Sunday, the 17th, was the Wellsville 14 mile trail run. It is part of the Ridgewalk [www.ridgewalk.com] series of events. Here's the map of the 14 and 9 mile course at the Ridgewalk site. It does a good job at showing the elevation changes. This was my first year and I'd like to go back again next year. This is a well organized event. I grew up in Salamanca, not too far from Wellsville, and I am familiar with the region's terrain; the Allegany mountains are a prominent feature. The pull of a "local" even was very strong for me and I am so glad I took part in what I hope becomes an annual event on my running calendar.
I registered online at active.com and I think just beat the cutoff. They limit total registration numbers to 900 for the 6 events that take place at the same time. I'm just guessing that I registered just in time because after I completed the registration process at active.com, I bopped over to the event web site and it said that registration was closed.
Saturday before the race, the family and I drove to the in-laws to spend the weekend; I drove back and forth to/from the race from there. Saturday night, I watched the NASCAR race with my brother-in-law and didn't get to bed until nearly midnight. I woke up at 5:00am, got everything together and got on the road at 6:00am for the 7:45 packet pickup. I was not exactly sure how long it would take to get there but maps.yahoo.com said 90 minutes, so I wanted to give myself enough time. As I drove through the early morning dark, I noticed the bank thermometers were all in the 39 to 41 degree range. I thought I heard it was going to be warmer than that during the day and I was hoping it would warm up soon. Also, the wind was very strong. I could feel the gusts as I drove along in the mini van. I stopped and picked up a bagel sandwich and a cup of coffee for the road. I also had lots of water - so much so that I had to stop on the side of the road and return some to mother nature.
The packet pick up location is on the SUNY Alfred campus at Wellsville at 7:45 to 8:15am. It seems like a nice little vo-tech campus. The race numbers were upstairs in the activities building and the packet was downstairs (as are the bathrooms). The usual assortment of paper stuff and product samples (including a yummy Clif bar and GenSoy snacks) are distributed in a small backpack with event logos on it. This was a first for me. Usually that stuff is in a plastic grocery bag. The white cotton tees have an attractive logo on the breast and the usual sponsor logos on the back. Another thoughtful service (probably based on the previous 11 years of experience) is a clothing transport to the finish line. You can put warm, dry clothes in a sealed paper grocery bag and they will have it for you at the finish line. My voice of experience here: take advantage of this service and pack warm, dry clothes if it looks like it is going to be cold - you will need it. I decided to wear shorts, a long sleeved running shirt and my running ball cap. I probably should have worn warmer clothes; even though there were times when the perspiration was dripping off the bill of my cap, there were also times when the wind cut through me like I was naked.
The busses for the 14 mile runners and hikers depart from behind the activity center at 8:25. I was out front waiting for the busses at 8:20 and was wondering where they were when I noticed a bunch of warmly dressed runners and hikers walking around the side of the building. I followed them and discovered three busses sitting there. They left promptly and I do not know what happens if you should miss them. The busses took us south on River Road (Rt 29) along the Genesee River and west on Rt 39 to Alma. Alma doesn't look like much more than a small collection of houses and trailers just set along the side of a little rural road.
The busses dropped us off in Alma on a road that comes off of Rt 39 and heads back to the north and up into the hills. It is a "seasonal use" road where we sort of milled around and then lined up while two men said a few words. One man read a short passage from the bible that had a line that was ironic at the moment but which as long since escaped me. He said a short prayer before the other man said a few words about the trail and then we were off. I immediately had to go to the bathroom but I was able to wait for about 15 minutes. We ran up this limited use road with a creek on our left and a hill raising sharply on the other side of it and another hill raising sharply on our right. There are several "hunting" cottages/trailers along the road; many of them look like they haven't been used in several decades. This part of road was a moderate climb but I just couldn't get into a groove. I don't know if it was due to the bladder pressure or the cold weather or both. This road was one of the very few moments when the course was on pavement. There are other sections on dirt, but most of the course was on barely groomed trails or no trails (just ribbons hanging from trees to show the way).
Shortly after the start, a man directed us off the road and onto the trails. To be honest with you, most of the rest of the course is lost as many of the sights merge together in my mind. But here are a few snapshots that I still have tucked away in the far recesses of my memory:
- Hills.
- Beautiful scenery - Autumn in this part of the country is simply unmatched by any season anywhere in the world.
- The hills.
