Wahaneeta

Wahaneeta Trail 5k
Results

The Wahaneeta Trail 5k stands as the first race of the WTAC Fall Trail Series.  One of my goals this year is to compete/participate in as many club events as possible.  With this race being early in the morning and conveniently located close to home, I had every reason to do this race.  It was also fun to not worry about getting a specific time and just racing.  With twists, bridges, and some technical parts, times go out the window and you can just focus on the fun.

Race Morning
After having a coffee and light breakfast, I headed over to Wahaneeta to help out with post registration and any other last minute tasks that needed to be completed before the race.  A little less than 15 minutes pre-race, I was able to sneak out for a five minute warmup.  With 100% humidity, I didn't take much of an effort to get "warm" but I still wanted to get some running in to loosen up.

The Race
RD Jeff gave out some pre-race instructions, offered up some props to the Westerly Land Trust, and before we knew it, we were off.  Right off the start, an unknown dude in compression socks blasted off the line.  The WTAC Train (Matthew, Muddy, Jeff/RD, me) followed not too far off.  After the initial burst out, the unknown dude slowed and I decided to make a move to make sure the train didn't get stuck on the single track.  If anything, I figured the move would be helpful to my teammates. Little did I know, I'd lead the "train" for the first lap of the course.  I knew Matthew was taking it easy and carefully waiting to make his move.  After a grueling and fun first lap, Matthew made his decisive move and Muddy, Jeff, and I were left behind.  I'd best describe my experience on the second lap as a suffer fest.  While paying attention to the well marked course, I thought to myself that I was glad today was only a 5k and wondered when Muddy and Jeff were going to drop me.  Somehow I was able to hold on and fought through the final lollipop of the course to them off (*Note: Only 8 seconds separated the 3 of us).  While my time was quite slow, I was happy to claim 2nd place and gave consideration to the humidity and slowness of the trails.   Overall, it was a really fun event and I mostly enjoyed running and suffering with my WTAC teammates.  Looking forward to more trail racing ahead!