Another year another run.
Each year a great man named Mike Siudy hosts a short series of free, yes you read correctly, free trail runs. These runs showcase one of New York State’s finest attributes – the Shawangunk Mountains (#ilovewikipedia) – and other lovely areas around there.
What better way to ring in the new trail running season than to kick it off with Springletrack?! 2017’s Springletrack was one not to miss. The area had just received almost two feet of snow (in the higher mountains). Throughout the course of the day, temperatures rose to the mid-40’s, so much of the snow melted off, turning trails into creek beds and icicle-adorned pine trees into shower faucets. And mid-40’s ain’t too warm if you’re sweating, sloshing through wet snow, and getting rained on by defrosting tree branches.
Typically a 30-mile run, this year’s Springletrack was shortened to a 20-miler due to trail closings from a recent forest fire. Not having run more than 9 continuous miles all calendar year, Michael and I nonetheless figured we’d have no problem knocking off all 20 along the ridge. We did make it, in the end, though not without newly-rolled ankles, frozen toes, and exhausted hearts.
This run was certainly one to test my love of the sport.
In My Mother's Kitchen 