Afton, MN 25k

Dear Friends,
I've decided to run off with a lumberjack (or NWA pilot, or cheese farmer) and stay in MN. Please help me by sending a parka and some snowshoes. :)

If you're looking for a beautiful, yet challenging, summer race I have one for you. Afton State Park is about 1/2 hour west of the twin cities, Minneapolis-St Paul and right on the St Croix river which separates MN and WI. There is a ton to do while in the MSP area afterwards and the people are just so darn nice! I'm coming back next year and would love to bring a contingent from TX.

http://www.aftontrailrun.com/index2.htm

The race reminds me of Bandera, challenge-wise, but that's where the comparisons end visually. There are a bunch of relatively steep climbs, blissful downhills, flat straightaways along the river and nearly the entire race is covered by a ceiling of giant trees to keep you cool in the 75-80 degree weather. Aid stations are plentiful and situated about every 2.5-3.5 miles. The shirt was a really nice Marmot short sleeve, tech shirt. It's also a decent race for family to come to as there are easy spots to catch up with your racer at aid stations.

And to top it off, everyone here has the delightful Minnesota lilt which you can't help but smile when you hear them talk. If I could find a job up here, I'd stay and brave the winters.

I originally signed up for the 50k in February, but life got in the way of training so I wrote the RD to bump me down to the 25k. As it was, most of my training ended up being regular, long bike rides to work a few times a week. I was pleasantly surprised at how that was enough to not make this race too miserable. I posted a time similar to that of my average Bandera years and was content with the results. I'll train harder next time.

The 50k folks got an early start at 6:30. The average to slower folks would need that time later as the heat and humidity kicked in later in the day. There were two folks from San Antonio here for that race. The 25k started an hour later and only did one lap compared to the two the 50k people would run. The temperature was deliciously cool, around 68 degrees.

The RD, who looks more like a skateboarder than ultrarunner, gave us the quick rundown before sending us out for the day. At the "go" I somehow got wrangled near the front of the 250 person pack, but fortunately, the trail was wide and I was easily passed by the jackrabbits.

We dove into the trees and down a hill for nearly a mile immediately. I kept thinking that the only bad thing about downs are that htey are nearly always followed by ups. Sure enough, we hit a section aptly named, Steep Climb, that had steps carved into the side of the hill. Oh and I passed a ski lift along the way.

Not too long afterwards though, we popped out of the cool woods and into a beautiful, green, grassy field where we stayed for a few more miles. We'd see other portions of this field later in the race again. This was about the only place that sunglasses would have been nice to have. I wore some, but honestly, I wouldn't wear them again to this race unless I was doing the 50k and running into the mid-late morning. You really don't need them with all the shade.

A wide swath had been cut through the grasslands and tiny purple flowers created a patchwork of bright color woven into the green. The trail continued on after the grassy knoll, diving back into the woods. It mostly was a wide jeep or horse trail covered in soft dirt and leaves while in the dense coverage. At one point, a giant, white-tailed deer bounded across the trail less than 30 feet away.

I love the solitude of trail running. I occasionally chat with someone for a few minutes, but mostly I enjoy the quiet time away from the real world and really take in the sights and smells of a different place. This was the perfect escape.

The trail continued through it's ups and downs until about the 7.5 mile mark where it dumped to a flat spot along the St Croix river for less than a mile. It was welcome relief for the legs for a few minutes. I took the headphone out of my ear and just listened to the river lap up against the steep bluffs. This section was short lived, though and it was back into the trees for another climb.

Then at mile 9.5, we popped back out to an aid station where my friend, Deeann was there waiting to say hello and take a few pictures. She'd never been to a trail run before and was just in awe of the carb buffet and how much fun people were having - runners and volunteers alike. Maybe I can convert her someday. :)

From there, it was another blissful, flat mile along the river again. I'd stayed behind a tall man sporting a shirt that said, "There's a nap in my future" for most of the race. He managed to catch a good break here and slowly left me behind.

The next 3.5 miles were more grasslands and trees, though the hills weren't bad. THe first 50k runners were starting to lap me at this point. The male and overall winner was blazing fast. He won with just over a 6.5 minute average. Wow! The woman who won could be Letha's twin sister. She was fast and looked great! Both offered up a "good job" as they swept by.

The final aid station came at 12.5 miles and I knew there was really only one big hill left to the finish. What I didn't remember is that most of this last few miles was basically a gently downhill. What a way to go! This is where the trail turned into a singletrack snowshoe trail. It was narrow and more like what we're used to in TX. It was quiet but for the sound of footbeats, breathing and myriad of birds cheering me on to the finish. The one steep climb on this portion was enough that it helped to grab onto trees to help pull you up. The 6th place 50k runner passed me in this area also grabbing trees to get himself up. He looked tired, but still had enough to finish up.

FInally, at the top of the last small hill, I saw the cars parked on the side of the road and knew the end was near. I could hear the crowds cheering for their runners. I came across the finish line to find Deeann grinning and happy to see me still upright. The finish line had hot burgers waiting for us at at 11:15 in the morning, it was still only 80 degerees!

I chatted with RD for a few minutes and he actually remembered me registering early and thanked me for coming all the way up. I got a personal e-mail from him later that evening again. Nice touch.

Overall, it's just a really good race and because of the beauty for the entire time, just nudged the Shadow of the Giants out of the top spot for my favorite race. I will definitely come back for this one and suggest you take a look at it.

Off for a nap, a Twins game, fried cheese curds and beer! I'll throw in some pictures when I get back...IF I come back. :)