Today I returned to mountain biking for the first time since last fall’s Vermont 50. I’ve been on a mountain bike a few times, but this was the first event or organized ride. Hmm, now that I think about it. I rode the same bike that I rode today at a cyclocross last fall called Secret Squirrel. It’s a gnarly course and was more suited for a mountain bike.
Less gnarly, but no less fun is the Fat Tire Class course at Winding Trails in Farmington, Connecticut. Winding Trails is my “home course” having raced there more than 80 times including 11 prior Fat Tire Classics. My first was in 2000. The other events were off-road triathlons, adventure races, and cyclocross races dating back to the mid 1990’s. You could say that I know the trails well.
That bike I mentioned is my Seven Sola SL singlespeed mountain bike. I ride it rigid and it is perfect of the “benign” trails at Winding Trails. There are still a lot of roots, but not that many rocks. The trails were built for XC skiing, so they are generally wide. There is some singletrack, but it isn’t that rough. ‘
After more than 12 years of riding exclusively on a singlespeed, in 2022 and 2023, I mixed it up a bit and have been using a geared bike with suspension. It’s easier on the body. However, yesterday, I went back to my tried and true titanium frame/carbon fork combo with a single gear. I don’t even know my gear ratio because I never change it. It is what it is. It’s a big gear, but I do my best to push it.
It was a small field of 10 riders who started in the last wave of the Cat 1 grouping. We were a mixed age and mixed gender bunch…but we only had 10 gears between us! Anthony Vecca shot off the start line and I drafted until the first steep hill, and then he was gone. Kurt D’Aniello got past me in the first wooded section and I never saw him again. Kelly Catale (resplendent in her stars and stripes jersey!) and I traded spots a few times before she gapped me. I ended up chasing Kurt and Kelly for the whole race, but never got close enough to see them again.
I knew that I was being chased by Myles White and Michael Parent, so I couldn’t let off the gas, even though I was hurting on the last lap. There were four sections of mud, so that meant we were going to have to wash our bikes. For the first few laps, I tried to stay clean, but eventually I gave in and went through the bogs at a quicker pace.
Art Roti was the other teammate in the Cat 1 field. He had gears and he had a good race. I thought I saw him through the trees on the last lap when the course doubled back on itself, but it may have been a mirage because I didn’t see him again until the finish.
Team HORST Sports and the CCAP Team HORST Junior Squad had a great kickoff to the year. We have new team tents, new kits, some new riders, and new energy. There is nothing better than seeing more kids on bikes. Debbie and our kids came to watch. Shepard and Dahlia had a couple of big track meets on Friday night and Saturday (all day) so they were in “recovery” mode hanging out and cheering on their Dad and others.
It was a blast to see everyone on Team HORST together again, and we also saw lots of friends from the other teams. It was nice to ride the Winding Trails loop. I’m thinking about doing some of the Summer Tri Series races. I only did one in 2023. A comeback may be in the cards.
It’s been 15 years since the inaugural Traprock 50K and 17K trail races. At the time, the 50K was only the second trail ultra in the State of Connecticut. Bimbler’s Bluff preceded it. It’s crazy to think how much trail running, and in particular, ultrarunning, has grown.
Today’s Traprock was a fun event. Debbie and I weren’t at Penwood State Park for as long as we usually are because we opted to run the one lap 17K race for the first time. It worked out that our son Shepard was taking the ACT test at Loomis Chafee in Windsor. He had to be there at 8:00 A.M. so we dropped him off on the way to Penwood. The test was scheduled for 4.5 hours, which was perfect.
After a nice warmup, we did the 17K which started at 9:30 A.M. We both ran the loop in less than two hours which allowed us to spend a few minutes hanging out post-race before we drove back to Windsor to pick up Shepard. The 50K wasn’t in the cards for us which is fine because neither of us were excited about an ultra in April. At least I wasn’t.
It was fun to push for one lap without the risk of blowing up on a lap two or three. Debbie ran the first Traprock in 2010 and has run most of them since then too. She has done more than half of the 15 races.
It was nice to see many of our trail running friends. The volunteers were great. I didn’t stop at any of the aid stations on the course, but the finish line aid station was stocked with many food options.
The course was challenging as usual. There were many muddy sections and it was very slippery. The rock gardens and hills were the still in their same spots. It was cool and breezy with an overcast sky. There were breaks of sun in the first hour, but then it was pretty cloudy after that. I even felt a sprinkle or two falling from the sky.
I was very discouraged when a mile into the run, my Garmin buzzed, and flashed the dreaded -4 performance condition value on its screen. That’s about as low as I ever see, but when you get anything below zero, it messes with your head. I already struggle with Saturday races after a long work week.
I did the best I could and pushed when I could and backed off when it hurt. Debbie had a solid run and finished third. She got a really nice rock. Both of us got finishers mugs, which are beautiful. She said that she had a couple of minor falls. Miraculously, I stayed on my feet the entire time, though I had a few close calls.
There were some strong performances. Max Aronow led the way for the men. Marie Arnesson Galler was first woman. I battled with her the entire time and she smoked me in the last mile. Good for her! I glanced at the 50K results and there were also some strong performances. Kudos to all of the runners. This was the first of a dozen Blue-Blazed Trail Running Series races. I’m going to do as many as I can. Next up is the Soapstone Mountain Trail Race in five weeks. The season is under way.
The reincarnation of the Northern Nipmuck Trail Race continued today in Union, Connecticut. This is the third time Northern has been held after a 10 year hiatus. Debbie has run all three of the “comeback” races. I ran last year and again this year.
2024 was my 10th Northern start and 9th finish. I DNF’d my first one in 2002. That feels like a lifetime ago, but was only about a half a lifetime ago. Today’s race was one of the colder editions. I recall running the race with snow on the course. Today, there was no snow, but there was a fair amount of ice.
Yesterday, it rained more than three inches and then overnight, the temperature plunged into the low-20’s Fahrenheit. The thermometer read 24 at the start of the race and it was a brave decision to wear shorts. I did have calf socks. My legs remained warm, but my feet were cold. It was impossible to keep them dry and the water was frigid.
The sun was shining, but the Nipmuck Trail is shrouded in trees so it didn’t help as much as I would have liked. My best time was 15 years ago, but I’m learning to adjust my expectations. It’s about time that I let go of the notion that I’m going to run (or ride) faster than I did when I was in my 30’s and 40’s.
The 50+ phase I’m in is different in many ways. I’ve noticed my body change despite the fact that I remain very active. I have increased my focus on strength training because one of those changes I’ve noticed is the loss of muscle mass.
Today wasn’t a great day and I faded worse than planned, but it was great to be in the woods. My feet were uncomfortable, but so were everyone else’s. I ran about four minutes slower than last year. Debbie finished about 10 minutes behind me. I waited for her at the finish before walking back to the parking area in Bigelow Hollow State Park. In those 10 minutes, I turned into an icicle. That made for a painful and slow half mile walk back to the car.
Thank you to race director (and friend) Tony Bonanno and all of the Shenipsit Striders volunteers who have made this low key event a reality again. My current plan is for mid-distance trail running to be a bigger component 2024 so you will see me at many of the Blue-Blazed Trail Running Series races around Connecticut.
When we got home, the post-race shower was epic. This phase of my athletic career may have fewer epic race and more epic showers, and I’m good with that!
Today I ran my 11th Bolton Road Race. It’s our hometown race and I’ve written about it before. I first did it in 2005 when we moved to Bolton from Vernon.
It’s a classic 5-miler on a hilly course. Today, a cold gusting wind made it even harder. The 1:00 P.M. start and short commute (we rode our bikes the two miles to the start/finish at Bolton High School) made for an easy Sunday morning.
I think all four of us will be hurting on Monday morning since last night we had to move the clocks ahead one hour for daylight savings time. Ugh. I wish we would just stay on eastern standard time. Enough about that.
Shepard was the strongest of the Livingston’s. He had a personal best 27:59 and finished third behind Will Sanders and BHS alum Evan Jaworski. Both of those runners are strong and they have years and wisdom over Shepard, so he was first in his age group. He was happy with his result. Alyssa Natario was the women’s winner in a fine time of 30:54. I chased her for a while, but then she just pulled away from me. Second female was Sybil Sanders, and rounding out the podium was Greta Roberts Broneill.
Debbie was 38:37 and 31st overall, a bit slower than last year’s time. She didn’t feel great, but ran 11 miles yesterday and is using this race as training for much longer races ahead. Dahlia was 39:46 and 35th place. She got her personal best on this course. Both of them place in their age group.
I was 31:59, my slowest time on this course (when not pushing a jog stroller), but I was happy to just finish. I wasn’t thrilled when I got to the last hill. I felt like I was crawling. Dominic Lombardo, one of the BHS XC runners caught me and I was happy for him. He had a very good race and I’m stoked for the upcoming track season and even more excited for this fall when BHS returns some strong boy runners.
