Event: RagBag Run
Distance: 15K
Date: 2025-01-04, Sat, 8:30a
Location: Waco, TX; Cameron Park
Event Host: Texas Outlaw Running Co. (TORC)
selections.
Kicking off the new year with my first trail event of the year of 20251.
I was very excited about this one. First, it was at one of my favorite (and challenging!) venues. Second, a winter event—thankfully no rain. (That would have been miserable.) Lastly, because I’ve been training consistently! Woot, woot! This includes regular strength and conditioning workouts. I’ll say it again: It’s the first time in years I’ve had the S&C training going.
Oh! Also my friend Kathy agreed to participate in the event, too. I always find it exciting and fun introducing newbies to the sport and the community.
You should note, I’m carefully not using the terms “run” or “race,” but rather “event.” Kathy doesn’t run on trails, and I race no one these days. Not even myself. Too, my “runs” are more about power hiking than running. 😉
If you’ve been following along with my training updates, you know Kathy and I have been killing it.
Race day, I got up just before 6:00, dressed, gathered up my gear and was out of the house by 6:30 for the hour drive to Waco. Race start time wasn’t until 8:30, but I knew parking at Cameron Park would fill fast. The 50Kers had a start time of 8:00, so they would be there even earlier—and there were 35 registered as of Friday night, enough to almost fill the Redwood Shelter parking lot. The 170ish additional registrants had to find parking, too.
Kathy took my advice and arrived just before 7:30. She was able to claim one of the last spots at the Redwood Shelter. I arrived 5 or 10 min later. From my view as I drove across the Brazos River on Herring Ave., I could see cars circling, looking for a spot. I didn’t even try.
Instead, I slid into an alternate parking lot across the creek at Pecan Bottoms. I little longer trek to the start/finish, but nothing like it would have been if I’d had to park further down along N. University Parks Dr. My loaner truck (this is week five in the shop for my actual truck) was one of about five vehicles in the lot.
Kathy had already picked up our bibs and free coffee vouchers. I went to say “Hi” to the race director and talk to him about dropping down our distances mid-race. Neither of us, Kathy nor I, were sure what distance we could manage. The course was in Cameron Park, after all. Speaking of which, approximately one hundred 5K registrants obviously felt the 3.1 mile loop was challenge enough.
Kathy was considering the 10K, 1.4 miles further than her longest training hike to date. I had registered for the 25K because a 15 mile long run was on my training plan for the week. With my hip pain and the shortfall in training that caused, I knew 15.5 miles wasn’t in the cards for the day. I was determined, however, to finish a 10K, at least. My real goal was four loops, a 20K. That wasn’t one of the official distances, but with that, I’d have gotten 12.4 of my 15 miles for the week. It didn’t happen.
Since most of the distances started at the same time, the race director was okay with dropping our distances down when we were ready to call it.
The event course was a 5K loop—even the 50Kers were running those same 3.1 miles over and over again. Ten times to be exact.
Kathy and I both did well. She, after the tough week she’d just gotten through (not to mention the 5K we did three days before and the 4.8M we did two days before that 😜), decided the 5K was enough when we finished that first loop.
I should mention, this event had a unique twist. Rather than event specific medals and shirts, we picked from an assortment of leftovers from previous TORC races. You picked whatever medal, or medals (we were encouraged to take two or three), and race shirt you wanted. Hence, “RagBag,” and the registration cost was only $1 per kilometer. I loved the idea. Especially after I saw what was waiting to be claimed among the medals.
I was shocked to see they even had 100K belt buckles out on the table! My initial reaction was, “No. I can’t.” I knew I’d never claim that race or distance for real, but it still felt, well, wrong. Then, out on the course, I got to thinking and had a compromise I could live with. I’d use a white paint pen to strike out the “100K” and write in “15K.” What a conversation piece!
I have to say, it was so good doing an event with someone again. I love having a conversation with a friend through the whole event—that is, when we’re not climbing and breathless. Too, we get to experience the race together interacting with the other runners. Like…
“And the youngster’s show you how it’s done,” we tease the young woman who politely thanks us as we step off the single track to let her get by.
“Smile for the camera,” I shout as I spot the photographer. “There are pictures,” Kathy asks, new to the whole experience.
“Oh, now you just make it look easy!” another runner good-naturedly chastises a tall, muscular man as he charges up a steep incline without pause while we pause to let him pass.
I know I keep harping on it, but it has been awhile. What was the last race I did keeping pace with someone? I honestly can’t remember. Ditto for the last time I enjoyed myself this much while simultaneously suffering through the challenges of “speedily moving” my body over very technical terrain.
Another fun thing I like about Cameron Park as an event venue is you can almost always find someone who is surprised by what a challenge the course is.
