Tyler & Ashley Run with the cows at the Grasslands Half Marathon 3-21-09

We decided to drive up to the race site, LBJ Grasslands Park, North of Decatur, TX, Friday night and camp the night before the race. We got some new camping gear as a wedding gift & we had been itching to test it out. Like triathlon, trail running has it's own vibe / atmosphere. Most folks are very laid back and don't talk about "how fast did you go?" or "where did you place in your age group?", their questions are more along the lines of "how far did you go?", "how much elevation did you cover?", "let me see your scrapes". Race morning came and the 50 mile runners went off at 7am (yes, a 50 mile race), the marathoners at 7:30 and the half marathoners at 8am. Since we where only supposed to be running 13.1 miles we did a light warm-up and got in line with about 150 other half marathoner for the start. Soon enough, we were off. The trail wasn't very technical, but it was mostly loose sand - which made it tough to run fast and keep good footing. The course was also made up of loops - and this posed a problem to many racers. In the few trail races we have done, they each have had some sort of obstacle to over come - whether it be mud, rocks, cows or course markings. At around the 5K mark I, Tyler, ended up going off course for around 3/4 of a mile. Once I got to a closed gate I realized I must have been off course, so I had to double back another 3/4 of a mile. As I got closer to the initial point of mis-direction I saw other runners had made the same mistake - including Ashley. This was somewhat frustrating, but knowing the course and course direction is part of the racers responsibility - although when so many folks went off course you have to question... I pushed on & enjoyed the rest of the run - and only had to dodge cows on the trail twice. Once it was all said & done I finished in second place (1:35), about ten minutes behind the winner. Ashley added an extra mile to her half marathon, but still ended up winning the female race with a 1:40. You can get more info about local trail runs at www.nttr.org or check out www.dorba.org for a list of local trail running/MTB parks. Tyler & Ashley