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Traprock 50 K! WHERE AM I NOW?
May. 8th, 2013 10:46 amI ran the Traprock 50K ultramarathon back on April 13th, just days before the horrendous bombings that occurred at the finish line of the Boston Marathon.
Traprock was treacherous, difficult, and mountainously steep in places, with amazing people running it and manning the aid stations. I made a friend, Gayle, who ran with me almost every step of the way. I count it a victory! Friends of mine didn't finish. One, Ed, left after the second loop of the course, his entire abdomen and chest dripping with blood. The rocks on this trail were SHARP; the "traprock" for which the race is named. You didn't want to fall on them yet they were everywhere trying to trip you up.
Some photos:
Posing at the entrance to the park:
( More race photos under the cut )
Traprock was not for the faint of heart. What I took away from it was valuable experience and a new friendship. It was easily the most technical and difficult run I have done, ever, and I think that makes me a stronger, wiser runner. And I walked away from it NOT covered with blood! Win!
As for the Boston Marathon, I think I cried for about 3 days. It felt completely surreal. Typically I would have been down at the finish line with the girls, waiting for Dan to come across. We would not have been in that direct area, but we would have been within a block or two of the explosion. (Dan did not run this year because he had foot surgery in December. He will actually start running again this week. He gave his number to his friend Wayne, who was not allowed to finish because by that point they had closed the finish line due to the explosions, but he made it out okay.) I have friends who work for running shoe companies who were literally RIGHT THERE, and two of the people who lost limbs are the cousins of my friend Diane. We pray for them. Their lives are forever changed. The running community around Boston is surprisingly small, at least relationship-wise if not numbers-wise. Everyone knows someone, or knows someone who is related to or friends with someone who was affected.
Strangely I do not feel "angry" at the perpetrators, just confused and pity and sadness. How did they get so extreme? Why was there that much hate? I only hope that there will be some answers for everyone in upcoming months from the surviving bomber and perhaps from the widow of the dead bomber. I'm not sure how this will affect the marathon NEXT year, but it will be something to pay attention to and might in fact influence my decision about whether to take the kids in to view the race or not. We shall see.
Traprock was treacherous, difficult, and mountainously steep in places, with amazing people running it and manning the aid stations. I made a friend, Gayle, who ran with me almost every step of the way. I count it a victory! Friends of mine didn't finish. One, Ed, left after the second loop of the course, his entire abdomen and chest dripping with blood. The rocks on this trail were SHARP; the "traprock" for which the race is named. You didn't want to fall on them yet they were everywhere trying to trip you up.
Some photos:
Posing at the entrance to the park:
( More race photos under the cut )
Traprock was not for the faint of heart. What I took away from it was valuable experience and a new friendship. It was easily the most technical and difficult run I have done, ever, and I think that makes me a stronger, wiser runner. And I walked away from it NOT covered with blood! Win!
As for the Boston Marathon, I think I cried for about 3 days. It felt completely surreal. Typically I would have been down at the finish line with the girls, waiting for Dan to come across. We would not have been in that direct area, but we would have been within a block or two of the explosion. (Dan did not run this year because he had foot surgery in December. He will actually start running again this week. He gave his number to his friend Wayne, who was not allowed to finish because by that point they had closed the finish line due to the explosions, but he made it out okay.) I have friends who work for running shoe companies who were literally RIGHT THERE, and two of the people who lost limbs are the cousins of my friend Diane. We pray for them. Their lives are forever changed. The running community around Boston is surprisingly small, at least relationship-wise if not numbers-wise. Everyone knows someone, or knows someone who is related to or friends with someone who was affected.
Strangely I do not feel "angry" at the perpetrators, just confused and pity and sadness. How did they get so extreme? Why was there that much hate? I only hope that there will be some answers for everyone in upcoming months from the surviving bomber and perhaps from the widow of the dead bomber. I'm not sure how this will affect the marathon NEXT year, but it will be something to pay attention to and might in fact influence my decision about whether to take the kids in to view the race or not. We shall see.
