My return to Isle Du Bois Texas state park which is about a 2 hour drive from Moore, Ok. We took the Airstream and camped a half of mile from the start in the park. My previous time in 2014 was 5:26 and 3rd overall. This year it rained all night before the race and off and on during. The 36k and 55K start together so there's a lot of early racing that first 11.5 mile lap but spreads out after lap 1. You a few hundred runners on a lap course and with the ran we got, it really got messy and treacherous in spots. I failed to bring my Garmin charger for the forerunner 630 so it went blank about 22 miles in. It made me appreciate my gps gadgets. This course has a little of everything rocks, rollers, tree roots, of none of which extreme. I wore a pair Nike road shoes for the first 2 laps but went to a dedicated trail shoe the last loop. I lost cushioning but gained traction. My 3rd lap I didn't see anyone coming in or going out at the turnaround and with no Garmin I had no way to gage how I was doing overall. It wasn't until I finished until I realize how slow I was going. I really felt good out there but just didn't get the results I was looking for. Dave Hanneburg of endurancebuzz.com puts on a well organized race. Everyone leaves with a bear of local honey and chicken enchiladas after the race. | 