Nipmuck Trail Marathon, June 5, 2005

It was 5:00 am when we headed out for the famed Nipmuck Trail Marathon, oldest race in WMAC's Grand Tree Series. After a quick stop to pick up Brian Hamill, one of Team Gloucester's more remote members, and a search for a Dunkin Donuts ("It's Connecticut-- How far can we go before we see a Dunkin Donuts?"), we pulled up onto Perry Hill Rd, site of race headquarters. The plan was to get in a good training run for Iceland, but not go so hard that we were wiped out for the week.

We got our numbers, our first timer status indicated by neon orange "high risk of falling" stickers, stashed our gallons of water, and hung around a bit before the prerace briefing, which really must be experienced. Words can do no justice.

The first loop of the course is shorter and flatter but with trickier footing, almost entirely single track with some pretty rocky sections and a decent number of water/muck crossings. To our relief, despite 6 weeks of rain the mud was minimal, and the trails, though often technical, were extremely well marked. The aid stations were spectacular, offering such goodies as boiled potatoes, potato chips, PB&J, fig newtons, strawberries, licorice, etc. Brian and Rick initially ran together; I had pushed a bit ahead to where there was a little more space (the downside of it being mainly single track was the significant backup over the first couple miles). Brian then moved up and ran with me for a bit, until we both got stuck in traffic; Brian asked "faster or slower?" and I made the mistake of saying "faster," at which point Brian became a quickly moving blue speck off in the distance, not to be seen again until the end of the race.

By the turnaround of the first loop it was already hot, even on the trails. Really hot. Since it was an out and back, we were able to watch the front of the race as well. The first three guys were in a tight pack, and in the women's race, Deb Livingston and ??? (results aren't up yet, not sure of her name) were also running fairly close together. The turnaround area was in some ways remininscent of Merrimack, with a number of steep ascents and descents leading up to it.

Back the way we came to the halfway mark, where we were able to refill hydration packs and grab some grub. The second half, which is slightly less technical but longer and hillier, begins with a steep climb over trails pretty similar to Northfield, followed by rolling hills over mainly single track trail for the next 2.5 miles, at which point we were greeted by...pavement. One of the few negatives of the race was the mile or so of road in the second half. After suffering across the asphalt, the trail is pretty unremarkable until the happy face signs, which signal a rather large and very well stocked aid station. They do not, however, signal the turnaround, which seemed a rather mean joke. The actual turnaround was a very tough 1.5 miles later (those 3 miles out and back took me nearly an hour).

The final quarter of the race passed in a fog of heat, thirst, and hills...though there were no mile markers, the final mile is marked every .1 miles, markers sorely needed over the final climb. You crest the hill with .2 to go, and you can hear the cheers from the finish just a few hundred feet below.

Jenn finished third female somewhere around 4:45, and by virtue of the first two women going home, was able to bring back a pie. Rick, downright delighted by the expanse of aid stations, finished somewhere around 5:40, peices of bagel still stuffed in his pocket. Brian, who had run the Vermont City Marathon just a week prior, was concerned about his recovery time in the heat and dropped shortly into the second half.

All in all the race was outstanding-- beautiful trails, very well organized, very well marked, with lots of kooky characters to keep things interesting. The aid stations went above and beyond, and on such a hot day the volunteers did a phenomenal job keeping all of us healthy and hydrated. Team Gloucester has typically not done this race because of its close proximity to Mt Washington on the calendar, which is too bad-- you guys would love it.