@heathercobb3 thanks!! I’ll add him to my post now 
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The park was really deserted this morning, probably a combination of the rain and colder temperatures. I was concerned about how I was feeling during last night’s run/hike so felt it was important to get out this morning and give it an honest effort. I think my fueling yesterday was pretty bad, but this morning there was no such problem. Such a wonderful way to start a workday! Plus, I’m a morning runner person!
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Beautiful morning for a group run with nearly 40 people! Extra special to run with my brother Sam and my SIL @lynsayayer. Also saw friends from IHS back in the day, @MattBish and his brother Doug. The course was really fun, the last uphill mile making it a true “challenge,” but worth it for the views and company.
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Hey guys! Today was my first group run. Sorry I couldn’t stick around afterwards, I promised I would help my brother move today. Anyway, awesome run. I love this trail, and the fact that it’s only a few miles from my house makes it so much better. I had to stop at the bridge and get some pictures with the sun coming up over the trees
This is my second run at Taughannock for the FLRC. On my first one I went left from the start and headed downhill. On this one I headed right going uphill. Todays route was much more difficult. That last climb is killer.
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Before the run today, I stopped at Gimme Coffee for some much needed caffeine and an espresso brownie. That’s the way to fuel for a trail run
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Started the group run early to get done at the same time as everyone else. With today’s run, I have completed the 2022 Challenge.
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What a fantastic group run!
So many people, smiling faces, great conversation, and sunny skies. It was cool to run in opposite directions and passing runners going up the base trail and down the south rim. I got someone to take our pace group’s picture at the base of the falls, too! Album cover? Yes!
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@amy-dawson and I opted for sandwiches from Creekside Cafe and brewed a pot of Gimme Leftist here at the house. It was a really festive way to spend the post-race morning on our deck with friends. We had our bonfire going, some music in the background, and really enjoyed sharing stories with you all!
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One of our most successful group runs yet, with 38 people looping the falls. I’d been healing my knee all week in preparation for this one, and it was worth it, as we took on a clockwise (I think it’s faster and easier in that direction) effort of Taughannock Rim & Falls. Special thanks to @Marschmi and @steve-desmond for keeping me company when I needed to walk the stairs to avoid overloading my knee.
And then, of course, huge thanks to @scottpdawson and @amy-dawson for hosting about 20 of us on their back deck afterward for another hour or two of food, drink, and convivial conversation. We will be doing this again on other FLRC Challenge courses!
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@tonya-engst and I ordered from Creekside Cafe in T’burg, and my Uncle Louie sandwich was fabulous. They were super easy to order from in advance, so if you’re planning a Taughannock Rim & Falls run, it would be easy to make sure you have a sandwich waiting for you in downtown Trumansburg when you’re done. Highly recommended.
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What a great morning to get out for a group run. 1st time doing the Taughannock trails. Thanks for organizing! 
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That must be why you looked so happy - lotsa pre-run fueling of the best sort. 
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It was fun to pull into the parking lot and see other runners hanging out. We started out uphill and that got challenging quickly, but I stuck with it. Before it got too hard, we got to the top of the falls and turned to run down to the bottom. That was easy and fun. Amy Dawson led my pace group, which was great because she knows the course well. The falls were majestic, as always. I enjoyed socializing on the course and was pleased that the uphill at the end passed reasonably quickly and easily. I liked that parking was free at the top, but I think the easiest way to do this course would be to start from the bottom and get the uphill over with first. I scanned into the run several minutes before we started so once home, I edited my WebScorer time to match my Strava elapsed time—I had to look carefully to find “elapsed” time because “moving” time isn’t the right choice here.
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Adam and I pre-ordered breakfast from Creekside Cafe and I got a breakfast burrito with avocado, and that was breakfast heaven for me. Hanging out on Scott and Amy’s excellent deck was also breakfast heaven and I enjoyed meeting and socializing with everyone though there were a few people who I missed out on chatting with, due to the size of our happy group.
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Not gonna lie, I was a little nervous seeing the size of the group upon pulling into the parking lot – still not entirely used to those numbers again yet, even outdoors. Felt pretty good on the trails, and happy for the company – thanks again to Scott and Amy for hosting afterwards, probably the most “normal” I’ve felt at an in-person gathering in >2 years!
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Nice pictures @billbless1987 I’m so glad you were able to come!! I hope your brother’s move went well.
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After doing Lickbrook yesterday and waking up struggling to walk normally, I was a lot nervous about today’s group run. But, I figured that worst case I could just hike the whole thing. It went surprisingly well and, with the exception of my right pinky toe, my body was fine. It was great fun running with @tonya-engst and @lgilmer again and many others!! Our pace group was fun and we mixed and matched with chatting. I was so excited to chat with Laurel about her music and to have the opportunity to introduce her to Xander at our house afterwards. Xander was thrilled to chat with her on our deck during the post run time. My legs felt fine and I took a minute to reflect that I used to be fully afraid to run with people at all, then I was terrified to run trails and now I can run with people on trails. It is pretty cool!
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Afterwards we picked up our pre-ordered breakfast from Creekside in Tburg and enjoyed time on our deck with many folks from the group run. I admit that I was totally envious of the breakfast burrito that @tonya-engst chose (next time that’s going to be my choice). I had fun talking with many folks, and, like Tonya, I missed talking to everyone because there were so many of us! It was a really awesome way to kick off a Sunday! @scottpdawson and Tonya posted the pictures already but I’ll post my own pics the next time I run!
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Super nice group run at Taughannock this morning. I really enjoyed meeting some new runners and hanging out at the Dawson’s after the run. Thanks everyone!
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I couldn’t make it to the group run but went up to Taughannock in the afternoon for two circuits of the course while the kids were napping. I ran an FL50s loop yesterday, slept like garbage, and woke up with a cold this morning, so this run was really just to scout out the Challenge course. Oh yeah, I also drove 20 minutes to the park and realized I didn’t put socks in my bag so I ran sockless in my inov-8 trail shoes and shredded some epidermis, but the alternative was not running at all. The trail was so dry I could’ve worn any road shoe and been fine.
I ran the first counterclockwise and the second clockwise. I found the latter so much easier—the stairs are over with sooner and you’ll end by running downhill instead of up. The Gorge Trail was jam packed so I had to flat Frogger with like 300 people and make some split-second decisions to avoid colliding with anyone, even though I wasn’t running very fast. I probably won’t run this course again unless it’s super early or just before dark to avoid crowds like this.
On the second circuit impounded the final downhill to snag a negative split. Afterward I opted not to drop in on the Dawson’s at 4 p.m. 
and instead went home and gorged on leftover homemade chili.
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Aw, Pete, you’re always welcome here! Even with shredded epidermis. We have Band-Aids.
Just a quick heads-up for @Challengers who might be parking at the Taughannock Overlook in the wee hours: on the NextDoor site, a runner reported that their car was broken into around 6 AM while they were on the trails. Perhaps best to hide any valuables if you’re running out there at off times.
https://nextdoor.com/p/QGWXsRwmXT-c?utm_source=share&extras=MjYwNDIyMjg%3D
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After two extra long days at work with no chance to exercise, it was fun to hit the trail again today with @scottpdawson! Today was my maiden voyage in my new Hoka trails shoes that Xander sold me after my run last week. I ADORE them. Scott and I twinned by accident and … since Xander has run this course 6 times in just a few more days than that, and returns from each run saying how much he loves trail, he has decided to sign up for the challenge!
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