- I fell. But only one time. Considering the angle of some of the descents, I consider myself lucky to have fallen just once. It was somewhere on the 5th mile, prior to the second aid station. I was running along with a fellow just behind me and no one in sight to the front. I felt like I was traversing the steep, rocky path with a pretty good pace and was really full of myself. As a matter of fact, mere seconds after I thought about how cool this was, I found myself tumbling head over heals down the hill. Water bottles everywhere. I banged my knee on the way down but didn't get any "trail burn" on my palms cuz I kinda rolled from my knee onto my shoulder in a kind of a perverted somersault. The fellow behind me asked if I was OK as he passed me by. He and I spent alot of time near each other for a good portion of the race before I lost track of him later on. I was worried about the knee because it bothered me when I stood up and continued on down the path. Eventually, it stopped occupying my mind. A short time later, on the same descent, the race organizers put up a little sign that had one word on it: "steep". Considering that I had just fallen on what I considered to be a steep descent, I found it extremely ironic when I came across that sign. I couldn't help but smile at the irony.
- The climbs up the hills.
- Much of the course was through the forest where there is not any path and the only way to navigate through it was to follow the blue and white ribbons that hung from the trees. The organizers did an outstanding job at marking the course. Even with the excellent markings, some people went off course. None of the people that I talked with who had gone off course were mad, so that was a good thing. They all seemed to take it as part of the experience. Ya gotta love 'em!
- Steep hills.
- One section of the course had a little sign that said something about a wire. For a brief moment I was perplexed by the sign until I realized what it meant. There was an electric power cable that hung low across the trail and I had to duck low to get under it. I found that to be a funny thing. I bet I'll never encounter that on a 5k road race :-)
- Da hills.
- There are many natural gas wells in this section of the state. The course goes near several of them. You can smell the natural gas as you go by them. I thought the gas company introduced a smell into the gas so that the consumer can detect a leak with the nose but I didn't know where that smell was injected. I'm guessing it is injected out at the well sites cuz I could definitely smell the gas. As we passed by one particular smelly well, I wanted to ask the runners in my area if anyone had a light. I wasn't sure if anyone else would appreciate the attempt at humor, so I kept the comment to myself. Another observation is that there seem to be electric cables running up to these wells. The cables are encased within metal pipes that sit on or just above the forest floor. As they run up through the forest, there appear to be wooden markers for those that are off the surface of the ground. We crossed over many of these and, again, thanks to the organizers, they were well marked with ribbon to prevent us from tripping over them.
- Those damn hills.
- Some sections of the course cover rocky areas of the hills. And I don't mean that there are rocks strewn about on the path. I mean the surface of the path is on the top of small boulders that are sticking out of the ground. So the challenge becomes running (hopping) from boulder to boulder. There isn't any real height to the boulders and no real gap between them, so you can't fall between them (like the giant boulders at Rock City Park in Olean, NY) but you could certainly twist your ankle if you land wrong on, or between, one of them.
- Hills. Lots of them.
- At the top of one of the climbs, the course briefly goes onto a paved road and past a couple of houses. One of the houses has a giant deck off of the back. The hill descends steeply away from the back of the house and you can see for miles and miles and miles and miles out across the hills and the valleys. I wish I could locate that on a map so I could study it on the map and maybe revisit in a car. As we passed by the house, there was an odd, cold, white, precipitation falling down from the grey, cold, cloud-filled sky. The wind was really cutting through my thoroughly soaked clothing. I asked a fellow that was near me if that was snow. When he replied that it was, I couldn't help myself and I let out a loud "yee-haw". I was totally caught up in the beauty of the moment: the wide open view of autumn in the northeast, the strenuous effort required to get to that point in time and the extreme weather all made an imprint that I hope stays with me forever. Of course this was relatively early in the race. Back when I was still young, naive and full of youthful vigor.
- Have I mentioned the hills?
- Somewhere during the second half of the course, several other trails from the other events all merge together. The organizers decided that this was a good place to put up some placards describing the surrounding area. I didn't really do much more than glance at some of them but I did notice a couple of them. There was one near a maple sap collection area. There was a bunch of that blue plastic tubing running from many of the maple trees in that area and I think the placard described the process. There was another one that said "Highest point in Allegany County". Several hikers from the shorter events were taking their photos at that spot. I enjoyed running by them and sharing ever so slightly with them as they celebrated their own personal victory of climbing up to that spot. Hopefully, when they look back on their own accomplishments, they will think of that crazy, underdressed runner who stumbled by, looking half-dead as they took a photo.
- Some sections of the course were very muddy. As muddy as some of the Alpine Classic. Also, there were two stream crossings. One had a bunch of rocks that I stayed on and another had a rickety wooden bridge. I contemplated running across the stream and avoiding the bridge but I didn't want to unnecessarily add the additional water to my running shoes. And, it wasn't like those few saved seconds would have helped me win the event. But, I did think about it (and the Alpine Classic) for a second.
