Afternoon Run

Morning Trail Run commute

Road commute

Snow run commute

4 x 8 min on the Ditch

Technically, 2:01:25 from bridge to bridge. But, moving time was 1:57:33. In the 4 minute difference, I had one of the more memorable & frightening experiences of my life. 

20 minutes in, I ran past a tree into an open space, looked right, and saw a mama moose with its baby. Mama growled at me. I stood there, we looked at each other for a minute or two. Then I tried walking around a couple trees to see if I could go far enough around and make it back to the trail past the moose. It was a little too bush-whacky, so I went back to the trail. The moose casually turned and faced me. I must have looked to the side or something, then the next thing I saw was the moose charging at me full speed. I went into flight mode, scrambling to make it back behind the trees. I slipped and fell, and when I hit the ground, I was certain I was going to get trampled. I don't think I was fearful for my life, but I was pretty sure I was about to feel huge hooves on my back, and I'd need to be rescued and get to a hospital. I desperately got up to keep trying to get behind the tree, and when I turned to look again, the moose had pivoted and started running the other way. Oh my god that was insane. I took a minute to gather myself, and I don't think there was much thinking going on, but rather than turn back, I kept going with the hard effort.

The rest of the run, I wasn't thinking much about time or pace or effort. I have no idea how hard I was trying. I just kept replaying the moose charging, falling down, bracing to be trampled. The fact that I ran a couple minutes faster than I did last year, even including the stoppage, gives me some confidence about my fitness right now. Andy Wacker's time seems untouchable, I'm very okay being 2nd (3rd technically) to him. But I know what part of this run I'll remember, and it's not the running part!

Top Sports

Jon Rea

High Lonesome Full Send

16 Comments

Splits

Sign up to view more activities from Jon Rea

Afternoon Run

Morning Trail Run commute

Road commute

Snow run commute

4 x 8 min on the Ditch

Want to see more?

The #1 app for runners and cyclists

Sign Up for Free. Track your progress and reach goals. Join 100 million active people on Strava.

See More from Jon