The Toughest Trail

Runner’s World asked for submissions for a feature on runners’ favorite race shirts; I decided to play along. I searched high and low through my self-curated archive of running shirts to choose the best.

Decisions, decisions.

There were so many cool designs (and some pretty lame ones); there were so many shirts that were reminders of many great races I got to be a part of. I flipped through my album numerous times, and kept coming back to a shirt that represented not one single race, but three attempts at the same event: the Ni-Bthaska-Ke Trail 12K. Rather than a new shirt for each year, there has been a single design offered for the event as a whole. I’ve done this race every year for the last three years, and it has kicked my butt soundly every single time.

Attempt #1: April 7, 2012.
I had been running for less than a year, but I had tackled a milestone for a new runner: the 10K. Searching for events, I found this race. A 12K wouldn’t be *that* much farther, right? It would be a challenge, but how much harder could it really be, right?

Right…..?

Oh, poor, sweet, innocent, stupid Me.

Not knowing what to expect, I ran with no water or fuel. I didn’t need fuel for my 10K; why would I need anything for an additional measly mile and a half? I ran my first-ever 10K in 1:14; this race took me an additional HOUR to finish (That’s one hell of a 1.5 mile). It wasn’t until after I finished that I heard other runners discuss how the course was so difficult, the 7.5-mile course was “a half-marathon effort.” For the first time, I experienced the “bonk”: that moment when your body completely runs out of fuel in your system, and things start breaking down. I walked a good part of my last couple of miles…marginally due to the difficulty of the course, but mostly because the only thing my brain could process was “sandwiches.” When I finally emerged from the woods to find my waiting husband, I could only eat chips directly from his outstretched hand.

It was a beautiful day to wish for the sweet release of death in the woods.

Time: 2:13:11

Attempt #2: April 6, 2013

The next year, I was a little more accomplished and confident as a runner; I had a half marathon under my belt, and was working towards a second half. However, as I ramped up my miles, I had injured something in my groin/hip flexor area, and around two miles into a run, I would feel some pain–after a longer run, I would practically be unable to walk.

I started stronger for my second Ni-Bthaska-Ke, but my injury caught up with me, and about did me in. I ended up pacing with another injured runner; we would take walk breaks together and periodically stop to stretch our pains out. We kept good company, but I barely limped across the finish line and couldn’t run again for a couple of weeks afterward.

Mile 7’s a doozy.

Time 2:18:55

Attempt #3: April 5, 2014

Third time’s a charm, right? I came back in 2014; I had completed a full marathon, I had run through much of the winter; I was ready and willing. This was the best trained, most prepared, and healthiest I had been for the Ni-Bthaska-Ke. I worked on pacing myself; I had fuel right at the right moments; I planned my water stops perfectly. I still had to walk the major climbs, and they still kicked the crap out of me, but other than the screaming legs, I felt pretty damn great. As I passed a few people toward the very end, at the peak of one of the toughest climbs, they teasingly scolded me for looking so happy. (People tell me that I’m a smiley runner, but that might be more of a friendly pain grimace they are seeing.)

Also, the face of victory.

I walloped my previous times so soundly, my husband missed my finish: he wasn’t expecting me for at least another 15-20 minutes.

Mile 7 continues to suck.

Time: 1:52:47

So I shared my shirt with Runner’s World.

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