Tales from the back of the pack or Why being the back of the pack trail racer is RAD!

I thought of this list while running, because sometimes you just need to take your mind off of the crazy thing that you are doing.  I thought of pros and cons of being a back of the pack trail racer because that is usually where I am at!  Plus, here are the amazing photos from Mile 90 that I just had to share!  Cindy, my fellow back of the packer also contributed as well! Enjoy :)

First up, you don't have to share your photographs with anyone!  You are pretty much always the only runner in frame...if the photographer is still there.  We are lucky that in our area, the photographers are VERY good at getting at least one photo in each location of all of us!  WE are pretty spoiled though with Mile 90 being at most if not all of our races.  

Second, if you need to pee or poop, no biggie, just step off the trail and no worries!  No one is behind you to see your bare butt or catch you going.  Enough said.  

Third, you can talk to your self and give yourself pep talks and no one hears you but you (and your dog) .  No one accuses you of being crazy because well, they are so far ahead of you that they don't even know you are doing it!

Four, you don't feel guilt in getting the last drink or food from the aid station.  They are probably going to have to throw it out anyway from sitting there all day, so why not?  Plus, you can take as much as you want because no one else is going to eat it!

Five, if you want to stop and take a selfie or take a picture of your dog, do it!  No one is behind you to complain!  Note to all, on a single track trail i would never do this if anyone was behind me anyway, but since I am usually last or next to last, it's nice to know that when I see something amazingly beautiful, I can stop and take a picture.

  

Six, and this is probably my favorite and all Cindy's suggestion but the course sweep can become your personal pacer!

Seven, and another favorite, some races in our area give a last finisher award.  I don't ever expect it, but its kind of fun, plus most races I do in this area also have plenty of runners waiting to clap and cheer you in like you were in first place.  I train hard and can't help that I am not blessed with speed, so it warms my heart when I get recognition of my hard work.  Heck sometimes I am out on the course for several hours past what most are.  

There are a few cons and I would be remiss not to name them here.  One is if it is a trail race on technical trails that are anyway confusing, you can get lost because you don't have a runner ahead of you to follow.  I am really bad at this, even on really well marked courses.  I am very literal and sometimes that gets me in trouble, plus I rarely look up when running trails.  Another con is that it does get lonely with no one around, but I have my pup so that helps.   Another con is something we really don't deal with here, but I have had in other areas, particularly road races, is that everyone is packing up and heading out.  At one of my marathons, I was almost an hour under the time limit and yet when I crossed the finish there was no finish line photog, the food vendors were packing up and leaving, and the awards ceremony for the marathon was going on (i won third place in my age group but it was a super small race).  It didn't bother me as much because this was not my first marathon, but if it were, i would have been super sad!  I do sometimes feel guilty that I am out so long that the volunteers are also kept out so long.  This is why I usually try and do races that have a longer distance than what I am doing.  

Overall, I think the positives outweigh the negatives!  Happy Trails and thanks always for reading!