Escarpment, Part ‘tou

It would seem you could very much consider Manitou’s Revenge to be “the sequel” to the Escarpment Trail Race

I have heard stories of Escarpment, and it always seemed like so much “fun”. Still, all that up/down/rocks/roots is not my thing, so I have avoided it, just like I have avoided Seven Sisters. So why the heck did I run Manitou’s Revenge??? Well, I haven’t run a 100 mile race in a while, and I have been missing the challenge. Also, I DNF’d at my only 50 mile attempt last year (and, unbeknownst to me when I registered for Manitou, I would proceed to DNF at my NEXT 50, Wapack, where I missed the cut-off). SO, if I wasn’t going to even try 100s, I thought I should at least finish a 50. Note to self: if finishing a 50 is a priority, make it a point to sign up for some OTHER 50!

 

Anyway, the real kicker was that Spuds twisted my arm. Not quite as elegant and understated as a “look” from Mr. B, but equally effective 🙂 So, I knew I would be WAY out of my comfort zone and looked forward to the challenge. I spent a large fraction of my moderate training time this spring on the “nasty stuff”. Hills, rocks, more rocks, and some roots for good measure. The treadmills at the gym sure are missing me! I was almost feeling ready, then Wapack brought me back to reality. Cut-off at mile 43. Ugh. Fortunately, the Spring Loop, in the good company of a pre-injury Snobody, et al, gave me a little hope I could at least hike Manitou. Heck, how hard could it be, they have a 24 hour cut-off 😉 Second note to self: Maybe the 24 hour cut-off is not to be extra-nice to the runners, maybe it is because I might need it!

I did what I could to stay uncomfortable during training, and to brush up on Escarpment lore. None of this was encouraging. Good thing I am not afraid of heights, right ? 😉

Race weekend: Spuds and I got to Phoenicia, NY in time to track down the RD, dining al fresco, on Main Street. Although Friday packet-pickup was over, he graciously walked back to his car for our, and several other, runners’ benefit. A quick dinner, and we were back to our cabin before 9 to prep for our 2:15 AM alarm (we are already working on how to make the logistics Nadia Friendly). We were back in Phoenicia “downtown” by 3 for the 3:30 bus. I struggled to stay awake on the bus ride, unusual for me. I was forced to consume a can of Starbucks that I was hoping to bring on the trail, just to be upright at the starting line. The start, in a park, was VERY low key. We all walked out onto a road, Charlie Gadol (RD) and Dick Vincent (Escarpment RD) took turns thanking (blaming?) each other for making this new race possible, and then, as I recall, Charlie said “you can go now”, which was the sum total of his pre-race briefing and race start.

The race starts up a paved road almost to the end, then cuts left onto the trails. After a substantial climb, it joins the Escarpment Trail just after Windham, and then runs the Escarpment course to the end and WAY beyond. Third note, this time to Bimblers: My lasting impressions of your stories of The Escarpment are of how brutal it is. Somehow, the beauty of the course has been left understated. There was much chatter and camaraderie on these opening sections, and Spuds gave me great commentary about what was coming up next (Blackhead, planes, North Point, etc…) Given that the distance was virtually the same, and the trail was mostly the same, Spuds indicated that my estimated ETA at the Escarpment finish line of 4hrs, 30mins was overly optimistic. I believe our actual time was 4:29 🙂

My goals for this race: Finish. Stick close to Spuds, he knows this stuff. Finish in 19 hours. I achieved my primary goal 🙂

On to virgin territory, there was a decent runnable stretch just past the Escarpment finish line. Then the trail, which is mainly horse trail here (more on that later, my 2nd trail fear, after heights, is horses) gets rocky with lots of switchbacks. It is a LONG way down to the next aid station, down in the town of Palenville. There is a very brief road stretch, to take a bridge over the river, then back to the trails. The climb up out of Palenville was totally non-technical, and almost totally vertical, for a long way. Then, when it cannot go up any more, you leave this dirt road onto single track, and continue up much further, this time quite technical. Spuds led the charge, with me following increasingly less closely. I complimented him on getting us up that “hill” in a big hurry, and that I planned to take the reward by taking it a little easier on the next mercifully flat but hopelessly muddy section. I saw Spuds no more (this was around mile 25 or so).

