The rain stopped for Halloween morning, and this year's Spooky 12k drew its largest crowd ever. Mike and I went up to Port Gamble, just wanting to run the race for fun, and it turned out to be a great morning. Probably 250 or 275 in the field, this one starts at the same airfield where other Roots Rock races are held. Mike and I were top 15 or so out of the start line, I wanted to go out easy because the trail was pretty slick (didn't want to bunched up and fall down the first little hill and sharp turn) and because my right quad is pretty sore from the bruising at bball the other night. After the first mile things streched out, Mike and I were running with a small pack in the top 10, and I could see the guys that usually lead up at those races (Jansen and Jason). There was one elite that showed up from Seattle and crushed everyone, ran 40 minutes on a hilly, windy and sometimes muddy course. Mike led up the hills, I tried to conserve energy and let him go maybe 25-30 yards with some teenagers. I caught them after the first half hills were over, and felt pretty comfortable. My quad had loosened up as well, which was nice and I got the turnover going again. I could even glimpse Jansen and Jason, so either they were running slow or I was doing alright. Moved past Mike and the high school kid that were left at the 3.5-mile mark or so and then cruised down a steep trail and got some momentum. After we hit the 5-mile mark I was still feeling it, and pushed to catch another guy. It was good to get pulled along and respond. The last bit goes around Beaver Pond, which is a really windy and thick forest, and kind of muddy/slippery at times. Since I had quickly dropped the guy I passed on the main road, I thought I was alone and, have to admit, backed off a bit. Dumb, because when I jumped the log to cross a small bridge the high school kid had caught back up. So he stuck right on my tail up the last set of small switchbacks, although I kept him behind me even after taking a small detour through 5 feet of brush after missing a sharp turn. I crested the hill with a few steps on him, with 150m or so to the line on the grassy finish. I had a bad feeling, because teenage XC runners tend to have good turnover this time of year. I held my lead until the last 15 yards, when he crept up on me. I splashed through a puddle then and just couldn't stick him. Lost by a second or so. Oh well. Still got 7th (and a pair of socks), Mike was 9th, the sun was out, and I was happy to be done. Cooled down, chatted with some others in the field, and went home. brooks cascadia
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