Despite trail running being one of my favorite things to do, I’ve never actually participated in an official race that consisted of a trail run — without stables, anyway.
Packet Pickup
Although packet pickup was available the day before at Fleet Feet in Carrboro, it was out of my way and I decided to show up early at the race to pick up my things. It turned out to be a good decision, as I was one of the first few people to arrive, and the first one to get my bib and shirt.
Packet Pickup in the morning
I had plenty of time left and chatted with a few people, including Willow, one of the race directors. The bulk of people started showing up shortly after 8am, which makes sense, as the race didn’t kick off until 9am.
Volunteers help with directing traffic
The Race
The race started farther back up the street, with the first section being on pavement and gravel.
Runners at the starting line
Shortly before takeoff.
Once we made our way through the starting area with spectators cheering, the trail was slightly wet, with some technical sections. Not quite as tricky as some of the parts of the Company Mill trail, but challenging nonetheless. This was a no headphones race, which is something I’m absolutely not used to. At the same time, it was great to run with so many other participants, around 500 people total between the 10 mile and 7k runners.
Results
The Official Results. I managed to place 24th total, and 6th in my age group. The timing for this event was a hilariously low tech approach: Rip off the bottom stub from the race bibs to track the order of arrival at the finish, and write down the corresponding time. It seemed to have worked well, and sure saves a lot of money over timing chip solutions. What I found interesting is that per the results PDF files, the timing was performed by Haggis McGillywert Race Management Systems. I was curious about this, and googled the name, but the only results that come up are for this race over the various years, with variations. Haggis McGillywert Race Management, Haggis McGillywert Race Timing Worldwide. Other than that, this person doesn’t seem to exist.
Post-race
I grabbed the camera post-race and captured a few finisher photos. Here’s a few of them:
Sometimes, you just have to be spontaneous. This race was an impromptu hail mary decision. I drove down the night before, straight to the Health & Fitness expo packet pickup location and signed up for the race. Somehow I felt good about it. Packet Pickup I wasn’t armed with cameras for this one. Just my phone, and it …
I realized I haven’t run a 5K in a while, and the Rock’n’Roll remix bling was incentive enough, since I’m already running the half marathon tomorrow. Packet Pickup As always, packet pickup was at the Rock’n’Roll Health & Fitness Expo held at the Raleigh Convention Center. I’ve participated in enough Rock’n’Roll events that I’m familiar with …
Arrival Generally I make it a habit to pick up the race packet first, but DC is one of the cities where it makes sense to first get situated and the car stowed. So the first stop after arriving in the city was to check in at The Donovan. Centrally located right by 14th and …
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Little River Trail Run Race Report
Despite trail running being one of my favorite things to do, I’ve never actually participated in an official race that consisted of a trail run — without stables, anyway.
Packet Pickup
Although packet pickup was available the day before at Fleet Feet in Carrboro, it was out of my way and I decided to show up early at the race to pick up my things. It turned out to be a good decision, as I was one of the first few people to arrive, and the first one to get my bib and shirt.
Packet Pickup in the morning
I had plenty of time left and chatted with a few people, including Willow, one of the race directors. The bulk of people started showing up shortly after 8am, which makes sense, as the race didn’t kick off until 9am.
Volunteers help with directing traffic
The Race
The race started farther back up the street, with the first section being on pavement and gravel.
Runners at the starting line
Shortly before takeoff.
Once we made our way through the starting area with spectators cheering, the trail was slightly wet, with some technical sections. Not quite as tricky as some of the parts of the Company Mill trail, but challenging nonetheless. This was a no headphones race, which is something I’m absolutely not used to. At the same time, it was great to run with so many other participants, around 500 people total between the 10 mile and 7k runners.
Results
The Official Results. I managed to place 24th total, and 6th in my age group. The timing for this event was a hilariously low tech approach: Rip off the bottom stub from the race bibs to track the order of arrival at the finish, and write down the corresponding time. It seemed to have worked well, and sure saves a lot of money over timing chip solutions. What I found interesting is that per the results PDF files, the timing was performed by Haggis McGillywert Race Management Systems. I was curious about this, and googled the name, but the only results that come up are for this race over the various years, with variations. Haggis McGillywert Race Management, Haggis McGillywert Race Timing Worldwide. Other than that, this person doesn’t seem to exist.
Post-race
I grabbed the camera post-race and captured a few finisher photos. Here’s a few of them:
You can find additional photos from this event in the Little River Trail Runs photo album on the Swiftchase Facebook page. It was a fun event, and I’m hoping to be doing it again.
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