When you review your race schedule & see ‘car camping’ as an option for lodging, ya know the weekend’s gonna be an adventure.  From now ‘til May 6^th, travelling every weekend.  4 time zones, 2 continents, trail, road & a 50K too!  Yep, gonna be an adventure 🙂

Landed before midnite in the City of Brotherly Love.  Picked up my rental, then drove north 2 hours on some of America’s worst pocked roads.  Rain & fog.  Not ideal but considering this area received more than a foot of snow just 2 weeks ago, gonna look at the positive.  Tunes up, speed down, followed a big truck all the way to Reading.  7 miles further, parked outside Blue Marsh Lake.

7am start, bib pick-up the hour before.  Doing the math: notta lotta sleep between touchdown & takeoff.

Why an early season trail race?  Why the Naked Prussian?  Grassroots event.  Was sold on the site’s simple write-up.  Rolling elevation in Pennsylvania’s forested Alleghanies.  Cheapest race I’ve probably entered, just a dollar a mile.  No medal, no shirt – but aid stations fueled for trail.  Trail = food.  If road marathons would catch the fever, I’d finish with a few more smiles.

Trail running and ultra running is growing fast.  As races start to sell out across the country, entry fees for these races seem to go up almost as fast as we have seen the last couple of years in the road running scene.  Some bigger ultra trail runs are now owned and operated by bigger for profit corporations and fees for these races are now hundreds of dollars.  Running some of these big name destination races might be cool, but it is something most of us can only afford once or twice a year.  Many trail-runner do enjoy racing often throughout the year.  So where can you race the rest of the year, preferable locally and for little money?  The Naked Prussian is a great option to run/race locally for a very low entry fee.  If you sign up early enough your fee will be less the $1 per mile for the ultra and less the $1 per k for the marathon.  This is only possible because we chose a location that does not slap us with big permit fees, we don’t give you expensive swag (hence the Naked Prussian) because most of you don’t need another race shirt or a flashy 3 pound medal (we will give a little finisher memento) and we are not hiring some aging rockband to entertain you along the course.

 

The Naked Prussian takes place on the trails around Blue Marsh Lake.  These trails are not very rocky or difficult but are true single track trails that require some attention.  These trails are great for beginners and the speedy runners alike.  The rolling elevation of the trails will keep everybody occupied.  The course is not flat or super easy but is doable for most with proper training.  Join us next spring to start the new trail running season.

 

Distances:

26.2 Miles, 50 Miler Trail Ultra

Nite rain ended during my 3 hour snooze.  Woke to sunshine & cool temps – & now surrounded by cars.  Across the parking lot, 2 porta potties & a large man playing an accordion.  Start of the 50 miler, 30 minutes to shake out the cobwebs.

New today?  No earbuds, no tunes.  Cutting the tie.  All part of the plan.  Will run stronger, smarter – mentally tougher by Bighorn.  Dialing in my surroundings, appreciating the journey.  Lotta hours to fight head demons but absolutely doable.  This will happen.

Single track trail thru whole lotta forest.  LOVE LOVED today’s run.  Ran steady, stayed in my head & ran strong.

Start-to-finish joy of running.  Ok, maybe not during the HUGE climb at mile 15 – LOL>  Won’t see it in my time results but mission accomplished.  No music, no puking, finished with a smile ❤

Last 5 miles – FLAT dirt trail ‘longside a high-running tributary of Blue Marsh Lake.  FAAAANNNNTASTIC!

“Naked Prussian”

A back to the basics low fee trail run

 

Blue Marsh Lake, Leesport, PA

Sat, March 31st 2018

 

Keenan Haga   Louisville CO       5:58:03

YMCA shower in Reading, 2 hour drive to Philly, ‘nother late night arrival home.  Why the rush?  Easter Sunday morn.

Naked Prussian Trail Marathon