Condor 25k: Quick Report on A Down Home Little Race

CAAAAWWWWWWWWWW!

Last Sunday I went down to the Mac Forest on the north side of Corvallis and ran a 25k over the hills and through the woods with some friends.  It was the same course as it was 2 years ago when I finished in a hair over 2 hrs, a time and effort I was ecstatic about back then.  It seemed much warmer out there than in years past with 70ish degree temps by 10:30-11:00 (9:00 start time).

It's a pretty local event (by local I mean mostly Corvallis-ites and half of these folks practically live right there in the forest: they are always there).  Salem had a decent contingent there as well just as it did in 2012 when I first met my winter time running buddies (Pam, Dan, Shawn, Dennis, etc.).




Start line.  Dude front and center wins.  Mike and I are jabbing off to the right.  Sort of felt like they took a break in the family reunion to run 25k then we all got back together for cookies afterwards.  Photo: Taryn Hand

 

It's a fast(er) yet challenging course.  I haven't ever really studied the elevation profile but it feels like it is always going up at an ever so slightly grade.  Now, I know that is impossible because it ends right back where it starts but that is just the way it feels.  Perhaps the ups are in general long and drawn out and the downs are somewhat quick and steeper.  I don't know, run it and see for yourself.

It cruises the buttery trails that the Mac is locally famous for and there are some longer stretches of gravel logging roads in there as well.  So, it's not too tricky and generally you can really open up and soar.  This makes sense given the race is dedicated to a local runner, David Bateham, who was more of a runner type than some kind of technical hiker type that we see at lots of MUT stuff from my understanding of the guy.

My race went pretty well.  I felt good and relaxed on the climbs (most of the biggins being earlier on in the race) and preceded with caution on the descents because my toe was still healing from an early accident.  I ran most of the race in 3rd place with a couple stints in 2nd.  I really enjoyed running with Mike Rosling.  It always seems like we aren't even racing one another when we get to chatting mid-race (this has happened twice now down in the Mac).  I'd catch him on the climbs and he'd leave me in the dust on the downhills and at the aid stations where I was in "ultra mode" each time.  You know drinking cups of water, checking out different gel flavors, carefully placing trash in the receptacle, and saying my thank yous to each volunteer.

Some folks hate loggin roads.  I dig em.  Photo: Taryn Hand

I finished within my goal time of 1:50, but barely with a 1:49:36.  For that I pushed the last 1/2-3/4 mile of flatter course pretty hard.  I had plenty of energy.  I know I can go back and do better than that someday.  Maybe next year.  It'd be hard to not want to come back to such a down home event on a uniquely quick and challenging course.

I had a weekend off from racing and now I am looking at 2 weekends of consecutive 50ks.  I am feeling pretty ready but boy that is a lot of racing mileage for me.  I like to push races pretty hard but I am going to try and do well at both which means I'll need to be reasonable with my efforts.  The good news is they are very different than one another, one being quite hilly up and over ridges in the woods and the other being flatter loops in a park.



Photo: Taryn Hand