Park City Trail Series Part 1

On Saturday June 21st, I ran the first race of the Park City Trail Series, which was a 5K.

I drove by myself in the early morning and sang to my running playlist.  Once I got to Park City, I saw some hot air balloons and I was so happy.  What a great start to my morning already.  

The race started at 8:00am.  I gathered with all the runners and got to the start line.  I'll admit I was a bit nervous.  I hadn't run a race since March, and I don't remember the last time I ran a 5K competitively.  Plus, I'm not a trail runner.  I've only raced twice in a trail run and that was a 10K in Snowbird.  

The start was a little rough.  I had to get used to my pace for a shorter race and I had to get used to the trail.  It wasn't too hard of a course.  There were some hills, but they were very doable and I never felt the need to walk.  I kept a pretty steady race the whole time.  Once I hit the first mile I was happy.  Once I hit the second mile I was thrilled.  I picked up my pace a little bit more.  

I knew I had to be in a pretty good place (not amazing, but good) because I saw a lot of runners who were behind me.  I was also calculating in my head to determine where I was in my age group.  I was thinking I had a chance at getting third place.

When I turned the last corner I could hear a guy say "go get him".  I am assuming he was referring to the runner who was ahead of me.  So I ran.  I tried to catch up to that runner, but ultimately he still beat me.  That's okay.  I still finished strong.

First Trail Run Race for my Solomons

I had a blast.  I felt good and my body felt great.  This was a great start to the series.  As timed passed, I finally took a look at my time and placement.  I was pretty happy, but I didn't quite reach the goals I had sort of set prior.  From looking at last years times I was thinking I had to get under a 25:00min to place in the top three.  I was slower than that and in the end I placed fourth in my age group.  That's still pretty good.

I'll say, this is a race definitely worth checking out.  Even if you don't do the whole series. Trail running is a lot more fun because you are away from the city and around such beauty.  I'm pretty sure I smiled and maybe even chuckled a bit when I was running.  It was less like a race and more like a run.

Stay tuned.  Next up is the 10K in July.  :)

Runaway Girl







Tiegan Hatch
Bib #118
Time: 26:30.0
Age Group (F 20-29): 4/34
Overall Female: 18/179

Overall: 55/281