Northern Nipmuck

Today I met up with Mark, Bruce and Steve for a 3 hour run on the Northern Nipmuck trail race course. The actual race is in a few weeks and today’s race was some excellent training. From the website the course description is: “The terrain is constantly rolling, and although there are no monster hills, there are enough steep sections to test your anaerobic capacity. The total gain over the 16 miles is approximately 3,200 feet. The footing is usually decent, but there are some steep, rocky sections that demand caution. If it has rained recently, expect to get your feet wet in several of the low-lying areas. Snow and ice may be present on the course at this time of year.“ This was the first time Mark and I ran with Bruce and Steve and they are fantastic trail runners. Steve had a sub 20 hour, top 10 finish in his first 100 miler (Vermont 100), so it was awesome to hit the trails with such an incredible runner. Bruce and Steve are super nice guys and it was great to be able to run with both of them.

Here's a pic of the road to the trail head: