Mt. Penn Mudfest

Mark Mckennett sends in this trail report from the Mt. Penn Mudfest:

Well it was my first time running the Mt.Penn Mudfest. And I am really glad I made the 2 1/2 hour drive up to Reading Pa for the race. The funny thing once I finally got there was that I was the only car that still had snow on it. So I got quite a few funny looks until they say my MD plates and realized I was one of those crazies from MD that drove all the way up here for this race. I am sure they were thinking what a dedicated runner hehehe.

I had always heard great things about Ron Horn and all the races that he puts on and is the Race Director for. I will deff be back for more of his races. Well it was a pretty cold morning but it's not like I have not done these cold races before. So ron gives his little pep talk about the races and then shoots his little pig gun off which shoots out a funny looking stuffed pig. It goes up and comes down and we are off. I knew going into this race that it was only a 15k and I wanted to have a good time and get another good trail run in before Bull Run the following weekend.

The Mt.Penn Mudfest course did not disapoint at all. It had a few hills in it that were no fun at all. And we definitely got wet at least 4 times. Not the thigh high water crossing that we had at HAT but pretty close. The course was not as muddy as I was expecting it to be. But I am pretty happy about that. Since the mud really does suck everything out of you. And I did not want to be dead all week leading up to Bull Run.

I got to meet alot of really nice people before,during and after the race. Some of which were running the Mudfest as their first trail race which I thought was awesome. And I did get to see a few familiar faces from VHTRC and the TrailDawgs which was a welcome site. I did finish with a respectable 1:38 for the 15k which is not bad for me considering I was taking it easy the whole way.

After I was done I stayed around for a bit to get some grubb in and actually won a really nice adidas hat in a drawing which was pretty cool. Over all it was a great day running a great race. And I would love to go back again. Now to hopefully relax before BULL RUN. I am excited about this race and can't wait to run it with everyone.

If you have never run any of Ron Horns races then I would deff recommend some of them. Awesome races and very well put together.