2021 Cayuga Trails 50

It's been more than six months since the 2021 Cayuga Trails ultramarathon and I'm finally getting around to writing something about the race. This recap will be to the best of my recollection, kind of like Proust triggering vivid memories with his madeleine and tea, but far less boring and long-winded.

The course was modified extensively in 2020 due to COVID-related permit restrictions. It retained a similar course for 2021, with the staging area at Robert Treman State Park but in a different spot than the original layout. The modified course still covered most of the same trails, but was made a little tougher by an off-trail section near lower Buttermilk Falls. The format was essential this: Start at Treman Park's Y Camp. Run a 10-mile loop around the park and back to Y Camp. Then run a 15-mile lollipop loop that leaves Treman, passes through the Lick Brook preserves, and loops around to lower Buttermilk Falls State Park and back to Y Camp. 50-milers do this circuit twice and 50k runners do one full circuit followed by a 10k mini loop. Those running the shorter Lucifer's Crossing race only do the 10k loop. An aid station is set up every 4-6 miles. 

I came into the race not feeling my best. Two weeks prior I ran 19 miles on the course with two fast friends—Rich Heffron and Adam Pacheck—who pushed the pace and left me hurting. I thought I'd be fine after a day or two, but I still felt sort of beat down

Cayuga Trails Course Guide

Update 3/4/21: Take note that this guide is for the traditional course and does not reflect the Covid-modified course and its major changes for 2020 and 2021 Cayuga Trails.

• Overview
• Elevation Change
• Aid Stations
• Gear Recommendations
• Additional Info
• The Course
• Strava Data

Overview

The Cayuga Trails 50 has quickly become one of the northeast's premier ultrarunning events. Race Director Ian Golden created the race in 2013 under his Red Newt Racing brand. The event was conceived as a way to draw runners to the Ithaca area to immerse themselves in the beauty of Ithaca's best trails and to experience the community that Ithaca is known for. Ian added a marathon to the event in 2016 to increase participation. Since 2014, the race has served as the USATF 50-Mile Trail Championship, making it a selection race for Team USA to compete at the IAU Trail World Championship. There is also a large cash purse up for grabs, overall awards, raffles, and in-race premiums from the race director himself, and additional USATF awards for overall and age-group winners. What's more, the 50M is part of the new Empire State Triad — a three race series that includes Many on the Genny and Twisted Branch and has a ranking system for finishers off all three.

The course circumnavigates Ithaca's two state parks, Robert H. Treman and Buttermilk Falls, both of which are popular destinations among hikers, tourists, and vacationers. The parks' trails offer up some of the nicest scenery on the east coast, traversing through, over, and around dozens of waterfalls, gorges surrounded by natural stone walls, ravines, old growth forests, and a lake. The course crosses over a small dam, runs past a historic stone mill, and traverses trails built by the Civilian Conservation Corp in the 1930s. The route encompasses a wide variety of terrain, including singletrack and doubletrack trails with varying degrees of technicality, stone stair cases, several creek crossing, a few paved and dirt road sections, rolling hills, and one very steep, switchback-laden climb. Most of the course is runnable, but constantly having to change gears and adjust your stride can be very challenging.

I live a few miles from these trails, run them regularly throughout the year, and have run the CT50 each of the past four years. I find the race challenging but highly rewarding, and always come away with some new friends. The purpose of this guide to give runners an idea of what to expect on each section of the course, with a reasonable amount of detail. For event rules, announcements, logistics, etc., you should consult the race website and/or detailed pre-race e-mail.

Note: This post was updated 7/16/18 to reflect course changes for 2018. The course is always marked thoroughly with flags, arrows, and chalk; I reference trail names and colored blazes in this guide to provide direction during training runs. I'll update with additional photos of the trails when I am able to get them. 

The course essentially runs 12.5 miles from lower Treman out to the base of Buttermilk Falls, then 12.5 miles back. Marathoners do this once, and 50-milers twice. Some of the inbound portion of the loop overlaps with the outbound portion and some of it is different. There are three aid stations on the loop and you'll reach two of them twice. 50-milers will have

Bringing It All Back Home: Cayuga Trails Take 4

PC: Steve Gallow

I could hear the siren song of the Treman gorges calling me back. On a 50-mile course that’s thrice chewed me up and spit me out, it was inevitable I’d return to and face the known peril of Cayuga Trails. Lucifer’s Steps were calling, and the tune was nearly palpable. And hence my quest once again for a 10-hour finish. This was my fourth straight year running the Cayuga Trails 50, and the fourth time it's served as the USATF 50-Mile Trail Championship. In 2015 I narrowly missed going under 10 hours after a rough second loop. Last year, my training was there but some early nutritional mistakes put me in a hole and I finished way off my potential. Based on my training over the first half of this year, it was all but given. I fully expected to run somewhere around 9:15. That is, until I learned of some late course changes a few days before the race. Ian mixed things up a bit compared to previous years, leading to two significant changes in the route. A flat, half-mile of grass and park road adjacent to the start/turnaround was replaced with some hilly singletrack through an old growth forest a few miles in. Double that over two loops, and it meant two miles of rolling hills

Ain't No Easy Way Out: 2016 Cayuga Trails

sodium

noun \so·di·um\

1.  a silver-white soft waxy ductile element of the alkali metal group that occurs abundantly in nature in combined form and is very active chemically.

