April 24, 2016
Race day volunteers at this race were amazing! Starting from the helpful guys directing traffic at the parking lot, to the registration tent, and on to the aid station people. Throughout the day everyone was smiling, they were happy to see you, and seemed genuinely concerned about your well being.
The Goat Hill Ultra is part of a trail festival of the same name, taking place in Uxbridge, MA. This is definitely what I would consider Central Mass, and close to RI—so I imagine that there aren’t too many city goers that make this trip. I had previously done the Goat Hill 5k in 2013. That was a memorable race for me as it was the event where I sprained a toe. The little toe on my right side still doesn’t touch the ground quite right.
This year the festival had 4 races: a 5k; an 8 miler; a 16 miler; and the ultra 50k. The 5k’ers were treated to a run up and down the major hill there—the Goat. For the remaining races, the course was 8 miles per loop, with a trip up the Goat, and then a ton of twisting and turning on mountain bike trails. While I’m not usually a fan of tight twisting trails or multiple loops, I took these two points as hurdles to get over and found that I really enjoyed the course. My time in my head was spent thinking about the course, managing pain, going through setup lists about the upcoming fat ass race I’m directing, and also did some running meditation.
The race started at 7am, well 7:05. There were less than 30 of us lined up for the ultra. After a wonderful rendition of the National Anthem, sung a cappella by one of the runners, we set off! With such a small field, groups of runners divided quickly, even before the first hill. I was passed by a number of people going up the Goat, which is ideal for me.
The first loop passed by quickly. A few muddy spots on the trail before the first aid station, but nothing major. The second half of the loop included a trip into an area with virtually no understory of trees. This area looked to have been cleared of underbrush in the last 5-10 years, and is just growing back. Many tall trees, many large rocks, and an understory just a foot or two off the ground. The trails through here were very twisty, which can be very disorienting. Through this first loop I was enamored by the beauty of this place—the twisting trails and large rock formations reminded me of Harold Parker State Forest. Eventually the twists stopped and we headed down the mountain and into the start/finish area.
After a quick costume change—just down to a pair of shorts and a jacket—and a stop at the bathroom, and a check on my loop time, I was off on lap 2. I had run the first loop much faster than I had intended too, averaging around a 12 pace for the first 5 miles. The second and third loops were both “fun” loops for me, I opted on slowing down a bit, and taking a look at the sights around me. As I ran I picked out landmarks to help me track my position on course. In the first half were the two mud puddles, the two barrel rolls, and then the aid station. In the next half was the start of the “barren land,” where there was minimal understory. Then a green spot in the middle of this area, the path between two massive stone slabs, the cross roads, the two guys, and then the last hill down.
Loop 4 was definitely the hardest. I was tired, I was hot—the jacket had been tied at my waist since the middle of loop 3—and my legs were feeling the burn. But I soldered on, power hiking some of the first bit. According to my GPS, my trip up the Goat this last time was faster than loop 3, but the rest of the course was definitely slow. At a few times I stopped and squatted down, simply to get my leg muscles to stretch. After each time of doing this, I felt better for a few miles.
This last time through the two guys were not hanging out on the course, but I recognized the trail intersection and knew I wasn’t far from the end. Coming down the hill for the last time was a welcome site. By this point most of the spectators had left, but a few were still present. I lapped the area once and made it through the finish line. The Race director shook my hand and thanked me for being at the race. He also gave me a great little finisher’s prize:
30.2 miles, 7 hours 50 min. 17th out of 20 finishers.
