Last Sunday (10/6/2019) was the 36th 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 65th 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.
