NJ Trail Cross Country Summer Series 5k

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 I ran a 5k in my hometown in incredibly sunny and hot June weather.

Me jumping in the air in an orange top that says People Move.
Jumping American in America.

Why NJ Trail Cross Country 5k

I like to run races when visiting my family. The Cross Country 5k was the one I came across with the most convenient time and location for my visit.

I also liked that it took place in my hometown, though I had never actually been to the park the race was held it.

The race

The route and conditions

The race was held at Central Park of Morris County, which is a big sports complex with fields of every sort. Surrounding the park is a cross country course.

The route started in an open field and then went into trails. Most of the race was in the shade, which was very welcome seeing as it was 78F by the end of the race (and this was at night!).
An open, grassy field under blue skies.
The open field at the start of the race.

The ankle timer

With it being so hot, I wasn't particularly keen on the chip timing for this race. It was a thick band that wrapped around your ankle.

I've had ankle chip-timing before, but this was the first time that it was a disposable one, not something I had to return.
Then ankle chip timer wrapped around my leg.
Ankle band timer.

An unexpectedly fast time

As trail running is slower than road, I wasn't expecting a great time, but when my first mile was 8:49, I felt motivated to keep running as fast as I could on the grass and in the heat.

Whereas I normally experience a surge of runners flying past me after the start of a race, I was holding my own on this course. Only a handful of people actually went past me once we got going.

I ended the race with a finishing time of 30:04. It's difficult for me to get a time like that on road these days, so I am incredibly please with that result for a trail.
Me smiling in sunglasses after finishing the race.
A happy, hot runner post-race.

Victory nutter butters

All competitors got a snack at the finish. Like the last trail race I did in December in the US, I took this opportunity to get a childhood favorite snack I haven't had in a while: nutter butters.

I didn't actually eat them at the race as I was saving myself for the post-race dinner my mom made me. But I'm very much looking forward to nostalgia snacking later.
A bag of nutter butters.
This peanut butter lover went for nutter butters.

Next race


A bit of a wait before my next race, but very much looking forward to 16 miles in the Yorkshire Dales.   

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