Wahaneeta Trail 5K

Westerly, RI
Saturday, August 19, 2017

Our 2nd annual Wahaneeta 5K was upon us.  This race was put together under the auspices of creating a 3-race Fall Trail Series, with this race the first.  In the inaugural year, we had a mere 31 finishers and just broke even.  Breaking even is OK, as we kept this as a "no frills" race (no shirts, no police, no portajon rentals - they have toilets there).  Still, it would be better to go higher than 31.  And we got our wish!  This year would see 59 registrants, and 50 finishers, a 61% increase!

We arrived just after 7am for the 9am race.  The next two hours were a total blur of unloading the car, marking the course, and getting volunteers in place.  Speaking of which, there is no way we could put on this race without all the WTAC volunteers that came out, including Beth, Jonathan, Eric, JV, Jana, Tom, Kate, Elise, Justin, and Matthew.

First loop:  The 50+ starters lined up on a chalk line on the field.   A guy I didn't recognize in all black and high knee socks rocketed out to the lead, followed closely by Tom and Matthew.  So that's how it's going to be?  The first half-mile is double-track, with the rest of the race single-track.  At the end of the double-track section, I did not expect the following to happen:  the leader slowed, and there were now 5 of us in a tight pack, including Muddy just ahead of me.   Just as we started the single-track, with Tom, Matthew, and Muddy having passed the leader, I followed suit and didn't see him again.  The next half-mile seemed slow to me, to the extent that I consider passing our merry little group, but it was early in the race, so I held my place.

Start of the 2017 Wahaneeta Trail 5K
(Pic by Sheilia Beattie)

Start of the race, as the guy in black (right) takes the lead out,
with Matthew (left) to follow suit
(Pics by Jana, unless otherwise noted)

Finishing up my first loop.  Pick up the pace, would you?!

Second loop:  The second loop starts the same as the first loop, but is much shorter and adds a technical short but steep drop onto a bridge crossing before reemerging into the field for a second time.  The four of us (Tom, Matthew, Muddy, me) came through in single-file, all in green WTAC singlets, which was pretty neat.  But starting the 2nd loop is where Matthew made his move, and shortly after that, I never saw him again.  (Well, until after the race, of course.)  There was some separation between the rest of the three of us, but places never changed, and I could see Muddy ahead of me pretty much the whole way, and on the few straight sections could see Tom ahead of him.

Finishing up my second loop

The Wahaneeta cabin makes such a great backdrop,
as you pass by it twice

Final short out and back:  I'm not a huge fan of out-and-backs, but tacking on a couple of tenths of a mile on the orange trail worked to make this a 5K, and besides, we worked out a short loop at the turnaround to avoid any cone turnarounds.  As I came into the field to start the OAB, Matthew was already finishing up.  Followed pretty hard on Muddy's heels and may have narrowed the gap just a tiny bit, but not much.  Finished just 4 seconds behind Muddy, who in turn was just 4 seconds behind Tom.

On final out-and-back
(Pic by Sheilia)

I look real awkward about to jump up on this
wet and slippery bridge crossing,
before final turn home
(Pic by Sheilia)

I LOVE that the stream was actually
flowing this year on orange trail OAB
(Of course, I wish it were waist-deep,
but I'll take what I can)

Final results:  21:27, 4th overall, 1st in age group.  Full results here.

Take-aways:
Slower than last year, but not by much.
Closing time was faster this year than last, and faster than my teammates.  Should have pushed harder early on.

The race was challenging and tiring, but not exhausting.  In retrospect, I wish I had taken the bold move of taking the lead for a bit towards the end of Mile 1.  It wouldn't have changed the place results, but might have pushed us all to a slightly faster finish.  Fun race.  Thrilled to see the numbers go up, and especially so many WTAC volunteers and racers that all came together.

May be time for a new club banner at some point,
as several races have been added, but still a nice touch to see the WTAC colors

As I was closing up the cabin and locking up,
came around the corner to see this guy sunning himself.
Isn't he a beauty?!