5th Annual ECTA Thanks for the Trails 5K – South Hamilton

The ECTA Thanks for the Trails 5K is hosted, Friday, the day after Thanksgiving at 10AM in Hamilton. This event was formerly Gabe’s Run and ECTA took it over five years ago. I did a light warm up and got on the line. The plan was to be competitive with the terrain and keep heart rate elevated but not convince Garmin that I raced twice in 24 hours. Garmin was telling me to take a rest day. No rest for the wicked!

Patton Park and the Tank

I let several runner jump out ahead at the start line. It was single file quickly as we rounded the fields and into the woods. I got through the mile in 7:37 and the miles slowed thereafter as there was a decent sized hill in the middle of the second mile. That hill crashed back down into the opening filed and mile two split was 8:06. The hill in the middle of the closing mile was shorter but steeper. The back side of the hill allowed me to stretch the legs and head back to the finish. 

I lost one place on the return. GPS recorded 3.23 so a touch long for a 5K.  26^th place overall, 4^th in an odd age group of M46-55 and an unofficial time of 25:37 or 8:15 pace per mile. My average heart rate was 161 bpm. I connected with Larissa Bifano for a short cool down a minute after my finish. After checking the results I grabbed a cider donut and a cup of soup before heading out for the day. Splits were as follows: 7:37, 8:06 (hill in the middle), 8:17 (hill in the middle) and 6:58 for last .23 miles. Results

18th Annual Run for the Trails 5 mile

Results 

Sept 17, 2022 - This was a fun trail race where one loop was good for 5 miles and others opted for two loops for 10 miles. Right away, a field of over 140 set afoot with a heart rate rising hill a minute into the loop. This thinned out the crowd right away where I seemed to be in the top 15 on the edge of the Harvard Forest and Patton Park. 

Shortly after the start before the hill

I crossed over the Cutler Rd and into Appleton Farms where I kept company with eventual 2^nd place female 10 mile finisher, Samantha Aprea. I pulled ahead on the return back to Patton Park. However, before crossing over the train tracks in the Pingree area, the fellow in front of me turned right. He had about 15 seconds on me and I followed but it did not seem right as I did not see a course marker for the turn so I yelled ahead and said we were off course. 

I turned back and there was Samantha and Kevin Littman who were trailing me looking confused. We bunched up and got back onto course where I scooted ahead to finish up the last .6 miles of the course. I finished 5^th overall in the 5 mile with a time of 37:43, nearly 3 minutes behind 4^th place. I am not sure where the runner who went off course wound up finishing. 

I spoke to a few race organizing folks right away about the lack of markers and offered to run back out on the course to mark and stand by there for a bit which I did. It looks to me that a neighbor pulled some course flagging down before the race. Shame on the South Hamilton resident.

Mile Splits

1                     7:58

2                     7:12

3                     7:26

4                     7:45

5                     7:15

Place First Last Division Gender Time  

1 David Long                      40‐49 M  00:32:26.55  

2 Salvatore Frontierro    40‐49 M  00:33:35.82

3 Dan West                         30‐39 M  00:33:54.03

4 Jacob Roy                         <29   M  00:34:30.75

5 James Pawlicki               40‐49 M  00:37:43.68

6 Patrick McCafferty       30‐39 M  00:39:58.90

7 Freddi Tribeck                50‐59 F  00:40:11.36

8 Robert Gilfillan              40‐49 M  00:40:36.85

9 John Mulroy                   60‐69 M  00:41:06.47

10 Samantha Goedeke 30‐39 F  00:42:07.36

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

ECTA Spring For The Trails Half Marathon - Willowdale State Park - Ipswich, MA

My expectations were low but I wanted to enjoy the Willowdale State Park Trails of which I have not seen since doing this race in 2017 with a 3^rd place finish and time of 1:28:13 (GPS measured distance of 12.4 miles). I headed into this half marathon with the goal of trying to finish as competitive as possible with the limited trail running and only two long runs of seven miles each in the last month. It was nice to see Carol, who has been directing these ECTA (Essex County Trail Association) since the start 18 years ago. She always recognizes me and reminds me that Joe Shairs and I did her first race in Hamilton.

I caught up with Todd Callaghan, Dan Donato and Dave Long before the race – all three I considered to be front runners on the day. I ran less than a mile for a warm-up fifteen minutes before the 9AM start time. The temperatures were promising to get into the 80’s in the afternoon and the sun was bright. The race took off and I settled into a distanced second pack before diving into the single track and quick up and downs. We hit the highpoint of the course after a mile in around 185ft. 

The mile splits don’t mean too much with the constant varying terrain, rocks, roots, switch-backs, fire road to single track transitions. The best part of these trails I feel are the mix of single track and wider fire roads where you can see people ahead of you within 100 yards and then not see a soul but maybe hear them above or below you in the single track that can include switch backs. This is the type of course that requires strength and nimble feet. I started to lose the nimbleness after nine miles. More on that later.

I was feeling good about position, perhaps 10^th place 1/3^rd of the way in (4 miles) latching onto the lead woman who came back at me after missing a turn and maybe 30 seconds. We entered the water/GU gel stop shortly after six miles. I took a GU and full cup of water down carefully for a minute as did the lead woman and a male counterpart who waited for her. I beat them out of the water stop running silent and getting tired of the switch-backs encountered beyond 9 miles. I tripped at 10.5 miles and was lucky to get my hands out on the ground to brace what could have been a nasty fall into the earth. Neither the knees or elbows touched down.

