2009 Kahtoola Michigan Mountain Run

On beautiful, sunny February 8, 2009 at the Pine Knob Ski Area 68 people lined up in front of the lodge to test their mettle on the snow, ice and the ski hill itself. The temperature was around 24 degrees and no wind, perfect for a winter run!

You had a choice of a 4K or an 8K run, with the 8K doing two laps of the 4K course….math easy enough for me to understand. I chose the 8K as I always like to get my money’s worth and adhere to my personal mantra, go big or go home. The course had you go up about 100 yards of one ski run, then back down, do a loop around the snow making pond then go up another ski run about 200 yards then back down and THEN all the way up to the top on a run called the Quarter Mile. Then when you reach the top, you go along the backside of the ski hill and it’s all downhill and back to the start/finish line.

The start was pretty laid back with a just a few of us geeks with a forefinger on the start button of our heart rate monitors. It had a grass roots feel and everyone there was there to have some fun and shake out the cobwebs. I was using it as a training/see where my fitness is at/pre adventure race run. The pace was manageable at first but the snow tends to suck any power you have right out from under you and running up hill will take its toll on the calves.

With a course this tough, it wasn’t a matter of IF you were going to walk, it was a matter of when. I took my first walk break about ½ way up the Quarter Mile run at the steepest part of the trail in about 18 inches of snow. Being near the front, there was very little footing and you had to work hard to keep your momentum. After this section, it was on a steep groomed run and by this point your calves are begging you to stop, but you are not quite yet near the top and must dig deep to finish it off. Once your there, “it’s all downhill” with a nice finish stretch to plan any last minute moves.

Two laps later I am coming down the finish hill and I see one cat out in front that’s too far to catch and no one behind me. I am relegated to the current position I now hold which ends up being 8th place in the Male 8K with a time of 46:56:00.

I will definitely do this race again, it’s totally different than any other running race out there and a ton of fun!
Jay Jones