Friday, July 26, 2013

My Single Day Run around New England (aka. 30 miles, 6 states, 1 day) 20Oct93


            When I awoke October 20, 1993 I knew it was going to be a special day. Unlike the normal work Wednesday this day I had a goal. I was going to run at least 5 miles in all 6 New England states in 1 day. Since I had decided the evening before to do this it would prove to be a solo adventure. While I enjoy running alone I wasn’t looking forward to all the driving it would require. Other than the loop I ran from home all others would have to be run as out-and-backs. I would pick a landmark and park my car at least 2.5 miles away.

Leg 1: Keene, New Hampshire. I woke up at 4am, got dressed and re-checked the bag I had packed the night before. At 4:30am I headed out to begin run number one. Other than the skunk I came face-to-face with the run went quick and uneventful. Luckily the skunk didn’t mind sharing the road with me as we greeted each other with a quick raise of the head and continued on our own quests, mine being 6 states and his being the neighbor’s trash barrel. When done I showered, ate some breakfast and headed for Vermont.

Leg 2: Brattleboro, Vermont. This run would be on familiar roads. About 6:45am I parked my car at the entrance to the Brattleboro Country Club Golf Course on Upper Dummerston Road. This was also the site of the Red Clover Rover Running Club’s annual Turkey Trot. The road rolls gently past farms and single family country houses. It’s a peaceful run any time of the day. The only memorable thing besides the rain was seeing fellow Red Clover Rover Hank Lange running the other way. Hank Lange is an Ironman triathlete, triathlon coach and personal health, wellness and fitness coach. Unlike the quick raise of the head exchanged with the skunk earlier, we greeted each other verbally as he flew past me. Knowing Hank back then, he was probably completing 30 miles before his breakfast while my 30 miles was going to take all day. With two states done, I ate a snack and then drove south on Interstate 91 to Massachusetts for round three.

Leg 3: South Hatfield, Massachusetts. At 8:45am I parked on the side of the road and used the huge, newly built C&S Wholesale Grocer’s warehouse as my turnaround point. While the rain I experienced earlier had died down to a light drizzle, the wind was picking up some but not enough to make a difference. The run went smooth and I was very happy to be half done. I changed into dry cloths in my car and continued south on I-91 into Connecticut.

Leg 4: Stafford Springs, Connecticut. I exited I-91 at exit 47 and headed east on Route 190 passing through Hazardville (not associated with the Dukes of Hazard) and Somers before finding my next landmark. I drove east on Route 190 (Buckley Hwy) and parked my car in the edge of someone’s dirt driveway. It was a beautiful run down into town and then back up to my car.  I did experience some minor knee pain but nothing to worry about. I changed into more dry cloths and ate a couple peanut butter and onion sandwiches and headed for Rhode Island. As I drove east I was glad I had brought the sandwiches because the onion smell was covering up the wet dog smell coming from the backseat that I realized was actually my pile of sweaty cloths and shoes.

Leg 5: Smithfield, Rhode Island. I drove east on Rte 190 and 197 to Webster, MA where I stopped for a huge juicy cheese burger and fries. Then I drove south on I-395 past beautiful Lake Chaubunagungmaug, or as I called it Lake What-the-F???. Then I turned east again along Rte 44 into Smithfield, Rhode Island home of the Bryant University Bulldogs. My run seemed to fly by as I realized I only had one more state to finish. I hesitate to say the road was hilly since the maximum elevation in RI is a mighty 811feet so I will call it gently rolling non-level. It was a great run.

Leg 6: Kittery. Maine. Now came the longest drive of the day. My plan to cruise up I-295 and then I-95 into Kittery proved to have one slight drawback, Boston home to my beloved Red Sox, Bruins, Celtics, and Patriots I was making great time until I hit the traffic jam from hell. It took over 4 hours to drive just 120 miles. By the time I reached Kittery my knees had swelled and my legs were tighter than a pair of daisy dukes. I measured 2.6 miles from the Kittery Circle to Fort McClary, which was built in 1808 as a coastal defensive fortification. I struggled the first couple miles as my legs felt like they weighed a ton. It was the hilliest of my runs but when I turned around at the circle all the pain went away. I attacked the final hills back up to the fort. I arrived back to my car just before 6:30 pm and cracked open a warm beer to celebrate. My quest had taken me over 14 hours, thanks to the Boston traffic but it was finally over, 30+ miles, 6 states, 1 day. My run around New England was complete.

The inspiration to do this came from my high school running coach. He ran 10 miles in all six New England states in one day. Luckly his wife helped drive so he could rest between runs.
 

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Border-to-Border 20 Miler 19Feb94


The Border-to-Border 20 Miler was a point-to-point race run in three states (Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts), through seven towns, all in one race. Starting in the hills of Kittery, Maine runners passed through the New Hampshire villages of Portsmouth, Rye, North Hampton, Hampton and Seabrook and finished in Salisbury, Massachusetts.

The February 19, 1994 race was a memorable one for many reasons but mostly due to the incredibly warm weather on race day. Northern New England had been experiencing sub-freezing temperatures and severe wind-chills for a week leading up to race day. Miraculously, that all changed, as we were blessed with sunny mid-thirties temperatures and no wind. It was a perfect day to run 20 miles. The warm weather brought out twice as many runners as were expected which caused a logistical nightmare for the race staff as they shuttled runners from the finish area in Salisbury, MA to the start point in Kittery, ME. The extra bus trips delayed the race about an hour. Then as we lined up to begin the race, word came in that a draw-bridge near the start had gotten stuck open which added another 30 minute delay.  Once fixed the race director got us re-set and the gun went off. The course passed through historic districts, wooded areas, and salt-water marshes. We also passed numerous mansions, small cottages, surf and t-shirt shops, and finished at a crab shack. It was a true coastal experience. Instead of the usual race t-shirt, we all received ski hats which were quickly put to good use as the temperature dipped below freezing once again by the next morning.   

This race is now known as the Eastern States 20 Mile and the course remains roughly the same except for deleting the Kittery, ME portion. It now includes 2 states and six towns. If you are looking for a fast late-winter 20 miler this race is worth checking out. Next year’s race day will be March 30, 2014. The official race site is: http://www.easternstates20mile.com/

 

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

A long 3 miles


Early on I realized that while I lacked the speed of some of my teammates, I could run longer than most of them. While high school track and cross country workouts were very structured, I have always taken a flexible approach to my running. I run how I feel. Some long runs get cut short while some short runs get extended depending upon how I am feeling. I mention this because my friend Tim and I were reminiscing last week how thirty years ago we went out to run an easy 3 miles and ended up running 17. Like Forest Gump...we just kept running. That was the first time I can remember feeling the infamous “runners high”. I’ve been searching for it ever since.