Gaspee Days 5K

Cranston, RI

Sunday, June 14, 2025

First time ever running Gaspee Days, motivated by the race included in the RI Grand Prix this year.  In fact, I had never even run on these roads until just two weeks prior when WTAC joined the Tuesday Night Turtles (TNT) for a 50th celebration run and post-run pizza and drinks.

WTAC / TNT group run in Warwick, June 3

Met up with Justin Pearce and Matt Sweeney at the Ashaway Park 'n Ride, where we carpooled from there, with me driving.  Was made aware of traffic and parking restrictions, and studying options, opted to park at Fay Memorial Field, about 1/2 mile away from the bib pickup and finish via trail.  Arriving, I noticed many of the Newport Run Club opted for the same parking option, with one telling me that he runs this race every year and finds this to be the best parking for ease of avoiding closed roads, getting in and out quickly.  Vindication!

I've been having some trouble accepting slower times this year, and although I ran a 17:45 in March of last year, I cautiously set an arbitrary goal of sub-19.  After ~3 miles of warm-up, I was ready to go.  There were frequent announcements that unless you were going out in 5-minute pace or faster, you didn't belong on the front line.  That didn't stop a bunch of kids from occupying the front line.  I lined up with Matt maybe three rows back, and was ready to run.  64℉ and cloudy, so pretty good weather for mid-June.  

The course was basically an OAB on Narragansett Ave,
except for a short neighborhood turnaround midway
(much better than a cone turnaround!), and pulling off
onto a quiet side street at finish.

Race start and first half:  The gun went off, and it seemed instantly so many runners had sprinted out ahead of us, some legit of course but many not.  I felt I spent the first 1/4 mile doing a fair amount of weaving, before I was able to run unimpeded and in a straight line.

I ran a 6:09 first mile.  Not the 5:40s/5:50s splits that I ran in the past, but this isn't the past.  I thought the support lining the course was great, but a few folks that run this race regularly said there are usually many more fans out there, but it was lighter this year due to the weather (off and on light rain).

I'm not a big fan of OAB courses, but at least it was a 0.2 mile lollipop turn on local roads instead of a cone turnaround.  It was also fun to watch the leaders in this race coming towards me on the return.

I was warned ahead of time about the "hill" on the return, but it's only a 40' climb, so it didn't really affect me at all.  The race really went by quite quickly, and as we made the final turn and the finish line came in sight, I see rival Norm Bouthillier just ahead of me.  I had the element of surprise going for me, but unfortunately just couldn't close ahead of him in time.

Norm in front here, and you can see me as
the next runner coming up, but I couldn't 
close the gap.
(TNT Facebook page)

Final strides to the finish.
(TNT Facebook page)

Final result:  18:59.  69 of 1769 overall, 2nd of 58 in age group.  Full result here.

Gun time 19:03 (see clock in pic), chip time 18:59.
(Snippet from race video)

I was hoping I would get lucky and Norm wouldn't be in my age group, but unfortunately he just turned 60 recently.  He got the $50 first place prize, by 3.5 seconds!

I dropped from 2nd to 3rd place in the RI Grand Prix Masters Division, as Adrian Massie ran an impressive 16:40 (he's 47 years old) for an age-graded 85.3, as opposed to my age grade for this race being an 83.3.

Overall, this was a good race that I would come back to, and I had fun out there.  I made my arbitrary goal today of sub-19 with an official time of 18:59. Unfortunately missed out on winning my age group, but really happy with how consistent my splits were at 6:09 / 6:11 / 6:09.  Fun and well organized event.

Goodwin Forest 30K

Hampton, CT

Sunday, June 8, 2025

My second year running this trail race.  Somehow I won the race outright last year, so I had to come back to defend my title, right?  While that may have played some small part in me signing up, the bigger motivation was having a moderately hilly (~2,000' elevation) and non-technical trail race of this distance fit very well in my build up plans to Laugavegur 55K just five weeks away now.  Being only an hour drive from home and a bargain price of $20* added to the appeal.  

