Renegade Racing: Summer Trail Series #1-3 Race Recaps
Last summer, I ran the July and August races at Renegade Racing’s Summer Trail Series at Peter’s Canyon. The July race was my first trail race ever. I did not know what to expect. I had hiked before, but I had never done a trail race. I survived both races luckily, because I came back this year to do more!
I actually started off the series with a 3-mile trail run at the XTerra Renegade Off Road Triathlon in May. That was a hard hot race. Even though it was only three miles, it was one of the hardest races that I’ve ever done. I rewarded myself with some Yogurtland after the race as lunch.
Race #1 (June) of Renegade Racing Summer Trail Series was not bad at all. I carpool’ed with Heather and we usually run around the same pace. Neither of us had trained very much for the race. Because I did two of the series races last year, and I hike there frequently, I knew the race course. Going into a trail race and knowing the race course is half the battle. I knew where the hills, and where the flat spots were along the way. I also made sure to bring water with me. Even though it was past 6pm at night, it was very hot and I needed lots of water during the race.
Heather captured this photo of me while I was running the race. You can see my hydration belt in the photo on my waist. It has two 8 oz. bottles on it. Heather and I both PR’ed the race and we were pretty stoked, for ummm not training. After the race, there is a BBQ which is always awesome!
Heather and I took a picture together post race to celebrate our PR victory! Heather wrote about the race and our awesome 5-minute PR on her blog.
Race #2 (July) of Renegade Racing Summer Trail Series was super hot and humid! I already knew that it was going to be. We were leaving for vacation a few days after the race and I was not very focused but I still PR’ed from last year’s race, yippee! Heather did not make it to the race this time, which made me sad. But I finished, which is always a good thing! It appears that I pretty much copied Heather’s outfit from June’s race for race #2.
and now for the last race, Race #3.
Race #3 (August) of Renegade Racing Summer Trail Series was faster than last year but a total bust. Let’s just say that I will blame it on lack of training and problems/issues with my feet. Oh, and hydration. What’s that? Ya, Julie…it’s summer, you might want to drink some water. The running wasn’t super hard for me, it was more of an endurance issue. But oh my goodness, I was soo happy to be done. My pace for race #3 was the slowest of all three. I did get a new pair of trail shoes between races #2 and #3, the Brooks PureGrit 3, which I love the new design. I realized after race #2 that I needed a new pair of trail shoes, and bought my PureGrit 3 the day after the race.
Andrea (WeRock Coach, Badass UltraRunner, and Badwater Finisher) and I at the starting line of the race. We look so happy to be racing! She is much faster than I am, and obviously, she has been running a lot lately. She finished way faster than me. I was just happy to complete the 5 miles.
Yippee!!!! I’m done. You have no idea how happy I was to finish the race. I wore my Sparkle Athletic skirts for every race. Yes, you can trail run and race in a skirt!!! It makes everything more fun!
Now to wait for the medal…
I think there were only like 30 people who completed the entire “Dirty Series”. We will be receiving our medals in the mail soon. I cannot wait to receive mine.
Have you raced lately? Why not! Now’s the time to sign-up for some great Fall events!
I’m a Renegade Racing Representative also and wanted to share a discount with you!!!!
Get 10% OFF on all Renegade Race Series events with the CODE: JULIEDISCOUNT
Disclosure: I’m a representative/ambassador for Renegade Racing. I was provided entry to these races free of charge. I was not compensated with cash or any other bribes to run these races and post about them on my blog. All my complaints about the heat and lack of training are true. All photos are mine except for the ones Heather sent me, and the one I stole from Andrea.
