This past Sunday I drove an hour southeast of Tulsa to Oklahoma’s Sequoyah State Park to run the inaugral Sequoyah Gravel Run 10K. They also had 5K and 15K races as well and earlier had bicycling events.

It had been raining the day before but Sunday it was sunny, and kind of cold and windy actually. Perfect conditions for running in other words. They sent us off and away we went.

I ran with Paula and Misti. This is the third race we have run together. We all kind of go at the same pace so it works out well.

There were only a few really muddy spots on the course, all easily circumvented. An environmentally conscious runner always goes right through the mud to avoid damaging the non-trail segments. And then there is me who hates running with cold wet socks. Sorry, true confessions time.

You have to look close but we came upon some riders on horses. That was cool.

Another muddy spot, nope I didn’t splash through this puddle either. Sorry.

And the finish line. Me in the middle, Paula to my right, Misti in the blue, a friend of theirs in yellow, and the legendary Trail Zombie, aka Ken Childress, on my far right. Ken is not only a great trail runner but a very generous and kind guy as well. He has directed so many races and helped a lot of people out in the sport.

We finished third and fourth males on the race so we got to share the podium also.

I give Kudos to the organizers of the race.

• Great trails – It had rained the whole day before but the trails were in great shape with just a few really bad puddles. (Not their fault right). The park was beautiful and the trails in good shape.
• They didn’t have a ton of trail markers but they had a couple dozen people on the course making sure nobody got lost.
• They had a couple aid stations with plenty of supplies.
• Beer – Craft beer from Heirloom Rustic Ales at the end, plus a complimentary glass to put it in. That will make the sustainability people I work with swoon with delight when I tell them that.
• A nice touch is that everybody got a framed photo of themself at the finish.
• So I give the race five stars out of five. I’ll be back!!

Thank you to the organizers, the sponsors, and the army of volunteers that it takes to put these events on.

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