Willapa Trail Festival
November 8, 2025
86th hundred, 26:54
Leaves, leaves and more leaves
Well I ran a great 50 mile race, too bad I sign up for the hundo. The Willapa trail festival is still a new race run by a very experienced race director because he had things dialed in. Thank you Jason. The race is flat and on a smooth small gravel rails to trail course with a few bridges and really pretty trees and a river alongside the trail. Some of the aid stations are indoor so you can get real food and warmth and if you need a change of clothes there are indoor bathrooms. This is great for the volunteers as well. Jason’s parents create the awards for this race. They provide ceramic medallions and a ceramic buckle, all with unique designs. I even received a ceramic mug for “winning” my age group. And for some reason the cost of this race depends on the miles you run. 50K, 31 dollars, 50 miles, 50 dollars, so 100 dollars for a hundred miler is quite reasonable, what’s not to like.
The course is about 2.5 hours from Seattle so Sarah drove Cecilia and I down the night before. We stopped at a great vegan restaurant in Olympia (The Wayside) on the way to the hotel. Lots of giggles were had and then we crashed early. Thank you Sarah for driving through all the traffic and rain. I hadn’t really tapered well for this race so was looking for a finish and in my mind a finish is a win. And of course I was the oldest person to sign up so I had to represent the 60 plus crowd.
During the first few miles I got to run with the cutest couple on the course, Amy and Chris. Then the next few miles I got to catch up with Van. It’s always good to run and chat and catch up on all the other aspects of life. From mile 26-31 Anique dragged me along to some faster miles, ah youth. Then I ran the rest of the race by myself seeing people and cheering each other along on the out and backs. Due to construction we completed the 50 mile course twice which was fine by me because I got to see my drops bags multiple times.
It didn’t rain but it was foggy and moist so I fully changed clothes at fifty miles and then added pants over shorts at 63 miles. Fleece on top kept me warm enough throughout the night. Glad I packed well for the weather. Changing clothes multiple times adds time to your race (30 or so minutes). Also running a race in colder weather means carrying an extra layer just in case so my upper shoulders hurt a bit from a heavier pack. All in all my body is doing okay.
I listened to a great book by Kate Quinn, The Briar Club. It’s very well written, took me a bit to get into it but she really develops the characters well and the twist at the end is worth it. Historical fiction from the 1950s and she has written others, The Alice Network. In the Briar Club, several women and a few men form a bond and it reminds of the bonds I have with my running friends, very unique people who love to support our eccentricities.
Well that wraps up number 86. I’m beginning to see a light at the end of this. Sheesh. Happy running folks. Thanks for reading.
Numbers for me because I might do this again.
Half, 2:33, marathon, 5:20, 50k in 6:25, fifty in 11:07, two stops with 15 minutes to change clothes
Eat more, you slowed a lot because you were under caloried during the last 30 miles, each time you ate you were able to run well for a mile or two, then slowed