Colorado Crossing 8 Mile Race Report

Colorado Crossing is a great race that attracted my attention as soon as I read the description.  The idea of crossing the Colorado River during a race sounds like a lot of fun.  In 2018, the river was low, although it did rise during race weekend, and we crossed it on foot, which was super fun.

Colorado Crossing 2019  PC: JJustice Photography

In 2018, it was a two day event and on the first day, I ran with a small group of friends.  It was a lot of fun running and crossing the river with them.  On the second day, I ran at race effort and was very happy with my time and finish position.

Colorado Crossing 2018 Group  PC: Trail Racing Over Texas

For 2019, I began a hard press of local friends to come do the race with me.  I sold them hard on the idea of crossing the river in boats (this year, the plan was to have boats no matter the river level) and running in a group.  I promised that no one would run this race alone unless that is what they specifically wanted.

I have found that there is some doubt about what trail racing involves that keeps some people from trying it out.  By telling folks that it’s ok to go at your own pace, to walk when you want to, to enjoy the trail and nature, and cheer on other runners doing exactly the same thing, I’ve learned people are a lot more receptive to joining in.

Ahead of the race, we started a chat group where everyone could ask questions and share ideas.  We planned to carpool/caravan together and to go eat somewhere after the race.  Planning it as an all day event and not just as a race helped people really get excited about it.  I’ve learned that my friends often look at the races and distances I run and think there’s no way I’d be happy running with them but that couldn’t be further from the truth.  I certainly love to race and run long distances but I also love the opportunity to share the trail or roads with friends.

The chat group worked out really well as people got to see questions and answers they might not have even thought of and they also got the chance to get more and more comfortable with the idea of running 8+ miles.  This was going to be the first trail race for several members and I think it was a great way to ease fears of the unknown by getting the chance to talk about it in a safe environment.

I tried to spread what I love about the trail running community.  I told them about the inclusiveness and welcoming nature of runners.  That all paces and distances were accepted and that everyone loves when our sport grows.  I told them it’s ok to hike the entire distance if that’s what they’d like to do and the cut off times were generous to allow exactly that.  

One of the reasons I wanted to introduce them to trail racing through Trail Racing Over Texas was because I knew it would be a truly special experience for them at their first event.  I’ve said it before and I’ll keep saying it, Rob loves his runners.  His hugs and high fives are exactly the same for elite runners competing to finish first as they are for runners coming in at the end of the day.  He celebrates every runner because everyone has a unique reason and story that brought them to the trail that  day and it deserves to be recognized as special.

All together on race day, we had 9 riding together in our carpool and another 5 members of the Killeen running family meeting us there.  We met early at a central spot and loaded all our bags together and gear.  We hit the road at 5:30 AM and drove down to the park.  Packet pick up was smooth and quick and some of the Killeen runners that arrived for an earlier race set up a canopy to share with the entire group.  Everyone completed preparations for the race like filling their camelbaks and water bottles, retying shoes, applying sunscreen and bug repellent, and mentally preparing for the race.  We loosely decided who was going to group up together in small groups.  I didn’t want all of us to be bunched up in a huge group that would block the trail for runners passing in either direction, so we tried to stay in groups of 4 or less throughout the race.

Colorado Crossing 2019 Pre-Race

We got a couple of quick pre-race pictures and listened to the trail briefing before starting the race at 8 AM.  We started near the back of the pack and slowly our small groups began to separate out.  We had a good time enjoying the cool morning air and chatting for the first few minutes.  Those of us that ran the race last year began joking about the “big hill” up ahead but it turned out that the course was slightly changed for the 8 mile race and we skipped the worst uphill of the course.  We regrouped a little at the first aid station and departed as one large group again but shortly separated again into smaller groups.

Waiting on a boat!

When we got to the river bank, there was a line to get into the boats.  The LCRA staff were fantastic and a lot of fun as they managed the river crossing with the boats but there were a lot of runners bunched up at this point and only so many boats to make the crossing.  This year, the river was significantly higher than it was last year and foot crossings were forbidden for the race, which was the absolute right decision.  

This is what fun looks like!

