Women in the Wild and Laurel Hill 5K Race Report By Karey VandeWater
Women in the Wild is a 5 mile run, 12 mile bike, and obstacle course race located in Boswell, PA. It is really great to see women of all ages (12-68!) and fitness levels (From Beginner to Dang- look at her legs!!) participate in this event. My sister and I raced last year and really enjoyed it; but, it is about more than just the race. We also stay over at the camp the night before the race and meet some really fun and interesting women from all over the place. My goal for this race was to beat my times from last year and have a great time! After Mark being out of town all week, I was ready to get out of town ASAP on Friday. I loaded up the car and headed out at about 3:30. Huge thunder and lightening as I was leaving Cranberry- luckily, I stayed out of the torrential downpours on the 2 hour ride to Camp Harmony. I also was lucky enough to pass my favorite bakery on the way to the race, I wanted some veggie pizza but they were all sold out. I tried the pepperoni/mushroom/pepper and it was pretty decent. But I digress. Got to Camp Harmony on unmarked country road with no cell signal for my GPS. No cell coverage for communication, either- it was weird not to have my cell to use for a whole day, but nice. No Facebook, no email, no "kiss the boys goodnight for me" call to Mark. I arrived at camp to find 2 or 3 campers there already, I believe about 15 women stayed at the camp in total. My sister had pulled in a few minutes before I did, and my friend Heidi arrived a few hours later. We selected our bedrooms, and I laid out my gear for the next day, then went to the common area to hang out with everyone else. Dinner was provided and we had salad, rolls, and largely tasteless rotini with meat sauce. The pizza in the fridge was calling my name, too, I had ½ slice of that. And lots and lots of water, of course. Another major rain storm descended on us- lightening struck twice nearby. We all prayed for good weather the next day. We found out the next day that the local fire department had to clear a rock/mud slide from our race course because of this storm. Met up with some old friends from last year and met some new women from WV and the Harrisburg area. We all started to fade at about 11 PM, so we turned in to bed. I read for an hour and lights off. I slept great... my head hit the pillow, and then it was time to wake up. I haven't had a night like that in a long time. Must have been the fresh country air
Wake up call at 6AM. My sister and I decided to get over to registration to get our bibs and timing chips before breakfast... no lines.... Back at camp, breakfast provided was bagels, PB, coffee, yogurt, and an assortment of sugary crap- muffins, doughnuts, etc. Not the best but it would do. Note to self- bring your own food next year! I went for a bagel with peanut butter, a cup of yogurt, a small cup of mango orange juice and another water. Fueled up, we dressed and then took our bikes over to the transition area, which was the cabin area of the camp, which was right up the gravel road from our camp. We had a briefing from the race director, Marcia, on how to do the timing mats, a reminder to stay safe on the roads, what color to follow for the run and the bike, etc. A final good luck from her and we were off! The run was the first event. Every year, there is a prop you have to take with you on the run (can you tell this is not a super-serious race??). This year, we had a "super heroine" theme so we all had to wear red capes for the run. We started on the gravel road by transition and looped our way around to the real paved road. A nice downhill to start this year, capes flying back in the breeze. The run course reminded me of the Shamrock course, with some trailrunning thrown in. We ran up, down, up, down for a while. Nothing too steep, though, just long climbs. Miles 1, 2, 3 felt good. I had my water and took sips about every 15-20 minutes. It started to get hot around mile 4 since the fog was burning off. I remember passing people on the up hills, but being passed by downhill sprinters. I kept pretty evenly paced up and down. The toughest part was a local farmer's rutted dirt road, which changed to a very loose, rocky climb for ½ mile. Glad I wore my trail shoes....We turned around at the top of the rock trail went back down again. Off of the farmer's road and around the bend, down a hill and back to the transition area. Had a hot spot on my foot, ouch. That last stretch of gravel hurt! Turned out no blister but just sore for the rest of the day. As I was finishing on the road, through the trees I saw my sister finish her run about 4 minutes ahead of me. Cool. I got in a footrace with a girl right at the end. My official time was 52:19, which was 7 minutes faster than last year.
