Fall Fell Trail Race - RR

What: Fall Fell Trail Race - 7 miles
When: October 17, 2010
Where: Kill Creek Park; Olathe, KS
Finish Time: 1:08:28

I promise to keep the text to a minimum since there will be A LOT of pictures.

This race was put on by the Kansas City Trail Nerds. Since it is a pay as you go race, there was no pre-registration. Since registration was only $8, I couldn't pass it up. Plus, the Trail Nerds are a great bunch of people and the RD, Bad Ben, makes sure all their events are friendly and lots of fun.

My plan was to run this race as a recovery run. Yea, I know, it's not much of a recovery. I also wanted to take my newest pair of shoes on a true trail run.


Mizuno Cabrakan

I was thankful for these shoes. This course has some technical sections and my road shoes would not have been very good on the course. As it is, I rolled both ankles multiple times, but nothing that caused any injuries. I was not taking pictures during the times I rolled my ankles.

The race is two different loops; one of the Hank Trail and one of the Eddie Trail. The Hank Trail is named for Dr. Henry Jeckyll; the Eddie Trail is named for Edward Hyde. Short sections of paved roads connect the two trails. Along with some technical sections, there is a water crossing (about 8-10" deep) that gets crossed twice.

The race was a blast, but I overcompensated for the shoes being too narrow for my 2E feet by keeping the front section of laces too loose. This caused a fairly lg. blister to form on my right foot just in front of my toes. To prevent the blister from getting worse, I walked about the last 1/2 mile of the race.

Due to the technical nature of the race, I did not take many pictures during the race itself. I did end up going back out and running another 5 miles of the trail with Bad Ben and his dog as I helped him de-mark the course. That was almost more fun than the race itself as we chatted while running. We talked about running and he recapped some stories of pacing a friend at the leadville 100. He also told me his method for not getting blisters. He'll wear 2 pairs of thin socks. The first pair is usually a pair of socks with the toes and thee second is just another pair of really thin socks. If he feels a blister forming, he'll put some vaseline/petroleum type product on. Instead of placing it on the foot, he will place it over the top of the first pair of socks. He said by doing this, he hasn't had a blister even while running ultras. Needless to say, I learned a lot during that run. Plus, it was very cool running with Bad Ben.

Now since I promised to keep the text short, it's time for the photos. First will be the photos from the race, then I'll put the nicer photos from the run with Ben.

Race Photos:


Start of the race.


Mile 1


Mile 1


Mile 2


Mile 2


Mile 3


Mile 4


Mile 6


Mile 6

Post Race Photos:


Side Trail


Somewhat typical section of the Eddie Trail


Eddie Trail


Eddie Trail


Even the tame sections had rocks


Bad Ben and Poochini leading the way.






We had to cut through multiple trees






There were several sections like this.


Water crossing. About where the shadow is at is where the 8-10" deep water was. The leaves floating on top of the water give a false sence of solid ground.


Pic of the Hank Trail



I do have a picture of a small ringneck snake we encountered on the paved section, but won't post it since quite a few people don't like snakes. (crazy I know!)

I hope you enjoyed the pics. If you ever get the chance, I recommend running an event hosted by the Trail Nerds!

Eric