Jacobsburg Course Marking

I wanted to run this morning/early afternoon.  With a hard 5k and then a hard trail run in back to back days, I felt kind of beat up.  I decided to rest instead of running hard.

Tomorrow, is the Jacobsburg Five and Dime Trail Race.  The Easton Outdoor Company is hosting the event and their owner is the husband of my friend Sarah.  I offered to help out not only with the race, but marking the course.

I met the owner/race director Adam, late in the afternoon.  He was marking the 10 mile course and I marked the 5 mile course.  That worked out good because I could get an easy 5 mile run in.

It was cloudy, but quite humid.  I wore shorts and a short sleeve shirt.  I was soaked by the end of the run.

I started in the Sober's Run parking lot.  I began going up the powerline section.  The race will start in that area.  It is a tough uphill.

I made sure to mark the race direction everywhere that there was the potential to turn, even if the run is staying on the main trail.  One section on the downhill has become quite washed out.  That could be tricky in the first mile. 

After going through the main part, the race goes on the fun singletrack section.  I love this part, along the creek.  I'm sure people will enjoy it in the race too. 

I was glad I had a map with me.  I stopped every so often, just to make sure I didn't screw anything up.  When I got back to the main trail, I saw Adam.  He had told me I messed one section up, but he would fix it.

The run now goes on the main part for a short distance.  Then, it goes back into a fun singletrack section.  This can be a tricky little climb.  It comes out with the 10 mile race then.

Now, I was over 2.5 miles into the run.  I noticed that my paint was running low.  I tried not to use too much.  The trail went back to another singletrack section along Sober's run.  I like this section too.  It is a little wider and faster than the other creek section.

When I came out of here and on to the main trail, I ran out of paint.  I still had about a mile left to mark.  Most of this remaining section is the same as the 10 mile race.  That race turns and then eventually comes back.  Otherwise, they follow the same path.

Rather than run this last section, I just ran the quicker way back.  I left the empty can at Adam's car.  Thanks to a lady in the parking lot that had a pen, I made a note to let him know that I ran out of paint.

Tomorrow, I'm also volunteering at the race.  Adam has made me the sweeper for the 5 mile run.  That means that I'll follow the end of the field.  I'll run if I can.  It might be a run/hike.  I might run there after the race is over too.

4.64 miles - 51:56 (11:11 pace)