Meeting the Challenge …
from the moment I signed up for the challenge I knew this run was going to be a particular difficult challenge to meet. In part because of the distance 11 miles, and in part because most of which was on the road. But there was also the challenge of just getting to the course. For years we used to bike up the Black Diamond Trail to get ice cream - But the pandemic killed those trips. So I rarely found myself out in Trumansburg anymore.
However, an opportunity arose - I volunteered to help at the at the Ovid Strawberry Festival 5K. This wasn’t the greatest because I’d be running at midday which I never do and I was worried about heat, but fortunately the day was relatively cool and dry. So after the 5K was over and picked up, I drove over to the trailhead. I took it as a good sign that I was able to park in the first spot right next to the trail. The lot was busy, and there were a number of cyclists heading out on the trail.
I planned to run the two loops in reverse order in part to get through Trumansburg before it got too busy, but also in part to give myself a break mid run from all the road pounding. The start was a bit choppy because RunGo refused to recognize where I was at, and then when it eventually figured out where I was it refused to acknowledge that I was running the route, even as it tracked my progress along the course. All I got were the occasional “you’ve run x miles” distance notifications. But the course was relatively simple and I had no trouble following it.
There were a few people out, even a couple of other runners but for the most part, I had the roads and walks to myself. About the most amusing thing that happened on the first loop was the fox sprinting across my path on Rabbit Run. 1000 thoughts crossed my mind, such as “where’s the rabbit?”” And “this isn’t Fox Run” But the fox didn’t hang around to share my humor
After crossing route 96, the road down to the parking lot seemed endless - I had set my watch for potential run walk intervals so I’m amused myself counting how many times the watchbeeped while I jogged on. Eventually, however, the parking lot came into view. It was an easy run by the car to swap water bottles before heading out on the trail itself.
This section was actually pleasant. I did enjoy the switch off the pavement and there were a number of dog walkers and hikers to say hi to along the way. I saw one purple Challenge shirt wearing dog walker heading up the trail and wondered if they knew what I was up to…certainly the real runner (@scottpdawson) who overtook me did! (for the record, I appreciated the encouragement I got) All this stuff was just a set up for the run to come. I hadn’t realized just how much of a grind the stretch along Kraft Road was going to be. No shade and not much to look at. There was considerable traffic around the Spruce Row campsite entrance for some reason. But they were all courteous of the lone runner.
The climb seem endless - even more than this run report - but I knew it ended eventually and after a while (about four of my run/walk intervals) I could make out the yellow sign marking the T intersection at the end of the road. It was about this time that I saw the 2 turkey vultures hanging out along the side of the road. However, when they saw me taking out my camera, they decided I wasn’t as dead as I appeared to be, and they flew off before I could snap their picture
The rest of the run was a grind down Jacksonville Road to the finish where I could celebrate with bananas and cherries …