Fun Day

This morning I headed up to Great Glen for the final few hours of the 24 Hours of Great Glen mountain bike race. These mountain bikers are crazy, but what a fun event! Imagine a 24 hour trail running race! There could be solo racers and teams of 2 and 4. Very cool... Anyway, Great Glen does a wonderful job of putting on this race, and everyone racing, volunteering and watching seemed to really be enjoying themselves. Not to mention, as an extra bonus, the weather was beautiful this weekend!

I helped at the timing table, checking people in and out as they came through on their laps. It was a good spot to be in, under the tent, chatting with the racers and other volunteers, and looking out onto the meadow and the Presidentials beyond. After the final racers had come through on their last laps, I headed out onto the trails for a short run. I stuck to the lower part of the trail system, where things were a bit flatter, running out along the meadow, replete with daisies, black eyed susans, thistle and a few remaining lupines amongst the grasses, enjoying the views of the Presidentials set against the blue sky. Then into the woods, where I noted many blue bead lilies and red bunchberries, along with a few red berries on the remaining trillium stalks. The Garmin didn't pick up a signal before I started running, so I am unsure how far I ran, but I was out for 30 minutes, which was good enough for me for the day.

Today's extra: The video below of Joan Benoit winning the Olympic Marathon in 1984 has shown up in a few spots recently, but it is very cool. If you need some inspiration, it is definitely worth a watch!