2005

2005 race report: Escarpment trail run

Summary:

This was my goal race of the year, and I had an absolute blast. I finished in 71st place (out of about 175) in 4:24:34, beating my goal time of 4:30. 6peat winner Ben Nephew (who set the course record last year 2:45:20, ran it this year in 2:56:54. Temps were in low 60's up to upper 70's, and there was mist, then clouds and then a bit of sun. High humidity made hydration essential.

Very long version:

Ever since I first hiked the escarpment trail 12 years ago, it's been my favorite trail in the Catskills. The views become more frequent as you go south, and the southern end (where the race ends) is the site where several grand mountain hotels were built in the early 1800's (all since burned down), and where there are dramatic cliffs and views overlooking the Hudson river valley 2000 over feet below.

When I learned there was a trail race there I wanted to do it, though I knew how hard it would be since even hiking it is difficult. Even though I've been a technical trail runner since I was 15, running sections 100 miles away from the escarpment trail on the very same long path, I knew some serious training had to be done.

Finally after a few years of getting back into running after a switch to cycling, I ran a 50k trail and a marathon last year, which qualified me for the escarpment trail run. This year began poorly with a series of illnesses in February, so I started with little base in March, though my training from last year seemed to carry over and things went well. I worked up my long runs to 4 hours, did LT training once a week for the last 10 weeks, and ran hilly trail routes for part of my long runs, with two sessions dedicated to uphill and downhill training near threshold. I also ran the 30km double-trouble trail race 5 weeks ago as training, and though that race has almost no flat, it's hills would feel flat on the escarpment trail.

My taper went well, and my legs really needed the rest. I had a bee sting between the toes on my left foot this Friday before the race, and it hurt to walk on until Saturday night, despite repeated icing. Luckily after applying tiger-balm that night, Race morning it felt fine. I was satisfied with my 5 months of training and with a weight loss of 16 pounds since mid May, getting down to 165/166.

Race morning had me feeling well rested, having caught up on some missing sleep Saturday afternoon. As I rode the bus to the start I had my 2 bottle waistpack ready to go with accelerade in the bottles, extra powder for 3 more bottles, a clip 2 pouch, salt tabs, and a gel. I felt more relaxed than ever before a race, knowing I'd done all I could to prepare, and having hiked the trail a few times before. This is exactly the kind of terrain I love running on: extremely technical singletrack.

Start: Going up Windham High Peak

1800' to 3500+', 3.2 miles:

Owing to the course profile and a healthy respect for the climbs to come, the plan was to go up Windham very conservatively. This was also Doug's sagely advice. This race is kind of like one of the long mountain stages in the tour de France where you're foolhardy to go up the early climbs too fast. With a couple of days of glycogen in my legs, I had no desire to go out hard, and I wanted to warm up carefully during the run to get readings from my body (didn't wear a HRM, just listening to all the little signals).

I started with about 150 people in front of me and 25 people behind me - ensuring a slow start. It took 2 mins for everyone in front of me to file onto the singletrack trail, then walking then jogging slowly. As I settled into my jog, then walked the first mildly steep section, a few more people passed me. After that I settle in behind a group that was running while I was walking uphill.

It never ceases to amaze me, as it did throughout the day, how many people run when they could walk fast more efficiently. I mostly walked fast up Windham, but jogged the flatter sections. Toward the top, I passed several people who started too hard. The last guy I passed was breathing way too hard, and not long after I passed him I heard him take a hard fall. Calling back to him, he was ok, but, I thought, he was in for a long hard day. I reached the top in a very conservative ~54 mins.

Windham was the first of SEVEN water stops, every one of which is a serious haul for the volunteers, and it was really great to see 10-15 of them at each stop handing out water and gatorade and cheering us on - just fantastic support. Since my bottles were both pretty full, I just sipped a little water. I was feeling good, my legs warmed up and ready for the day.

Down Windham to Red BD trail

2700', 2.65 (5.85) miles:

This is a steep descent at first, then less so, then drops again. Here is where I started passing lots of people, still running conservatively just at my normal downhill pace using short quick steps, and a bit of gallop on steeper sections (you never fall when galloping).

For me, the more technical the trail, the better. Even going up Windham, wherever it got technical, I would gain on people and finally had to pass some. Now on the first downhill I easily passed about 10 people.

At the red trail intersection is the 2nd water stop. It was here I learned that my hydration strategy was out the window. I had emptied one bottle, so I wanted to refill and mix with a baggie of accelerade powder I'd pre-measured. I asked them if they could fill a bottle but they said they could only give 2 small cups - enough for drinking right there - but only enough to fill 1/2 my 20oz bottle.

I totally understand why they are careful with the water and I was thankful to get any. So I put the powder in and had to wait for the next water stop to finish filling it.  I pondered my hydration strategy as I continued.

Across to the Blackhead Mt climb start

2800', 2.55 (8.4) miles:

In here, I got stuck behind a pack (it happened a few times later too) and it was difficult to pass so many people at once (about 7-8 running close together). While I don't mind running in a pack, whenever the trail gets very technical they slow down, and I don't need to slow as much, so I feel encumbered.

Still running under control, and finally past the pack, I hit the yellow trail that marks the start of the Blackhead climb. There was also a water stop there, so I put 2 small cups of gatorade in my bottle and started up the climb.

Up Blackhead

3940', 1 (9.4) miles:

As I started walking up, I felt ready for the 1100' climb, but not sure what pace to set, as I knew I wanted to save a lot for the last section of the race. Basically it's so steep you get pegged and you breathe very hard even taking very short steps. I probably take much shorter steps than most people, partly because my legs aren't long, and partly because I've found it saves the legs more to take short quick choppy steps.

