Racing Updates

• I heard a rumor that there was record attendance for the July 4th Red, White, and Blue 6.2 and 5k! Way to show up!
• While it wasn’t an official race we had our biannual track 5K on July 23! Great attendance and some killer times! I heard a few people even PR’d! If you missed it and have FOMO, worry not! There will be an end-of-season track 5k as well. (Hopefully when it is slightly cooler). And that one will have pizza!
• Coming up in August is a new entry in the Upper Valley Running Series (UVRS) that is put on by one of our own UVRC members, Sean Meissner! The Triple Dam 10K is on August 25. Let's get out there to show our support and make this inaugural race one to remember!

Club Announcements

Annual Summer Picnic

MARK YOUR CALENDARS AND SAVE THE DATE: Wednesday, August 21

Our annual time to serve up summer vibes by grilling out in the fun and the sun with all our running fam and their fam! This year's location is Union Village Dam Picnic Area in East Thetford, VT. The picnic is open to all UVRC members and their families!

Be on the lookout for how to RSVP and more deets!!

Also if you want to show off your grilling prowess we are in need of a volunteer Grillmaster**! 

Club Discounts

We have a discount at Running Warehouse. (Apparently, we have for a while, whoops!) Let’s make up for lost time with some running gear discounts! Use the code AU33ER6 at checkout for the following discounts:

• 20% off clothing and socks
• 10% off select clearance shoes, nutrition, hats, visors

Is there a running company or store you’d like to get a discount at? Let us know! Email Uppervalleyrunningclub@gmail.com and we’ll try our best to work some club clout magic!

Tuesday Night Track

We are on for our summer schedule which means that effective immediately we will be on the Dartmouth Track @ 5:30 p.m.! The entrance is in the Northwest corner closer to the baseball fields. And we will be there come rain or shine! 

Summer Runner’s Night Outs

Every second Tuesday of the month we head over to Hanover Ramuntos for free pizza on the club! Come hang out with your pals after Tuesday Night Track and eat FREE PIZZA!

• August 13th
• September 10th
• October 8th

Saturday Morning Runs

REMEMBER! Saturday morning runs will be at 8 a.m. instead of 9 a.m. to beat some of the summer heat. We will meet in front of Omer and Bobs for a chiller social run. People break out into groups based on pace and route and head off. Afterward, we meet on the Leb Green for baked goods or head over to Lucky’s Coffee for some breakfast!

Volunteer Opportunities

In case you missed it we’re doing a 2024 UVRC VOLUNTEER CHALLENGE see the March Newsletter for full details! 

Upcoming Opportunities

• The Reach the Beach Relay (Sept 13-14) needs volunteers at the following aid stations
• Cannon Mountain, Franconia NH
• Whales Tale Water Park, Lincoln, NH
• Clark's Bears, Lincoln, NH
• Webster Park, Epsom, NH
• Bear Brook State Park, Allenstown, NH
• Henry Moore School, Candia, NH
• Tuck Learning Campus, Exeter, NH
• North Hampton School, North Hampton NH 

Reach out to uppervalleyrunningclub@gmail.com to get connected with the volunteer coordinator!

**Grillmaster is an official title and comes with a small parcel of land  

Congratulations to all Upper Valley Running Series (UVRS) runners who ran the July 4th Red, White, and Blue 6.2 5K/10K. My understanding is that the event set its record for most participants… go Lebanon Recreation and UVRC!

The next race is on August 25, in Perkinsville VT. It’s the Triple Dam 10K! This inaugural event is directed by UVRC regular Sean Meissner and sounds like a lovely summer run.

So, what is this UVRS that you’re hearing so much about? It’s our club’s series of local road races.

Full-series registration is closed for the year, but you can still participate in the series. As long as you are an up-to-date UVRC member, you can just sign up for each race through the normal race registration (even day-of is OK). You’ll get credit as a series participant.

For 2024, you need to run 7 of the 11 races to get the finisher prize. If you’ve already run a couple of the races, it should be no problem! But even if not, you still have time to get 7 done.

If you don’t want to race or have a family member who doesn’t want to run, consider volunteering. Prizes available. See the March newsletter article about volunteering for details.

Hello UVRC!

Our last 10-week session for Couch to 5k wrapped up in June and we’re gearing up to start again in August. We’re usually a group of 40 or so participants (all ages 18+) and 5-6 coaches. However, with the departure of RJ and the busy lives of the rest of us, we’re down a few coaches this session, and we need your help! Will you join us as a volunteer coach? (No formal coaching experience required.)

Usually, this entails you coming to practice 2x/week for 10 weeks and helping out wherever you’re needed with coaching. We break into four “pace” groups and like to have at least one coach with each group. Practices are Thursdays from 5:30-6:30 p.m. and Saturdays from 8-9 a.m. We ask that you commit to attend at least 50% of the practices.

Perks – awesome community, sense of accomplishment, grateful participants, and a free 5k at the end of the session. If you’re interested in helping out, please think about it and reach out to me with any questions. It’s a very fun way to be involved and make a difference!

