This past weekend I competed in my first trail race. I ran in the half marathon portion of the Timberline Marathon. It was a fantastic event, and I highly recommend it to anyone considering running a trail half or full marathon.
The Timberline Marathon circles Timothy Lake on the shoulders of Mt. Hood with an elevation of around 3,000 feet. The course is challenging but not grueling. With the exception of a fairly substantial down-hill section in the beginning of the course and then reversing that section on the home stretch which in turn becomes a seemingly very substantial up-hill section, the course is relatively flat.
This race is marketed as the most scenic course in the Pacific Northwest. I will take their word for it. As I am sure it is, but given that it was a trail race, I spent most of my time looking at my feet in an effort to avoid sticking my handsome face in the dirt. This is a likely scenario, considering the rocks, roots, branches and other natural hazards the come with the territory in a trail race.
A trail race such as the Timberline Marathon is different from a road race in a variety of ways. On a road course, there are typically people all around, both competitors and onlookers. But on this particular trail race, you spend a lot of time by yourself. It’s serene, but you need to be disciplined enough to push yourself. It is also, as I mentioned previously, more challenging from the perspective of having to be more attentive to the ground beneath your feet. I joked about this earlier, but falling is the leading cause of injuries at the Timberline Marathon.
The Timberline Marathon and half marathon field was fairly small. Officially 274 people ran the race. I don’t know the split between the two races on Saturday; however, the eye ball test tells me that there were at least 200 people running the half. This made for a very jovial pre and post-race crowd.
Personally I did very well in this race, which was actually a pleasant surprise. For the week prior, I did a 12 mile practice run and then was hardly able to walk the 3 days afterwards. Despite the inconvenience of the training snafu the week before the race, I was able to finish 32nd overall and 5th in my age group. Certainly a good feeling, considering I was a bit light in long distance runs over the course of my training period.
Would I recommend this course, defiantly, without a doubt? Whether you are just starting out or have been running trails for ages, I highly recommend this course!
Enjoy and I will see you on a trail nearby!
Patrick Hughes is on Twitter. Follow him at @phughespdxsport
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