The Finger Lakes Trail Conference has announced its FLT50 Hiking Challenge to encourage people to get out on the trail. You’ll get a patch and sticker for covering 50 miles on the FLT between May 1 and the end of 2020, and they’ll add a “super-slick FLT50 hat” to the package for covering 50 miles during at least three months between now and then or by covering either 50K or 50 miles on a single day. Any outdoor activity counts during the month of May, but after then they’re asking for miles specifically following the white blazes of the FLT, which of course dovetails nicely with Triennial. More info: https://fingerlakestrail.org/whats-happening/hiking-programs/FLT50
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Thanks Nancy. But the Triennial is also about the grouping of starters/finishers/supporters at Veteran’s Park and also group rides to/from starting points. Out on the trail itself runners are usually well-separated (but not always – we do not want to discourage “hot pursuit”) but the event itself is highly social. I did the virtual Thom B but the Triennial is different – it has to be a true relay on the same day.
I agree entirely. Just putting this out as an alternative incentive to exploring the marvelous resource of the Finger Lakes Trail system. A side benefit of Triennial has always been the impetus for people to check out sections of the FLT new to them; this is another nudge to do so, and can be done individually.
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I really enjoyed the group run-throughs of many of the FLT legs that we did beforehand over the years. Just yesterday, I hiked from Robinson Hollow up toward Hammond Hill for 2.5 miles (and then back) with my friend Oliver, which reminded me of the year I chased (entirely unsuccessfully) Earl Steinbrecher on that leg of a Triennial after doing the run through with @audrey-balander.
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There are not many, if any, who have successfully chased Steinbrecher (direct translation from the German: “Stone-breaker”, you can guess which stones…). Indeed Team Atrocious always said “the race is to the prepared” so pre-runthroughs are encouraged. Nowadays the FLT is in general really well-marked, back in the 1980’s not so well.
This is an ironic story, given your explication of the German roots of Earl’s name. I have beaten Earl only once. It was in the Danby Down & Dirty in 2016, and in the steep downhill section after the Pinnacles, I was channeling a runaway train. There were probably four people ahead of me at that point, between 10K and 20K runners, including Eric Sambolec and Earl. I knew @esambo was running the 20K, and I was pretty sure at least one of the other guys was too (turned out be the eventual 20K winner). So they didn’t stress too much when I blew by them, and Earl wasn’t looking so good when I passed him as well. I passed the final guy on a particularly steep and winding bit while he was being careful. He wasn’t terribly happy with me, but my descent was almost completely out of control. I held the pace after the hitting the flat bit right near the end, crossed the road, and did the little jog up and down into the finish for the win.
The only problem, and the asterisk that I’ll always have attached to that win? Earl had barely slept the night before, spending it in the ER with some sort of prostate or kidney stone pain. It was amazing that he ran at all, much less fast enough for third on a tough course. If I’d been in his shoes (shorts?), I never would have run at all. Stone-breaker indeed!
https://fingerlakesrunners.org/race/danby-down-and-dirty-2016/
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