So @dhimmel and I participated in a 10K run.

This is a preview trail run for the upcoming Philly Mayor's Cup. Starting at the Belmont Plateau, the race recruits hundreds of runners from all running clubs in the Philadelphia region competing at different distances. I didn't know about either the race or this preview run until my running buddy Haley enlightened me. However, Haley was in New Jersey this past weekend and couldn't join us. 

The day of the run, I picked a neon yellow shirt so I don't get lost in the woods. Daniel decided to match me:

I was excited for my first-ever trail run, but I was unsure how my right hip would do after my biking accident earlier in the week.

Besides the run, @dhimmel was psyched about the trash collection *contest* that happened after the run:

Read my previous post to understand Daniel's obsession with trash and how it led to our tragic loss of a precious key.

The run started a little later than 7:30a. @dhimmel and I were pleasantly surprised by a beautiful, well-shaded, even trail with few rocky parts. We will definitely try to make it out here during the fall. 

We also found this massive tree that is 203 years old. 

I carried on a few conversations with other runners about shoes and technology and bug bites during race. My Garmin Vivoactive decided to stop the track prematurely then died, despite being charged to full the night before. We will try to search for a GPX file of the trail later, but for now, you can see the online map here or from the Philadelphia Mayors Cup website:

The 10K lasted twice as long as my everyday morning run of 7.5 miles because we stopped at every turn to wait for people to catch up. During one of these stops, I got two bug bites on my face. 

We ran the last mile fast and quickly started our trash pickup operation (well, after half a bottle of water and two cupcakes). We collected many plastic bags, cups and bottles. On my way back to the tent, I found this treasure hole, if you will, that people missed with many plastics along with random litter like ketchup packets and condom wrappers. I would have liked to clean the parking lot a little bit more, but the tent was being taken down, so we had to stop. Even though it was super humid and everyone drenched in sweat, all of us had fun! These are my lower calves after the run and clean-up, which reminds me, I need to clean these shoes soon!

Until later, fellow Steamians!

__*Updated*__: @dhimmel has recreated this 10K route on View Ranger as well as generated the GPX. Happy running!