I Made It Out Alive...

...and I'm almost serious!

The "Hogsback" Wilderness Trail Run: I've been looking forward to this race for a couple of weeks now. Because it was close to where I grew up this race was not only a convenient excuse to head home and take advantage of Mom's home cooking, but also a chance to visit a part of my childhood. The Hogbacks (or "Hogsback" as the race directors have called it after it was misspelled a few years back, read HERE) is a giant Genesee County Park that includes about 1,100 acres of mostly wilderness. My siblings and I have fond memories of this area...we'd go sledding down Dead Man's Hill (a toboggan hill which contains a great deal less ruts, stones, and stumps than I remember trying to avoid as a kid), walk the trails with our dad and I remember going back there with my friends to collect newts, tadpoles, frogs and other wildlife that we'd stick in a fishbowl for a while and watch grow (the tadpoles were especially fascinating).

I haven't been back there in years and was quite excited, but, oh boy, was I not prepared.

I. hurt.

I've run races that claim to be trail runs...there's was the recent Mackinac Island Half that was a "trail run", but I estimate that only about 4 miles of the course wasn't paved....then there was the Stony Creek Back to the Beach Half that didn't claim to be a trail run, but I do believe that it mentioned some trail elements (which it definitely had)...

But nothing has compared to what I participated in today. The "Hogsback" Wilderness Trail Run is the most difficult race I have ever participated in.

It's "trail run" in every sense of the word. One-track trails making it difficult to pass others, ruts, rocks, stumps, tall grass, itchy branches that leave you bleeding, almost-straight-up inclines (one of which I climbed up using all fours, as well as used small trees that were sticking out of the ground to help pull myself up), almost-straight-down declines, trails running adjacent to 100 foot drop offs, mud--THICK mud complete with horse hoof rivets (we started and ended at the Elba Equestrian Complex), of course this was ALL covered in leaves (which makes it slick and, well, let's just say "difficult to see obstacles") and we definitely can't forget the, not one, but TWO river crossings (a trail run wouldn't be complete without at least one of these, right?). Add a little horse poop, throw in Dead Man's Hill (a toboggan hill which isn't half as rutty and rocky as it was when I was little) and you're good to go! I can't imagine what this race would be like if it snowed...oh man, I hope I didn't jinx it for next year!

In one word: wow. I had SO much fun running this race, and it was made even better by the fact that I was able to participate along with my two "little" brothers. The youngest of the two, Zack, ran the "Hogsback" 5 Miler with me, while the older of my brothers, Nick, ran the 2 Mile "Piglet" run (in his defense, his a bodybuilder, not a runner...definitely different training regiments!)

Here area few pics from the race:

Right down the road from where I grew up is the Elba Equestrian Complex, the "race headquarters". I'd been back into the Hogbacks many times, but never been back in this particular area. It's a nice place to hold equestrian events or simply go out on a daily ride.

We pulled up, I picked up my packet at the back of the trailer and my brothers signed up at the side.  Here we are: Nick, me and Zack with one member of our cheering squad, our dad's dog Gracie.

Here's the entrance to the trail/course for the 5 mile "Hogsback."

This was both the start for the "Piglet" runners and the finishers' chute for all events. The "Piglets"  ran under the pig and entered the woods through the trail head located behind me in this photo.

"Piglet" Nick ready to go with his headphones on, waiting with our cheering squad, Gracie and Bryan (Bryan was also our personal photographer while I was running :) )

The grub that we partook in when we finished. It was fantastic! Chili, rice and chicken soup, rolls, water, and Gatorade...I was full when I left!

The Hogsback awards!

And we're off! The Hogsback runners entered the course to the right (your left in this photo) while the Piglets ran to the right.

My brother, one of many finished Piglets, haha.

Here's Zack crossing the finish line (he's a little hard to see--he's located to the left of the very-left leg of the inflatable pig, in bright blue shorts, gray t-shirt, and a black hat.)

And here I am finally crossing the finish line (with absolutely horrible form, so sorry you had to see that, but I was  so exhausted at this point that all I cared about was finishing!)

Nick and I resting with Gracie after the race. Others were looking at some of the times that were posted on the picnic table we were sitting on.

Zack wasted no time getting food, then headed straight for the campfire the race directors set up for us. How does he look so calm after this race, considering he hasn't run in about 2-3 weeks? and I haven't stopped training and feel like poo...go figure :P

Gathering around the picnic tables for the awards.

Nick won a Piglet Award for his age group! A very nice handmade clay medallion...pretty cool (btw, I won't mention that he was the only one in his age group *chuckles*)

Race Review:

Type: Trail run with a pig theme :)

Race Directors: rotpac.com


Location: Elba Equestrian Complex, Hogbacks, Genesee County Park. Take I-69 and get off at Exit 149, go north for about 5 miles and it will be on your left (there is a sign marking the equestrian complex and the race directors put out a sign for the race, as well.) Here's a map link: Elba Equestrian Comlex .

Distances offered: A 2 mile "Piglet" and 5 mile "Hogsback" (actually, we found out after the race that the course wasn't quite 5 miles, more like 4.5...but I have to say that it felt like 10 :) )

Size: Small, only 163 finishers if I counted correctly; large enough to be competitive, but small enough to really enjoy it and share painful memor.... uh, I mean, interact with other racers :)

Course difficulty (in my opinion): DIFFICULT (but soooo worth it!)

Course Description: Rocky, rut-ish, hilly, stumps everywhere, but absolutely gorgeous scenery (which you'll notice if you work up the courage to look up for the ever-changing terrain :) ) A really fun challenge! Think Tough Mudder on a smaller scale...but with the same physical results, hehe


Shirt: A nice long sleeved tech shirt in various colors, depending on what size you are and if you preregistered

Here's the shirt! I chose green, with my other two choices being yellow and white (I already have a lot of white and yellow :).)

After-Race Perks: GREAT food (as mention one of my photo captions), bonfire to warm up, a well spigot (used to give water to horses, but also works for the participants' purposes :) ) to wash off yourself and your shoes, fun awards (as seen in above photos), little giveaways and, last, little "throw into the crowd" toys (that were directed at the kids, which was cool).

Notes and Tips: Bring your old crappy shoes...you'll be running through the dirt, mud, a river (maybe twice) and possibly horse poop, so definitely wear running clothes and shoes that you care the least about!

Overall: This was an awesome experience, and  give it a 10/10. I really hope that you'll bookmark rotpac.com and keep an eye out for this race in 2012 because I can guarantee that you'll enjoy it!

Hope you enjoyed my race report... I'll be posting my Mackinac Island Trip Report soon, so stay tuned! Before that I need to go and finish washing my shoes...