Adventures of the Four Non-Blondes

So this past Saturday was the Raven Rock Rumble 5 & 10 mile race. Just so we are not mis-led, this is a trail run and the terrain goes from steep to down right dangerous.
There were four of us, all 30(ish) moms of two. We registered for the 5 mile and just hoped to finish it in under an hour. We are all just happy to be leaving the double joggers at home for a change. Yes, it's a little strange that to us Bliss is running full speed without toddlers. And even more strange is the fact that not only did we PAY to run this race but we also PAID for a babysitter so we could participate. All in all, this is one expensive race and we want to do our best. We took the far right of the runners line up, mid range of the 300 participants. We're off and set a good pace. It was unlike any race I had ever ran. Some of the trails were so narrow that you could only run in a single file line. Admittedly, we were in the first .5 mile when I slid down on some slippery leaves but I quickly recovered and didn't even loose my pace. We eventually spread out a little, Angie was in front leading the way and I was pulling trail for our little team but I was still on pace. That is when we hit our WALL. It came in the form of a 100 yard out and back to what they call the fish traps. Otherwise, it was just a straight down and uphill journey of torture. It was stairs and NOBODY likes to run stairs. It was murder on the thighs and crushed our pace. I was so happy to see the clearing up ahead and see the onlookers cheering. I noticed one said, "Great Job, you're halfway there." HALFWAY!?! I was already at mile 5.2 and I was DONE. I kept looking for the scorekeepers to clock my time. I pass the refreshment table and see Angie motioning us to cross victory lane backwards. She mentioned something about having to run through it. I did as she said and then asked for the full explanation. So, it turns out the 4 mom's of 2 all started the race with the 10 milers. We ran the first half of the 10 mile race which was apparently much harder than our 5 mile course should have been! So we had to cross the finish line backwards to clock our time. No, not a one of us is naturally blonde but we sure had a moment that day.