Owl's Roost Rumble Trail Half Marathon Official Website

The "Nitty Gritty" Details (User Opinions)

James N.
Bloomington, IN

  (04-27-2010)

"Fantastic race! This was my 2nd half-marathon and 1st trail half-marathon. Deep into my training for the Indianapolis 500 Festival Mini-Marathon (two weeks later), I was excited to have the opportunity to complete this race with my fiancee and her step-mother (her 1st half-marathon). We walked the majority of the muddy, twisty, hilly course. This was an interesting challenge to my running training, serving as a "cross-training" workout for me.

Pros:
-AWESOME volunteer staff; we spent time with the sweeper in the back of the line, as the race had VERY few walkers (<5)
-Trail was beautiful, though my eyes were fixed on the twisty roots waiting to trip-up participants
-Small race size (300ish people) gave plenty of room to navigate the well-marked trails

Cons:
-Only 2 water/gatorade stops (though one had GU!); no bathroom stops (though I suppose we were in the woods...)
-Finish line had very few people; we were over the 3 hour mark (again, walking), but even event staff had packed up - not much food left
-About a 1/2 mile stretch of the course was along a busy two-lane road; you could either run on very angled grass or the two-foot shoulder of the road with on-coming traffic (this was a dicey situation)

Early morning rainfall provided a muddy, slippery course - though I was able to stay on my feet for the entire race. Temperature was PERFECT and the trees were as green as could be.

Great trail-run - hope to be back next year!"

Reviewed by a: First Time Participant for 2010