- Freakin' hills. Whose stupid idea was this, anyhow?
- The aid stations were fantastic. The volunteers that manned them are angels. If we runners and hikers are crazy for being out there on a fall day with the temps in the freezing range, what about the volunteers standing in the middle of the forest filling up cups with water, gator aid and trail mix? What does that say about the human race? They could be home eating pancakes and sausage for breakfast or going to church or reading the Sunday paper or listening to the NPR fall fund raising drive or sleeping in or playing with their children or grandchildren. But they elected to volunteer. They decided to go outside and provide assistance to total strangers. Just when the world's events have beaten me into submission and I hold slim hope for the future of the species, I go and do something like this and get slapped in the face with a healthy reminder of the grace, goodness and compassion that we display for one another when we want to. I only wish we would do more of that on a daily basis.
- How long has it been since I mentioned those hills?
- During the later part of the race, I was in trouble. I was just plain worn out from the hills. Have I had a chance to talk about the hills lately? I was walking up anything that even closely resembled a hill. A fellow ran by me and said some encouraging words. I don't even recall what they were. I decided to piggy back onto his enthusiasm and started running behind him. I told him I was going to ride off of his energy. As it turned out, he was the man who verified the snow for me early in the run. His name is Scott and he is from the Buffalo area. This was his second year. Last year his friend won the event with an average pace of 9:20 per mile (at least I think that is what he said the pace was). Just to show you how challenging this course is: I can do 9:20 miles on the road for at least 10 miles. I would guess that a 14 mile road course winner would be down in the vicinity of 5 minute miles. When Scott told me about his friend and his average pace, I was astounded. I decided that I was ignorant to not look into the results from previous years before signing up for this event. But, in a way, I'm glad I didn't. I might have frightened myself and not given myself the opportunity to enjoy this great event. Anyhow, I hung with Scott for a couple of difficult miles. We walked the inclines and ran when we could. Eventually, I told him that I needed to slow down again and I didn't want to slow him down. He wanted to finish in under three and a half hours and even though I was jeopardizing that goal, he stayed with me and kept asking if I was ok. At some point, a woman who came down from Buffalo with him, came by us and he told me he was going to stick with her. I seriously appreciated his help but was glad that he decided to go with her and try for his time goal. He was a great help and inspired me to run during a stretch when I would have walked had I been alone. Scott, where ever you are: thanks. I didn't get a chance to say thanks afterward because I was freezing, very low on energy and just wanted to get on the bus.
- I hate hills.
- At some point, after Scott departed with his friend, within a mile of the finish, near the bottom of a small descent, both of my thighs cramped up. I had struggled down the trail and finally, they just said "ENOUGH". I really thought I was in serious, deep trouble. "How in the hell am I going to get out of here and to the finish area if my legs won't move?" I kept walking (limping is more like it) and eventually was able to start running again the rest of the way to the finish line.
The finish area was a small farm out in the middle of nowhere in a valley. At one point we are running along in the forest, up and down hills and then all of a sudden we drop out of the hills into this farm on a dead end road. They had tents set up for food (fruit, cookies, chili, hot dogs, apple cider they made there, wine, cheese) and kids activities, a small stage with a guitar and keyboard duo and a horse barn to pick up your bag of warm clothes. As I walked up to the barn, a young lady asked "Last name?" I was a little out of it at this point. As soon as I stopped moving the cold descended upon me like a ton of bricks and I was damn cold. Shaking. Shivering. Teeth rattling. Can't talk. Goose bumps on my goose bumps cold. My fuel was low. Too low. I was running on empty. All I could say in response to her query was "Mine?" Duh, Larry.
At the finish area, I had a banana, chili and a peanut butter cookie. I was very hungry but had no appetite. Plus I was so very cold. My nose was running faster than I had all day! I had no tissues and was sparsely dressed. I was eager to get to warmth. So, I walked over to the field where the fleet of busses parked, hopped on one and when it got filled up, it took us back to the SUNY Wellsville campus. I shivered my way across the parking lot to the van, fell into it, turned it on and turned the heat up. I covered myself with a blanket that we had in the van and reclined in the driver's seat. I was still shaking. I don't recall ever being so cold. As I tried to warm up, my legs started cramping up. Eventually, I was able to warm up enough to take a little nap before heading back to the in-laws.
Overall, this was a fun event. It was like the Alpine Classic "times two". I'd like to do it again but with better training next time. Otherwise, it is too punishing (I'm here two days later and it still hurts to go up and down the stairs). The challenge, the beautiful area and time of the year, the volunteers and the organizers all make for one hell of an event. Have I mentioned the hills?
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