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The Best Race I've Never Run - Soulstice




Remember my last post with this title? Well, I may have changed my mind and found an even better race that I've never run: The Soulstice Mountain Trail Run! Don't worry, this is not the first time I've heard of it. This is, after all, the race every Flagstaff runner talks about every day of the year. It's that popular! But the first year we had no idea that we would've had to sign up 5 months before we even knew that we were moving to Flagstaff. The second year Karl laid down a great race and took 2nd but I decided I hate driving on dirt roads way too much to make it up there, especially in freezing cold temperatures. Little did I know how much I was missing out on! 


This year I was ready to see what the rave is all about. Just to make sure I wouldn't bail out again last second, I committed myself to watching our friends' son, Owen. I promised to bring him up there along with my 2 boys and cheer everybody on! I certainly love racing but I love cheering on family and friends almost as much! Especially in my off-season...


The boys were thrilled to have a play date at 6:30 in the morning! Who wouldn't be? After a great early morning of playing Lego, we bundled up and headed into the mountains. We made it to the finish line just in time to see Megan, Owen's mom, finish the 6 mile race and take 3rd! Nice work, Megan!  


The kids basically disappeared into the woods the minute we arrived and had a great time with Owen and the Ernst boys. There is really nothing I love more than to hang out with friends in a beautiful place while the kids are off having their own fun! The friends kept rolling in and everybody looked very happy to be out in nature pushing their bodies and feeling the fresh air burning in their lungs. Some also looked rather happy to be hitting the finish line...


Despite there being snow on the ground at some points, it was quite balmy and I was pleasantly surprised not to need all of the 25 layers that I had brought! The weather this fall has been wonderful so far (except for the day before this race which also happened to be the day of Noah's birthday party!) but you never know what you are going to find at 8,000+ feet... One thing is for sure: Beauty is abound! 

the wedding party

Karl had a great race and came in 4th! Awesome! There is certainly no lack of super speedy runners in Flagstaff! We socialized, soaked up the warm sun, witnessed a wedding of two of the runners right then and there, and managed to neglect our children. Oops! I just figure that as long as they don't come running to me crying or complaining, they are doing fine. And the great thing about the Flagstaff running community is that we all basically know each other and take care of each other. It's a great thing! 

After about 3 hours, I run into Max who is covered in mud head to toes. Including his cashmere sweater that he likes to wear all winter long! He is barefoot with boots in hand. Judging by the amount of mud inside his boots, they must have served as mud flingers or something! Noah and Owen are remarkably clean but instead of trying to find out what happened, I decided to feed them wedding cake instead. They seemed hungry. Some nice gentleman (!) figured it would be a good thing to clean their hands first, so I let him wipe their paws. Max now has a layer of white frosting over the mud in his face and is still barefoot. Awesome! While they are stuffing their faces with some hot dogs, a friend is wondering out loud whether I ever feed these kids... Anyone want to nominate me for Mother of the Year Award? Didn't think so. 

Eventually Max declares that he is ready for a bath and the whole happy family heads home. Since Karl had such a fantastic race and 11 miles is really nothing for him, I hand over all parenting duties to him and head up Snowbowl on my bike. Then I spend the rest of the day in front of the computer watching the Ironman World Championships. How could I not??? It was amazing and incredibly inspiring to say the least! 


PS: The boys and I have made it 4 whole days without Karl so far and, I am proud to announce, everyone is alive and happy. 4 down, 5 more to go. So far so good! 

PPS: Photo credits go to everyone but me. Some are from Bret Sarnquist but I can't remember where I stole the other ones from. Oops. 








Comments

Leslie said…
LOL! Nice Sarah ;)
I tell you, once you start these trail races, road will be so boring. Can't wait for more trail racing next year!
October 21, 2012
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