Race Recap: Bear Creek Lake
Bear Creek Lake 10 mile trail race recap, February 22, 2026.
Day Before:
Shakeout Run: The day prior to stay loose; minimal effort
I do a timed run followed by strides, and a cool down; These vary depending on the type of race and distance.
Race Fuel:
2 hours from start:
Water
2 slices of toast with jam and a banana
2 scoops of BPN electrolytes (strawberry)
1 hour from start:
3/4 scoop of BPN G.1.M+ Sport
15 minutes from start:
1 caffeinated BPN Go Gel (mixed berry)
Half of a BPN Go Bar
Mile 3:
1 caffeinated BPN Go Gel (mixed berry)
Race Recap:
Hydration:
Used a 600mL Nathan collapsible bottle and a Nathan handheld for hydration. This race you had to provide your own cups for water stations, so I made sure to bring enough with me from the start. I drank the full 600mL bottle and had a little left in the handheld.
Two days before I was sick with a sore throat, but committed to the race anyway.
Miles 1-3:
Less than a mile in, while going down the first downhill, I lost my footing and wiped out. What a great start.
The first half was technical with several logs, fallen trees, and other obstacles to navigate. Along with a few creek crossings and rainy conditions making it slicker and not getting proper footing (I was wearing road shoes).
Miles 4-6:
Mile 4 took a turn when I had to jump from a huge log to continue on the trail. I couldn’t see the surface underneath and sprained my ankle when landing on the uneven terrain.
Took a minute to process what happened and to assess the damage; See if I could continue (trail running you’re in no man’s land with no immediate medical help). I decided to take it slow and walk a couple sections before beginning to try and run again.
After contemplating if I should notify a course marshal to get medical or a DNF, I stayed the course and toughed it another 6 miles through the pain (didn’t really have options).
Between miles 5 and 6 I took time to nurse the ankle and shed some clothes in a field while I could, instead of doing it while traversing the trails, since it was so wet and muddy.
My ankle miraculously didn’t affect my running too much. The creek crossings were kind of nice, getting it soaked in the cold water.
Miles 7-10:
I played it safe with my ankle, until around mile 8, then put on a little surge to stay on a sub 1 hour 50 minute pace. I really had to pay careful attention with my footing in some sections to avoid doing more injury and walked when it was necessary.
I knew this part of the course, so I used this to my advantage as I picked off several runners one by one, which really helped with my confidence. While others struggled, I used my training in these conditions to excel.
While the whole race was a muddy, rainy, and slippery mess, the last section felt the worst. I literally had no traction, sliding and couldn’t get a strong footing, but that’s trail racing!
I got to 10 miles, which apparently wasn’t the end. Someone miss calculated the distance and we had to run more mileage, an extra 0.3 miles to be exact.
I crossed the finish line with a time of…
1:48:23
The extra miles:
I wasn’t sure how I managed to run my first trail race on a sprained ankle and not feeling 100%, on top of the not ideal conditions. It rained the entire race with some sections more bearable than some, but we finished a challenging start to the 2026 racing season.
I’ve really worked on my mindset the week of the race to eliminate stress and anxiety the day before the race and while on the starting line. I remind myself that it’s just another run, you’ve put in the work prior and whatever happens, happens.
While injuries are unknown, we’re going to do everything in our power to be prepared to race. These times require patience, as much as you want to train and get back to enjoying what you do. You have to be mindful that there’s plenty more left in the year, missing a training session or race isn’t going to define your season.