The "Toughest Trail in Texas" was wicked friggin’ brutal. That’s what it was.

This was my first organized trail run of any kind. I had run the Texas Half two weeks prior and wanted another good race (1/2M or 25k) before resting up for the Bataan Death March at the end of March. My choices were either Cross Timbers or Cowtown. I honestly did not want to pound out 13 more miles on pavement, so I went for the trail run.

As background…..I am fortunate enough to live less than 10 minutes from either end of the Grapevine North Shore. During the fall and winter, I try and do my weekend longs runs there (~9mi). From my (previous) perspective, this is a tough 9mi run…..single track, technically challenging, fun when muddy, etc. I asked the race director of CT if it was a comparable trail and she replied "umm…..sure". Should have known right then. I had read the race reports from previous years and it certainly sounded difficult, albeit doable.

I left for Whitesboro on Friday afternoon to spend the night close to the race start. I didn’t want to get up at 0330hrs on Sat morning to get there. It was a wise choice as the race location and directions were challenging. Anyway, I figured out where I should go and where I should check in the next morning. I had a little pasta for the pre-race meal and spoke with an older gentleman and his wife for a while. They were both very nice and engaging and took pity on me as I was about the only person there (it seemed like) that didn’t know others there or who hadn’t come with a race partner. I got my race packet after some confusion as the activedotcom server had gone down and I wasn’t on their list. Luckily they knew about it and I had printed out my receipt. Headed back to the hotel about 2000hrs, laid everything out, and crashed around 2300hrs.

Woke up at 0500hrs on race day ready to roll. I knew I didn’t have to be there until 0700hrs, but I always like to get there early with breakfast on the way, and read the paper with a cup of coffee before the race start. The weather was perfect….a little cold when it was dark, which was when the 50 milers and full marathoners took off. I went with my cold weather gear which for me is adequate between about 35-55F. Although I saw remnants of clothing throughout the race to be picked back up on the loop, I was good all morning. I only had to tuck my gloves into my waistband. It didn’t feel like there was any discernible wind, the sun woke up, and it was a glorious day to PT.

We got our race instruction about 15 minutes before the start. Follow the white markers (which were very well laid out), stay away from the yellow markers, where the aid stations were, etc. There was a nice campfire at the start line and I tried to crowd in with about 30-40 other folks to keep warm. As with any other race, there were all shapes and sizes. However, you could tell with this group that they were a little more dedicated/advanced/professional about running compared to an organized road race. At about 0730hrs, we were off… straight up a 200 meter hill. Lovely.

Everyone ducked into the woods on top of this nice start and proceeded in an orderly single file line for the first mile or so. It was difficult to pass, or get passed because it is truly single track and hilly. After the jackrabbits bolted off, the rest of us started re-ordering based on pace and politeness. It was not uncommon over the course of the race pass and then get passed by the same folks a couple of times.

On a general note, I thought the course conditions were great. It had rained hard in North Texas two days prior, and the ground was nice and soft, but not muddy. There were several nice little creek crossings, lots of oaks and cedar, loose rocks, mossy rocky, hidden rocks, tree roots, stumps, leaves, etc. I didn’t see any wildlife at all, but that probably had more to do with the fact I was staring at my feet as opposed to taking it all in. All in all, a great course……except for the damn hills!!!

I thought these things were going to kill me. It seemed like every time you got to the bottom of one, you started right up another one. Some were alright, others just damn ridiculous. They certainly made it fun. I had been told the night before that it was a little "hillier" than GNS. That is an understatement. Overall, I think I handled the 3600ft elevation change (net zero) well for the first 11 miles. The last 2-3 were brutal. There were a number of inclines that I had to walk up. Based on all the folks I saw on these slopes, I wasn’t the only one. There were a few that I needed to grab hold of trees to help pull my way up. The down hills were equally challenging. I thought the first 4-5 miles had negotiable downs. I tried to use it to my advantage and get some speed and some time. However, at that point, my legs were fresh and my mind was clear, so it wasn’t a problem. The back side was more difficult due to dead legs. I tried to eat the North Texas soil on two occasions by dragging my feet. Somehow while crossing a little ravine I caught a branch that came back and hit my knee and caused a nice cut that trickled blood down my leg. Towards the end, I saw a photog on the course and before I got there she called out that it was the first blood she’d seen all day. My only response was "that is very disappointing".

Anyway, I felt good to the first aid station. My compliments to the volunteers that hiked all that stuff way out there. I had a little Gatorade and some water from my Camelbak, and kept on rolling. It did seem like that aid station was deep in…..maybe 4 miles or so. I made it to the second station at 1:32. Checked in and turned around to head back. I did not dawdle, as I hate to have worthless, standstill seconds ticking off. Ate a Gu-gel and some more water and kept going. This part of the course, maybe 1+ mile, was an "improved path" of some kind, though still rocky and not flat. A bunch of the other 1/2M’s had passed me heading back already when I had gotten on this path.

On a sidenote, there were two distinct areas that I recall on this course. The first was right before the first aid station. It was a mossy rock covered hill that you basically had to climb up. There was no way to run it. It was like climbing a rock ladder. The second was after the aid station and it was a long downhill (on the outbound) ravine. The path was basically a little ledge next to a bottom of the rock covered gorge. It was very beautiful and, for me, very difficult to navigate….in both directions. Anyway, I thought those were the two coolest features of the course…..albeit very difficult and time consuming.

I finally made my way back to the aid station at about 9 miles in. I was doing okay at this point, not good, but okay. Since I don’t normally eat on any runs other than Gu’s, I just blew right by it. In hindsight, I would have been well served to have had a Gu, or cookies, or pb&j, or something. This was the first time that I had ever run where I was calorically short…..and it wasn’t very fun. However, lesson learned for next time. Shortly thereafter, I started hurting. Part of the reason I blew it off was because there were a couple other folks with me in a pack when we arrived. I assumed they were going to stop, so I decided to keep rolling. It worked to the extent that 2 of the 3 did not catch up to me, even though I was crapping out towards the end. Over the last couple of miles I drank a lot of water and kept going as best as I could. If it was a severe up or down, I tried to hump it, and when it was runnable, I went at the best pace I could. These hilly miles, which had been nice and easy at the start, absolutely beat me down on the way back. I kept waiting and waiting to break out onto the road and it never seemed to appear. I kept getting glimpses of it, only to turn up and away from it.

Finally, at long last, the road appeared and it was downhill for the last 200 meters and across the finish line in 3:11:03. I was very happy to have made it…..and honestly, I don’t think that there was ever any question about finishing, just finishing strong where I didn’t have anything else to give. I was admittedly fuzzy-brained at this point and I started chewing on just about anything that was edible. About an hour after I crossed the line, I felt good, so to speak, with regard to caloric energy. My hams, quads, calves, feet, biceps, and shoulders hurt like hell. It’s never a good sign when your upper body hurts.

All in all, it was an absolutely great race. A wicked course that really made me reach my current running ability. Sincere thanks to all the race coordinators and volunteers. It was very well organized and everyone was very nice and positive. I certainly plan on doing it again next year, hopefully stronger now that I know what to expect.