Nipmuck Trail Marathon

Last Sunday (10/6/2019) was the 36^th running of the Nipmuck Trail Marathon near Ashford, in rural northeast Connecticut.  The marathon follows the Nipmuck Trail for the whole race, starting and finishing in the middle at Perry Hill Road, and hitting the southern turn around at US44, and then heading north to Boston Hollow Road for the northern turn around.  The timing was near perfect.  The leaves were turning, and the weather was dry and cool.  The morning started out at 38 degrees, and the afternoon topped out at 61 degrees, with a light breeze and overcast skies.  The parking was roadside on Perry Hill, which sounds like a pain, but actually was nice and convenient.  After checking in I could just stay warm in my car.  There was no check in before the morning of the race.  Plus, I could drop or pickup whatever I wanted from the car at the midpoint of the race, since I was parked pretty close.  I only ended up dropping off my gloves, but that was still nice.  I wore my camelbak and took my trekking poles.  I debated the merits of both before, during, and after the race.  I still think I made the best decision.  I didn’t use the poles that much, as I only really like them for uphills and ridiculously steep downhills.  There weren’t any real long uphill climbs on the course, and no really steep downhills.  I used the poles and appreciated them when I used them, but I mostly just carried them.  It doesn’t bother me much to carry them, since they are light.  The camelback probably was worth it.  There four staffed and stocked aid stations, plus a couple water drops.  It is a pain to carry poles and a water bottle, though, so choosing the poles pretty much made the camelbak necessary.  One decent option would have been no poles or camelbak for the southern half, but that was only visible in hindsight. 

The race started with very little fanfare on the road right at eight o’clock.  I made my way to the back of the pack to stay out of everyone’s way and to make sure I didn’t get caught up in an unsustainable pace.  I tucked in at the back of a conga line and stayed with them until the southern turn around.  This first stretch wound through sugar maple forest that were just starting to turn golden and was filled with old stone fences marking the boundaries of old fields and farmsteads.  The path was pretty well defined, but narrow and rocky.  Further south, there were hemlock woods along a river valley. 

I ate a half of a peanut butter sandwich, an orange slice, and some chips at the turn around.  Everyone in that group I had been following was gone, except for a runner named Jennifer.  We stayed together for most of the way back to Perry Hill Road.  I was a little worried when I got to the turn around that way back to Perry Hill would be difficult, because it felt like it was all downhill for the first section.  Strangely, it felt like it was all downhill back to Perry Hill Road, also.  My time was almost the same coming back as it was going out. 

There was a nice staffed/stocked aid station at Perry Hill Road.  I ate about the same amount, refilled again, and headed out.  I also had taken my salt tablet, which I did at each aid station.  Leaving the aid station the same time as another runner named Chelsea, we started chatting.  I had met her the night before and knew she had done many other trail races in her quest for 50 states.  We talked races for a long time, giving recommendations and telling war stories.  The conversation went from there, and I had a great time.  The miles in the second half flew by.  There was a stocked and staffed aid station about halfway to the north turn around, which we went by twice, and one at the north turn around.  The northern portion of the race, which was slightly more than half, was more scenic and rugged, but still not terrible for running.  There was a steep descent into and climb out of Boston Hollow, the north turn around, but there were stairs. 

I stayed on top of fueling and hydration, being consistent with my salt tablets, drinking, and eating.  I didn’t push the pace and took it pretty easy.  I’d walk up hills for the most part, and stretches that were too rocky to easily run.  The rocky stretches has high risk and low reward, were it would have been fairly easy to bash an ankle or trip.  I kept running the level and downhills, and didn’t cramp up or hit the wall.  I might have been able to push a little faster, but sometimes that works against me and I’m better off relaxing and staying loose.  We ran through the finish line and I took a seat on the road.  I finished in 6:22:58, coming in 65^th place.  There were 95 who started the race and 87 who finished the race.  There were three cutoff points during the race, with the final cutoff of eight hours to finish.  I was happy to not be in danger of getting stopped.  They had a big pot of chili for the finishers.  I ate, talked, and then headed to the campgrounds to shower and warm up. 

The course is beautiful, with a rolling profile that wasn’t too challenging.  The race is cheap and well run by experienced runners.  I am glad I got a chance to experience it.