Jacqui and I were able to escape to Asheville, NC for about a week in April to spend some time relaxing, running, hiking and drinking local beers (me)! I'd highly recommend the area, it was almost as if Bend OR, Burlington, VT and North Conway had a baby and plopped her down in the South for the rest of the country to enjoy- Awesome time and fun change of Pace! We were able to hit two "high Points" of Mt Mitchell, NC and Sassafras Mountain, SC in two consecutive days and we were able to visit with my Aunt and Uncle, Jimmy and Janice Baker, plus my cousin Cameron who was down for a surprise visit- quite the refreshing trip indeed! Luckily, there were no snake sightings!
I originally intended on doing 7 Sisters, but registered too late- that meant I had the opportunity to return to a race close to my heart, the Joe English trail challenge-
May 7th Joe English Trail challenge 25K 6th Overall- The short of it is, that this is a great race- technical and twisty with just enough climbing to test your early season legs- Held the emotions in check (first time racing since Chad and I shared the win in '14) and seeing last years super fast time, I figured I could run my own race and shoot to better my 2014 time. Enjoyed some miles alone, then spent a few lovely miles running with La Sportiva badass Kristina Folcik. I started to pull away from her (ironically) at the section of trail named after Chad- It was fitting to be in the groove at this time. As I exited Chads section and set my sights on a nice finish, I forgot to pay attention to signage- At about mile 11 I spent a few minutes without seeing one of the well placed ground flags- uh-oh. After a few minutes of pushing on, I realized I had already been on this section of trail- Luckily I was able to get my bearings and catch onto another runner, but the damage was done- He noted his GPS read 11.5...mine was at 13+...an extra few miles and I had to settle for 6th place- Great day overall and thankful to return to the Denning loop! Jac did a solid time in the 12k and my buddy Danny even won the 5k!
(Shorter recaps for the next 2 races):
May 13th- Wapack and Back 21.5 5th Overall 3:32
One of my very favorites (and one you have to register for early now)... the "Mighty Wapack" as Jeremy calls it, did not dissapoint. Decent weather and a super fast field, we set 5 of the top ten times in the races history in 2017!! Kudos to all the runners who crushed this brutal course and great to see the crowd that calls this type of race "fun"- Special shoutout to Emily Biolsi for her rockin' 2nd overall on the ladies side- woot woot!
May 28th- Pineland Farms Trail fest- crewing/pacing
I Love Pineland for so many reasons and it was amazing to see so many friends find success this year- Special shoutout to Eric for crushing his first Ultra...we've got to figure out the cramping, but he'll find his way through, he always does!
June 10th- TNF ECS MA 3rd overall, 1st American
Sometimes you put it together! Just a few days ago was one of those days, a race I will remember for a LONG time- I knew when I saw the course that this was going to be a hard race (actually prompted me to "drop" to the 50k), but exciting the type of race I enjoy and excel on. Actually Ultra legend Dean Karnazes said it was the hardest 50k TNF has put on, now thats saying something!
We had a lead group of 5 up the first summit (7ish miles) and it shattered on the descent, but at least 4 runners caught back on for the next climb (9+miles)- After I stopped to pickup my race vest and diabetes kit, I lost a little ground to a Canadian, a Brit and an Ashburnham dude (where I grew up in Mass), but I was able to catch Mike fairly quick, and although he's a strong dude, I could tell his first Ultra was going to be a learning experience- I Hope to be seeing a lot of this guy in the future though! The ridgleine on the MidState was gorgeous, but so hard and the loops in Leominster state forest drained whatever energy we had left. Finally the return trip to Wachusett on the Midsate was an absolute slog- Luckily I was able to pick up 50 milers as I went and finally earn some distance from 4th place in the 50k. I wish I knew just how close I was to second, because I would have pushed much harder (at least mentally) in the last two miles. One final climb up to a quick descent down Redemption rock and I was home- One of the slowest 50K's i've run at 5:40, but at 6k vert and with rocks and roots galore- I'll take it...plus there was crowd surfing!
A special thanks to Dan Ouelette, Savanah Rae, and of course Jac for chasing me around the mountain and helping bring me back after with pickles and gatorade at the finish- A Special shoutout to fellow diabetic racers Casey (marathon podium finisher) and Ryan Noonan, joining the Ultra marathon club despite a tough blood sugar day, boo-yeah!
A little recovery is on hand first, but my initial plan for the summer/fall looks like this, with key races in Bold:
7/8-9- Whiteface VK & Skyrace NY
7/15- Crewing/Pacing VT 100
7/29- Innaugural Team AMP gathering/party NH
8/13- USATF-NE 50k trail Champs, Ragged 50K NH
9/24- Kismet Cliff run-Beast of the East half marathon NH
9/30- NH marathon NH
11/18- JFK 50m MD
and of course, other adventures and Fun along the way-
Thanks for reading and Happy Trails; May you find what your looking for out there!
Follow along at Instagram: @BrandoRuns & @TeamAMPactive
#Explore4Chad #Nononsense #SalmingRunningNorthAmerica #InspireActiveLiving #RunDiabetes #MountainRunning #AdventureOn #Runventure #NovemberProject
