Willow Miner trail race
Ran the Willow Miner trail race hosted by Elvet Striders last week. It's a fantastic race on an exciting course winding through the woods, parks, and hillsides south of Durham. I'd wanted to run it but missed the signup window—as a popular race it sold out quickly. I was able to race thanks to a fellow Strider dropping out a couple weeks before the race, and made my way to the starting line with 200-odd other runners in all colours of race vest.
The race went well—I ran my darndest, paced it well, and finished strong. The downside of running such a popular local race, however, is that it attracts the best of the best—and so what feels to me like a well-run race often winds up looking pretty mediocre in the results. Still, I don't reckon I could have run it much better than I did. Now I'm going to go back and try running it on my own to better my time for next year.