Joey and Mike's Cider and Doughnut Run

This past Saturday afternoon, Mike Walsh and I hosted this social run for the North Carolina Roadrunner's Club at Umstead State Park. What a beautiful day it turned out to be with temperature's in the mid-60's. With the 2Pm start time we weren't sure what kind of turnout to expect, especially with Holiday Christmas shopping in full swing. At 5 minutes until 2pm there were only about a dozen runners but within the next 5 minutes folks starting showing up in bunches and we ended up with 33 in attendance counting me.
Mike had mapped out a couple of 4 mile routes, one on the single-track Loblolly trail, the other on the bridle trails. Runners also had the option of doing a loop including both sections.I took a few photos that you can link to here
I have been nursing a tender knee since running the Hellgate 100K the previous weekend, so while everyone was off running , I would be guarding the doughnuts. Yummmmm. I pulled a recipe for Spiced Apple Cider off the internet and it seemed to be enjoyed by most everyone. Dave Rouse, a fellow board member from the club provided the heater for the cider. We had 10 door prizes to give away in a drawing, several of which were donated by Fleet Feet Sports of Raleigh including a $75 gift certificate. With the successful turnout we will hope to continue the new tradition next year. I have already planned to have the same perfect weather on next years calender.