(*$20 was the discounted price for old folks over age 50, and I did add a small donation to Friends of Goodwin Forest as well as a small donation to offset food costs.)

30K start was 9am, with the larger field in the 10K starting at 10am.  I arrived right about 8am and was greeted by expert parking marshals directing me to back in to a field at an angle for vehicle optimization.  Very quick and easy bib pickup, where I was also greeted by the Race Director, Brendan, who remembered me from last year and was eager to show me pictures on his phone of where he had improved course marking from an issue last year where I went off-course (but quickly corrected) and others went off-course and did not correct.  I could tell he took this stuff seriously (as he should, but not all do) and it all looked good to me, but the proof would be in the pudding, and I took no risk by having the GPX loaded onto my watch and even through my phone into my pack in case any issues.

This year I seemed more efficient, had plenty of time for a 1.25 mile warm-up, back to the car to load my pack (ice, 2L water, 4 gels, 1 Untapped waffle, phone), with 15 minutes to spare to decompress before the race.  Just before race start, Alison came up to me and we chatted for a bit.  She was the only person I knew in the 30K field.

Today's race course
starting and ending at Pine Acres Lake

Race:  After some helpful words from the RD and a representative from the Friends of Goodwin Forest, we were off.  Unlike last year, when the race winner (me) was decided four miles in, today, the race was decided right off the starting line.  43-year old Ben Young took it out from start to finish.  There was the usual shuffling of positions in the first half-mile, including a 44-year old passing me about this position, and me passing a guy that I thought might me in my broad age group of 50-64.

Just prior to start.  I'm in red shirt on far right.

This is the guy I passed early on that that I thought might
be in my age group.  (Race photo)

At about 2 miles in, we exit onto a road.  It's the only paved section of the course, and it's less than 1/10 mile so I don't mind it, and it gives me an opportunity to glance back and see my competitors.  Exiting onto the road, I see the guy that passed me and is in 2nd place, I'm in 3rd, and entering back onto trail, I glance back to see the guy I think might be in my age group continuing to chase me and he is in 4th place now.

There is a switchback about 3 miles in, at this juncture I no longer see anyone ahead of me, nor can I see anyone behind me.  I remind myself not to get into a lull as someone can easily catch me or I might get lucky and catch one of the top two guys, although neither scenario happens as I run the entire rest of the race "as an island".

About 5 miles in, I get to the first of several open sections.  I remember this was a real hot and steamy section last year, but not the case at all this year as it's ensconced in an eerie kind of fog.   Besides the fog, the other interesting facet at this point is some animal runs right across the trail in front of me and disappears into the bog.  My best guess is a mink, but it was so quick I can't be 100% sure.

Seven miles in, we begin the rocky ascent adjacent to the waterfalls.  It's about 120' climb and for some reason much less challenging and much less technical than I had recalled from just one year ago.  I'm not sure if that's because a year ago this course was all brand new to me, and more likely because this year I'm putting in the time on harder trail races (Breakheart and Sunapee in previous month) as part of my ultra build.  But it is scenic and I pause to take my old photo on the course:

One of the few technical sections of the course:
trail is over the rocks on the right side of 
river / waterfall

After another 1/2 mile, we come to the infamous course split where several went off course last year.  The RD has overmarked this course split this year and it is just painfully obvious which way to go.  Top marks on the course marking!  This begins the 5-mile northernmost loop.

The loop went by fairly quickly.  There is a long flat section along the Natchaug River, before a 200' climb up to the General Lyon historical site and aid station.  People later were asking me about the boiled potatoes at this aid station, but if they had them there, I didn't notice.  I took out my disposable cup and asked a volunteer to fill it with Gatorade, and I was on my way, awkwardly drinking while running and then stashing my cup back in my pack.

Back on the 2-way section, I run into a woman approaching me from the opposite direction.  She looks confused to see me coming towards her, so I explain she is going in the right direction as I go past her.  The only remaining person that I see on the course (besides the aid station volunteers) is in a clearing where a man has ridden in and parked his bike to spectate.

