Shelly Girls Day in the Sun

I think everybody should have a day in the sun!  That day where they are number one, whatever that means, and the Hancock Shaker Village Trail Marathon was Shelly’s day!

The Hancock Shaker Village Trail Marathon, there is also a fifty mile race, starts in the Center of the Village but is run primarily across the street in Pittsfield State Forest. From the web-site and race registration, the race seemed to be a very low key off the radar event, and combined with the fact that the race is on a Saturday, had a 10:00 a.m. start and took place on trails we had never run in the Berkshires, well, it all sounded perfect!

After an easy drive up to Pittsfield we arrived at the Village with plenty of time to register and get ready to run. About 9:30 the RD walked us all over to the start. As we walked past the period buildings and the chicken and cows I thought “am I going to run a race or take a guided tour?” Upon our arrival at the start a couple of runners doing the 50 mile race came round and after  cheering them on we all settled in to listen to the race instructions. It seemed the 50 mile race was five 10 mile loops and our race would be two loops plus an out and back. After looking at the race sign ups, I had the secret hope that Michele might have a chance to be top women, so before the start I scanned the starting line to see who might be her competition. After a few last words about the course we were off. Right away it seemed like Michele was in first place but there were three other ladies who seemed to tuck in right behind us as we started the mile loop that would drop us off into Pittsfield State Forest. As we hit the single track the competition was down to Michele and one other gal who had a Pineland Farms shirt on so we called her “Pineland Farm” all day.

It should probably be said at this point that Michele has never lead a race and the perspective change this caused in our run was very unique. With school starting up our running has been very sporadic the last few weeks and we decided to run the race just to get out of town, explore some new trails and hang out together.  Well that all changed quickly once Michele was in the lead!

As we hit the woods Pineland Farms passed Shelly. I was not sure how Shelly felt about this but she seemed to just stay in her zone. After about mile two the race begins a significant climb to the top of Mount Sinai. Michele is a terrific hiker and we quickly caught up and passed Pineland Farms to regain the lead. Michele passed her while hiking a pretty significant hill but as soon as she passed she began running and I knew at this point that Michele really was racing and wanted to win.  After the climb we ran a techy downhill to land at the first aid station at mile 4. I thought we had dropped Pineland Farms but as we resupplied she came down the hill, ran through the aid station and regained the lead.  Grr!! Again, Michele seemed pretty calm and I think I was the one who needed to calm down.

For the next couple of miles Michele remained in second place but Pineland Farms was always within eye sight and it was becoming clear Michele was a stronger hiker. The section we were now running (between mile 4 and 8) was a wonderful combination of terrain and we just enjoyed running. Somewhere in this part of the race Michele took over the lead. Pineland Farms stayed on our tail but from her breathing I thought she seemed to be working harder than Michele. It was at this point where we started wondering who was closest to the edge of their abilities. Michele seemed to be simply running her race but the pace was much faster than usual and we both wondered if this would hurt us in the end or if it was just part of what one must do when you lead a race. We dropped down a big hill to the roughly 8 mile aid station in a pack of four, as another guy had joined our group.

 Because Michele seemed to be the better hiker, after the aid station, I was hoping for a big ascent and that is what we got. Each step we took put distance between us and the others and we reached the top of the climb with nobody else in sight. The next section was perhaps the most difficult of the day, as it was a long techy downhill which always makes you work both physically and mentally a bit harder than you want. Each step has potential for disaster and this is about the only terrain on the trail that can be difficult for Michele. We picked our way down the path at a fairly conservative pace and dropped out onto the final ½ mile section before completing our first 10 mile loop. We got to the aid station, resupplied and took off for loop two with nobody in sight!

 As we started the second ten mile loop, I kept looking behind to see if Pineland Farms was coming but there was nobody in sight and I think we both were very happy about that fact. The first lap was just a bit to on the edge and we wanted to relax a bit on lap two.  Unfortunately right before we reentered the State Forest I turned around and Pineland Farms was right behind us. Damn! We were bummed for three reasons.  First this meant we could not totally relax, second this gal was not giving up and third she was faster than Michele and if things were close at the end Michele would lose! The gal tucked in behind us and did not seem interested in passing but rather just wanted to pace off of Michele.

We began the second climb to Mount Sinai and Michele started putting distance between both Pineland Farms AND me! Ha! Michele is just a really strong hiker, plus I was in a really bad spot mentally and needed to dial back a bit to find my center, so off she went. As we began the seemingly inevitable uphill separation from Pineland Farms, I shouted back “I am sensing a pattern” and Pineland Farms laughed. We did not talk very much during the race but Pineland seemed to be a very nice young gal who was rock solid as a trail runner. We finished the climb, I caught Michele on the decent to the aid station and we stopped to resupply. This was at about mile 14 and I kept waiting to see Pineland Farms come down the hill but she never did and I took off thinking maybe we were finally free and clear.

Except for the finishing descent of the race, miles 14-18 were my favorite part. Personally, I found that happy mental place that is necessary to succeeding in these types of distance events, and that I have not found in quite a while, and collectively we were just having a good time running together in the woods. Michele was winning the race, we were feeling great! We resupplied at about mile 18 started hiking up the hill and Pineland Farms was nowhere to be seen. For the first time we allowed ourselves the thought that Michele was going win. How exciting!

Suddenly, at about mile twenty, we saw a couple of runners up ahead of us. While there was a girl in the group both Shelly and I assumed they were both fifty milers, the race had started several hours before the marathon race,  but when I asked they said no they were running the marathon. What? It seems we missed this gal at the start and Michele was not actually ever ahead in the race up to now!! What a shock this was to both of us but we quickly saw the girl was done and we left them behind in a matter of seconds. Michele was back in first, we hoped, as we finished the second loop.

The last section skips the opening mile loop and simply goes 3 miles out to the first aid station and then you turn around and come back to the finish. I was happy about not doing the “fast part” again. The out and back also meant we would see where Pineland Farms actually was as she finished her second loop and we began the final section.  Happily, as I saw her coming down the trail, Michele had put about 8 minutes into her and all Michele needed to do was not fall apart and the victory would be hers!!  The only complication was I had really begun, at about mile 20, to start cramping so we agreed that Michele should just go ahead. Off she went up Mount Sinai for the third and final time with me hobbling behind. She had her iPod on and I could tell by her gait that she not only was not going to fall apart but she was going to rock the last section with a big smile on her face! We made the climb and I caught Michele on the decent to the last aid station. For some reason I could not run on either uphill or on flats without cramping but I could fly on the downs with no problems, so I did! We made the final climb, with me getting dropped by Michele yet again, saw Pineland Farms and a couple of gals between  ten and twenty minutes behind, and began the final long descent off of Mount Sinai. I once again caught Shell on the descent and then we just flew! It was a top five moment coming off that hill, feeling great and knowing that Michele was going to win the race!

As Michele wrote on Facebook, “it was a small race but it was still very exciting”. And that it was!  She may never be in the same position again but for one day she was and she took advantage. She had the opportunity to create a memory and she did. I am glad I was along for the ride!