This was a great little run held at the Lutherwood Camp & Retreat Center in Bellingham, WA. The distance for the race was 5k, not a common distance I race. The neat thing about this run was the fact that it was held at night. The night element added a unique factor to the race.
Arriving at the start, there was a good sized crowd waiting, anticipating the start. Many of the runners were wearing a Magicshine headlamp. These are some of the brightest headlamps on the market.
The instructions were given, jokes were made, and we were sent on our way. As we set off, I could tell that this was going to be fast and hard. I got off to a good start and was up towards the front which is where I was expecting myself to be. As we entered the second turn the top 4 or 5 guys missed white arrows and line of bright orange cones leading the way to the trail entrance. I got a good laugh and entered the trail first. Not too much later I was passed and settled into a comfortable pace. I tucked in behind a guy and tried to stick with him for the rest of the race. I did just that but was not able to catch him by the end.
The great thing about the course is that you never really knew where you were. It would make a left and then a right and go up and down, only to confuse you and make for a challenging course. The course would swing you by the start finish area as you think you would be finishing but only to swoop you away. You never really had a sense of how far you had gone or how far you had left to go. It was a blast.
The course was tough and had me red lining most of the time. I am not used to a race that took such a short burst of energy. My last short race was in 2009 at the Tulip Run in Mount Vernon. It was fun to get out there and challenge myself on a shorter race again.
What a night! The course was great, my headlamp was bright, and I had a blast pushing myself.
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