Thoughts on the Old West 50k ultra

I went for a short run yesterday and I thought about so many things that I really loved about this weekends race . The Old West trails 50k and ultra 30k fun run. I wanted to share them because I am still just super happy about the whole experience. This race was so well organized. Starting with Larry the race director. I was receiving emails from him about 2 weeks before the race. I could feel his excitement and I knew it would all turn out well. I loved how we got these awesome Dirty Girl Gaiters for free before the race . Dirty Girl Gaiters was a sponsor and I went for the dough nut material. They worked great. I was lucky enough to stay in a little cabin the night before it was really nice. Simple warm and clean. That was all I needed. ( thank you Julianne)
I was pleasantly surprised that it was not that cold. The weather was that perfect running weather . You know what I mean sometimes you can just feel how nice its going to be. There was a really nice continental type breakfast and coffee. The bathrooms where warm and there was no waiting in line. We started of right on time. ( I love that ) Everyone was friendly and I almost forgot the race director gave us a nice send off. I absolutely love how well marked this trail was. There was no chance I was getting lost. I fallowed the ribbons and I love the feeling of knowing I am on the right track. (best feeling ever) The aid stations had fresh fruit and awesome volunteers. They had everything including clapping and cheering as you ran in. These people gave brought smiles to my face. Then there is a very special feeling in ultra-running. You cheer each other on and when someone is kicking ass you tell them way to go !! when someone feels insecure or tired you reassure them they will be OK. This race brings out so many of those runners. Then there was a huge hug I got from the race director Larry at the finish line. When I knew I had a mile to go well then I started getting tired and it was getting hot out there so I listened to Staying Alive and as I crossed the finish line Larry put my awesome medal on and then gave me a hug and told me I did a great job. SO sweet … Then I found my friend we took warm showers in the bathrooms that are there for the runners to use. Then we had this great lunch . It was perfect and very intimate. This is a great race to do if you want to have a good time and smile a-lot. I highly recommend it !!!