Race Report - 2014 Hot To Trot 8 Hour Run
8/03/2014 04:29:00 PM![]() |
A sea of pink during the pre-race briefing. |
Day #2 of my back to back adventure
I woke up at 5AM to get ready for part 2 of my weekend adventure in ATL. I did my usual morning routine and headed from my hotel in downtown Atlanta to Lithia Springs State Park. I've been there a few times for different ultra events and this time I was headed there for my first "Hot To Trot 8 Hour Run". However, my goal was not to run for 8 hours the day after the Stone Mountain repeats. Instead, I set a more reasonable goal for a 50K distance, giving me back to back long runs with lots of elevation gain.
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Early trail loop section approaching the creek. |
I arrived at the park, paid my park entry fee and arrived for the race check in with plenty of time to spare before the race start to set up a chair along the course near the start/finish area. The race course consisted of a single loop of roughly 1.2 miles with a couple of climbs, one somewhat major, one rather minor. However, over the course of 8 hours running loop after loop, the elevation gain becomes more significant with every loop you run.
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Running along the creek. |
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Sunrise above the creek. |
The race was scheduled to start at 8AM and after the pre-race briefing, the race just kinda started with some folks still wondering if this was actually the start of the race. Very informal, just the way I like my ultras:-) I settled in the back of the pack to not keep anyone from running "their" race while I was trying to record some footage from the course. I barely moved at a running pace, taking notice of the course to see how difficult it would be. I noticed quite a few familiar faces during this first loop and it made for some brief but very enjoyable conversations.
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The big climb on the loop. |
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GoPro selfie during lap one:-) |
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Pretty serious profile:-) |
I hope to be back next to run with the GUTS peeps, great RD, crew and fellow runners! Thanks everyone for a great ultra experience!
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