The trail is filled with unexpected obstacles. Some will help you with your speed work.

While MadMayosonians waited for the snow that never arrived, steadfast MadMayo runners were out there doing what they do best—plumbing the various depths of whatever. Some smarter members were in there doing what they do best. Some also wondered if they had enough cowboy attitude to tame the trail.

Saturday brought rain, cold, and more of the same. Barefoot Josh rose at 5 a.m. in preparation for the Mistletoe Run half-marathon in Winston-Salem. His plan? Plumb the depths of his tolerance for the wintry mix. He finished the race in a hearty 1:36:33—79th overall, 13th in his age group—and had enough pep left over to pop into the ER for a peek at his frostbitten toes. Turns out the combo of rain, cold, and ultrafast running equals a relative wind chill at feet level of -1000 degrees F. So… Josh will be spending the winter with his feet up, developing and promoting the upcoming spring MMRC calendar.

Tamara gave her new Craigslisted treadmill a workout in the warm climate of her own home. Not only is Tamara sensible about climatary conditions, she’s also a devoted multitasker, and spent her long run watching the PBS documentary “Africans in America,” which she gives two thumbs up. It didn’t hurt her review that one featured historian also happens to be one of the people with whom she applied to do her PhD. (Tamara’s the academic in the club. If you need to cheat off someone’s paper, she’s your mark.)

Iris looped the Chinqua-Penn trail a record (for her) four times Sunday afternoon. Bollywood blasting on the ever-present Sansa Clip, new old-school Asics Mateos strapped to her feet, Iris was in the groove, working her Galloway run/walk. This was her longest run to date in terms of both distance and time spent moving. The only thing in her way? The loose cow that for two laps gave her the hairy eyeball from the middle of the path. Iris wondered briefly if growing up in Wisconsin gave her any innate cattle wrangling abilities, but quickly decided to leave it to the experts when the beast made an abrupt feint in her direction as she edged past.

Dena and Blair—after debating the merits of skipping the whole thing and just staying home and gorging themselves on pancakes—manned up and did their long run on Sunday at 7:45 a.m. around Madison. They would like to report that it was COLD—32 degrees cold.  They may have passed people, scenery, maybe even a crime scene or two, but none of that registered, because all they could think of was that it was COLD. Blair ran a speedy 5.5 miles and Dena ran just over 10 miles, the last three being the dreaded “Iris Loop” from the Moonshine run. Holding with tradition, Dena cursed Iris’ name during the majority of that portion of the run. The cursing pulled her up that last hill.

The only other news to report from Sunday’s run was that it was COLD. And if anyone knows where Dena can buy a wicking face mask for future winter runs, please contact her asap.