2. one of several electrolytes required by the human body during an ultramarathon, the mismanagement of which may cause a long and painful day.

sleep

noun \ˈslēp\ 

1. the natural periodic suspension of consciousness during which the powers of the body are restored.

2.  a condition required by the human body in the days prior to an ultramarathon in order to replenish energy, the mismanagement of which may cause a long and painful day.


That's now three finishes at the Cayuga Trails 50 and that elusive sub 10 hour time still escapes my grasp. Going into the race, I thought - no, I knew - that my fitness was there, and that breaking 10 hours was all but given. Unfortunately, this is

2016 Cayuga Trails Pre-Race Info

Ah, late May in Ithaca. The grass has greened up, flowers are in full bloom, watermelon is at its juiciest, and of course Cayuga Trails is only a few days away.

The Cayuga Trails 50 is once again the USATF 50 Mile Trail Championship. This is the first year the race has sold out, and it seems the front end is the most competitive it's ever been for both the men and women. (Must Love Jogs previews the elite field here.) This is also the first year the event will host a marathon - one loop of the 50 mile course with a little extra thrown in to make it 26.2. It appears that race day temps will reach the mid-70s with no chance of rain - a bit warmer than ideal, but at least the course will be mud-free and not scorching hot like it was in 2014.

This year I feel much more confident about my chances of breaking 10:00 at the Cayuga Trails 50. My run at the Breakneck Point Trail Marathon in April has shown that I can continue to run strong and efficiently after several hours of gnarly terrain,

Definitely Maybe: Cayuga Trails 2015

Over the past few weeks I've been on a kick listening to one of my favorite bands of all time - the one and only Oasis. The short drive from my house to the starting area found me blasting several of the band's more up-tempo tunes to get pumped and ready to rock. As if that wasn't enough, I had an array of Oasis songs playing in my head throughout the race like some bi-polar DJ performing a freestyle mash-up for the first time. Amazingly, it seems many of the Gallagher brothers' songs fit the tone of the race and reference themes that I revisited throughout the day (albeit when taken out of context). What, then, could one of most most successful and iconic rock bands in history have in common with a bunch of grungy, sweaty weirdos running through the woods? I mean, what's the story, morning glory?

Hello! It's good to be back!

On the starting line, once again surrounded by 200 plus trail runners, I took a good look around. Strangely enough, it felt like only yesterday since I last toed the line at the Cayuga Trails 50. The day's forecast seemed to change every hour, and last I checked it was expected to be cloudy with scattered rain showers. Nobody ever mentions the weather can make or break your day. We could only hope the stairs wouldn't be too slick and the mud would be minimal. Some might say we will find a brighter day. 

After five long months of training and preparations we'd finally be setting off in under a minute's time. I intentionally stood near the back of the pack to avoid going out too fast, and was so far back I couldn't hear the traditional sounding of Ian's ram's horn as the countdown clock reached 00:00:00. Little things they make me so happy, but it's good to be free.

Cayuga Trails 50: Final Preparations and Additional Resources

With only a few days to go before the Cayuga Trails 50, I feel like I'm as ready as I could possibly be. The previous five months of training have been a lead-up to this coming Sunday. The last few weeks have been a combination of running on the course and getting in an ample amount of hill work. I'm hoping to run a PR for the 50M with the secondary goal of beating last year's time here, and feel like I have a good chance to do both.

The fun starts tonight (Friday), as Scotie Jacobs and Ithaca Beer are bringing back the Lucifer's Steps brew in conjunction with the race. The brewery is hosting a MUT runner social gathering of sorts, along with a pre-race briefing. The Race festivities continue tomorrow with the Trails in Motion Film Festival. Even if you are not running the race, considering checking out the Film Festival on Saturday afternoon, held downtown at Cinemapolis. I attended the festival last year and it was well worth it! (Click here for a full rundown of the race schedule of events.) There will also be mid-race live

Cayuga Trails 50 Race Report

In the Devil's Footsteps

There I sat, dejected, head in hands, less than halfway up the 222 stairs standing between my first DNF and the final five miles to a hard fought personal victory. My secondary goal of a sub 11 hour finish had just gone down stream, washed away in the current and sucked over Lucifer Falls, well beyond reproach. Although my body and organ systems were, for the most part, still intact and fully operational, my spirit was suddenly crushed beyond disrepair and my mind completely fried. 45 miles into the beast known as the Cayuga Trails 50, I had come to the base of the 222 step stone staircase that ascends adjacent to Lucifer Falls at Robert Treman State Park. The first climb up these stairs, 20 miles and six hours ago, had left me lead-legged and light headed. This second climb seemed certain to finish me off. I'd gladly have sold my broken, lactic acid filled soul to Lucifer himself for an elevator ride up the gorge, but surely even the Prince of Darkness himself could not contrive a hell any worse than what I was experiencing at this God-forsaken moment. Had six months of training and nearly 10 hours of continuous running ultimately come down to this? How had I ever come to this point, on the verge of such a breakdown?

Buttermilk Creek.

 

Pre-Race

First, a bit of background leading up to the moment of truth. The Cayuga Trails 50 is the brainchild of Ian Golden, local trailrunner, ironman, race director, owner of Finger Lakes Running & Triathlon Company and Confluence Running, and all around great guy. The race is a double loop, beginning and ending at the east end of Robert Treman State Park in Ithaca, NY. The course runs entirely along trails, features roughly 11,000 feet of vertical gain and an equal amount of descent, and showcases