I was really nervous for this race for several reasons. A: I've never done a trail race (and only a handful of trail runs). B: It rained the night before in Lawrence and the course was very muddy.
I got there about an hour before the race, ran about 1.5 mile warm up and found my way at the start line about 9:00 AM. The opening first third mile or so was on a gravel road. I took off out of the gate and put the hammer down. I knew there were some tough technical parts of the course and wanted to bank as much time as possible on the easy portions. As I entered the woods, I looked down at the Garmin and saw my average pace at 5:40, which was a little faster than I wanted to start out, but it gave me a nice cushion for the slower parts of the race. This was also the last time I really looked at the Garmin as it is mostly useless on trail runs.
The next mile and half or so was very technical. Lots of rocks and roots and mud. I went as fast as I could while maintaining my balance. The next mile was a bunch of hills and tight turns. I knew I was getting close to the end as my garmin said 18:40. I turned it up and rounded a corner and saw a volunteer tell me to go up the steps and I'd be done. These steps were absolute soul crushers. As I finished the last step I saw the finish line and heard somebody yell something about finishing under 20. I sprinted towards the finish line and heard four magic numbers - 19:58.
It was so cool to be the only one at the finish line and a huge bonus to finish sub 20. I was hoping for anything under 21:00.
The awards ceremony was very cool as I've never won a race before and the race director (Gary Henry) even gave me a plug for a personal project I'm working on (@MentionNotifier).
All in all it was such a great experience. The workers were awesome and the course was beautiful. I can't wait to go back next year and defend my title and course record (since it was the first time they have done this event).
Race report by Nick Lang, who ran in his huaraches sandals!
Race report by Gary Henry (race director)
Group shot: 
Somebody needs a haircut, a shave and a smile: 
Ready…set…go!! 
Coming up those nasty stairs:
Awards:
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