The project involved attempting a PR on as many of the local trail race courses as I could. For some races, this meant running each of the different distances offered for the event, i.e. the 13k, 26k, and marathon on the Thom B course. Many of these races I'd run at less than 100% effort during the buildup to various ultras. Some, like the FL50s 25k and 50k distances, I'd never raced at all. With a few exceptions, I chose race courses 16 miles and shorter and within a half hour drive of Ithaca. I ran all of them on my own, unsupported or self-supported, following the courses from memory.
Although the first three listed aren't race courses, I've included them because they're established and noteworthy routes. A few notable courses, like Forge the Gorge, the traditional Lucifer's Crossing course, the Monster Marathon at Treman, and my usual Monkey Run loop, I was unable to get to due to trail closures and/or lack of time.
September 13: Interloken Trail Out-and-Back
This run served as redemption from a crappy FKT fail back on May 24. The route was a 22-mile, full out-and-back on the Finger Lakes National Forest's Interloken Trail, starting and finishing at the southern terminus on Burnt Hill Road. I ran today what I hoped to run for the FKT, but unlike last time, today's run featured cool temps and a completely dry trail. Plus I’m starting to feel like a runner again after an exhausting summer and spring.
I squeaked in under my 3:30 goal time by hustling the last 2 miles and bombing hard down the final hill. Learning the Interloken's elevation profile and terrain over the summer helped a lot. There's no way could I touch Dan Timmerman’s FKT, but I beat the old FKT (from May) and kinda sorta felt like I was running a real race. The Interloken allows for fast running when its dry, whatever the distance. (3:29:36)
September 16: Abbott Loop (counter clockwise)
Damn, this route is tough in either direction! I caught a toe and ate it early on, then struggled on the big climb up the west hill, but otherwise it was a good effort. Danby State Forest's trails were dry and I thought I could break 1:15 for the 8-mile loop. I know I can improve a ton on the uphills and get faster on these types of courses. The route is quite technical, at least for the Finger Lakes region, and has about 1,600 feet of gain, most of which is packed into two steep climbs. Ian urged to me to submit this to the FKT site as a baseline, but I declined, knowing that people have run or could run it much faster. Banging out the same loop in the clockwise direction is a whole different experience. (1:20:06)
September 20: Boston Alternative Marathon
This route used to be a road marathon organized by FLRC and held in April for those not running Boston. It’s been defunct since sometime in the 1990s, but Skunk Cabbage runners will recognize some of the course because half of it overlaps. The course follows rolling hills on backroads in and to the east of Ithaca, starting and ending on the Cornell campus.
I had this planned as a long run to train for the recently cancelled Can Lake 50-mile road race, and decided I'd still run the course despite the frigid start and no race to train for. It was an even effort the whole way and I slowed some near the end, but things went okay overall and I kept it well below race effort. A wrong turn near the end added about 0.3 miles. Everyone is running the Virtual Boston Marathon this week so a “Virtual Boston Alt” was fitting. I finished DFL and also first overall. You can check out the route info on Strava for the .gpx file and cue sheet if you're interested in running this. (3:58:06)
Sept 27: Danby Down & Dirty 20k
I marked the turns with spray chalk the day before, and set up the DD&D as a low-key virtual race. People could run the course and submit their times via Google Forms. One nice thing about virtual races is that the RD can still run the race.
This was my first time “racing” this course since 2015 and I wanted to break 2 hours after missing by a matter of seconds in 2014. It was a sunny 75° day and the trails have never been dryer this time of year, ensuring I'd have to dodge tons of Sunday morning hikers. Running fast was easier than your typical race day though. I struggled on some of the bigger climbs but otherwise felt really strong. I don't know what gives with the recorded distance. My Suunto 9 measured 11.5 miles—I’ve always measured 11.8-12.0 before, and the trail reroute when you leave the first road should add about 0.1 per loop. (1:56:53)
September 30: Danby Down & Dirty 10k
I thought it would be best to get this one done before hunting season opens on October 1. I hadn’t ever raced the 10k here and ran hard for this effort. A fresh layer of wet leaves covering the trails made the footing tougher than it was for Sunday’s 20k, but overall it was a good effort and the downhill bombs were awesome! I can still make up a ton of time by improving my uphill game, but I'm happy with the result. (54:47)
October 3: Finger Lakes 50s 25k
The trails in the Finger Lakes National Forest were dry and the weather was great for running a fast loop. I originally wanted to break 2:30 but realized halfway that I could do much better by maintaining my current effort all the way home. I had to consult a map at a few intersections (when my instincts turned out to be correct) but otherwise it was smooth sailing. Hardly anyone else out was on the trails despite the fall foliage starting to peak. This course can be quite fast, especially on the back half, when it's not blazing hot and you're not battling a monsoon—both of which happen at the race more often than you'd expect. (2:20:08)
