Alisha showed that Lions aren’t afriad of water in the Springmaid Splash 10k trail run in Spruce Pine, North Carolina.

500+ runners showed up for the gruelling event. With 4 river crossings, very technical trails, lots of leg-burning climbs and steep descents all participants were in for a true test of guts.

Alisha broke the course record of 52:43 previously held by well-known trail runner Anne Lundblad with a ’splashing’ 44:32.

“I just tried not to drown in the water! I was so scared of falling… the first water crossing was the scariest because all of the guys were just plowing through with no fear. I couldn’t see the bottom but I just did the best I could to stay with the front guys,” Alisha said after crossing the finish line.

Event organizers provided music and food for all racers to enjoy after the event. There was also a walk and 5k run option for those who didn’t want to endure the 10k. The Springmaid Splash offered a great challenging race for all who entered!

September 10 Update:

• Results
• Asheville Citizen-Times race coverage
• Photo Gallery

So on Sunday Alicia and I decided (or rather, I decided and coaxed Alicia into the idea, hehehhee) to do a full tri workout. I had been dying to do something like this for a while, so we finally got the perfect day to do it. Alicia is prepping for the Grand Columbian ITU long course tri in mid September and I am getting ready for the Duke Half this coming Sunday.

We met up at Lake Jordan slightly early– 8:30am. Both of us wanted to “sleep in” until 6:30am so we meet then instead of 7:00am like we had originally planned. We bumped into Amy Slater, another tri girl from Holly Springs, who was finishing up her swim when we were getting started. We were spose to actually meet Amy at *8:00am or earlier* because she had to go into work… but we were bums and took the extra sleep. Sorry Amy!
After our 30 minute lake swim we went to the transition area at the New Hope Overlook at Lake Jordan and hopped on the bikes to check out the full course of the Duke Half. Alicia had printed off the cue sheet and map. Turns out all the roads are ones I ride on pretty regularly down here so I was excited to see how everything laid out from start to finish.

We hit the bike steady, but not too hard. It was the first time I had been on my tri bike so the position was definitely different than the road and Alicia was nice enough to stop and let me fiddle with my saddle height a couple times. No worries though, I think I’ve got it in the right place now. If not, Charlie is going to have to check it for me at Storm Endurance Sports.

So then rolling in from a 60 mile bike (we missed one turn early on that added a couple miles) we hit the run course for the half marathon. In the race you do two loops, but we only did one. For close to 7 miles we hit a 6:55 pace… it was a great run. Alicia was absolutely drilling it. I will never believe her again when she says, “the run is going to be slllooooowww.” hahaha

Once we were finished it was such a rewarding feeling. I am so looking forward to the race this Sunday. It will be a tough challenge physically and mentally. I don’t know what to expect, it’s a whole new ballgame for me but I am as ready for it as I will ever be!