HillBilly Half Marathon Recap!

This one was Tough with a very capitalized T!

I signed up for the HillBilly Half Marathon in February because the challenge looked intriguing(okay, really it might have been the coffee cup at the end)! I, somehow, without a lot of effort, talked my good friend Anna, into running this one. This would be her first official half marathon. I may have said something along the lines of not wanting to do an obstacle race because it was scheduled for March and I didn't want to cold and wet. Looking back - What was I thinking? 

This marathon and half marathon takes place on Rock Candy Road outside of Olympia. It is a beautiful, scenic trail run whose website states that "it is likely the hardest full and half marathon in Washington State.". I believe it is possible. If this run was held in July, not so much. In March, oh yes!

We drove up to Olympia at 5:00 am and got to Rock Candy's parking lot by 7. Packet pick up was efficient and easy. We huddled in the car until 7:45 when it  time to suit up, wait in the port a potty line, huddle under a warmer and wait for the signal to start.

Anna and I started out with some walking and some jogging. The course started on a gravel road with a faily tame incline. It moved to little more than single course track. The route was an out(up) and back. It was muddy, slippery, icy, slushy, snowy, technical, under water and cold! There was places were you ran through a foot of cold, icy mountain water because you simply couldn't go anywhere else and places where you wanted to stop and enjoy the gorgeous vistas. 

This was by far the slowest half I have ever run but also the absolute most fun. We laughed and joked and got cold and wet but we had FUN! I worried about frostbite at one point and was glad my lower joints taking a beating were frozen at other times. 

This reiterated my beliefs that trail runs are better than road runs for two big reasons. 1. The views are better. 2. The aid and recovery food is awesome. 

I fueled at the aid stations with kettle chips, peanut butter cookies, licorice and pretzel M & M's(my favorite). I enjoyed the best pasta salad, potato salad, hummus, vegetables and pita ever after! Anna went with fruit and cupcakes!!! Yum! 

There are a couple of things I would do differently. The first is shoe wear. We both wore our regular running shoes and the traction was just not enough! Must buy trail shoes! The next thing are gaiters are a must! I emptied my shoes at the halfway but it didn't take long for trail debris floating in the puddles to gather under my arches. I didn't have time to get any quality wool running socks and I think I could have used them but not sure I would carry my extra pair again, because my shoes were so completely soaked I am not sure it would have made changing them worth it. My clothing layers were just right but if I ran it again in identical conditions, I am not sure I would have carried my CamelBak. The aid stations were plenty as far as water went for the air temperature. 

If you are up for an adventure - try this half marathon. You get a great experience. Just be prepared for anything. This trail doesn't officially open until April so you never know what conditions you'll get! 

Mud past my knees? Yes! Shoes soaked through and muddier than they have ever been? Yes!

This is tame :)

Beautiful View!

Snow?!?!

Also pretty tame!

The puddles got bigger, colder,  icier, and with less "sidewalk" on the sides. There were many you had to plunge right through!


*These pictures were taken at lower elevation when I deemed it safe to take out the iPhone for a few pictures. From miles 3-9, the phone stayed safely in  a Ziploc in the CamelBak. Want to see more? Sign up and run next year!

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