I couldn’t have asked for a better trail race debut. The Gnarly Bear was indeed - gnarly - but totally worth it. All the runners were treated so well that I'm definitely coming back for more next year (although I don't know if I'll be able to beat my time from today). The weather was amazing for this late in the season and the trails at Kelly Canyon beat EVERY other trail I’ve been on. To top it off, the views from the peaks were breathtaking.

I know this sounds weird, but my only goal for today’s race was to not walk (aside from stopping to refill my handheld at aid stations). Everyone who ran today knows it’s pretty much impossible to run up the Face (i.e. black diamond in ski terms) at Kelly Canyon without walking, but I did it. I didn’t walk once. The entire 25 kilometers. With 3,000 feet vertical elevation gain. It took me 15 minutes to run my 9^th mile straight uphill - but I didn’t walk.

So now that I have some experience under my belt I can offer some advice for other aspiring trail runners.

1. Pace yourself. I know it seems hard to find a pace with constantly changing elevation, but it’s not about speed, it’s about effort. If you feel you are overexerting yourself early on in the race (regardless of how fast or slow your pace is), you will be road kill by the end J So slow up - you know the story of the tortoise and the hare. Well, I felt like the tortoise at the beginning but I remembered that slow and steady wins the race, and that's what happened.
2.  Fuel properly, early on, and regularly. Don’t skimp and wait for aid stations. Bring what you need along with you. I found the perfect gel that worked for me – Huma – and I packed what I needed in my handheld along with water. I had a gel every 30 minutes per advice from Pat Bragassa, and I didn’t hit the wall like other runners.
3. Train ahead of time. Don’t go out and do a trail race cold turkey. You’ve got to practice running the same distance and/or estimated finish time. And you’ve got to get some experience on the trails too. The only thing that kept me alive the last half of the race was the fact that I knew what to expect because I had practiced on it before.
4. Enjoy your time on the trails. It’s all about fun, enjoying the views, and destressing. Stop and chat with people you pass (or people that pass you), cheer other runners on, and keep yourself pumped. Two weeks ago I when I practiced on the trails I was having so much fun enjoying the scenery and chatting with a running buddy that we took a wrong turn. But it was worth it because we got to see a moose and her baby (at a safe distance, of course). Were we bummed we took the wrong way? Of course not! Because we were having fun and enjoying nature in its fullest.
5. Set a goal and see it fulfilled. Whether it be to make a new PR, have more fun, fuel better, or like me - not walk, etc...
6. So who's in it with me next year?