Horse-Shoe Trail 50k (*20miles for me)

What a better way to spend a Sunday! How about getting together with 20 crazy trail runners for a first time ever HST 50k! Even better when I woke up bright and early to this...

24* and snow!!
Now I had never been on the HST before but heard good things about it. It runs east-west 144miles across PA. And being a first year event I knew this thing was gonna be fun!

This is everyone getting ready...

And at 8:30 sharp we were off for a 2mile loop of the park and then onto HST for an out & back. As with tradition of most trail races, it started with an uphill...

We had three water crossings each way that were neither to wide or to deep. Lots of stepping stones and lots of mud on either side of them...

Rik crossing a creek...

And at about mile 9 we came upon Hopewell Furnace National Historic site. We ran thru it...

We ran across the wood bridge to the right. Then up to the right of the buildings with the red roofs and then the trail makes a left. We followed this about another two miles to the aid station/turn around for the 20mile people!

This is just a pic that Rik took of me coming up on a down tree that you have to climb between the branches...

Then across the road...

To some more hills with lots of loose rock, covered with leaves and snow...

My ankles were great because I am used to rocks but these loose rocks were killer on my knees! I passed some guy walking dogs that said that watching me run hurt his ankles, lol :)

The race actually finished with a 1/2mile uphill of road then back onto a 1/2mile downhill of field/trail. Yes! A downhill finish!!!

And this is Rik & I with our yellow horse shoe finishers medals! (the trail is blazed yellow and an occasional yellow horse shoe)

Thank you to Rik for running this race with me! He is much faster but knew I was afraid of getting lost...which three of us did! Well, we didnt get lost, Rik & Rob were yapping and missed our turn. Of course I wasnt paying attention either...
And THANK YOU to the RD Josh for putting this thing together as well as his three volunteers who were better then awesome!!! Cant wait to do the full 50k next year...

Happy Trails! Thanks for reading :)