New England Running: The Seven Sisters Trail Race

This post is a few weeks belated at this point, but I have been wanting to blog about a few things that are going to be coming down in a storm now as I catch up...

So here goes!

The race was on May 1st, the same day as the Boston Walk for Hunger. I was torn between the two events, since I have done Walk for Hunger for five or six years. I wound up deciding to go with the trail race because it is something new, lacking the 2.5 hours of driving, and sort of a tribute to this being my last year in Amherst.

Dave is always so good about stretching.

Now, this was my first trail race, and it was a completely different experience from most of the other races I have run. A similar feel to the Stew Chase, the race is organized by local clubs and started with a "Ready, set, go!" Dave and I started towards the back of the pack, not wanting to get in the way of everyone racing up the first hill. We had tried to run it a few weeks prior and knew already that the initial climb was going to be a walk for us.

And there was a lot of walking. This was one of those races that we definitely required more hills in the training. I think that due to the nature of the race (12 miles, climbing, etc.), a lot of the runners were really extreme trail runners, so we finished closer to the back of the pack than the front. I discovered that in trail running, you are very limited by the pace of the person in front of you. Particularly since this race was an out-and-back, the passing space was limited throughout most of the race. If the person in front of you starts walking, you are walking too. (And I'm not complaining.)

Other details about the race: The entry fee was only $20, and proceeds go to preservation of the range. (Tee shirts were available for an extra $15.) Water stations were every two miles, and they consisted of piles of gallon jugs that were shared by everyone. If anyone is aware of my aversion to sharing drinks, you understand how appalled I was by this. However, it was a toasty run and the water was necessary. at the 6-mile turnaround point, volunteers had tables set up with water, sports drink, powerbars, cookies, and candy. The was also food at the end, and everyone was really friendly. We didn't finish fast, and we were sore for a few days, but I'd say that overall, I really enjoyed the race!