Registration is available on-line at Active.com or by mailing an entry form.

“…at the end it isn’t over…”

The Trust is in the process of opening up a new trail into Westwoods from the sports field of Cox School and the race will use this as an alternative to crossing Bishop’s field as in previous years. The Trails Day project will aim to clear brush from one section of the new trail to open access and provide a view across a neighboring horse paddock. The clearance work is generally light work involving hand sawing and pruning, volunteers will just need to be dressed accordingly and wear gloves.

The meeting place will be at the entrance of Cox School on Three Mile Course, Guilford, near the red barn at 10:00 am. The the weather is really bad, details regarding postponement will be posted on this web site. No prior registration is necessary, but an advance indication of numbers participating would be helpful via: jerry(at)mrbimble(dot)com.
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Hope to see you there!

PS. No rains dates – there is no such thing as bad weather, just inappropriate clothing! Parking at the trail head is limited, please car pool if you can.

The 4th Bimbler’s Bash is scheduled to take place on Sunday April 11th, 2010 and run through Westwoods, Guilford. Registration is now open via mail or on-line at Active.com. This race is a 10k event but runners should be aware that “… at the end it isn’t over …”

Race entries will be limited to 250. Depending on how many advance entries received, race day registrations may be limited. Please check the web site for details on registrations as they are received.

The Race
The race course is an entirely off-road loop within Westwoods, Guilford made up from a series of interconnecting single track hiking trails. You should expect to negotiate lots of rocks, roots and possibly get your feet wet, plus with two rock scrambles be prepared for an adventure! Please do not bring dogs and expect them to run with you, sections of the course are too narrow. There will not be a rain date. If it is raining, expect to get wet like the rest of us!

All preregistered entries will receive a race shirt, we will attempt to have some available for race day entrants but sizes and availability will be limited. Registration will be capped at 250 entries and will close early if this number is reached before race day.

Snacks and drinks will be provided after the race and there will be one aid station on the course offering drinks.

The course will be marked with brightly colored tape and direction markers, a map of the route can be viewed here (pdf format)

Start: 9:00 am

Venue: Cox School, Three Corners Rd, Guilford

How to Register:

• Register on-line at Active.com.
• By mail using the application form available here (pdf format)
  

All proceeds from this event will be donated to the Guilford Land Conservation Trust

Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.

What is the inspiration for the slogan? I guess you can’t get enough of a good thing!

The 4th Bimbler’s Bash is scheduled to take place on Sunday April 11th, 2010 and run through Westwoods, Guilford. Registration will open in early January 2010 via mail and on-line at Active.com, and all proceeds from the event are donated to the Guilford Land Conservation Trust. This race is promoted as a 10k event but runners should be aware that “… at the end it isn’t over …”

Race entries will be limited to 250. Depending on how many advance entries received, race day registrations may be limited. Please check the web site for details on registrations as they are received. The race will be sanctioned by the USA Track and Field Association.

The Race

The Bimblers Bash 10k is an entirely off-road loop within Westwoods, Guilford made up from a series of interconnecting single track hiking trails. You should expect to negotiate lots of rocks, roots and possibly get your feet wet, plus with two rock scrambles be prepared for an adventure! This is a true trail race and the technical nature of the terrain will mean that you will be exposed to the risk of injury. While every reasonable effort will be made to ensure your safety and enjoyment, all participants must be prepared to accept full responsibility for these risks.

The Bash course is rumored to be longer than the advertised distance, is this true? Maybe,  there are 10k’s and then there is the Bash!

A map of the course can be found here (pdf format)

For pictures from last year’s race, click here

I entered the Bimbler’s Bluff 50K (31 miles) ultra marathon as my first attempt at any distance beyond the standard 26.2m (42Km), of which I’ve completed five. It was held on Sunday, October 25, 2009 on the trails of the nature preserves north of Guilford, CT. Guilford is a small town along Interstate 95 about two hours from my place in Manhattan.

The day before the race I was feeling in good shape having put in some relatively high mile weeks leading up to it and tapering the week of. In fact, with the tapering I was finding that I had all kinds of excess energy. It would take me hours to fall asleep and my libido was through the roof.

