So what's trail running like in Oklahoma you ask? (OK, so no one's asked this, because no one reads this, but I'm going to pretend.) Coming to Oklahoma from Utah, I was pretty skeptical that I would find anything that I could remotely call trail running. However, I've been pleasantly surprised. Have I found mountains equalling the Wasatch? slick rock trails like in Moab? a 10 mile trail run from my door step with over 2000' of elevation gain? No, I mean come on, everyone knows that you can't compare Utah to Oklahoma. But that's not to say that the Oklahoma trail running scene is nonexistent. Here's a list of some of the pros and cons of the trail running scene in Oklahoma in comparison to Utah. Let's start with the cons.Cons:
Humidity: In the summertime, it gets real sticky and hot here. Even at 6 in the morning in the middle of July it will be in the 80's and only getting hotter. The heat doesn't leave until the end of September.
Fractal trails: Most of the trails by Oklahoma City are designed for mountain biking and feature lots of tight turns. The trails windy back on themselves and often you'll be ten feet away from a section of trail you running on 30 minutes ago. As an extreme example, the trails at Lake Stanely-Draper just east of Oklahoma City feature over 12 miles of trail all packed into a single square mile!
A dearth of races: Because of the heat and humidity, most trail races here take place from December-April. The only ultras I can think of are: The DanMan, A-OK 50K, Lake McMurtry, Turkey and TATURs 50K and Chisholm's run (a fat-ass style 50K held at Lake Arcadia). Only one of these has a 50 mile option and there are no trail hundreds. (There is a somewhat annual road hundred called The Mother Road which takes place on historic Route 66.) All of these races are small and do not attract any national caliber runners.
An abundance of thorny and poisonous plants: In the summer, the greenery here explodes! It makes everything look healthy and full of life, until you realize the the sides of the trail are lined with poison ivy. Better be careful when you make a potty break (speaking from experience here folks).
An abundance of insect life: In addition to the plant life exploding, so does the insect life. There are lots of mosquitoes and gnats, but they don't really bother you too much while you run as long as you don't mind swallowing the occasional bug. The bigger nuisance is spider webs (I know spiders aren't insects but they're close, I'm a mathematician, not a biologist). There are some big spiders here that set up shop across the trails right around face level. If you're not paying attention, you'll end up wearing the web and the spider (they're big too). When you're all sweaty from the humidity it's a serious pain to try and pick the web off of your face (again, speaking from experience here folks).
Wind: This isn't really that much of an issue, especially on the trails. You just have to get used to 20-30 MPH winds being common. It's best to think of it as a training tool. In the summer, you'll actually welcome the wind as the mercury rises.
Before I start sounding like a complainer, let me list the pros:
Pros:
Solitude: Last Saturday I ran 17 miles out at Lake Thunderbird around 9 AM and only saw two people. This type of serenity is definitely not found by Sprawl Lake City on a Saturday morning. It's quite common to go hike here and see more deer than people.
Year-round trail running: So in the summertime the trail running in Oklahoma is less than optimal, but I think it's better than spending a cold morning post-holing in the immersion.
Scenery: Oklahoma really is gorgeous, just on a different scale than Utah. Here it's the little things, a muddy water creek, the sound of the cicadas, the unexpected vista, the rose rock and on the large scale, the open rolling prairie.
Variety: Oklahoma has a little bit of everything. The Wichita Mountains and Quartz Mountains in the southwest have rocky granite trails and hills, The Chickasaw National Recreation Area and Lake Murray State Park in southern Oklahoma gave some great trails by marshy lakes, southeast Oklahoma is the start of the 240+ mile Ouachita trail, northern Oklahoma is prairie land, Roman Nose State Park in northwest Oklahoma has a nice trail exploring a canyon and some arid dessert like views and then there's the panhandle which we have yet to explore.
No fees: All of the state parks and recreation areas in Oklahoma have no entrance fee. There is camping fee at some parks and Lake Arcadia does have a small trail-use fee.
Great community: The trail runners here are very friendly and put on some great races. The atmosphere is noncompetitive and typically have good food at the finish line (worth a mention: the chili at A-OK, the jambalaya at Lake McMurtry). The fees for the races are pretty low as well.
Dog friendly: All of the state parks here allow dogs to go everywhere. Most places have leash laws, but few people seem to care.
Lots of great races in neighboring states: The ultrarunning communities in the neighboring states are very strong. There are lots of great races in Arkansas (check out: Arkansas Ultra Running Association), Texas (check out: North Texas Trail Runners and Hill Country Trail Runners) and Kansas (check out: Kansas Ultrarunners' Society). So as long as you don't mind driving a bit, you can find lots of quality races and good competition.
If anyone is looking for more information about trail running in Oklahoma, they should check out the following running groups:
Tulsa Area Trail & Ultra Runners
Anyone have anything they wish to add to the lists?
Running moment of the week: A Yasso 800 workout: 10 x 800 @ 2:56 on Tuesday evening while it was 84 degrees and sunny. At least there were wind gusts over 30 MPH. Sweet.
4/28 - 5/4
total miles: 62.0
time: 8:10
April miles: 256.9
YTD miles: 976.1
1 comment:
I think you could get a job with the Dept. of Tourism after this description. I'm glad you've seen much of the best and the worst that the state has to offer.
Besides, they say the grass is allways greener whereever you water it the most...
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