It was a cold and windy morning in Richboro, as the previous night was filled with rain. The course was pure mud, but Gabriel thought this would be advantageous, as he was dreading a flat and fast course.
At the starting line, he noted Steve Templin and Peter Weida, the latter being the runner Gabriel had been leading at the Ugly Mudder until he veered off course due to course markings. Weida is a mileage animal, very strong aerobically, but not a great technical runner, as Gabriel had bested him at Conestoga by over 10-minutes and was well on his way to victory at Ugly Mudder, but the flatter course at Looney would prove to Peter's strengths coming off a 26-min 8km clocking on the roads.
Peter went out quickly, Gabriel settled in, and that was pretty much the race. Gabriel stayed about 100m back of Weida the entire race, only coming within 20 meters at the first major climb, but Gabriel did not take the lead, opting solely to pass 2nd place (a 10km runner) and then after the first lap Gabriel thought about ending his day in hopes of saving it for Bel Monte. However, he could not let down his team, the Rosemont Running Club, as he is their #1 runner, and he went off on a second loop in preservation mode. Everything was fine until 2 miles remaining and his right glute mede opted to shut off and he ran 1-leggedly to the finish line, holding onto 2nd place ahead of a young buck and a very strong Templin.
It will be a week of meetings and recovery on the roads, as Gabriel preps for his next adventure- a return to Bel Monte, where he is the course record holder with his 2:13 from 2013. Let's see what unfolds in this ITRA race...
