Rocky Raccoon 50K

I got up at 4:30 this morning and got out to Huntsville State Park for a 6 a.m. start of the Rocky Raccoon 50K.  This was the 12th straight year I have run the Rocky Raccoon 25K or 50K  The weather was clear, but it was unusally hot for this race.  We ran with flashlights for the first hour.  I finished in 9:22:36, a far cry from my 6:35:25 50K PR a few years ago.  I tripped on roots and fell several times and my body is sore tonight.  It is really frustrating.  It's not the roots you see, it's the ones hidden by pine needles and leaves.  I looked like Pig Pen when I finished.  Anyway, this was my 20th 50K race and I have another one on Dec. 1 and a trail marathon in February.  Maybe, I will retire from trail running after that and stick to smooth roads.