Weekly RunDown June 24, 2020

June 24, 2020

In this week’s Rundown:

We open w/ a clip from Ron Heerkens Jr Photography / Goat Factory Media as he and a community supported Eric Eagan and Sheila Eagan in a zero to 40 mile running comeback on the Many On The Genny course, and a a preview for a longer length episode for season 2 of the #BeastCoast Film series.

Standing in for racing this year, we turn to the FKT front with shout out to Jason Friedman on episode 62 of the Pain Cave Podcast, this time, chasing FKT’s with Ben Nephew. We go state by state in our region with this week’s FKT’s:

CT: Matthew Walker, 2:09 on the Cockaponset Trail; Justin Kousky, 1:33 on the Saugatuck Trail; Cherie Billbie, Jillian Ellefson, Kelly Catlin, Mira Skuka, 11:31 on the Nipmuck Trail;
Sarah Ports Connor, 58m for the Ragged Mountain

ME: Todd Reutlinger set the baseline mark of 13:21 for the 65 mile Eastern Trail which runs between Portland and Portsmouth Maine. I’d guess that must be pretty spectacular.

NH: Sharon Knorr, 5:37 on the Mad River Notch Loop, which, in covering three of NH’s mountains over 4k feet, looks like a beautiful loop, and the namesake of one of my favorite trail shoes ever; Anneka Williams, 5:39 for the Cannon and Kinsmans Loop

NJ: Jonathan Wagar, 4:16 on the Columbia Trail; David Franz, 4:09 for the Four Birds Trail

NY: MIchelle Merlis, 3:40 on the Wittenburg-Cornell-Slide Loop; Kelly MacDonald 5:15 for the Winona State Forest;
MIchael Jaworski, Paul Fronhofer Dan Fronhofer, 6d 5h for the ADK 46 High Peaks thru-hike variation, impressively taking nearly a full day off the previous record set in 2019.
Connor Matheson, 4:07 for the Suffern – Bear Mountain Trail

PA: Thomas Waniewski, 4:07 on the Wissahickon Green Ribbon Trail

VA: Sheila Vibert, 26:59 on the AT through Shenendoah National Park

VT: Grace Long, 7:59 for the Glastenbury / West Ridge Loop

Ellie Pell takes us through some of this week’s regional trail media including the Cultra Trail Running Podcast and the Pain Cave.

A mention of events that would have or still running:

Canceled for 2020:
Twisted 10k put on by the Blue Ridge Trail Runners in Virginia, out for this year.
The The Monster Brant Hill Challenge put on by Rebellion Running in Elmira, NY, was to be a 1 Hr and 3 Hr timed run.
Run for the Ages 10k Trail Chase, put on by the Pagoda Pacers Athletic Club over beautiful flowy trails in Nolde State Forest outside of Reading, PA, some trails I ran at least a few times in H.S., canceled for 2020.
Nighttrain 50k and Half Marathon – originally / historically run out of Farmville, VA using a historic rail-trail which passes through an area rooted in Civil War history.
Midnight Squatchapalooza, a timed event which was to be run in the Burlington County Fairgrounds in Columbus, NJ, another one mixing it up w/ night running…this time, with the event starting at midnight.
Catamount Ultra Trail Race – on the beautiful, non-technical and very runnable trails of the Trapp Family Lodge below Mt. Mansfield in Stowe, Vermont.
Ontario Summit – staged in the finger lakes hill country in upstate NY, Goose Adventure Racing went the distance in holding out and looking toward modifications, but it wasn’t in the COVID restricted cards for ‘20. Consider this as a beautiful half or full marathon option for your next June.
Manitou’s Revenge – With 15,000 of climbing, over 54 miles including the signature technical beast which is the Devil’s Path, mile for mile this has to be one of the tougher trail events in the country. Charlie Gadol and Mike Cat Skill have created a total gem, the beast in between Escarpment and CatsTail, w/ a central crux segment which is the Devil’s Path.

Gone Virtual for 2020:
4th Annual Table Rock Trail Challenge, this Saturday, June 27th: a last person standing event but on by Scott English and Salt City Running, originally to be run in Jamesville NY. Entrants are to put together their own 1.2 mile loop, and with lap time allotments being reduced as they go until it’s down to 1. Good luck to the 62 entrants slated to run.
Berkshire Ultra Running Community for Service (BURCS), or BURCS’ Vegan Power 50K(and 25k), originally to be run on a 5 mile looping course outside of Pittsfield Mass, will be running this Saturday, June 27th in virtual format. Registration closed this past Saturday, best of luck to the 83 entrants registered to run virtual.

Postponed to a later date in 2020:
Blue Mountain Wildlife’s Run to the Rock 2.5 / 5 / 10k, put on in the Hamburg County Park. Pushback date still TBA.

Running this weekend?
Run for the Wounded Race 5k, 10k and Half Marathon, put on by Bishop’s Events. Run in Triangle, VA, next to the Quantico Marine Corps base and to benefit the Wounded Warrior Project. Scheduled to run this Saturday, it appears that it is still on, and registration still open despite it being beyond their stated registration window.

The New York-New Jersey Trail Conference webinar this Saturday the 27th at 9:00 titled Invasive Species Strike Force. It’ll teach you to identify six of the biggest offending invasive species and how best to tell them to get the hell out of our trail networks: https://www.facebook.com/events/2674827609503120/

Taking us out this week, a pretty fabulous new piece of gear which should be in every trail ultra runners gear closet, cued in by George Scott on the VHTRC FB Group. Time appropriate given the new covid-guided format for many of the aid stations coming your way.

https://youtu.be/Bw67bzBVNSs