I booked a hotel room in Guilford where a lot of the racers would be staying and at the last minute, I decided I would ditch the rental car and take the train up to New Haven. I’d get around from there any way I could. I figured that my need for a ride would prove an impetus for meeting more people at the race. I also relished the uncertainty of it and thought that it would lend more to the adventure. I was right on all accounts.

I arrived in Guilford in the pouring rain 15 hours before the start of the race and went directly to a pub called KC’s where we could pick up our numbers and feast on pasta. I sat at the bar between two groups of local guys going to town on some local brews. It was strictly water for this guy but I was tempted to have a pint. I had packed a few bottled Stellas for post race and I consoled myself that they were waiting for me.

It was easier falling asleep that night and I slept soundly, waking up a few minutes before the 5:30am wake up call. I was dressed and ready to roll by about 6. I was thinking that if I hung out in the lobby, I ought to be able to spot my fellow racers and would see if I could bum a ride to the start. It didn’t take long.

I met Mark and his wife getting OJ and bagels in the lobby. Mark was a high school cross country and track coach in Massachusetts and we got on great. He offered a ride and we were off by about 6:30.

At the start, the sun had just come up exposing some very interesting clouds. I had brought my camera and these clouds would prove to be the subject of the only picture I took that day. I had planned on carrying the camera with me and wish I had but left it behind at the last moment not wanting the extra weight. Runners were showing up and milling around the start, which was held on the field of a grade school adjacent to the preserve. A little before the 8am start, the race director, a very nice guy named Jerry “Mr. Bimble” Turk gave a speech, told us all to behave and to try not to get lost. A short time later, we were lined up at the start where the national anthem was sung by two racers. Standing next to a group of cadets from West Point and feeling the camaraderie of these fellow nutters who were all about to spend their Sunday running ridiculous distances through the woods, I found it to be a powerful moment.

When the proverbial gun went off (really just a yell of “go!” from Mr. Bimble) the race began with an inauspicious start. With 50K to go, no one was moving at too exciting of a pace. We jogged around a soccer field and then hit the trail. It was single track and we were forced into single file. Having had hard rail the entire day before, the trail was as wet as could be and covered in wet leaves. Not ideal conditions but that’s all part of it.

I ran the first two miles with a guy from Maine named Zach. I felt that we went out a little fast but I wasn’t willing to ease off the pace. After a couple miles I loosened up and started feeling good. I left Zach and started pushing the pace. I was amazed at how difficult the footing was with fist sized rocks and forearm sized roots, huge puddles and slippery leaves everywhere. I wanted to take in the beautiful scenery with the colorful fall leaves but I really had a to pay attention to where I placed every step. Little did I know that this section would prove to offer the best traction on the course and it would only get worse.

I was using the strategy of walking the steeper uphills and found that I did not loose much ground on those that would run them and that I would soon catch up and surpass them on the downhill. I passed a few people this way and at mile 5 or 6 I passed two guys that were running together and clearly friends. As I passed, one of them said something to me about Valentino Rossi and how he wanted to punch me because I was looking to be enjoying all of this. Strange and its possible I misunderstood him but it was the only time since high school that a competitor had said anything but encouragement. I was enjoying it and I didn’t know what an Italian motorcycle racer had to do with anything, which is what I told him… as I left him behind.

At mile 8 or so the puddles turned into ponds. It was difficult navigating around them without getting stuck in the bush. I led the charge with Valentino Rossi and couple others behind me. It was a solid mile of this and looking back, it was one of the more fun parts of the race. It required athleticism and split decisions as to which side to pass on.

From around mile 5 my eyes had been tearing up for some reason. I would wipe them with my hands now and then as I ran. At mile 9 I wiped at my left eye and felt my contact crumple and fall out. I couldn’t get it back in with my muddy hands and knew it was a goner. I tried to press on with only the right one in but my depth perception was thrown off by this and I was having trouble navigating the footing. After a minute I pulled out the other one and took a look around. I have a low prescription and can see decently without them but I don’t wear them because I like to. It turned out that this would be one of the worst parts in the course to not have 20/20 vision.

The guys that I had led around the gigantic puddles quickly passed me, including Valentino, when I was dealing with the contacts. It would have been very useful to have had them in front of me as the trail became all but impossible to follow. Really it became a bushwhack up and down some small ravines. There was nothing to follow except for some red and white ribbons that we spaced out now and then. They would have been hard enough to find with my contacts. It took me much longer than it ought to have throughout this section but when I heard the faint sound of cheering I bushwhacked toward it.