It was great to see many friends and the volunteers were awesome. I was disappointed with the turnout. There were only 169 finishers, which is a bummer. That meant we got to take home lots of bananas, Clementines, and cookies. Competition from a Hartford Marathon Foundation (HMF) race in Putnam likely pulled runners away. I think the 5-mile distance (vs. 5K), 1:00 P.M. start and the hills are all deterrents.
With that being said, everyone who showed up to run deserves kudos. This is a great course in a great town. You should come next year.
This was a fun first time race for Debbie and me. The King of Pain is a 10+ miler in South Glastonbury. It’s the race with the catchy name!
The race is self-described:
In 2004, a legend was born. The King of Pain is the toughest road race in the history of Glastonbury and, as anyone who has run it knows, it lives up to its name. The course offers breathtaking South Glastonbury orchard scenery, along with hill, after hill, after hill. As a bonus, we scheduled the race smack-dab in the middle of a frigid New England winter. No extra charge. And you’ll be pretty sore after you finish, but you’ll walk away with bragging rights that will last all year long. Register quick. The field is strictly limited, and all of the clinical masochists in the state want in.
That name, some savvy marketing, and a lovely course (hills!) in a beautiful part of town are all attributes of this event. I love riding on the roads in this part of Glastonbury (a geographically huge town), and running them was “kind of fun” too.
Being an early February race, we weren’t exactly “peaked” for this one, but it was a great workout. Normally in February, we gear up for the Colchester Half Marathon, but I think we are skipping it this year. Today’s weather was nice. It was mild with a temperature in the mid-40’s Fahrenheit. It was overcast with a light breeze. I warmed up quickly.
There were lots of great volunteers out on the course. Most were members of the host Glastonbury River Runners. This race has many twists and turns, but it was well marked. It’s also known for those aforementioned hills. It’s a clockwise loop (sort of) with zigs, zags, and three “sticks” which are out and back sections.
I wanted to push it, and that I did. I ran steady and strong for about seven miles before starting to fade. I struggled on the downhills (go figure) as they were pounding my legs. The last 2.5 miles were a bit rough as I was distanced by the guys I was chasing.
Rob Amatruda was in front of me through eight miles and then he appeared behind me and passed me. He missed the sharp 180 degree right turn off of Matson Hill Rd. on to the even steeper Hopewell Rd. which means the course wasn’t marked quite well enough for him! From the looks of his Strava activity, he ran an extra .25 miles, which kind of sucks. Better him than me. I probably would have cried if I missed that turn!
Kudos to Rob for catching back up to me and then catching a very strong Jeff Walker (59 years old!) who took the 50-59 age group win. For the first half of the race, I would catch Jeff on the uphills, only to lose contact with him when the road tipped down. He was fast.
Debbie had a good run. She was only using this for training and combined with yesterday’s run, she got more than a marathon for the weekend. Avid readers of this blog know that we are opposites in many ways. I was cursing the downhills and pleading for the road to turn up so that I could relax my quads. She was hating the ups and hoping for more downs so that she could let it fly. Our body composition is different. What hurts her is good for me and vice versa.
We saw a lot of friends and enjoyed the fun little post-race festivities in the Hopewell School cafeteria. I’ll definitely return to this one in the future. The only thing that could make it even better….is….snow!
The Old Bailey Trail is a new path on Bolton, Connecticut public land. This tract was acquired by the town from the Stangeland Family in 2017. It is adjacent to Bolton High School and borders the Hop River State Park Trail.
Our son, Shepard (Scouts BSA Troop 25) constructed the trail for his Eagle Scout Service Project. He first developed the idea to build a trail in 2022, and started planning the project in early 2023. This involved getting approvals from Scouts BSA and the Town of Bolton. Construction began in May and took multiple weekends during the spring, summer, and fall.
The initial trail clearing and construction was performed in May and June. Then, in September, the bridge reconstruction was performed. Final cleanup was done in November just prior to the formal unveiling.
The abandoned Old Bailey Rd. is one of the town’s most historic roads. The road was used by French General Rochambeau and his troops during the Revolutionary War. The Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route is now a National Historic Trail.
Access to Old Bailey Rd. and the Old Bailey Trail is from the north side of Bolton High School at 72 Brandy St. Weekday access may be limited during school hours. There is visitor parking in front of the building. On weekends there is ample parking on the north side of the lot. Start by the short pine trees and then walk between the tree line and the baseball field until you reach the woods. Continue on the abandoned Old Bailey Rd. Follow the white blazes.
The loop trail starts at 0.45 mile . You can go counterclockwise or clockwise and then return to the junction. From there you can complete the “lollipop” shaped route by returning to the parking lot.
The trail was unveiled in November 2023 at the annual Bolton Land Trust Walk of Thanksgiving. Land trust members were the first organized group to walk the trail and learn about its history. The Bolton Land Trust (BLT) maintains a series of properties throughout town. Many of them have their own trail systems.
Though the property borders the Hop River State Park Trail, Old Bailey Rd. crosses private property before it connects with the rail trail. Therefore there is no official access with the rail trail.
Between the BLT properties and town properties there are many options for walking in Bolton. The Old Bailey Trail is one more option for people to enjoy the beauty of our town.
Until yesterday, my last indoor track meet was 35 years ago in 1989 when I was in high school. I never did much indoor track because our school didn’t have an indoor track…or an outdoor track. Sadly, that’s the same situation Shepard and Dahlia are in at Bolton High School (BHS).
BHS has successful cross country and track teams, but they are always running track at someone else’s school or elsewhere. Yesterday, the elsewhere was Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut where they have an indoor track that is part of the larger Freeman Athletic Center. The complex also includes the natatorium and ice rink.
Both kids are “skipping” indoor track this winter so this event was just for fun. Shepard ran indoor his freshman and sophomore years, but this year, he was yearning for a break after a long cross country season. Dahlia is a freshman and after her inaugural cross country campaign, she will run her first outdoor track season in the spring.
Indoor is usually a bridge season and rather than being all about the competition, it builds experience and fitness. We all know how hard it is to stay motivated when the days are short and the temperature is freezing outside. Most runners train for indoor track by running outside, especially because very few high schools have an indoor track. It isn’t just Bolton that lacks the facilities.
A while back, the Manchester Running Company (MRC) announced that they would hold a meet at Wesleyan called the Winter Track Showcase. It was scheduled to be a reduced slate of running only events. Sadly there was no jumps, no hurdles, and now throwing events. If there were, I might have done them. Actually, maybe I was lucky they didn’t hold those events. I might have hurt myself.
Since the kids aren’t participating in the CIAC high school season, they were free to run it like any other non-school race. The race was billed as developmental and geared towards youth. MRC has a successful summer outdoor series that our kids have both participated in. On a whim, I told Debbie that I wanted to do the indoor meet and suggested that we all do it. There was no cost for the kids and the adult fee was a modest $15.
Kudos to MRC for putting on this event. The best part about it was seeing the “little kids” run. Exposing kids to the benefits of running was a primary goal. MRC got some nice sponsors to step up to support the meet, and they also pulled in donations.
The racing didn’t start until 3:00 P.M., so we had time to do things around the house in the morning. I did a “warmup” bike ride to get outside a bit. I’m not used to doing my exercise indoors and I wanted at least a little sunshine on my only real day off from work. By early afternoon when we arrived in Middletown, it was snowing rather heavily. A series of squalls blew through the area but there was no accumulation. We did our warmup outside around the Wesleyan campus with flurries in the air. We ran through Belichick Family Plaza, named in honor of the same football coach who has been in the recent news.
I’m almost embarrassed to say that back inside the building, I got my money’s worth by running all of the events. In the end, I’m proud of the fact that I did them all. Debbie did too. The original plan was to run the mile, the 3,000 meters, and maybe one other event. However, when I had a less than stellar mile (my goals was to break 5:30 but I ran 5:33), I decided to take out my frustration by testing my sprinting legs in the 60 meter dash. I wasn’t last (though I was close to last) and that motivated me. After that, it was clear I was doing them all. In the 60, I lined up against my old high school teammate, Craig Damaschi. Sadly half way down the track, Craig pulled up lame with a hamstring injury. It was like you see in the movies as he grabbed his leg (he was leading me so I had a good view of the action) as he seized up. He finished, but it was painful to watch. He will make a comeback for sure. It was great to see him out there.
Order of Events:
1-Mile 60 meters 1,000 meters 200 meters 600 meters 3,000 meters 4 x 400 meter relay
Debbie and I had fun calculating the total distance. It worked out to be 6,869 meters which was more than 34 laps of the 200 meter track.
