When I signed up to participate in the Full Moon 5, I thought it was a great opportunity to get some night-running experience. Little did I know how much fun I was going to have, running on muddy, icy trails in the dark with a bunch of strangers. The sounds of laughter filling the darkness, broken only by an occasional hoot of a Great Horned Owl.
Sounds like fun, doesn’t it?
Time to grab your headlamp and hit the trails.
Full Moon 5 Course
The Full Moon 5 takes place at Sleepy Hollow State Park. The race started and finished at the parking lot near the beach.
Typically, this is a 5-mile loop around the park. However, this year due to a week of warm weather, the trails were in extremely poor condition. The race director had to re-route the course the day before due to “unsafe conditions” into an out-and-back.
Right from the start, nearly everyone took the wrong route. We turned and followed old flags that were missed when they changed the course the previous day and ended up on the trails we were trying to avoid.
After a short section of pavement, we reached those trails and understood why the change in course. Some parts were flat with minor hills. Some parts had massive ankle-deep mud puddles that we had to work through. And some parts had slushy frozen snow that was lying on top of massive mud puddles.
The last half mile or so was all pavement. The race director had scrambled to get the DNR out on the trails to be able to re-direct us, funneling us to the finish line via the road and missing the worst part of the trails. This re-route resulted in approximately a 4-mile race instead of the expected 5. But I had so much fun, I didn’t care that we missed a mile.
It was an adventure. By the time I had finished, I had mud splashed up the back of my leg.
Despite these obstacles, I was able to run the entire time and didn’t have to walk any section of the course, making it a very runnable course. Messy but runable.
The Goodies
Participants received a finisher patch, a Michigan Trail Experience Sticker, and Michigan Trail Experience coasters. To keep the price lower, race shirts were optional and could be added for an additional cost. The shirts were pretty cool and I was a little sad that I didn’t get one. They were glow-in-the-dark.
Overall male and female finishers received a free entry into a future race of the Michigan Trail Adventure and the first places in each age group were given a discounted entry into the next upcoming race in 2024.
Overall
Will I be back? Absolutely.
I had no intention going into this race to treat it as a race. That morning I had ran 6 miles. The entire purpose for participating in this race for me was strategic. Get experience with night running.
But it also inspired me. It reminded me of how much I love trail running and how much I enjoy getting together with a group of people and running through the woods.
For more information, visit Full Moon 5.