Mt. Hood 25k Race Recap

This past weekend I ran the Mt. Hood 25k! It was my second time racing it and it was definitely a different experience than the first time, but overall, it went well. I was a little disappointed in my performance, but I realize that not every race will be the best race ever.

When I ran the race 3 years ago, I was running trails a lot more and had worked on a lot of speedwork on the trails, so that was really helpful. It was also much cooler that year and today the temps were warm from the second I walked out of the house. I realized that I primarily run early in the morning before the weather warms up too much and I was less heat acclimated.

Although it didn’t go quite as well as I hoped, but I felt proud of myself for pushing through. There were a few things that went really well, and I was encouraged by those; I froze my water bottles the night before, so my hydration vest stayed very cool, which was wonderful! I also had zero tummy troubles, which was amazing! I stuck to my favorite gel, SIS Beta Fuel and that helped a lot. I also never fell! The first time I ran the race I fell a couple of times, so it was nice to avoid that this time.

The race started off well, with a little bit of congestion as most races do when they start on single-track, and it took a couple of miles to get spread out a little bit, but I was able to get into a good position and keep it the rest of the race. The trails are all very beautiful in that area and the race is partially on single track and some of them open up to a little wider type of old service road. The race goes by many different campgrounds and there are two aid stations that supply hydration and nutrition and lots of cheer! The second aid station by the dam is fully stocked and having someone sponge water on my hat and head and eating a slice of watermelon was delightful in the hot heat. Passed the dam are the really scenic lake views and while I only snapped a quick picture, it was so beautiful and pushed me forward. The last 4 miles were tough, it got really warm, was a little dusty, and was a bit uphill. Once I knew I was close to the finish, I pushed myself to keep going to get to see my family and friends! Celebrating with them after was wonderful and I am so grateful for their support! I am also so proud of my dear friend who ran her first trail race ever and crushed it!

If you are looking for a first trail race experience, I highly recommend Mt. Hood Trail Runs. The 25k ended up being 16 miles on my watch, which isn’t a short distance by any means but it does lend itself to be more approachable than an ultra distance for newer trail runners. The race starts out on trails a little ways away from the lake but then comes back to Timothy Lake and the views are incredible. The total elevation is a little over 1400 feet and the hills are never too monstrous.

Go Beyond puts on the most inclusive, well-organized, community supporting events and it was a fantastic experience, as with all of their races. I appreciated that they had Impossible Burgers at the finish (which are one of the only gluten free types), so that was really nice! They had very friendly volunteers, and it is such a nice touch that both Renee and Todd give out the finisher’s glasses. I was bummed to not get an age group finisher’s glass this year, but it only adds fuel to the fire to work harder!!