Bluff 50k Info

Bites Of The Bluff 2016

Dates for the annual Bites of the Bluff, three low key training excursions on the Bluff 50k course, have been set. Complete all three and you will experience the entire route.

Bite 1, The Prologue – August 14, 2016. Meet at Guilford Lakes School Maupus Rd, Guilford at 8 am. The route is an out and back of approximately 8 miles. It’s dog friendly, but known to bite ankles.

Bite 2, Divine Intervention – August 28, 2016. Meet across from the Guilford Monastery, Race Hill Rd, Guilford at 8 am. This is also out and back and about 12 miles. This route isn’t dog friendly, please don’t bring fido. The going can be wet but it is very runnable (most of the way).

Bite 3 – Poetry In Motion – September 11, 2016. Meet at the Rockland Preserve trail head in Renee’s Way, Madison at 8 am. A magnificent loop course up and over Bluff Head and a couple of other gnarly bits. Allegedly estimated to be 15 miles but dog friendly.

The pace on each run will vary and there should be enough people to form pace groups to accommodate everyone. We haven’t lost anyone ………………………yet! These runs are a great way to sample the route if you aren’t familiar with it and meet up with local runners. Participation is free and open to anyone registered for this year’s race, not registered but interested in taking part or those who are curious to know what happens on the trails.

If you have questions, please forward them via the Contact Form at www.bimblersound.com.

My first 50K

Bluff Race Reports

Christy Lucas ran her first 50K at the Bimbler’s Bluff on October 18, 2015. This is her story……

Here was my thought process back in February.

Hmmm there’s not enough of those corny oval stickers on the back of my car yet (actually, it’s getting a little obnoxious).
I need another challenge to push me out of my comfort zone.
Why not sign up for a trail race – they look like fun in the YouTube videos.

So…I went online and found the Bimblers Bluff 50k, a race within 20 minutes of my house – perfect – sign me up!

The Bimblers actually tack ‘ish’ onto the end of their distances so this particular race isn’t exactly 50k (31miles) it’s 50kish’ which ends up being more like 32.5miles through some challenging but beautiful trails in Guilford and Madison. The spectacular view from the top of the bluff makes the entire race worth it!

YOU’RE CRAZY!

If you have trained for and run a marathon, you’ve certainly heard this……”You’re crazy! I don’t even like to drive that far in my car!”

Maybe we all have a little ‘crazy’ in us but what I learned after crossing the finish line of my first marathon (3 years ago) is that it’s actually not hard to run distances some people only drive. The key is to put in the training suggested for a particular race/distance. Getting your butt out the door for all of the training runs leading up to the race is the challenge. The race is your payoff and the fun part!

I found trail running is just that, FUN and makes you feel like a kid again. It’s a completely different animal from road running – mentally there’s no zoning out. You either stay focused or you end up flat on your face (yup did that) but the mental aspect seems to make the time go by much quicker and the miles that much more enjoyable. Speaking of ‘enjoyable’, trail runners are the friendliest people I’ve met while running. It was so nice chatting with so many people along the course – also making the time fly by.

If the comradery of the other runners wasn’t enough, the volunteers were AMAZING! They braved the chilly weather (in the 30’s at the start) helping us cross streets safely, filling water bottles as we came into each aid station and provided tables full of anything you could want. There were M&M’s, bananas & oranges, grilled cheese and PB&J sandwiches, chicken noodle soup, boiled potatoes w/ salt to dip them in (my personal favorite) and sooo much more! THANK YOU – THANK YOU – THANK YOU volunteers!!!

The race was well organized and very well marked as long as you paid attention (thanks Will for keeping me on-course when I didn’t pay attention).

Also, a big thank you to my soundRUNNER friends, Benny and Chaz for your encouragement and course/race tips!

Last but not least, thank you to my husband, Tom and daughter, Kaitlyn for freezing their behinds off to support me…again. You’re the best!

To sum up my Bimblers Bluff experience:

Yup, there’s another oval sticker on the back of my car 😉
I was definitely pushed out of my comfort zone.
Trail running IS as fun as it looks in the YouTube videos.

Being my first ultra, my #1 goal was to just finish within the 10 hour time limit.

Based on my training runs I was hoping to finish between 8 & 9 hours.

Actual finishing time: 8:05:17 – Bonus, I finished in the top 10 of my age group! (there were only 13 of us but who’s counting)

This was one of my favorite race experiences on all levels and I highly recommend it – I will definitely do this one again!

Bites of the Bluff 2015

Bluff 50k Info

Dates for the annual Bites of the Bluff, three low key training excursions on the Bluff 50k course, have been set. Complete all three and you will experience the entire route.

Bite 1, The Prologue – August 23, 2015. Meet at Guilford Lakes School Maupus Rd, Guilford at 8 am. The route is an out and back of approximately 8 miles. It’s dog friendly, but known to bite ankles.

Bite 2, The Time Trial – September 6, 2015. Meet across from the Guilford Monastery, Race Hill Rd, Guilford at 8 am. This is also out and back and about 12 miles. This route isn’t dog friendly, please don’t bring fido. The going can be wet but it is very runnable (most of the way).

Bite 3 – The Tour de Bluff – September 20, 2015. Meet at the Rockland Preserve trail head in Renee’s Way, Madison at 8 am. A magnificent loop course up and over Bluff Head and a couple of other gnarly bits. Allegedly estimated to be 15 miles but dog friendly.

If you have questions, please forward them via the Contact Form at www.bimblersound.com.

Bimblers Bluff Finisher Medal

Bluff 50k Info

Anyone who finished the 2014 Bimbler’s Bluff will receive a personal link from RAT Race Timing inviting them to down load a virtual finisher medal to share on social media. Each medal shows the race logo and on the reverse includes the recipient’s name and finish time.

Bites of the Bluff 2014

Bluff 50k Info

Dates for the annual Bites of the Bluff, three low key training excursions on the Bluff 50k course, have been set. Complete all three and you will experience the entire route.

Bite 1, The Prologue – August 31, 2014. Meet at Guilford Lakes School Maupus Rd, Guilford at 8 am. The route is an out and back of approximately 8 miles. It’s dog friendly, but known to bite ankles.

Bite 2, The Middle Bit – September 14, 2014. Meet across from the Guilford Monastery, Race Hill Rd, Guilford at 8 am. This is also out and back and about 12 miles. This route isn’t dog friendly, please don’t bring fido. The going can be wet but it is very runnable (most of the way).

Bite 3 – The Tour de Bluff – September 28, 2014. Meet at the Rockland Preserve trail head in Renee’s Way, Madison at 8 am. A magnificent loop course up and over Bluff Head and a couple of other gnarly bits. Allegedly estimated to be 15 miles but dog friendly.

The pace on each run will vary and there should be enough people to form pace groups to accommodate everyone. We haven’t lost anyone yet, but we have been close once or twice! These runs are a great way to sample the route if you aren’t familiar with it and meet up with local runners. Participation is free and open to anyone interested in taking part.

If you have questions, please forward them via the Contact Form at www.bimblersound.com.

Bimbler’s Bluff 50K Photographs

Bluff Race Reports

Check out the great images taken by Chris Renda at the 2013 Bimbler’s Bluff! Chris has photographed the event every year, please take a moment to look through the images and consider supporting his work.

Click here to see the portfolio