September to remember

  We are so blessed to be able to Run Free: To jump over rivers, to dance over technical terrain, to move over the land under the power of our own two feet.
After a relatively mellow month of August running, I really wanted to throw down at some September races and allow all the hard work i've put in the last few months to pay off-
It was awesome because although I'd be missing the VT50 again, the races I chose were my favorite style- medium distance with an emphasis on vertical gain and technicality! A quick synopsis:
Sept 4th- Wapack Fall race- 18m- 1st 2:51
  One of my favorite trails and the turn around point is on the first mountain I ever climbed as a child-  Was able to stay smooth to the turn- around and then hold off the pack on the return trip- I can't wait to come back for the 21Miler in the spring!  A nice weather day with lots of fellow team AMP'ers out there and its always nice to have enough time to give your wife a smooch before the finish line :)

 

Sept. 10th- Farnum Five.5- 5th overall

  First time racing with the Trail T2's from Salming-  Although not as grippy as the Elements, they have a little more under-foot protection...which I needed with my lack of sleep from sir Eric Harbeck's bachelor party the night before...Eric rallied on the last downhill to snag 3rd-  Although a fun time seeing Evan and Jayme crush the course, who knows if we could have hung with the leaders if only we had gone to bed-  YOBO-  You only bachelor (party) once, right?

Sept. 17th- Lost-a-Whole-Lot- 1st overall- 2:34-  After marking the course all week and trying my hand at RDing plus racing, I had low expectations for this one-  However, after early leader Dan got lost, I was able to put in a surge on the second loop to hang with Rob Frost (as Eric bridged back up to us on the long descent). 

  Starting our last loop, I found myself in 5th as I had taken far too long at the aid station-  Well, the local knowledge was my saving grace!  After grinding out the gradual turned technical climb (and scooting by Keith), I was able to reel in the rest of the leaders during a technical one mile section know as the Goat trail-  I tried my best to climb the rest of the hill hard and hammer it home to the finish!  What a day showcasing our local trails, running hard and honoring Chad!  Rob Waryas deserves a lot of credit for creating two amazing courses that challenge runner to use your full quiver of trail running skills!  It was also really amazing to spend some time with Aaron Denning, Chad's brother, who had come up for the race and to take in some fall foliage with his wife Amanda.  The Denning family is amazing and so giving, we are lucky to (still) have them supporting Chad's work and caring about these adventures- It was an honor to have them there!

Sept. 25th- Kismet Cliff Runs- Beast of the East half marathon- 2nd overall 2:31

Photo: William Ulvik

  This one had been on my radar for some time...and it did not disappoint!  Ran with Kanoa King for most of this beast, 13M, almost 4000Climb and technical to boot, my kind of race!  Unfortunately, Tristan Williams was there (and on form) to the tune of a new course record.  This guy is unreal!  I seriously think Tristan can give guys like Sage a run for their money!  Was able to hold of Kanoa and White Mountain man Ryan Welts for second, but nowhere close to Tristan.  Although I am constantly tweaking diet, training, and racing to improve as a runner, I can't even begin to understand how to catch a guy like that.  Anyways, a brilliant grassroots race I can't wait to do again!

  So as the leaves start to change I start to switch hats, from runner to Race Director.  Winter Wild is going to be amazing this year and we'll kick it off with a nice little trail 5k at our local, Storrs Hill, where so many people learn to ski (and ski jump)!!But with good form and a pure joy in fall running, I couldn't help but pencil in one more race for the fall-  Maybe Vulcan's Fury, maybe the new Trapp mountain marathon?  

Hope to see you out there in the mountains and on the trails (remember to wear bright colors)!!!

Special thanks to Salming North America for the fast kicks and cool jerseys!
#TeamAMP #RunSwedish #NononsenseRunning #Explore4Chad