Cajun Coyote Top 10

We had a total blast at Mark's and Chris's Cajun Coyote last weekend.  I'm always impressed by those who have the ability to write long, detailed race reports because mine are usually of the "I came, I ran, I was happy... The End" variety.  The best I could come up with this time is a Top 10 list, a pathetic attempt to encapsulate the weekend's fun.  Here goes, in no particular order:

1.  Very lovely, runnable, rolling singletrack around Lake Chicot.  (Louisiana?...  Who knew?).  However, I should qualify the "runnable" part:  the first 20-mile loop was runnable, the second was hilly, and somehow by the third loop those hills had turned into little mountains that necessitated walking up...  hmm.

2.  Perfect weather:  mostly sunny, a few clouds, temps in the 70s.

3.  Quite impressive and aggressive mosquitoes...  in December!  This is a good thing only because the little b*stards kept us moving.

4.  Cypress trees, armadillos, and really cool swamp bridges (like bog bridges but about a mile long)

5.  A sweet--and flashy!--gift from Japan (thanks Tetsuro!!).  Love these shoes.   :-)

(Chris-red, Sue-blue, Tetsuro-orange)

6.  Sharing a 'deluxe' cabin pre- and post-run with 10 unique and special people.

7.  A new nickname: "Full Throttle."  (Everyone had one; check out the results.)

8.  Live music at the Cajun Smokehouse in Ville Platte.  'Shrimp Inez' at Prejeans.  Gumbo, boudin, and chitlins everywhere.  (And I do know what chitlins are:  they are damn yummy.) 

9.  "Winning" the 100 km!

Full Throttle w/coyote puppet award (and for some reason, a bunch of coffee cups) and 'n Buford, first in the 100 km.

(Photo by Mark Wieneke)

10.  Realizing yet again that there is interesting and beautiful running to be had in all corners of the country!  (I'll say it again:  Louisiana?  Who knew?)  Cajun Coyote is a great race to put on your calendars next year.  We'll be ba-a-a-ack!