I am sitting next to the broom shop at the Living History Farms complex in Urbandale, Iowa lacing up my spikes.  I look up and two dudes in man-thongs go jogging by giving each other a high five.  Not two minutes later (and I am not making this up), a group of people dressed as bananas come screaming down the trail.  Welcome to the Living History Farms Off-Road Race.  It is held every year the weekend before Thanksgiving.  Consistently mentioned as one of the best trail races of the year, it is an event that more than 7,000 people partake.  Serious runners to those mentioned above complete a course that goes through horse corrals, over harvested corn fields, through wooded single track, drainage ditches, steep wooded hills, and of course the water crossings:

Runners have 7 creek crossings to negotiate.  They range from ankle deep to thigh deep (on me) and can have hilarious consequences.  Ask the dude who belly flopped right in front of me when he stumbled.  Now, no big deal most times of the year.  But starting temp was 29 degrees, overcast and a 10mph wind. Chilly to say the least.  But simply this race is a blast. I have never talked to someone who did not have fun.

Personally, my dinner Friday night caused the first three or so miles of the race to be rough.  My wife and I went to dinner with Ben and Alex Cohoon and a couple of their friends at Rock Bottom Brewery, one of my favorite places to eat.  After my stomach settled down I really got after it and moved up past at least 8 runners.  Ended up with a solid time of 43:33 over 7 miles and change, I think.  4th in my age-group and 15th overall.  Congrats to my team, Team Nebraska Brooks for the overall title also, Shannon Stenger (3rd O/A) and Jordan Tucker (13th O/A).  Anyone who lives in the region needs to do this race at least once.

More photos to the right as well.  Updated later this week with more photos.