Koke Mill Trail

I headed out about 1030 to the Koke Mill Trail for what I thought would be an easy 6 miles. Boy was I wrong. This was my first attempt at running a trail but it won't be my last. It was really cool. It's about a single file trail that winds and weaves with plenty of ups and downs. It was not an easy run for me after coming off of 14 miles the previous day.

I am planning on running Allerton Park Trail race so I wanted to get a feel for trail running. I think there are a few general rules you should know before attempting to run any trail for the first time.

1. You have to balance the looking up and looking down.
2. You have to be decisive when approaching 2 paths.
3. If you can, run 1 lap clockwise and the next counter clockwise
4. Wear a hat
5. Be extremely careful. This a lot of debris that can cause some major damage if you're not careful.

I was a little uneasy on the first lap because I wasn't sure what to expect, where the trail went, if my shoes had enough traction, etc. After lap one, I kind of got into a groove. I had a good idea of how the course ran so I sped up a bit. After lap two, I headed to the water fountain just up from the entrance to quench my thirst. I headed back in for 2 more laps and finished up with a sprint from the entrance to the far end parking lot.

I had plans of running 5 laps but it was extremely warm running under the cover of the trees so after 4 laps and a total distance of 5.75 miles, I called it quits. My legged were completely drained.

I will definately run this trail again.