Photo Credit: Joy Chan

The Bridle Trails Winter Running Festival has been a favorite tradition of LSRC’s since the club’s inception in 2020. A trail running festival that starts at 3 PM and extends until midnight, it consists of multiple races: solo distances of 5 miles, 10 miles, 15 miles, or 50K, or 2-person or 6-person 50K relays. Because each race uses the same 5-mile loop within Bridle Trails State Park, this makes it perfect for teams with runners doing different distances to set up a finish area basecamp to support all their runners. This year, LSRC fielded three relay teams with 12 runners total: Lake Sammamish Run (LSR) Diamonds, LSR Hearts, and LSR Spades. Half our runners completed one 5-mile loop while the other half completed two, with runners balanced so all teams would finish around the same time. Additionally, we had Zach Fung running the 15-miler and Shawn Pearce running the 50K.

Luckily, the previous week saw mostly dry weather, except some moderate showers on Friday. Thanks to park staff and volunteers, most of the course was cleared of debris, and while some sections were muddy, the conditions were fair for running. We also appreciated that this year felt more like a running festival than an alpine festival, though there were plenty of parkas and ski jackets as nighttime temperatures dipped into the mid-30s.

Our three teams were not intended to be competitive teams (that is, we were not looking to finish in the top three), but we enjoyed some friendly within team competition. As runners blasted off at 3 PM, our remaining relay runners hung out underneath our sky-blue canopy chatting and partaking in the many snacks contributed to fuel us through the afternoon and night. The first runner to come in from LSRC was Skye Pazuchanics on Team Diamonds, with Anna Santa Elena and Nidhi Hooda of Hearts and Spades, respectively, following.

Although each loop took each person 35-65 minutes, the time flew by quickly – much more so than if one were to run the 50K on their own. While Legs 1-2 had daylight, Leg 3 faded into evening, and Legs 4-6 were completely in the dark. However, the energy of the runners continued even after the sun set and you could barely make out who was coming in for the next exchange. While not the largest team or the one with the most elaborate basecamp (that honor goes to Sky Valley Runners!), LSRC literally shone bright through the darkness thanks to Board Treasurer Peter Averill’s handiwork in designing and creating a programmable LED logo that graced the top of our canopy; we could not be missed!

The highlight of the night came down to the final leg for our relay teams. While Legs 1-4 saw perfect handoffs and everyone finished around their estimated times, Legs 5-6 saw our three fastest runners vie for the honor of first LSRC team. Paul Young of Team Diamonds received the first bib handoff with a three-minute lead over Jordan Andersen of Team Hearts and a six-minute lead over Glen Weissman of Team Spades. However, each of these runners had to run two loops – 10 miles – and a six-minute head start is not an impossible gap to make up. Other variables were also at play – while Jordan had the current fastest race times of the three, both he and Paul had already run hard efforts earlier in the morning while Glen had the freshest legs. Indeed, by the start of Leg 6, Paul’s lead over Jordan had narrowed to 2 minutes while Glen was only 1 minute behind Jordan; it seemed only Glen was aware of how this was playing out.

The remaining LSRC relay team members speculated who would cross the finish line first while huddled around the dwindling heat from the propane heater. Would Paul be able to hang on to his slim lead? Would Jordan overtake Paul somewhere mid-course? Or would Glen sneak up on both from 6 minutes back and pull off the upset?

Around 7:30 PM we made our way to the finish line and eagerly squinted into the darkness looking for signs of our runners. After a few minutes, the headlights of two figures could be seen weaving down the final stretch of hill towards the finish chute. As they both made the left turn onto the final straightaway, we could see it was Paul and Jordan nearly running stride by stride! Blazing through those final 100 meters, Jordan managed to pull slightly ahead of Paul with about 30 meters to go, hitting the timing mat just a few steps ahead! Glen was right behind, finishing about 50 seconds later.

So what happened in the woods that final leg? Apparently, Glen had caught Jordan somewhere along the second half, which prompted Jordan to run even faster...which led to Jordan inadvertently catching Paul. Paul, in attempting to outrun Jordan, cranked it up in the final half mile and really made Jordan work for the win. What a finish indeed! This was the closest finish margin we have ever had for any of our relay teams in four years of attending the Bridle Trails Winter Running Festival.

Besides the thrilling finish, there were other things to celebrate. Team members Alice Wang and Adrian Wang completed their longest continuous runs to date, running 5 and 10 miles, respectively, during Legs 2 and 3 (Adrian ran a blistering 33 minutes for his leg). Anna Santa Elena debuted in her first trail race and first relay event. On the solo events, Zach Fung took 3rd place overall male for the 15-miler and Shawn Pearce set a new 50K PR! Congrats to all!

While participating in the Bridle Trails Winter Running Festival was an all-day affair, it was completely worth it for the comradery and fun that is hard to match at other events. We will surely be back next year, perhaps with enough runners to fill not just the Lake Sammamish Run Diamonds, Hearts, and Spades teams, but finally also a Lake Sammamish Run Clubs team!

Full Results: https://register.pacificmultisports.com/Events/Results/1284

Photo Credit: Zach Fung