2025 Hippo Trail Fest Marathon

The Background

I had raced 3 races the previous 3 weekends, none of them being A-level performances.  In particular, the fact that I didn't fight as hard as I should have at the Great Springs Trail Race - Austin made me want to go back and seek redemption at the Hippo Trail Fest Marathon.  Just like Great Springs, it was to be on the east side of Austin and put on by Tejas Trails.

I woke up around 1:30am and couldn't go back to sleep. I headed out at 4am, listening to the Rewatchables for Days of Thunder.

The Race

At the start, I saw a fellow I had raced with at Great Springs, Russell.  We chatted for most of the first loop.

At the Start

The race was a 4-loop course at the Hippo Social Club in the town of Hutto.  There were some real trails, but a lot of it was mowed paths in fields, sometimes with houses on the other side of a fences.  The paths wound around at times like a roped-off waiting line...straight a few yards, 180-degree turn, straight a few yards, 180-degree turn.

Right in the Middle of a Neighborhood

Runners Negotiate the Winding Paths

I kept an easy running pace for the first 3 loops.  Each loop was measuring around 6.3 miles per loop on GPS...no way of knowing what the actual distance was, but the illusion/reality of shorter loops was comforting.  I still felt pretty good at the end of the 3rd loop.

I ran the 1st mile of the 4th loop, then ran/hiked the 2nd mile.  That mile ended up being in the 15-minute range.  Since the trails were pretty smooth, I figured I might powerhike just as fast.  I did this, and the next mile was 14 minutes and change.  During this time, I passed around 3 people and didn't get passed.  

I knocked out the rest of the race at 15-minute miles.  When I saw the last section in front of the social club, I ran it in.

I finished 10th out of 19 starters and 22 finishers in 5:42.

Reflections

Finishing right in the middle of the pack felt good after some races where I didn't do as well as I might have.  I stayed in a competitive mindset, fighting to improve my position in the field as best I could. Running a 5-hour trail marathon is the same as a 4-hour road marathon for me...a good time for my abilities. While this was 8 minutes slower than Seabrook Lucky Trails, Seabrook's course was way easier.  Thus, I judge Hippo a much better performance.

I raced 4 straight weekends, and it was a lot of fun.  I wish money and time would let me do this every weekend, but of course that is not wise.

Now I have 2 weeks until Brazos Bend 50k.  Now is the time to really shift my mind to training for the Mohican 100 Mile.

Thanks to God, Chris McWatters, Russell, the the race organization, volunteers, Terri, all my family, and friends for the support!