Some of the races had multiple heats. Some events had a girls race, boys race, and then women’s and men’s adult races for anyone in high school or older. Several of the adult events were combined so women and men were on the track at the same time. A few of the more popular events were split up into two heats based on projected finishing times. This was honor system/self-seeding. Some of the shorter events had multiple heats. In the end, the entire event lasted about 2.5 hours. It was low key and not about the results, though no one was loafing. I don’t think any coach would prescribe it, but it was a heck of a workout.
Shepard did the mile, the 600 meters, and the anchor leg of the 4 x400 which I’ll say more about later. Dahlia did the mile and the third leg of the relay. As mentioned, Debbie did all of the races like me. I have to admit that watching an ultramarathon trail runner doing the 60 meter dash was a delight! It couldn’t have been more different than the Dragon’s Back Race. One race lasted 11.3 seconds and another lasted six days.
Having last run on an indoor track when I was 17, I had low expectations. I’m good at cheering for people running on indoor tracks, but not as good running around them. My kids agree that I run like a “tractor pulling a trailer.” I know it isn’t pretty, but I think I go pretty good for a masters athlete.
My favorite event was the 200. Again, I wasn’t last. The highlight was that I held off one of my “rivals,” Brett Stoeffler as he was chasing me down the homestretch. It was a race within a race. As I crossed the line, I let out a loud whoop and pumped my fist. Brett crushed me in the mile and again in the 3,000, but in the 200, I “smoked him.” He and I have had many battles over the years and now that we both qualify for AARP membership, we should be happy that we can still get out there and fight. I can count my “victories” on one hand. I beat him once at the NipMuck Trail Marathon after he sprained his ankle. Now I can say I beat him in the 200 at the MRC Winter Track Showcase.
I barely survived the 3,000. It started only a few minutes after I finished the 600, so I had no time to catch my breath. One challenge of running indoors is the dry air. Another is that you breathe in dust particles. I was coughing a lot. After the event and all day today, I had to continuously drink water to rehydrate. As soon as the 3,000 ended, they announced that there would be a 4 x 400 relay. This wasn’t on the original list of events, but they mentioned they might hold this finale if there were enough people interested.
At regular track meets, the “four by” is one of my favorite events to watch and cheer for. Typically run last, it can often decide the overall results. It also attracts a motley crew of athletes with sprinters, distance runners, and even throwers competing with and against each other. It’s a race for bragging rights.
When they said there would be a relay, I rallied my “teammates” to join me. Two of them were already changed into their sweats. Thankfully it didn’t take much to convince them that we had to compete as Team Livingston. I grabbed the baton and led off the race. I handed the baton to Debbie for leg two. She passed it to Dahlia for leg three. Shepard anchored us by running leg four.
I staked us to an early lead, Debbie and Dahlia ceded some ground, and on the first lap of Shepard’s leg, a rival team caught up. However, Shepard stayed composed and with the help of some loud cheering, he regained the lead with half a lap to go and pulled away for the “win.” This made everyone on Team Livingston happy. We packed up and headed out into the cold with lung burn and smiles on our faces. We celebrated with a dinner (that lasted almost as long as the track meet) at Aroy Thai Garden on Main Street in Middletown. If you are looking for some fun, check out an indoor track meet near you. If you are hungry, and seeking massive portions of Thai food, give Aroy a try.
Both of them are past the halfway point. If we lived closer, they would be farther along, but there is no rush. We cherish the occasional trip from Connecticut.
We drove to Lincoln on Friday afternoon and spent the night at a local hotel. It’s been an unseasonably warm start to winter. In Connecticut, we have had weeks of dreary rain and clouds.
In New Hampshire, there was no snow cover until we reached an elevation of 2,500 feet. On Saturday morning in Lincoln, it was raining lightly, but as we drove north into the notch, it changed to snow and was accumulating at the higher elevation. We parked at Lafayette Place Campground in Franconia Notch and we started hiking at 8:15 A.M. Throughout the day, it continued to snow lightly. The temperature was in the low 20’s Fahrenheit, which was very manageable. It was breezy up high where there were shorter trees and it was noticeably cooler, but still pleasant for late December.
Our route was an out and back. We took the Lonesome Lake Trail to Fishin’ Jimmy Trail to Kinsman Ridge Trail. We went over North Kinsman (4,293 feet) and then turned around at the summit of South Kinsman (4,358 feet). We returned on the same route with a quick detour to see the Kinsman Pond Shelter. It is a really neat structure. I want to return and camp there in the future. We met one hiker who was spending the night there. I’m sure it was a peaceful spot to camp.
Both of the kids were strong despite not having hiked with a pack since summer. Debbie was her usual steady force. She plays an an important role on these trips as the empathetic leader. Dahlia has a knack for finding water, which is OK in the summer, but a much bigger problem int he winter. We may have to rename the Fishin’ Jimmy Trail. It should now be called the Fishin’ Dahlia Trail since she hooked her micro-spikes on a shoelace and went head first into a stream. Thankfully this was on the descent back to Lonesome Lake Hut. She was soaked and quite unhappy, but we got her to the hut, where we spent the night. We got her dried out.
In the winter, the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) keeps three of the eight White Mountain Huts open. These are Carter Notch Hut, Zealand Falls Hut, and Lonesome Lake Hut. Each is staffed by a caretaker, who is on duty from 4:00 P.M. until after breakfast the following day. Guests have access to the kitchen to prepare their own food. At Lonesome, the bunkhouses are separate from the main hut, so they can be chillier. In the main hut, there is a small wood stove. The stove was lit at 4:00 P.M. and kept going until about 10:00 P.M.
We hung Dahlia’s wet clothes and boots near the stove to facilitate their drying. By Sunday morning, they weren’t perfectly dry, but they were acceptably dry. We are longtime AMC members and volunteers and have frequented the huts for more than 20 years. Debbie and the kids visited Lonesome for New Year’s 2017 and it was -20 degrees Fahrenheit. Even with the wood stove and the kitchen oven, the inside temperature was below freezing. It was much colder in the bunk rooms.
This time, the stay was far more pleasant. With a large group of guests, the hut was quite warm. I still wore a winter hat, but I was able to remove several layers while I was inside. The four of us had our own bunk room with two bunk beds. We prepared dinner around 5:30 P.M. We had rice and curry. For dessert, we baked some cookies with a pre-made mix that we brought with us.
The only disappointment was that some of the other guests were rowdy. They didn’t respect the fact that some people go to the mountains to relax and chill out. They were partying pretty hard (alcohol fueled) and were loud and obnoxious. They stayed up well past the 10:00 P.M. start of quiet hours and it was annoying. We were tired and went to bed around 8:00 P.M., but I had to get up around 10:30 P.M. and knock on the doors of our two adjacent bunk rooms to alert the occupants to our displeasure with their loud shenanigans.
We eventually fell asleep and since we went to bed early, we were up early the next morning. It was much colder than the day before and there was a layer of undercast with light snow falling. We made instant oatmeal for breakfast and then packed up our stuff. We were back on the trail by 8:45 A.M. The plan was to start up towards Cannon Mountain (4,100 feet) and then decide if Debbie and Dahlia were going to join Shepard and me for the trip to the top. After 1/2 mile or so, we had a discussion and agreed to split up. The girls took their time descending back to Lafayette Place while Shepard and I pushed to the top of Cannon.
He has gotten really strong, so we were able to go really fast despite the steepness of the terrain. It snowed lightly and there was about six inches of snow covering the icy trail. We took the Lonesome Lake Trail back up to the Kinsman Ridge Trail. Then we went north to the summit of Cannon. We turned around and headed back south taking the Hi-Cannon Trail down to the Lonesome Lake Trail and then back to the notch where we met up with the rest of the family. We made it to the truck before noon, changed up, and then started the drive home.
It was a successful adventure to close out the year. Shepard has done 34 of the 48 with 14 to go. Dahlia stands at 27 with 21 to go. It was their first winter ascents, though they have done Monadnock and some shorter peaks in the snow.
On the drive back, we passed through Brownsville (Vermont) and then stopped for a late lunch in Putney. We were home by 5:30 P.M. with enough time to unpack and relax on the last night of the year.
This fall has been dominated by cross country running. Shepard and Dahlia competed for Bolton High School and Debbie coached the Bolton Center School middle school team. Debbie and I were able to mix in a bit of cyclocross and trail running, but our focus was primarily on our kids.
They had a really good season culminating with the Connecticut State Open Championships. Shepard missed his “A goal” of qualifying for the New England championship, but he opted to participate in the state and regional USATF Junior Olympics meets. Dahlia joined him, also competing at these meets. This was fun and exciting and fun. At the regional meet in New York, Shepard qualified for the national championship in Louisville, Kentucky. The competition would be a good experience so we agreed to support him by planning the Louisville trip.
