My best friend Nathan just completed his first trail race --- the Karl's Kanoe 30K at Inks Lake State Park in Texas. I could not be prouder of my friend.
Nathan has done a sprint triathlon and a few other 5K races, but this was his longest run to date. He didn't even bother running a half marathon --- he jumped straight to the 30K (18 miles) distance!
He did a crash course of training the last several weeks and was ready to go.