The Prologue:

With so many good running options last weekend — the Gorilla run, the West Rock Challenge, and the Savoy Mountain 22 miler — I had trouble deciding where to run. A few weeks earlier, I had pretty much sold Catamount and Diana on the idea of heading to the Berkshires for some pre-race camping and Savoy. But my motivation flagged on the heels of a stressful week, so as race-day approached, I had to borrow some of their enthusiasm to forge onward.

Because the decision to run Savoy was last-minute, the only nearby campground with availability was an RV park replete with several “amenities” (bocci, a pirate climbing ship, even street signs) that I found frightening as a lifelong frequenter of remote state forest campgrounds. With the park’s permission, Diana and I had brought our dalmatians. But the proprietor of the establishment welcomed us with barely concealed disdain for them and threatened to throw us out if they barked. Needless to say, I talked up their camping resumes and easy-going personalities (even though our younger dog was actually a camping virgin inclined toward barking, so I didn’t know how she would do). After pitching our tent, we escaped the compound to take a beautiful hike near Tannery Falls, a part of Savoy Mountain State Forest that I wouldn’t visit during the race. Upon our return, we discovered that a golf cart was trolling the campground waving a huge red, white, and blue flag announcing the bingo planned for the Rec. Hall that evening. Shortly thereafter, Catamount arrived and joined us for dinner (we opted to forgo bingo in favor of wine and pre-race conversation around our campfire).

The evening was beautiful and cool, a first delicious taste of fall, which I drank in with active excitement after the withering heat of the past two months. I was shocked to find myself digging for long pants and a sweater. Later that evening, when Catamount and I took a foray to the rec. center to use the facilities, Catamount discovered an arcade alcove complete with a disturbing “Big Buck Hunting” game, where you shot images of deer with a large, plastic orange rifle and watched their death throes as they fell to ground. He demonstrated a disturbing prowess at this game, even winning a bonus round in which he demolished pheasants instead. My skills seemed better suited to the Exotic Driving game, where you zoomed a low-rider across a Martian landscape while attempting to avoid various spaceships and geographical obstacles.

The rest of the evening was uneventful. The dogs behaved beautifully, and we turned in to a crisp night in the not-quite-woods (Catamount opted for posh van camping instead). In the morning, we fired up the camp stove, slurped down some coffee, and organized ourselves to drive to the remote race site. Luckily, we had found the start area the previous day, so had no problems locating it again.

As Catamount and I gathered with the other runners at the starting line, we talked about writing a race report together, so I hope you enjoy reading about our experiences.

The Race:

HE said (Catamount’s perspective on savoring and suffering Savoy mountain)…

I was very disappointed about stopping with one, 11-mile loop of the Savoy Mountain course. This was not just because I was stopping short of a race goal–that was somewhat frustrating, but Savoy Mountain was never a target race for me. I was sad also because of how MUCH I enjoyed the course! Despite one unpleasant aspect of the experience, the many virtues of the course–which reminded me at times of the Bash, Cockaponset, Miller’s Pond, and Soapstone–make Savoy Mountain one of my favorite races. I definitely plan to run it again next year!

The race has 22.2, 11.1, and 4 mile options. The 22-miler–as you’d expect–is 2 loops of the 11 mile route. I liked these options for a couple of reasons. First, 22 miles is a significant distance not much shorter than a marathon–likely to mean at least 4 hours of running at my pace. This ratio of hours running to hours driving made the 2-2.5 hour drive very worthwhile. Second, the race has officially offered the option to stop after the first 11-mile loop while still counting the race as a Grand Tree finish. For me this was good news, since I was coming into the race with jumpy, very sore hamstrings following an overly enthusiastic week of speed work.