I all but fell down the escarpment that led to the road and the first aid station at mile 10. Despite the difficulties I’d just had over the last mile I was in great spirits and loving every moment of the race. I ran into the aid station with a huge smile on my face feeling great. I had a little water, a couple oranges and pressed on… straight up hill.

The elevation gain from mile 10 to 11 was the steepest of the race and included some short sections where hand over hand climbing was necessary. Running was all but impossible as the trail led to the top of the bluff from which the race took its name. The view from here was gorgeous; rolling hills covered in fall colors with small New England farms spotting the landscape under a brilliant blue sky.

From there the course was mostly downhill until the next aid station at mile 15 although it was very tough running with poor footing and a not always clear course. I got lost at mile 14 when I missed a turn onto a dirt road and ran an extra quarter mile in the wrong direction. I was all but sprinting to get back on track, angry with myself and wanting to make up time. It felt good to be moving quickly on flat ground and good footing and I felt a runners high coming on. My pace dropped and I quickly covered a half mile or more before I almost stepped on the biggest turtle I’d ever seen. It was in one of the “puddles”  and when I stopped to check him out, I came out of the runners high, which made me realize that I had missed another turn! I couldn’t believe it! I had been off course for 10 of the last 12 minutes. Worst of all, I was really pushing the pace so I had covered a lot of ground. I would figure at least a mile total.

After I got back on course, the 15 mile aid station came quickly. I was relieved to be there and it was nice to see the support. Again, I was all smiles and by this time everyone was calling me Smiley. I had a couple bites of a doughnut, some orange slices, filled my hydration pack with Gatorade and was back on the trail as quickly as I could. Some racers must have stayed at the station for a while as I passed several shortly afterward. I was feeling good although I was having trouble seeing where the trail was. I felt that I was not being slowed by my legs and endurance, but by my poor eyesight.

I pressed on through a rolling section of six or seven miles of single track and forest roads passing racers now and then and enjoying the day. I hit the 20 mile aid station an hour or so later and saw the Valentino Rossi guy and his buddy leaving as I arrived. I chatted up the volunteers there, had some M&Ms, some more oranges, a refill of the pack and was back to business.

I was soon lost AGAIN, running approximately a half mile off course. It would have been worse had not another runner heard me from his position above the ravine I was headed down and called to me. I ran with him briefly and then feeling good, I pressed the pace. At about mile 22 we hit the first section of the course, which was laid out like a “Q”, this being the tail. What I had thought was so difficult before now felt like a manicured lawn and I opened up even more. Also, I knew this section from before and was not worried about getting lost. Big mistake.

I caught up to Valentino’s buddy at the puddles, promised him one of my waiting beers and pressed on. A mile later I had Valentino in my sights. He was a quarter mile ahead on a long straight uphill.When I passed him the second time he was as nice as could be, told me I looked strong and encouraged me to go for it. He was sucking wind hard and I promised him my last beer back at the finish.

At this point I was at about mile 26 with 5 to go. I was still feeling good although I was drinking a lot more and my legs were hurting on the downhills. I was still enjoying the hell out it but I knew I would need to dig deep to finish strong.

I hit the last aid station at mile 28, I think and blew right through it. With only 3 to go I was ready to get it done. I passed two more racers shortly after and then I finally hit the wall. With no hills in Manhattan and none in my training, the downhills were killing my IT bands and it was incredibly painful to do anything but walk down the steepest sections. Focused on the pain and in a thick section of woods, I missed another turn and lost another seven or eight minutes correcting it. This proved to be the low point of the race. Not only was my body tired but my brain was acting up. At one point I had an overwhelming desire for some French’s yellow mustard and I loudly blurted out to myself, (the only occasion of talking to myself) “mustard sandwich!” Crazy, I know.

I could sense the finish line though and ran hard for the last mile, enduring the pain on the downhills. I put my iPod on for the first time and hit replay three times on the most kicking tune I’ve ever heard (Partouze by Steve Angello & Sebastian Ingrosso and remixed by Jean Ellan). My good buddy, Haytham had sent it to me the day before all the way from Saudi and it shaped me right up.

When the woods opened up to the school, spectators and finish line, a wide smile came to my face and I sprinted the last 100 meters grinning cheek to cheek.