Our big group reunited at the line and we got a few more pictures but we were separated into three boats and there was a time gap between boats two and three.  There was an aid station about halfway through the small loop on the island and then we were back at the river bank ready to cross back and finish the race.  We also separated again into smaller groups with a slightly larger gap between at this point.  I crossed in the middle group with one other friend and when we got to the other side, we had one friend waiting for us.  They continued on to finish the last mile of the race while I waited for our last group to cross.  There was a mix up with vests on the crossing and the last group took a bit longer as the staff member in that boat made them turn around and return to the far side of the river.

I'm off a boat!  PC: JJustice Photography

Once we were all on the same side of the river, we moved out again in a group.  With about a half mile to go, I came across another trail runner friend who was completing her third of five laps on the 24 mile race.  She was having a hard time with the conditions and was unhappy with her pace and considering dropping from the race.  We chatted a bit about the (un)importance of times, paces, and ultrasignup ratings.  We are both running nerds and place a lot of significance on these things for ourselves.

We both dropped and DNF’d at the same race around the same time back in April and we talked about that a little, too.  As I learned at Brazos Bend 50, sometimes you just don’t have it that day and it’s ok to pack it in if that’s the case.  I missed the cut off to start my final loop by two minutes that day and it took a while for that sting to fade.  

I reminded her of the one thing I always try to keep in mind when I’m feeling low in a race.  No matter what distance I’m doing or what my pace is at the time, I don’t have to do any of it.  I get to do it.  Sometimes, that’s helpful for getting me back on track mentally in a run.  I hope that no matter how many years pass, I never forget where I came from.  That I never forget there was a time when walking for 15 minutes was physically painful and exhausting for me.  I’m so much happier and healthier now and everything I accomplish is more than I could have dreamed of back then.  

She came out to my Sunday morning social run the next day and told me how she went back out for her fourth loop and completed it while running alongside another friend to help keep herself motivated.  Then she went back out on the fifth loop and finished her race.  She told me that she reminded herself during that loop that she didn’t have to do it but that she got to do it.  

All done!

I was the last person to finish from our carpool group and I reminded them that internet results are forever!  We snacked at the finish line aid station, took some pictures with our medals, began reliving our favorite parts of the race, cleaned up and changed clothes and began planning what we were going to eat at the restaurant.  After a fun group lunch, we started the drive home.

Post-Race!

Once again, Colorado Crossing turned out to be an amazing experience.  I love that I got to share trail running with so many of my friends and that they got to experience something very unique.  There aren’t very many races that involve hopping into a raft and paddling across a river.  I love that  they trusted me to introduce them to something that would be fun and challenging but within their grasp.  I love that we got to share it all together and that everyone supported and cheered each other on.  Everyone was concerned with getting the entire group to the finish line and leaving no one behind – except maybe during the last half mile…I mean, internet results do last forever!  I love that I was able to help a friend get through their race.

Some of the runners are already signed up for future races and others are planning to sign up for more during the next big discount event.  Some of them are even recruiting more new people on their own.  Pretty soon, there will be a six degrees of #ChipMadeMeDoIt.

Overall, the event was run well.  Everything from packet pick up to the finish line aid station was smooth and quick, outside of the one delay at the first river crossing.  But that was completely understandable as the 8 mile race had a lot of runners joining the 50k and 50 mile runners at a bottle neck point in the course.  The folks from LCRA were great for keeping the runners safe while keeping the boats moving.

I’ll be sorry to see the 2020 race calendar missing this race but there’s a chance it will return in 2021.

The Austin Trail Running Company and Altra both had tents at the race and I got to introduce my Killeen friends to Pam (ATRC) and Tracie (Altra).  They got the chance to talk trail running, shoes, and gear with some of the best folks I know in the sport.  We are excited to get some shoe demos lined up for Killeen in the Fall.

For this race, I carried my Orange Mud 21 oz hand held water bottle.  I like the wide mouth screw on cap because I can quickly get ice into the water bottle at aid stations.  I also wore my Orange Mud arm sleeves.  The pockets are great for carrying a little extra stuff or for putting ice in on hot days.  I wore my XOSkin XOToes crew socks with my Altra Timps 1.0.  This combination of shoes and socks has become my go to for races.  I don’t normally get blisters to begin with but the socks are super comfortable and I love the wide toebox and extra padding on the Timps.  I wore two point gaiters but somehow managed to get a small pebble in my shoe anyways.  They did keep sand spurs on the outside, though.