Thanks! I'm really happy with how my race went. That trail marathon looks tough. That hill starting about 30 km must punish many runners. There's a trail run here at a great park, and I'm thinking of trying the half marathon next year. Do you prefer trail runs or road runs? I mostly do roads, but trails intrigue me. I prefer spring and fall. Cool but not cold weather is perfect for me. I run through the winter as much as I can, and I may try to keep up my long weekend runs. What I do prefer in winter is hiking. There's no mud, no bugs, and the crowds are much smaller. I like to say running season is March through November, and hiking season is August through April. They keep me busy.Are you more or a summer or winter runner?
Also interested in Cumol's thoughts. Trail running is such a different, and, in my mind, even more amazing experience than road running. There's an association with nature that's largely lost when you're running on pavement. Trail running is taking over road running for me.
And again, we seem to have a similar view on things :D Trail running is more fun and very different than running on roads. Running on roads is like meditation, first my mind wanders around being busy thinking for about 20-30 minutes. Then, it "declutters" (no idea how to explain that) and my feet are just doing their thing and my head feels clear. Beautiful experience and necessary to balance my days in the lab. Trail running is very different. I am hyper-aware, jumping around, adapting to ever changing terrain, changing speeds, constantly going up and down. For some reason it feels more natural to me than road running. It taps into a similar place like rock climbing does, to me. As if it is rooted in a place deeper in my brain and it feels "right" doing it.