Off to get my mountain bike, take a few honey stinger chews, a few long pulls of water, and tried to steady my breathing. Everyone had to WALK their bikes down a gravel hill to the road for safety reasons. Back down the hill we ran on previously. The cool air felt great. We bike around the Quemahoning Reservoir, mostly in shade. The trees and quiet setting was beautiful to look at and take my mind off the task at hand. Just like the run, it was very hilly, lots and lots of hills. I am not a biker and hadn't trained on the road at all, just taken some spin classes last session. But I kept pedaling and pushing myself the whole ride. I enjoyed the bike more this year than last year. I continued to hydrate on the bike, the chews were kicking in and I felt great. I was alone for 90% of the biking. The killer hill, named Slagle Hill, was at the very end of the course, complete with some neighbor's vicious dog barking all the while. My friend Heidi calls it the Ax Murderer's house. We try to get away from there as quickly as possible. At the top of Slagle Hill it's all downhill to the camp and the finish. Hop off the bike, again for safety reasons, and I ran my bike back up the gravel to the finish line. My bike time via Garmin was 1:00:28 but official time was 1:04:30 with the transition/walking time throw in. Beat last year's time by 6 minutes.
Finished!! I felt great! I left all my gear where it was and had half of a PBJ and some water. Off to the obstacle course... this was just for fun and not timed. We had to cross a basketball course by moving 3 sheets of newspaper under our feet, not able to step on the pavement at all. Then walk a balance beam, find a cup with your race number, use an article of your clothing to fill up the cup to the top from water about 25 feet away. I used my shirt and only had to make two trips. Then on to hurdles and limbo sticks... over and under. Pull yourself using an elevated rope, on your back, through a slip and slide filled with shaving cream. Then an army crawl through a long tunnel of warm, dank, gritty mud. One final ¼ mile run back to the registration area to cross the "official" finish line, complete with balloons and photographer.
After that, we went to the "Feast", known everywhere else as lunch. Pizza, veggie burger, limeade the color of a green highlighter marker, fruit salad, and the icing off of one cupcake. The award ceremony was after that. I won first place in the "Athena" division, 150 pounds or over (I won't do that next year). I placed around 20th overall, out of about 100 participants. The official times are still being tallied. My sister placed first overall, so proud of her!
After the awards we packed up, went back to stay at my mom's house in Johnstown for the night. Up at 6:30 to make the drive to Somerset for the Laurel Mountain 5K Race at Laurel Hill State Park. My sister and I wanted to run my brother's first 5K with him, and this is what he chose. What a tough one for his first 5K!!! All hills for a second day in a row! This was an out and back course right through the heart of the park. Once again, it was beautiful scenery, shaded, with rays of sunlight filtering through the trees. This was a super small race, probably about 50 participants. Rolling hills out and back, there was no flat stretches on this course at all. But at least it was not gravel I must have been tired, still, from the day before, because I checked my Garmin only about a half mile in. Oh well, just go. One foot in front of the other. We just kept going down, down, down to the halfway point, then the long climb up. I chatted with a younger girl while struggling up one of the middle hills, that took my mind off of things. I came to a bridge and knew the end was just at the top of this last hill. I heard someone coming behind me and just ran for my life. Crossed the finish (ahead of the foot pounder behind me) at 32:41, according to my Garmin, official times still not posted, though. My sister crossed a few minutes before me, and my brother crossed about 2 minutes behind me. As I said, small race- I was the first women in my age group, 4th in AG overall. The girl I chatted with on the run came in first in her gender/age group, too. Guess I need to race outside of Pgh more often
All in all, a great weekend to race and be outside. I am already setting my sights on next year's WIW race, already named "Wildstock" for the Woodstock/hippie theme. Ladies, let me know if you would like to run in this next year. It is a ton of fun. There is also an extended course for those who like more mileage ( it is 7.5 run and 21 bike) and an extra hard obstacle course for those who are gluttons for punishment (no, really... more mileage than extended course, bushwacking and hard mental and physical obstacles scattered throughout). Back to training, I guess. My goal for next year is to be in the top 3 of the non-Athena group...maybe even to bump my sister out of first place. :o)
