the Way of the Turtle

Slow & Steady 2016 - Race #26
Forge the Gorgeous 4mi Trail Race
Thursday, August 4, 2016

Signed up to do the longer race (7+ miles) but a combination of a course change, increasing heat/humidity, and being tired led me to drop down to the shorter version... my objection to doing that in the past has always been that the drop point is just before running up through the gorge, which is the main reason I keep coming back to this race (it certainly isn't the uphill hikes on either the north or south rims... ugh!) Well, this year the course was changed so that instead of running down the south rim, we ran down the gorge, after which the long course went up the south rim. So I could drop down and still go through the gorge, which is exactly what I did.

While that was convenient, I don't know that I like the course change... I actually prefer running down the south rim and up the gorge (going up all the steps is easier on my knees, and the regain of elevation is a bit gentler) and having down the hike up the south rim last year (when the gorge trail was closed to through traffic, so we ran out and back on the rim trails) wasn't exactly my idea of a good time. And given the griping my right knee started doing just before the drop point (and just before going down the long set of stairs that come out by the swimming area... joy!) I strongly suspect my legs agree that this new course is harder than the old one.

JMH

2016 Event Totals
Run 191.8 mi, 46 hr 55 min
Bike 67.3 mi, 5 hr 3 min
Snowshoe 6.2 mi, 1 hr 39 min
Kayak 1.5 mi, 20 min

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