Roots Rock Trail Running Series - Timber Town 10K

Poulsbo Running put on another fantastic event yesterday. The Timber Town 10K started and finished in Port Gamble, WA. Click here for more information about the Roots Rock Trail Running Series. Click here for a decent trail map of the Port Gamble area.

The Timber Town 10K was the second race in the 3 race Roots Rock Trail Series. The first event was a trail 5k and the last event is trail half-marathon on August 8th. The race fee for the half-marathon is a reasonable $20 with a nice Adidas technical shirt for $10. The races are well done and worth the price of admission for sure!

The first part of the run started innocently enough in a grassy field and quickly entered some twisty single track in the forest. I wasn't paying attention at the start, so I was stuck behind quite a few people before I entered the forest. I settled in and decided starting slower than normal would be a good thing. Nothing wrong with conserving some early energy and passing people towards the end.

The 10K course is beautiful. It is a nice balance between single track and fire roads. The course is rolling with most of the uphill happening during the first half of the race. The last 1.8 miles or so are mostly downhill. Chris Hammett, owner of Poulsbo Running along with his wife Brooke, did an excellent job of marking the course as usual.

As for my hope of starting slower and gaining momentum as the race went.....worked out well for a change! It also helped that I love downhill running. I passed maybe 10-12 people over the second half of the race. Mentally, this is always a good thing. The competitive juices are flowing again for me as well. With about a mile to go there was a guy ahead of me that I keyed in on and was determined to pass before the end. I decided to pass him with confidence and hold the faster pace for a good 100 yards or so, with hopes he wouldn't bother trying to stay with me. I was relieved to find he stayed back because I didn't think my stomach could handle an all out kick at the end.

After the race, my wife and I stayed for the awards. There was a nice spread with Heed, bananas, bagels, cream cheese, and watermelon. Chris and Brooke are awesome race hosts. I always enjoy Brooke's sense of humor as she announces the awards and conducts the race drawings. Just about everyone walks away with something, as the raffle prizes are abundant and they usually have some schwag to throw in for those that hang around to the end.

Thanks to Chris and Brooke for all they do for the Kitsap County running community! I truly appreciate their hard work and dedication to the sport.