The third and final leg of the Blue Crab Bolt trail running (10K) series kicked off on a beautiful late-August morning. 60-degree mornings this time of year are a rarity in these parts and are to be cherished. It simply couldn’t be more perfect for a runner.
This is the last of the three races in the 2017 series. I was disappointed in my performance in the prior two events and had low expectations for this one, particularly after last week’s triathlon. The race directors Ex2 Adventures runs a fine event and it keeps a points tally across the three. Coming in, I was in sixth place and needing one heck of a fast run to climb up in the standings.
The Little Bennett course starts off a bit quirky. We break into a fairly narrow road, turn a corner 180 degrees, and come back the other way on a different gravel road. There isn’t a heck of a lot of room to navigate around people, so starting position is absolutely critical.
I had found a decent enough pack to stick with, though once we got into the single-tracking trail (1/4 mile or so in), I was trapped behind a small pack that was slower than I wanted to run. Unfortunately, between narrowness and rockiness, there’s just not a lot of passing room for the first couple of miles.
The first third of the course is down to the stream, then back up a moderately steep, rocky hill. I managed to get past a couple of people (including two kids running the 5k) on the downhill, but couldn’t get past the other three until we were nearly at the top of the uphill portion. I passed the final person in a field at the top of the hill.
The second third of the course is along a gravel access road…wide and flat. This part of the course is made for a marathoner. After getting to that point in a modest 8:10 minute/mile pace, I ran the next two at 6:40, mostly along that road. It’s not the most interesting trail run section. I’m sure the purists hate that part, but I was happy to have the ability to shut my brain down for a mile or so and just run.
The last third is some pretty steep hills, up and down, but nothing as bad as some of the worst at the Seneca Creek. There’s a massive stream crossing about a half-mile before the finish…the water was up to my knees. I don’t love that part, as the climb up the hill with wet shoes on rocky terrain feels awful to me–heavy feet, slippery tread. I seem to get through it every time, but it’s my least favorite part of these events.
I was on pace for a 51ish minute time, but had issues with my right shoelace. It came untied twice during the race. I double-knotted it at the start, but after it came loose the first time, I just singled it. Mistake as it came apart again. Ugh.
Ended up with a time around 54 minutes, which still beats my time from last year by two minutes, but wasn’t enough to get me into the top 5 today or for the series. My second straight 6th place finish doomed me to a 6th place finish for the series.
Honestly, I’m not sure why that bothers me. Yes, it stinks to fall one place off of the five-person podium for the second-straight trail race (and the series), but my fitness seems to be coming back to me, I’ve definitely improved over last year, and there’s a chance I have a good run next month in my next Marathon. I should feel better about it than I do.
In any case, I’ll probably sign up for this series again next year. It’s a nice diversion from the miles of pavement and a reasonable test of my fitness year-over-year. Again, Ex2 Adventures runs a first-class event. The setup is as good or better as some smaller marathons I’ve run. It’s a real pleasure to run this series.