Training Log Archive: TomN

Mahoosuc Ridge To River trail half-marathon. Man, this was fun! The course had everything -- narrow single-track, wide grassy fields, bare rock, lots of dirt roads. Two huge climbs, and some smaller climbs here and there. And correspondingly big, big descents. The day was great, in the 50s, full sun, no wind. I finished 13th among the men, 16th overall. I was also the oldest person on the course.

I went fast on the uphills, mostly power-hiking, and passed 4 or 5 people on the second big climb. But I was really slow coming down. Almost everyone I passed whizzed by me later on in the descent. A lot of it was loose and rocky, and I've never been good at downhill in those conditions, and age hasn't helped.

They handled the social distancing well. Starts in waves of 10 people, lined up 6 feet apart. Self-serve at the aid station. Masks everywhere except on the course. The trails were mostly wide and passing was comfortable. No gathering after the race, no award ceremony. In addition to the half, there was a full marathon option (2 loops of the figure-8 course) and a 10k (half of the figure 8).

Slow, with quick steps. 4 strides near the end. Race on Saturday.

Easy run with 6 strides.

Bethel Summit Ridge Trail (Mahoosuc Land Trust). My neighbor recommended this, and it's a good short run, 1.6 miles each way, and fairly gradual elevation gain. The MLT has been very active in the area, acquiring interesting land and making trails. This one has some nice ridge views looking southeast, and ends at a high point with a view facing Locke Mountain. There are evidently plans to continue building the trail.

At the viewpoint I caught up with a woman who asked me if I knew about the Ridge to River race. The answer is I did know about it last year, but wasn't able to run because it was a pretty long way from Maryland. But I didn't know it was on again this year, in fact this coming Saturday.

So I entered, in the half-marathon category. 21k with 3700 feet of vertical gain.

Esker Loop (Mahoosuc Land Trust). I went another 3 miles down the North Road to check out another set of trails. This loop is short, flat, and pretty scenic, around the esker and along the river. I wouldn't have identified it as an esker. I have no mental catalog of these kinds of features.