The drought ended this weekend, and I ended a dry spell of my own, running my first race – the Pisgah Mountain 23K – since May, when I hobbled through Soapstone.

 My first thought, after waking at 5:30 a.m. and realizing that it was raining, was to go straight back to bed. I wasn't pre-registered. I dug deep, and found the gumption to get up up and checked the weather forecast instead. It said ‘Rain.’

I might have sacked out then, but it turned out Ev was up, too. If he was still willing to drive out to Chesterfield and wait around for two and a half hours while I ran a race – and he was, bless his patient loving soul – how could I pass up the opportunity?

Months of physical therapy have done all that could be done for my muscles, and nothing’s happening in any hurry with my remaining injuries (a bone spur on the hip and a pinched sciatic nerve), so it was time to get back in the game.

We drove through some heavy showers on the way to Keene, but the skies looked as though they might clear as we got to the start, the Chesterfield Fire Station. Looks can be deceiving.

The race was to start at 8:45 a.m. The rain resumed at 8:43 a.m.

The race started up a road, with a substantial climb before the asphalt gave way to dirt, and kept on climbing. It’s a hilly course, this one, though I’d swear there was more down than up.

The road start helped to spread out the field nicely, so we weren’t crowded once we hit the trail. The 50K runners took a left early on, and I never noticed where they would rejoin the course.

I’m sure it was well-marked, though. The entire course was. Every time I began to wonder if I might have gone astray, I spotted a pink ribbon. At every junction, every turn, there were pink ribbons and chalk arrows, the latter faded by the rain. Even a directionally oblivious runner such as me couldn’t get off track on such a course.

The rain let up after a while, and eventually I added some sweat to the mix. The footing was a little slick, here and there, but thanks to several weeks without rain, there was no mud. The sun never did break through, and the trail was dark under the trees, but I saw patches of moss glowing so brightly green I could almost hear bagpipes.

As clearly as the course was marked, I didn’t notice any mile markers after the aid station at 6.7 miles, and toward the end of the race I was starting to wonder if I might have wandered onto the 50K course by mistake. Soon enough, though, the trail spit me out onto a long, descent on a dirt road, and I knew I was nearing the end.

I had no idea how near, though, so I kept slogging along over dirt and pavement until I reached a stop sign, turned a corner and saw the finish line ahead. I’d taken it easy enough that I had something left for the finish… and for swimming and playing around on Lake Contoocook later that afternoon.

There were burgers, dogs and beverages at the finish, but I didn't stick around too long. I heard that about 140 runners pre-registered for the race, and judging by the number of cars in the area, I'm guessing quite a few more showed up at the last minute. Results will be posted soon on the WMAC site, I'm sure.

The race is sponsored by the Red Clover Rover Running Club, a group I'd never heard of but whose name I find endearing… my dog's named Clover, and I've always said she's a rover!

Pisgah apparently is the largest state park in New Hampshire, and well worth checking out… horses and ATVs are both allowed, but the trails didn’t look all that gnawed up. I hope to get back there some clear day, and take a better look.

See race results here.

Check out other people's comments on the race here, and 50K Fifth Place (way to fly!) finisher Blaine Moore's write ups here.