Ophan Hope Trail Marathon

Me and the Race Committee, Melanie, Jennifer and Dawn

I got up early (ugh!) this morning and went out to Huntsville State Park for the 1st ever Orphan Hope Trail Marathon. It was in the 30's at the start. The course was two loops of 13.1 miles. By the time I started my second loop, it was warmer and I got rid of the gloves and headband. I ran the first loop in 3:22, but was being careful not to trip on a root and reinjure the hamstring. I stubbed my left foot a couple times and jarred the hamstring. Fort most of the first loop, I ran with Stacy Orr of Spring, Texas and our visit seemed to make the course shorter. She was running the half marathon race, so I ran the second loop alone. It seemed to take forever and I finished in 7:18:04 (2nd in age group). I tripped and fell four times during the race, but did not reinjure the hamstring. Since no one saw or heard me fall three of the four times, I'm not sure those count as falls.
They had over 400 registered runners for the full marathon, half marathon and relay. The race went very well and I expect that it will grow as the word gets out. Nice tech shirt, finisher medal and age group award and plenty of enthusiastic and helpful volunteers.