This time, it was a tall youngish man. He was climbing up a hill behind me, struggling a bit, I think, because he didn’t close the distance with me as quickly as most of the runners had been doing. Of course, this was many hours into the event by that time. When he got close enough I stopped and stepped aside to let him pass.
A few steps beyond me, he looked over his shoulder and said, “You know, I think I’ve done more vert2 in this race than I did all of last year.”
“Yes. Cameron Park surprises a lot of people,” I replied. “Are you doing the 50K?”
“No, the 25.”
“On your last loop then?” He was, loop five.
We chatted a little longer as he continued to move further and further away from me. I congratulated him on finishing his first event on the Cameron Park trails as he took his leave of me and gradually rounded a sharp bend out of my line of sight.
I was in my third and last loop by that time. I’d told the race director as I finished loop 2, “I’ve got one more in me!” I did, but it wasn’t a walk in the park—no pun intended.
Surprisingly, I hadn’t gone into myself, into my mind, focusing on the discomfort. That was even more surprising, since I’d forgotten to bring my Shokz headphones and didn’t have the distraction of my rock music banging in my ears. Mind you, I find the “banging” invigorating and motivational—despite being in the midst of tranquil nature, ironically.
It was such a good day!
Final tally? I finished with an average pace of 26:36 min/mi and a total of 9.6M. Yeah, a little long. I got distracted by a large group of mountain bikers and missed a turn. Fortunately, I ran across the backside of some course markings and got back on course quickly enough.
Considering my last event at Cameron Park was a 10.5K in Jun 2022 where I finished with a 31:38 min/mi average, I was exceedingly satisfied with my performance in this 15K event. I will build back up to my earliest pace times at this venue—16:02 for a 10K in 2014 and 18:33 for a 21K in 2015. I have to if I’m going to finish ultras within time limits. It won’t likely be this year, but sometime next year surely. (It’ll be interesting to see how my 60-year-old’s ego deals with my 50-year-old’s accomplishments. 😁)
As I told the race director’s wife afterwards, “It was probably more than I should have done, but not more than I could do.” A good place to be after any event, I think.
Oh. That 100K belt buckle? It was gone by the time I made it back around the third time. Next RagBag, I know I need to register for the shortest distance and finish it as fast as I can, claim my medal, then go out again to finish whatever mileage I’m targeting for the day. Ha! The only way I’ll get choice picks of the medals.
I did want to give an honorable mention to the New Year’s Fun Run 5K hosted by the Waco Striders Running Club3.
I wasn’t in Austin as I’d planned to be, so my planned First Day Hike at McKinney Falls SP wasn’t going to happen. Initially, I was just going to go out to Ft. Parker SP for a “First Day Hike” of my own. (Next year I’m going to check out one of their midnight hikes. There was one in Palo Duro Canyon SP this year, if I’m remembering correctly—they’ve already updated the First Day Hikes page.) Then I got an email invitation from Waco Striders to join them on Jan 1 for a free 5K.
Kathy was game. I picked her up that Wednesday morning and we met up with the group at the Waco Suspension Bridge. I’d strategically worn my Ragnar visor (got it back in 2015 or ’16), hoping to spark conversation. It worked perfectly. Kathy commented later, “You have a lot you can talk about with them.”
What was special about this day: It was Kathy’s very first live 5K and her first 5K medal! (We may have completed a virtual 5K in the past, but those count differently, right? 😉)
Kathy also ran part of the course. Yes, she did! She kicked my ass that day.
She’s always said, “I’m not running. My knees won’t take it.”
I think it was seeing all the other runners leaving us two walkers way behind that prompted her to say, “Well, I guess I could try running.”
After that she’s all, “I’m going to run down this hill, now,” and “I’m going to run to that driveway.” She was even talking about training up to even more running.
So proud of you Kathy. Here’s to a healthy and happy new year!
- I’ve already registered for seven more trail events using up volunteer credits. Most of them are shorter races during the remainder of the winter months. However, I’ve registered for a marathon in April and a 50 miler in October. He-he-he. Yeah, it’s going to be interesting to see if I can get my training up to speed for it. 😁 ↩︎
- “Vert,” in trail runners terms, is short for vertical. It refers to the elevation gain of a particular course. Coincidentally, in trying to find a glossary that included it, I just discovered earliest usage was a term used in heraldry indicating green in a coat of arms. Also an old English term referring to green foliage. Who knew? ↩︎
- Kathy and I joined Waco Striders over a year ago. Although we’ve used the membership discount at the local running store 😜, we hadn’t yet been able to match their schedule to participate in any of their group runs or events. This was our first time meeting any of them. Very nice and supportive group. ↩︎