But the course itself is the best reason to run this race. Distracted by hamstring pain, I don’t remember the details of the course in exact sequence. But I loved it for standout features it shares with my favorite races and local venues. The race start and finish were located in a grassy area with picnic tables near the woods around the Savoy North Pond. After a loud gunshot to start the race, we dashed into the woods down narrow single track into a thick canopy of hardwoods and evergreens, and I was instantly pleased with the initial look of the course. I told Nadia that the first section felt a lot like a starting West Woods run from the Dunk Rock trailhead. Also like the Bash, the course was challenging and hilly, with lots of twisty turns, several creek crossings, and a handful of unavoidable, ankle-deep mud bogs. (In a fashion that would make Mr. Bimble proud, the race director had told us at the start “trail conditions out there are perfect!” Indeed!) Like Cockaponset especially, I often noted how lush and beautiful the woods were, covered in many places with green blankets of tall, arching ferns. As Iggy once remarked of Cockaponset, sections of Savoy were a “biophile’s paradise.” Like Miller’s Pond, there are lots of moderately sized rolling hills; in fact there is hardly a really flat stretch in the whole race until some brief stretches of forest road near the end. Like Soapstone, there is one significant climb up a big hill. Though the hill is neither as tall nor as steep and exposed as the one at Soapstone, a couple of parts were harder to navigate. Just following that climb there is a really outstanding view–somewhat like the view from Bear Rock at Miller’s Pond–of miles of surrounding mountains. After descending the hill I got the feeling of “returning” through the lush, winding paths, and of running downhill. The downhill sections were manageable and great fun, and became faster as they opened onto a section of dirt road near the end of the curse. The course ends as runners exit the woods, run past North Pond — which is great for a swim after the race! — and up a straight asphalt path (which made for lots of strong, fast finishes and photo ops) back to the picnic area. Overall the course is challenging and very enjoyable!

The one negative experience–which I hesitate to mention–was that several significant stretches of the course were overgrown with thick and often very thorny plants, so that for minutes on end, one would be running straight through a heavy, thigh-high blanket of greenery that was mature and still enough to leave lots of deep scratches and some bloody cuts. Scratches and slices of this sort are part of the routine for trail running, no doubt; but this was beyond the typical round of cuts and scratches. I had dozens of slices across both shins and thighs, and Nadia, who did 2 loops, obviously had it worse than I did. However, it surely was not enough to dampen my overall enthusiasm for the fun features of the course! I highly recommend Savoy Mountain!

SHE said (Nadia picks up the story again)…

Yes, those brambles were hideous! I was so sliced up that I had to wear long pants to work all week, so my clients wouldn’t be freaked out by all the criss-crossed cuts on my legs.

I was sorry to lose Catamount’s company around mile 4.5, when he needed to address his hamstring problems, but I forged ahead, enjoying the scenery and the delightfully runnable trail surface. I was solo most of the time and concentrated on what Diana calls “running within myself”–staying relaxed and focused and in touch with the pace that felt right to me, regardless of what others were doing. I loved the cool weather (60’s) and was relieved that my sore knee and hip were cooperating so well. At the mile 9 aid station, it was a big lift to see Diana (and our two waggy pups!) and to chug some of the watermelon-banana-peach smoothie she had ready for me. She told me I was the fourth woman so far, which I almost didn’t want to know, since I liked experiencing the race without the pressure to try to catch people.

As I passed through the start area for the second loop (at 2:03), I applied bodyglide to my stinging shins and thighs, as my biggest concern was facing another onslaught of those evil plants. Diana told me I was now the second woman (as two of the others turned out to be 11-milers) and that the other was only a few minutes ahead, but I tried to hold on to my internal focus, rather than thinking about chasing her. Eager to escape a bramble zone I’d entered, I picked up the pace and had a blast leaping streams, cornering turns, and blazing down an exciting long descent.

At the mile 16 aid station, one of the volunteers shouted “no pressure but the first woman is about a minute ahead of you!” I pushed on through the long, gradual climb to Spruce Peak, working hard and tiring but staying steady, reminding myself that it would be mostly downhill after the summit. As it started to get steeper, I finally caught a glimpse of the first, much-heralded runner, who had slowed as she climbed the final series of rock scrambles up to the peak. At this point, my competitive instincts kicked in, I powered up the climb using hands and feet, and found myself passing her right as we crossed the bald rocky summit (I didn’t take time to take in the view on this go around!).

Then came the highlight of the race…excited by taking the lead (and completing the climb), I launched down the summit’s technical back side at a rip-roaring, exhilarating, barely-in-control speed. It felt almost effortless, like I was in some magic zone where my feet instinctively found all the right lines without any stumbling or hesitation. My quads should have been burning, but instead I felt like a wild animal running free in the woods and I remember thinking, “Oh, this is why I keep signing up for these crazy races.” When I eventually hazarded a look over my shoulder, the other runner was nowhere in sight.

I was happy to see Diana and the dogs at the mile 20 aid station, but I didn’t stay long. I was still moving fine, but fatigue was setting in (in my haze, I very nearly missed a turn). My quads were starting to feel iffy and I was a little concerned my legs might rebel, as they had at Northern Nipmuck. Fortunately, I soon came out of the woods onto the North Pond road to see Diana and Catamount cheering excitedly. I crossed the finish line at 4:04:12, and was happy to see that my second loop was faster than my first. My prize for winning the women’s race was a pint of plump blueberries, which we cracked into immediately (though I found myself wishing they were already in blueberry pancake form). Instead, I braved a scary-looking tofu dog, said my goodbyes to Catamount, and gratefully plopped into the car for the ride home.

