Left Turn at the Escarpment

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There is nothing easy about taking on the Escarpment Trail 30k. Suds, Shelly Girl and I left from the Killingworth Traffic Circle at 4:a.m. We needed to make it to North Lake Campground in Haines Falls New York in time to catch the bus to the start. For the first hour there was torrential rain, which was not only difficult to drive in but made us all wonder if this was foreshadowing as to what the race would be like. Arriving at North Lake we were greeted with lots of fog but, thankfully, no rain. After meeting up with Gretchen and Bounce (who had camped overnight on a beautiful spot right on the lake) we all boarded the bus for the 45 minute school bus ride to Windham and the start. Upon arrival we picked up our race numbers, took care of natures call and waited to start. It was wonderful to just get on the trail, after the five hours of getting there!

The start is two hundred runners being crammed into a single track trail. I did not start running for over two minutes. No problem. In the Escarpment unless you’re Ben Nephew, it is not a bad thing to go out slow, because after the start begins a 3 plus mile climb up to Windham Peak. I ran this section more than in past years but there still was a lot of hiking. At this point you can use a lot of energy trying to get around folks and many have paid a big price for pushing too hard this early in the race. On the climb to Windham we all got a good taste of several other aspects of the race that would be constant throughout the day. Roots, rocks, water and mud!! Seems like I cannot get away from mud this summer. There also are several very nice views along the way and the weather seemed to be cooperating so, up to this point, things seemed just dandy.

I got toWindham Peak just under 57 minutes. That’s right 57 minutes for a little over 3 miles. Welcome to the Escarpment. I quickly filled my water and took off for the first of many extreme downhill tumbles. Heading down Windham I encountered a challenge I was not expecting and that is runners who would not let you pass. Personally, I always move off the trail when someone is on my heels. I don’t like the pressure plus I figure if someone catches me they are probably going faster than me. The guys in front of me going down Windham apparently followed a different set of rules. After asking several times if I could pass I simply settled in and figured it was the running Gods way of telling me to slow down and relax. The next few miles were perhaps the low point of the day. The terrain was relatively flat but one of things about the Escarpment is that it is almost always technical. These flat miles took a pounding on my legs as every step required effort to get around a root or rock. I finally made it to Acra Point and was actually relived to begin the ascent up Blackhead Mountain.

Many say the climb to Blackhead is the hardest part of the Escarpment. I disagree. Blackhead is less than halfway into the race and, if you have not pushed too hard up to this point, it is simply a hard, often times hand over fist, one mile hike. There is no way I can run any of it, in fact nobody runs Blackhead so I simply took a pace I could maintain and ate and drank a lot. Coming down off of Blackhead was one of my favorite parts of the day. While there were still runners around me there was more room by this point in the race and I found I could go as fast as I wanted. I have been trying to improve my downhill running this summer and this has really made a difference in my ability to get down the mountain quickly. It also was at this point in the race that I was grateful I had decided not to carry anything in my hands I don’t think many people carry hand held bottles on the Escarpment and I believe it is because you need both hands to grab onto to stuff on the way down the mountain. On the descent from Blackhead I made friends with several trees by greeting them with a big hug. I guess it was my way of thanking them for stopping my fall on more than one occasion.

I got to the bottom of Blackhead, and the aid station before the climb to Stoppel Point, at 3 hours and 10 minutes. With a 10k to go I had two thoughts. I am ahead of last year and Ben Nephew is already done! To me, the climb to Stoppel Point is not as hard as Blackhead but it comes at a time in the race that makes it equally challenging. There are three sections of climbing up to Stoppel and I felt, especially the third, was more difficult than in past years. Between my fatigue and those damn roots and rocks I had a hard time running the flat parts that fall between the climbs. I was not too worried and simply chugged on as best I could, praying for the crashed plane that signifies you have reached the last of the big climbs for the day. Yes, that’s right; there is a small plane that crashed into the side of the mountain many years ago, about five feet off of the trail. It is both funny and sad that we all are so happy to see that plane when we run Escarpment.

I made it to Stoppel Point at 3 hours and 50 minutes and knew, if I stayed focused and did not get hurt, I was home free. The last 4.4 miles is pretty much downhill and the place to really go if you are able. The only down side is there are a lot of rock scrambles and one must decide if they have the legs and the heart for the pounding. The running Gods once again helped me out. As I began to fly down to the finish I took a fall almost immediately. The fall was not bad but my right leg cramped up in a major way. Knowing I was way ahead of my previous best time I took both the fall and the cramp as a sign and decided to run conservatively. Maybe next year I will gain some time on this part but for this year I was happy with my decision because the last part of the race is some of the best running on the trail. The flats are much more runnable and there are several very nice vistas. I actually stopped at a particularly nice viewing point and took in the scenery. It was a great moment, knowing I was fortunate enough to be doing what I was doing where I was doing it! I made the final scramble, about a quarter of a mile from the finish, and then waited to see the finish line. I crossed and was both happy and sad to be done. The Escarpment is the race that hooked Shelly Girl and I on trail running. It will always have a special place in our life.

After the race I got some food and waited for the rest of our gang. Shelly Girl, who was hoping to break the 5 hour mark, came in at 4:56. She was very happy, and I might add very cute! Next came Gretchen and Bounce, who had run the race together. They looked great! And then came Suds. I am hoping he writes his own report because his run was epic. Also, the race must not have been that hard for him because he kept running past the finish line clear to the lake, jumping in, before he finally stopped. Suds is da man!