Bradbury Mountain Bruiser 12 Mile Trail Race

I'm not sure why it's taken me until Thursday to begin writing this race report, just lazy I guess.  Anyway, Sunday was the last installment of the Bradbury Mountain trail running series.  The first race was the 6 mile Scuffle in July.

beginning of the scuffle---oh so happy!

The second was the 9 mile Breaker in August.  

at the summit.  not as happy here.

My friends, Danielle and Jim, had signed up for all three and we were all going to complete the series and earn the "Bad Ass" hoodie that you get when you finish the series.

The race started at 9:00, which is a pretty perfect start time for me.  It means that I can get up at a reasonable hour (read:  not ass crack of dawn), leave my house at 7:30, and still have time to arrive early.  

As I was collecting my things for the race--my hydration belt, fuel, fluids etc, my phone buzzes and it's Danielle telling me she's sick.  wah.  She is smack in the middle of training for Chicago and MDI Half Marathon and was just feeling like crap.  She had also had an episode of breathing difficulties and a racing heart rate at an earlier race and didn't want a repeat of that.  I was sad that she wasn't going to be there, but glad she was taking care of herself.  I left for the race a little bummed out that I wouldn't have a chatting partner for what was looking like a 3 hour run.

Elevation chart with all three races.

The elevation profile for this race (in blue) was looking fantastic compared to the previous 9 miler (in green).  I had hopes that this one would not be as difficult as this previous race.  It turns out that this race had difficulties of its own.... but that's for later.

At the start I found Cathryn, who I had run with last time (see pic above at the summit) and it was great to find her and be able to run with her and her friend.  Ready, set, go! and it was time to run.  The start was crowded because the trail was really narrow and just wide enough for one person.  It took a mile or two to thin out the crowd but everyone was really nice and friendly about passing and allowing others to pass.  I love trail runners!  

Mile 1:  13:19

Mile 2:  13:34

Mile 3:  11:51

Mile 4:  12;01

Mile 5:  12:30

I really had no thoughts or difficulties during this part of the race.  The terrain was technical in places but the elevation was comfortable and I didn't find much about these miles difficult at all.  I think there was one stretch of walking at about mile 4.5 to take some water at the aid station and chew a gummy gel thing.  I spent time talking to Cathryn and then when I lost her briefly, I was talking to Kayla, a field hockey coach of my daughter's.

Mile 6:  11:33

Mile 7:  11:45

Mile 8:  12:19

Mile 9:  13:29

These miles were, dare I say easy?  and fun.  I chatted with another woman, Pam, who it turns out I had scheduled lacrosse games with last spring, AND her daughter was the girl we helped out at the last race.  So weird.  This world is really small sometimes.  I really felt like I could do this all day.

Then came the hard part.

See that last little bit right near the end that looks like brains?  It's called the O-trail.  And it sucked.  I think it may have gotten it's name from how you feel when you are on it.  

For example:

~Oh shit--these rocks are everywhere and I twisted my ankle again.

~Oh--where the hell is the trail?

~Oh--didn't we just go that way?

~Oh--sweet baby Jesus, are we done yet?

~Oh--seriously.  Where is the trail?  Follow those guys.  No, wait, they are going the other way.  Shit.

There were times (multiple) when I came to a complete stop to try to figure out which way I was supposed to go.  You could NOT look up from your feet to see the trail ahead because that would be a sure way to trip on something and break your leg.  However, looking down at your feet made it super hard to see this non-existent, barely used, trail and which way it was going up ahead.  Very frustrating section of the race. 

Even worse, you could hear the cheering at the finish line for what seemed like forever.  I kept thinking I was almost done and then the trail would switch back and we were going the other way.

Mile 10:  15:28

Mile 11:  17:02 Pretty much walking around saying where the f**k am I?

Mile 12:  8:45  My Garmin had the course short a half a mile.

Official time: 2:32:51

Very pleased with that finish time.  I had expected to finish around 3 hours, so a full half hour sooner was a big deal for me!  I was so happy to get to the finish line and pretty proud of myself as well.  Cathryn and I finished together and crossed holding hands.  What a great running buddy!  I wished she lived nearby.  

Right as you crossed the finish, a volunteer was there to give you your Bad Ass sweatshirt if you had completed the series.  I was psyched to get it and have something to change into right away.  It was a chilly day to start but when you are all sweaty, it's even worse!

See?  I am officially a bad ass.  my sweatshirt says so. 

This time I finished early enough to get some watermelon!  Yes!

All in all, I really enjoyed this series and would consider doing it again next year.  I think I could improve on all my times now that I know what to expect.  Plus, Danielle needs to get her bad ass hoodie so I'm sure she'll want a running partner.

All my scheduled races are finished for the year.  It's weird to have nothing on the agenda.  I feel like I might have to squeeze in one more half.....  Anyone care to join me?