Last Saturday marked a holiday of sorts for the runners in the Garmin family. Sure there are larger races with more colleagues taking part (70 of us do the 4-mile Trolley Run), or closer to home (Oz Marathon starts and finishes at our HQ), or more unique conditions (going underground at Groundhog Run and Jingle Bell Run). But when you ask around, a common favorite is the Psycho WyCo Run Toto Run (50K, 20-miler or 10-miler) on the hilly trails surrounding Wyandotte County Lake near Kansas City. The past few years have ranged from frigid and slick to warm and sloppy, and this year's forecast put us in an interesting spot in between. Coming off of three back-to-back snowstorms, plenty of fresh powder covered the single-track trails. But with Saturday's temps nearing 50, a massive melt loomed. The result was the one day of the year when you could hear "did you screw your shoes" asked of so many colleagues.
Along with our friend Ryan, we (Jake and Peg) donned Forerunner 210s and tackled the 20-miler to make good on a promise from last year when we still felt fresh after a single 10-mile loop. But because this is such a noteworthy race for so many of our friends, we invited them all to chip in on the recap. In the spirit of Twitter (shameless plug to follow @Garmin), we asked everyone to submit 140 characters describing their time on the trails. Without further ado, here they are:
Ryan R. Over the river and through the woods. Twice. Twenty miles of shoe-trashing, leg-thrashing fun. Hilly course with more ups than downs.
Neal S. It’s a mystery, but my son’s Edge 500 actually confirmed what my legs were already telling me – somehow there was actually more uphill than downhill in that 10-mile loop.
Justin M. What has two thumbs and gets passed by 2 Yeti in the same race? This guy. Shoe skiing down KS Mtns, while visions of lentil soup danced in my head.
Matt B. Crawled ten miles neck deep in snow and all I got was undersized tee shirt. #shirtforsale
Robert B. Awesome experience running through snow filled woods. Wonderful feeling when completed. Sore aftermath. NoteToSelf – train next year.
Jon P. No other event I do each year hurts so good, when else do you have an excuse to screw your shoes. Can’t wait for next year, Mud, snow, rain?
Nathan K. Nearly eating snow on each fall + jumping over/crawling under downed trees + struggling up the steep slippery slopes = My first trail race!
Rick V. Now I understand why they call this the Psycho Wyco run! It was nuts, but exciting and unique! Thank goodness for screwing my shoes!
Bob B. Great race! Beautiful conditions. Once again my motto of start slow then taper pays off!
Charlie B. Trees can be helpful - just grab and swing around the turn. The hard part is deciding if the tree is thick enough to hold. #yardsale
David C. How can I program my Garmin 310 for Heart Rate ZONES 6-10? The toughest 10 miles around & still sore, but Psycho was GREAT fun!
Reid M. I now know why there is no such song called “Running in a Winter Wonder Land.” It would be a horrible song full of falling on snow covered rocks, pulling yourself up snow covered cliffs one tree at a time for ten miles.
Pascal L. Here is mine: “Oh my god, what was I thinking?”
Brad D. It really helps to train! I beat my time by 23 min this year and I can still walk! Loved those downhill sections.
Greg B. Psycho Wyco Haiku: The name says it all. Snow, ice, beards, frost…no control. My toes are still numb!
David H. Didn’t know hills like that existed in KS. Feet still haven’t forgiven me.
Brian B. I played the rolled ankle excuse at mile 2.5 and dropped from the race. #goodbyetrails #pavedracecourse #vibramfivefingers
David M. If anyone saw a bearded guy with a red hoodie bite it on a couple of down slopes, that was me, this newbie wishes he screwed his shoes.
David W. Beautiful day, snow pack the entire 10 miles made it interesting, glad I had screws in my shoes. Racer (dog) had 4WD so he was fine. Both of us are sore.
Tom B. Why did I let @garmin talk me into this 4 years ago? Every year it’s too little running beforehand and can barely walk on Monday. #dontlistentojake #notarunner #ibuprofen
Kurt S. Distance: 31 miles. Climb: 4140 ft. Time: 6 hrs 20 min. Summing it up in 140 characters or less: Priceless.
Peg: Undertrained, overslept, underconsumed, overhydrated. Perfect for 20-mi ramble. Apologies to Jake for Peg’s bonking crankiness @ mi 17.5.
Jake: Note to Peg & Ryan: Keep chatting, I’ll keep #running. (Note to organizers: same thing but replace chatting with “making nutella roll-ups”)
Thanks everyone - especially Ben, Sophia and the Trail Nerds - for a great event. To get a better picture of the fun we had, check out action photos (such as the above pics) by Dick Ross at SeeKCRun.com.
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