Vineyard Hill Trail Run - Hamilton, MA

ECTA, Essex County Trail Association, hosted this 5K/10K combination trail race in Hamilton. I have never been within the Vineyard Hill area despite being next to Bradley Palmer State Park. I miss running over there and since a paid parking requirement in the parking lots, my presence has been missing. 

I met Dan Verrington for a course preview and warmup over the 5K course. We joined up with Paul Stacey on the course. The 10K runners would do the course twice. I was glad that I was just doing the 5K and seemed just right for my fitness. 

After a good clean start from the parking lot, I settled into 10th place before hitting single track a few minutes into the course. I managed to move up a few places after a mile while being careful on every down hill. 

I got away from the nearest runner behind me and I lost track of the sight of Dave Hannon ahead. The ensuing hills proved to test the heart rate and provide periods of recovery while being isolated of competitors to the end aside from seeing the 10K runners heading back out as I neared the finish. 

I crossed the finish line in 5th place, 2 minutes and 10 seconds behind Dan, with a time of 24:08 (7:46 pace). Old friend, Dave Hannon, would embark another tour of the 5K course to win the 10K edition twenty minutes later. After a few cups of water and a banana, I did a short cool down with Paul Stacey, Dave Long and Dan Verrington. I got a gift certificate to New England Runner for taking the age group, excluding the top 3 overall runners. 

Vineyard Hill Trail Run 5K results 2022