It was very hot, and I was definitely dehydrating. This is when my first doubts set in. “This really is not my kind of race”, “I had hoped to keep up with Spuds until later in the day”, “Do I REALLY have something to prove here?”. The going got tougher, and I slowed further. The next aid station was the last viable “extraction point” for a quitting runner. I started making my rationalizations, and slowed further. Fortunately, the aid station workers buoyed my confidence. I was at the 50K mark, a little over half done, and I had made it there in a BLAZING 9 hours. Other than in the immediate vicinity of aid stations, I pretty much never encountered other runners on the trail. 14 more hours racing alone!

Leaving the Platt Clove aid station at 2PM, I had 10 miles to go to the next, and I would be encountering The Devil’s Path. Do you have any idea how FAR 10 miles can be? Well into this stretch, I became concerned that I had missed a turn, by a wide margin. If I was correct, I would hit a road soon. If that happened, I would hitchhike back to the finish line, then officially drop. Shortly thereafter, I saw the turn I “missed”! In another minute, I could hear the aid station, which was, in actuality, at least another hour away. Yes, the hallucinations had set in. Several actually. Going up yet another monstrous climb, there was a large truck near the top, even though there was no road. Just as I approached the location, it drove away. This was the scariest part of the course, for someone like me who is afraid of heights. Well, at least there are no horses here unlike the scary VT100 race), right? Wrong! On several separate occasions, both before and after dark, horses appeared on the trail in front of me. NOT! Approaching Mink Hollow, this time for real, I was truly concerned for my safety after dark on these cliff-hanging (literally) monstrous ascents and descents. Again, the aid station workers deflected my questions very diplomatically, instead focusing on how well I was doing(?). Fortified with soup, pirogis, gatorade, etc… I set out for the next aid station, also 10 miles away. Brutal ups and downs, then a merciful turn away from The Devil’s Path. It was a long way down (and up, and down) to the creek, a wet crossing for sure. It was now well past sunset and the supermoon was too low in the sky to be of much help. I was expecting the aid station to be there, so, naturally, I saw it. Except, it wasn’t there. It was actually several miles up the next mountain. I even heard the aid workers talking, but sadly, that was the babbling creek.

Going up the final mountain, Mt. Tremper, some sensible trail construction expert had at least made a mild attempt at a few switchbacks. Unfortunately, I kept missing the turns and walking off into the woods. My hoped for 10:30 arrival at the aid station turned into a post midnight visit. Well, at least I am at the top of the mountain now, right? “Virtually”, assured the aid station Friendly Woman… “Just 2.1 miles more to the top”. Also, the station was low on water, but she assured me there was a wonderful spring on the trail just 3 miles ahead. I mumbled thank you, told myself “it is what it is”, and set out. More mind tricks: my feet stopped hopping to the best rocks to land safely. Instead, I was willing the rocks to gather under my feet. I was falling down a lot, and if there were to be any more cliff-walks ahead there was going to be a problem. A “5 Hour Energy” remedied the falling down problem AND the hallucinations, but not for 5 hours. Still, the 1 hour respite was most welcome. Despite the major altitude changes, there was no part of the Mt. Tremper trail that was “scary”. Finally, with 1.5 miles to go, you come to a mini aid station, where I was offered water and reflectors for the 1.5 mile road run into town. Finally, a chance to RUN. Asphalt never looked so good to me 🙂

The finish is at the church hall at the edge of town. Runners’ cars are scattered throughout town, but it is a small town, so everybody gets reunited with their vehicles and stuff very easily. Given the early hour, things were not overly “celebratory”, but I was HAPPY to be finished. Spuds was waiting for me, forever. Thank you Spuds. We went back to our cabin on the other edge of town to shower and sleep a few hours.

 

Observations:

It is true: The Escarpment Trail is the EASY part of this race.

Trail markings were great, and none of that wimpy stuff like re-assurance markers, or glow sticks, or reflective tape. Besides, you want to use that AWESOME map that every runner received.

It is hard to believe that this was a first year race. Everything was flawless logistically.

The aid stations: outstandingly equipped and excellently staffed. Having said that, it is hard to prep for going 5 hours between stations, especially on a hot day!

Overheard: “It runs like a short 100”. A perfect description!

I am happy to crew, would consider pacing, absolutely NOT running this race next year.

This IS the “BS”… everything reported here is, as I remember it, totally true.

Yikes! I forgot the least important part, my time: 22:09. yeah, that IS 22 hours.