I’m alone now, plodding along with the rhythm of my heart beat keeping time with my footsteps. There is someone just ahead, just around the next bend I guess, and a few runners behind me a bit. The reddish Bedford County dirt under my feet is soft and forgiving, the roots and the quartz slabs in this part of the Piedmont – well, not so much. About 10 miles of this rough but beautiful course lie behind me now; not far to go. I’m fatigued and trying to stay on my feet (lets’ keep the blood inside me!) but, in a weird way, there’s nowhere I’d rather be.
This is the Trail Nuts Half Marathon, one of the trail running races in a 6-race series put together by Mountain Junkies of Roanoke. Mountain Junkies is a husband-wife outfit that’s been putting on races for five or six years now.
Josh and Gina Gilbert’s day job is running a chiropractic practice, but their love of the outdoors and physical fitness in general, and trail running in particular, drives their sideline endeavor that is Mountain Junkies.
Ok, so now I’m really tired. Only a mile to go. I’d like to hang on to my current standing, but it’s going to be tough. There’s no way I can hope to catch anyone ahead of me; the closest one is not far up the trail -I’m still catching glimpses of him- but he seems to be speeding up, if anything.
No, my current strategy is to keep ahead of those behind me, those breathing down my neck, as it were. I try to “dig deep” as the tired cliche goes, but my efforts are pretty modest, shallow in fact. But now I’m on the final climb to the finish.
The rusty clay is slippery and my feet slipn a bit. I can’t help looking over my shoulder for potential challengers. It looks like that lady might pass me! She almost does, but smiling she ends up calmly striding through the finish not far behind me. I’m smiling too; claps and shouts of encouragement and congratulation come from those gathered at the finish.
By the way, besides there being lots of women in the series, the age range is great; there are participants aged from the early teens to seventy plus. One might be tempted to gaily describe the older participants as “young at heart,” but I say they’re just plain old, tough, and a little eccentric. I happily count myself as one of them.
The Roanoke Non-Ultra Trail Series, as it’s officially titled, showcases some of the best, most easily-accessed trails in the Roanoke area. Some of the venues include the Chestnut Ridge Loop trail, Explore Park, Montvale Park, Mill Mountain Park, Falling Creek Park in Bedford, and the extensive trails of Carvins Cove. Over the course of the series the racers have the opportunity to tackle longer, more difficult races; several of the races offer a choice between a 5k and a 10k, or a 5-miler and a 10-miler, or a 10-miler and a half-marathon -you get the picture. The final race of the series, held in early June offers a full marathon option.
Not only do the various race venues represent the wide variety of beautiful trails in the area, but the organizers take the participants, over the course of the series, from the dead of winter to early summer, experiencing the stunning change of seasons that we are so blessed to enjoy here.
The first race is the Frozen Toe 10K, aptly named since the Chestnut Ridge trail is usually covered then by at least some ice and snow. By the time of the last race the mountain foliage has that deep green of summer, and the warmth of the season is really settling in.
My mind is wandering as my body does the same, slowly and steadily padding down Arrowhead Trail at Carvins Cove. This rhododendron-thick path is one of my favorites; it follows the drainage of a tiny mountain stream. I’m in the middle of the Conquer the Cove Marathon, the last race of the series, the grand finale. A shorter option is the 25k course, perhaps meant for saner folks. But what the heck, I’m doing the big one, and happily not only is it incredibly beautiful out here, but the weather is cooperating. It’s cool and clear.
A big part of the fun in the Mountain Junkies races is the camaraderie among the participants. It seems that the sense of community and friendship transcends age and “walks of life”; through the series most of us have developed close friendships with people decades of difference in age. Heck, Caleb, one of my best Mountain Junkies buddies, is almost 40 years younger than me. Sheesh!
I’m on the “1000-foot climb,” a long ascent of Brushy Mountain in the Cove Marathon. It’s mile 22. I’m very tired. In fact I am oh so ready to have this thing over with. Forty minutes later I’m relaxing at the finish, nursing sore muscles, eating and drinking, and laughing and sharing stories of suffering on the course with my fellow trail runners.
The misery quickly fades from my mind, and soon I’m asking, “So when’s the next one, anyway?”
– Johnny Robinson