It was a total coincidence (at least for us) that the USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships and this USATF Junior Olympics National Championships were being held in Louisville on the same weekend. The CX Nats were at Joe Creason Park and the USATF race was at E.P. “Tom” Sawyer State Park. The two venues are 13 miles (25 minute drive) apart. I had been to Louisville once before. It was more than 15 years ago and it was a 24 hour trip to visit United Parcel Service’s massive operations near the airport. I was part of a whirlwind tour of their facilities. It was nice to return and see how the city has grown.
Given that I only raced seven CX races leading up to Nats, I didn’t have plans to go to Louisville on my own. Several friends and teammates from Team HORST Sports and the CCAP Team HORST Junior Squad were planning the trip, but I had already decided to skip. Last year, I only did three cross races and didn’t race CX Nats when they were nearby, in Hartford. My last big season was in 2021 when I raced more than 20 times and did CX Nats in Chicago. I’ve done Nats half a dozen times over the years, but didn’t think that 2023 would be one of those years.
However, when Shepard punched his ticket to Louisville and after Debbie and I agreed to support (finance, travel, etc.) the trip, I realized that if we drove, I could do CX Nats “for fun.” The real point of this road trip was to spend time with Shepard. It was planned as a father/son adventure.
It was a quick trip and it turned into quite the adventure. Two Thursday’s ago we did half a day of school and work before departing around 12:45 P.M. We drove as far as we could, making it to the Akron, Ohio area. On the way, we briefly stopped for gas and then dinner. On the road, we listened to music and podcasts, and chatted. We got a hotel for the night and were in bed by 10:30 P.M.
On Friday morning, we departed shortly after 6:00 A.M. and arrived in Louisville, just before 11:00 A.M. We made our way to Joe Creason park where I registered. We drove to a local Chipotle, picked up lunch and drove back to the park. I proceeded to pre-ride the course in a narrow window between 1:05 P.M. and 1:25 P.M. That was my only chance to do a lap and practice the various obstacles. Shepard ate lunch and hung out while I warmed up and said hello to a few friends. Soon after, he did his own shakeout run on the roads surrounding the park.
It is worth noting that USA Cycling has struggled to grow the cyclocross national championships. The entire sport has seen shrinking participation in recent years. This is my 28th year doing cyclocross, so I’ve witnessed the growth and the decline of the sport in the USA. There are fewer athletes, fewer sponsors, higher registration fees, and a post-pandemic negativity. There has been a lot of discussion about this in the cyclocross community. HORST Engineering’s Cross Spikes sales have dipped as well, mirroring the decline in interest. Cross will forever be a niche sport that suits a small subset of enthusiastic cyclists. I’m confident we can collectively make it better, but my instincts are that will happen at the grassroots level. I had more fun the week before Nats when I raced The Ice Weasels Cometh. That race was a blast and a relative bargain.
I’ll save the full discussion of cyclocross and its future for another time, but I was frustrated with the $145 advanced entry fee. Even more disappointing was the $25 that we paid at the gate for Shepard to access the park and watch me race for 40 minutes. Everyone over the age of 11 was charged this fee! It was weird to see temporary fencing set up on the perimeter. It was not inviting. If anything, it made our sport appear exclusive. Public parks shouldn’t be fenced off for a sport that few people care about, and we should be inviting people (especially kids) to watch. The idea that cyclocross includes “barriers” or “hurdles,” is symbolic of the fact that the sport has many barriers to entry. Erecting the fencing around the country’s highest profile cross race is indicative of the issues facing the sport. The entry fees are small compared with the cost of bikes, clothing, travel, etc. I do the sport for fun. It’s a hobby. I’m fortunate to be able to afford doing a sport that many others can’t.
I lined up for the singlespeed race which started shortly after 4:00 P.M. The weather was mild. It was cloudy but warm, so I was able to race in shorts and shortsleeves. I had a terrible start position. I was the first person in the 8th row, so there were nearly 60 riders staged in front of me. I didn’t have a great start, but the course design allowed for easy passing. I did end up catching about 25 riders, but then faded a bit, giving up several spots. The race lasted about 40 minutes and I was subjected to the P+P rule which means you get pulled if you are not going to finish within 80% of the lead rider’s time. I wasn’t going to get lapped, but this is also how they keep the races on schedule.
It sucked to get pulled with a lap to go, but I did get to watch the thrilling sprint finish between Kerry Werner and Lance Haidet. Both of them are pros, as were many of the other top 10 riders. Others in the top 20 were former pros. Singlespeed is an all ages category. I wasn’t the oldest and I certainly wasn’t the youngest. In the staging area, I met “the shark” who was disqualified by USAC for not having “sleeves” on his shark costume. I head they pulled him off of the course. This was another ridiculous episode that garnered bad press.
I had an OK race against some tough competition, but given the small field and the fact that there really isn’t a true singlespeed national championship with all of the best riders represented, it was really just a race against the course. I didn’t feel great, and working hard for three and a half days followed by driving 15 hours (900 miles) wasn’t the best preparation. That’s why I did it for fun and that is why I’m happy with the outcome.
It is worth noting that Shepard was a very vocal spectator and that there were a lot of other folks cheering on the course. That made it exciting. It was great to hear fellow New England athletes heckling me. During the race, I got to ride with fellow Connecticut athlete, Miles Ericson. That was cool. We traded spots before I made a mistake on a steep hill, had to get off, and he rode away. Some people have criticized the course, primarily for not being technical enough, but I loved it. It was a good enough challenge and it required strong pedaling. There were four points on the course where I had to dismount – the Belgian steps, the flyover stairs, the Mansion steps, and the barriers.
After the race, I was thrashed. My back, arms, and shoulders hurt worse than my legs. I think they were impacted by the long drive and sitting for 15 hours before doing a hard race. As soon as my race ended, I turned my attention to supporting Shepard. It was unfortunate that the five or so hours that we spent at Joe Creason Park were my entire CX Nats experience for 2023. Like I said, it was a quick trip.
We stayed at a hotel near the airport and after washing up, we went to a nice Asian/vegan restaurant for dinner. We were both tired, and we knew Saturday was going to be a long day, so we got to bed early. In the morning, Shepard slept in while I did work from my laptop in the dark. I turned the lights on shortly after 8:00 A.M. and we got ready for the next phase of the trip. We drove to E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park, which wasn’t far away. We got there by 11:15 A.M. and picked up his bib number. His race was scheduled to start at 3:15 P.M.
It was cooler than Friday and there were breaks of sunshine for the first part of the afternoon, but then it clouded up and the rain started. There were supposed to be 10 races, but only the first nine took place. While Shepard and more than 200 other runners in the 15-18 age group were on the start line, “thunder struck.” It was actually the sound of thunder and the flash of lightning. This coupled with incredibly heavy rainfall delayed the race. All of the runners crowded into the start line tent while many of the parents stood in the storm.
It was a confusing situation and I won’t break it down into too much detail. It appeared the USATF officials had difficulty figuring out what to do next and no one appeared to take charge. The boys, from inside the tent, were chanting that they wanted to race as the storm raged outside. Eventually the officials announced a 30 minute delay. However, those of us who had been monitoring the weather knew that if anything, the thunderstorms were going to get worse. It’s a shame that they didn’t let them race at 3:15 because it only got worse. The thunder and lightning came closer. The boys got even more unruly. Some of them retreated to their own club tents, but the only place for Shepard and me to go was our car. He stayed in the tent because it was warm and I stood in the rain.
The USATF officials huddled in the middle of the field outside of the earshot of parents. Then after nearly an hour, there was a close lightning strike followed by an immediate large clap of thunder. I think everyone knew in that moment that the race wasn’t going to happen. They quickly made an announcement to the boys and remaining parents and coaches that there would be a meeting in the gymnasium of the complex following the girls award ceremony.
Shepard emerged from the tent and donned his warm clothes and we made a dash for the gym. The place was packed as everyone remaining squeezed in to avoid the rain outside. We watched the ceremony with the crowd and grew impatient. After another 45 minutes, they announced that everyone had to leave the gym. It took a while to get us back into the lobby. Then they said they were going to bring in the boy athletes into the gym in an orderly manner. This worked. Then five or so minutes later, they said the parents and coaches could come in. When we entered, the boys were lined up in the stands off to the side.
Thankfully one official took charge. She spoke in the clearest and loudest voice that we had heard all afternoon and explained the situation. Even though the organizers knew that it wouldn’t please everyone, they said the race was postponed to 8:30 A.M. the following morning. They knew this wasn’t ideal and that some athletes would have to miss the race due to travel issues. They cited the pending darkness and the fact that the storm hadn’t abated. Even if there was a break, it would be too dark to run. It had also been a long day.
