DeerFly 5-miler

^^ Chris prepping for the bugs -- the race aint called "DeerFly 5-miler for nothing!!^^



^^ me doing a pre-race bug spray-down! ^^



^^ my nasty shoes and feet after a muddy, messy, much-fun race ^^



^^ Chris's legs after the run ^^

Saturday, July 30, 2011
DeerFly 5-miler
Portage, IN

We found out about this race just days before the run.....saw it on a facebook page, and found out it was a no frills trail run and we were hooked! It was a whopping $6 race entry fee, and there was no legal mumbo-jumbo race form to fill out, we signed our names & ages on a sheet of paper, paid our $$ and were done! There were not many people out for the run -- it was something like 95 degrees out, and the bugs were NUTS. And, it had rained, HARD for a few days prior to the run, so the trail through the woods was wt, Wet, WET.
There were no bibs, no timing chute, no aid stations. I brought my Camelbak, and Chris carried a water bottle for the run. There was a total of 47 runners at race start time.
The race started with a quick prayer and some precautionary announcements about the depth of water in the creek that had overflowed (YIKES) and about the rugged terrain we'd be traversing -- nothing like terrifying me before a run :-)
We started by whistle and a stopwatch, and took off -- it was a single track course through 97% of the race, so I set myself promptly toward the back -- I'm a very slow trail runner!
The first .75-1 miles were pretty congested (yes, even with only 47 runners) and the odd terrain didn't help -- in some places the path was strictly a bike path, with the space allotted being only as big as a bike tire, my 1 single foot didn't even fit on it!!!!
The race wound through Imagination Glen Park, in Portage IN...we went down by a creek (I forgot the name of it already) which had overflowed up onto the bank, so it was a very slippery route across the mud and rocks -- the hard core guys ran right through the 12-16 inch water...me, I walked -- well, more like waddled in my futile attempt to stay upright (which I did) there were several almost-slips, but I didn't fall. We spent about a half-mile by the creek and its overflow puddles and messes.
Then we wound our way up through the woods.....all told, it was a 1072 foot ascent, and a 1059 foot descent across the entire run -- I think (if i remember correctly) there were also approximately 7569 tree roots, and 834 switchbacks, with 180 degree turns.....if I remember correctly ;-)
It was a super low-key, no-frills race that was incredibly fun, tough, challenging, and awesome. And, you can't be the $6 race fee + a dessert to share for the post-race 'party'
We will definitely be doing this race again next year, and I truly hope it remains a no-frills race.....it would lose some of its charisma if it became one of those over-hyped races!

Results:
Chris: 52:36
10:46 mile average
1th out of 13 men
31st out of 47 runners

Julie:
58:43 finish time
11:37 mile average
6th out of 11 female runners
38th out of 47 total runners