Next weekend, March 7th Guerrilla Running will stage another Mountain Marathon & Hillbilly Half Marathon in the Capitol Forest, just outside Olympia, Wash. The Hillbilly Half is part of the La Sportiva Mountain Cup Series.

In their own words:

This race is likely the hardest half and full marathon in Washington State. The course takes you on beautiful trails through Capitol Forest outside of Olympia. Steep climbs, technical trails, lots of mud, beautiful views… you’ll have to work hard for this finish.

It’ll be my first race – ever. And I am stoked. Since signing up a couple of month ago I’ve been going through different emotions, which probably are similar to most people’s feelings. Right after signing up I was super pumped up. I want to win this thing, yeah, right. I calmed down and trained. But put myself in check. I have a life, can’t devote my entire waking moments to this one race. I was careful not to get hurt and then I almost forgot about it for a few weeks. Now the race is just over a week away and I am trying not to be nervous. I still haven’t figured out the logistics. Never been on that trail, don’t really know the course. I am comfortable with the distance – I’m going to run the Half. But it’s on a trail, muddy with lots of elevation. What will my time be? I know what I want it to be. Know, and won’t tell you, what time I want to finish at. But I have no clue if I can do it, not on that terrain. Will I be disappointed if I don’t reach my goal? Will I even be able to finish? Hope I don’t get hurt.

Man, so many thoughts are swirling through my head. Yes, I am nervous as hell. Stop typing those words and get out there and run. That I can do.