I usually plan most of my races in advance. If not registered for well in advance then they are at least on my calendar so I can sign up for them if I decide I want to run it. But sometimes you just go run a race.
In 2024 I paced a friend for 20 miles of the Twisted Branch 100k. Since then we kept in touch about our running adventures and races we wanted to run. They mentioned to me that they were going to run the 2024 Mendon Trail Run.
I was not familiar with the Mendon Trail Run event, so I had to look into it. The event takes place on the beautiful trails of Mendon Ponds Park. I am beginning to become fairly familiar with those trails from events I have run over the years. So, that gave me an idea of what to expect if I decided to do this race.
The event features a 10k loop over varying terrain. And what makes this event special is when you register you can decide to run that loop from 1 to 5 times. That means you get to chose between running a 10k, 20k, 30k, 40k, or 50k.
It was a long drive to run a 10k. And I was not really feeling up for a 50k. But I wanted to run something that would still be difficult. I settled on the middle distance, a 30k. I am not sure I had ever run an official 30k before.
When I told a couple of other friends about the event and that I was running the 30k they decided to run as well. They signed up for the 20k. And then my wife decided to sign up for her first ever 10k trail run.
And the best part about the event is that all the distances start together. So even though most of us were running different distances from each other we all were able to toe the line together and start the race as a group.
The first loop was fun. I went out way to hard. I could really feel it catching up to me on my second loop. And by my third loop I was toast. But it was good to get out there and do something hard.
After we were all finished some of us went to a nearby brewery to hang out and have a few drinks.
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