Well, last month I made a promise to follow up with a race report from the Vermont 100. Things went differently than planned. I was able to redirect some of the fitness - and gels - I had built up toward another goal, but did not get the satisfaction of running 100 miles through the dirt roads of Vermont. With only 4 days to go and just a couple of easy shakeout runs on the calendar before the race a torrential rain storm hit the state and washed out large sections of the course. Despite my crossed fingers and desperate hopes, the race director’s email hit my inbox with the bad news and shattered my illusions. It wasn’t a close call - Vermont was under a state of emergency and lots of folks were dealing with flooded homes and businesses. The local police and medical volunteers who would have assisted with the race had more immediate concerns. Watching the footage of downtown Montpelier under feet of muddy water was particularly sad, since Vanessa and I lived there during my last year of graduate school and know those streets and businesses well. I feel sad for all those affected and fortunate that New Hampshire did not fare so badly.

I wish I could say that these were the only thoughts weighing on my mind, but grief over the missed race opportunity also hung heavy. This is the 5th hundred miler in a row I have registered and trained for without ultimately running. COVID canceled one outright and kept me from another by way of a rescheduled wedding. Wildfires and smoke in Oregon account for another and the move back East last year took priority over the registration that rolled over from the smoke year. Setbacks and frustrated efforts are part of running ultras, but I’m starting to feel particularly unlucky!

After considering replacement races in Ohio, Virginia, Oregon, and even Kansas I realized that I really want to run this race in particular and decided to accept a spot in next year’s event. That’s miles and miles in the future though, so - with some guidance from my smart and thoughtful wife - I decided to conquer another local challenge: the Dartmouth 50. This route follows the Appalachian Trail from Robinson Hall on the Green to the top of Mt Moosilauke, finishing with some steep downhill miles to the Moosilauke Ravine Lodge on the Gorge Brook Trail. 

It was definitely not the route I trained for. Instead of runnable dirt roads with lots of aid stations stocked with Oreo’s and PB&Js I found myself stomping through mud and scrambling up and down wet rocks, running with poles for the first time in about 10 years and filtering water from streams along the way. This is not a race report about that effort, but if you catch me at TNT or Ramunto’s some time I would love to tell you about it. The change of plans really lowered the stakes and I was able to have fun and get the race effort out of my legs. Oh well! I am optimistic about next year and there are plenty of other goals to shoot for in the meantime. Next up - the Vermont 50 in September.