Roots Rock

Forest 5k - Port Gamble, WA.
Roots Rock Trail Running Series

• Two Adidas knit hats
• A stylish ball cap
• Two sweat/headbands
• 1 pair Smartwool knit liner gloves
• 1 Amphipod Micropack
• 3 short sleeve Roots Rock technical shirts
• 2 blue & 1 red age group ribbons

Yes, Poulsbo Running knows how to host an event and those in the know hang around for the awards, 'cause there's always lots of goodies coming out of Brooke and Chris Hammett's magic cardboard box. So, before you scoff at my hard won podium prize, ask yourself the following: "Where the hell was I this morning and why doesn't my car smell as good as Michelle's?" Hmm? Yes, well, there is always the Timber Town 10k in July. I am planning to kick your booty if show up, just so ya know. It is a race afterall, and running like a wild woman through the woods can be very therapeutic...but I'm preaching to the choir here.

Shawn & Sloan (right side) - A last minute registration. 

This last week has been a hard one for our family, as we said goodbye to a dear loved one who recently passed away. We had penciled the Roots Rock Trail Running Series races onto our calendar and after a long, sad week, a local 5k sounded like a good thing to do.  Shortly after tucking in for the night I heard my cell phone jingle. Who could that be this late at night? My phone happened to be on my bedside table so I flipped it open and read the text message from Elisa. "You are running a 5k tomorrow" it said. Is she freaking psychic? No, apparently she remembered that I had wanted to bid on the race series donation that she had procured for our kids' elementary school auction, which is where she was texting me from, so she bid on it for me and won. Sweet deal.

Sunday A.M. - After chugging our usual morning cup of coffee and hastily throwing on our running gear, my husband, Shawn, and I jumped in the car and headed down the hill toward Port Gamble. Just after exiting our neighborhood, my husband's cell phone rang. "Uh, oh, that's probably Sloan," said my husband. Our nine year old son wanted to run the race, but was still sleeping when we snuck out the door. We hung a u-turn and headed back to get him. I looked at my watch, yep, we would still make it to the race on time, barely. (We did, and...relief!....I even had time for a quick trip to the restroom.)

Banjo music livened up the pre-race routine.

22:35  Finished. I haven't run a 5k in quite some time and didn't get a chance to warm-up. The first mile was a bit of a shock to the system, but then I settled into a pretty good rhythm. The course was muddy and started in town, heading out through some rolling, grassy meadows, then looped back into the root strewn singletrack trails of the woods, which soon delivered us to an old logging road. The road took us out further into the Port Gamble trail system and then back to the finish. I've run on this section of the Port Gamble Trails before and I always have the uncanny feeling that I'm running uphill in both directions. It's great fun. I highly recommend it. Click on the link above for a map of the trails, just be aware that new trails have and are being made, so there are more single tracks out there than you will see on the map.

Sloan rockets to the finish. (30:21) He ran the whole course on his own.

Shawn, Sloan, Michelle (me). Shawn placed second in his age group (20:42), plus he also scored a knit hat during the raffle. It's amazing how happy winning a raffle prize can make you. We all felt thrilled to have our numbers called out. Bingo, bingo, bingo. Yeah. It really is the small things that make life good.

Rest. 

Sloan races back after receiving his Boys 10 & under blue ribbon, plus a cool Adidas XC knit hat from race directors Brooke and Chris Hammett, owner's of Poulsbo Running.

Say cheese. Top 3 ladies 40 and over. We still got it. :)