the Way of the Turtle

LONG DISTANCE 2009 - Race #20
Savoy Mountain 11 Mile Trail Race
Sunday, August 16, 2009

2009 Savoy Trail Races results

I always have mixed feelings about the Savoy trail races... on the one hand, I love going to Savoy Mountain State Forest, in the hills east of North Adams - it's a wonderfully wild place. On the other hand, this race is a definite sign that the summer is winding down... and soon I'll leave my summertime life of leisure to go back to work. I was also feeling a bit of pressure this year because this weekend would be a test of sorts... if I couldn't finish the 22 mile course, it seemed unlikely I'd be able to finish the Green Lakes 50k in two weeks...

Last year Savoy was almost cancelled due to difficulty in getting volunteers, but Marty Glendon stepped in partway through the summer and set up two new courses which were a bit less volunteer-intensive, in part because the 20 mile out-and-back was replaced by a two loop 22 mile course staying a bit closer to the North Pond starting area. There was some question regarding how much work would be needed to get the courses ready this year, since the ice storms last December did enough damage that the Savoy snowshoe races were cancelled for the season - the trails simply weren't passable. Fortunately, a ton of work by the Savoy State Forest workers, Americorps volunteers, and work crews from the WMAC cleared the trails in plenty of time for the races. Marty was back as RD this year, as were the courses from last year, with the addition of an option to run one 11 mile loop and be counted as an official finisher. Though after al the rain we've had this summer it wasn't clear if running shoes or hip waders would be more appropriate, since Savoy tends to be a mud-bath even in a dry summer!

After an uneventful drive I arrived in plenty of time to check in, gear up, and chat with my friends for a few minutes before it was time for the long races to start. In light of the heat and humidity, I decided to play it safe and wore my hydration pack with 2 L of water as well as two bottle of Nuun... more weight than I'd usually want to carry, but it beat being the possibility of running out of fluids out on the course. There was a big crowd - looked like a record number of runners, at least compared to the other years that I've been here. Marty made a few announcements - the one which was a pleasant surprise was the fact that, in light of the anticipated heat and humidity, the 11 mile race would earn Grand Tree points. Then, with a blast from a black powder cannon - off we went!

The first part of the course took us around South Pond and Tyler Swamp... no great surprise, it was pretty darn muddy in spots, though at least this year I was expecting that. The front runners of the short race passed me just before the point where the two courses diverged - unfortunately, one of them missed that and ended up following the long course for a short distance before realizin he needed to turn back. From there we had a very familiar climb - I've followed the North Pond Loop at multiple Savoy trail races and Savoy snowshoe races over the last four years. After climbing and descending, we took a connecting trail over to Old Florida Road and the unmanned water stop. As a sign of the heat, much of the water was already gone. I topped off one of my bottles and then headed off into the really tough part of the course.

The next three miles took us over a series of fairly rugged hiking trails... between the footing and the almost constant climbing/descending, I found it tough to run more than a few feet at a time and ended up hiking the vast majority of this part of the course. Saw lots of evidence of work done to clear downed trees and branches off the trail, and passed a sizeable beaver pond that I don't remember from last year. The hardest part is a lollipop loop that goes up and over the top of Spruce Hill - the trip up involves some actually climbing up through the rocks, and the trip back down isn't much better. It was along these three miles that I decided to stop after 11 miles... it wuld take me a long time to complete a 2nd loop, and the downhills were bothering my injured knee enough that I was worried about undoing some of the healing it did over the last 7 weeks.

If my knee had been OK, the next stretch would have been good running... a long downhill on an old ATV trail, ending at the 3rd aid station at the intersection of Old Florida Rd and Central Shaft Rd, the main road into the state forest. Refilled on of my bottles and mixed some new Nuun for the last 2 miles of the course, then headed off on Old Florida Rd, which is an eroded mess - huge mud pits in some spots, and tons of rocks in others. There were a number of side trails bypassing the worst of the mudholes, though there were also a number of spots where I wondered if I would end up slipping into the huge puddles. My favorite spot was a stream crossing where I hd no choice other than wading. Not only did it wash the mud off my shoes, but the cold water felt wonderful - I would have sat down and soaked my legs if it hadn't meant finishing the last mile and a half or so in soaking wet shorts. We diverted off the old road for a short, tough stretch up and down a hiking trail (including a shimmy over a pile of downed trees) and then headed down a connecting trail back to the North Pond Loop.

I ran as much of the last mile or so as I could... the trail was in pretty good shape and fairly flat, but the previous few miles had taken a lot out of me. I have to admit I was glad to see the access road to the North Pond boat launch, after which I had a short run to the finish, which I crossed in 3 hr 35 minutes and announced that I was done. (Bob Dion, who was handling timing, expressed some disbelief at that, which was gratifying, considering what an incredible trail runner he is. When I indicated that my knee wasn't cooperating, Walter Kolodzinski offered me either his braces or his knees, I'm not sure which! Of course, then Bob wanted to know if I was going to go out and take down the course... I guess my post-race trek at Greylock was memorable for a few folks.)

Nothing at the food/drink table really called out to me, so I headed over to th car to finally change into some dry clothes. Spent a while talking with Konrad and Ed, who also ended up doing one loop this year, and then tossed my gear into the back seat, changed, and made the long hot drive back to Albany.

I'm a bit disappointed, both because I only ran one loop and because that would seem to indicate I have decisions to make about the Green Lakes Ultra in two weeks... it's a particularly annoying pill to swallow, since before I tore up my knee I was probably in the best distance running shape of the past 4 years. But so it goes... with luck next year I'll be healthy enough and in good enough shape to actually run a lot more of the course and tackle that 2nd loop. And regardless, it was good being out in the wilds of northwestern MA and seeing my running friends again.

JMH

2009 Event Totals
Run 215.9 mi, 54 hr 35 min
Bike 28.6 mi, 2 hr 17 min
Snowshoe 54.6 mi, 13 hr 05 min
XC Ski 3.3 mi, 1 hr 2 min

states visited: CT, MA, ME, NH, NY, PA, RI, VT