Today was the Mt. Greylock Trail Race, a Father’s Day tradition. It was a great way to spend time with the family. The venue, Greylock Glen in Adams, Massachusetts, is one of the most beautiful trail race start/finishes in New England. The Berkshire mountains are so cool and the Western Massachusetts trails are fabulous.
There were several story lines to this event. I was “doubling” as they say, but in a non-traditional manner. The traditional double is to run the Mt. Washington Road Race in Gorham, New Hampshire, on Saturday. Then, make the drive to the Glen for Greylock on Sunday. This may not have been pioneered by my nemesis, Todd Brown, but he is the runner who most consistently executes the double. I’ve done the Washington/Greylock double once and Deb has done it twice, but my 2009 double was to finish the Pat Griskus Triathlon on Saturday, then do Greylock on Sunday.
I kind of figured I would be slow today, but I was even slower than expected. I ran 2:08:00, which is four minutes off my best time. After three great 2009 Grand Tree trail running results, I had a rough day. Yesterday’s triathlon left me fatigued and my legs were pretty toasted. Oh well. It was really about the training, the trails, and the family time. I was anaerobic in the first quarter mile. It took me more than 40 minutes to run to the summit of Mt. Greylock (straight up from the start line), and I had my first fall of the year (scratches and bruises). My shoe laces came untied four separate times, despite the triple knots. It was that kind of day. Oh, and did I mention the mud? This was as muddy as I have ever seen these trails. The mud puddles were fun, but nasty, and not the best for the trails.
The second major story line was that this was Debbie’s 10th Greylock in a row. That is quite a streak considering that her trail running career is only 10 years old. With the exception of her first race, the 1999 Soapstone Sampler, this is the race that really got her hooked. She first did this race three months before we met, so you could say that her love affair with Mt. Greylock pre-dates our own relationship. She remembers the 1999 Greylock vividly. She says it was where she met the great people that make up the New England trail running community. She won the race that year and has returned every year since then. She has been talking about Greylock for the past month, so I know it meant a lot to her to run well today.
She ran 2:37:00 and loved every minute of this muddy slog. That is about 37 minutes slower than her best time, but is nearly 20 minutes faster than her 2006 pregnancy time. She is one month behind her 2006 pregnancy, but that can’t be the only reason why she is quicker. It doesn’t matter. She finished with a big smile on her face. The only time I saw her scowl was when she was washing off in the mountain stream that cuts through the Glen. That water was cold.
We are so grateful for Mrs. Schieffer’s help. She watched our little guy, hung out in the Glen, and sliced watermelon with the great volunteers. The post race spread was excellent as usual.
As for the speedsters, Brian Rusiecki took the overall win, less than a minute ahead of Greg Hammett in 1:42:14. Samantha Saeger topped all women with a fine time of 2:02:34. Amy Lane was second.
This was the first time in three years that we have run the Greylock course that goes to the summit. The auto road was under construction the last two years, so we had not been to the top in a while. It was great to go up there and see the Memorial Tower.
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