2013 Irvine Trail Half Marathon - Race Recap

Date: June 15, 2013
Location: Irvine Regional Park // Site #4
Start: 8:00am
Finish: 1:54:52








I randomly signed up for this race earlier in the week because I wanted to run some trails and I did not want to run alone...you know...because I didn't want to be coyote bait.

The Irvine Trail Half Marathon is one of a few races put on by My Own Race. This race boasts a small field, very easy logistics and a very casual feel. You do have to pay $5 to get into the Irvine Regional Park where this race is staged but parking is plentiful and the starting line is just steps from there. There is a 5K, 10K and a half marathon option. Something for everyone.

The race shirt is simple and looks like a cotton t-shirt, which I like. Feels like cotton too but is actually polyester.

I went to bed last night knowing that I didn't have any bread in the house to eat in the morning but for some reason, I thought that I would maybe drive to a bagel shop in the morning and pick something up. Yeah, that didn't end up happening. So I get to the race with nothing to eat. So I dig around in my purse because I always hide snacks in there. Lo and behold, I found these two bars from who knows when. They tasted like they've been sitting in my purse for way too long. Into the trash they went. So I'm still hungry but the race was about to start. Good thing I was snack-y last night so I wasn't really running on empty.

Final instructions from the race director...namely to yield to bikers and horses...else you get kicked in the face...by the horses, not the bikers.

Here we are at the starting line. I don't have any photos of the course despite carrying my phone with me. I decided to just run. There was one point at the top of one of the climbs that I wanted to snap a photo because it was pretty but I was lazy so no photos. Sorry.

So how was the course? Well we were running around in loops. I think 2-3 different loops. No mile markers, just some orange tape tied to trees and posts to let you know that you were still going the right way. Definitely wear a Garmin for this race because honestly with all the looping I wouldn't have known when I was done. The course was comprised of sand, packed and loose dirt, asphalt, dried grass, gravel and some concrete. It was a mix bag. I've ran on  hillier trail courses before but this one was by no means easy but it was exactly what I wanted to run this weekend. I ran the first couple of loops too fast I think because the second half felt difficult. It was an overcast day but I was working hard because I looked at my arms at one point and noticed that I was covered in salt crystals. Then, around mile 8 or 9, I took a wrong turn and was off-course for a bit. Luckily, I somehow found my way back to rejoined the other runners. I don't know what my official time is but my Garmin says 1:54:52. It was fun, forgot how hard it is to run uphill on sand.

Wearing my new InkNBurn shirt from Becka that I won during one of her Lazarex Cancer Foundation fundraising drive. Don't I look official? Like I do this trail thing every weekend? Like Becka? Nah! The shirt is beautiful and colorful! It soaks up sweat like nobody's busy. Kept me so dry that I didn't even realize that I was sweating so much until I saw salt crystals on my limbs. Haha, gross right? Anyways, thanks Becka for the cool shirt! Love it!

Post race snacks!

Super dirty and dusty shoes.

My third trail race and second trail half marathon! It was a good little race. With the exception of the getting lost thing, it went pretty well. Pretty organized for a small race. Everyone was very nice and I was really tired at the end so I obviously had a lot of dirty fun out there.

Elevation profile from Strava.

Elevation from the race website: