Galena Sky Trail Race – Race Recap

I headed out of town for this race and it was well worth the drive. The Galena Sky Trail Race was a race to remember. Amazing scenery, perfect location and a PR. Who could ask for more? A race I will certainly run again!

Location

The race is located just outside of historic Galena, Illinois at the Chestnut Mountain Resort. The Chestnut Mountain Resort is a ski resort that is located on the hills that overlook the Mississippi River. It makes a perfect place to stay during the race. The accommodations are reasonably priced and you can literally walk out the door to run the race!

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If your a history nut like me, I would highly recommend spending some time in Galena before or after the race. Many of the sites are located on the National Register of Historic Places. After a long race, you will defiantly need to eat. Take a stroll downtown for an amazing dinner! Looking for a post run burger, I would recommend Durty Gurts Burger Joynt. The burgers are delicious! Prior to heading out of town the next day, make a stop for breakfast at Big Bills Sandwich Shop. A little coffee and an excellent breakfast will fuel your recovery.

I chose this race as a fun girls weekend. My friend Amie and I decided to run this race to not only challenge ourselves, but to get some much needed time away. It was the perfect race to have fun and relax.

Race

The race is put on by Ornery Mule Racing. As a member of the Ornery Mule Racing Trail Team, it was not only fun to meet a few of the other trail team members but run an epic race! The Galena Sky Trail Race is a looped course. You can choose a 4 hour, 8 hour or the Ornery Mule Mountain Challenge. We opted for the 4 hour run. I am training for a 50k and the race fit into my training plan perfectly. It is held in May, so its a great time to run. We were lucky with the weather it wasn’t too hot or cold. It did rain in the morning, but the 4 hour run starts at 12:00 pm so it didn’t affect our race at all.

Race Course

The loop is 2.75 miles of mostly single track, some crushed gravel, a short sidewalk and grass. It is a hilly course. In the 4 hours, I had racked up 2,110 feet of elevation gain. Officially we logged 16.5 miles, but according to my watch 17.68 miles. Since it is loops, I would bet depending on how many loops run and where you run results vary just like any other race.

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The views of the Mississippi river are stunning. The single track section was my favorite though. It wasn’t overly technical making it a very runnable course. The hills were perfect for power hiking up to conserve energy.

The aid station was located near the start. With typically ultra fair, it had everything needed to fuel on your race. The Gnarly Nutrition hydration was perfect for an energy boost. I am not one to try new things, but trying this has been a game changer for me. It balanced out my nutrition and did not leave me feeling zapped for energy.

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They had a race cut off at 3:30 pm. If you were not starting another loop by that time, you were done. When we had went out I was watching my time and felt like we could finish our loop before 3:30pm, but we’d have to push it. We ran that lap nearly full on and made it by 3:25 pm which allowed us to get in another loop.

Overall

This was a fun one. We met tons of new people out on the course. Every loop was better than the last. Both of us are mid pack runners and we were not out to break records, but to just have a fun trail run. Part of the fun not only was the company but the costumes, the scenery and the loud cheers at the start of every loop. The finisher swag was pretty awesome too. A large medal that’ll look great on my wall!

The thing that I enjoy most about an hourly race versus a distance race is that it’s totally up to you what distance you want to run. It is much more relaxed. You can run for an hour or push yourself to a new distance PR, which is what we decided to do. I am super proud of Amie. This was her first trail run and she hit a new distance PR! After all the fun, both of us decided to hopefully make this an annual event!