Saturday, October 30, 2021
Last November (2020) at the conclusion of the Fall Trail Series with three races, we sent out a survey to runners who had run at least two of the three 2020 WTAC Fall Trail Races.
 |
60% of respondents asked us to consider adding one more race
(one added in comments to add two more races; another added in comments to bring
back the 10-mile Rhody as a spring race) |
60% of respondents indicated a desire to add an additional race to the trail series, and we discussed this as a board and agreed in principle. Now, what exactly do we add? A few suggestions were discussed, but we wanted to keep it in our "core" local area, be able to address parking and restroom issues, and keep it low cost and low frills.
The winning choice, if we could pull it off, was to put on a longer trail race towards the end of the series utilizing both Westerly Land Trust's Grills Preserve and Hopkinton Land Trust's Grills Wildlife Sanctuary. In January, I did some route modeling on the computer, and then several of us board members (and Brady) got out to run and see if it worked and any modifications we should make.
As I expected, the proposal was a fairly easily sell to Westerly Land Trust and fit in nicely with their intended usage for "passive recreation". And yes, when the vote came to me in my WLT role on the Stewardship Committee, I abstained. As for the Hopkinton Land Trust, I had no idea what to expect, and I had no contacts there. Unlike the WLT which is a private entity, the HLT is a municipal entity. The initial response to my email seemed positive and we were asked to come to one of the their board meetings to explain further and answer questions. I went with Nick; they were all friendly and interested and their Chairperson advised that she had run our Li'l Rhody Runaround years prior herself! We presented a course map and a certificate of liability insurance for the race indemnifying the Town of Hopkinton. Approved!
We set a capacity of 75, figuring we wouldn't get that many, but in case we did, we were concerned with limited parking logistics.
But what happens if we build it and no one shows up? Or ten of us show up? Last year at races, we had somewhat of a captive audience as we were one of very few organizations in RI going the extra effort to jump through all the hoops to satisfy state COVID requirements, and nearby CT and MA completely shut down all races at this time last year. Sure enough, with race restrictions nearly gone this fall and many spring races deferred into the fall, we saw lower registration numbers at our first two races of our fall race series. But suddenly in the last two weeks of registration, the Grills registrations were coming in every day and the event sold out a couple days pre-race!
Race day: Unfortunately the race day forecast did not look great, with a forecast of rain. Sure enough, as Justin and I were setting up the first two canopies, it was during a downpour. We had several tarps to put the timing equipment and other items to keep them dry. Of course, after setup, the rain stopped completely and would then hold off until during the race, when it only returned in the form of sporadic very light rain. And then it was off for final course marking. Several of us had tag-teamed pretty well during the week to get most of the course marked already, especially the far reaching places in the two preserves. My fears of someone pulling up signs and flags never materialized, and I should let that one go, but it stems from several years in a row when someone would intentionally pull up flags at Mike Galoob's now defunct Big River Half Marathon.
Race start: After a brief very positive commentary from the Chairperson of the Hopkinton Land Trust, I gave a few RD remarks and we were ready to go. (NB - Westerly Land Trust staff had also planned to attend, but out of an abundance of caution from exposure to a COVID case, declined at the last minute.) Our race had sold out at our pre-determined capacity of 75 (driven by parking shortage), but about 20 less than that toed the line. Almost all of the 20 no-shows were in the 10K category, and were presumably mostly due to the forecasted rain.
 |
Thank you, Marilyn (Hopkinton Land Trust chair),
for approving the event and for coming out to the race! |
First half: Eric D started the race with a siren, while he and my brother Kurt started the timing. There was plenty of room to spread out, as the first 1/4 mile is wide double-track (dirt road), then 1/4 mile of single-track, and then another 1/2 mile of dirt/grass road along the banks of the Pawcatuck River. As we approached the course split at 1 mile, I was running in my usual trio with Dave and Nick, and could see Adrian Massie a little ways ahead and Chris distantly ahead of him (although Chris would be running the 10K today). Just before the course split, where my Mom was standing, speedster and ultra-marathoner Ben Quatromoni blew past us and I followed closely behind Nick and Dave across the aluminum bridge and into Hopkinton's Grills Wildlife Sanctuary, where we would spend the next four miles.
 |
Milling about at the start.