October 8: Forest Frolic 15k
I’ve raced the Frolic 15k more than any other organized race. Today was 20-30 degrees cooler than typical race day, but the layer of leaves made for trickier footing and it was harder to see the trail. Overall it was better racing conditions though. The race allows you to chose your direction on the first half of the figure-8 course. I took the front loop clockwise thinking it would be easier to run a longer, shallow incline and steep downhill instead of vice versa. I struggled up a few small hills early and from miles 7-8 on a gradual, never ending uphill, and had to work to beat my PR from the race by about 2 minutes. (1:17:08)
October 10: Monster Marathon 13.1 (old Virgil course)
I was a little spent after a hard-fought PR on the Frolic 15k course two days ago, and it showed on the Monster's runnable hills. I started off at the crack of dawn from Gatherings on Route 392. A blanket of leaves again made footing tricky on some already technical trails. I only ran this half marathon race once, as my second ever trail race in 2011, so the PR here was imminent. I thought 2:20 today was a reasonable goal, and still thought so after hitting the turnaround in 1:09. I’m happy with the 3-minute negative split (albeit predominately downhill on the return). Kennedy State Forest remains one of my favorite local spots for running singletrack. (2:15:50)
October 15: Thom B 13k
Hammond Hill in mid October saw nice autumn trails and was still a fast course despite all the leaves. I thought it would be tough to beat the 1:09 PR I set on this loop in May, when the in-person race was cancelled and Joel Cisne reorganized it as a virtual race. I felt flat until reaching the fast downhill around mile 4, found a groove, and rode it to the end. With Camp Earth Connection closed, I made up the last 100 meters on the forest road next to the camp. Given the slow uphills early, I think I could shave another two minutes off my time. Overall I’m happy with the result. (1:06:24)
October 17: Thom B 26k
This was a very solid run on the two-looper. I’ve only “raced” the 26k course once, when I did the virtual Thom B back in May, and that one went horribly. 1:09:47 today for Loop 1; Loop 2 was only a few minutes slower in 1:12:12 even though it felt like it took forever. The trails were blanketed with mildly wet leaves but otherwise had good footing, and only a few hikers and riders were out. (2:21:58)
October 22: Tortoise & Hare 10k+
I ran hard but failed to hit the time I wanted. The big hill's lower half was a grind and I walked parts I should’ve been running. My right rib cage cramped up near mile 3, making it hard to breathe, nevermind run fast. The two-mile downhill went okay given the wet leaves. I should be able to make up at least 3 minutes from miles 2-4. My PR is still 53:43 from the 2015 race. (55:22)
October 25: Finger Lakes 50s 50k
For an early birthday present Hayley let me get out for a long run this morning. I decided to run this since I'd never run the 50k at the race and it would effectively avoid hunting closures without being too repetitive. It was a crisp fall morning and the trails still weren't too wet or muddy.
I stashed a small drop bag at the first road crossing after the lap/finish area for easy access at the midway point. Because of the rapidly waning daylight, I started at 6:45 a.m. and first five miles were by headlamp. I thought I would have been about 10 minutes faster for the whole thing but the run still went quite smoothly. Splits were 2:39:42 and 2:52:47. I have no doubt I could have broken 9 for the 50-mile. The actual distance for the 50k is about 33 miles. (5:32:29)
November 4: Lucifer's Crossing (2020 Covid-modified course)
I tried to knock this out after work in under an hour. The 2020 race course was modified from the traditional route due to park restrictions on trail traffic. Man, this terrain is tough! The reconfigured course goes up Lucifer's Steps, halfway down the Gorge Trail, up the Red Pine Trail's steep, technical side, and through the old growth forest on unmarked trails before a fast finish down the FLT ending back at Y Camp. The mixed terrain and stone stairs make this the toughest short course around. I've only run the race once—the original course in 2016, as a fun run—and beat that time by about a minute and a half. Hardly anyone was out on the normally crowded Treman trails. (1:02:39)
November 8: Thom B Marathon
I got out to Hammond Hill early on a Sunday to start at 6:30 a.m. and didn't need a headlamp thanks to daylight savings time. It was beautiful weather for an early November morning, and I just missed Scotie Jacobs finishing his solo challenge, the Hammond Hill 100, near the marathon start. I couldn’t quite crack sub-4 but still managed a course PR and trail marathon PR by about 5 minutes. (Previous PR was 4:10:09 for both, at the 2019 Thom B.) Tons of people were out on the trails by Lap 3. (4:05:41)
November 26: FLRC Turkey Trot
The virtual edition of this prediction run once again served as a fundraiser for Loaves & Fishes of Tompkins County. I kept my Turkey Trot streak intact and ran the actual 5.5-mile course on Thanksgiving morning, hoping to beat my PR (37:35 in 2015). The PR seemed unlikely though after feeling crummy and sluggish since waking up. I gave the first half a hard effort but just didn’t have it in me to push on the second half where it’s mostly wet grass and leaves. Since there was no prediction aspect I ran with my watch to try to pace myself. I saw a few others out there running the course as well. (39:14)
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