsiness, and I was so afraid I was going to end up messing myself up. And the sun was coming out more now. And I had to do all this again, and I couldn't even seem to get halfway through the loop to the aid station. When I finally did get to the aid station, I stopped there for the first time to refill my one empty bottle, because I was drinking a LOT more water now on this loop.
The second half of the loop, and the big hill, were miserable, but once I saw the arrows back to the start/finish line, I knew that as long as I didn't overthink it, I was going to finish this thing. I wanted to have done a marathon, and if I just started that last loop, I was going to do one.
And there was Matt! He helped me refill my water and got me the gatorade I was craving while I restocked my gels. I was a mess, mentally, and couldn't really articulate anything or be as appreciative as I was. He knows, though, how that feels, and just did what he could. I told him I was going to finish. And then I headed back out for my last loop. Matt made a comment on how this overcast thing was really nice. It was.
Someone else commented on the overcast in the first mile. I wasn't sure why people had to keep talking about it. I'm fairly sure all that talking about it is what made the sun come out and stay out for the rest of the run. It was miserable. Fortunately a ton of the course is covered and wooded. But a lot of it isn't, especially in the last half of the loop.
I was so paranoid about my clumsiness and tripping that I started running very upright again, going overboard to pick up my feet. Slowed me down for sure, but I also never had a bad trip or almost fall in the last loop, so at least it worked. I was going through water SUPER fast, and at the aid station, which fortunately came much faster on the last loop, I refilled my 1.5 bottles I was down. Also felt really bad for the person laid out with their feet up, with a volunteer on the phone with medical. Hopefully they were okay. That's a tough thing to see when you're feeling really dehydrated and cooked and have to go back out for 3 more miles, and they're the sunniest/hilliest miles.
But I just kept my eye on the prize, kept telling myself to be smart, it didn't matter how fast I went, just keep moving forward. A cow and I startled each other at the fenceline, but he was gone before I could get a picture.
I did get my camera out for my only on-course picture at the big hill, I wanted proof of that MFer. Fortunately there was a guy ahead of me, for scale. I ended up passing him when he stopped at the top and was clearly not happy. I asked if he was okay, and he said he was just cramping. I saw a lot of cramping out there.
At least you can actually tell it's a hill. Sometimes you take a picture and you just can't appreciate how terrible it is.
I was taking a salt pill every hour, and a gel every 30 minutes, and drinking when I felt like I needed it, which wasn't much at the beginning and was insane by the end. I never got hungry, and I never cramped.
After the big hill, there's just another little bit, but that bit took forever this time. The only thing standing between me and being DONE. It was so sunny and hot at that point. But I got through it. There's a hill up to the finish line, which I walked every time, and I told the guy coming down the hill as I walked up that I was considering DNFing the marathon on that hill, even though the finish line was literally 30 seconds away. So done.
But I made it up and over, and then I was done! And Matt was there for me, just as wrecked as I was, having done the half marathon, since he had the time, which was the longest thing he's done in a long time! I'm super proud of both of us.
<3
I wasn't sad that I wasn't doing the trifecta. I was ready to be done with that course. Priscilla had gone back out to do her afternoon 10k while I was on my last loop, so I didn't get to see her again, but she rocked it and then her family came out to enjoy the springs with her.
Overall it was really tough day, but I'm glad I did it. 4 loops is really dumb, and it would have been a COMPLETELY different run if I hadn't serendipitously had company for half of it. Priscilla saved my race.
I had mentioned to Matt that it might take me 6 hours, and he had scoffed at that, but actually it ended up taking 6:21:07. My loops were 1:25, 1:27, 1:38, 1:49. Glad I used the overcast and the company to get some faster loops in before I was exhausted and the sun tried to kill me. It looks like there were 14 DNFs for the marathon, with a lot of them completely only 3 loops. And there were several 8+ hour marathoners, and only almost 9. That had to be rough in that sun.
Temps ranged from 73ish and overcast in the morning to 94ish and full sun by the time I was finished. Oddly enough, in the very wooded parts, sometimes a cool breeze would come through. If it could have just been wooded and lightly breezy all day, it would have been a very different run!
So that's done, thankfully. And no run the day after, only a swim, but just like Hell's Hills earlier this year, my legs actually felt pretty decent afterward. Stiff as hell the rest of the day, super dehydrated for a few days, but no terrible chafing, and nothing injured or even particularly hurty afterward.
So it was great distance practice, and a REALLY great chance to practice suffering. Just gotta keep moving forward when everything is terrible. That should come in handy!