This did shake me up though mentally knowing the legs were being stretched beyond the limits. Through 10 miles I had 2 miles in the 7’s (7 minute/mile pace), 5 miles in the 8’s (8 minute/mile pace) and just two in the 9’s (which included the break at the water stop). From 10 miles onward, I ran defensively through a 10:31, 10:38 and 10:10. All I could do was be calculated with the steps and remain defensive which is very defeating. I did not want to take another fall. 

I would be passed by the lead woman and her male counter part with less than a mile to go. I was cooked and just praying that the finish was coming well before 13.1 miles. Indeed, the finish approached at 12.5 miles per my GPS. Most others I heard from got the same distance. I crossed the line and leaned on my tired knees. The 12.5 miles felt like a marathon! I finished 10^th overall with a time of 1:53:13, 9.04 pace per mile for the 12.48 miles.

 

Spring For The Trails Half Marathon Results Willowdale StatePark May 14, 2022 or direct PDF here

Top 20 below

Place First Last Time Gender Age Bib 

1 Todd Callaghan 1:33:51 M 52 21 

2 Nathan Currie 1:34:19 M 29 150 

3 Ben  Schersten 1:36:21 M 43 142 

4 David Long 1:39:06 M 48 62 

5 Michael Peyron 1:43:15 M 46 90 

6 Dan Dorato 1:44:44 M 41 136 

7 Keith Schmitt 1:47:24 M 53 102 

8 David Mueller 1:52:11 M 26 76 

9 Amy Hollshwandner 1:52:33 F 27 54 

10 James Pawlicki 1:53:12 M 47 86 

11 Kayla Pelletier 1:53:54 F 34 88 

12 Steve Vanne 1:55:41 M 37 119 

13 Tom  Maddux 1:56:00 M 36 63 

14 Wes Lassen 1:57:14 M 44 60 

15 Kat O'Leary 1:57:59 F 36 82 

16 Toshiaki Namba 1:58:36 M 25 78 

17 R J Mroz 1:59:01 M 21 75 

18 Dan Healey 1:59:53 M 61 138 

19 Brad Woodley 2:00:45 M 48 128 

20 Sean  Bailey 2:03:23 M 39 10

ECTA Spring for the Trails Half Marathon - Ipswich

ECTA represents the Essex County Trail Association. Straight from their site, they exist to protect access to the trails and open lands throughout Hamilton, Wenham, Ipswich, Topsfield, Essex, and West Newbury. Yesterday, ECTA hosted the 2^nd Annual Spring for the Trails Half Marathon. This presented an opportunity for me to see the fun trails in Willowdale State Park from the Ipswich entrance off Linebrook Rd.

I warmed up on the course, seeing the opening mile and the closing quarter mile. The fire roads would be easy but the single track gave a hint that concentration and quick feet would be required. Someone said it would be similar to Lynn Woods. The biggest difference would be the crazy constant turns and switchbacks that kill momentum that you may secure on the wider fire roads.

Early on, I was in 3^rd place. Junyong Pak was the leader followed by Dave Long. I  forget his name (was introduced following the race), but a tall gent from Beverly who teaches at Landmark School, with a blue Adidas top was glued to my heels. He got bored and passed Dave and I after a few miles which were mostly single track, quick turns, and pace limiters.

ECTA Spring for the Trail Half Marathon course map

I opened up my stride on the wider fire roads and passed Dave after 3 miles. I closed the gap between Junyong and I who relinquished the lead between miles 3 and 4. I was pushing pretty well, closing in. Then we came upon a three way intersection and no course markers (pink ribbons) were in sight. Left, right, straight? I yelled a few expletives. Junyong turned around and yelled that he found the course, which was a 90 degree left hand turn we both missed about 15 seconds back. The pink ribbon was low on the ground and the red arrows indicating a turn was not there. I guess you can’t get comfortable with the expectations that a marker will be quite obvious as it was perfect up until that point on the course. I was on alert from that point on to pay extra attention.

I lost some ground to Pak while regrouping but was curious how the runners behind me, would fare upon the same error that we made (I heard some other runners missed a turn in the race but I did not know if this was the turn they missed).

Dave was no longer behind me, at least visibly, so I forced on to stay with Pak as long as possible. This took us to the water stop at 6.3 miles. I was about 5 seconds back but needed to grab some Tailwind at the table. I walked through, drinking and gulping two cups. I lost a few seconds and contact with Pak from there on. I saw him just a few more times in the next two miles but that was it. The twists and turns on the single track were brutal. Look at the course map from mile 7 to the finish. The legs and hips were taking a beating.

There was just enough elevation change to break balls too. But it was all good. The occasional Mountain Biker said I was right behind another runner (Pak) but I knew better. That could be minutes ahead. The switch backs over the last three miles allowed you to look over and see you is ahead or chasing. I saw Dave Long at one point and figured I had a minute up. Still, no time to let up, I pressed onward with tired legs, hoping for some fire road and less single track.

The race photographer I came upon said that just a mile remained which hinted that the course would be less than 13 miles. He was right. In the end, the course measured out for 12.4 for me.  I heard 12.3 mile were tracked by others.  I finished in 3^rd with a time of 1:28:13 which would have placed me 4^th in the 2016 results.

Results are not posted at this time. I am not sure what the times were for everyone. Pak was at least a few minutes ahead of me and Dave Long was maybe a minute behind me. I got a beer glass and a beer ticket for Ispwich Ale (good to see you TJ!) at the Ipswich Clam Festival starting at 1pm from Carol a few minutes after finishing. The race was giving New England Runner gift certificates to the every 25^th runner in the race.  The race director, Carol, said she recalled Joe Shairs and I running the first ECTA race 13 years ago. She remembered the snow flurry we had. Good memories indeed.