No asphalt at start, finish, or anywhere on the course! |
 |
| And we're off! |
Once across the bridge and into Hopkinton, I knew we only had a short window of time on double-track before turning onto technical single-track, so I pushed it and went past Dave and ducked in behind Nick, just as we made the sharp turn onto single-track and began the climb. I felt like I could go just a tad faster, but going uphill is not my forte so I waited until after we crested the 100' climb to make a move. This section of trail between Polly Coon and Tomaquag Brook Bridge is pretty technical, and now add in the downhill, and this was the time for me to go. Went around teammate Nick on his left and continued on the ragged edge of control over stream beds and through tight single-track.
 |
Polly Coon aluminum bridge, separating the two towns, and
replacing previous wooden bridges dating to early last century. |
 |
This is what it looks like running across the bridge.
I could hear Dave easily as he was wearing XC spikes. |
After crossing the Tomaquag Brook bridge, the next two miles are flat and non-technical, mostly single-track but with some double-track (dirt road) mixed in. I didn't know if Nick or Dave or both would catch me here, so I kept pushing. Other than the very fast first mile, this would be the only other section that I would run sub-7 on. The single-track along the western banks of the Pawcatuck River is both scenic and fun. Right about 3 miles in, the course leaves the Pawcatuck River and makes a hard left to start to return towards the Tomaquag Brook bridge. Neither Nick nor Dave caught me, but what kept me from the feared "no man's zone" was at this point seeing Adrian Massie ahead of me. He was a ways ahead, but with most of the leaves off the trees I could see him at certain points where the trail had switchbacks like this, but at least up until now, he didn't see me.
 |
Just two weeks earlier, a huge blowdown blocking the Hopkinton
course, which Nick (in pic) and I took out. |
Another half-mile and I was back at the Tomaquag Brook bridge. Adrian was far enough ahead of me that I couldn't see him even on this very long bridge, but yet I would get glimpses of him through the trees or climbing hills from time to time. As I was crossing the bridge, two women towards the back of the pack were coming straight towards me. The bridge is narrow and I kept racing across it, but seeing their expressions, I assured them I wouldn't push them off the bridge! The next mile (Mile 5) would be my slowest of the race, and certainly a tough one with steep single-track technical climbs. Re-crossed the Polly Coon bridge back into Westerly, and took a cup of water from my Mom at the water stop she and her friend Bob were graciously manning. (She would later tell me how polite and friendly the runners were; good to hear.)
 |
| Water stop a mile into the woods |
Second half: The Hopkinton side is done, and I know the Westerly portion of this course like the back of my hand. The yellow trail along the eastern shore of the Pawcatuck now is one of my favorite trails at Grills, and other than this race, I can't remember that I've ever seen another person on this more remote stretch, but I am happy to get those glimpses of Adrian through here and that keeps me pushing. Most of Grills Preserve trails are actually quite flat, so I made sure to add in two climbs of Big Hill when designing this course. The first hill is after the end of the yellow trail, and it's a partial and gradual climb only, but it's still 100' gain, followed by an adrenaline rush downhill through the clearing, before heading out towards the racetrack.
 |
When I was marking this very intersection (just before 1st Big Hill climb)
two days prior, I marked my Strava post "'I didn't see the turn" ...
is something hopefully we don't hear on Saturday morning. At least
not at this intersection!
---
Well, guess what? One runner saw another runner on the opposite
site of this sign and caution tape (running on a different part of
the course), and not only failed to turn left at the left arrow,
but went through the caution tape to join the other runner!
There is only so much you can do.
|
| |
The trail out to the foundation (Larkin Farm, ca. 1655) is such thick vegetation along the edge of a forestry clearing, that it is unpassable for the summer months and took a few CCC sessions to get this cleared this fall in advance of the race. (Now would be a good time to recognize how invaluable and supportive the Westerly Land Trust's Tuesday morning Coffee & Clearing Club was in getting the trails ready for the race.) I could not see Adrian here at all through the vegetation, but since the racetrack trail itself is a lollipop, I hoped to see him while he was in the section.
