Last night was the final leg of the annual Tour de Bayou series, coordinated by HARRA and Runsport. Yesterday’s course was approximately 5 miles along the Ho Chi Minh trail in Memorial Park. I think it took us 70 minutes (we were about halfway through the course before I realized I hadn’t turned on my watch. great.)

This was my first year doing the Tour de Bayou. This year’s series consisted of five races held on consecutive Tuesdays from April 4th to May 2nd. Each week was a new course location, but it seems all the courses shared certain components:

• Runing on trails
• Lots of hills
• Located along the banks of Buffalo Bayou

The Ho Chi Minh course was the closest to real trail running for the whole series. We ran through the woods in Memorial Park, up and down hills, avoiding tree roots, holes and snakes. Yes, snakes. John and some guy spotted a coral snake crossing the path. They were excited and stopped to look, but I was more interested in putting lots of distance between me and snake venom.

Other highlights:

• The course crossed the Bayou at two points. At the first crossing, there was no bridge which meant we had to wade through knee-deep Bayou water to reach the other side. We all stopped to contemplate our (lack of) options. Some people sat down to remove their socks and shoes, others simply walked across. I waded across, shoes and all. The water felt good, though. One woman was terrified of snakes and started freaking out about getting into the water. John had to carry her across on his back.
• At the second crossing, John and I ended up scrambling through mud and wet leaves, only to discover a dry path about 20 feet to our left.
• The course was marked with flourescent pink ribbons, but in some places it wasn’t very clear whether we were supposed to go left or right. A few times, we got turned around and had to backtrack.
• For the most part, mountain bikers were patient and considerate about sharing the trails with us. But, there were a few who were pretty clearly pissed - one in particular would ram by without announcing himself or moving to the side, forcing us to scamper to the edge of the trail to avoid getting mowed down. This biker did the same thing at last week’s Ho Chi Minh run. What an ass.
• A few times, we had to climb over fallen trees. I must not have been careful climbing one of them because the back of my left leg was scratched up and bloody when I got home. yuck.
• And the best part - BEER. Someone (Runsport?) brought a keg, so we were able to replace lots of lost carbs from the run. hee

PS: I dunno how to include captions with photos, so I want to say that the photos in this post are credited to TexasHiker. Visit their website for more photos of the trails at Memorial Park.