Mountain Mist Thanks and Pictures

I just wanted to say thank you to all of you who commented on my Mountain Mist post.  It it so great to have friends from all over who are reading my blog and taking the time to comment.  I am guilty of reading blogs and then getting too busy to respond.  But now I now I know how much each comment means to me, so I will try to do a better job of it too!

I realized that it is hard to get a true sense of the Mountain Mist 50K without pictures, so I included a few more of mine.  Most of these were taken by PBC Sports Photography (the photographers along the course) and We Run Huntsville (Gregg Gelmis).

Here you can see the fast start and the dash to the trail head.  I am in the middle in my grayish blue shirt.  Next to me are Christy Scott (in the pink hat) and Kathy Youngren (in red). 

Race Start

Still racing to the trail head

Once you get on the trails, they are mostly single-track for awhile.  This means you will have to go single-file unless you can find a way to pass someone.  This is very different from road racing and took awhile for me to get used to when I first ran Mountain Mist!  Here I am keeping up with Kathy, Rick (my husband), and Mark Freeman (in back).

Climbing the trails

Climbing and chatting

I'm not sure where this picture was taken, but I like it and it's a favorite.  I like the trees in the background, the fact that I'm smiling, and the mud on my legs!  These three things sum up Mountain Mist well to me.

I really don't like this picture because I don't look very serious!  I look like I'm going for a stroll, not racing.  This is the Stone Cuts section of the race.  It's a hard part to run, and I enjoy taking it slow and twisting my way through the rocks.  You actually go into a pitch-black section right after this part--a dark cave.  I was smiling because the photographer sort of took me by surprise.  I was enjoying the solitude and the scenery of this cool section of the course.

Goin' for a stroll

Another favorite.  I can feel the exhaustion all over again when I see this picture!

And the finish line pictures

There are MANY more beautiful scenes from this race--Monte Sano Mountain is so beautiful and such a HUGE distraction when you are running.  There are waterfalls, wooden bridges, all kinds of rocks and boulders, sometimes deer and snakes, yellow flowers, and much more.  There are also funny things, like signs and talking skeletons, that people put out along the course.  These things all really take your mind off the fact that you are running 31 grueling miles!