Rock/Creek Race Team member Jamie Dial gives us a quick report from the Two Lakes Trail Run in Nashville, TN. Jamie took fourth place and his wife Wendi Parker-Dial won the women’s division.
On Saturday, Wendi and I went to Montgomery Bell State Park for the 1st race in the Tennessee State Parks Running Tour. In its second year, the Trail race had another good turnout with 129 runners in the mix. Race Director Dr. John Spencer in Dickson TN did an excellent job and the staff at MBSP really do a great job maintaining the trails.
On to the race….
I knew it was to be a tough day as Wendi and I ran our warm up, my heart rate was abnormally high. I thought it would settle down, but a few miles into the event my worries were a reality. I never could get into a rhythm and my HR was sky high throughout the entire race. After 2 miles or so the leaders were out of sight and I settled into a semi comfortable place, doing my best to pick off those who were shelled from the front. The 7.6 mile course is not flat (it was actually pretty challenging!) and on the 7th and final climb of the day, I was relegated to a slow walk. I thought my heart was going to explode. This is how the entire day was… Crawl up the hills and blast the downs. My La Sportiva Crosslite trail running shoes allowed me to really cut loose on the down hills with total confidence. On the off cambered terrain and tight turns, I never once felt like I was slipping. The tread on these shoes are amazing. Anyhow, back to the finish- Nearing the end I was caught by a fella who was a little hungrier than me that day and I let him by for the final podium spot. In the end, I was 4th place.
In the womens race, it was a different story. 17 year old High School Senior Brooke Earhart took the race out fast and soon Wendi and local favorite Tonya Lumphreys were fighting for 2nd. Around mile 2 Wendi caught up with local trail runner Johhny Pryor who bridged Wendi up to Brooke. Once contact was made, the race was on. Brooke and Wendi would continue swapping leads all the way to the end. With about 1 mile to go, Wendi knew she had to make a move, so she hammered the final descent only to have Brooke hang on like a warrior. Once back to the campground Wendi found an extra gear and beat her back to the finish to get 11th overall and take the Women’s win.
It was nice to actually run a local trail race instead of having to travel so far. Lots of folks asked about Rock Creek and we were able to pass on a little history about the shop and their events. Thanks for the continued support.
Full results are posted on the Nashville Striders site >
The Tennessee State Parks’ Running Tour information is posted at state.tn.us >
Photography from the race on Picasa >
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