2014 Soapstone Mountain Trail Race

Today’s 30th anniversary Soapstone Mountain Trail Race was just fantastic. We couldn’t have asked for better weather. The vibe was great. So many of our friends came out to support the Shenipsit Striders on our big day.

 

Once again, Debbie did an awesome job as Race Director. Sadly, this year, she didn’t have the presence of Jerry Stage, her mentor, the founding Race Director. Earlier this year, Jerry lost his battle with cancer. He directed the first 20 or so Soapstone’s and then co-directed a few with Debbie when she was getting her feet wet, and she has been solo for the last 10 years or so. Up until last year, he was still pitching in on race day. There was a wonderful moment of silence before the start and in that moment, all was right with the world.

The Shenipsit Striders community pulled together in a big way and so many other volunteers contributed to make the race a success. There were so many cool moments. 10 year-old Luke Stoeffler won the Dipsea Race-inspired (age graded) 6 kilometer Soapstone Sampler. He flew on the course and earned a neat victory. The kids race was a feast for the eyes with all of them tearing down the muddy trail.

The 24 kilometer main event went out hard and there were tough battles on the course, which had been made wet and muddy by yesterday’s heavy rain. The streamed wasn’t quite epic wet (it’s rained many times during the race), but it was flowing good.

 

My legs were dead after last week’s 50 mile adventure at Wapack and Back. I knew it was going to be tough to get my legs moving, but I didn’t realize it was going to be that tough. I took one hard fall after my legs turned to jelly, but I survived it. My time was well off my best on this course, but I was still stoked to be out on the trails and a Wapack/Soapstone back-to-back makes for a good week of trail running.

 

I’ll add some information about the top runners once I see the results. We had a busy afternoon wrapping up the race and packing up the stuff. It’s been a hectic week with all of the race preparations and I’ve got a busy travel week ahead.

I will note that our last finisher was Laura Clark. She has been a very loyal runner at Shenipsit Striders events and her work in the Northeast trail running community is legendary. It was fitting that she toughed it out after a hard day in Shenipsit State Forest and gutted out a finish. Special thanks to Jeffrey Woods for sweeping the course and sticking with Laura all day.

The Reddington Rock Riding Club venue is a huge key to the success of this event. Their generous use of their grounds is vital to the race. It was fun to see old friends and make new friends. After 30 years, like the NipMuck Trail Marathon, Soapstone is a certified classic. Next up in the New England Grand Tree Trail Running Series is the Mount Greylock Trail Race, and next up in the Connecticut Blue-Blazed Trail Running Series is Southern Nipmuck. See you on the trails again soon!

Race Results (24 kilometer)

Race Results (6 kilometer)

2014 Shenipsit Striders 6-Hour Run

Rabbit, rabbit. Today was a day of firsts. First run of the year. First photo of the year. First twisted ankle of the year. First wrong turn of the year. First blister of the year. Let the fun begin!

More than 50 Shenipsit Striders and friends came out to Crandall Park in Tolland, Connecticut for our annual 6-hour run. It was a great way to kick off 2014. Our club is strong and getting stronger. It was great to catch up with folks after this long holiday stretch and hear about some of their 2014 athletic objectives.

Debbie and I are excited about the year ahead with some awesome races on the calendar. Things certainly aren’t final yet, but as events are scheduled, we are adding them to our plans. It’s nice to have the focus and clarity that January 1st brings.

Thanks to Clinton Morse for spearheading the 6-hour run, setting up the aid station with lots of goodies, and marking the course. Thanks to Hector Morera for sweeping the course and picking up the flags. Thanks to everyone who came out to run on a cold, but sunny day.

Debbie went early and did four laps of the three-mile loop in a few hours. I met her there with our kids. I did a lap with our son while she hiked with our daughter. She returned home and I did a few more laps including a special one with multiple wrong turns that tacked on a few extra miles.

Folks came out and did as many or as few laps as they desired. It was a great low-key start to 2014.

2013 NipMuck Trail Marathon

Today, we returned to the NipMuck Trail Marathon for the first time since the 2011 race. Debbie and I have run NipMuck many times in the past, but this year, we were just helpers. Our club, the Shenipsit Striders did a fantastic job with this 30th edition of the race. NipMuck is a great example of how strong the Striders have gotten. Putting on a race is a lot of work. The pre-race preparation, race day activities, and post-race cleanup require teamwork and good cheer.

NipMuck Dave Raczkowski led the venerable race for the first 27 years before turning the event over to the Striders. Clint Morse and now David Merkt succeeded NipMuck Dave as Race Director. A little rain didn’t dampen the spirits of the 140+/- starters on the 26.4 mile course. Even NipMuck Dave ran the race.

I wrote about the 25th anniversary NipMuck five years ago. You can read about it here and also past NipMuck posts here.

Today, we hauled our kids up to Perry Hill Rd. in Ashford for the 8:00 A.M. start. It was raining lightly at the start, but an hour into the race, the skies really opened up and then it was a deluge. So, my comments about a little rain should be reassessed. It was a lot of rain, but I still saw a lot of smiles on the trails today.

