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TRC Post Oak Lodge Trail Marathon Runner Comments
Back to TRC Post Oak Lodge Trail Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 3.8 
Organization 4.4 
Spectators 1.9
Number of comments: 15 [displaying comments 11 to 15]
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J. M. from Chicago, IL
(3/1/2010)
 "Experienced Trail Runners Only Need Apply" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 TRC Post Oak Lodge Trail Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 1 I found this to be a very, very tough course. My GPS indicates more than 5,600 feet of climb and 5,600 feet of descent over the course. I was surprised by these numbers, because the hills themselves seemed like no big deal while on the course, and very few are steep. My GPS also had my total mileage over 28 miles. I know I was off-course before mile one, when about 20 of us ran past a marker that was blown over. My GPS indicates that was a deviation of only eight-tenths. I don't know where the other extra 1.2 mile came in. The trail was a little hard to follow at times, with all of its twists and turns, but I am not aware of ever being off-course except that one time. The winner finished in 4:02, which is almost super human. Only about 10 or so people broke five hours. The weather was just about perfect - in the 40's (I estimate) and sunny. The race director at the pasta dinner said that although they had a lot of rain in the previous weeks, that it had dried up quite a bit, and we probably would not get our shoes wet. I found that prediction way off. In many places the trail was very muddy indeed. Almost lost my shoes more than once in the sticky, nearly-ankle-deep mud. The most difficult part of the race was the rocky surface of some of the trails. I expect uneven surfaces in a trail run, but was surprised at how much of the course was on rocks. Much more than half of the course, I estimate. The rocks were often hidden in layers of leaves in the forest areas, or by trampled grass in the fields. You really have to look at the ground with every foot plant, but of course you risk missing the course markings this way. When they prepared the course, it looked like someone went through with lopping shears to remove saplings. The problem was that they often left a couple of inches of the "trunk" above the ground, and a couple of times I planted a foot on those blunt little spikes. I also caught my feet in vines, and partially exposed roots, which are common hazards on trails, but which only added to the generally treacherous footing found on long, long stretches of the course. At an aid station I heard one of the runners tell the course marshal that, except for the altitude, he found this course more difficult than Leadville! I rated the course 5 stars because of the difficulty. As a trail run, spectators are really not in evidence, although I did see three people sitting on a large rock near a road cheering the runners on at one point. What I strongly feel runners should know is the rocky conditions, so you can decide if your legs - and especially ankles - are strong enough to run this course without getting injured. All the ankle-turning and stumbling early in the race can take a toll, and because the footing is essentially unrelentingly rocky, you are running on difficult ground with unusually tired legs. It is for this reason I say this is a GREAT race if you are an experienced trail runner. I would tell less experienced runners to get on an easier course for some experience first. | |
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D. P. from Brookfield, WI
(3/1/2010)
 "Great race if you value scenery but not race time" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 TRC Post Oak Lodge Trail Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 1 If you are one of those ultra-serious, BQ-minded runners who rates courses based on finishing time, then avoid this course. If you value scenery and camaraderie, and you have a great sense of adventure and humor, this might be your race. This was an inaugural race, so you always expect a few snafus because a lot of details go into making a successful race. It was also a trail marathon, which means you can expect to add at least half-hour to your normal finishing time. But I think it took me about 17 miles before I came to the realization of just how absurd this race was and that you just had to laugh about it. The course wandered all over the place like a drunken goat! There were few places where you weren't going either up or down, or turning left or right. At several points I remember running one way while seeing people running back and forth in a different direction - either nearby or off into the distance. Even though they were in throwing distance, you had no clue what mile of the race they were on! It was a beautiful, sunny day, but it wasn't enough to dry out all of the muddy sections that sucked at your heels throughout the course. Both of my feet were completely soaked. There were also several sections where sharp, jagged rocks dominated the trail, looking to trip up inattentive or fatigued runners. A couple of runners told me that they fell half a dozen times, and I personally witnessed a few face plants. They did a good job of marking the course with orange/black ribbons about every 20 paces, but the two front runners missed seeing the orange plates directing them to the left across the field in front of the lodge around the first three quarters of a mile. They kept going straight along an easy access road, not bothering to wonder why they weren't seeing path markers for over a quarter-mile, and then stepping over the orange tape lying across the path as an obvious sign that meant "don't go this way." You could see it was from a path joining in from the left, but this course was so confusing - who knew which was the right way to go? About a dozen kept going after the front pair, but the rest of us back-tracked the quarter-mile to spot the orange plates and got back on course. It eventually got us back to that orange tape (only this time on the proper side of it, with no confusion about which direction to go). A few miles further on, when I was climbing up to the top of a steep hill (which gives a nice view of downtown Tulsa), a runner coming back down the hill said his GPS gave him 5.6 miles (the hill top should have been around 4.75 miles) - so the confusion in the first mile probably added around three quarters of a mile to my marathon. I don't think GPS takes into account elevation changes, so I would have been over 26.2 regardless, even without the detour. It would have been impossible to use a wheel to measure this course. They really maximized the use of their aid stations. You run into the Botanical Garden station five times, and a few times into the other two stations. Since it seemed like they were sparse on volunteers, this was a good thing. They really could have used a few course marshals at some of the places where people could get easily confused. I did see some sentries the second time around on some of these loops, so maybe some of the volunteers werent early risers. This course was like some twisted mystery novel that I was determined to follow to the end. I knew where it was going to finish I just didn't know how I was going to get there. Eventually it took me two hours longer than my normal finishing time to complete this course. I finished a 50K trail race in snow faster than this marathon, which gives you an idea of the course conditions. The finisher shirt design was rather drab, but I like long-sleeve tech shirts, so it's a keeper. The medal is big (four inches), but sorry, I think it's ugly. Good chili at finish. Having runners email their stories and including the compilation of them printed out in the race packet was really a neat idea and made for enjoyable reading on the way home. | |
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J. S. from Omaha, NE
(2/28/2010)
"Good Challenge" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 TRC Post Oak Lodge Trail Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 This was my 30th marathon and this trail race was by far my slowest despite placing well. Lots of twists and turns and a few tough hills. There were regular sections that were very muddy and sloppy because of rains during the week before the race. If it had been dry, the times wouldn't have been so slow, but still a tough course. I'd never fallen before in a race, but I fell twice because of tripping over rocks. Organization was pretty good for a first-time race. This is not your typical marathon, but I really enjoyed it. | |
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C. C. from MS
(2/28/2010)
"tough trail marathon" (about: 2010)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 TRC Post Oak Lodge Trail Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 I am not a trail marathoner and this was a tough run for me. It had been wet and the trails were soggy. It was amazing how the director had put so many trails into such a compact area. It would have been nice to have mile markers. There were no spectators, but how could there be in this area? The aid stations were well stocked and the people there were great! | |
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D. S. from South Dakota
(2/28/2010)
 "Long Day" (about: 2010)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 TRC Post Oak Lodge Trail Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 1 This is a typical trail marathon in a relatively small space. Lots of loops and switchbacks. It's possible to get confused, but if you pay attention, you ought to get from point A to point B. It's a rocky course in parts, so if you look up you are going to fall down. This race will take you a long time to finish. The going is simply slow in large parts of the course. I can say that I've never run a race in a nature preserve that had pumping oil wells. Only in Oklahoma. Well staffed and very good aid stations. Decent after-race lunch. People were nice and overall organization was good. |
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