FlatRock 50K (less the flat part)

After being talked into running the 50K @ FlatRock by K1 (aka Trail Zombie), I can say that it was Awesome. TZ looks relaxed before the 50K as he visits with Tom who is running the 25K. Brian on the other hand, was working on his video skills.

The weather was perfect, a bit cool at the start & with about 1 1/2" of rain the night before, we had a bit of a foggy send off.

Once our illustrious race director Eric Steele gave us the count down, we headed down a brief bit of asphalt & then off onto the trail .

Once off the beaten path, the fun began (some people have a weird definition of "fun").

It was not long before the adventure began as the "rock" of FlatRock was there right from the start. Sometimes even a bit of a tight fit.

Some of the places seemed a bit dark & spooky (Oooooo!).

None the less, we pressed onward & upward. Oh, I forgot to mention that the FlatRock course is ANYTHING BUT FLAT! Take a look at this profile -

Here one of the competitors navigates a tough section of the course.

After seeing how easy it was, the rest of the pack followed suit.

It seemed as though we were going up & up & up & up, but at the highest point on the course, we were rewarded with a breathtaking view of Elk City Lake.

Support along the course was second to none with lots of good eats (although I could have used my favorite - Oreo cookie with peanut butter topped with an M&M). Even without this, there was plenty as TZ heads out & Long Vu looks over the selection.

After a quick top off of our water & a bite to eat, TZ was back on the trail (maybe after a bit of bushwhacking, eh?)

Onward we pushed; through thick & thin, over hill & dale (who is Dale anyway & why would we want to go over him?)

With the rain the evening before, we were not let down as there was plenty of good ole' H2O along the course. Here Long Vu demonstrates how to cross without getting your feet wet.

Further on down the trail, I finally found an area that actually had flat rocks that were not at angles or standing up on their edge. It was nice of the race team to move some of these rocks out of our way (NOT!)

I definitely did my share of "clearing the trail" for my fellow runners as I kicked & stumbled over many a rock as I trudged on.

I will give tremendous Kudos to Eric & his team as the course was plenty challenging, plenty interesting with plenty of twists, turns, rocks, ups, downs, rocks, steep climbs, steep descents, rocks & some rock (Hmmm, I am getting the point of the name - FlatRock!).

Although I will not likely make the Hall of Pain any time soon, I will definitely be back next year & thereafter.

I am definitely ready for Heartland 100 now!

As always, live your life for God & Know No Boundaries!

God Bless You;

K2

Back from the desert

Well I just MAY have found a "boundary" that I could not overcome. It was a technical boundary that I ran across while working in the Egyptian desert for 30 days. I had taken photos of my running endeavours but soon realized that a satellite Internet connection through Germany was NOT going to allow me to upload photos in my life time. Well now that I am back, I thought I would share a bit.

Heading off from the "camp", it was nothing really spectacular, just a graded dirt road.

After a while, it came to a 'Y' in the road so I headed off to the left. Still nothing too exciting, eh?

Further down the road, I began to run into your typical oilfield stuff (pumping units, storage tanks, etc.).

It was from here on out, that the trail began to get fun!

Lots of rolling hills, rocks, sand, sand, rocks & rolling hills.

It was the ankle twisting kind of rocks (not those little pebble rocks).

It was an absolute blast running here (& also a lot of work considering there was about a 15 mile/hour wind in my face in the way back.

As I ran, I definitely took in the scenery. Although it is deserted (duh, it is a desert), there were some signs of life.

I will say though, that I am very glad to be back home. Now I am preparing for Hearland 100.

YEAH BABY!

(Sorry, I just had to day that.)

As I alwsys say, Know No Boundaries.

God Bless You;

K2