Shepard and I had previously discussed this possibility. Originally we were going to get on the road right after his race. We hoped to be driving by 4:30 P.M. and the goal was to drive four or five hours. This would make the remainder of the trip on Sunday easier. Now, it looked like we would be in Louisville until at least 10:00 A.M. the next day. We officials answered a few questions, but the decision was final. As we were leaving the park just before 5:00 P.M., the skies cleared and there was a nice sunset, but it was short-lived.
We got to the car, located a hotel only five minutes away, and headed in that direction. We checked in, washed up, and then decided to go to another Chipotle for dinner. This one was real close to the hotel. As we headed there, the skies opened up again as a raging thunderstorm ripped through. The rain came down even heavier than before. We ate dinner and then after the worst of the rain passed, we returned to the hotel. It had been a long eventful day where in the end, not much happened. We watched a lot of running races, we walked the course, we warmed up, but Shepard never raced.
Sunday was a do over. When we woke up, the skies were clear and it was much cooler. The temperature had dropped more than 25 degrees overnight, though the ground was still waterlogged. We drove back to the course at sunrise and Shepard did his pre-race regimen. The course was in decent shape and it looked like about 3/4ths of the runners returned. I didn’t research the exact numbers. It wasn’t everyone. Shepard was feeling good about the race and when they called the runners to the line at 8:25 A.M. he was ready to go.
I was on my cyclocross bike and positioned myself to the side of the start so that I could take a video as they leapt off of the line. After the sound of the starter’s pistol, the runners stampeded across the field. I took a short video and then immediately rode to the back side of the course. It was a muddy mess, but with my bike, I planned to see more of the race than all of the other spectators who were on their feet. I positioned myself near a corner and waited for the race. In less than 10 minutes, the leaders were there. I expected Shepard to be in the top 15-20. He never came through. Then I thought I missed him. I even went back to the video that I had been recording to see if I missed him in the crowd. I stopped as I thought to myself, “there is no way I missed him.”
I paced back and forth as the slower runners streamed by. Then there were big gaps between the runners. After what seemed like an eternity, but was more like three minutes, he came running towards me. I immediately noticed that he was not wearing his shoes. This was a little over a mile into the race. I started recording video again and asked him if he was OK.
He said “my feet are frozen.”
I asked, “where are your shoes.”
He replied, “my shoes fell off,” and kept running.
I had his trainers in my bag, but didn’t know the rules so I didn’t offer them to him. I rode to another part of the course to catch him again. He continued to chase down runners on the muddy track. I could tell that he was running on the edges where it was softer. I figured that he was trying to avoid injury. He looked determined. I took some more photos and then went to a third vantage point at the 2.8 mile mark. This was close to the finish. He ran past me. A few folks made comments about him and one guy cheered loudly for whom he called “Barefoot Man.”
I rode to the finish where I found Shepard sitting not he ground outside the chute. He was upset and cold. I tried to get the story from him. He was surprised I didn’t see what happened because 30 seconds in to the race, he got his heel stepped on. His shoe came off and he couldn’t get it back on. These are cross country spikes a they fit like a glove. He had triple knotted the shoes and despite removing his gloves, he couldn’t undo the knot. He knew he was losing valuable time. He said every runner in the field passed him. There were officials in a golf cart at the rear of the race. Apparently, one of them suggested that since he couldn’t get his shoe on, that it would probably be better to take them both off and just run barefoot.
So that is what he did. She collected his shoes, socks, and the gloves that he mistakenly left behind. He said he lost a lot of time but decided that since he came all this way and went through so much, that he was determined to finish. I missed all of this and that’s why when I saw him a mile later that I was so surprised. Some other spectators knew what was going on and they approached us after the finish. I gave him his jacket and wrapped his feet in a shirt before going to look for his shoes. After the last finisher came in, the golf cart arrived with the woman who had his stuff. She came over and told me her side of the story. She admitted suggesting that he run barefoot. She knew how awkward it would be to run with one shoe. He told her he didn’t want to quit. She gave me his shoes, socks, and gloves. She described his performance as “gutsy” and said she “admired” him.
I returned to him with the stuff, packed it in my bag, and we headed to the car. He didn’t check the results. We talked about what it took to finish and that it was crazy what happened. As it turns out, the runner who beat him by less than a second at the regional race, finished 6th. He knows he was capable of finishing in the top 10 and possibly running a personal best time on the flat course. However, we won’t know because that’s not how it played out. He was hoping to break 16 minutes but had to settle for breaking 19 while barefoot. As disappointed as he was, Debbie, who we called from the car, and I know that he persevered and that is all that matters.
The rest of the trip was a blur. We returned to our hotel with the sole purpose of showering before starting the long drive home. We washed up and were back on the road by 10:00 A.M. We drove about 900 miles tracking the fierce storm the entire way. The same rain and wind that we experienced the afternoon and night before stayed with us from West Virginia to Connecticut. We got home at 12:45 A.M. on Monday after nearly 15 hours on the road. I was hoping to get a reprieve by letting Shepard do some driving, but the conditions were horrible the entire way and I especially bad after dark, so I did the job myself. It took a lot of concentration and I was quite tense. We had to navigate through New York City late at night in terrible weather. The worst road of the entire trip was the Merritt Parkway which was under construction, heavily trafficked, and flooded with standing water. When I crawled into bed I was wound up but happy to be home.
I had to be at work early on Monday and its been nonstop craziness for the past 10 days, and that is the reason why this trip/race report is late. Shepard and I had a great time together. We had a grand adventure putting 2,000 miles on my Subaru Outback. We saw some interesting midwestern terrain. We raced hard. It was a nice way to cap the 2023 endurance sports season.
Today I was back at the Santa’s Run in Glastonbury, Connecticut after skipping the race in 2022. I don’t recall why, but I think I missed due to illness. Last year Debbie, Shepard, and Dahlia ran without me.
This year we were all back together. My brother-in-law and niece, Steve and Hannah Simko were there too. Plus, our honorary “running family” member Todd Brown, who never misses this one. The race starts and finishes at Glastonbury High School, which is his alma mater. This was my 11th Santa’s Run. I first did it in 1989. This was the 45th year for the race which started in 1978.
Shepard led the way amongst us by improving his third place from last year and winning overall. He was hoping for cash, but instead, he got a medal. This made for some fun post-race conversation on the drive home. He decided to search Google for races that have a prize list. With a $15 entry fee, Santa’s Run is a pretty good value, but alas, they don’t pay cash to the winner.
I guess he will have to settle for bragging rights. Heck, I never won the Santa’s Run. My best finish was 9th in 2019. My fastest was a 20:00 flat in 2000, though I don’t have my 1989 time recorded. I still think the 2000 race may have been my best. Shepard ran 18:39, a 58 second improvement over last year, which is remarkable progress. I can only dream about running that fast.
Dahlia won her age group and was third overall, though afterward, she said she felt like a “wet rat.” It was quite cold and rainy at the noon-time race. You were fine if you were moving, but the minute you stopped, you would stiffen up and start to shiver because the temperature was in the mid-40’s Fahrenheit. I know that kept a lot of people at home today. There were 436 finishers but this event often gets more than 600 finishers.
Debbie also had a decent race, winning her age group. She wasn’t thrilled with her time, but she has had a long year with a lot of running. Steve also won his age group, so we did OK as a family. It’s a shame that age group wins also don’t pay cash!
Continuing a theme, one guy in a costume beat me. He was a 14 year-old high school runner and I think he was dressed as a half-naked elf. No lie. I was gaining on him, but I was really tired after yesterday’s The Ice Weasels Cometh, and had nothing left today. The best I could do was hold it together and run a smooth race. I’m going to rest for the next few days.
As usual, we saw several friends. Kudos to the volunteers who also had to brave the cold December rain.
After the race, we did groceries in Glastonbury and then went cut down a Christmas Tree at Boston Hill Tree Farm in Andover, so it was a productive Sunday afternoon.
The past two weekends have been filled with some awesome singlespeed cyclocross (SSCX) racing. Secret Squirrel was the penultimate race in the New England Singlespeed CX Series and Ice Weasels was the finale.
These are two of the most fun races on the entire New England calendar. I love everything about them. Last Sunday I drove to Raynham, Massachusetts to ride the Squirrel. This is the fourth time I’ve done the race. I skipped last year, though we still went because Shepard raced. This year, I had a good race, which was a boost to the morale. The weather was cool but dry. After warming up on my Seven Mudhoney SL, I decided to race on my “pit bike,” my Seven Sola SL, which is also a singlespeed. These are two great bikes.
The Squirrel course is loaded with roots, rocks, and loose dirt. The Sola was the perfect bike for this non-traditional cyclocross course. I did enjoy the new grass power sections and the off-camber, though I was at a bit of disadvantage there given my bike choice. I made up for it in the woods where I could power over the roots and the rougher terrain. Singlespeed was the second to last race of the day – we started at 2:30 P.M. Squirrel used to combine a Fat Bike race and Donut Madison (relay) with the singlespeed division, but this year they separated the classes. That meant our race had some folks in costume but there were fewer shenanigans and less lapped traffic to deal with than prior years. I finished sixth and was pleased. It was worth the solo trip.