The rest of the run is a blur and I soon find myself on the final dirt road approaching the finish line.  I am almost out of water in my pack, so I either planned that well or got lucky by not filling to full capacity at the start and I never had to refill along the way.

Final result:  2:59:05, 3rd overall, 1st in age group.  Full results here

The good:

• Easy registration process.
• Very low priced entry.
• Good pre-race communication.
• This is a fun low-key trail race.
• Fun post-race gathering with good food.
• Neat awards!
• RD does a great job.
• Well marked and good course.
• I got 3rd overall, and 1st in age group.

The not so good:

• The race website could be a lot better.  There is a results page, but it hasn't been updated since 2023.
• Photos:  it's nice that there are free photos at all, but not so great that it took over four weeks for the organizers to post them
• 13 minutes slower than last year, and that's in better weather conditions this year

Finish line

Glad to get out of my now filthy races and socks

Nice post-race food
(there were additional options as well)

Sunapee Scramble

Newbury, NH

Sunday, June 1, 2025

(I'm one month and four races behind in the blog, so these next few posts will be more of abbreviated recaps.)

My first time running this race.  This year it was also the USATF national mountain running championship.  There is just not much infrastructure around here, so to avoid paying $300-$400 for lodging, we stayed the night before at a Best Western in Springfield, Vermont, about a 40-minute drive from the race site.  With a 9am start time, this gave me enough time to get "free" breakfast at the hotel before leaving.  Oatmeal and OJ would work well as kind of my go-to pre-race breakfast.

Arrived at Sunapee Ski Area with plenty of time to check in, use the real bathrooms, and go for a warm up run with Brady.  People who signed up early got a shirt and people who signed up late like me got a kind of cheap foam and mesh cap.  Not complaining.  I signed up less than two weeks before the race and didn't really expect any give-away.  Picked up my two bibs.  Why two?

Regular race bib for the front.

And USATF age-group bib to be worn on
your back.

Got in a decent warm-up of about 1.5 miles with Brady.  Tried to stay away from the hills / mountains, as I would be getting in plenty of that soon enough.  Temps would be favorable today, with just 46℉ at race start.  However, as it pretty much poured all day yesterday, mud would the feature of the day.  Back to the car to strip down to race gear, one final visit to the inside bathrooms, and ready to go.

Race course:  we would run the inner loop first,
and then the longer outer loop, both in a CW direction.

Very few flat parts on the course today!

Race start and loop 1:  I lined up quite a few rows back, especially given the elite runners from around the country in the field.  A very punctual start at 9am sharp.  Should be the goal of every race.  We start pretty much right away going up a muddy ski slope.  It's hard to get any traction going uphill on mud, so most of us are running on the edges of the mud, where there is at least a little bit of grass to grip onto.

Initial ascent up muddy ski slope.  The fast runners are way ahead of us.
(I'm in blue singlet and blue cap, just ahead of guy in yellow cap)

After a 500' climb on the muddy ski slope for about half a mile, we exit onto a dirt service road for the rest of the way to the summit.  We then start downhill on another ski slope, before hitting the single-track glades section.  This section is really muddy, before exiting onto another ski slope for the rest of the run down to the base.  The ski slope itself has some crazy sections calf-deep in mud!

Single-track through the glades section

I can only assume that my weird pose keeping my arms outstretched
is to give me some sense of balance through a tough muddy section

This pic and the next one will give you a sense of
the downhill calf-deep mud sections just after the glades

It was fun running through this, but I do remember
feeling like I might go down in the slippery mud (I didn't)

Finishing up Lap 1.
Time to go back up the mountain again.

