I decided that my summer strategy for races was going to be picking out ones that looked fun and/or silly. So when I heard about this one near my hometown, less than a couple hours away, I was all about it! Mike also happens to be the DM for my D&D group, where my character happens to have a goat companion, so he was also all about this race, and he invited one of our other friends to come along as well. It was her first "official" 5K - afterwards I told her that it would probably be one of the hardest ones she ever does because it was hot and muggy and there was pretty much no shade on that course at all. And it had an uphill finish!
We had to drive a bit to get there, so we headed out pretty early and enjoyed a round of Hamilton Car Karaoke (Act I) as our entertainment for the journey. We stopped at the Sheetz in Sabraton for one last coffee/snack/restroom break before heading out into rural WV and were all horrified by the guy in the pickup next to us who was wearing a t-shirt with the sleeves cut off that just happened to show off his homemade swastika tattoo! Sigh. We didn't linger in the parking lot once our business was taken care of.
Things in Arthurdale were much more idyllic - the race was being held at the site of the famous New Deal village, which still has a few structures standing and was hosting the race as a benefit. On our way from the car to the sign-in table, we spotted the main event: the goats! They were fenced in but very close by, and a couple were being walked around the grassy area on leashes. Later we found out that two of the goats would be participating in the walk category of the race. We got checked in without any issues, picked up our adorable turquoise goat shirts (cotton, but cute enough it doesn't matter), checked out the baked goods for sale, bought some tickets for the raffle to name a goat (entering my D&D character's goat's name, obviously) and went in search of the two tiny bathrooms that would end up being the only facilities for the race. The line was at least good for putting on sunscreen - with the race not starting until 9 and it being mid-June, it was winding up to be a hot, sunny day.
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| We tried! |
We wandered around for a bit as the start time approached, gave skritches to some goats, and did a little warmup over the first quarter mile or so of the course before heading back to the line to wait. Not a huge group of participants but a local cross-country group came out ("NOTSERP" = Preston (the county where the race was held) spelled backwards) so there were plenty of capable-looking runners. One man was clearly preparing to run the race barefoot (for the second time in a day, I thought, oh West Virginia). After a quick couple of words from the race organizer, we were off!
I've already pretty much given you the course description - it was fairly hilly (WV), very sunny, and the humidity was growing more and more oppressive with each minute the sun rose higher. Mike took off near the front of the pack and I lost sight of him quickly, as usual, and our other friend and I traded spots for a little while before I took off after the first big hill (I'm still reasonably good at hills - hurrah!). The heat took it out of me pretty fast though and despite a couple of cups of water over my head and back on the course, it was a real struggle to get across the line at 32 and change, especially with a short but definitely uphill finish. I forgot to stop my watch because I was so focused on finishing so I could stop running. Once I passed through the chute I immediately found the buckets of ice full of water bottles and grabbed not only a drink (that I ended up accidentally dumping all over myself) but handfuls of ice which I gratefully shoved down the front and back of my bra. I repeated that a few times until the ice stopped melting basically on contact. Ah, relief.
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| White goat was a sore loser and didn't stick around... |
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| Winner of Best Goat! |
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| Post-race baked goods, as ya do. |
After cooling down a bit and waiting for our friend to cross the line, we ambled back to the farm house, where I bought some cookies and brownies and, most importantly, pepperoni rolls! After a brief pit stop at the car to swap running shoes for sandals we spent a fair amount of time visiting the goats and making friends with them, as well as the dogs who were their minders. We spent a few minutes sitting in the grass before the awards ceremony (and goat naming!) started, but it was pretty clear early on that none of us would be taking home any awards - though Mike was third in his division, so not too shabby! And unfortunately, we didn't win the goat naming either... but it was a good time anyway and we were all relieved to pile into the air conditioned car and jam to the second act of Hamilton on the way home.
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| Goat friends (and doggo)! |
And despite the heat, our friend wasn't scared off from races - she's signed up for Run Around the Square with us later this month!
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