Debbie and I had so much fun at today’s Bimbler’s Bash trail race in Guilford, Connecticut. I was motivated to run hard after watching last night’s thrilling victory by the UCONN Men’s Basketball Team. The Bash is advertised as “10kish,” but my GPS data says that it was actually 11.35 kilometers (7.05 miles). Some couples go on “Date Nights,” but we prefer “Date Runs,” in the morning. Deb’s parents were kind enough to look after our children so that we could sneak away and tramp around in the woods for a couple of hours.
This is the first in a series of trail races over the next six months. For Debbie, they get progressively longer culminating with at least one 100-miler, so today’s race felt like a sprint. We have raced the Bash several times in recent years, and frequently do the Bimbler’s Bluff 50K in the fall too. Race Director Jerry Turk and his crew at The Bimbler’s Sound running club do a fabulous job with their events. Today’s race proceeds benefitted the Guilford Land Conservation Trust. The Bash has become a traditional kickoff to the season and they got a great turnout at today’s fifth annual race.
The weather was much better than it has been. It was cool, but very sunny with a stiff breeze. Fortunately, the wind was only an issue in the wide open spots and on the higher parts of the course. In the woods, you were fairly sheltered. The Guilford trail system is technical, so you have to concentrate if you plan to stay on your feet. Despite the rain and snow from earlier this week, the trail had drained well and was mostly dry. There were enough muddy spots to make it fun.
Debbie was second woman and 23rd overall, which is a good start to the season. Marie Arnesson was the first woman, 12th overall, and she crushed it. Our Shenipsit Striders teammate, Clinton Morse, told us that Marie is talented at orienteering. She definitely has some speed because she finished in 58:41. Debbie’s time was 1:03:09 and she held off Amy Steffen and Megan Raymond to also take first in her age group. Deb said that they traded places several times, but that she felt good at the end and was able to maintain her pace. Her time was a nice three-minute improvement over 2010.
I had a lot of fun. I was part of a large group of ten that ran in a train for the first few miles. Overall winner, William Hawkins, was way out front. He finished in 52:56. At one point, I had moved up to fourth place, and was sticking with Toby Kulas, who was in third at the time. He is a very good triathlete and frequents the top of the results sheet in many of our local races. After the aid station climb/scramble, he gapped me. I was able to close in on the tricky descent, but then we were both caught by Zac Cavanaugh, who blew by us. Dan Linkinhoker was in front of Zac, but well off of William’s pace. Toby was able to pull ahead in the last two kilometers and I ended up finishing fifth, which is fine. My time was 56:08. Toby did grab the top spot in our age group, which earned him a chocolate Easter bunny. I’m sure that I’ll be chasing him in other races as the season progresses.
It was fun to see some of our trail running friends. We should see more at next Saturday’s Northern Nipmuck Trail Race at Bigelow Hollow State Park in Union, which Debbie is running. I’m skipping it to watch our kids, cheer for her, and rest my legs for next Sunday’s Tour of the Battenkill. I’m in better running shape than bicycling shape, but Battenkill has become a tradition and we have a solid squad from the Horst Engineering Cycling Team headed to New York for the race. Debbie and I have only two weeks until the Traprock 50K, so we better get fit soon!
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