Everyone has a New Year’s resolution. Whether it’s to work out more, eat healthier, or resolving to not have a resolution. To me there is something liberating to leave all the crap that happened in the preceding 365 days behind and focus on the year ahead. I love it.
My own personal resolution and holiday tradition is to run in the New Year’s Hangover Run, put on by Run Wild Adventures. This is the 5th year, and my third in a row of participation. It takes place on a private farm and residence just east of Salem city limits. The event is everything I could ask for in a New Year’s event – it’s short (3k), small (about 100-150 runners each year), low-key (who needs the stress, be it runners or RD’s, with putting on a super complex race), and has food and beer at the end. Perfection in my books.
The course is simple, but does feature a few terrain changes. Runners head along a gravel road and made a quick turn before heading off on a half mile straightaway. Following that a small forested area is reached and some dirt and leaf laden trails take over.
The 2014 event was extremely foggy, but this year was as dry and sunny as can be. That turned what could have been a very muddy event into one with rock solid terrain and led to some difficulty navigating. Specifically, there is one section where we ran on the edge of a big open field. Not being a farm-genius, I’m assuming that this area is where the tractors and machinery do most of their trekking. That made it very uneven and filled with ruts, causing the navigation on race day to be very challenging on the frozen earth below. I know more than a few of us had to slow our paces to be safe.
Luckily, this is only a very short stretch and we were back on grass again in no time. The 1-mile mark is the “temptation station” a table with Fireball Whiskey, Seven Brides beer, and water (lame). Last year, the shot of Fireball set my feet and esophagus ablaze over the following .86 miles. This year, I actually skipped the table altogether (talk about lame) and just continued on my way.
After the race, there was chili, hot chocolate, Silver Falls Coffee, Great Harvest Bread, and Seven Brides beer. The whole post-race vibe was electric – even with just over 110 people participating. Music was playing, laughter and smiles were being shared, and people were soaking in the beautiful sunny day despite the cold.
Following some awards, the Beer Mile started, but I did not stick around to participate or watch unfortunately. I had been gone since the early morning (as I participated in a different race prior to this one), and wanted to spend as much as was left of the day with my wife and kiddos! If unfamiliar with a Beer Mile, here you go: drink a 12 oz beer, run a 1/4 mile, drink another beer, run another 1/4 mile, and so on until a mile is reached. Participants who vomit before they finish the race will have to complete a penalty lap at the end. The results showed Eric Jeffers, a regular RWA runner and dominator of Beer Miles, finish the 1-miler in just over 6:00! Impressive.
View the full results here and the Beer Mile results here.
If you are wanting to participate in the next Run Wild Adventures race, register for the 2015 Buck Mountain Mudslinger 6.5m Trail Run on 2/28/15 for a mere $20!
