Run-Bike-Run

When Roger, one of the people behind 4th Dimension Racing, Evergreen Trail runs and Northwest Multisport Trail Duathlons, asked me on Sunday how I liked the Northwest after moving here from the Bay Area, I only had time to answer: "A lot!". It would be a long explanation and I am not even sure if I could coherently and logically explain to myself what I like or don't like here. Marketa sums it up: these runners and bicyclists here are for real, unlike the Silicon Valley slightly overweight crowd in tight colorful kits with some lard escaping the Lycra. People here will outrun you and bike commuters will zoom by you when you are in a big ring and thinking how fast you're going.
So to make things even more interesting, they have created trail duathlons, where, in the long version, you can run on trails, then hop on your mountain or CX bike and ride several laps, and after you are done with the bike, run again. I had no idea how this worked, how to arrange gear at the transition area or how to dress for the race. But I guess I figured it out before the start and then I only had tons of fun. I know how cliche this sounds but the green grass, forest singletrack, ferns, slick roots, sunny breaks, rain sprinkles, snow covered mountains on the horizon, and the pleasure of moving and finally riding my mountain bike on technical enough trails just made my mood excellent.

This was the first race of a 3-race series, all taking place at Ft. Steilacoom in Tacoma. There are few more oficial photos here:
http://stevesandersphotography.com/p840101718/h51866242#h5189720e
http://stevesandersphotography.com/p840101718/h51866242#h51897c12
http://stevesandersphotography.com/p840101718/h51866242#h51897c72
http://stevesandersphotography.com/p840101718/h51866242#h51949172
http://stevesandersphotography.com/p840101718/h51866242#h519b7d0a
http://stevesandersphotography.com/p840101718/h51866242#h51a444cc
http://stevesandersphotography.com/p840101718/h51866242#h51a56f0e

And a Garmin track here: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/259059105