It was felt so good to get back out on the trails at the weekend. It was my first time trail running since RAD in early December. It is also the first time I have ran the trails (bar the fire roads) over at Umstead State Park.
Saturday was such a beautiful day. The sun was shining, not a cloud in the sky. The temperature was right around 60°F. Perfect running weather.
Only I didn’t run on Saturday, oh no! I ran on Sunday morning in the rain instead! At least it was still 50°F.
Normally I’d be at church on Sunday morning with my family, but Fleet Feet in Morrisville were hosting a trail run, and I couldn’t resist.
At 8am, I met up with Niles and Shravan from our Morrisville Run Club and a few other runners we hadn’t met before to briefly discuss the route.
It had rained all night and did not stop at all on Sunday, and while the ground was saturated it failed to dampen the experience!
There was something soothing about running through the trees, hearing the patter of rain on the leaves above. As I ran, I couldn’t help compare the terrain with Eno State Park with which I’m more familiar.
We ran the Loblolly trail for six miles, out and back. Compared to the Eno there was way less trip hazards. But the hills! They surprised me a bit.
It’s always fun to have a creek crossing or two, and Umstead did not disappoint.
We convinced Niles the creek was 3ft deep and we’d have to wade across when in reality there was stepping stones. 🙂
On the way back however, the rain had pushed the level of water up over some of the stepping stones and I managed to get a good soaking!
My Hoka One One Challengers performed well on the slippy, muddy trail. There were a few wet rocks where I lost a bit of traction, but for the most part they were excellent.
We will definitely be back to Umstead.
Alastair Vance 