There are 3 things in life that are guaranteed: death, taxes, and Tony finishing 3rd in the master’s division of a local trail race. This past Sunday I ran the Salado Creek 10 Miler (16.04K) put on by Bart and his crew, and I had a blast. I debated all week whether I should run the race and was even unsure what to do when I awoke on Sunday. Seeing the perfectly blue sky and cool temps and knowing this was one of a very few trail races that take place within the San Antonio city limits was enough to sway my decision.
I arrived early to register and immediately ran into Tony “Master of the Masters Division” Maldonado and Domingo “I Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Shoes” Gomez. I was pleased to see that Tony was wearing his official Ricketts race shirt, which (by total coincidence) happened to be the same shade of blue that I was wearing. Awesome. Tony, Kelli Newlon, and myself set off into the woods to run a few miles before the race started. Kelli told us that she had been sick all week and was probably going to change to the 10K race instead of the longer one. All 3 of us plan on running Prickly Pear next weekend, so we chatted about that and all sorts of other things.
We lined up with 100+ other people and were soon on our way, headed down a paved hill that would wind its way around until we left the dreaded pavement and hit the trail. I had forgotten how much I enjoy this course. It is a perfect blend of fast singletrack, rooty twisty nastiness, and rocky fun. It has something for almost all types of runners. I tried to keep my pace in check early, not wanting to push too hard during the race since I am more focused on Prickly Pear. I knew the roadies and faster folks would be ahead of me early, but I thought I could rein them in later on the rocky stuff. I was right. With the exception of a few low hanging branches and trees, I was able to maintain a consistent pace, slowly passing people along the way. The few sections of rock reminded me a bit of Government Canyon. I really had fun here and several times found myself running harder than I should have. Oh well. The highlight of the race for me was a steep section that included a rope to hold onto as you pulled yourself up. Pretty cool. I made the “turn” at the halfway point feeling decent, but running a little harder than intended. I tried to keep things causal on the way back, and other than a nice fall in which I slipped on a rock coming around a corner and ended up landing on my elbow, I managed to do okay. As I was approaching the end of the trail that signaled the last mile of pavement, I spotted a blue streak just ahead. It was none other than Tony. I tried my hardest to catch up to him, but it was not be on this day. Tony is fast, but only for short distances J
All in all, I had a great time. Fellow Rockhoppers Amanda Alvarado (2nd female overall), Kelli (1st in her age group while being sick), Tony (3rd masters), and Domingo all had great races. I can’t wait to go back again next year.
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