Northern Nipmuck Nirvana

Rarely has my enjoyment of a race surpassed its legend in Bimbler lore and mythology.   But that is exactly what happened when I ran Northern Nipmuck for the first (and possibly last) time last weekend.

Several descriptions had made me think I would love the race.  I had heard Forrest describe NN as ‘very much like a long Bash.’  Of course this alone was more than enough for me to sign up for last year’s race; unfortunately I was unable to go due to problems with child care.  But I had also read Nadia’s account of the beauty and intense challenges of the course in her race report from last year.  Then at this year’s Bash I worked the aid station with John Agosto.  He told me the race was almost like a ‘trick race’  He said one tends to feel strong going up and down the big, often technical rolling hills during the outbound portion of the race (the race is 16 miles – 8 miles out and back).  But then, eventually, on the way back runners begin to discover the enormous toll those big rollers were taking, and realize, with great dread, that they must face them all again before the finish.  So he cautioned me to save something for the second half of the race.   Naturally, this mix of fun, beauty, and challenge had me really looking forward to the race.

Race day was as near to perfect as I’ve seen.  Given the race’s late start (10am), I took my time getting packed.  The weather was fantastic – bright sunshine and cool temperatures.  The drive up to Bigelow Hollow was simple, fast, and relaxing.  One surprise was the presence of snow still alongside the roads as I approached the race venue.  At first I wondered if it was possible that there could somehow still be snow in the woods despite all the warm weather and sun; but it quickly became clear the snow was just the last bit remaining from the huge piles the snow plows had made along the roads.

As I arrived at the start area I saw Lefty and Shellygirl just as they finished registering.  It was great to see their familiar and – as usual – happy and upbeat faces.  They took off on what seemed to be a warm up jog; I parked, got my gear ready, and went to check in.  Just as I arrived at the tent I saw that Nadia and Diana had arrived, and Suresh shortly thereafter, and was glad to see that a good group of Bimblers had made it to the race.  I went back to my car, had hot coffee from home and then jogged to the start, which is perhaps a half mile from the registration area.  I was among the last few racers to arrive, and heard Suresh calling me up in the line for the group photo.  The race director walked us into the woods for the start and a few minutes later after the usual cautions and instructions we were off.

The race starts with a long, gradual uphill stretch, maybe a couple of miles in length, which is often complicated by sharply undulating, technical terrain.  I saw Nadia about five runners ahead but pulling further away and decided not to hang out too politely in single file.  I passed enough runners to catch up to Nadia, who had by that time had caught up to Shellygirl and Lefty.  We then ran together for a while and I really enjoyed this.  All the descriptions of the race were true.  There are plenty of very large, rolling hills; much of the terrain is technical – very rocky and rooty; there are numerous stream crossings which, like the Bash, involve choosing a path by leaping across big, mossy, slippery rocks; there are even a few hills one almost has to climb-hike; and there are beautiful passages through evergreens and along shaded trails overlooking the a wide section of stream from some height.  I commented on how beautiful all this was, and Nadia and Shellygirl agreed.  But one runner said ‘I wish I could say I was looking at all that instead of down at where my feet are landing!’  The point would haunt me later, as I took several nasty falls while taking in the scenery.  But it was worth it.

We passed beyond this section and at one point lost the trail for just a few yards.  Once we found it Lefty invited me to go ahead, but I declined, telling him that I would just follow, that I was sure I would fall way behind by the end.  Shortly after this we arrived at the first aid station at around mile four (I think).   The aid stations were simple but very well done: water, half-strength Gatorade, some bananas, cookies, Pringles, and probably more that I don’t remember.  Most welcome were the volunteers, quickly ready with gallon jugs of water to fill bottles.  I got my water refilled, gulped some of the half-strength Gatorade, and found myself leaving the aid station before fellow Bimblers.  At that point I decided to just go with the good feeling and run on ahead.  ‘Why not?’, I thought.  I figured I would hit the wall at some point, but it was feeling so good to open up that I figured I would just enjoy a tempo-like jaunt through the Bash-like trails and deal with the inevitable system failure and slowdown that would come later.  I looked over my shoulder a few times, expecting to see my fellow Bimblers, but after a while I did not.  This convinced me that I was certainly rushing foolishly and headlong toward a miserable crash.   So I checked my pace a bit and began to run any smooth sections of trail briskly but in a restful, efficient form, and to walk all but the easiest & shortest hills.

