About two weeks ago I got an emai…. “Race is almost sold out, we have two extra number….”
Immediately I respond “I’m in!” Then I thought, I should find out a few details. It may be good to know when, where, or even how long the race is. But those little deets don’t really matter to me anymore. If there’s a run, I’m there!
There was a big group of The American Boot Company friends going to this race so it was guaranteed to be a good time. I guess it’s because we’re all just a little bit crazy because we all have so much fun together… getting up at 5am, freezing in the chilly November air, running through the woods, feasting on amazing food, sharing thousands of laughs and good times…. That’s just what we do.
Saturday morning my alarm goes off at 5am, what’s new? I get up, pile on the layers and get ready for a fun day of trail running. I meet up with Steve and Alex, fellow TABCCers and we head down 85 South to the race. Special shout out to Alex’s GPS voice. She definitely made the drive a lot more interesting.
When we get to Serenbe we meet up with John and Sonja Greeley and several other friends who are all there for the run. We’re all excited to get the race started. I hear it’s going to be a beautiful run. My friends who ran this even last year won’t share too many details of the course. They said they don’t want to spoil it for me. But it’s guaranteed to be a great run. I’m told not to run with headphones because I may miss the bagpipes.
The course is 15k, 9.3 miles, and starts in the Serebene streets then goes through some awesome trails, open fields, along a lake, through a horse farm, right by a chicken coop, and back to the starting line in the heart of Serenbe.
This was only the second race I’ve done that wasn’t a road race. But this was more technical than the first one. This race had two or three good hills. Which means two or three fun downhill runs! I love flying down the hills. If you put forth the effort to get up, you should reap the rewards of coming down J Here’s the thing…. The leaves have fallen and covered up most of the ground. So when you’re flying down a hill you can’t see rocks, roots, sticks, and any other little nemesis looking to destroy your ankles. I was running a smart race, but when I saw three men go down with twisted ankles, I decided to slow down a bit and take caution. Which turned out to be beneficial because I got to see a donkey in the field at mile 4, a saxophonist in the woods right after mile 5, some horses, more donkeys, and a lot of chickens between miles 7 and 8, and then to cap off the race there was a banjo guy bringing it home at mile 9.
The race is at Serenbe, a community about an hour south of Atlanta. Serenbe is different than any place you’ve ever been. This community is focused on sustainability and responsible living. I couldn’t even begin to describe the community and do it justice. Check out the website and find out for yourself.
After the race we stayed for brunch at The Hill. This may have been the best brunch I’ve ever had. Many of the ingredients served at The Hill come from Serenbe’s own organic farms. I looked at the menu and there were too many great options to pick just one. Luckily, I had great friends there who enjoy good food as much as I do. Here’s a list of what we ended up with at our table: mimosas, bloody marys (how do you make Mary plural? I don’t want bloody maries… hmmm), cinnamon rolls, waffles with blueberry syrup, a hoagie roll sandwich with pimento cheese, bacon, and two fried eggs, some perfectly crispy french fries, and for dessert with had a piece of pecan pie and a heavenly chocolate pie with coffee ice cream. After a meal like this I may not be eating again for weeks!
This photo doesn't really give justice to the full meal, but oh my was this sandwich delicious!!!
I wish I had some pictures of the race but he’s a youtube video showing the course.
I definitely recommend making the drive from Atlanta and spending the day or weekend in this beautiful community. They have so much to offer that it will fit anyone’s tastes.
Also big thanks to Good Run Productions for putting on a great event! Free beer at the finish is always a plus J
No comments:
Post a Comment