Race Report - Cheseboro Half-Marathon

So I took the trip up to Agoura Hills with Millsy and his brother to run the Cheseboro Half-Marathon. Going in to the race all I knew was that it is mainly on rocky/sandy trails and that is is fairly hard. According to results only 4 people have ever run under 1:20:00. Therefore, I knew it was going to be very challenging. What I found out was that it was VERY challenging with lots of twists, turns, rocks, switchbacks, lots of quick ups/downs and some suicide downhills.

The race started with a very steep downhill along with around 3 miles of winding, up and down roads. As we entered the trail I was in 6th place and moved into 5th shortly thereafter. I moved in to 4th around 5 miles and that is where I stayed for the remainder of the race. From mile 3 to just after 7 the trail was mainly all uphill with a few sharp up and down hills. Around 7.5 miles there was a very steep set of switchbacks that were far from enjoyable. Miles 8-10 was virtually all an extremely steep downhill which I found to be very difficult to maneuver. As you came out of the park there was a final VERY steep .5mi long hill and then I finally came back to the road. The last 2.5mi was downhill and flat making for a nice end to a very hard race.

I never felt good but never felt bad either. It was really fun running out in the hills and through the trails, and as far as scenery this was the nicest race I have ever run. Just to keep myself at bay during the race I ran in trainers and wore my Garmin. This way I didn't feel like I was really in a "race."

Truthfully I thought I had finished in 3rd and later saw the results and found out I came in 4th. According to the results someone finished 13 seconds ahead of me, however I have no idea where that guy came from because, considering how fast the leaders went out, I never saw anyone after about 4 miles. I figure I would have seen someone just 13 seconds ahead of me at some point. I'll be interested to see the pictures when they are available... However, I would have won the past 2 years by 4min so I guess it just an "up" year for the race. Considering Josh Spiker decided to show up, along with the fact that I am in terrible shape, I had no chance today.

Splits (you can see how the hills effected the race!):
1- 5:22
2- 5:50 (11:13)
3- 5:56 (17:09)
4- 5:58 (23:07)
5- 6:08 (29:15)
6- 6:32 (35:38)
7- 6:50 (42:37)
8- 7:24 (50:01)
9- 5:39 (55:40)
10- 5:34 (1:01:13)
11- 5:44 (1:06:58)
12- 5:38 (1:12:35)
13-5:33 (1:18:08)
Finish- 1:18:42

Results