Run for the Pumpkins 10K

Westerly, RI

Saturday, October 1, 2022

This is the 7th year of the event being hosted on the trails at Bradford Preserve and Woody Hill.  The biggest change this year is the course change for the longer course, replacing the 8K course with a brand new 10K course.

The impetus for the course change was a wetlands violation on the 8K course, which caused us to make changes.  Last year we modified the course to have it double back on itself, but that in itself caused issues with faster runners running head on downhill into slower runners.  This year we had more time, so three of us met and planned out a completely different course.

The consensus was that we wanted to keep the use of the twisty uphill "Pumpkins Connector" trail in the 10K, yet also retain the traditional 5K course, which instead uses the traditional and easier "Pumpkins Up" trail section of the cross-country course.  So since both sections are right at the beginning of the new race course, and since the Pumpkins Connector section takes longer to ascend, how can you do that without penalizing the front runners of the 10K course and dumping them into the middle of the pack at the top of each respective hill climb where the trails converge?  We'll stagger the starts.  Since this is the first year ever that we're self-timing this event, we can control the start times.  Looking at my own race times on Strava, I see it took me 1:58 to climb "Pumpkins Up", versus 3:23 to climb the more challenging and twisty "Pumpkins Connector".  So we'll stagger by two minutes.  Let's see how it goes.

Coming off the field start, the first course split this year
would be 5K'ers taking the traditional and easier route up
the 80' initial hill, with 10K'ers taking the more circuitous
and twisty route.

Race day:  Absolute downpour!  Ugh.  I fretted about this, but what can you do?  I really need to get better at just accepting those things which are out of your control.  While I'm not a religious person, it reminds me of the poem, "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change ...".  It has been adopted by AA and other help groups; I should follow suit in this principle as well, as it's certainly not helpful to get myself worked up.

The weather did result in a very small turnout (31 runners) and necessitate some changes.  When I saw runners huddled under our canopy looking cold waiting for me to get the race started, I decided to abandon the stagger lest the 5K'ers have to wait longer in the cold and rain.  I also decided to abandon the awards ceremony and mail out most of the awards instead, so runners could finish, grab some refreshments and light food, and be on their way.

Race start:  I made probably my briefest RD comments ever (something else that I should learn from and apply more broadly) and we were off.  Even in the field there were flooded sections, but once my feet were wet (which was almost instantly) I just went for it and took on every puddle and flooded section that was in front of me.  And most trails were flooded!  The trails couldn't drain quick enough with the rain coming down so hard.  Dave was out in the lead (he was "just" running the 5K, as he had run his first marathon the weekend before and was recovering).  Behind him was Chris and Jason Reilly, and I followed the two of them at the first split up Pumpkins Connector.  I like this section, as it's fun and twisty, and you can see both the leaders and your pursuers at switchbacks, but I also recognize it's not every runner's cup of tea, and several have voiced in the past they really don't like it.  That's fine and also why we kept the easier trail for the 5K runners.

Difficult to tell from this pic, but it is raining very hard,
which is why the runners are squeezed together huddled
under our canopy.

A small, but intrepid field of runners starts the
2022 Run for the Pumpkins race.

At the top of the first hill, the 5K and 10K course merge and the downside of my hasty decision to abandon the staggered start became obvious as I now had several slower 5K runners in front of me on the single-track out to Woody Hill.  They both graciously moved aside, or perhaps were turned off by my dinosaur-like loud breathing.  Whatever works, right?  

Race split:  A mile and a half in we went past course marshal Matthew at the second course split, and this kept 5K'ers and 10K'ers separated for the rest of the race.  I was concerned with grippiness on wet rocks, but really didn't have an issue for some reason.  Maybe because many of the rocks were under water?  On the twisty trail out to the solar field (trail name "Yo Mama"), I took advantage of switchbacks to see where my competition was.  I could see Jason not too far ahead of me, and both Nick and Matt right on my tail.

After that trail, we had a series of twisty, hilly trails, and I didn't see anyone again for a while.  It was an absolute downpour and while I didn't have trouble seeing, I occasionally had to wipe the rain out of my eyes.  As we turned back towards the start and went along the edge of the Woody Hill Marsh, I was glad to see the water levels had come back and happy that we included this in our course.  Doesn't mean much this year, but a nice attraction for hopefully future years when the number of runners rebounds a little higher.  

After a few more climbs and descents on wet rocks and a slippery boardwalk, we started the run onto the Leaning Chimney Trail.  This trail is one that Matt Sweeney liked and recommended that we include on the course, and I'm glad we did it was a lot of fun today, especially through the flooded sections!  It was on this trail that I saw runners again, although only because the multiple switchbacks made it appear to me that they were closer than they actually were.  I could once again see Jason ahead of me and Nick behind me.  That was a good thing actually, as it incented me to push harder instead of being lulled into complacency.  

The fall:  Turning off the hard turn at the end of Leaning Chimney, I came to yet another flooded section of trail and thought I would just plow through it.  Only I had no idea how deep it was.  I stumbled and down I went.  In the middle of the wide, knee-deep puddle, I fell forward and went down on my chest.  I laughed at myself, and got up and going as quickly as I could.

The return:  Although we had 2.5 miles still left in the race, writing this 3+ weeks later, I cannot recall any significant details for the remainder of the race.  This suggests I should be more punctual in writing race reports.  But I also recall that for the rest of the race, I never saw anyone again either ahead of or behind me.  I thought I might on the southern end of the Hansel & Gretel trail, but that wasn't the case.  

Final result:  48:52, 3rd of 15 finishers.  Full results here

Given the weather, I decided to skip the awards ceremony altogether, and just mail out awards (except for pumpkins given out to 1st place finishers).  It was fun to race in the deluge, but not so much to stand around in the rain afterwards.  I welcomed a few runners in, chatted minimally, and then went back out with a crew to divide and conquer cleaning up the trail signs.  

A good day despite the weather, but next year I'd rather see drier weather and a bigger field size.  We already have a commitment from the town recreation department to provide technical hats and we have a date set aside in July to plan logistics, so that will be a fun addition.