It seemed as if all of the leaves in Connecticut changed color overnight and fell to the ground. They were slick. The ground turned to mud by the end of the race and there were some falls, but everyone survived. Chris Hayhurst and Kristina Folcik repeated their 2012 victories. Hayhurst gapped everyone during the first 12 mile out and back section on the southern section of trail before extending his lead on the northern section. Folcik absolutely crushed her 2012 time and essentially broke the course record. With course changes over the years, it is hard to have a CR. Trail conditions change all of the time, but she blitzed the race in 3:53 and should be really proud of her time.

We saw a lot of great friends. When I walked down the trail to take some photos, I smelled the leaves, and decided that I wished I was out running. Today I was in no shape to run NipMuck, but I’ll be back.

Race Results

More Photos

2013 Soapstone Mountain Trail Race

Well, the 29th annual Soapstone Mountain Trail race is in the books! It was a fantastic day in Somers, Connecticut. The Shenipsit Striders nailed it again, with an awesome event. I’m so proud of Debbie and her team of volunteers.

It was great to see so many friends from the New England trail running community (and beyond) on our home course. Feedback from many of the runners was excellent. The Shenipsit State Forest course was in good shape. It wasn’t bone dry, and even dusty in spots. There was a smattering of mud in some of the wet areas, but the infamous streambed was mostly dry. The logging damage remains, but the course markings were the best that they have ever been.

This race has so much tradition and it is great to see it thriving under a new generation of oversight. Debbie has been the Race Director for more than a dozen years, but the past few editions have seen a dramatic increase in the number of enthusiastic club member volunteers and other volunteers.

Soapstone is grassroots trail running at its finest and our format is appreciated by so many. We had good weather for running and spectating. It was mild, a bit muggy, and the rain held off until the fifth hour of the race. By then, just about everyone was finished.

The 24km race was won by Matt Shamey in 1:38:38. He was followed by Brian Nelson, Ben Carrington, Ryan Welts, and Brett Stoeffler. The course was slightly shorter than in years’ past. We cut out a small hairpin section that may have saved runners a minute or two depending on their pace. First woman was Kristina Folcik in 1:54:40, a stellar time. She had a breakout year in 2012 and has taken it up a notch in 2013. She is crushing the local competition and making quite a name for herself on the national ultra scene. She was followed by Nicole Kornas and Meghan Pagliuco.

The 6km Soapstone Sampler, with modified Dipsea timing system, was won by 71 year-old Hal Bennett in an age/gender graded 23:12. His gun time was 34:24. He was followed by Alex Smith and Brian Smith.

I ran the 24km race and was very pleased. It was a lot of fun to run stride for stride with Mike Mazzotta between mile one and mile 13. We traded pulls for more than 90 minutes before he pulled away in the last mile. I only had one fall and it was mostly a soft landing. I’ll feel it in the morning. I ended up in a cloud of dust, but it could have been worse. I was very happy that I didn’t fade until the last bit. This bodes well for my fitness level, which I finally feel is building again after a rough start to the year. Bring on the triathlons!

179 runners finished the long course and 67 runners finished the short course. That is a decent turnout. Special thanks to Jerry Turk and Kerry Arsenault from RAT Race Timing. They did a good job dealing with the challenge of more than 100 race day registrants in their first year on the job.

We started a new tradition this year with the addition of a kids’ race. More than 20 kids finished the un-timed run. Most did the one loop 1/2 mile race, but our son and one other kid did two loops. The parents and children had a joyous time. This was a real hit.

See you all (and more) at the 30th anniversary Soapstone on Sunday 18 May 2014!

Race Results

Printroom Photos

2011 Scrooge Scramble

This year’s Scrooge Scramble in Rockville, Connecticut was our 8th in a row. It was a fine Christmas morning that we shared with many of our running friends, and all for a good cause. $2007 was raised for The Cornerstone Soup Kitchen. There were also many food and clothes donations. I’m a sucker for tradition, and this is one that I love. I pushed our Chariot CX-2 loaded up with a couple of happy (and bundled up) children on the 5 kilometer out and back course. It was in the low-20’s Fahrenheit when the race started at 10:30 A.M.

Debbie ran off on her own, apparently, fully recovered from last week’s Lookout Mountain 50 Mile Trail Race. I’m far from recovered. Eight days later, my legs are still blasted from that effort, so I took it really easy. Debbie earned a little reindeer picture holder for her effort, but this event is much more about the cause and camaraderie than the results. Janit Romayko and Mary Lou White are the co-race directors. They time the event, but it is very low-key. Many people get into the holiday spirit by running in costume. Some are outlandish.

The current residents of the shelter were all smiles and offered many hearty cheers to the runners. It was nice that so many runners find it in their hearts to contribute to this race. No entry fee is specified, but judging from the haul, people were very generous with their contributions. The Shenipsit Striders and Silk City Striders were well represented. As long as we are in Connecticut for Christmas, we will run this race. It was a wonderful final race of 2011. It was my 36th event. I’ll look back later this week when I put closure on 2011 and start locking in the goals for 2012.

Race Results (will be posted when available)