NF Endurance Challenge

[rup]

North Face ran its endurance challenge this past Sat at Harriman St Park again. Anyone do the 50 mile, etc??

http://www2.thenorthface.com/endurancechallenge/races/2009/ny/index.html

 

[Rik]

A friend did the 50k. I worked an aid station for a while. Saw someone doing the half marathon in a 46ers shirt.

 

[Hank]

That was me!

I suppose the average person to run it comes through the hiking, rather than the running, window. I was probably the 3rd oldest runner in the Half Marathon yet I nailed my age group. I ran off the course once and had to walk up and down some steeps littered with baby heads. And I injured my left foot, probably on one of those rocks. Truly an act of faith running through water you can't see the bottom of and down slopes where the next step is any one's guess. This was a great venue: well planned and coordinated. The terrain was unexpectedly wild and pretty.

 

[John H Swanson]

That was me!

This was a great venue: well planned and coordinated. The .

And once again (as they did last year) TNF didn't clean the course and left flagging/clothes pins along the trails for the regular Harriman hikers to remove. Rather annoying

 

[Hank]

Have you contacted North Face?

 

[John H Swanson]

Have you contacted North Face?

No. I heard they were contacted last year.

Actually this year was an improvement in the number of flags used. Last year, during the race, the route was flagged about 1 flag every 100 ft (no exageration) Then, they did a relatively good job sweeping the route. I found about 6 flags in the 4-5 miles of hiking on the route. Still unacceptable in my opinion. This year, I hike two sections. One was for 1/2 mile (during the race) and the route was only flagged at the junctions. I thoght this was a big improvement. I hiked another section of about 2 miles after the race and I found 8 flags.

 

[ColdRiverRun]

I hiked another section of about 2 miles after the race and I found 8 flags.

John, when you write after, how long after is after?

 

[John H Swanson]

John, when you write after, how long after is after?

the next Saturday = 1 week
It was the section from Silvermine Lake Parking Area to the AT junction at the Brien shelter on the Menominie trail

 

[Snowflea]

Grrrrr! This kind of stuff reflects poorly on all trail races. (One bad apple...) The RD should definitely be contacted if she/he hasn't been already. Was there any trash--gel packets, etc.?

We put on running events in CA's Los Padres National Forest. Our running group has put in about 300 hours of trail work this year alone--many 100 mile races require 8-12 hours of volunteer trail work for acceptance. (A dozen people times 8 hours adds up fast.) We do not overmark an obvious trail, mainly marking only those sections that could be confusing. The markers are surveyors tape tied to clothespins which are recycled for the next event, and a very small amount of flour for ground marking. We try to get the course markers down within 24 hours. Most races also specifically address the issue of littering, and most consider it grounds for automatic disqualification.

I'd like to think the NY experience was an exception. Hopefully they'll do better next year.

 

[John H Swanson]

Grrrrr! This kind of stuff reflects poorly on all trail races. (One bad apple...) The RD should definitely be contacted if she/he hasn't been already. Was there any trash--gel packets, etc.?

We put on running events in CA's Los Padres National Forest. Our running group has put in about 300 hours of trail work this year alone--many 100 mile races require 8-12 hours of volunteer trail work for acceptance. (A dozen people times 8 hours adds up fast.) We do not overmark an obvious trail, mainly marking only those sections that could be confusing. The markers are surveyors tape tied to clothespins which are recycled for the next event, and a very small amount of flour for ground marking. We try to get the course markers down within 24 hours. Most races also specifically address the issue of littering, and most consider it grounds for automatic disqualification.

I'd like to think the NY experience was an exception. Hopefully they'll do better next year.

Considering 100s of people went over the course at this point, the litter was very little. I saw only one piece of race typical litter - a used gel pack.

All the flagging I previously mentioned was attached with those cute little clothes pins. I saved them for my next BSP trip

 

[Hank]

Logistically, this was an immense project. 4 venues, with overlapping and different trails. Just as I missed one marker and ran off the course, some tags will be missed on the sweep. The good done by introducing people to the interior of Harriman SP, plus the motivation of those who would probably not have been exercising in preparation for these events, most likely outweigh the cost of missing some markers and debris. Of course there is no equivalency between these metrics.

I believe the race organizers had only the most noble intentions.

You have to think about Cave Dog when you are hoofing it full tilt in these races. You could do worse than spend a day running one of these. The perspective on speed does have a place in one's experiences.

I was impressed by the bigness and grandeur of the terrain. I have cycled and driven on all roads which form the perimeter of the half but was unprepared for the trails. And, there were no vistas. Just woodland views.

 

[John H Swanson]

Logistically, this was an immense project. 4 venues, with overlapping and different trails. Just as I missed one marker and ran off the course, some tags will be missed on the sweep. The good done by introducing people to the interior of Harriman SP, plus the motivation of those who would probably not have been exercising in preparation for these events, most likely outweigh the cost of missing some markers and debris. Of course there is no equivalency between these metrics.

I believe the race organizers had only the most noble intentions.

You have to think about Cave Dog when you are hoofing it full tilt in these races. You could do worse than spend a day running one of these. The perspective on speed does have a place in one's experiences.

I was impressed by the bigness and grandeur of the terrain. I have cycled and driven on all roads which form the perimeter of the half but was unprepared for the trails. And, there were no vistas. Just woodland views.

The flags left were no big deal. They are now gone. That said. The ones left last year were truly difficult to see. In fact I past a few of them and Nan said what about this one. The ones left this year were dual color blue/orange and in plain sight. They were not "missed" they were left. Someone made the decision to not pick them up.

 

[Hank]

Each of the 4 races were color coded. So, depending on the section of trail, you get different color combinations. A hundred years ago they would have been blazes with an axe.