My First Trail Run - 2024 Trails Plus Halloween Howler
I did my first trail run on Saturday 26/10/2024 at the Trails+ Halloween Howler. It was so much fun! I started my trail running journey with 5km distance on a relatively flat surface with subtle yet long inclines in between plus hints towards more technical elements in the future.
Some of the highlights were getting into a groove with a trail running train, good conversations with new friends on the trail and hearing great stories of overcoming adversity as well as giving it a go like myself. The weather was perfect but when that sun beats down a bit, it creates a solid challenge especially for a first timer like me. I made sure to lather up with sunscreen before race start. I don't tan, just burn.
The gear I got from Bogong Equipment served me well with Trail Bite Shorts (very comfortable and zero chaffing), super lightweight Pacer T-shirt and Jackal Mountain Running Shoes - all from La Sportiva. The Salomon Cross Season Running Belt with built-in bottle holder and big pocket for keys came in handy as well.
Some of the best things about this sport is you get to do it your way. Pushing yourself as you see fit, scaling back when you need to recover with a really supportive community. A fellow participant dressed as Batman saying "you're a trail runner now" after I finished the 5km was the icing on the cake.
I set myself a goal to finish but ended up beating my practice session time on the treadmill by 1.5 minutes! Happily placed 20th out of 35 but felt like we were all winners. As an added bonus, I was back home inside 4 hours including travel to and from the You Yangs.
Highly recommend giving trail running a go and look forward to my next distance of 10km and more!
See our range of trail running gear, or have a look at previous Bogong Blogs.
Questions? Visit us, email us or call us (03 9600 0599).
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