Richmond weekend and James River Scramble

Friday after work Josh and I drove to Richmond. We had dinner at the "neighborhood bar" with Grandpa and Aunt Judy, which was an excellent meal and fun conversation on an outdoor patio.

Saturday I slept in and then drove Aunt Judy to the airport. Then Uncle Richard came to town in time for lunch. We picked up Grandma and went out for Mexican Saturday. After lunch I took a nap, and then it was time to head downtown for a run!

Josh and I ran the James River Scramble 10k Trail Run, which was part of the Dominion Riverrock festival. The course takes you on roads (we started on cobble stone and I thought I'd break my ankle right away, but luckily that didn't last long), over bridges, along the canal path, up stairs, on the flood wall, and on single-track trails with roots and rocks and mud. And the whole things is accompanied by amazing scenery. We weren't trying to "compete," just to keep running at a steady pace and have a good time on a fun route. And we succeeded at that. I came in at 57:58, with Josh just ahead at 57:42. (He stuck with me for the most part during the race, rather than running on ahead, so his time was a lot slower than it could have been.)

On our way to the start.

Waiting at the starting line. There were waves (which weren't really organized) to keep the trails from getting clogged up.

Fun public art.

Crossing the Mayo Bridge.

I took this photo. Josh took the rest...

Climbing the "Mayan Ruins"

I'm not choking myself. I think I was wiping sweat off my face.

Runnin' the trails.

On the bridge back to Brown's Island.

Done!

Sunni and her friend came with us and met us at the finish. Here she's experiencing a sweaty sandwich.

Overall it was a fun event. I haven't done much trail running, and this was my first trail race, but I want to do more. It takes more concentration and work to not trip and fall, but it's a fun challenge.

After we cooled down we enjoyed our free beers (they came with the race registration) and walked around to see the other events. We saw dogs jumping into a pool of water, slackline jumping, men and women bouldering, and freestyle biking. There was also live music and lots of booths. Oh, and I saw my first firefly of the season while stretching on the grass.