Every race is different, every course unique and outstanding in it's own way. A 50K here and a 50K there we can never really compare. One of my favorite things about my races so far this year is the excitement of the mystery, each course, each ascent and decent is new and thrilling. Wild Idaho was no exception! The day started out early with a 3am rise and shine in my VW bus, Pumpkin, with the amazing support of a few buddies I was up and out! I welcomed the one hour drive to the Start/Finish, I enjoyed the peace and quiet of the drive getting mentally prepared for a fun race! The 6am start was perfect, 41 degrees felt awesome! The initial climb was bush whacking fun, I loved how the course took the runners to the Summit straight away. The first 17 miles felt pretty "easy" I caught myself thinking wow this does not seem like a Ben Blessing level race.... HA! That was before the epic 8 mile climb in the afternoon under the hot sun. That was crazy stupid in the most awesome way! Now this was a Ben Blessing race, Wet Foot trail was steep and lovely, the 30 minute miles were kicking my butt. My heart rate was jumping off the charts so pausing to rest was invaluable. Zig zagging through the forest to the best Aid Station ever was awesome, Skunk Creek AS was a welcome sight -- knowing this was also my turn around fueled my run that much more -- the watermelon was super tasty too! As I made my way back down to the finish I was as giddy as a school girl as I powered down the hill I stopped a few times to visit with fellow runners -- a highlight for sure and a welcome distraction from the annoying repetition of Little Bunny Foo Foo that echoed in my mind. The 10,200 foot elevation gain was epic, my down hill was stronger than ever and despite the fact that I know we cannot compare race courses however I will say this course was faster than McCall Classic and a great lead up to IMTUF.
Every race is different, every course unique and outstanding in it's own way. A 50K here and a 50K there we can never really compare. One of my favorite things about my races so far this year is the excitement of the mystery, each course, each ascent and decent is new and thrilling. Wild Idaho was no exception! The day started out early with a 3am rise and shine in my VW bus, Pumpkin, with the amazing support of a few buddies I was up and out! I welcomed the one hour drive to the Start/Finish, I enjoyed the peace and quiet of the drive getting mentally prepared for a fun race! The 6am start was perfect, 41 degrees felt awesome! The initial climb was bush whacking fun, I loved how the course took the runners to the Summit straight away. The first 17 miles felt pretty "easy" I caught myself thinking wow this does not seem like a Ben Blessing level race.... HA! That was before the epic 8 mile climb in the afternoon under the hot sun. That was crazy stupid in the most awesome way! Now this was a Ben Blessing race, Wet Foot trail was steep and lovely, the 30 minute miles were kicking my butt. My heart rate was jumping off the charts so pausing to rest was invaluable. Zig zagging through the forest to the best Aid Station ever was awesome, Skunk Creek AS was a welcome sight -- knowing this was also my turn around fueled my run that much more -- the watermelon was super tasty too! As I made my way back down to the finish I was as giddy as a school girl as I powered down the hill I stopped a few times to visit with fellow runners -- a highlight for sure and a welcome distraction from the annoying repetition of Little Bunny Foo Foo that echoed in my mind. The 10,200 foot elevation gain was epic, my down hill was stronger than ever and despite the fact that I know we cannot compare race courses however I will say this course was faster than McCall Classic and a great lead up to IMTUF.
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