Trail Mix Deluxe Part 1: The Hills Are Alive

Sunday was another day out on the trails. Only this time, I’d be on foot instead of two wheels.

I was scheduled to do my fourth round of FCT treatment on Sunday so I needed to be outdoors, try to avoid EMFs, and take it easy. Well, two out of the three is not bad, right?

Vials 1-4 needed to be taken in 15 min intervals. Vials 5-11, in 60 minute intervals. I kept them in my Camelbak while running.

I arrived at Griffith Park at 7:15 am to run with UnitedLA. RunnerMarx had a 10 mile trail run planned for us. We were a group of varying experience, strength, and speed but he wanted us to run the trails and hills as a unified group. Naturally, as we started to run, the group spread out at times but it was always nice to see the faster runners stop  and wait every few miles to encourage and cheer on us slower runners.

Top left: Opening remarks from RunnerMarx; Bottom left: Photo courtesy of @freelance; Top right: UnitedLA’s traditional Hollywood selfie, PC @RunnerMarx; Middle right: Off and running; Bottom right: Running united

The sandy terrain during the first five miles was a challenge. Many of us were already tired. Then it was time for the hills! It was tough… but we conquered the hills together. What a workout! We all agreed that although we hated the hills as we were climbing them, in the end we knew that going over them made us better runners.

I don’t know if I would have been able to run this course on my own… honestly, I probably wouldn’t even have attempted to run this course on my own. Running these hills also brought us closer together. The sense of camaraderie that we shared on the trail and the way that we supported and encouraged one another really is what UnitedLA is all about.

Top left: At the top, PC @sugarruns; Bottom left: Brunch at Los Feliz Cafe, PC @demics; Top right: Running selfie with @RunnerMarx; Middle Right: Running selfie with @sweetsumatra; Bottom right: selfie with @faygsm

I’m looking forward to my next UnitedLA run. 🙂