Sunday was my fourth Forks XV. I love this race and would run it all the time if possible. This particular year I did not run to best my own time but to pace a friend. Helen, while a one time marathoner, has recently just started back running. She had run the route before but I told her I would run the whole race with her.

Before she and I had talked, she ran the course the Sunday before the race. In an area of the country where the Boilermaker is the 15K that is usually being talked about, I truly think the Forks XV course is actually harder than the Boilermaker. First and foremost, the weather is always an issue, it seems, on the last Sunday of March. I have run the race in snow, rain and sun. This year it was about 36F and windy. The wind, especially during miles seven to nine, was brutal and cold.

When Helen ran the course on her own the week prior, she had finished in a certain time. I told her we would be that with no problems at all. We did! We cut just over 20 minutes off her time from running the course on her own. She is going to be able to use this work we did to rock her running of the Bridge Run, our local half the first weekend of May.

Will I run this race again? You know it. If I am in this area, I run this 15K.