Category: Race Chronicles

The Mud Girl 5K was May 30, 2026.

Mud girl run is 3 miles of fun, crazy energy, mud and obstacles to support the Pink Army Foundation.

This was the race I was most looking forward to this year because I ran it with my daughter as she finished her first 5K.

Today I finished my 3rd obstacle race at Mud Girl Run. We ended up running 3.8 miles, and finishing all 16 obstacles, in 1 hour 32 minutes. We ran our super chill easy pace.

The Caesar’s Creek Race is part of the Wolf Pack Ohio Trail Running Series. The race on May 23, 2026 included multiple distance options from 5K, 10K, 15K, half marathon, and 6 Hours of Power.

Due to heavy rainfall the trails were extremely muddy and included two, nearly waist deep water crossings.

I had originally registered for the half marathon, but due to rough trail conditions I switched to the 10K, so I could get home by 2pm as I had promised my family.

Runners in the 5K, 10K, 15K and 6 Hours of Power events followed the blue signs to complete a loop that was approximately 5K.

I completed two loops, running 7 miles, to finish a muddy, puddle fun 10K.

Thanks Wolf Pack for another fun adventure. As a Wolf Pack Pass Pack member, I will be back to run with the Pack.

The Tie Dye 50K is a trail ultra marathon that took place at John Bryan State Park on May 16, 2026 at 7:30am. The course consisted of three loops of just over 10.5 miles each.

This was my third time finishing a 50K, and my second time doing so at the ORRRC Tie Dye race.

My last ultra marathon was in 2017 when I finished this race just under the 9 hour time limit. I was slightly concerned that the 9 hour cut off might pose a challenge for me this year going into this race slightly undertrained, and with a sprained wrist. However, I ran at an easy effort pace and managed to take 4 minutes off my previous time.

Overall this was a fun race and I was glad to push myself to finish. I should have worn shorts. It was too hot for long pants, but otherwise I had a great time.

The Cherry Blossom 10 miler is a premier road race in Washington D.C. known for having a flat fast course and passing many of nation’s iconic landmarks including the Arlington Memorial Bridge, the Kennedy Center, and the Washington Monument where the race starts and finishes. The race was held April 12, 2026.

I ran this race with Shannon and Jim, fellow board members of the Ohio River Road Runners Club.

As a quality engineer, I am Koala-ty too

Packet pickup on Friday Night was quite a fun experience as it was my first time riding the Metro in D.C.

The Time to Paddy Lucky 13.1 Half Marathon is a St. Patrick’s Day themed race that was held March 1st 2026.

Sandi and I were the 2:20 Half Marathon pacer buddies at this race.

Finishers earned the Paddy Like A Pro medal.

Post race snacks included green items to match the race theme.

The Winter Solstice Trail Half was December 20, 2025 at John Bryan State Park. This race is hosted by the Ohio River Road Runners Club and is considered one of the of their small club events that ORRRC club members can run for free.

Today I got to help three middle school girls finish their very first Half Marathon. They were right behind be after the first mile and I decided to stay with them to help encourage them. Two of these girls were former members of the youth XC team I coach. The third girl is their friend.

Finishers of this race received a cool winter solstice magnet. Participants that also ran the summer solstice race earlier in the year would have received the complementary summer solstice magnet at that race to complete the set.

Thanks ORRRC for another great event. Today’s race was lifetime Half Marathon #105.

The tenth annual Hilly Half in Brown County Indiana was November 15, 2025.

This was my third year pacing this super fun, beautiful, hilly race. The course starts out with an uphill climb for the first two miles, but the weather was perfect and the views from the top of the hills were spectacular. I ended up running the majority of the race a group of cross country girls as they finished their very first half marathon.

The after party included soup, breadsticks, drinks, and live music.

The Rhino Trail Run on June 14, 2025 was the 3rd race in the Alpine Trail race series. This event held at the Mt. Airy Cincinnati Trails included 5K, 10K, or Half Marathon race distances. Races are advertised as being family-friendly, small events, and an awesome experience. I would describe this course as one of the most challenging trails I have ever run.

