We've recovered (mostly) from our ailments, and both ran the Run at the Rock this morning, in Burlington, NC, about 30 minutes Northwest of Carrboro. It was a frigid morning, and this 14-mile trail run proved a good way to warm up.

For Shu Wen, this was the longest race she's ever tried, and though worried about her back and knees, she slugged through it valiantly, finishing in about 2 hours and 8 minutes. The trails were very technical, with several steep climbs, lots of mud, and about 6 stream crossings (we ran two seven-mile loops, each of which had about 3 such crossings. There was also plenty of foot traffic for those narrow trails, so the mud was definitely worse the second time around.

Marc won his race, though not in any exceptional time (1:29), earning a large piece of pottery for the effort. It will make a good salad bowl. His foot has again been bothering him since a workout mid-week last week, such that running over rocks and tree roots at times did not feel particularly good. He taped his foot for extra support, but after one run through a creek, that taping was pretty much useless. Hopefully that will settle down again soon; it's a source of much frustration right now.

We have a couple more weeks before family arrives in NC for Christmas and New Years. That will be nice. We are happy to not be travelling for a little stretch of time.