Wednesday, April 16, 2008

RUR Road Trip

The creek crossing at the Trail Dawgs marathon/half-marathon/10K/5K/Triple Crown Races. Sorry, Charlie--don't think there is a log option to keep your shoes dry ;) Photo by Carl Camp from Trail Dawgs race website.

On Saturday, April 26, we'll be piling at least five of us into Keene's Expedition, and headed for the hills, mud, and creeks outside Newark, Delaware. Charlie Andrews, Joel Shilliday, Mike Keene, Landy Cook, and I are taking a trail running road trip to add some interstate mud to our repertoire.

Joel and Charlie will be chasing each other around the 10K course, I will quickly lose sight of Landy during the trail marathon, and Keene, who is a glutton for novelty, will be throwing his trail shoes in the mud for the enticing "Triple Crown," where you run a half-marathon, followed by a 10K, followed by a 5K. He will be the RUR experiment to see if any of us try that stunt next year :)

Pretty remarkable to roll with five head to a trail race, but maybe no more remarkable than having five head out running around Easton in the dark. The RUR mileage king, Don Marvel, is likely shaking his head with regards to our mud-hopping gusto--Don prefers flat road courses, where he can let loose. This despite having finished 3rd overall in the Appalachian Trial-happy JFK 50-miler in the early 1980s, in a time 4 and 5 HOURS ahead of where Keene and I finished the same race this past fall.

Me, I'm a mudder (shut your mouth... I'm just talkin' bout trail running... ;) . I have the most fun on the trails, and tend to feel I run my best there as well. So I am amped about the Trail Dawgs race. I can't wait--for both our respective/collective races and the trip itself, the time spent with the RUR crew, and the double-screening of the classic films, "The Wizard of Oz" and "The Sound of Music." Hopefully Joel and Charlie will survive without nightmares...

There is still time if anyone else is interested in signing up. There is a link under upcoming races, and you can register online or on race day.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have checked the course schematics, and I fear there is no river crossing for the 10-K option, thus depriving Charlie and Joel of a shared bonding experience on this outing.

For my part, I am hoping for high water so we can swim across rather than wade. Also, it will give Michael K. a chance to hone his swimming skills prior to the Eagleman.

Gold stars to Charlie and Joel if they go across the river anyway even if it isn't part of the "course".

http://www.udel.edu/johnmack/traildawgs/tc/TC_schematic.GIF

Michael Valliant said...

Dag nabit! Well, it looks like the course runs them right next to the drink. We'll have to make up some "Reward" fliers with Charlie's photo, and see if anyone will railroad him in...

Anonymous said...

Hi folks! One of these mornings, I'll try and sneak out to meet up with you. Just "tweaking" the schedule. Great blog, interesting stuff...
At the very least, I hope to bump into some of you at the Traildawgs run on 4/26.

Michael Valliant said...

Hi Derek - thanks for stopping by! What race are you running at the Trail Dawgs day? We'll be sure to look for you, and hope to see you some morning or for a Tuckahoe trip.

Anonymous said...

Hi Michael-
I'll be running the marathon. Prolly middle of the pack somewhere. It would be great to catch up with you guys sometime...I do tend to get out to Tuckahoe a few times a month.