the day has come! surprisingly, i was not as nervous as i thought i would be. i had slept on Eric+Mindy's couch the night before, with the dog, 'mooshy'. we rose early, a little before six. we ate, gathered all of gear, we were out the door by 7:20. TNF really knows how to put together an event. from aid to support to trail marking. everything just felt very well organized. we picked up our bibs and i checked in my bag. I really enjoyed the atmosphere, there is something about being around a bunch of like-minded trail runners that gets me motivated. I sat by the propane heaters until the start, although it wasn't that cold, it kept my body warm. soon everybody lined up by the starting line, and the horn sounded. what's different about a trail race of this mileage, is that you don't get that same sense of urgency as you would on a road race. everybody just starts off on a slow trot, knowing what lies ahead. everything got quiet, real fast. no more spectators. we were off the road and going up...and up for about 2.5 miles. there was a mix of rock and dirt, mostly rock. the last mile and half or so up to anthony wayne aid station was rolling hills. at this time, we were all still rather light on our feet. bombing the down hills, and charging the ups. we were fast through anthony wayne, only refilling our bottles quickly. leaving the aid station we crossed what was the palisades parkway i believe, then the trail made a quick turn up. this section, again was rocky, and things started to get real muddy, as there is a lot of runoff from the mountain. did i mention it was rocky? at this point in the race, we found ourselves forming a small pack. sometimes people would surge forward or fall back, and then regroup. soon enough the 9 mile silver mine aid station approached. i refilled all of my bottles. 2 water. 2 GU brew (like Gatorade w/out the sugar) gu'd it up, swigged some more GU brew and we were off. this was a 5-6 mile section, and without a doubt, the toughest. we found ourselves coming out of the aid station with a small pack of runners. particularly one very talkative girl. which i actually enjoyed. at one point i was in the front of the pack. looking behind me, i could see the pack surging and slowing at my pace. it was kind of cool. i felt like i was running the show! Eric and I took turns leading, because i know how daunting it can be running on someones tail through the trail. you get dizzy almost. so i would wave him to the front whenever or ask. given Eric's lack of trail running experience, I was rather impressed with the skill of which he handled the terrain. there was one particular downhill, that was just all rock maybe 16-17% grade descent. i was waiting for someone to fall but we all managed to get down unscathed. there were some nice ascents leading up to these ginormous rocks embedded in the earth. then the trail would dip and climb in the same manner several times. this was the most scenic section of the trail, that is, if you even bothered to enjoy the scenery. about a mile or so from the next aid station, i found myself out of fluids and found Eric to be cramping from, judging by his arms, a lack of sodium. give that man some electrolytes! this was a definite low point in the race. I had no fluid, and I didn't think Eric was gonna make it. we walked for a while, until we finally saw the next aid station. we started running. it was like an oasis in a desert! i quickly ran to the gubrew and swigged about 20oz of that good stuff. looking behind. i saw Eric in a chair, they asked if he needed a medic. i said, 'no' he just needs some sodium! i kept handing him gubrew to drink, after about 5 minutes he was fine. we ate some oranges rolled in salt, making sure that wouldn't happen again. i had a stinger wafel, and a few brownies before we headed out. we also sprayed on some bug spray, something we overlooked coming in to the race. there were lots of little gnats, i may have swallowed a few. we left that aid station with new vigor, we both felt revived and ready go. after trotting on the road for about a 400 meters. we dipped onto the trail. this next section proved to be a nice break from the rocks that blanketed the first 15 miles of trail. it was a 4 mile section of almost all downhill single track. Eric and I eventually found ourselves alone just barreling down the hill. i was definitely in the zone at this point. the single track gave way to fire road eventually, than back to single track. and at some point merged with the 50k and 50mile runners to make for a slightly more crowded scene. there were people passing and slowing down to walk. I was chatting with one lady running in front of me, I stated that the next aid station was at about mile 21. she says, oh I'm at mile 42, I'm doing the 50 mile, i hit 21 about 4 hours ago. well don't i feel like a dumb ass! and this lady was bookin' it, she passed about 3 marathon guys in front of her. my big 26 mile achievement, suddenly didn't feel so big. seeing this lady kick ass really motivated me to want to push myself further. i will run a 50 miler next year. I have been bitten by the trail bug! we soon approached Anthony Wayne aid again. it was breath of fresh air to return to the same aid station we were at some 17 miles ago. and to also have a few spectators cheering you on. again i was fresh out of water. and ready to refuel. i took a salt tab. so did Eric. we could have tied him in a knot and sold him as a pretzel with all that salt on his arms! never seen anything like it. I binged some more. ate a few brownies, some mountain dew, and a GU to go. we were ready to tackle the final 5 mile stretch to the finish. it felt good, but there was still a lot of running left. 5 miles is 5 miles. the technical rocky terrain would never let up. i dubbed the course. the ankle crusher! we definitely kicked it up a little on this last section. i believe we passed 3 people, but also was passed by a girl! these girls are damn good trail runners, what gives? i heard one guy right on my tail, but eventually the pitter patter of his feet gave way to silence. he's gone. a couple of sharp downhills later, and one last steep climb, we could here the announcer on the loud speaker. and damn, did it feel good to run trough that last tunnel and on to the road leading to the finish. runners who had already finished were cheering us on, and that's just awesome. after all, that's whats its all about, the comradery. Eric and I started the race together, and we finished the race together. helping each other out along the way. it was a team effort. I thoroughly enjoy running, particularly trail running. i trained 4 months for this event, and i know that it paid off. it's a great feeling. Karl Meltzer says it best, endurance is a state of mind, it's knowing how to cope mentally with running for a long period of time. to train your mind to react to the punishment you are ensuing upon your body. Northface hosted a spectacular event. I was very pleased with the aid station support and the course layout. thank you dad jess mindy and mooshy for your support on race day! it made the experience that much better. i would certainly come back next year. on to the next trail run...the escarpment trail
