Zoom! Castle Rock Half Marathon, 10k and 5k

Wow! It seriously amazes me what both my mind and body can achieve. I entered this run simply with the intent to complete just because it was different to the usual flat Half Marathon’s. With an injured knee I didn’t expect to even place but ended up walking away with another 1^st place medal under my belt. Happy Days!
This event was 3 different races:
Half Marathon — Very Challenging
10 Km — Challenging
5 Km — Easy
Registration:
I registered online which was pretty easy, however due to the time on their website being set forward by a few hours I was charged more than I should have been. It’s no big deal though as it wasn’t a huge amount, just something to keep in mind for future events.
Packet pickup was available the day before or on the day, I opted for on the day and upon arrival discovered it was a fraction under 1 mile from the parking so before I had even started the event I had done almost 3 miles.
The Course:
The Half Marathon course was indeed a challenge. Not so much the incline’s and decline’s but the course. With the exception of about 2% of it which was tarmac road it was all dirt, rocks, sand and mud so being very agile was a must. One wrong step and you could seriously injure yourself and on some parts of the trail end up falling down the side of the Mountain into a ditch (There is no real definition of a Mountain but given the height many will class Castle Rock as one as it reaches almost 3,000 feet).
This run confirmed something to me and that was I seem to excel at uphill running, downhill however is not my friend. With the uneven surface and loose rocks downhill is a real challenge not to loose your footing. Teamed with a knee injury the impact was incredibly painful in some parts. My advice — don’t play the bad ass if you have an injury.
Around mile 6 was when it hit me, the track became very narrow and went from uphill to very steep downhill and took you off into woodland where you were going over rocks, tree stumps and vine. I honestly thought I might have to pull out at the next aid station and had to limp for around 2 miles until the Aspirin kicked in letting a couple of people overtake me. The views were however worth it. From the top of Castle Rock you could see for miles, it really was breathtaking in more ways than one.
Aid Stations:
There were just 2 for the entire course and were located at 2.6 and 7.1 miles stocked with water, sports drink, snacks (Cookies, Chips, Trail Mix ect) and energy gels.
Post Race:
Post race awards were given for various age groups along with drinks and snacks for everybody to refuel. Drinks included Soda (no Diet or Zero. Boo!), Sports drink and chilled water with snacks of Cinnamon Rolls, Brownies, Chips, Trail Mix, Candy, Cookies and Orange slices. Nothing really took my fancy and it would have been nice to have some Banana’s for everybody as they’re both my pre and post run snack of choice. I could have probably fought somebody’ for a Banana and chilled glass of Milk or Bowl of Greek Yogurt, instead I had to wait until I got home.
T-​Shirts:
These are quite nice, I did like the Red color but would have loved a Pink one like last years. II’m just not sure of the quality as once I finished the run I noticed that mixed with sweat (I know. sexy, right?) the color had ran and turned the white straps of my Camelbak pink to match the rest of it.
Would I do this race again? Hell yeah! It was a good event, well organised and clearly marked out.