Race Recap: Run with Scissors

Highlights of last year's Run with Scissors:

1. Rain

2. Crying

3. Getting lost 1/2 mile from the finish

4. Running 3-4 extra miles

Because I've got some extra rage going on (How about you? Are you angry? No? Just me? Ok.), I signed up to take the whammy off the race.

Because I like to share my pain, I bullied persuaded the Trail Sisters to run it with me.

Of course the weather was the same: 43 degrees and rainy. Yuck. Luckily, we run in the woods, so we wouldn't get that wet from above. Running through the mud, however, was quite a different story. If mud baths are supposed to be good for the skin, I guarantee you that my feet and legs are glorious.

I found Mandy and Pam, my long-lost friends.

Early Trail Sisters selfie: Wendy, Nancy, Marta

Official Trail Sisters Selfie: Marta, Nicole, Laura, Me, Nancy, Wendy

We gathered at Pine Hollow at 9 AM to hear the Grim Reaper, Roy Heger, give us explanations of the course markings. Not wanting to get lost yet again, I listened very closely. The signs were very complicated:

What does he actually mean by that????

And then we took off. The first two miles are always difficult for me. I remember calling out, "Why are we even doing this???"

The response was a chorus of "Because you made us, you jerk!"

Oh yeah.

We hit the aid station at Pine Hollow, where Sydney and Sarah had some awesome food for us, including donuts! Then we quickly took off again.

We are already disregarding the trail markings. We are supposed to be running in the grass.

I started to feel really good, so I ran ahead a bit with Nicole, Dave, and Katrina (who ran dressed as Notorious RBG).  I decided to run by feel, meaning that if I felt angry/energized/angsty/good I would run faster, and if I felt tired/sluggish/sad I would run slower. We reached the halfway point, where we pulled out our scissors and cut a page from the book to prove that we were there.

Nicole 

Dammit, my eyes are closed.

Wendy and Marta demonstrate the proper way to run with scissors.

And now they cut their pages.

After that, Nicole and I decided that we wanted to be done with this race. I was getting cold and tired and hangry. We ran back to Pine Hollow for some bacon and love. Or bacony love. Then we took off up and down the Sound of Music Hills and back towards the Ledges. 

Oh, Ledges. You are so difficult with your sharp rocks and hidden roots. This is always where I get super-paranoid because I am afraid I'll break a foot or fall and hurt myself. I slowed down considerably, but Nicole was consumed by the desire to finish, so she pulled ahead. She was worried that I'd take a wrong turn (because this is where I went wrong last year), so I kept hearing her yell back, "Turn left!!! Turn here!" I told her to just go and stop worrying about me. She finished like a true Badass. 

Meanwhile, Wendy happened by, and we finished together. 

After crossing the finish line (this time running 13.4, not 17 miles), we filled our Run with Scissors mugs with yummy potato soup. Then I got to see Marta, Laura, and Nancy come in:

And we took our finish line picture with Roy:

I'm glad I ran this race, especially since the rumor is that we won't have it at the Ledges anymore. The park system is gorgeous in the fall, even in the rain and mud. The volunteers for this race were so kind and happy, and I love any aid station that serves up bacon.  Thank you, Running Forward and Giving Back, for a fun experience and the opportunity to pre-emptively burn calories before my Halloween shenanigans that night.

This is EXACTLY how I look when I go grocery shopping.

Are you running in costume this year, Peeps? Whether you are or not, I hope you run happy!

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