Keri Niles

Keriann[dot]ketcham[at]gmail[dot]com

Every year for our anniversary, my wife, Kristina, and I like to go on a fun trail adventure that includes summiting at least one mountain. Colorado’s majestic Rockies and the Appalachian Trail’s northern terminus, Mt. Katahdin, have been the site of previous anniventures; this year, we found ourselves in Tuscany for a family vacation, and we weren’t about to let a 5 year old niece and 2 year old nephew dictate our plans for the day (to say nothing of the rest of the trip, of course).

Kristina’s brother did some research for us and found the La Via degli Acquedotti Lucca-Pisa Trail, traversing 15 miles through valleys and over mountains from Pisa to Lucca. Our hotel was located about half-way between the two cities, so it looked like a fun point-to-point, with a complimentary drop off and pick up by said brother.

However, upon scoping out our hotel, I noticed a big trail network right outside the door. And to make things better, I was able to map out a route on those trails from the hotel, connecting up to the Acquedotti Trail and keeping us off the beginning road section out of Pisa (we’d already seen the tower – cool, but once was good) and into the mountains almost immediately. Score!

Before the big anniversary run, though, we had a couple mornings to explore the closer mountains. Our closest one seemed to be the most logical choice, so up Monte Moriglione di Penna we went. It was only 2 km to the top - how hard could it be? Well, 1,400’ of technical rocky vert and a couple liters of sweat later, we found out! di Penna became my quick default friend that week when I wanted to get in some good vert and be efficient about it.

Finally, Anniversary Day came! After one of those great European breakfasts (cured meats and Nutella), a rah-rah from the in-laws, and a 7-year kiss, we were finally adventure bound! After five minutes of easy downhill running through our quaint little town, we were rudely greeted by a 20% grade – on pavement! Oof.

Our first pass, Passo di Dante, was a beautiful purple-y sea of Chicory, gave us a good view of the Pisa side of the valley and hazy views of the Ligurian Sea. Then an easy little downhill allowed us to get our legs back before the big climb of the day. We went up on a mix of decent forest roads and overgrown singletrack, passing a few smaller summits before eventually topping out on the day’s high point of Monte Faeta. At 2,723’, she’s even shorter than our hometown Mt. Ascutney, but she packed a good, sweaty punch and gave us a nice, flat, open picnic spot on top.

A fun descent ensued, bringing us to Campo di Croce and finally, at mile 6, to La Via degli Acquedotti Trail proper. We excitedly jumped onto our destination trail to quickly find that it definitely does not get much love. After battling through pricker bushes for only one kilometer, we came to a short forest road reprieve. As we were about to get back on the trail, a nice man was walking up the road and, despite the language barrier, encouraged us to continue down the road, as trail conditions would get worse.

We consulted our trusty All Trails, found a bit longer alternate route, and went for it, enjoying actual running on the nice forest road without overgrown pricker bushes. It was lovely! At one intersection, we guessed wrong and wound up on a mountain-side tree farm, but that was just another opportunity for a good view of the Lucca side of the valley below.

We wound our way back to the La Via degli Acquedotti Trail, finding some nice, forested singletrack headed in the downhill direction. As we went down, the temperature went up and we were really excited when our singletrack ended at a mountain chalet, complete with the best-and-coldest-ever spring-fed water fountain. Aaaahhhh…

The road continued down to the cute town of Vorno, where we were excited to buy some gelato and Coke, but that was not to be, as there were no shops and the one restaurant wasn’t yet open. Slightly sad faces ensued, especially since the climb back out of town was on a steep paved road.

We got back on the trail, where we were treated to more nice singletrack and interpretive signs so we could actually read and learn about the history of the acquedotti and the trail. So what if most of the words were in Italian? We could read the dates and interpret the pictures, no matter how much our interpretation differed from the intent.

As we continued downhill, we were treated to a stream paralleling the trail, so we greedily cooled ourselves a couple more times. Finally at the bottom of the valley floor, we made our way to a hot, flat, and dusty double track that paralleled the old acquedotti, that looked like a trestle, for the final 2+ miles to Lucca. We were treated to another fountain in this stretch, and though not as magical as the first, it was a welcome respite.

After 15 miles, 3,200’ of vert, and 5 hours, we found ourselves in the “walled” part of Lucca, which is the cute gelato-and-overpriced-Italian-leather-goods area of the city. After a high-five and another 7-year kiss, we began our search for gelato and Coke, but it was the “Limoncello Spritz” sign that first caught my parched eyes. I asked Kristina if she wanted one, and she said yes, so I ordered two. She quickly corrected me and reduced the order to one, which annoyed me a bit, but after that first ice-cold sip hit my brain with a punch, I conceded that she, as usual, made the right call.

We eventually found the gelato and Coke, walked around with the other tourists doing cute touristy things, met up with the fam for some kid activities – including more gelato (so what if it was Uncle Sean who was pushing that idea?), and finally got back to the hotel where the pool felt the best it had all trip. The big anniversary adventure ended with a nice romantic dinner at the hotel with the whole fam, and it was perfect.

While better known to most for its fermented grapes, culinary delights, brightly colored seaside villages, and a leaning tower, there are some pretty great trails to be explored in Tuscany. I’ve already started scheming for our next Tuscan trip to include trails that go through five of said brightly colored seaside villages (that surely have on-trail gelato stops!). Of course, there’s also the boat from Livorno to Corsica for the GR20…