On Sunday, March 17th, St. Patrick's Day I ventured to Tulsa, Oklahoma where I competed in the TATUR (Tulsa Area Trail & Ultra Runners) 3 hour Snake Run that was held at the Turkey Mountain Urban Wilderness Area. 3 hours you may ask? Yes, 3 hours. This race was like none I have ever participated in.
Most races I compete in are road races, but this was an off-road, trail run that weaved along the Snake Trail at Turkey Mountain. In most races you are running a specific distance and trying to run it as fast as you can. In the 3 hour and 6 hour Snake Run's you are running as many miles as you can within the specified time frame.
The temperature was hovering around 40 degrees with light mist falling that kept the trails moist. The trails weaved throughout the trails at Turkey Mountain and was a 4.2 loop with aide stations at each end. There was also a 1/2 mile loop to assist runners complete shorter distances towards the end of their time. If a runner were on the course when the 3 hour/6 hour time frame expired that loop and mileage would not count towards their totals thus the reason why they had the 1/2 mile loop to assist those near the 3 hour window complete smaller amounts of mileage without risk of losing out larger amounts of mileage.
168 runners of all ages embarked on this adventure at 9:00 am and weaved through the first half mile or so in single file until the group thinned out. I was quick to get out in front of the main group and avoid the bottleneck. One reason that this was advantageous was the trails were extremely rocky and full of crevices and tree roots and uneven surfaces. It is not easy to run on these type of surfaces when you can't see more than 2 feet in front of you; it really cramps your style.
Over the first hour I felt great and had settled into a nice pace, but over the next two hours my body wore down significantly. I managed to trip over several uneven obstacles due to my legs and mind being exhausted. The last time was within the last mile and I took a nice spill on my knee, but managed to collect myself and finish strong. I was able to complete 4 loops and a half mile loop totaling 17.8 miles. It was my first ever trail run and I finished 6th in my age division, 16th in the men's division and 18th overall. I am very pleased with the end result and overall experience.
It was one of the most memorable running events I have ever been apart of. Running through the trails and wilderness with several others reminded me of the good ole' cross country days of old. It was challenging and yet fun. I will do it again next year and will be much more prepared this time around.
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