Today was the second event in the Northwest Trail Runs Winter Trail Run Series, the Ravenna Refresher.  The event had 4k, 8k and 12k options, with about 200 people signed up and quite a few day of runners registering.  In the two weeks since the Carkeek Cooler 5k I was able to get out running 3 days a week and built up to actually running a 5k with some elevation gain at Grand Ridge so I figured I could actually run a 4k event.  I arrived early to help setup and do registration and the weather was holding out, it was cool and overcast but not cold and not raining.  I was half expecting it to start raining right when we got going but that didn’t happen, I finished before a drop fell from the sky.

I had never run at Ravenna Park before and had no idea what to expect.  The course was a mix of wide gravel trail, single track, a stretch of grass, a short stretch of road and a bit of paved trail. It wove up and down the kind of thin park on most of the trails in the park. The park was actually fairly wild looking in places for being in the middle of the city.   Elevation was minimal, my Ambit showed 250′ of gain on the single loop.   Since I decided to actually run this one I started mid-pack, got passed by some people and passed other people.   The few uphills were no problem compared to Grand Ridge so I was able to keep running all of them and never once had to walk.   I finished in 23:55 which was a 9:37 pace, much faster than the 12:31 pace at Carkeek where I did walk some of the ascents.

Overall a fun run and it felt good to be doing it for real this time.  Two weeks until the Redmond Reindeer Romp which is a 5-mile/400′ loop so I need to get in a bit more distance over the next 10 days to get ready for it.  Hopefully the arctic weather we had last year for that event stays away.