Rhody 4 Miler

Charlestown, RI

Sunday, November 14, 2021

30th annual Li'l Rhody Runaround.  30 years is a long time, and while I always say that the race started way before my time (which is true), when I think about it, I realize I've run more than half of them.  I had run 17 consecutive Li'l Rhody Runaround 8-Mile Trail Races, from 2004 through the COVID-restricted 2020 version.

I started competitive running in March 2003, and 2003 and 2021 are the only years thus far that I did NOT run the Rhody 8-Miler.  Coincidentally, the reason for not running Rhody 8-miler in both years was my participation in the Philadelphia Marathon.  In 2003, I ran my very first marathon (Philly), and it coincided to the exact same day at Li'l Rhody, so clearly that couldn't happen.  In 2021, as I will be running Philly (for the 2nd time) just seven days after Rhody, I don't want to risk impacting my Philly performance.

More than one person suggested that I just run the 8-mile race easy.  But those that know me well know that just isn't going to happen.  It just doesn't fit my competitive nature, and especially not at this race.  So cancel out of Rhody?  Or run the 4-miler?  Obviously, at this point you know I chose the latter.

Race day:  Arrived about 7:30am to finish final marking at start/finish and perform miscellaneous RD duties (race start was 10am for reference).  Only the very beginning of the course was altered this year, in order to accommodate a timing company request to have the start and finish "co-terminus" for chip timing, and the remainder of the two courses were identical to those utilized in recent past years.  Thanks to our great group of volunteers handling varied duties, we were able to get the race started pretty much right at 10am.  

While I wasn't enamored with the course start change this year,
it worked.  (Wave 2 start; all pics from Jana)

Mile 1:  Fast right out of the gate.  How fast?  My "Sanctuary West" segment (most of the first mile) was an average 5:48 pace.  Tommy was right around me as raced down the dirt road.  Chris, Dave, and a few others were ahead of us, but a 16-year old kid was far ahead of us, and while Chris was running the 8-mile course today, I knew from the kid's questions pre-race that he was also running the 4.  About 3/4 mile in, the course splits.  The kid went straight on the 4-miler, everyone else in front of us went right on the 8-miler, and the race would be between the kid, Tommy, and me.

Here I am, just seconds after the start, going through the
parking lot before hitting Sanctuary Road westbound.
---
That's Chris, not me, you say?  Well, yes, the 8-milers get the
full billing, and I get 70% at least in this pic, as you can
see most of me in far front right (blue cap), 
in same row to the left of Chris and Todd Callaghan,
and just ahead of Tommy and Jonny.

After the course split, the 4-mile course continues only a little bit further on the road before turning right through a small open field and onto the trails.  At this point, Tommy (on my heels) and I had caught up to the kid.  The kid exclaimed, "This is weird!".  Not sure if it was weird good, or weird bad, or what exactly was weird at all, but I was already panting and didn't answer.  I followed closely behind him as it was tight single-track, while consciously looking for the first opportunity to pass.

Mile 2:  Opportunity arises!  When the trail re-crosses the dirt road (Sanctuary Road), I make my move going past the kid hard on his right, and re-entered the trail just ahead of him.  So we're still in a tight formation, but now the order is me, then the kid, then Tommy.  I realize when we get to the campsite shortly, he'll have opportunity to retake me again, as he will also on the Burlingame Trail just after that, so I push faster to try to get some separation before then.  

I make the hard right turn out of the campground and onto the Burlingame Trail, and as I do, I glance to my right.  Yes, I have a little bit of separation, but not much.  He and Tom are pretty close behind me.  Damn.  I'm running hunted and scared.  If I can hold them off on the Burlingame Trail, I'm thinking my next opportunity to open more separation will be coming up on the non-trail leaf-covered path through the woods between campsites.  I feel I ran fast on both the Burlingame Trail and then on the campground leaf-covered section through the woods, and I'm hoping I got that separation.

We make a 135° turn onto the Bog Bridge Trail and this is my opportunity to see where my competition stands.  Darn, they're still pretty close behind me.  I wasn't able to shake them after all.  I'm seriously running out of opportunities now.  

Mile 3:  Start of the Bog Bridge Trail (not really the name of it, but that's what we commonly refer to the 1/3 mile section of Wildlife Loop Trail w/ 19 bog bridges, connecting the campground to Vin Gormley).  Some bridges will be covered with leaves, others will be wet, but I have to run this full bore to the best of my abilities, make no mistakes or slide or fall, and just hope that my opponents take a less aggressive strategy.