While on the early part of the climb, as I heard some other runners talking behind me, it occurred to me that since early on the Windham climb, I'd passed many, but had not been passed by anyone. An easy start and a steady pace was working out well. But I also didn't want to let myself go up blackhead too slow, so I just went by how my legs felt and not by my heavy breathing. If they started to burn too much I slowed a bit.

Toward the top I caught up to several people, one of whom was asking someone for salt caps. I told her I had succeed caps and I gave her one as I passed her. She was the first of many I talked to who were cramping. (I took a cap before the race, and at 1:15 about 2:25, then at about 3:30).

Cresting the top there were party balloons on the trail and a horde of people up there, lots of cheering, and a water stop. There were a bunch of runners standing around rehydrating. I just put some gatorade in my bottle and kept going, so I passed 4-5 people right there.

Down to Dutcher Notch

2500', 2.6 (12) miles:

Soon after leaving blackhead, on the steep downhill I came up to several more runners and passed them, once again taking the rough technical sections smoothly where others slow down. For me up, down, or flat, the rougher the better. One of the guys I caught on the milder downhill section was running well, so I ran with him for a while and found out we both ran double-trouble in almost the same exact times (1:35 first loop, close to 2:00 the second loop).

When it got steeper again, I passed him and then got to dutcher notch and yet another water stop - and an enthusiastic crowd! Those people were fantastic for lugging the water so far, especially to dutcher notch, blackhead, and stoppel point, where I was headed now. During this downhill section, I had picked up the pace a bit from my downhill on Windham, but I was still under control and not running all out, trying to save something for the finish. I just tried to run relaxed and smoothly, especially down the steeper sections.

Up to Stoppel Point

3420', 2.1 (14.1) miles:

After drinking some gatorade, putting some in the bottle, and retying my shoes a little tighter, I started walking up the climb. The transition from downhill running to hiking up a steep climb is always interesting, and it hit me hard at first - I had to get my climbing legs going again.

I had caught another 4 runners at the notch, and due to a quick stop, I was out ahead of them all. But soon I had to slow a bit and 3 of them passed me again. I let them go, thinking of what Paul Sherwin always says on the tour de France coverage - 'there he is going off the back of this select little climbing peleton... all he can do now is to climb the climb at his pace and not go too far into the red zone'.

Actually it wasn't that bad, and I trailed the group of 3 up the climb, but it made me think I might have gone a bit too hard up Blackhead. After about 10 mins I had recovered, and by the time we got up to the plane on Stoppel Point, I felt pretty good and was right behind them.

At the water stop on Stoppel, I downed a little gatorade, put some in my bottle, and ate an orange slice; feeling good. My stop was fast again, and I passed the group of 3 plus someone else at the stop. With mostly downhill to the finish, I felt confident I could finish strong - my quads had felt absolutely fine going down the punishing hill from blackhead to dutcher notch.

To North Point

2900', 1.7 (15.8) miles:

I still felt pretty good, though not exactly fresh, and I decided to really let it rip the last 3 miles. I caught up to a guy pretty soon and it felt fantastic to still be passing people so late in the race. I hadn't been passed since early on Windham and that made me really appreciate the slow-start steady-pace strategy.

Soon I passed 2 more people, and I was loving the downhill again - where my hamstrings where worn out from the climbs, my quads were fine. I hammered the technical sections leading to North point but there's more fairly smooth slightly down trail here. At north point I drank 1/2 cup and kept going.

Down to finish

2100+', 2.45 (18.25*) miles:

After North point there are *many* very rugged technical sections all the way to the finish, many of them steep little drops of 10 to 20 feet that are close to being cliffs. This is my element, and I carefully but confidently ran down everything without hesitation, and began passing more people fairly quickly. I was flying and loving it.

Where it got flatter my legs felt heavy, but I was enjoying the difficult sections so much that I didn't mind. I passed someone on many of the little cliff sections. When the trail loops out left to the edge of the escarpment after about a mile it goes up and down and is fairly flat a good bit of the time, and I was not liking those little uphills. 

I knew the finish wasn't far, so I kept holding my increased pace, and passed a couple of more people. The 2nd to the last guy I passed with less than a mile to go was stronger on the flats, and he passed me back as the trail got smoother for a while. He was the only one to pass me since early and I couldn't stay with him on the flats. He finished just ahead of me. I passed one more guy and then shortly thereafter I heard the cheering at the finish and came in still running smoothly, but getting very close to empty since hammering all the way down from north point.

I was pleased with my finish time, and felt like I'd paced it fairly well, and it feels damn good to pass people all day! Thanks Doug for the tips on this race, and others who have shared their training advice.

When I set my time goal I really had no idea how fast I could go, I just wanted to beat the median time since I'm usually in the middle of the pack at trail races. I just tried to go out easy and finish strong and had no way to check times along the way.

I had no falls, and just 2 stumbles, despite running pretty fast down the hills. My quads were strong the whole way, despite really hammering all the down's the 1300' all the way down from Stoppel. My hamstrings weren't really sore or cramping, but they were out of gas. In retrospect this comes as no surprise since I train 3 days a week on the bike and 3 days running. I also did some specific downhill and uphill training and this helped, but on the flatter sections my hamstrings got tired out a bit. Thus my strength remains downhills, and any difficult technical trail sections. Those are the places where I passed about 80 people in the race.

This race is very unique, has wonderful and interesting people both running in it and running it and I had a great time. I plan to run it again next year.

* note: I used the NJ/NY trail conference map mileage since it gives distances between landmarks. The maps say its 18.25, but race course measured out at 18.6 miles - but it's a trail race - so whatever, besides in many sections it's literally too rough to run a wheel over it :)