{"id":9424,"date":"2018-09-25T16:33:42","date_gmt":"2018-09-25T20:33:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bloggingsam.com\/?p=9424"},"modified":"2021-01-26T13:12:55","modified_gmt":"2021-01-26T18:12:55","slug":"boulder-beast-2018-the-road-to-hell-is-paved","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bloggingsam.com\/?p=9424","title":{"rendered":"Boulder Beast 2018: The Road to Hell is Paved"},"content":{"rendered":"

Here are some photos from the Boulder Beast trail race in Lock Haven, PA (September 22, 2018).<\/p>\n

Traversing the boulder field was great fun and not as easy as one might expect. It’s a lot more significant in person than it appears to be from a distance. I wish I had taken more photos, especially through the middle section of the race. But that’s the section where I could only focus on moving ahead to get to the end. I was under prepared, overweight, and running with spasms in my quads most of the way, except, of course, when I was going up those long steep hills, stopping to lean on trees every 10 yards. There was no running then, only spasms.<\/p>\n

On one of those hills between mile 11 and 16, I swore to myself this would be the one and only time I did this race. I doubled up on the swearing that night as my legs seized over and over. But as I spotted Rote Overlook high up on the mountain as I headed back to New Jersey on I-80 the next day, I recalled how stunning that view was and I began to miss that course already. Yes, it was damn hard. Yes, I was fairly miserable for long stretches. So what?<\/p>\n

Now I have a new goal: get back to Lock Haven next September and do better!<\/p>\n

By the way, the first 3 miles of the course are on paved roads, hence the title of this post.<\/p>\n

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Milling about waiting for the start as the sun came up. Note the boulder field on the mountain to the left.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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#352 (Not sure who to give credit to. This was on the Boulder Beast Facebook page.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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A few miles into the woods<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Arriving at the boulder field<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Going up<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Almost to the top<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Photo by Michael McNeil<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Photo by Michael McNeil<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Photo by Michael McNeil<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

=> Click here to see more photos by Michael McNeil. <= <\/a><\/p>\n

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The view over Lock Haven<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The view over Lock Haven<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Somewhere after mile 8<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The Goat Path<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Looking down on the mile 11 aid station from the Goat Path<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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One of MANY streams. Your feet will get wet on this course!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Not sure where I was at this point<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Approaching the mile 16 aid station<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The fire road after the mile 16 aid station. I ate a jelly donut while walking this. It was the most amazing thing I ever tasted.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Rote Overlook around mile 19<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n