This would have been a great pic if my lips weren't so dry and I wasn't trying to hold back tears of happiness. I don't always look so strange and ugly. Even after running 26K. 
This is what I learned today after running my second ever trail race, Haliburton Forest 26K.
1. Carry water. Carry water. Carry water.
2. After running 13K through rough terrain, gummi bears and red licorice look like food when there is no fruit left to eat at the aid station (and they taste delicious). Oops.
3. The trails in Dundas Valley are a walk in the park compared to those in Haliburton Forest.
I had a great day in the woods and managed to keep my attitude positive about 98% of the time. It was a lot more challenging and took way longer than I had anticipated. But I met my goals, which were to finish the race and not to come in dead last. I got to visit the Haliburton Wolf Centre while I was there, which was amazing although I was really tired so I didn’t get to spend a lot of time.
Haliburton County is amazingly beautiful and I was really happy with the way the race was organized. The laid-back vibe really appealed to me and the crowd at Haliburton was a lot different from Sulphur Springs. The course was full of big steep hills, rooty sections, rocky sections, slippery log sections, tonnes of nice single-track, some not-so-nice single track, loose rocks, poor footing and sections of muck. Yeah! My only complaint is that the aid stations seemed few and really far apart but it was probably my own fault for not carrying water and relying on aid stations for hydration. Even though there were times during the race where I was cursing myself for deciding to run it and vowing to never run a race again, I am already thinking of what my next race will be!
*OUSER gives series points to the 26K Haliburton Forest as an ultra, even though ultras are usually 50K or more.
Congratulations!! And you don’t look “strange and ugly” in that photo … you look incredible.
Debbie