 |
Leading a CCC trail work session on Oct 5,
and liberating the Polly Coon Bridge from
summer overgrowth. |
 |
The trail leading up to the bridge looked like
a jungle when we started.0 |
Back to the race and the racetrack trail. Here comes a runner! Adrian? No, it's Ben Quatromoni. Making a mental note that the racetrack trail is roughly half a mile, that this is a fast section (well, except for the tree trunk you have to go up and over) and the fact that I'm a little bit in when our paths cross, I'm still guessing he's a good two minutes ahead of me. I make it out to the racetrack itself and still haven't seen Adrian. Hmm, I couldn't have missed him, so I'll take this as a good sign. Sure enough, on the racetrack loop itself as I'm heading out towards the tracks, I see Adrian coming back as this is pretty much open grasslands here. He sees me as well, and yells out, "Oh no!" [I think]. This loop takes about one minute to cover, and given that I'm 1/4 in on the loop and he's 3/4 in, I make a rough mental note that he's somewhere around 30 seconds ahead of me. Well, he knows I'm not all that far behind him now.
 |
Here's the blowdown that came down in the week of the race,
and besides not having enough time to clear this one way out
in the woods, I also don't have a chainsaw long enough.
---
Did my best to break off and remove small branches around it,
and then flag up and over the tree trunk. I didn't hear
complaints, but I did hear compliments that it was a fun obstacle! |
I knew we had one tiring climb ahead of us, one technical descent, and the rest pretty flat, but Adrian seems a strong trail runner to me in all aspects, so I can't think of one area that would favor me to alter strategy, and I just vowed to myself to push hard. Coming off the racetrack trail and back into the clearing, we have just over two miles to go.
Very shortly thereafter, we start the tiring climb to the summit of the mighty Big Hill. (I didn't name it; it was referred to as Mouse Hill back in the late 1800s, so I guess "Big Hill" at least sounds a tad more daunting?) It's a short climb, and just over 100', but it's straight up, fairly steep, and at this point 8 miles in, I'm panting and feeling tired. I'm just hoping it has a similar affect on Adrian, who I can see up in the distance. The very last section of the climb to Big Hill levels off a bit, and at the summit, there is actually a partial view despite the dreary weather, and I'm so glad we cut a short trail to allow us to go over the summit and ridge before descending. The descent is short, but it's 120' straight down a steep unmarked path strewn with small ankle-biting rocks. I heard later than some runners walked this section out of an abundance of caution, but I threw caution to the wind as I'm racing and chasing.
 |
| Up and over the Big Hill ridge. I love this part of the course! |
 |
This picture doesn't do it justice,
but this a tight right turn on newly cut very short single-track downhill,
before the ankle-biting rock scree. |
A mile and a half of mostly tight single-track remains, with a few short sections of dirt road, so I'm certainly happy at least about the former, even if no downhills or technical terrain remains. With about half a mile to go, I seriously narrowed the gap on Adrian. I'm in a near all out sprint now, and as I make the final turn into the finishing field, he's just ahead of me. He's sprinting also, and crosses the finish line a mere 5 seconds ahead of me!
I certainly had no previous delusions that I would finish anywhere near Adrian, but seeing him for much of the race pushed me to run harder than I would have had I been in "no man's land". I thoroughly enjoyed racing this, loved the small old school race feeling, and am thrilled that we now have a 10-mile 100% trail race here.
 |
| Loved the vibe of this trail race. |
 |
Self-timing saved us a lot of money, more than enough to
pay for this race clock. Thanks to today's timing crew.
|
Based on comments on Strava and social media, apparently a number of other runners felt the same way:
- Super fun event! Really fun trails - mostly
non-technical singletrack with some nice doubletrack mixed in.
- Thanks to Jeff and the WTAC volunteers for an
outstanding event and extremely well-marked trails.
- Such a fun course!
- Fun course and no sprained ankles today! 🍂
- Tough course. I did okay. But really that was fun. It
felt like everyone was having a great time. A lot of good runners and
smiling faces. Thank you all
- Great area to run.
- Grills! Grills! Grills! Good stuff, Terrific event
- Grills 10 mile trail race! Longest trail race I have
done!
- The rain pretty much held off! Well-marked challenging
course with roots, rocks, hills, boardwalks, and cart paths — something
for everybody! Great run! Great volunteers!
- Great course! Won my age group! And hold the course
record for 50 year old women 😉
- Thank you Jeff for an amazing trail race series and new
race at Grills Preserve, which is my favorite so far!
- My new favorite too. Wouldn't be surprised if Club
always limits its participant capacity, But what a terrific event for the
lucky 75 that got to participate.
- My opinion goes with this race as the best one of the 4
races in the series. Great 10K course and trails, with a view and even
passed by a little cemetery. And no tar!
Great race and running group out there today! Looking forward to next year's race!