Loop 2:  As I start the second climb up the mountain, I notice a 60-64 bib just in front of me that I have caught up to.  He puts a little distance on me on the 2nd climb of the muddy ski slope, but once we get onto the dirt service road again, and then start a long single-track uphill slog in mud and puddles, I catch back up to him.  I'm right behind him and think about passing him in a deep mud section that he slows down on, but then I realize as nice as it is seeing the 60-64 bib ahead of me and knowing where my competitor is, as soon as I go back him, the advantage will be his with my own 60-64 bib on my back showing.  I decide to hold off on any takeover attempts until we're done with my nemesis, the uphill climbs.  One by one, the lead three women come through, and as there is not much room to pass here, I get out of the way for each.  When Lauren Gregory comes by in 2nd place (females started 15 minutes after the men), I quickly got off the trail, but in my haste it was rather awkward as I was hanging onto a tree trunk for balance.  She is racing for a spot in World Championships, and actually takes the time to ask me if I'm OK.  Not necessary at all, but what a class act!

We reach the top of the climb, and one male runner goes past me and then past the other 60-64 runner, and then another younger runner goes past me in rapid succession, so I join in with them and make my move to go past the other 60-64.  I realize I'm fully exposed now with the age-group identifying bib on my back, and when the three of us run through thick mud, I'm hoping to lose the 60-64, but he stays right with us.  Now what?  Once we hit downhill mud, I make my move and go past the two younger guys that had overtaken me.  I stepped on the gas the whole rest of the way down and end up running the final 1.7 mile downhill section 40 seconds per mile faster on the second loop than the first, despite obviously being more fatigued.

Not only do I hold off the other 60-64 runner, but I pass one more on the way downhill to the finish.

Finishing strides

Final result:  1:46:21, 111th of 279, 2nd in age group.  Full results here

I had no idea of where I stood in my age group until the awards ceremony.  The medal I received is not much of an award, but to me it's more about how I placed as opposed to what I may have received for an award.  First place in my group was from PA and a good eight minutes ahead of me, whereas the guy that I chased on the uphill portion of second loop and he chased on downhill portion was just 39 seconds behind me.  He was a nice guy from Washington State that came over to talk to me at the finish.  He also passed the same 60-64 runner that I passed downhill to eke out 3rd place by 7 seconds.

Shorts and legs were just a little muddy after 
this one!

With my award

With Brady post-race

Overall this was just a really fun event.  The only real downside I experienced was absolutely NO post-race food included.  After hosing the mud off my legs and shoes, we headed home with a stop in Hooksett for a hearty lunch at The Common Man on I-93 rest area.  

Prudence Island

Portsmouth, RI

Tuesday, May 20, 2025

Life long resident of Rhode Island; first-time ever visit to Prudence Island.  How is that possible?  After sixty years, I finally made the trip, but only because of an invite from Providence Journal retired editor, author of Walking Rhode Island, and friend John K.  Hopefully John will have an article on our trip published in the fall in the Providence Journal and on his Facebook page.  With thanks to Adrian Massie for a lot of valuable input, we had three areas to consider for our hike today, each with its own pluses and minuses:

• Northern:  great ocean views off dirt roads, but essentially an out-and-back
• Middle:  the most actual "trails" (single and double-track) and highlights of a lighthouse and one-room schoolhouse, but a lot of grass trails and potential for ticks
• Southern:  some cool WWII military remains, but overgrown

For a trail run, I think it would be great to combine two or three sections (as Adrian has), but with the island's perimeter being 18 miles, this was out of the question for us for a morning hike, as we were returning on the ferry at 2:30pm and looking to take our time and enjoy the place.  So after weighing options a few days before departure, John and I had decided on the middle section, and ended up with the following route that we would hike in a counter-clockwise direction:

I bought my round-trip ticket for the bargain price of $11, drove the hour to the Bristol Town Hall, where I parked my car for free in a municipal lot, walked the five minutes to the ferry launch, met up with John K and George, and boarded the ferry with plenty of time before departure.

The ferry was basic but utilitarian with bathrooms.  I had read beforehand that there is basically no infrastructure on the island (there is a small store with limited hours, but no restaurants, etc), so I had everything I needed in my pack for the day, which basically amounted to cell phone, packed lunch, snacks, and water.

With John, just before ferry departure.
Excited for the day's adventure!

