LOViT Trail Marathon 2013

         Poteau, OK 4:45am I hit the alarm went off and my wife said, “Are you really going to the race?” It was 33 degrees outside and raining and had been raining all night.  I told her, “There are 3 guys in the living room that are ready to roll, I’m going.” She said, “Your Crazy…. Be Careful.” As her head hit the pillow to go back to where I wish I was at that point in bed sleeping!

            Aaron Ochoa and Jordan Christy from Tulsa had drove down because the ice had hit in Tulsa and there would have been no possible way for them to make it to the marathon leaving from Tulsa.  My cousin Kasey Ng was the same story so they were ready to head out the door to 5:15am coffee in hand to meet Tom Brennan, Matt Aguero, and Sam Young missing one more due to injury Kendall Repass, and yes I just said Matt Aguero and every time I said that before the race everyone was like, “wow, how fast is he gonna run?”  Matt hasn’t been on the trail running scene because of his obsession to run the fastest Marathon he can run.  Which makes him one of the best Road Marathoners in Oklahoma.

48 at the start not 63!!!!

            We cheered the complete drive to Hot Springs as the Temp rose 1 degree at a time from 33 all the way to 48, the weather channel said it was going to be 63 at the start with a 100% chance of Rain every hour.  They did hit the rain part correct but the Temp was so hard to figure out how to dress for such a race.  We got there right before the start and all 35 of us lined up and they said good luck you guys have fun!  The trail runs along the Ouchita Lake which is one of most beautiful lakes around Arkansas and Oklahoma and the trail is what I remembered being pretty flat and a big climb at the turn around, this race was an out and back course with 14 out and 12 back making for a great run!

            As it rained we ran and we ran it rained.  I took the lead on the trail and no one was going to push the pace it seemed so I took what I felt was easy and Tom was yelling I was going to fast.  I wanted to go out at record pace that was set by Tom 2 years before this race when I had ran with him and he was using it as a training run and we got to mile 19 and I had never seen a man take off that fast after running 19 miles of trail.  He was gone with-in 3 miles and I was stuck sucking wind up the last hills walking knowing Tom was running.  But this is 2 years later and my fitness is better for sure and had to at least have a shot at breaking my previous time of 3:40 or Tom’s Record of 3:35.   I knew Matt was just going to use this run as a training run and not burn it up like he normally would do a race.  But I also knew if I could get him to chase me to the turn around he might set the course record at a super fast time.  I Tom was going to have it as he jumped out in front of me and slowed the pace at mile 4.  But it was far from Tom slowing the pace down, it was mother-nature as the heavens opened up and the rain fell harder and the trail began to fill with water.  I watched Matt in his racing flats slip and slide and wish he was wearing trail shoes, “funny stuff!”  I can’t image running in a shoe that you would slide every step but I was sliding in my Brooks PureGrit also so I guess it was all fair.  We hit might 10 aid station and started down hill before hitting the climb.  Matt had jumped out front before mile 10 aid station and started pushing the pace.  I don’t think this was on purpose I think he is just so stinking fast when we hit that road section he was like yes and started feeling good!  Matt was looking for the trail at one point and almost ran straight into the woods as Tom and I laughed pretty hard!  Then a mile later I was trying to point him to the wrong direction on the trail and he wasn’t having it!  We then had our first real creek crossing at mile 12 and I said, “Look there is a rope!, Matt said, “oh that’s nice as plunged straight through the middle of the creek far away from the rope and we then laughed again! 

Matt then pushed the climb to heart rate raise and I started walking in the back as Matt and Tom were running and Tom said to Matt, “I thought we weren’t ever going to hike.”  I had been using my long legs and been hiking for awhile at there run pace!

We had a great time at the turn around and took some pictures.  I tossed my hot hands (which they don’t work when they are soakin wet) 

Matt and I at the Finish (still raining)

            From the turn around back we had a very gradual pace never really picking it up.  We weren’t racing and this was apparent early in the race but it was a great training pace and it was very hard with the weather in control of a lot of the pace.  That being said was one of the best 26 mile runs I had ever had with 2 of my favorite running buddies as crossed the line together with a time of 4:03:33 official.

Everyone seemed to have a good time and looking forward to many hard trail runs for 2014 coming up!