This is my second year participating in this 3-leg trail series. It’s an event marked by strong organization, a collegial atmosphere, and a pretty solid post-race spread. Overall, a super way to spend a few Saturday mornings in the Summer.
Last year, the Blue Crab Bolt, a three-leg series of 5k or 10k trail races was my introduction to trail running. It was my first experience on the podium, as I finished third overall in my age group. I signed up pretty late for it this year, having confirmed that all three races fell into decent spots on our travel schedule. None of them are ideal for my marathon race schedule (or triathlon schedule this year), but they were fun. No time goals, let’s just enjoy!
For this year’s return to Seneca Creek State Park, I wasn’t as nervous as I was last year, but was interested to see if I found it any easier than the year before. In summary, no.
It rained a lot the day before, so I was surprised that the course was in tremendous shape. Not much mud, some wet roots, only a couple of puddles, but nothing severe. The races in this series get more technical as you go, so this was a welcome experience.
The morning starts with a trudge across the damp field to the start line to pick up the bib and shirt (for the first race…they only give one shirt for the series, which is fine). Then, you trudge back across the damp field back to your car to return the shirt and then back to the start. Maybe give the shirts out at the end? I don’t know. I’d think there’s a better way of doing this.
The start for all of their races is in the middle of a field. This allows the runners to space out a bit before single-tracking begins in the woods. The field lasts about 150 yards up-hill, followed by a quarter-mile or so along the road. It’s a bit of a mad dash at the start to get into a position where you have some space in front of you and don’t get slowed up by others once passing opportunities become limited. I definitely went out too fast, so the rest of the race is just trying to find a groove and recover.
The course is pretty great: lots of single-tracking, only a couple of must-walk technical spots where the rocks are slippery, no crazy hills that break your spirit. 90% of the race is under canopy, so the sun is a non-factor (that changes in the next two races). The second half of the course hugs the man-made lake in the middle of the park. Last year, there was a grievous and embarrassing race error for the organizers as they sent us to the left at the lake instead of the right. They were extra careful this time around and had multiple marshals keeping us on the right course.
My time was slightly disappointing, but I was happy to have it done. Like last year, no podium in the first leg, but hopefully I’ll climb up the standings in legs two and three.
The post-race selection is wonderful for these races. Breakfast burritos, watermelon, oranges, bananas, ample snack-type food, and some other sugary things were all on the buffet. They could use a bit more water (always), and I hated the gatorade flavor (grape, blech), though others seemed to like it.
Additionally, I’m always impressed by the race group’s same-day awards for overall and age-group winners. Going to 5th place for the 5k and 10k entrants for each group is quite a feat, and it’s nice that they have prizes (pint glasses) for all the winners. I still have my 3rd place and 5th place glasses from last year and use them now and again.
Two more races to go. One two weeks after the marathon (not ideal) and one one week after the triathlon (not ideal), but they’re a lot of fun, so I’m looking forward to them.