Babysitting a violin – Bluff Race Director’s Report

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It must rank as one of the most unusual race director functions, but minutes before the start of the Bluff 50k I was asked if I could find a shaded safe place for a valuable violin belonging to one of the competitors. Just like ultra runners, it seems that antique instruments don’t do well if exposed to excessively hot conditions for too long, and unfortunately regular applications of Gatorade or salt tablets don’t do them much good either! Everything else about the ‘Bluff’ though did seem to live up to its pre-race hype of being “…exactly what you think it isn’t…”, when a few minutes after 8am on Sunday October 26th 2008, the 1st Bimbler’s Bluff 50k officially started.

The race had been months in the making, a process that started back in January in order to obtain permission from several landowners who manage trail systems between Guilford, North Guilford and Madison, Connecticut.  As far as I’m aware the Bluff is the only off road ultra in the Connecticut and registrations came from as far away as Maine, Colorado, Oregon and Ohio. Entries closed early once our  limit was reached and a few advance drop outs were quickly filled from a wait list. The course followed an out and back ‘easier’ section with a 10 mile ‘hilly’ loop at the end. The runners seemed to describe the course shape as a lollipop, maybe because they thought their training had it licked. I tended to relate it to a tennis racket, perhaps that was because I knew there would be ‘strings’ attached! In addition to the individual race, we included the Goat and Gazelle Relay a two person, three leg race for runners who wanted to experience a long distance race. The Gazelle was required to complete the out and back “quick” stages while the Goat took on the “mountains” in the middle. 

From the start, the runners were treated to clear blue skies and warm sunshine and after a quick lap of the Guilford Lakes School sports field, they headed out through the Timberlands woodland preserve. After just three miles is the first of 4 road crossings and the field had stretched out a little less than anticipated. By the time the leaders arrived at Bluff Head team Ragin Cajun were narrowly ahead of Chris Schulten and Brad Overturf. Cajun Goat Hannon Didler wasn’t able to hold on to the lead though and when they reappeared at Braemore,  Schulten and Overton had broken away not to be caught again. In the ladies race leader Deb Livingston was 13 minutes behind the leaders and after the hilly Bluff section this deficit had increased to 27 minutes.

The many twists, turns and side trails added an additional hardship for most of the field, the course was marked with pink and black striped tape except for a 2 miles section out of the Braemnore aid station. The fall colors, bright sunshine and overnight winds that had wrapped several markers around branches, conspired to make following the trail difficult. Several runners finished with stories of getting lost and in future Bluff races the method of mark might need to be reconsidered. However, staying focused on the markers is a feature of trail running and getting lost is another risk just like the possibility of falling or twisting an ankle.

As the individual racers battled it out, the relay was now being contested between the men of Laurel Bicycle Club and the ladies of Cocoa ago-go. Cocoa girl Becky Iselin stormed over the Goat rocks hard on the heels of Buzz Gardner. From forth place at aid station 2, the Cocoa ago-go ladies Arsenault and Iselin, worked hard to get into second place and finish just 8 minutes (5:16:13) behind ‘trick cyclists’ Gardner and Czarnecki (5:08:07). At the penultimate aid station tucked away off Renee’s Way, Overturf was just four minutes behind the leader. Over the final stages he dropped back to finish 9 minutes behind Schulten (4:37:24) the overall winner but still impressively under 5 hours (4:46:21). In third place was Michael Keenan (5:24:41) with Thomas Williams fourth (5:28:35). Twenty-two minutes behind Thomas, Deb crossed the line (5:50:27) over 30 minutes ahead of the next lady Michelle Hammond (6:24:40).

The rest of the pack appeared into view at the finish as the afternoon slipped by, the bright sunshine allowed finishers and friends to hang around and relax while they watched the runners come in. Many had tales of missed turns and trail conditions that were harder than expected.  As each finisher crossed the line they were presented with a custom Buff head wear. Designed by a local graphic designer with a pattern of fall leaves and the Bluff logo it was a unique memento of their achievement. As the afternoon light began to fade violinst Lisa Weiss crossed the line. Lisa had been a wait list entry and had extended a working trip in Boston especially to run the Bluff. Home is in California, but Lisa said she was keen to run during the New England fall season. Behind Lisa was Siskanna Naynaha who had emailed me late the night before to ask if the race would still take place despite heavy rain fall. Come the morning we were there and so was Siskanna! Last man home was David Yearly who had battled cramp but valliantly stuck to his quest to finish.

Being the first running of the Bluff 50k, there were clearly things we could improve on based on experience. But one of the race’s objectives was to show off the many great trails we have in sounthern Connecticut and many finishers expressed their appreciation of the location. Hopefully many of them consider returning on October 25th, 2009. Mark your calendars, the Bluff will be back!