Debbie and I ran the Pisgah Mountain Trail Race today. I did the 23km baby version and she did the full 50km version. The race started/finished in Chesterfield, New Hampshire, USA, and wound through Pisgah State Park.
Conditions were tough. It rained all night last night and was raining again at the start. The heaviest downpours were in the first hour before stopping. However, many of the trails could have doubled as streams. To make matters worse, the last section (3 miles or so) of trail was being widened/cleared for snowmobiles. Bulldozers and excavators had made a complete mess of things and it was real muddy.
There were no views (other than of the fog and clouds) on Pisgah Ridge. Debbie had a good race, winning in 5:19 or so. Greg Hammett was the men’s winner. He was slightly ahead of David Herr. In the short race, Ben Nephew took off at the start and won going away. Ruthie Ireland took top honors for the women. I ran 1:54:03 and felt pretty good for most of the race.
Interestingly, more people ran the long course than the short course. Everyone seemed to be having a great time. The post race food and beverages were great. The volunteers (many from the Red Clover Rovers Running Club) did a fabulous job with marking the course, manning the aid stations, and serving food at the finish line. It was a great day.
I’ll post the results and more photos when they are available.
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