30 minutes later, preparing to dock and disembark at the small
Prudence Island Ferry Terminal

It was about 50℉ and breezy upon arrival, a chilly date for late May.  After arriving, we checked out the small but functional local Prudence Variety store (cash only), and then began our walk.  Heading up a short hill on Pier Street, we stopped briefly to take in the attractive Union Church, when serendipitously one of the church volunteers drove up, unlocked the church, and offered to show us around inside.

Prudence Variety and adjacent Post Office,
with Narragansett Bay in the background

Picturesque Union Church, overlooking the east passage
of Narragansett Bay

Stained glass window and pulpit inside the church

From there it was onto the trails, which for most of our trek consisted of wide grassy double-track trails mowed periodically by local volunteers.  We started off on the Buzzy Rice Trail, and then followed the Diamond Trail and Bob Clachrie trails southbound, with a stop in the middle at 17th century Baker Farm.  Next, it was a short walk through the "Crows Nest" up to the very attractive Sandy Point Lighthouse, where people had left hundreds of kindness stones along its walls.

Start of our first trail, Buzzy Rice Trail, not far from the 
ferry terminal.  Most of the trails we took today were wide and grassy.

View from the Crows Nest

Sandy Point Lighthouse

We retraced our steps back through the Crows Nest, and then walked about 3/4 mile on Broadway before arriving our next highlight, the one-room Prudence Island School.  Before the trip, I was looking into alternate routes to avoid "Broadway" as its name alone gave me the false impression that this might be a wide, busy, paved street.  On the contrary, it was a near-deserted dirt road with just a few houses.  The Prudence Island School is the only operational one-room schoolhouse in Rhode Island.  While there are no students in the current school year, the school was unlocked and hearing voices inside, I asked if I could go inside and look around, which I was welcomed to do.

Prudence Island School:  inside and ...

... outside

From the schoolhouse, we headed northeast back towards Baker Farm, via the appropriately named "Schoolhouse Trail".  We then took the Heritage - Army Camp Trail north to Division Wall.  Division Wall is an east-west stone wall bisecting the island.  The stone wall dates to the 17th century and divided the island between Roger Williams and Governor John Winthrop, as both purchased the island from the Native Americans Canonicus and Miantonomi in 1637.  After checking out the stone wall, we opted to take the Ballard Trail westward instead of the Division Wall Trail, mostly because it seemed more interesting meandering just north of the wall instead of the straight path along Division Wall.

George and I at Division Wall

The Ballard Trail rejoins with the Division Wall Trail just before its terminus at Division Rock, overlooking the west passage of Narragansett Bay.  Here John, George, and I stopped at a picnic table to have lunch that we each packed and brought.  I was pretty hungry by then.

After lunch, we took the Sunset Trail running north along the bay for about half a mile to Chase Way, part of a 93-acre purchase and conservation of the Eugene Chase Farm by RI DEM in 2015, bringing the amount of conserved land on Prudence Island to over eighty percent!  The Chase property also includes Pulpit Rock, where it is commonly held that Roger Williams preached to Native Americans.

Rekindling my childhood on a swing at
Chase Way

Beach at Chase Way

At Pulpit Rock, a stone's throw from Chase Way

From the Pulpit Rock, we took the very short Blind Allen Trail to the Deer Chase Run trail, running across the Chase Farm property and bringing us back to Buzzy Rice Trail where we started the day.  We took the 2:30pm ferry back to Bristol.  By then, I was pretty tired, but so thrilled I made the trek and visited the island with John and George.  Now I just have to make sure that my second trip to the island won't take another 60 years!

Along the Deer Chase Trail on our
way back.  This was the most interesting
section of trail to me, in the middle of
pitch pine barrens.

Breakneck Point "Half Marathon"

Beacon, NY

Sunday, May 4, 2025

Background:  I entered this race on March 10th, but ended up on the waitlist, as I procrastinated and the race sold out.  I was 31st on the waitlist, so I wasn't overly optimistic, but three weeks before the race I got an e-mail that I was in!

Fast forward to race weekend, and Matthew and I drove up the afternoon before, had a pasta dinner on the way, and stayed in nearby Fishkill.  We encountered some heavy widespread rain on the way, and it was raining when we arrived at our hotel, so we knew the trails would be wet during the race.  This was still better than the original forecast of rain during the race.

