This was my first (and maybe last:)) attempt at a destination race. Since we were in Vegas for a long weekend I found the 'Moolight Madness - Desert Dash' 5K on active.com and thought it would be cool to try trail running in the desert at nighttime. The website said:
"Trail running is such a great way to get out and explore and with our group runs and races you are sure to be on some of the sweetest singletrack trails around. We also offer our own unique Moonlight Madness races...what better way to have fun than to get out in the dirt under the full moon!"
It was very cold and windy so we stayed in the car. It was only then that we started to wonder just how well the trails were going to be marked and if this was really such a good idea after all...
When the sun goes down in the desert, it is absolutely pitch black...
We did love the hats in our race packets though...
At the pre-race meeting the organizers claimed that the trails were really well marked and there would be several experienced desert runners out there to make sure that no one got lost. They checked that we all had lights (I had bought ours at the running store which clipped onto our hats) and had a medic explain the protocol if anyone were to get injured. To be honest, that was the only clue that we may be embarking on something that could in any way be dangerous...I saw a mom with her two children so I told Mike I would be fine and to run ahead and said I'd stay with the mom so that I wasn't alone.
So the race began...after just a few minutes of turning my ankle on really narrow and rocky trails I realized I was going to get hurt if I ran. It was kind of like hiking in the dark since our cap-lights were really hopeless and the sky was too cloudy for there to be any moonlight. I stayed focused on the girl in front of me as best as I could and followed her for about a mile or so. I kept thinking that at some point we would get onto a surface fit for running on but it just didn't happen and it was too late to turn back. In fact at a couple of points in the course I actually had to use my hands to climb upwards! Then, all of a sudden, after about a half an hour, I realized that I was completely alone. I did my best to follow the reflectors that had been set up and started running again just to get out of there. I don't think I've ever been so frightened. Eventually I ran into a race organizer who told me that I was on the half marathon course. He told me that about seven of us (there were less than 50 in total) had all gone the wrong way and then had the nerve to suggest that I shouldn't have signed up if I wasn't experienced. Gotta love the guy...on their Facebook a few days before it had said:
"Moonlight Madness is coming up fast and there's one last chance before the race to get out on the Bootleg trails in the dark with the people that know them well... Yes, newbies are welcome! Come out and play for a bit."
Anyway, the guy kept pointing vaguely into the darkness and saying, you can rejoin the trail if you round that mountain over there and I started losing my ever-loving mind. Then another runner came by who was also off-course. Janie had injured herself on the 10K and had tried to follow the 5K to get back. We decided to find our way back together. We vented about how frustrating the whole experience was as we found our way back to civilization. I am so grateful to have found her - she was a complete sweetheart! As we crossed the line at 1 hour and 30 minutes, Mike looked like he'd gone to hell and back when I saw him - he had also gotten off course and then been stranded out there by a couple of the 'helpful, experienced desert runners.' He was so relieved when he realized that I was OK. There were still a handful of runners missing (including Janie's husband who ended up doing the half) so it was all very chaotic and emotional when I got in. I nearly punched the guy when he gave my the race medal but feel strangely attached to it now somehow...
I'm still processing what happened so I can't say exactly what I learned from the experience yet. Mike said he feels like he can take on anything now. Maybe I'll look back and feel something other than angry at the organizers one day...I certainly hope so...:)
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