Forge the Gorgeous 8mi Trail Race
Thursday, July 26, 2007
2007 Forge the Gorgeous results
Forge the Gorgeous race info
2007 Forge the Gorgeous photo slideshow
hiking the gorge trail photo slideshow
Last year I was a bit surprised at how tough this race was... I guess having run it once helped, because while I still thought it was tough, it didn't seem as bad as it did a year ago. One thing remained constant - this is still a cool place to run!
I had originally hoped to get to Filmore Glen State Park 2 hours or so before the race, so that I'd have time to walk the gorge trail a bit and maybe take some non-running pictures. Needless to say, that plan didn't work and I ended up zipping into the park at (for me) the last minute, about 40 minutes before it was time to run. Met Jim and Loretta there, who had also given Ann a ride down with them. Changed into my running gear, and Ann and I took a few minutes to go see the Cow Sheds waterfall. Not as much water as last year, but still rather nice.
Once we got back to the parking lot, it was time to wander over to the starting area out by the road. The crowd was a little bit larger than last year, but this is still a pretty small race, even compared to many of the other ones I do. The RD had a few words to say (the usual pre-race stuff) and then it was time to run!
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Took it easy across the grass and over the bridge, since I knew what was coming - a long uphill hike! That was tough, so early in the run, but at this point I've done enough trail races with long uphill hikes near the start that it wasn't that big of a deal. After half a mile or so the trail leveled out (somewhat) and I was able to run more consistently. Made it across the dam and into the first water stop at just under half an hour... not too bad, and the next bit was all downhill, along the opposite rim. Of course, downhill presents its own challenges, since that's where I'm most likely to blow out a knee...
After a short stop at the 2nd water stop to refill my water bottle and add some Gatorade mix, I headed up the gorge trail, which runs alongside the creek and crosses back and forth on eight wooden bridges. This was my favorite part of the run last year, and the same was true this year, despite the water level being very low.
One thing was a bit surprising - the amount of climbing the gorge trail did. I remembered it being fairly level, but instead there's a good deal of up and down - nothing too steep or too long, but it was definitely work! Another surprise was that Ann had managed to hike all the way to the last waterfall, and was waiting there to take pictures (she also got some great shots of the gorge along the way.)
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After that, it was time for the steep climb out of the gorge and then the long gradual uphill along the park road to the dam. That was really tough! But as the fellow at the water stop at the top of the hill pointed out, the remaining 2 1/4 miles would be 90% downhill... not quite the reassuring statement for me that it would be for some runners, but still better than running and hiking uphill!
A few of the downhill bits along that last stretch are pretty tricky - steep and slippery - so that slowed me down a bit. I was also surprised at how wobbly the first bridge I ran over was - didn't notice that when I'd crossed it earlier! Made my way through the woods and down the hill in fairly good time, then hustled across the bridge and used what little energy I had left to "sprint" to the finish, with a time of 1:32. Not bad at all, six minutes faster than last year!
Jim and Loretta ran much faster than I did, as usual, crossing the finish line about 20 minutes before me, but both had the same reaction I did last year - "That was tough!" I did get the impression they enjoyed it (in a sick, torturous kind of way) and I'm glad I was able to encourage them to come down for the race.
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Ann seems to have had a slightly better time than she usually does at a race (after all, watching a trail race is somewhat less interesting than watching grass grow) since she was able to do a little walking in the gorge while we were running. It was definitely nice to have her along for the ride to Rochester, especially since Mapquest gave me some convoluted directions and I needed her help navigating. All in all, I'm glad I did this one again, and I'm looking forward to maybe running it again next year!
Next up: Race the Train! Sure we all know I don't stand a chance (the train beat me by 20 minutes last year... I'd need to increase my pace by 2 1/2 minutes per mile to have a chance of beating it) but it was fun last year, and I may stay up that way afterwards and do a little riding. Maybe even the Adirondack Marathon course, as a preview for September's run...
JMH
2007 EVENT TOTALS
Running 147.3 mi, 34 hr 56 min
Cycling 26.2 mi, 1 hr 55 min
Snowshoe 31.3 mi, 9 hr 11 min
states visited: CT, MA, ME, NH, NY, VT
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