I have run this trail enough times that I know in advance which bog bridges I take (most), which I side-step, and the few with awkward angles that I jump up onto or off of instead of taking the ramps.  A few are dicey, but I just go for it, and my footing through is good.  I'm feeling real good about this effort, but I also felt good about earlier sections to no avail.

I exit the Bog Bridge Trail, turn right on Vin Gormley, and with so many 8-mile runners coming at me, I feel like I'm a fish swimming upstream against the current.  They're taking up most of the trail and then road when I enter the campground, but obviously there are much more of them than me and I do have room, even if a little narrow.

On the campground paved road, the runners are starting to thin out a bit and just before the first rotary, I spy the back of the pack runners/walkers, followed by Eric D, who is kind enough to volunteer for yet another year of sweeping the entire 8-mile course.  (Nate V swept the 4-mile course today, and added to our awesome cadre of volunteers making the event possible.)  As I passed by Eric, I shouted out, "How far back is the next runner?".  Apparently I was coherent, as his reply was "Far".  Awesome!  Had they still been just behind me, I'd be done here as I'm not going to outkick a 16-year old (or Tommy) on roads.  

But I can't rest on my laurels, as I still have a full mile to go, and much of that is on road (Sanctuary Road) as well.

Mile 4:  After the second rotary, I run past the playground and leave the campground for good.  There is a short trail section that is deep with leaves and a few sharp turns (Kimball trails) before we exit onto Sanctuary Road, and I'm thinking maybe I can pick up a few seconds here as well.

The return Sanctuary Road portion is not fun, but I fight the urge to slow down as I really want this win.  I can see Steve Dinsmore up ahead, as he's manning the course marshal station where you take a hard left off of Sanctuary Road to head down to the boat launch.  Good, I'll utilize the opportunity to check in again where my competition is.  I ask him the same question I asked Eric, but this time the response back to me is that no one is in sight.  Yes!

There is only 1/4 mile left now, and none of it is on roads.  The short section on sand right on the edge of the pond is super fun, and at the end of it, just before exiting onto the beach and heading for home, Jana is there taking a few pics.  If nobody has caught me yet, I'm confident I have the win now.  I go past the cabin (where I can smell the fire! thanks to Schane, another awesome volunteer) and scurry up the steep but very short leaf-covered embankment (can you believe Mikey B wanted to leaf-blow the trail here?!) to behind the composting toilets and then the finish line is all but in sight.

Fun section running on the pond's edge.

[Not me] One of the very few and very short sections
of asphalt on the 4-mile course, as you run
past the cabin ...

... before the short leaf-covered climb to the
outhouses and finish.

Final result:  24:33. New course record!  1st of 54 runners.  Full results here.

I catch my breath at the finish line, and then have a birds-eye view to watching the 16-year old cross a minute later, followed very closely behind by Tommy 5K.  Congrats to both on running a good race, and keeping me pushing hard by running scared most of the race.

I never had chance to catch up with the youngster, but Tommy did come over and we chatted for a while.  Sure enough, it was the bog bridge section of trail where I really got my separation, as Tommy said from that point forward, they never saw me again.  

So I think it's pretty clear what alterations I need to make to the 4-mile race:  install more bog bridges and have less sections on road and trail straight-aways!  

5th place finisher and Rhody regular Tom Olendorf, one year my junior, told me later that while watching the early part of the race unfold ahead of him, he was really rooting for me to win over Tommy and the kid.  I literally had to laugh, because my translation of that back to him was that he was hoping that I would win outright, as that removed me from his age group contention!  And it did.

On a more serious note, while I only ran the 4-mile because I thought the 8-mile was too much too close to Philly, and I don't know when I would run the 4-mile again, this was a really fun course!  It's actually more scenic than the 8-mile course and the beach section is a blast.  This was a great idea to add this option a few years back (I think Jonny Hammett's idea) and certainly one we will keep.

In addition to this year's short sleeve tech shirt
for all runners and walkers ...

this year we also had a singlet for those 27 runners
that ran 3 or more of our Fall Trail Race Series.
(Series results here.)

Thanks to all the runners and volunteers who came out today and made this yet another successful and fun event!

2021 saw the return of fires and soup!
(Thank you Heather and Nick on the latter.)

Pretty neat prizes and gift certificates this year,
as donated by Block Island Sport Shop,
Wakefield Running Company, and WTAC.

(Westerly Sun article)