The 2009 Race

Well, once again we had ourselves a GREAT time out at Babcock! The weather was spectacular, the park and the course are too. Got lucky didn’t we….;-) My hat is off to all the volunteers that so freely gave of their time and smiles to help us out! A very big Thank You to Jody, Laura, Maura, Dawn and Shelley for your work on the registration and timing. We couldn’t do it without you, you know!

I could say, at this point, that there were some battle scars from that course. Ironically, the font used on the shirts is called “Bleeding Cowboys”! The line “We rode that thing to the ground….” keeps popping in my head. Silly me… but there really were some good stories that came out of the Babcock “experience”. I won’t name any names… no, I can’t pick on anyone in particular… as it seems most everyone had a story to tell and a smile on their face at the finish. (Maybe it just feels good to stop running?)

It is the “experience” that I would like to touch on for a moment if I may. The “experience” for some may be a defining moment in the race… a very personal moment where you found something inside yourself that you didn’t know was there. Maybe it is something that made you laugh at yourself as you get up from tripping on a rock… or maybe you found an inner toughness that you never knew existed and it was a “wow”. For some it was another day of running in the woods, with all the sights and sounds, and hoping to beat a previous time and feel good on race day. Whatever that experience is for you, hopefully it is something that can bring a smile to your face weeks from now, out of the blue. Hopefully it will make you shake your head and chuckle for no apparent reason. Hopefully it will enrich your life not only on the trail, but also off the trail. That is why we run, for that experience we take with us after we are done. Thank you all for coming and making this race happen and grow! Tell your stories… they are what makes the race great! And remember us next year when you are looking for your Spring race! Bring a friend and a camera. If you are coming this way at all, give us a call or email- let’s get out and run….

Until then...Happy Trails!!

For complete results, go HERE.

See photos from the race HERE.

For more information about the West Virginia Mountain Trail Runners organization and series got to www.wvmtr.org.