I've never done a trail race, but we all know that hasn't stopped me in the past ;). I did a short trail run once, and wasn't a fan, primarily because it was up-up-up and I didn't do much running. But my coach suggested that I try this race and after some back and forth on whether or not I was actually going to do it, I registered. Once it was set, I was kind of excited. And then the race organizers posted a YouTube video of the course and I was sold. It looked really fun!

Serenbe is a community that is out near an area that I ride in (Silk Sheets) - it's just south of Atlanta. It's a 900 acre sustainable living community, and it's gorgeous. I got there just as the sun was coming up and it turned out to be a beautiful day.

My goal for this race was simply participation and being careful to not break anything. I also wanted to take some pictures!



Registration and packet pickup were really laid back, it had a totally different vibe than most road races I've been to.



After I picked up my race shirt (nice ls technical shirt), I walked around the little town area and took some pictures. It was super cute. Everyone just hung out and eventually we meandered over to the start line, and then we were off.

Mile 1 of the race is on pavement, so we headed through town on some residential streets and passed the stables as we made our way to the trail.





Mile 2 took us down a gravel and dirt road into the trail. It was still a little foggy over the lake. This stretch was really pretty because you're running in the forest and the sun is coming through the trees. The ground was a little mucky because we'd had torrential rain a few days before the race.





The terrain changed all the time, which kept things interesting! There was a ton of mud just before and after the split from the 5K course, but I managed to stay on my feet and grin as I squished through it. Man, my shoes were nasty by the end of this race - now I see why people get trail shoes - not only for the support, but also so your road shoes aren't covered in mud.

Mile 3 took us out of the forest trail into an open field - there was always something to look forward to! We headed out into the field for a bit and then turned around, so I got a chance to see other racers as I headed out.













Mile 4-6 took us back through the woods and through some more muck as we got closer to the water. There was a stream that we hopped and this stretch had some rollers as we came down near the water and back up.













Near Mile 6 we came back out of the woods and headed towards a really pretty farm area.



Mile 6.5 had Chickens!





Mile 7 was an out and back section as we headed into another open pasture.





And then Miles 8 & 9 brought us back through the farm, through the woods and back to the paved road to the finish line!



I picked it up a bit since we were back on pavement and finished strong! I had so much fun!!! I want to do this race again next year, and maybe then I'll actually pay attention to my time.