On Saturday morning with seven fantastic women from around the gorge, we sent two teams onto the dusty trails near Trout Lake to complete the Wild Woman Marathon relay race. We weren’t particularly wild, except that we were sweaty and dirty and running, but the setting certainly was:
A generous ranching family north of Trout Lake offered their property up to the 150 or so women who camped and headquartered in the fields at the base of the mountain. The full moon and the not-so-whispering winds kept many awake at night, but with the thrill of the run before them, the women rallied at the starting line:
We quickly snapped a picture of our team:
About 25 runners left the line early to take on the Ultra, a 50K endeavor the thought of which made my knees ache. I was anxious myself about the downhill portion of my leg, which went 4 miles up from Buck Creek horse camp and then 4 miles back down again, but I needn’t have worried. The trail was soft dirt and forest floor nearly the entire leg and I ran as though nothing was holding me back. It felt incredibly liberating to be free of aches and pains, to be able to push myself and have only the capacity of my lungs and the strength of my muscles holding me back.
The race began at 7:30 AM but already we could feel the temperature rising. As Michelina and Rebecca left the starting line, we got busy with sunblock and hydration.
The watering hole, yoga in the orchard: Everything about this marathon was in character.
The support team was busy while we were on the course, preparing to hand out snow cones and lunch, and cheer us on at the finish line. 
We came in dirty and hot, tired and happy, ready to do it again next year and already talking about what race we can take on next. I think we might be hooked.
The Flower and The Axe 