Had my usual oatmeal two hours out from the race, and then a short 15 minute drive.  Parking was kind of wherever you can fit a car, but fortunately there were efficient parking marshals there directing you.  Checked in and went for about a 2-mile warm-up, mostly on local roads to minimize climbing pre-race.

Parking was tight, but it worked

Got back with plenty of time to change into my race shoes (VJ XTRM 2), load my 5 gels into my pack, take a final Untapped maple waffle, one more pit stop, and line up for the race.  Matthew and about 15 others lined up ahead of me.  The RD gave out pre-race instructions, including a reminder that the course would be over a mile longer this year due to some trail construction.  There are four major climbs on this 2025 course, and I'll break up the race report in that manner:

Race start and Climb #1:  The RD started the race by blowing through some sort of cleaned up and modified exhaust manifold that someone found in the woods and gave to him!  There was this weird kind of muffled sound, and we were off.

A 1,000' climb ensued over the next couple of miles on wet gravel/loose rock trails with some mud and puddle sections.  So many runners were passing me, which wasn't a surprise given my poor uphill skills.  It was pretty congested for the whole climb, and most of the runners were hugging both sides of the trail, where the footing was generally more solid.  I was originally on the sides of the trail myself, but then I found so many runners would switch to walking, and then I'd have to weave around them, so I ended up staying in the middle of the trail.

All of a sudden a guy on my left ran right in front of me.  I think he was trying to avoid a puddle in front of him.  Sensing I was about to crash into him, I put my hands out and grabbed his shoulders.  It was just instinctive, and I immediately apologized saying it was that or crash into him.  He was fine with it, and said he's not very good at running through puddles, so I think he realized he kind of caused that?

It took me 30 minutes to climb the first hill.  One down, three to go.  Took my first of five gels, and ran the descent towards the banks of the Hudson River.  

Climb #2:  4.5 miles down.  The race has been relatively "easy" thus far, but that's all about to change.  I ran a little bit longer and made it about 4.7 miles of continuous run, but unlike climb #1, this was much steeper and it was also single-track instead of double-track.  The folks in front of me changed to a walk, and I followed suit for the full climb.

From there, the final 1/4 mile or so of the climb was just insane, at least by my standards and experience.  We were out on a rock face, and it was a true scramble, and at times a struggle for me to find the next foothold or handhold in the rock where I could grab onto securely enough to pull myself up.  I felt like I was going really slow and holding others up, and when we were on safe terrain, I offered to let anyone go by me, but no one took the offer.  It turns out there were two ways we could have gone:  the "easy way" or the "hard way", and a local told us mid-climb that we were on the "hard way".  I had no idea and was just following the person in front of me.

Carefully climbing a rock slab section
(Photo compliments of RD)

On Breakneck Ridge, with Hudson River below
(Professional photo purchased from Goat Factory Media)

Eventually the terrain leveled off and we were able to run up rock slab to the top of this climb.  The terrain going down was steep downhill and very technical.  I had one or two people that asked to go by me, and in turn I requested the same of about one or two myself.

Really technical downhill!   Pay attention to your footing!
(Professional photo purchased from Goat Factory Media)

The final 3/4 of the descent down to the solitary station was on a Strava segment called "Paved road down".  Only it wasn't paved at all; worse - it was all cement.  As I re-passed a familiar runner here, I said that I hated this cement part.   I noticed he was running on the dirt / pine needles on the side to avoid the cement, and he had stronger comments than me on the subject, using an expletive to indicate how upset he was and something about of all the trails in this place, they could have found an alternative to avoid the cement.

I was glad to finally get off the cement myself, and it was just about 0.1 miles from there to the aid station.  The aid station was pretty amazing to me, and had so many items, including water, soda, electrolytes, different types of cookies, boiled potatoes, gummies, and various fruit.  I had several soft chocolate chip cookies, strawberries, many blueberries, and orange slices, while a volunteer refilled my pack with water.  Thanked the volunteers, and off we go ...