For me, Savoy was a blast and a very worthy Bimble.

BR100 was an awesome adventure. We woke at 6 am to get ready to go to our first aid station of the day, we got lost on the way and saw mom anyway. She was surprised!! When we finally got to Shadow Lake, we met up with Brian and Jay. When we saw mom, she was doing pretty darn good!! After we packed up and headed to Dunkin Donuts, which took ½ and hour drive just to get there, we totally went in a circle. At DD I got a coffee coolata.
The next place was Station Bridge with a train stop. I helped my mom a lot here, got her drinks, food and body glide and took her to the bathroom since I knew where it was.
After a few more quick aid stations we got to Boston Store. Boston Store has the BEST ice cream shop ever called Trail Mix. We (the crew) had a blast at the aid station while we waited for mom. We drew pretty pictures of flowers, plants and stars. Then mom came in and everything was good except for her shins so she taped some ice to them. After Boston Store 2, Jannie (my grandma) and Callan and Cole left to go back to the hotel to sleep. Brian really wanted this dumb chicken drive through, Chick-fil-A. So we went there and headed to the next aid station Happy Days. Mom was still doing so well there she did not need Jay to start pacing so that was a good sign.
When we got to Pine Hollow, Brian and Jay decided to help someone jump their car while I set up all of moms junk. I put on mom’s Maine sweatshirt and some fuzzy pants, it was getting cold. It took a while for mom to come in but while we were waiting, Brian and me snacked on cookies. When mom got there this whole crew taped her legs so she looked like a clown. I thought mom was going to drop out. She seemed ready to cry because her legs hurt so bad. But she left anyway with Jay to pace. I was sleeping when she looped back to Pine Hollow. I heard her # and woke up. I also had to wake up Brian. Mom said her legs were much better so my thought of her dropping out vanished.
At Covered Bridge we slept in the car, we set an alarm. It was chilly when we go outside. Me and Brian sat and waited for Mom and Jay. When mom came in she said she was doing much better with her “clown legs”. Mom was not drinking anything or eating but she wanted my chicken nuggets from Chick-Fil-A but we could only find one. When she came back through Covered Bridge Brian took over pacing. There were 2 more aid stations until the finish and I hoped mom would be done soon so I could go to sleep.
At the finish line I saw 2 of mom’s friends finish, Pinky and Patty, then Mom. I was really glad and proud that she finally finished this race.

Written by Crew Chief Cassie

Prepare for the Worst?

As I got closer to the weekend of the race I kept thinking my body was ready and I really needed to get my head in the game. I worked hard on positive thoughts of finishing. I had a decent mental block about the loop from mile 80-85, this being the place I missed the cut off at BR last time in 2008. I had the best crew coming with me, a complete caravan in fact, so I knew I was in good hands, I knew I was in good shape, I did not know if mentally I was ready to play.

We drove part way on Thurs night and got a decent nights sleep in Wilkes-Barre, PA. We got to the Hotel in Cuyhoga Falls, OH later than expected due to traffic and other stops and my request for a sit down breakfast. We settled in a little and headed over to packet pick up and pasta dinner. Since this was the 100 mile track and field championships there was a very nice long sleeve tech shirt to go with the race bag. I thought and probably said I have to finish this so I can wear that as my daughter said, “wow, if you don’t finish can I have this?” OUCH!!!

Before bedtime I thought how nice it would be to have a glass of wine as a sleep potion as the nerves kept me jumpy then tossing and turning. I think I fell asleep around 11 and as Ultra said I would I woke up 9 mins before the alarm. We headed out to the start with 2 extras in tow, 2 girls I met at Finger Lakes and offered a ride so they would not have to take the bus. We started off on time at 5 am, I opted to go sans headlamp, since the first 9 miles were on the road. I don’t remember much about stops and times, but I think I moved pretty well in the beginning. I was still feeling pretty good through mile 33, Station Bridge Aid Station, with a Train Stop right there. Early on I lost the girls from FL on a walking hill but met up with a young man from Memphis, running his first 100. Shortly after leaving mile 33 all 4 of us met up and formed a train, we pulled other runners along on the train from time to time, and steadily ran through to mile 54 where we split up a bit. I was starting to have some significant pain which I thought was shin splints but way down low on the shins. We all decided to take a longer break at mile 54, one of the girls decided to sit and have her blisters looked at, Memphis met up with his pacer who joined us, the ice I put on and advil I had taken at mile 50 were not really helping, but we moved on…we formed smaller trains and ran on and off together through mile 70.9 where I ended up stopping due to mechanical pain. I thought this might just be the end as the pain was bad enough to make me tear (ok cry), but ultra went over to get some tape and brought back an entire team of podiatrists. They did the most amazing taping technique ever!!! I lost my train due to the time it took for me to be taped to try to eat and drink and to move out of that aide station. But the time was part of what got me to the finish. The shins never hurt again but everything else did.

