With Forest Frolic done and dusted, we’re past the halfway point in this year’s Trail Circuit!
Check out that Trail Circuit leaderboard!
The competition is currently close at the top of both Stoneheads! Women’s leader Sarah Ridenour only has a 12.03-point lead on second-place Steph Bailey, and the men’s leader, Banyan Love, is just 16.7 points ahead of his closest competitor, Ryan Allen-Parrot, but Banyan is headed off to college in a few weeks.
Banyan and Ryan are also one-two in the men’s Pebblehead rankings but Christopher Petroff and Glenn Seeholzer both have 200 points, so a third win for either would give a perfect 300-point score. Women’s Pebblehead leader Donna Langerfeld is beginning to pull away from the field with a current total of 295.02 points, 31.11 points ahead of her closest rival, Mo Ramras. Yet with three races left, Nora McIver-Sheridan, Sarah Woodyear, Ronke Ilegbusi, and Amelia Kaufman could all still achieve the perfect 300 score by winning two more races. (Finger Lakes 50s 50K winner Deb Dzurinko is unlikely, being from out of town, and Thom B 17-mile winner Chelsea Benson may not want to risk her sore calf on two more hard trail races.)
2023’s Boulderhead competition was won by Jessica Smith, but this year’s top three spots are currently dominated by men. Could that change in the next three trail races?
“Which three races are they?”, I hear you cry. Well, the first is Forge the Gorge on Thursday, August 8 at Fillmore Glen State Park – choose from 3 or 8 miles. (Hint: 8 miles will be more beneficial to your Boulderhead standings…) Either distance would be a good mid-week training run for those interested in upping the ante by taking on the Two Hollows Monster Marathon and Half Marathon in Kennedy State Forest on Sunday September 1. This race covers miles of beautiful trails through the forest and features age- and gender-based start times to keep the competition interesting. Just be careful of the Monsters in the woods! Our final race of the 2024 Trail Circuit will be the 10K and 23K Danby Down and Dirty on October 12, so there’s plenty of time to train: start that ‘Couch to 10k’ training plan now!
Lace up those trail shoes, and I hope to see you out there! Happy trails!