Yesterday was The Ice Weasels Cometh at The Wick in Southwick, Massachusetts. This was the 15th Ice Weasels and I think the third at this venue. I did it here in 2021. I’ve only ever done four Ice Weasels. I also did the race in 2018 and 2019 when the race was in Medfield, Massachusetts. I’ve done the sister race The Night Weasels Cometh seven times, but the October race was cancelled because of heavy rain and mud.
Ice Weasels is notorious for being irreverent. The singlespeed race is combined with a Fat Bike category and this year also a “Zerospeed” category which meant you needed to run or choose an inefficient bike. There were multiple tandems. There were multiple cargo bikes. There were people running with mini-bikes. I saw a “chopper” bike. There were Trails-a-Bikes. Jacob Kravitz (aka Thunder) rode a fat bike with his son Jackson along for the ride on a top tube contraption. They were both dressed as kangaroos. This was really cool. I saw another kid on the course too. There were dogs too. As noted, I saw some weird stuff out there. The three categories combined (men and women) totaled 88 people (not counting the kids and dogs!) which was a lot on this course, but it made for some hilarious scenes. 47 of us were riding singlespeed but 15-20 of us were serious and the rest were there for the hand ups, shots, and other craziness.
It didn’t take long for me to start lapping people from the Zerospeed category but everyone did their best to stay out of the way of the competitive racers. I had one close call when the “chopper” rider had a mechanical and was blocking the way. I narrowly avoided crashing into him. The are started at 3:00 P.M. We had a mild day. The temperature was nearly 50 degrees Fahrenheit. There were a few muddy spots, but the course is quite sandy. Normally they race motocross here so it is chewed up and rough. A full day of racing before our event burned in some good lines and ruts, which made it fun and fast. There were many whoops, there were a few steep drop-offs, and some tricky corners. Overall this was a challenging track, and it was a full body workout. My back and arms are more sore than my legs.
Shepard and Debbie came along to cheer for me. It was their first cross race of the year. Our fall has been busy with Shepard and Dahlia’s XC running events so it was nice to have them along. This was my 9th cross race of the season. I had a good start and then struggled for several weeks before rallying the past two weekends. I had fun returning to the singlespeed category.
Yesterday I had a poor start and for a few laps was behind a couple of riders wearing costumes. They are fast riders, but put yourself in my cycling shoes. You do not want to get beat by someone in a costume! I mentioned this on Thanksgiving when some (fast) dude dressed like a hot-dog beat me at the Manchester Road Race.
It took a few laps, but I eventually got past the pirates and other characters who beat me off the line. I eventually worked my way up to a chasing group that included some of my regular rivals. I had a good last lap and a half and finished fifth, one spot better than last week.
The nuttiness of this race was fantastic. I was smiling throughout and then again afterwards when watching the Fat Bike and Zerobike “competitors” roll in. It was a good vibe. I saw many friends, teammates, and former teammates. It was awesome to see Art Roti, Brett Chenail, Matt Domnarski, Ted D’Onofrio, and Paul Nyberg. I’ve got one more cyclocross race planned for the season. We will see how it goes.
87 years is a long time. That’s how long the Manchester Road Race (MRR) has been running. It goes without saying that the event is a big part of our family’s Thanksgiving tradition.
This year, Fox 61, the race’s television media partner interviewed us for their series Why We Run.
We were excited and honored to share our reflections about the MRR. The interview was recorded about three weeks ago. HORST Engineering sponsored the MRR Veteran’s Row again. We have now done this many times. Our family’s connection with the MRR is a deep one.
Today, we ran the race and made even more memories. Each of us had our own experience, and we shared it with thousands of “friends.” More than 11,000 people registered for the event, an uptick over recent years. We don’t know all of them, but I bet we know more than a thousand. Even more people were lining the streets of Manchester, thanks in part to the perfect weather. The temperature was in the mid-40’s and we had bright sunshine. There was a stiff breeze that slowed us on parts of the course, but other than that it was ideal conditions for the 4.748 mile road race.
You can search my blog for past stories and more history about the race. Just type “Manchester Road Race” into the search box. This was my 33rd year doing the race, including 29 in a row. Debbie hit her 25 year milestone (all in a row) this year. Shepard finished his 11th. Dahlia finished her 8th. You could say we are committed to this event.
Last week, I participated in a bunch of road race related events. First, I attended the annual luncheon and media event at Manchester Country Club on Wednesday. They honored Janit Romayko and Beth Shluger, the first two women to hit the 50 race milestone. Both of them have done this as a streak. That’s 50 in a row.
Then Debbie and I ran the Silk City Striders Know Your Pace Race on Saturday. This was held on the course. The “victor” is the person who runs closest to the time that they predicted before the start. No technology (watches or GPS’) are permitted. Last night, our family went to the annual pasta dinner at the Elks Club in Manchester. This is another tradition and we have been many times. It’s always fun to mingle with some of the elite runners who were invited to town to run the race.
Today, each of us ran well. Shepard was the fastest of our foursome which is no surprise. He lowered his personal best to 25:21 despite going out too hard and fading. He still had enough in the tank to hold on, but he said he suffered in the process. He said his first mile was under 4:50, which I can’t comprehend. Today my first mile was 5:38. He was disappointed because he finished 4th in his age group and they give awards to the top three. His rival/friend John Glidden was 2nd in the age group and 20 seconds in front of him. They battled in 2022 so this was a rematch. The third place finisher was six seconds ahead of Shepard, but he had nothing left at the end to catch him. 65th overall is quite a good result and now his personal best is a minute and 40 seconds faster than mine. It’s been an inspiration to watch him run this fall. Last week, I wrote about both his and Dahlia’s progress with their cross country running.
She had a stellar race today, running 33:44, smashing her own personal best by two minutes and 16 seconds. She has graduated to the 14-18 age group so she is the youngest in that range, but still finished 7th which made her proud and happy. We are going to have to “gently” push her to keep active over the winter. It would be a pity to lose the fitness she has gained since she joined the high school cross country team in August.
Debbie had a strong run. She is getting towards the high end of her age group. Next year will be her last in the 45-49 range. It doesn’t get much easier in the 50-54 age group, but I know she is looking forward to 2025 because it will give her new motivation at all of the events that she runs. In the meantime, she is focused on 2023 and what comes in 2024. She ran 34:46 today and was 8th in her age group. She was 808th overall. Both numbers make her smile since eight is her lucky number.
I had a solid run. I was a little slower compared with last year, running 27:52 and once again, finishing 2nd in the 50-54 age group. Brian Murray beat me again and it wasn’t close at the finish. He was 34 seconds ahead. I went out pretty hard, or at least it felt that way. Even still, he had 16 seconds on me at the King of the Mountains checkpoint near the top of the Highland Street hill. The hill continues for another quarter mile and I was struggling so he likely added to his lead be before we turned the corner for the descent. My third mile was also a struggle before I rallied for a stronger finish that included picking up a few spots just before the line.
I see Brian’s name in the results every year, but I don’t know him. I don’t think I could pick him out of the crowd even if I was running next to him. Regardless, he has been my rival at this race for many years. I’ll try again next year. Oh, and the only thing that was worse than missing out on the age group win (which has always been a goal) was that a dude in a hot dog costume beat me. I don’t care if he is half my age! No one dressed like that should be able to outrun me. That was embarrassing but I still had to give him credit and get a photo with him!
Given that the weather was mild, we were able to hang out after the race and mingle with friends. Thanks to my mother-in-law Barbara Schieffer and my brother-in-law Thomas Schieffer for coming to watch and for watching our stuff while we ran. There are too many friends to list. We saw so many and it was awesome.
Congratulations to all of the runners including all of the winners and age group champions. Kudos to all of the volunteers (more than 400 people), the police, the fire department, the other emergency personnel, and the public works staff. Thank you to all of the spectators. They got a great day to come outside, enjoy the fresh air, and watch a great race. Many of them were partying hard. Even when you are running flat out, you can spot the free-flowing booze and you can’t escape the waft of marijuana in the air. It was pungent. I prefer to get my endorphins from athletics and activity but don’t begrudge the folks who came to cheer and party. They are also a big part of the Manchester Road Race tradition.
Cross Country season isn’t over for the Livingston Family. The past two weekends have been filled with Junior Olympics racing. These have been fun races and bring back fond memories from 1989 when I did the Junior Olympics. Back then, we had a state meet, but I can’t recall the location, followed by the Region 1 meet in Augusta, Maine. After that event, the conglomerate team I was on representing the Willimantic Athletic Club, went to Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana for the national championships.
