My Experience at the Macedonia Trail Race

This race scared me. 25 kilometers with over 3500 feet of elevation. I had never done anything like this before. 

May 2022

I had recently finished my first half marathon and was on the hunt for my next challenge. Many take the leap to a full marathon, but I wanted something a little different. After some searching I found the Macedonia Trail Race. There were three distance options and the middle distance (25k) caught my eye. This was a little bit longer than the half marathon I just finished and had the added element of being a trail race which I was eager to try. 

So I signed up, took out the giant white board from my basement and came up with my training plan for the next 14 weeks. I looked at it once I finished writing it down and thought… what the heck did it get myself into!

Looking back now, those 14 weeks of training were some of the best weeks of training I’ve ever had for any event. I was all in, or maybe just running scared. Either way, I ended up falling in love with the process. I knew this race would test me like nothing I had done before and committed to training like I had never done before. 

September 2022

It’s race day! All the work is done. I knew this would be a physical and mental battle. 

As we were corralled at the starting line to get the pre-race brief my heart was pounding. I was certain the people to the left and right of me could hear it. As we get told there was one minute left before we start, the rain begins. My first thought was, this is cool, I didn’t run in the rain at all during the past 14 weeks. 

The gun went off, the first two miles were out and back on a gravel road and I planned to start out really slow, and I did relative to the rest of the pack. When I took a glance at my watch I realized I had just run the first two miles about 4 minutes faster than I wanted to…

As we entered the single track trail I slowed my pace considerably. This course was a loop and we had to complete it twice. The entrance to the trail was a slow gradual incline. I was already breathing heavily. I knew getting my breathing under control now was the most important thing if I wanted to have a chance at finishing, so I walked for 5 minutes to let myself reset. 

At times I was literally running on giant rocks. The rain made for some slick conditions. I fell…twice. Luckily nothing but some extra mud on my hands and shorts. 

As I made my way through the first half of the loop I started to find my groove, the groove I had hoped to settle into originally. I started to enjoy the trail despite the rainy conditions. Heading into the first aid station Lauren, my wife, was there cheering me on which was a great boost in energy. I didn’t need anything at the aid station so I moved through it quickly. The second half of the loop was a big climb up and over Cobble Mountain. As I made my way toward the first part of the climb I was feeling confident. 

Climbing up Cobble Mountain is pretty brutal. The path is steep and there is a rock scramble that made me feel more like I was bouldering than running a trail race. About half way up Cobble Mountain the legs are burning and breathing was labored. My mind wanted to jump ahead and think about how I had another lap to do after this, but I kept trying to stay in the moment and not think about the second lap. I just wanted to get to the top of Cobble Mountain. 

The rain had let up. At the top of Cobble Mountain the view is spectacular on a clear day, today didn’t give much of a view with the cloudy sky. The descent down Cobble Mountain is significantly easier than the climb up. The trail becomes softer and more runnable with less tree roots and rocks. I was tired from the climb but felt good enough to pick up the pace a bit. 

Once at the bottom the scenery became familiar as I got back to the gravel road we started on. Again, getting to see Lauren gave me a boost of energy that I needed at that moment. There was another aid station at the beginning of the second lap. Again I didn’t need anything, I was carrying everything I needed in my pack. 

Lap Two

I found comfort in knowing exactly what to expect on this lap. I knew where the slick spots were and where the tough climbs were. I was able to plan my nutrition better in an effort to help me with the climbs. My legs felt heavy but I knew there was only one lap left. 

The first half I fought my mind. I didn’t want to think about climbing Cobble Mountain again, but at times I couldn’t help it. Like the first lap I was in a groove by the time I got to the first aid station. I ran through the aid station and headed for Cobble Mountain. 

At the base of Cobble Mountain I was honestly exhausted. I started the climb up and kept telling myself, “just take one more step”. This course had pulled everything out of me and the only part left was arguably the toughest part. 

“Just take one more step”.

Getting up Cobble Mountain the second time took much longer.

“Just take one more step”. 

My legs did not want to move, my whole body was feeling tired. I wondered why my shoulders even felt sore. Up the rock scramble I gripped the rocks as if I was on a giant cliff. I had to get up this mountain, after that it would be smooth sailing. I was having trouble keeping my HR low on the climb. I wanted to sit down and rest. 

“Just take one more step”. 

Once at the top I took a deep breath and smiled, I knew the toughest part of this race was over. I just had to get down and to the finish line. I was not able to pick up the pace like I did on the previous lap but I maintained a steady pace on the way down the mountain. A light drizzle had started again and this made the descent a bit more slippery than the first time, happy to report no falls though. 

The Finish

I got to the gravel road and was filled with emotion, I just got my butt kicked. I wanted to give up so many times on the second lap. I kept taking one more step and found myself staring at the finish line. I ran through the wet grass pumping my hands in the air. Crossing the finish line I had given this course everything I had. I didn’t win this event, and that was never the goal, but as I crossed the finish line I felt like I won. I persevered through all the tough training runs and strength sessions, made it to race day healthy, and completed two very tough laps around Macedonia State Park. On that day I learned that I am capable of so much more than I ever thought possible.