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Racing to Paradise



11 Miles to Paradise:

The second/third weekend in May brings my favorite trail race of the year, 11 Miles to Paradise.  This race is hosted by Runner's Edge Missoula and fills up fast.  In fact, this year it filled up in less than 15 minutes and I was so glad I got in.  Jacob and I ran this year which means we had to leave the small one with nana.  The race kicks off outside of St Regis but you get bussed there from Quinn Hot Springs.  Quinn is a little over an hour drive from Missoula so we leave the house pretty early on Sunday morning. 
This year the weather was beautiful and we were excited.  You can tell by the photos below that the weather can go either way.  The best part is that after running a wonderful trail with tons of hills for 10.6 miles you board a bus for a quick ride back to Quinn's and jump into the pools.  There are several pools that are fed by natural hot springs that increase in temperature and one cold pool.  The race is limited to 400 people and runs in three waves so it is never too crowded. 



This is a photo of the pools post race.  You can by a soaking ticket as part of your race packet and hang out as long as you want after the race.  There are additional tickets for friends and family available.  The race swag includes a nice cotton t-shirt and you can purchase BBQ lunch at a discount. 
(photo by:
http://www.VotographyImages.com)


This is me at the start.  It was a little chilly early.  I was excited to try something new so I wore my new jette skirt (I had trained in it but this was my first race).  It worked great!  The skirt has two pockets on each legs in the attached compression shorts.  I put my water bottle, from my broken hydration belt, in one pocket and some energy beans and hydration tabs in the other.  I'm a bigger girl so my thighs got a coat of body glide and synched up the drawstring.  This race includes a bag drop at the starting line so I dropped my sweatshirt and long sleeved t-shirt a few minutes before the start.     
Image may contain: 1 person, smiling, standing, outdoor and nature
(Picture by Jacob. skirt, shirt, & hat by Skirtsports.com)


Jacob loves this race, too.  This year I was only a few minutes behind him (2:32 for him and 2:36 for me).  The only year I was able to catch him, he was suffering from dehydration and it is bad news.  There is only one aide station and it is 5.5 miles in so if you need water, like we do, you need to carry some with you. 

Image may contain: 3 people, people smiling, hat, sunglasses, outdoor and closeup
(Photo by me)


Here's a picture from last year.  This year's aren't ready yet.  The race photos including the first one in this blog are taken by Votography Images, who is the best race photographer.  He is a runner and really captures the spirit of the races and the participants.  Vo also does a range of other photography and I just love his work.  I purchased these photos last year and as you can see it was a lot colder. 
As you can see it is a single track trail for the majority of the race.  This year there had just been a couple days of rain and we had heavy run-off so there were a couple stream crossings.  I bit the bullet and ran through the last two so my last mile was in soaking wet shoes but my Hokas were fine and I survived with no blisters and no issues.  Overall this is still my favorite race and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys running trails. 



 
(photos by Votography Images)




This race also kills my legs, I trained for it this year and felt great when I was done.  Staying hydrated, wearing my new contacts and eating while running all helped but I was sore on Monday!  I got a nice run in Wednesday and did some strength training.  Unfortunately, on the way to golf on Thursday I fell.  I managed to miss the step between my house and garage and went down.  I took the weekend off to recover and chase my friends' son around.  After a weekend play-date with two four-year olds I am ready to get out of the trails for some alone time.  I need to clear my head and hopefully find out if my back and ankle are ready for my next race this weekend. 


Up next Skirt Sports 5k! 
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Location: 190 Montana 135, Paradise, MT 59859, Plains, MT 59859, United States

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