Escarpment #8 is in the books (and now just 3 more finishes to reach the 200 mile club)! But the 42nd edition will probably be my favorite for a long time to come because – out of the blue – I managed a course PR! Even as I write this I find it hard to explain how, less than a month away from my 56th birthday, I ran a dozen minutes faster than my first Escarpment – way back in 2006!
Back then, at the relatively young age of 43 (soon to turn 44), I ran a 5:20:48 and was convinced that I’d return the following year and run it in under 5 hours! Ah, the hubris of youth! Needless to say, a sub-5 hour finish was my goal for those years. It wasn’t until my 4th finish that a realized that target was getting a bit further and further from my abilities! Thereafter, I focused on running sub 5:30 – and trying to beat my 5:20 PR (a more realistic goal).
Ironically, this time around I really didn’t have a goal in mind – other than finish and requalify for next year. I thought I could run a 5:30 – but honestly, wasn’t too confident about that because of my poor showing at the Vermont 100 last week. Not only did I DNF there, but I ran my lowest number of miles (44) in all of my 7 trips up there (my record has gone into the red, 3 finishes and 4 DNF’s – but that’s a story for another day). Were my quads sufficiently recovered for the downhills of Escarpment? That was the question that preoccupied my attention going into the race.
Okay, as for the race itself, I was slotted into the very last wave (20) – but actually went off with the 14th wave (and, ultimately, I think there were only 16 wave that went off). On the climb up to Windham, I fell in with a trio of runners who happened to be from Scarsdale – how bizarre is that?! There was a 4th member to their group (also from Scarsdale), but he was behind us and I never got to meet him. We reached the peak in just over 56 minutes – which was 2+ minutes faster than I did that climb back in 2016.
I had a handheld water bottle with me, but it was in my backpack. The weather would turn out to be so exceptional that I never took it out. Running from aid station to aid station without my handheld was a bit of an alien experience. In most years I could drink the entire 20 ounce bottle well before reaching the next refueling point! Also, for the second time in a row I had cut off gloves with me. I didn’t put them on till the base of Blackhead, but then wore them straight to the finish.
When I reached Blackhead I was surprised to see I was 11 minutes ahead of my 2016 pace (2:09 versus 2:20). It didn’t seem as if I was pushing the pace – and I actually gave back a full minute on the climb up to the peak, reaching it in 27 minutes versus the 26 it took me in 2016. Amazingly, at the elevation high point I found myself a solid 10 minutes ahead of my previous performance. But that was really the last of any big time gains. For the rest of the distance I managed to keep pace with 2016 (or again a minute here and there).
I picked up 4 minutes on the descent to Dutcher’s Notch and climb up to Stoppel Point, reaching it in 4:02 (versus 4:16). But coming off Stoppel, on that treacherous stretch of rock bed we have to traverse before the final aid station, I took my first (and only) fall of the day. I landed on my right side, bruising my forearm (the welt is still there as I write this) and my ego. But I wasn’t any worse for the wear and pushed on. The final 4+ miles from Stopple to North Lake may be the most technical stretch of terrain (even though all the real elevation change is over at that point).
Right behind the photographer taking our pictures as we come down off one of the endless patches of boulders that populate the last 2 miles was a signpost that read, .9 mile to North Lake. I took it in with a simultaneous mixture of relief and dread! My legs were pretty exhausted by that point, but that wasn’t road mile left to go – it was more boulder hopping! Even so, I just pushed on, knowing it would be over soon enough. When I finished, I was actually confused because backing out 1:05 (the elapsed time from my starting wave at 10:05) it worked out to 5:10 finish! I was both dubious and thrilled (mostly dubious, but I was sure my finish was a sub-5:20).
While I waited for the official results, Doug kindly offered me a beer! I found myself sitting in the sun sipping from the beer on one hand – and a coke from the other hand. There really isn’t a good explanation for that particular rehydration plan – ha! I also had a couple of peaches, but wasn’t up for anything approximating real food. When the results were posted my official finish was 5:08:03 (16:32 pace)! It was 2 minutes better than what I had calculated!
So it was a great day in the Catskills for me (which may even be an early birthday present)! Now, as a result, the idea of running a sub 5:00 finish has been resurrected for me! Not sure that’s possible (this may have been a total fluke), but I will go into the 43rd edition with that time goal in mind :D