I finished in 6:00.18, good enough for 14^th place out of about 60 I believe. I was pleased with this as I felt I had done my best. The contacts falling out and all the time and energy I spent running the wrong way was a killer. I figure it cost me at least 50 minutes and 5 positions. I’ll be sure to address that in the next race, of which I plan to have many more.

My smile at the finish line vanished, however, when I saw Valentino already sitting in the grass with his shoes off. Getting lost that last time cost me a victory over him but I chalked it up for what it was and when I was handed a burger smothered in… mustard! the smile came right back.

In the end, it was a great race and a fantastic day. I met some real class folks that understand and/or appreciate this sort of challenge/lunacy and I proved to myself that I’m capable of a lot more. I got a ride back to the city with a top ranked triathalete and a very nice guy named Jason who I had first offered one of my waiting beers to back at mile 22. As for the beers, they went unopened. After 50K, they just didn’t sound as good.

Check it out…

Photographer Chris Renda has posted

the photos from The Bluff 50K!

AWESOME PHOTOS – GREAT WORK!!

They can be seen here!

If you would like copies, they can be ordered direct from Chris.

Great event & great photos!!

Assembled at the start, the field was treated to a note perfect rendition of the national anthem by Russell and Michelle Hammond, music teachers by day, runners whenever the opportunity allows. For a few moments their combined talents captivated everyone within earshot; then, inspired by their performance the signal was given for the race to begin.  Almost immediately, last year’s winner Chris Schulten and Brian Rusiecki, who went on to become the overall winner, were leading the pack. Close behind were a number of young bucks from the Westpoint Military Academy.  At the second aid station just 6 minutes separated the top 5 runners, while women’s leader Amy Lane was 10 minutes behind the leader in 6^th place. She arrived at aid station 3 at Braemore with Peter Fitton who was running the Goat leg of the relay for team Thing 2 (so named because the runners didn’t offer their own).  By now Rusiecki had started to pull away from Schulten who we later discovered was starting to struggle with an injury. Just 2 weeks earlier he had completed in the Hawaii Ironman Triathlon.

At Renee’s Way, Amy had moved up into 3^rd overall and Megan Raymond for team Old Quarry Racing had taken the relay lead. Also moving up the field was Choukri Benmamoun and Jay Avitable, but Rusiecki’s lead over Schulten had now extended to 11 minutes. At the finish he was 28 minutes ahead finishing in 4:31:02. A few moments after finishing, he expressed surprise at his time which he thought was slow even though he felt had run well. Was he right, or was the Bluff a bit more than he had expected! Megan Raymond took the relay honors for Old Quarry Racing (5:10:47) while Amy Lane was the first individual lady finisher in a time of 5:15:24. Meanwhile, Benmamoun had moved up several places and went on to finish 4^th in 5:24:31. Close on his heels was Zachary March one of those young bucks and the first of the Westpoint contingent to cross the line (5:24:35).

There were several great anecdotes that came out of the race but perhaps the most memorable was that of Terri Hayes who ran the race with her grandson pacing her. It had been an ambition of hers to run an ultra with one of her children, but that had never happened. She drove to Connecticut from South Carolina to run the Bluff and visit her grandson serving in the military. At the last minute, he offered to pace and her dream came true. Many of the finishers expressed surprise at the toughness of the course and that it had exceeded their expectations. There were the inevitable tales of going off trail but the consensus seemed to be that the markings had been good. At the mid-way aid station several runners decided it wasn’t going to be their day and several more made it as far as the next stop at Renee’s Way to do the same. The Bluff is a demanding course. The scenery was in prime fall foliage but the weather the previous evening had caused a fresh covering of leaves to blanket the trail. The bright sun light reflecting off the seasonal colors was at times dazzling, making it hard to see course markers. Added to this, some of the tape streamers had been wrapped around branches by the stormy winds. To run the Bluff competitors have to not only stay alert to the many hazards under foot but also keep an eye open to ensure they stay on course. The middle third contains elevation changes that aren’t particularly large but are capable of draining the legs. The Bluff shouldn’t be underestimated, but don’t just take my word for it ask anyone who has run it. Better still, come and try it for yourself!

The Bluff 2010 is planned for October 24^th I hope to see you there.

Jerry RD

Race results