Naked Bavarian 20 Miler Race Recap

Hola, running peeps! Today, I'm going to recap the Naked Bavarian 20 Miler.

I've been enjoying running trail this winter. Sometimes I meet up with a friend or my dad on the weekend and sometimes I run a race. This weekend was the second weekend in a row that I raced. And when I say "raced" I just mean that I ran for fun, not that I actually raced it.

The Naked Bavarian is run on the trails around Blue Marsh Lake in Leesport, PA. It's only about an hour and ten minutes from my house. I rolled up at 7:51. The 40 milers started at 8:00 on the dot. After I got my race bib and went to the bathroom, I warmed up in my car. 

It was very windy and I was having a hard time deciding on what to wear. I knew it would be warmer in the woods when the wind wasn't hitting us, but how much warmer? I ultimately decided on my Boston windbreaker rather than my very thick running jacket. It was a good choice because it did get a lot warmer as the day went on. In fact, I could have worn shorts!

The 20 milers started at 8:30 on the dot. We ran on the road for about a quarter mile and then it was into the woods. The course was a lollipop... 6.5 miles out, a loop, and then 6.5 miles back.

The terrain was not technical at all. There were very few wet/muddy parts. There were a handful of very steep hills, but for the most part it was either flat or rolling. Most of the time we were in the woods, but once in awhile, we'd come across a beautiful field to run through!

I was actually quite tired by mile four of this race and panicked a little bit. How was I going to complete 20 miles if I was tired already? I told myself to relax, take my time, and just enjoy all the Survivor and Big Brother podcasts I had to listen to.

I'm proud of myself for not taking any walk breaks except for a couple very steep hills.  Here I am at mile ten at the top of a hill... beat!

This is going to sound crazy, but I didn't look at my Garmin at all until mile 19.86! Can you believe that!? I just didn't want to know how much farther I had to go or how fast/slow I was running. Mentally, that's what I was feeling that day.

There were four aid stations and they were STOCKED with anything you could imagine... grilled cheese, pbj, fig newtons, oranges, candy, water, gatorade, soda... They were even frying up bacon at one of them!

The course was a little long- 20.86. That made me glad I didn't look at my Garmin until close to the end. I would have hated it to have been counting down and then get to 20 miles and still have farther to go! By the time I looked at my Garmin, I knew where I was on the course and that I had less than a mile to go.

I finished strong! Not an all out sprint or anything because I didn't want to injure myself.

The post race food was awesome. I got a bratwurst and a grilled cheese to eat on the way home. I was super hungry and honestly could've had double.

On the way home I wondered why my legs were so tired. I often do 12-13 mile trail runs on the weekends no problem, and today, I was tired by mile four. What gives? Then I added it up and realized in the past 8 days I ran 60 miles! That's way too much! And my half marathon last weekend was brutal with all that mud. I think I was just tired.

Less running this week and next, for sure!

Have you ever run a trail race?
Tell me about the best aid stations!