One memorable experience came as I was running through some densely overgrown sections of trail (much like the overgrown trails at Savoy Mountain, but thankfully broadleaf rather than thorny!).   I was looking down through the brush at the narrow trail when I was almost run over by two runners at what seemed almost a full sprint.  It was so sudden that I blurted out ‘Oh, we off course?!’ as I jumped out of the way.  Then a second later my mind recognized that it was Brian Rusiecki blazing past me with another runner right on his heels (at that point, at least) and then I breathlessly gasped ‘Oh, no, you’re back’ as he simultaneously informed me in clear speech: ‘No, you’re good; we’re on the way back.’

It wasn’t too long after this that I saw the second aid station and turnaround point come into view.  I checked my Garmin, which showed 7.5 miles and this led me to confirm at the aid station that it was in fact the half way turnaround point.  They said it was as they filled my water bottle and I gulped more half-strength Gatorade.  As I jogged out of the aid station I heard Nadia approaching the aid station, calling out and generously encouraging/cheering me on.  I cheered back and as she passed I said ‘Yeah – see you soon,’ figuring I would soon hit that wall I was expecting.   But again I decided to press on, and so I clambered up the hill just before & after the aid station (dodging rapidly descending runners along the way), and resumed a vigorous run at the top.  One discouraging thing happened just after reaching the top.  A runner with somewhat long, floppy blond hair with whom I had been running on the outbound leg simply disappeared from view ahead of me in what seemed like just a few minutes.  I definitely did NOT have that kind of gas left in my tank; but I tried to re-focus on running a good race for myself and on what that would mean as I faced ALL those giant rollers between me and the finish.

After that point I ran as much as I could, as efficiently as I could, again walking all but the gentlest hills and trying to stay up on my midfoot and avoid the pounding and heel-smashing descents that often send my hamstrings over the edge late in races.   A few miles after the aid station I encountered a tall, thin runner in a green shirt and lots fancy technical gear – who had evidently been way ahead at one point – struggling even to walk up the hills.  He was alternately standing straight up, gasping and swaying slightly, and then leaning forward, pushing on his knees as he went up hills.  As I passed him he said, ‘Good job.  I’ve hit the wall.’  This reminded me that I might soon face a similar fate.  But I was now only four miles from the finish, and I wondered if I could somehow maintain a real running pace (except for steep hills) all the way to the finish.   I managed to do this, but had to work through some trouble and learned something new in the process.  With just under three miles remaining, BOTH hamstrings started ‘talking’ loudly to me like they wanted to cramp.  I said ‘No, not now!’, and tried to stay in good form.  My hamstrings got progressively worse and seemed to have invited both glutes to the cramping party; pretty soon my whole backside was essentially cramping.  I briefly slowed down to see whether walking made things better.  It did NOT!  I found that running through the cramp was better than walking, which seemed to make the cramping escalate toward seizure.  I found a good, tolerable and quick stride down the last hills and was thrilled and relieved to hear Diana’s voice shouting ‘Good job!’  I took this to mean – hoping fervently! – that the finish was near, and I soon crossed the line in 3:00:20.

I waited for a couple of minutes at the deserted finish line area chatting with the two recorders.  But my cramping hamstrings needed to move, so I jogged back to my car and got ready to head out – I had to get home ASAP to pick up my kids from child care while Andrea was away at a wedding.   I grabbed a plate and a couple of slices of pizza, and heard a few runners talking about their GPS readings of the distance.  I heard some report 14.93 and 14.97 miles and I said mine showed 15.04.  I soon saw the other Bimblers walking back from the finish area.  I joined them and we shared congratulations all around.  I briefly inflicted the story of my cramping backside on them, and, after saying quick goodbyes, headed back to my car.

The day was perfect for racing and I had a fantastic time at Northern Nipmuck.  As I said of Colchester, I suppose this is probably due partly to the character of the race itself and party to how my race went – I had a good day in a REALLY fun (if quite difficult) race!  Judging from the looks on fellow Bimblers’ faces after the race, it seemed that they had a great day as well.  But it was not until the next morning at Miller’s Pond that I learned just how well everyone had done.  Both Nadia and Shellygirl WON their age groups, though apparently they had to ask about and were allowed also to inform the race directors of these facts.   And, VERY impressively, Suresh took 30 minutes off his time from last year! Congratulations to all!  Excellent runs!

Overall Northern Nipmuck certainly ranks among my ‘very favorite’ trail races.  It is beautiful and challenging, and my favorite kind of race – a fairly technical single track hilly roller coaster (almost) all the way.  And the 16 (or 15) mile distance means (for me, at least) that it takes a few hours while not taking all day.  Nice!  …  So I was sad to hear that Northern Nipmuck will probably end, as the RD has given 10 years to it and is ready for a change.  Perhaps someone will step forward to keep it going.  I hope so!

-Catamount

For more pictures, click here