Climb #3:  This section of the course, "Bull Hill", was apparently added this year due to the trail construction and forced reroute.  This was an 1,100' climb, yet this the easiest as much of it was a gravel, non-technical path.  But my legs were just cooked by now, and so it was mostly a walk for me, as were just about any uphill sections for the rest of the race.

I could hear bagpipes really close to me, but could not see them.  Am I hallucinating?  No, I feel alert.  It was less than a mile for this climb, but really a power hike, which is really a euphemism for a slow walk.  After a while, we got up to a ridge, and now I could see the source of the bagpipe music:  Two guys were playing the bagpipes pretty much on the edge of a cliff, with the cool bagpipe sounds filling the canyon that I just hiked up and around.

Climb #4:  Final climb, and this one was "only" about 600', but I was just done at this point, the terrain was moderately technical, and there were several false peaks.  One runner in this section asked me if I had a watch that tracked the distance thus far.  I thought to myself, doesn't everyone?  I not only told him the elapsed and remaining distance (approximate), but also the remaining elevation.  He kept asking me if this was the final hill, but looking at my watch, I could see we only had 300' left of total elevation for the course, but no, these were composed of several small hills.  

Finally, with just about two miles left on the course, we started the ~850' decline.  Between the downhill, runnable (albeit through mud and streams), and the excitement of getting near to the finish, I was able to pick up the pace significantly and also reel in so many runners in the final two miles.  It was a pretty exciting finish for me.

Final Result:  3:24:05, 58th of 271, 1st in age group  Full results here

I actually felt pretty good coming across the finish line.  There was a woman at the finish line lying down screaming in pain, and that reminded me of my Boston Marathon post-race state.  I was actually out on the course longer today than I was at Boston, but no issues beyond soreness.  I ate some more blueberries, whatever electrolyte drink they had, and then went inside where they had some barbeque tacos.  They were serving pulled pork, but I asked them if they had a vegetarian option, and they did!  And it was pretty good!

Delicious tacos made from vegetarian chili and slaw, boiled potatoes,
and yet more blueberries, amongst my bib, "medal" (wood), and 
muddy trail shoes

Took a large cup of blueberries to go and headed back to the car, as Matthew was there waiting.  He had finished more than 40 minutes before me, and went for a cool-down run!  Pretty much headed home right away, as we still had a busy rest of the day ahead of us (see below).

What went well:

• Communications leading up to the race and race day itself
• Course markings
• Race organization
• Volunteers, especially at the aid station!
• Ample porta-jons, so almost no wait at any time
• Food both at the aid station and finish
• Very challenging course!
• Scenic course
• Great photos for only $7 per shot

What could have gone better:

• Results took more than 48 hours to be posted!  To be clear, the RD pre-race instructions said "Please be patient post-race. I realize in this day and age 20% of you will want to see where results are posted near immediately. We’ll try to have them up within a few days."  I'm not in the 20% that need to see results for a trail race immediately, BUT end of race day at latest, please.  Sure I know my own finishing time from my watch, but I'm curious how I did relative to others, especially my age group peers.  We paid over $100 for entry, they had a professional timing company that used chips and the Chronotrack standard system, so I don't get it.

Other than that, great race, very challenging, and quite enjoyable!  Glad I ran it.

---

AC/DC at Gillette Stadium!

Second time seeing AC/DC in the past nine months!
Last August in Croke Park, Dublin, Ireland.
And today at Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, MA

Back in Black is always a crowd-pleaser.
One of my favorites.

Super cool when the bell lowers for Hells Bells!

At age 77, I wonder if Brian Johnson (inset right)
will return for another North American tour or if this is it.

Honestly, as much as I love AC/DC, I was pretty tired at the end of a long day with a trail race in New York, drive home, and then drive to Foxborough.  The sporadic rain didn't help.  Having seen them just nine months ago, I could've done without the less popular songs this time and maybe without Angus' extended 25-minute guitar solo.  But, the acoustics were better and clearer than they were in Dublin, we had awesome seats, and it's still awesome to see AC/DC live!