At this point Forrest took on the pacing duties. I am not really sure I ever ran again after mile 70.9, I was too tired to remember and to broken down. I was wobbly on my feet from the tape and my hip flexors had decided they had enough but sure enough the mind stayed steady on the goal, the mind said keep moving, the mind said you can get to the finish even if you have to walk fast the whole time. And so totally not as I expected my mind was way more ready to play than I gave it credit for. Mile 74 brought us back to the same aid station Pine Hollow, where I stopped doing well on hydration and eating, all I kept thinking was “gotta keep moving forward”. We left to venture to Covered Bridge, 6.6 miles away to the loop I needed to get past. This was a long quiet section. I believe Forrest and I at some point forced a runner up from lying down on the trail and gave him a nodoze and saw the Children of the Corn, not really sure, maybe he will chime in on that. We did eventually get to the Covered Bridge, the death aide station, good food, a fire and LOTS of chairs with LOTS of people sleeping!! I did eat here and drank not nearly enough. Forrest and I headed out on the loop and I will admit the 4.7 mile loop was probably the lowest point. I was very tired again, I forgot to get some candy at the aid station and my mouth was horribly dry and the gum was making me sick. BUT we made it through!! I was getting behind on time but still making the cut offs by enough.

85.5 and Ultra took over pacing, with a message he had received from El Toro, “pain is temporary, failure is forever”. We did lots of pavement from here on out and he constantly asked me to try to “shuffle” which I did from time to time, and picked up the pace a little. Ultra remarked over and over again on how very cool the trails and towpaths around the Cleveland metro parks and other parks they had seen all day were and how he thought running them would be great. All I could think at the time was I never want to see a tow path ever again! We ran past a sewage canal for several stinky stanky miles where we laughed so hard just because it smelled so bad…even I smelled better! The finish line was looming, we came out to the main road with a little more than a mile left and Ultra turned to see Memphis just a bit behind us, I never knew I passed him somewhere in the dark. I knew the girls were well ahead and already done. We turned the corner to see the cones and the clock which read 27:59:45 and although I would have liked to have tried I knew that getting in under 28 wasn’t likely but I did as Ultra requested and “shuffled” it into the finish. And unexpected turn of events with a broken down body and a tough mind I made it to a painful finish. With an awesome crew team/pacers and great family all there to watch!

I would recommend this race to anyone who wants to run a 100 who prefers pavement. The aid stations were amazing with lots of energy and tons of amazing volunteers! It was really well done, top notch!!

And lastly but certainly not least… thanks to all of you rooting me on from home. May you all understand one day if you don’t already what an awesome motivator it is to know there are people out there supporting you, staying up late to check in on you, wondering how you are doing and wishing you into the finish line. It does make a huge difference!

To see more pictures, click here

The Bimbler’s Bluff 50k is an off road foot race through several woodland preserves in southern Connecticut. Consisting entirely of single track or forest roads, the course will provide a true test of the runner’s fitness and mental stamina. You should only consider entering this race if you are confident you have sufficient running experience such as having previously completed a recent road or trail half marathon.

The changeover location for the relay event has changed from last year, please read the course description document for details.

Google map of course
Event details and course description (pdf format)

BLUFF and RELAY ENTRY FEES

The Bluff 50k – $45 before August 31, $55 before October 2, 2010
Goat and Gazelle Relay (per Team) – $65 before August 31, $75 before October 2, 2010

Note: Entries will be limited to 150 runners as the course passes through an environmentally sensitive preserve. There will be NO race day registrations. No entry refunds

If you have questions regarding the race, you may send them via our email contact form

Register on-line at Active.com

Register via printable application form (pdf format)

A list of confirmed entries for this years race can be found here.

Race reports from past Bluff races.

Pictures from the Bluff 2009.

Sponsors

The Bimbler’s Bluff 50k is being supported the companies shown below, please take a moment to check out their web sites and consider using their services.