The race started at 8:15, due to a slight delay with event check in and bib pickup.

The race director welcomed runners to the trail series and described the course. He told the 10K and Half marathon runners that around the 7K point there was a section along the road that was approximately 100 meters that we should walk. You do not want to fall off this cliff. The wall along the edge of the road is at least 10 feet high. Runners were instructed to stay off the road, and walk along this section.

The Half Marathon was two laps of the 10K loop. Many sections of the course included slick, muddy, jagged stones. Wet trail conditions added a high risk of slips, trips, and falls.

The course included climbing up and down multiple steps and navigating over fallen tree branches.

We finished the first loop in 2 hours 11 minutes. I was running with Kara from Nebraska, who chose this race to represent Ohio on her quest to complete a Half Marathon in all 50 states.

Around 12.5 miles I was lost and alone in the middle of the forest when it started to rain. At that point I had missed the finishing cut off time by over an hour. I missed the final turn back onto the trail and had to use GPS on my phone to navigate back towards my car to the finish line.

I finished 8th out of 12 runners, but actually was the final finisher in the race. The other four runners did not finish. Fortunately, the race director waited for me to finish and the finish line had not been taken down yet by time I was done. Only two runners finished within the 3 hour course limit, which is a rather tight cutoff for such a challenging course.

Finishers received a Rhino medal, and snacks from the finish line aid station.

The tree house at the park is currently closed for maintenance, but it would be cool to see this sometime.

Check out alpine trail race for more information about upcoming races or series points.

The overall winners of the Alpine Trail Series, top male and female, will win a trip to compete on the trails in Nepal. To qualify for the trip, runners must complete at least one half marathon during the series. As one of two woman who completed today’s half marathon, I am now in the running to win the trip to Nepal. I am currently in 8th place out of 42 woman, but only 2 of us meet the requirement of completing a half marathon.

Rock the Monument is a 4 Mile race that took place on Friday, June 13, 2025 in Urbana.

The race started at 7pm, with packet pickup opening at 5:30pm at the Upper Shelter House on race day. Participants received a drawstring goodie bag with race shirt, water bottle, and snacks inside.

The race started and finished in Melvin Miller Park, with a small section of the course running through the streets of Urbana.

I ran the majority of the race completely alone. The race included a slight uphill after the first mile. At the 3 mile point I turned the wrong way, thinking I was headed back towards the finish line. Luckily the guy behind me said something and I turned around and got back on course.

I finished in 35:23 as the 2nd overall female and 1st in the super age group of women age 36-50.

I do not run very many 4 milers. In fact, this was only my second one. I chose this race purely to attempt a PR. I felt fairly confident I could improve upon my previous time. This ended up being a PR by 1 minute and 9 Seconds.

Overall this was a fun race, with great music and awards. I met a man that drove from Pittsburgh for this event. Unfortunately, he had to leave before the awards and missed getting his 2nd place age group medal.

I would definitely consider running this race again next year. I think there is still room for another 4 mile PR, especially if I stick to the course next time.

The Possum Creek 5K Trail run is an Ohio River Road Runners Club event. Members of ORRRC run for free and non-members can register for $10. Kids 14 and under run free.

The race was held Tuesday June 10, 2025 at Possum Creek Metropark, starting from the Sycamore Shelter.

The course ran through various terrain including dirt, gravel, meadow, and grass. This is a great course for beginners to trail running and included minimal elevation gain or loss.

Although trail shoes were not really necessary for this course I wore my Saucony Xodus. which means in the last 10 days I have run 3 trail races each wearing a different pair of trail shoes.

I finished in 72nd place with a time of 30:48.

I have not run an actual PR in almost 6 years, but since I have only run a handful of trail 5K, I just improved my trail PR and earned a PR bracelet. My previous 5K Trail PR was 31:45 at Dirty Dude Girl 5K in 2010.

This race is designated as a “small” club event. Small races are super fun, low key, minimal swag events, included in ORRRC membership, and typically timed by the club volunteer timing team. All finishers received a medal, and top age group winners received a small stuffed possum.