the Way of the Turtle

Season of the SnōShū 2010 - Race #3
Greylock Glen 3.7mi Snowshoe Race
Saturday, January 16, 2010

There's just something about Greylock that always has me excited to be going there to run. I was also looking forward to today's race because, while I've run all the trails we'd be on in a number of other races, I'd never actually run the Greylock Glen snowshoe race before this season. Add in sunny weather and word from Ed that the conditions should be pretty good, and I came expecting a good morning. And as usual, I wasn't disappointed.

With construction in the Glen moving race HQ from the gazebo to the hilltop across the road, I actually ended up parking up the road from the start of the race, with a nice view of the mountain. Checked in, geared up, and headed to the start to chat with friends and wait for the fun to begin. It was tough to tell exactly where to start - there were a lot of new faces around. But Ed had said the first bit was pretty wide, so with luck that would all sort itself out before we hit the singletrack. And then, with little fanfare (we are a pretty low-key group after all) off we went.

Having run the trails before I had a pretty good idea of what to expect... some rolling terrain early on and then climb, climb, climb. Not as bad as last week's haul up the endless Turner Trail switchbacks, but still more than enough to keep my heart rate up, especially since I'd decided to try and keep Bill and Konrad in sight this time around, and that proved to be a challenge on the long climb up to Old Adams Road. One of the things I love about that stretch of trail is the brook bubbling away off to the right as we wind through the evergreens - I was tempted a couple of times to slow up and take some photos, but decided to push my pace instead and settle for enjoying my surroundings with quick glances. One of these days I need to hike through there so I can take my time and really enjoy it!

When we finally reached Old Adams Road I took advantage of the long downhill and headed down as fast as I could (not that many folks would consider it very fast, but for me I was tearing up the trail.) Ah, snowshoeing, where even tearing downhill can leave you gasping for air at the bottom! No great surprise I slowed up quite a bit as we made our was back through the woods at the base of the mountain, running through some wonderful stands of evergreens and white birch on our way back to the start. But I think my favorite spot along that stretch is the field just past the West Mountain Rd parking area, where once again Greylock dominates the horizon. I ran through there back in June while sweeping part of the half marathon course and was surprised to see the War Memorial shining away in the dusk - I didn't realize it was lit at night. Today the sight was no less awesome, with the mountain frosted with snow and the clouds just beginning to clear away from the summit. No matter how many times I run through there it always takes my breath away (or maybe that's just the running...)

From there it wasn't long before we were back on the rolling terrain we ran out on... that final climb was tough, and Brad had a camera rolling at the top so I actually had to run the last bit and at least try to make it look good. Crossed the finish in good time (for me)- 53:04 - between the warm weather and the good snow conditions I had a good run, tired but not totally fried, and only hacking up half a lung this week - guess the cold that kicked my butt two weeks ago really is on its way out. I actually packed up pretty quickly and headed out, since I needed to get home and get ready for the second trip of the weekend out to Rochester, NY (where I ran into Bob Dion at Sunday morning's Mendon Winterfest 10k snowshoe race, but that's another story.)

Congratulations are due to Laurel Shortell for finishing not only her 100th WMAC race today but her 100th consecutive race - and doing so with her ever-positive attitude and smile. There's also no doubt we owe a huge thank you to Ed for his work organizing the race at a time when he had a lot on his plate, marking the course, and cooking warm food for us to enjoy, and Beth and Brad Herder for handling timing, taking photos and video, and all the folks who helped with the myriad other tasks needed to make today a fun time for all of us out playing on the trails.

JMH

2010 Event Totals
Run
Bike
Snowshoe 9.0 mi, 2 hr 32 min

states visited: MA