Salomon Trail Tour 10k - Hvalsø

Christian complained as I ran him over to daycare in the babyjogger. "Mom, why aren't you wearing the red shoes? They make you run faster." Even my son has turned into a living Salomon advertisement. And I did run a lot faster in those shoes. They were just too wet this morning to wear again.

I know they came out a long time ago (2012), but since I was so extremely impressed with them, I have to just say a couple things: They were desgined specifically for Kilian Jornet to run Western States in. They are light, breathable, 4mm drop and fit like a glove. Compared to my New Balance minimus shoes, they have incredibly good traction. I felt so confident and comfortable in them. 

Salomon S-Lab Sense

The problem was, yesterday I needed spikes.

Aside: Why is it I have never talked about Salomon shoes before on this blog? Because we live in Næstved and don't have access to a store with Salomon shoes, so I couldn't try them. I felt so fortunate to be able to try them in Hvalsø - and all participants had the opportunity to try a pair (model of their choice).

Back to yesterday: In what kind of a 10k race with 350 participants is the men's race won in nearly 44 minutes? I'm about to explain.

During my warm-up, I decided to run as much of the route as I could-- and I was shocked! You entered this thick forest brush and had to run straight through it- no trail- just felled trees, branches, roots, leaves - you name it - and then the red tape directed me out into --- a lake? What? Yes, we had to run though a lake where the mud at the bottom was deeper than the water. There were so many reeds that there would have been no point in swimming. I tried the lake crossing twice and then ran out in to a mud bath trail (it had rained the last two days and was still raining) and in my New Balance Minimus shoes I felt like I was making more sideways than forward motion. I didn't dare try a downhill in them. This is when I went to the start and asked Kim if I could test some Salomon shoes. I tried the same route again and it went much, much better. Now I was as ready as I could be to run.

In the meantime, SR had been out with the boys in the babyjogger-- looking for a fictitious ice cream parlor in the middle of Hejede Overdrev (aka sweet nowhere). How incredible is it that he came with the boys to support me? (45 minute drive each way. I get the feelilng he is committed to this relationship).

How do you oraganize a 10k cross race - that will become a single track trail race- with 350 starters? First, begin with a "Braveheart" start.

See video of the dramatic start

And the lead Icelandic horse tölting beautifully.

The pack. See 10 o'clock, on the grassy noll.

Then to avoid crowding, we ran the first km or so out over a wide field of wet long grass.

I felt so strong at this point and was 3rd female, just behind Camilla Rath and Dorte Dahl.

In about 10 seconds I am going to run into the woods, trip over a branch and land on my face (ok, not my face,  but pretty much every other body part). This is part of the charm of a cross country race. Although, I think I was the only one who did this...

Through the water (those who wanted to opt out of the waist-deep water part could take "the chicken" route, which took approx. 45 extra seconds).



Photo: Kim Sørensen

Christian, Mattias and SR managed to find me at four different points during the race. It was awesome. They didn't even compalin about the rain. I love my boys.

The whole race felt like some sort of wild roller coaster. This is why I train.. to be able to run my heart out at races like this!

SLG, Dorte and Camilla: 3rd, 1st and 2nd.

Oh my GOSH, I loved running with (behind) Dorte and Camilla. They are both from Blovstrød Løverne and are in command on those trails! I wish so much I could train with them more often. (you may recall Dorte from her win at Fyr til Fyr).

Having good trail shoes sure helped.

But as stated earlier, had I known how muddy it would be - and had I owned spikes - I would have gained a lot from wearing them.

I am excited that Kim Sørensen allowed me to take the S-Lab Sense pair home to try out a bit more. I will be meeting with him on Wednesday to start picking out some clothing, shoes and gear for Four Trails and UROC. I am excited about the new model of S-lab Sense that has more traction. Maybe I'll have more details after Wednesday.

The results of the race are here. (the first place boy, Alexander Siedler Nielsen, came in in the top 10 for the men! He will be someone to watch in the future).

They called me up for my third place prize right before the camera battery wore out. I won a super nice Salomon running backpack + vest as well as a free consultation at Causa Clinic (osteopaths who are experts in sports injuries)

I did not know it was possible to be so sore after a 10k. I had hoped to just use it as a training run (replaced my tempo run this week), but I was so sore I could hardly run this morning. The good thing is, it is the best type of sore: in the muscles and not in the tendons or ligaments. I'll say it again and a million more times- trail running is awesome- just one more reason is- strength without injury.

An awesome race. No complaints from me! I only wish I could run it every week!

Edit: Thinking it over a bit more, the thing that set this race apart from others, beyond its difficulty and mudiness, was the Midievel feeling- the bugle & Braveheart start, the lead horse & the feeling we were fighting for our survival in an ancient forest. Nice.