Last weekend, Shepard and Dahlia raced as unattached runners at the USATF CT meet at White Memorial Foundation in Litchfield. White Memorial is a special place for Debbie and me. We hadn’t been back in a long time. In 2001 we were married there. Our ceremony was under a large pine tree in the same field where the race started and finished. Only a stump remains where the tree once stood, but our marriage has remained strong.
It was great to be back in the park, which is beautiful. The course was challenging, though the 5K version was a little short. That was still good for the morale of the runners as they had fast times. The weather conditions were good. It was cold, but sunny and breezy. Dahlia was in the 13-14 year old category and did the 4K version of the course. She was 5th, finishing strongly, and qualified for the Northeast Region race.
Shepard had a real battle in the boys 15-18 year old category. He was in the lead group for most of the race. Ryan Boulanger pulled away in the last mile and held off Lorenzo Lopes and Shepard, who sprinted it out. Shepard’s third place finish also qualified him for the regional championships.
The USATF Region 1 Championships were held this past Sunday in Queensbury, New York hosted by USATF Adirondack. the Queensbury schools course was fantastic. According the kids (our experts) it was just what you want in a course. It was all off-road, but it had a good hard surface for most of the course and the trails were wide to accommodate passing and pack running. It was a mix of grass and dirt, with the dirt sections being cross-country skiing trails. There were two short but steep hills. It had rained earlier in the week and there were some puddles on the trails, but the rest of the course was dry.
We drove up on Saturday afternoon. Our first stop was in Troy for a campus tour at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. RPI was our first ever official campus tour, with more to come. After the tour we proceeded to Saratoga Springs where we spent the night. It’s a neat town with a lot of history. Debbie’s brother Tom joined us on the trip, so the five of us had dinner downtown on Saturday evening.
On Sunday morning, Debbie and I did a run at Saratoga Spa State Park, which was less than a mile from our hotel. We had a great run on some lovely trails. We hadn’t been there in nearly 20 years. We last ran in the park during a snowshoe race. It was neat to explore all of the old buildings. After the run, we packed up at the hotel and headed north again to Queensbury.
The Queensbury Invitational appears to be a large state level race held on the same course. You could tell that the course and the program was a proven one. It was our first experience with USATF Junior Olympics, so we didn’t know what to expect, but it was good. Our only experience with cross country (at least for our children) was through the Connecticut middle school and high school system. Traveling to a race out of state was fun.
Shepard’s original goal was to qualify for the New England high school championships, but when he came up short, and wanted to do some “post-season” running, we landed on the USATF option. The new goal became this Northeast regional meet. He knew that the absolute best competition would have done the New England meet and he knew that Massachusetts was holding its state championship meets this past weekend too, but there would still be some fast runners. Some of those fast runners were the same boys he raced against last week in Litchfield. It turned out that the top three including Ryan, Lorenzo, and Shepard all finished in the top 10 of the regional meet.
Dahlia raced first on the 4 kilometer course at 1:00 P.M. She had a fast race improving her best per/mile pace on an XC course, but came up three spots short of the national championships qualifier, finishing 33rd. She was disappointed but this season has been an awesome start to her high school cross country career. She has shown wonderful improvement and is having fun. It is noted that the girls 13-14 field was one of the strongest of the day. There were more than 100 girls in her race and most were fast!
Shepard’s race was the last of the day at 2:30 P.M. As noted the 5 kilometer course was fast and challenging. Since it was one big loop, it was hard for spectators to see their runners in more than one spot. For this reason, Debbie and Dahlia went to the far side of the course to cheer. Tommy went about mid-way. I stayed with Shepard at the start to grab his warm-up clothes, and then ran out mid-way so that I could then run back to see him finish.
He was very focused on doing well and went through his normal pre-race routine which is pretty regimented. There were 60 boys in his race and many were talented. He went out with the first group, but then one runner, Sam Laverdiere, separated himself from the pack. He ended up running alone and finishing 27 seconds ahead of second place in 15:57. Second place became a battle between six runners including Shepard and Lorenzo. Wind was a factor in this race and Shepard and I discussed strategies prior. In the woods, there was no impact, but in the open field that made up the first 500 meters and crucially the lasts 500 meters, there was a strong side wind and then a head wind going to the finish. We talked about using the draft if he was in a small group and staying on the left shoulder of the runners ahead of him so that they blocked the wind. We also discussed when to kick because when they made the right turn to the finish, it was more than 200 meters into the headwind.
Shepard came out of the woods about a second behind the other five guys. He looked to be hurting, but it turned out he was in control. Lorenzo started to stretch things out pulling away, but Shepard started a surge that saw him move up on the left side passing one runner at a time until he was two spots behind Lorenzo. Note that Lorenzo and Shepard have been battling for two seasons now. Lorenzo is a sophomore from Immaculate in Danbury. He won the Connecticut S division championships this year two spots in front of Shepard. He also had a strong State Open race, only missing New England qualifying by six spots. His 31st place was fantastic for an underclassman. He was 12 spots in front of Shepard. You can read about my summary of the CIAC season in this blog post.
In the final high hand corner, I saw that the runner behind Lorenzo hit the deck. Apparently he took it too tight and hooked his leg on a course post that was holding up the rope chute. Shepard dodged the fallen runner and then it was an all out sprint for the line. Tyler Mogavero of the New England Elite Track Club took the lead and held off the rest. Shepard was less than a second behind Tyler, scoring third place, and then Lorenzo was a second behind Shepard. It was a great finish. Even thought the 15-18 year olds were running together it should be noted that Shepard is in the 17-18 group and Lorenzo is in 15-16. The two of them have developed a nice rapport as rivals and friends, but I know Shepard was happy to finally have out kicked Lorenzo for the first time since last season. This year, Lorenzo has had the stronger finishes. I think both had personal bests. Shepard’s time of 16:25 was excellent for an XC course, even if it was a quicker version of one. I don’t know how this would translate to Wickham Park, but for now, he is celebrating the progress. What is awesome to witness is how these athletes have pushed each other to be better. Both Shepard and Dahlia have thrived with the competition and the knowledge that their own hard work and commitment has paid off with some results they can be proud of.
This qualified him for the National Junior Olympic XC Championships in Louisville, so we have to hold a family meeting and plan that trip. He is very interested in going. Seeing as how it is the same weekend as the USA Cycling National Cyclocross Championships, also in Louisville, then it presents a unique opportunity. I might be able to do a bike race on the same trip. It’s an odd coincidence that the two races are in different parks about 13 miles apart. Regardless of what happens with our Louisville plans, this has been a wonderful cross country season for both of our children and their respective teams. Debbie and I have had a lot of fun, cheering like crazy spectators, and supporting them as they reach their goals.
On Monday the Connecticut high school cross country season came to a close at Wickham Park in Manchester. In my opinion, the Wickham course is the “cathedral of Connecticut XC.” Personally, the park holds great meaning. It’s 1.5 miles from HORST Engineering and I pass through the park at least five times a week on my bicycle commutes to and from work.
It was the site of many of my best and most important XC races including the 1989 Divisional Championship and 1989 State Open Championship where our East Catholic High School team had stellar results. In the 34 years since my best ever XC races, I’ve trained there on countless occasions having run more than 50 Summer XC Series races. I’ve even run the Mom & Pop Charity Race for many years including this past Saturday. That event is held annually in conjunction with the middle school championships which we have been attending for the last five years.
I made memories at Wickham and over the last six years, my children have been making memories of their own. First, as members of the Bolton Center School Cross Country Team (BCS) when they were in middle school, and now as members of the Bolton High School Team (BHS). Debbie has been the BCS coach for the last five years. Cross country running and Wickham Park are a big part of our family, and especially in the fall. In October and November, the park hosts more than 40 invitational and championship level races. Many local schools host their dual meets and league championships in the park. I don’t know the total number of events but it is safe to say that there is a lot of cross country running in the park.
BCS and BHS have a long history of success and their running programs are strong. As a “class” S school, the smallest of divisions, it takes an extra effort to recruit a squad that is capable of competing at the highest level. The coaching at both the middle school and high school in our town is fantastic. The track and field program at BHS is also strong.
Our son Shepard is a junior on the BHS team and our daughter Dahlia is a freshman. They both ran for Debbie at BCS and are alumni of her program. They have gotten excellent coaching from Paul Smith and Matt Ferraro the head coach and assistant coach at BHS. Coach Smith has taken several boys and girls teams to the Open Championships, which is not an easy task. You have to be first or second in the divisional championship if you are going to qualify as one of the top 20 teams in the state. Some of his runners have also made it to the New England Championships.
