Adventures, Land Adventures

CT Trailmixers Taco Trail – How I became the fastest and fattest Brit in a race where Shit Happens

CT Trailmixers Taco Trail
CT Trailmixers Taco Trail
There is nervous expectation as the packed Taco Bell in Glastonbury as we get closer to the 11am (ish) start. The staff at the Taco Bell frantically try and prepare hundreds of tacos as runners exchange nervous glances and smiles, there is little stretching or pre race prep, more time spent mentally preparing for the epic task ahead…… to run ten 1 mile laps round a freezing cold car park and devour 10 Taco Bell Tacos within the allotted 2.5 hr strict cut off. 
 
This is the CT Trailmixers Taco Trail and I’m caught up in a celebration of all that is glorious with USA culture.
 
CT Trailmixers Taco Trail
CT Trailmixers Taco Trail 

After a race Director briefing on the type of taco to expect, sauce strategies and options for the ‘salad averse’ the pack set off.  The course was cleverly unmarked so I managed to get enthusiastically lost in the first 200 metres or so.  I felt quietly confident having previously proved Mens Health magazine wrong regarding being able to outrun a bad diet . Lap one was a breeze and I managed a heady sub 10 min mile on the outstandingly beautiful pavements and industrial estates overlooking a stunning highway in Connecticut.

CT Trailmixers Taco Trail
CT Trailmixers Taco Trail 
The next few laps were easy too. I began to think that my initial arrogance of a large breakfast was unfounded and that I easily had this ‘in the bag’. By lap 5 ( and taco number 6 I began to feel rather ……bloated).
 
Its a constant up and down of freezing cold running with a salsa tummy bomb about to explode followed by the steamy warm inside of the Taco Bell, a face stuffing of meaty ‘goodness’ and enough water to try and deal with the incredible amounts of salt these tacos have in them.
 
CT Trailmixers Taco Trail
CT Trailmixers Taco Trail 
The atmosphere is superb, every runner has a queasy smile and other patrons look on in awe as lycra clad ‘gastro-sprinters’ take a new sport public. 
 
Its lap 6 or 7 that separates ‘the runners’ from ‘the eaters’. As a steady stream of runners continue to loop a Taco Bell near Glastonbury in Connecticut one brave runner has already finished, a brave testament to not just running ability but the capacity to eat and keep down some of the most challenging food on some of the easiest terrain ever created for a Trail run.
CT Trailmixers Taco Trail
CT Trailmixers Taco Trail 

As DJ Darth Fader kept the South American tunes pumping from the car park I don my warmer jacket and feeling less than epic get out again to get lap 8 done. Never before have I ever FEARED the aid station and preferred to be running.

CT Trailmixers Taco Trail
CT Trailmixers Taco Trail 

I walk the last few laps in. Playing a strategically safe race tactic between bathroom needs, speed and risking covering the sidewalk in meaty appreciation.

The wonderful handmade wooden medal has a small taco for every lap completed and as the last few eaters finish the course there is more of a sense of relief than elation.

I’m pleased. I’ve always felt that the ability to run (slowly) and eat (heavily) was very much my forte and one of the reasons I do well in long distance Ultras. Although near the back of todays finishers pack I can still claim fastest Brit on the international field (of one).

As I sit in the toilet I smile. I have done my country and Mexico proud but my stomach hates me.

Related Posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.