Dirty Kiln Five+ Miler

While the girls slept in John, Mark, Jared, Larisa and I headed out to run the Dirty Kiln Trail Race. John did the half marathon while the rest of us ran the five mile loop. It's called the Dirty Kiln because of some old kilns along the course and because the course is a wet, muddy slog.  There were a few paved stretches near the end but for most of the race we were treated to at least ankle deep mud, a couple of stream crossings, and what felt like a never ending uphill section that was really only suited for mountain goats.

Pre-race. We're still smiling because we have no idea what is waiting for us on the course!
Well, we had a little clue from the race map. All those warning triangles should have made me much more nervous than they did but I was just so happy to be going on an adventure with my friends that I really didn't think about it too much!


Once the starting gun went off Jared and Mark were off and Larisa and I trailed far, far behind. We could still see the starting line behind me and there was only one person running slower than us. Yep, we were in second to last place! We did eventually pass a few people (looking at you random 10-year old boy) but we were definitely not going to win any prizes for fastest running!  I think part of the reason we were running so slow was because we kept stopping to take pictures.

Here I am in front of the kilns the race is named after. Still smiling because this is before the
eight-inch wide, super steep,  never-ending mountain trail we had to climb.
My running technique for hills is to keep my head down and just keep moving forward. I never look ahead to see how far I still have to go because that's just too discouraging.  In this race it was also a good idea because if I kept focused on anything but the ground in front of my feet I would have been sickened by the sheer drop along the left side of the trail. According to Larisa's Fitibit, we climbed 72 floors during the race and I was never so happy to see the top of a hill. Until I realized that we had to run back down the equivalent of 72 floors. Seventy-two muddy, slippery floors that had been made even worse by the 400+ runners that came before us. I was glad I'd stopped on the way up to tighten my shoe laces or I am certain I would have lost a shoe, or both shoes.

It sounds like a terrible experience, but in fact it was the most fun I'd had in such a long time. Staying upright was a challenge not just because of the mud but because I was laughing so much and if I wasn't laughing I was squealing as I half-slid, half-jogged down the mountain behind Larisa. I thought for sure we were going to slip, fall, break our legs, and have to be carried back to civilization.  Luckily we survived and made it to the bottom of the mountain and our first stream crossing!

Honestly, this seemed larger than a stream but smaller than a river. Is there a name for a body of water like that?
Up to this point I had at least tried to avoid the mud as best as I could. My shoes were muddy but I'd been pretty good at picking out the least muddy route along the trail. But then we came to the worst stretch of mud we'd seen yet and there was no work around. So we just went for it, stopping for the perfect picture along the way!  From that point on there was no turning back from the mud and it became my goal to get as muddy as possible. I had such a great time making my way along the course with Larisa talking and laughing. I've felt somewhat friendless since moving here, especially lately for some reason, and this experience and the reminder that I do have friends (really amazing ones) was exactly what I needed.


The race was supposed to be five miles, but from the information I was getting from my Garmin (which was verified by Larisa's Fitbit) the course was closer to six. Unfortunately we didn't figure that our until after the race. It was kind of disheartening towards what felt like it should have been the end to realize that you weren't at the finish line at all. With about one mile to go we looked ahead and saw Jared and Mark running back to meet us; it was fun to finish the course with them and I appreciated that they loved us enough to run those extra miles to cheer us on to the finish.

I've never been one to save my race bibs but this muddy, messy race number makes me feel strong so it's not going anywhere anytime soon!
My muddy legs post-race; I'm rather proud of them and the way they carried me through 
The Dirty Kiln was messy, challenging, and great fun. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who finds themselves in Hollidaysburg, PA in early April; just make sure you have someone to laugh with while you run!

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