I started out on the outside of the pack, near the front. I had seen the previous year's results and I knew that I could run with the front pack at a race like this. Within the first few hundred meters I had passed a handfull of people and there were 8 guys in front of me.

I really thought hard about sprinting out ahead just so I could say that at one point in my life I was leading a nude 5K. I decided against it so that wouldn't risk blowing up. I had to do well in my age group at something like this.

Turned off the main road and headed into the woods. Most of the run was on a dirt trail that wound back and forth through the woods with a fair share of small hills.

I got passed by one guy on the first hill and another on the second. I could feel that I had started out too fast but I wouldn't know how much until the first mile. Grabbed a cup of water at the first aid station and reached mile 1 in 7:10.

Wow! That's a pretty fast mile for me but there's now way I could hold that pace. I slowed myself down to a more controled tempo. At the 2K marker we ran uphill and I caught two guys in front of me. I knew I was still right around tenth overall and I could hold this pace from here on out.

The second aid station was at mile 1.5 and as we ran back into the woods my flag got snagged on a tree branch! It was covered in thorns and I had to stop and pull each thrown out to keep my flag from ripping. Who knows how many people had passed me as I lost time dealing with this.

From here on out I kept my flag lower and ran on the far side of the path to keep the flag from snagging again. We twisted back and forth through the woods and all the turning and off-camber sections were really doing a number on my ankle.

Mile 2 (8:15) was another aid station and I was hurting. But there was only one more mile left and I could at least hang on to whatever place I was in. I passed the one other runner on the trail wearing a heart rate monitor and we each told the other 'great work' as we passed.

Running along the edge of the woods now I could feel the full force of the wind. Trying to carry a large flag in wind like this was making a noticable difference in my pace. I could feel myself leaning into the wind to try and fight it.

At the last water station the first place female caught up with me. I congratulated her and decided that I would use her as my pacer from here on out.

The course wound back around and I could see the back of the front of the pack / front of the middle of the pack runners coming out of the woods. I saw Haley and gave her a quick wave before I had to turn back into the wind as we crossed the field.

The lead female was getting away from me so I tried to match her stride for stride. We turned just before the parking lot and thankfullly I finally got away from the wind.

We got back onto the road and I quickly passed the former pacer and felt great heading for the mile 3 marker (8:05). Came around the final curve and crossed the finish line in just over 24 minutes. Trey was there waiting for me as well as Matt, the guy I met in the parking lot who was my only age group competition. So I didn't win my AG but I'll gladly take second place hardware from a nude run!

Started off too fast. If I would have ran a more controlled race I could have finished in the top ten. Oh, and I shouldn't have had that sandwich and fries.

Grabbed a bottle of water and talked with Trey and Matt. Matt won our AG and Trey came in 3rd overall. It was just a few minutes later Haley finished and was easily in the top ten females.

We all stood around talking for a while before we headed inside for the post-race food and the awards ceremony. Trey won his AG, Matt won his AG, Haley won her AG and I got second in my AG. A pretty impressive day for us all.

Afterwards we took the group photo (nude) and then Haley and I had to get on the road (clothed). I was an official pacer for the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon the next day and had to get my packet before the expo closed.


Ran the first mile too fast.


This race was a blast! So much fun and no one there feels uncomfortable. The only ackward moment was afterwards when Matt, Trey and I were talking with the two girls who raced fullly clothed. The weird part was that it seemed like they were out of place. We were all totally comfortable and we felt a little embarassed for them. Crazy.