the Way of the Turtle

Season of the SnōShū 2010 - Race #6
Curly's Record Run 4mi Snowshoe Race
Sunday, January 24, 2010

When I first ran Curly's Record Run back in 2008 I discovered what a beautiful place Pittsfield State Forest is and ever since I've welcomed any opportunity to go there. Brad Herder's question earlier in the week - did people want to try a new, rolling course or would we prefer the "classic" Curly's course - took me a bit by surprise and, I must admit, left me with mixed reactions. On the one hand, I love the tradition behind the race, especially the fact the we run down the Shadow Trail, where in 1944 Beth Herder's father "Curly" Voll set a downhill record of 1 min 12 seconds, and I also really enjoy revisiting trails and courses that I've run before. On the other hand, I also love exploring new trails, and my bad knees wouldn't miss going down the Shadow Trail one bit - I typically end up creeping down to the bottom at a snail's pace to avoid taking out one or both knees along the way. In the end I was happy to run whatever course Brad and Beth set up for us, though I wasn't at all surprised when the majority of responses preferred to keep the original course.

Despite glimpses of sunshine on the drive over, Pittsfield was under grey skies when I arrived - but not too cold, and at least it wasn't raining! Went through my usual pre-race prep and then hung around chatting with the usual suspects while we waited for things to get going. Looked like a bigger turnout than the last few years, which always raises the question of where to start... as a slower runner (a much slower runner) I don't want to end up in front of faster folks, but being behind a crowd of hikers also has its disadvantages. Of course, since the first stretch is uphill I wouldn't be running for long after the start anyway.

I don't know what Konrad had for the breakfast but he took off like a shot at the beginning and pulled ahead by a good bit once we turned on to the rolling trail behind the ski jump. Not long after we crossed Berry Pond Road the long climb started and then all of us toward the back slowed down. I have to admit that after yesterday's race and 2 1/2 miles on the trails at Savoy, I really wasn't looking forward to the mile or so climb up the mountain... but after the climb up the Turner Trail two weeks ago, this one didn't seem as bad as it had in the past. Still, I was very happy to make the turn onto the Pine Mountain trail with somewhat more runnable terrain.

Of course, that section is all brief, and before I knew it I was looking down the Shadow Trail, which looks deceptively innocent at first - a bit of downhill which disappears around a curve. Having gone down it twice before I knew what was ahead - down down down down down! I know plenty of runners love this stretch because they can scream down the hill and make up some of the time the hike up took. My bad knees always remind me not to do that, and today was no exception - even as careful as I was, one of them gave me two twinges on some of the steeper sections. I was actually pretty pleased at my pace - slow but not as slow as previous years - and at the fact that I made it a good part of the way down before a group of half a dozen runners came barrelling down the hill, led by Walter K, whose knees are even worse than mine! (He told me later that he picked up too much speed and didn't dare slow down because he would have crashed - all I know is he was flying!) I pulled over and watched them go by, and a bit later was really happy to finally see the bottom of the steep parts - while there's still downhill after that it's all runnable for me, and actually quite nice, since the trail runs through some evergreen groves and allow a brook for a while.

A number of folks have told me that one of the toughest parts of Curlys is what happens after the downhill and I agree - just when you think the race is pretty much over, there's still 1 1/4 miles to run over rolling terrain and on some narrow, winding paths through the woods. It looked like I had a possibility of breaking an hour today, so I pushed the pace as much as I was able for the last stretch - maybe a bit too much, since I ended up having to walk part of the way across the field just before the finish. By then it was clear that I wouldn't beat that elusive hour , but I did manage to cross the finish with a time similar to last year's... not so bad, considering all the miles I haven’t been running over the last few months.

Last year after finishing the race I changed into dry clothes and hiked up to Berry Pond via what has become one of the my favorite trails, the Lulu Cascade. It's not the easiest hike, there's a lot of climbing and winding singletrack involved, but it's well worth the effort, because the brook is filled with small waterfalls and cascades. I thought about doing the same thing this year but my legs quickly convinced me otherwise. Instead, I watched Brad shooting footage of four of our most esteemed comrades for his Shady Esperanto contest video... it's definitely worth checking out the results on www.berskshiresports.org. I know I laughed a lot watching them go through their paces...

So, another fantastic race put on by Brad and Beth and all their amazing volunteers - thanks, guys! We are incredibly fortunate that week after week we have people willing to do all the hard boring work so that we can have our fun. And while the current word is this may have been the last Curly's Record Run, who knows - "fun runs" are always a possibility (though fitting one into our packed weekend schedule might be a challenge) or maybe if we ask nicely and offer assistance pre- and post-race they can be convinced to stage a "double" race like the Hoxie Thunderbolt/Covered Bridge combo at Greylock and include at least part of the Curlys course in the mix. The possibilities boggle the mind - just imagine a Turner Trail/Curlys Record Run combo, for example...

(With luck someday Brad and Beth may forgive me for ever suggesting that...)

JMH

2010 Event Totals
Run
Bike
Snowshoe 22.5 mi, 5 hr 39 min

states visited: MA, NY, VT