Women in the Wild is a 5 mile run, 12 mile bike, and obstacle course race located in Boswell, PA. It is really great to see women of all ages (12-68!) and fitness levels (From Beginner to Dang- look at her legs!!) participate in this event. My sister and I raced last year and really enjoyed it; but, it is about more than just the race. We also stay over at the camp the night before the race and meet some really fun and interesting women from all over the place. My goal for this race was to beat my times from last year and have a great time! After Mark being out of town all week, I was ready to get out of town ASAP on Friday. I loaded up the car and headed out at about 3:30. Huge thunder and lightening as I was leaving Cranberry- luckily, I stayed out of the torrential downpours on the 2 hour ride to Camp Harmony. I also was lucky enough to pass my favorite bakery on the way to the race, I wanted some veggie pizza but they were all sold out. I tried the pepperoni/mushroom/pepper and it was pretty decent. But I digress. Got to Camp Harmony on unmarked country road with no cell signal for my GPS. No cell coverage for communication, either- it was weird not to have my cell to use for a whole day, but nice. No Facebook, no email, no "kiss the boys goodnight for me" call to Mark. I arrived at camp to find 2 or 3 campers there already, I believe about 15 women stayed at the camp in total. My sister had pulled in a few minutes before I did, and my friend Heidi arrived a few hours later. We selected our bedrooms, and I laid out my gear for the next day, then went to the common area to hang out with everyone else. Dinner was provided and we had salad, rolls, and largely tasteless rotini with meat sauce. The pizza in the fridge was calling my name, too, I had ½ slice of that. And lots and lots of water, of course. Another major rain storm descended on us- lightening struck twice nearby. We all prayed for good weather the next day. We found out the next day that the local fire department had to clear a rock/mud slide from our race course because of this storm. Met up with some old friends from last year and met some new women from WV and the Harrisburg area. We all started to fade at about 11 PM, so we turned in to bed. I read for an hour and lights off. I slept great... my head hit the pillow, and then it was time to wake up. I haven't had a night like that in a long time. Must have been the fresh country air
Wake up call at 6AM. My sister and I decided to get over to registration to get our bibs and timing chips before breakfast... no lines.... Back at camp, breakfast provided was bagels, PB, coffee, yogurt, and an assortment of sugary crap- muffins, doughnuts, etc. Not the best but it would do. Note to self- bring your own food next year! I went for a bagel with peanut butter, a cup of yogurt, a small cup of mango orange juice and another water. Fueled up, we dressed and then took our bikes over to the transition area, which was the cabin area of the camp, which was right up the gravel road from our camp. We had a briefing from the race director, Marcia, on how to do the timing mats, a reminder to stay safe on the roads, what color to follow for the run and the bike, etc. A final good luck from her and we were off! The run was the first event. Every year, there is a prop you have to take with you on the run (can you tell this is not a super-serious race??). This year, we had a "super heroine" theme so we all had to wear red capes for the run. We started on the gravel road by transition and looped our way around to the real paved road. A nice downhill to start this year, capes flying back in the breeze. The run course reminded me of the Shamrock course, with some trailrunning thrown in. We ran up, down, up, down for a while. Nothing too steep, though, just long climbs. Miles 1, 2, 3 felt good. I had my water and took sips about every 15-20 minutes. It started to get hot around mile 4 since the fog was burning off. I remember passing people on the up hills, but being passed by downhill sprinters. I kept pretty evenly paced up and down. The toughest part was a local farmer's rutted dirt road, which changed to a very loose, rocky climb for ½ mile. Glad I wore my trail shoes....We turned around at the top of the rock trail went back down again. Off of the farmer's road and around the bend, down a hill and back to the transition area. Had a hot spot on my foot, ouch. That last stretch of gravel hurt! Turned out no blister but just sore for the rest of the day. As I was finishing on the road, through the trees I saw my sister finish her run about 4 minutes ahead of me. Cool. I got in a footrace with a girl right at the end. My official time was 52:19, which was 7 minutes faster than last year.
