I received a free entry to Foretrail’s Phantom Run because I volunteered as a pre-sweet for their Hallow’s Eve race. I decided to run the longest option, 24.5K , and Courtney, who also received a free entry, joined in the fun.
Our distance started first at 8:30am. We made sure to arrived early to sign in and picked up our race kits: a bib and a pair of Smartwool socks. Another two distances, 19.5K and 12.5K started at 9:00 and 9:30 respectively.
After seeing how well flagged the Hallow’s Eve race was, I didn’t bother to look at the route before hand. I just knew it started and ended at the Lower Seymour Conservation Reserve.
It was a little chilly but all the runners were surprised and thankful that it wasn’t raining. I wore my Oiselle Roga shorts, LEGEND compression socks, a tank top and my Helly Hanson long sleeve with my Run Like A Girl jacket on top, my maple leaf headband, and my Salomon S-lab 3L pack.
Two new pairs of Altras had just arrived the day before so I decided to wear my Lone Peak 3.0 Neoshells.
The route was very runnable. There were some hills and stairs along it, but also some flat stretches. I felt great and decided to push it a little. The upper side of the long Lynn loop was probably the most difficult stretch for me. It was muddy and slippery and I couldn’t get a good rhythm going.
I finished with a time of 3:13:03 which is probably the fastest I’ve ever run nearly 25 km. My pace averaged out to about 8:00 min/km. Courtney came through just after me. There was soup, hot blueberry juice, and muffins awaiting runners at the end.
We hung around just long enough to say hi to friends and see if we won any draw prizes (we didn’t).