This year the girls team struggled to have enough participants and with no margin for error to accommodate injury or illness, they only fielded four girls at the divisional race. You need a minimum of five to score and you are better off having seven with a few alternates. There were only five girls on the entire team, so they only scored at a few dual meets and at the their league meet, the NCCC Championships. The good news is that that several 8th graders ran for Debbie on the BCS team and our hope is that they are inspired enough to run for BHS next year. You could say that the BHS girls team is in rebuilding mode.
Though the shortage of team achievement was disappointing for Dahlia, she enjoyed running with her terammates while establishing her own success. She had a good regular season and continued to progress. The structured training at the high school level was a big step up for her and she embraced it. She was 7th overall and first freshman in the NCCC meet that was held on her home course at BHS. 10 days later she hit her big stretch goal for the season by nailing the 12th and final qualifying spot at the S division championships at Wickham. It was a gutty performance where she moved up from her position in the low 20’s. In the second half of the race she picked off multiple runners and moved into 12th with less than a half mile to go. We watched as she held a four second gap to her nearest competitor. She didn’t gain any ground, but she didn’t lose any ground and shocked herself by punching her ticket to the Open Championships. She was stoked.
The rainy fall has been a challenge for every Connecticut runner with lots of postponements and lots of wet and muddy shoes. Wickham wasn’t immune from the schedule chaos. Due to a “heat related” postponement and then more rain events, the Open Championship was held on Monday 6 November instead of the originally scheduled Friday 3 November. For our kids, I think this worked out better. It’s easier to race on a Monday afternoon after a weekend of “rest” rather than at the end of a busy school week. The various date changes were a good lesson for the kids. It taught them that they have to be flexible and adapt to things like the weather, which are out of your control.
However, racing on Monday might have been a few days too long for Dahlia and she didn’t have her best State Open debut. It was still an awesome and valuable experience. She missed her teammates and by her own admission, she wasn’t as motivated as she was 10 days earlier when she qualified. Regardless, she held her own, finished the job, and is very happy with her season. She is thrilled to be All-State and I know she will love attending the recognition banquet later this month. Debbie and I have seen a lot of development as she embarks on her high school career. Cross country is a six day per week commitment from late August through early November. She has been forced to manage her time better while juggling academics, cross country, Scouts, and other activities.
The BHS girls team may be at the beginning of a rebuilding effort, but the boys are farther along. They lost some top talent in 2022 when three top five runners graduated. That opened up some spots for younger runners to fill. The 2023 team has only one graduating senior in the top seven runners but none from the top five. This bodes well for next year when the team will return a top five that is getting stronger by the season. They can use the 2024 track season and then a good summer training program to progress further. I’m excited to see what this crew can do next year.
As for this year, the regular season was solid with several meet wins. The NCCC meet was probably the team’s highlight performance where they finished second. This turned out to be the team’s best result. They went into the S division championship with high hopes and an outside chance of scoring second spot, but they ended up fourth on the day. While there were some outstanding performances at the NCCC meet, the peak didn’t hold and for a variety of reasons, the overall result was below expectations. I know from watching the boys that they learned from this and will be even better prepared next year. A lot is riding on the Divisional Championships. As a class S school you have to nail one of those top two spots because the relative strength vs. the larger schools isn’t there which makes a wild car spot (eight of them) are usually out of reach.
Shepard’s regular season was a bit mixed. He struggled with some illness and injury in early October and missed some key workouts. That was another learning lesson. Debbie and I kept him focused on the championship season goals and encouraged him to stick with it. Things started to turn for the better at that NCCC meet. The conditions were ideal. The course was wet and a bit muddy in spots, but it was sunny and cool with no precipitation. He was third and that sparked the team to their excellent result.
He could see the potential in his teammates and they saw it in themselves, but they were all disappointed when they didn’t do as well at the Divisional Championships. It was a much warmer day and despite the early morning time slot, several of his teammates struggled. He had a good day. His third place at the S meet qualified him for the Open Championship for the second year in a row. This was an improvement over his sixth place in 2022. He was happy with the place but fell short of his time goal. He went out with the leaders and was in the mix until a couple of rivals pulled away on the Green Monster hill. It was a fun race to watch. He finished in 17:13 and knew he had more to give. He also knew that he was going to have to run faster if he was going to meet his ultimate goal, qualifying for the New England Championship. To do that, he would have to be top 25 at the Open Championship.
Like Dahlia, he came into this past Monday’s race after a weekend of modest activity and good rest. He was really nervous, but ready to run. He got to see his sister run in the 2:00 P.M. race and his event went off at 2:45 P.M. The course had more than 2,000 middle school runners on it two days prior, and it was looking haggard in spots. The ground was squishy and there were some muddy sections. Overall, it was running a bit slow. In cross country, you have to deal with the conditions and every runner is on equal footing. There is no use complaining about the weather. We preach that to our kids. He used 3/8″ spikes and was happy with the choice.
There were 175 of the fastest runners in Connecticut on the line and when the gun went off, they went out hard. Someone said the lead pack hit the mile mark in just over five minutes. He didn’t have the best start and got shuffled back. He was around 60th going into the woods. He said it was nervous and there was a fair amount of jostling. These big races where there are so many fast runners can be tough to gauge. Thankfully he kept his composure and steadily moved up, often using the uphills to his advantage. He ended up finishing 43rd after holding his ground in the last 1/2 mile. This is a really good result and he knows it. He wanted 25th, but that was another 35 seconds and 18 boys in front of him. He ended up with a personal best 16:55. He has a strong desire to keep getting better which is all you can ask of yourself. A friends including some NCCC “rivals” qualified for the New England Championship and he is happy for them. They gave him some encouraging words that he can use come track season and then again when he embarks on his senior year of cross country in 2024.
Overall, this fall cross country season was incredibly rewarding for our family. I made nearly all of the kids races and got to watch them grow and learn. Debbie had another successful year as coach of the BCS team. She was helped by her new assistant, Kevin Glenn, who is a fellow Bolton neighbor and wonderful runner. Both Shepard and Dahlia have decided to skip the indoor track season to rest and focus on cross-training. BHS doesn’t have an indoor track OR and outdoor track, so it makes the preparation hard and they don’t want to burn out on running. As I said, they are going to run at least one or two more XC races and then do some fun and fast road running at the Manchester Road Race and the Santa’s Run. Watching all kids run (not just mine) is very inspiring.
The Stage1 Cycling/AirLine Cycles team hosted another successful Belltown Cyclocross at YMCA Camp Ingersoll in Portland, Connecticut. It wasn’t my best CX race, but the AirLine crew deserves credit for putting together a challenging course and producing a fine event. The rain on Saturday was gone, but the course remained wet, particularly in a few spots. One of those was the infamous “river crossing” which was unique. Normally that stream bed is dry, but this year it was not.
The Monday morning survey to check with their “customers” is a sign that Stage 1 are paying attention to what the cyclocross community wants and needs. I had high hopes for my race, as I was starting in the 50+ age group for the first time this season, but my legs were flat…and then I flatted. I was already off the pace before my front tubular punctured mid way through lap three, but losing a minute between getting to the pit and switching to my other bike didn’t help.
I did the remainder of the race on my singlespeed and thought that was fun, having only one gear (especially my gear) on this course was painful. Kudos to Jurgen Beneke and Joe Kubisek who crushed it. Jeremy Brazeal also had a good race. Given that Joe and Jeremy were the only 50-54 age group athletes (from Connecticut) in the top six, we made up the “podium” for the state championship. That was cool and I’m glad they agreed to recreate the podium ceremony when I missed the earlier announcement.
One of the highlights of the day was that Shepard joined me. We used to go to a lot of cross races together, but over the last three years, his focus has been on XC running. Nowadays, we make it to fewer cross races as a family. The CCAP Team HORST Junior Squad was present at the race, but we have a young cohort now. The older teens have broaden their horizons and at least one of them is off to college. Shep came along (without a bike) and just hung out. Afterwards, we went to brunch at It’s Only Natural in Middletown. We got home by early afternoon, in time for school work, chores, and other stuff.
The foliage is approaching peak, so I also got out for one more bike ride, an easy one on the rail trail to Vernon and back. It was beautiful. Debbie ran the Bimbler’s Bluff 50K in Guilford. She had a good race and also enjoyed her time on the trails. She got home around 4:30 P.M. and brought dinner for Shep, Dahlia, and me.
I’ve been taking cyclocross on a week to week basis and that won’t change until I either have a breakthrough ride or decide that my season is over. Right now, I’m still in the “let’s keep trying” camp and I’m enjoying the process. I’ve already done more races than last season, but nothing like 2021 when I raced 21 times. The kids have a big week with the CIAC Division Championships at Wickham Park on Saturday. The results of that race will dictate how the rest of the XC season plays out and then I can think about other CX races to do.
Life Adventures 
You must be logged in to post a comment.