Off to get my mountain bike, take a few honey stinger chews, a few long pulls of water, and tried to steady my breathing. Everyone had to WALK their bikes down a gravel hill to the road for safety reasons. Back down the hill we ran on previously. The cool air felt great. We bike around the Quemahoning Reservoir, mostly in shade. The trees and quiet setting was beautiful to look at and take my mind off the task at hand. Just like the run, it was very hilly, lots and lots of hills. I am not a biker and hadn't trained on the road at all, just taken some spin classes last session. But I kept pedaling and pushing myself the whole ride. I enjoyed the bike more this year than last year. I continued to hydrate on the bike, the chews were kicking in and I felt great. I was alone for 90% of the biking. The killer hill, named Slagle Hill, was at the very end of the course, complete with some neighbor's vicious dog barking all the while. My friend Heidi calls it the Ax Murderer's house. We try to get away from there as quickly as possible. At the top of Slagle Hill it's all downhill to the camp and the finish. Hop off the bike, again for safety reasons, and I ran my bike back up the gravel to the finish line. My bike time via Garmin was 1:00:28 but official time was 1:04:30 with the transition/walking time throw in. Beat last year's time by 6 minutes.
Finished!! I felt great! I left all my gear where it was and had half of a PBJ and some water. Off to the obstacle course... this was just for fun and not timed. We had to cross a basketball course by moving 3 sheets of newspaper under our feet, not able to step on the pavement at all. Then walk a balance beam, find a cup with your race number, use an article of your clothing to fill up the cup to the top from water about 25 feet away. I used my shirt and only had to make two trips. Then on to hurdles and limbo sticks... over and under. Pull yourself using an elevated rope, on your back, through a slip and slide filled with shaving cream. Then an army crawl through a long tunnel of warm, dank, gritty mud. One final ¼ mile run back to the registration area to cross the "official" finish line, complete with balloons and photographer.
After that, we went to the "Feast", known everywhere else as lunch. Pizza, veggie burger, limeade the color of a green highlighter marker, fruit salad, and the icing off of one cupcake. The award ceremony was after that. I won first place in the "Athena" division, 150 pounds or over (I won't do that next year). I placed around 20th overall, out of about 100 participants. The official times are still being tallied. My sister placed first overall, so proud of her!
After the awards we packed up, went back to stay at my mom's house in Johnstown for the night. Up at 6:30 to make the drive to Somerset for the Laurel Mountain 5K Race at Laurel Hill State Park. My sister and I wanted to run my brother's first 5K with him, and this is what he chose. What a tough one for his first 5K!!! All hills for a second day in a row! This was an out and back course right through the heart of the park. Once again, it was beautiful scenery, shaded, with rays of sunlight filtering through the trees. This was a super small race, probably about 50 participants. Rolling hills out and back, there was no flat stretches on this course at all. But at least it was not gravel I must have been tired, still, from the day before, because I checked my Garmin only about a half mile in. Oh well, just go. One foot in front of the other. We just kept going down, down, down to the halfway point, then the long climb up. I chatted with a younger girl while struggling up one of the middle hills, that took my mind off of things. I came to a bridge and knew the end was just at the top of this last hill. I heard someone coming behind me and just ran for my life. Crossed the finish (ahead of the foot pounder behind me) at 32:41, according to my Garmin, official times still not posted, though. My sister crossed a few minutes before me, and my brother crossed about 2 minutes behind me. As I said, small race- I was the first women in my age group, 4th in AG overall. The girl I chatted with on the run came in first in her gender/age group, too. Guess I need to race outside of Pgh more often
All in all, a great weekend to race and be outside. I am already setting my sights on next year's WIW race, already named "Wildstock" for the Woodstock/hippie theme. Ladies, let me know if you would like to run in this next year. It is a ton of fun. There is also an extended course for those who like more mileage ( it is 7.5 run and 21 bike) and an extra hard obstacle course for those who are gluttons for punishment (no, really... more mileage than extended course, bushwacking and hard mental and physical obstacles scattered throughout). Back to training, I guess. My goal for next year is to be in the top 3 of the non-Athena group...maybe even to bump my sister out of first place. :o)