Skip to main content

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! 
Labels:
Location: 190 Montana 135, Paradise, MT 59859, Plains, MT 59859, United States

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

I Didn't Die on the Mountain

I didn't die on the mountain, although at the starting line I was having visions of my body being found by skiers this winter .       http://runtherut.com/ The back of the expo.     The expo before the 11k start             First turn The 11k starting line Wave 3!!     I toed the starting line of the 11k race in The Rut Mountain Runs on Sunday, September 2.  I knew it would be the most technical trail run I had ever done and the highest but I had trained, or so I thought. The Rut Mountain Runs are part of the Skyrunner USA series.  They take place at Big Sky Ski Resort just outside of Bozeman, Montana.  There are several race options including the Vk, 11k, 28k and 50k.  If you are one of those crazy ultra runner types you can combine the races as the Vk is on Friday, the 28k is on Saturday and the 11k and 50k are on Sunday.  All ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Strollers and Wheelchairs in Disney

I had a friend tell me once that her son (4) didn't do strollers.  They were about to do a 3-day trip to Disneyland and this was her first trip as a parent.  I recommended she still get a stroller and here's why.  Maybe your kid doesn't use a stroller when you are doing normally daily stuff but does your kid log 10 or more miles a day normally?  Does your kiddo need a mid-day nap?  Imagine a trip to the park, what do you carry with you?  Do you want to carry that all day long?  So my friend did ended up renting a stroller and they used it.  There were times when their kid wasn't super happy about it but he was over tired and they just didn't want to carry him, so he rode.  He took one stroller nap and otherwise the stroller carried my friend's backpack/diaper bag most of the time so she didn't have to and that was ok, too.  Sydnee (5) in our garage sale stroller On the other hand, my kiddo LOVES riding in a stroller.  We h...
Post a Comment
Read more

100 years young and 40 hours in the car with kids

Me, my sister, my mom, grandma Last weekend I drove to Colorado with Jacob, my mother, and the two girls to attend my grandmother's 100th birthday party.  It was a wonderful trip where we enjoyed each other's company and celebrated the life of one of the happiest people I know.   Sydnee and I enter Wyoming DAY 1: We drove from our house in Montana to Pueblo, Colorado.  We took Jacob's car which seats 7 because Sydnee is still in a car seat and Skylar sleeps anytime a car is moving and she's not behind the wheel.  Here's a couple of other hints to making a road trip with a 4 year old and 18 year old more fun (or at least tolerable). Tip 1 : Do not wake the 18 year and make sure she has a plug for her phone to charge.  Tip 2: Pack tons of snacks even though you can buy them at the gas station, this will reduce stops.  I also packed Sydnee some workbooks, plenty of toys and her iPad.  This kept her busy and comfy the whole trip. I am ...
Post a Comment
Read more