After playing pit crew for they boy's ill fated biking adventures for two years, I thought to myself "Why wouldn't I dress like a ninja and stumble through the snow for 4 hours?" So it was.
Our starter was the Mayor of Dyersville, IA! A nice touch. Side note, my list of personal meetings with Iowa officials continues to grow: Governor Culver, 2007, Mayor Heavens of Dyersville, 2011.
Race start
Before the race I got to meet Toni, Lori and Wendy (who were all running together), Jessica (who ended up being the #1 woman) and Lisa (who is a veteran of the race & who I met last year while spectating). For the first four miles I took the opportunity to have some company on the trail and run with Toni, Lori, and Wendy. We spent a lot of energy chatting, but it helped the miles go by.
After mile 4, the lonely trail begins.
And goes on...
The ninja hat/mask was probably overkill, but I was worried about being cold since it was only 15 degrees (5 windchill). Actually the cold didn't end up being a factor, other than a frozen camelback tube. But I was able to keep that from freezing by covering it with my mitten.
Seriously I saw only about a dozen people total from mile 6 to mile 23. A couple bike racers, two runners I passed, several locals out walking, and of course my photographer/stalker Devon.
All of a sudden, there were only 8 miles to go, and the the fact that my left toes were about to fall off (and indeed still might) seemed not very important.
I really enjoyed the solice. It was fun. Maybe next year I can convince at least one person to give it a try with me, though.
The finish line is right after this rusty railroad bridge.
The results are not yet confirmed online, but I should be the 2nd woman to finish (of about 12.) What I learned this year was that the best way to "go podium" is to enter a race with less than 20 women, or if you can enter a race where you're the only girl (i.e. my dominating championship race at Blue Mounds).