Cayuga Trails 50 - Race Report - 1st Overall

The Cayuga Trails 50 by Red Newt Racing took place on May 30^th outside of Ithaca, New York at Buttermilk Falls and Robert H. Treman State Park. Known for its picturesque waterfalls and rocky gorges, the race has often been named one of the most scenic courses in the country. Like last year, this would be my final race before the Vermont 100, which would be taking place only seven weeks later in West Windsor, VT. I returned determined to improve on last year’s fourth-place finish, when I missed the podium after a performance that fell short of my standards. My goal going into the race was to contend for the win and see if I could run under eight hours, which had historically been good enough to do so. This would be my second Red Newt Racing event of the month after finishing first overall at The Breakneck Point Trail Runs Marathon, in Beacon, NY, on May 3^rd!

Charlotte and I set off for Ithaca mid-morning on Friday with our Great Pyrenees, Cooper. Unlike last year, when we stayed in a “tiny house” in Van Etten, this year we were going to be a bit more centrally located in Ithaca, only about seven minutes from the start. Additionally, we were expecting much better weather after last year’s race was cold, windy, and muddy. With a wind chill in the upper thirties to start and a peak temperature right at sixty degrees, it was going to be perfect weather for racing. Charlotte and I arrived in Ithaca at about 2:00 PM, settling into the hotel before walking around Ithaca Festival and getting pizza for dinner at Thompson and Blecker. We went to bed shortly after 9:00 PM, with an early morning wake-up at 4:25 AM on the horizon.

The next morning, I woke up, quickly prepared my gear, and got in the car as Charlotte dropped me off at about 5:15 AM. One of the things I certainly remember most about this race is the two-hundred-foot climb I had to hike up with all my gear to reach the start area! After arriving and setting my gear up at the interloop area, I ran into two friends and competitors, Chris Petroff and Jordan Buck. I had raced Chris at both the Sleeping Giant Trail Runs 50K in March as well as the Breakneck Point Trail Runs Marathon a few weeks ago, but this time, as a resident of Ithaca, he would have the home-course advantage. I would also be battling against Jordan Buck, who I had last seen wiping the floor with me at the SRC Presents: A Backyard Ultra in Long Island back in December, where he put down over 120 Miles in 29 Hours, most of it in blizzard. Needless to say, the race was shaping up to be a barnburner. I had briefly discussed time goals with both Chris and Jordan, both of them targeting sub eight hours as well, with Chris aiming for a very hot 3:30 split at the halfway. I had come through at 4:00 last year and, at best, had figured I would target 3:35-3:40 at halfway. Soon, the hour was at hand, and we lined up at the start with a few pre-race announcements before we were off!

Waterfall Shot on Gorge Trail
PC: Goat Factory Media

Chris shot out of a cannon right at the start and quickly pulled away as I settled in with Jordan for the first mile. Jordan would run away shortly after as well, stalking down Chris, as I sat in third but had another formidable contender, John Dragon, right behind me. John is another phenomenal runner from Westchester, PA with multiple fast hundred-mile finishes and I knew he, Chris, and Jordan were a trio that could relegate me to a second straight fourth place finish if I wasn’t on my “A” game. We would be tackling the first section of the two-loop course, a ten-mile counterclockwise circuit around Treman State Park which would take us back to the start line, the Y-Camp Aid Station, before we would embark on a fifteen mile lollipop loop through Buttermilk Falls State Park, arriving back at Y-Camp Aid Station, before repeating it all over again.

It didn’t take long into the race at all for the course to bring out the first of its signature stairs, which helped to make portions of the jagged gorges scalable. It was at these initial stairs during Mile 2 where Dragon went flying by me, though I would pass him back during the next descent as we made our way to the first aid station. I tried to stay clear of Dragon through Mile 3 as we passed by this incredible waterfall making our way down the gorges. This was where Goat Factory Media, the photographer for the race, was stationed and I selfishly wanted my solo shot! As I approached Mile 4, the trail widened out a bit as I made a short descent towards the Treman Meadows Aid Station with Dragon right behind me.

Treman Meadows – 1 – Mile 4.1, 3^rd Place, 34:40 Total Time, 8:27 Average Pace

After a quick stop to refuel, we hit the wide-open field where Chris and Jordan were already out of eyeshot. I was discouraged that they had flown away this early, but I figured the pace had to be hot for them as well, and fifty miles is a long way. I am a big believer in running your own race, and that if you can’t beat someone running your race, you aren’t going to beat them running theirs. Dragon and I doubled back after the field onto the aptly named Gorge Trail, making our way back to the Y-Camp Aid Station, and passing runners heading down to the aid station and field loop. Shortly after, Dragon went flying by me again right before Mile 6 as we branched off from the Gorge Trail to the Red Pine Trail and hit one of the steepest sustained climbs, as he continued to power away. This was an early low point for me, knowing the caliber of athletes ahead and that they just might not come back. I am not the world’s biggest fan of the initial ten mile loop with its rhythm breaking stairs and constant climbing and descending, but I was thankful the trail becomes more runnable after branching off the Gorge Trail, with only a few minor technical climbs and some nice flowy sections through pine forest and field trails that generally descended back down to the Y-Camp Aid Station. Coming off the last descent of the loop, I arrived back to the start area at Mile 10, learning that Chris and Jordan were running together and already about six minutes up on me with Dragon coming in about fifty seconds ahead and leaving Y-Camp as I came in.

Y-Camp – 1 – Mile 10.2, 4^th Place, 1:27:05 Total Time, 8:33 Average Pace

After quickly grabbing a fresh bottle concentrated with Skratch, I set off on the far more runnable second portion of the loop around Buttermilk Falls State Park. The beginning of this loop features a nice mile and a half descent that travels from Robert H. Treman over to Buttermilk Falls. As I began Mile 11, I was starting to feel good for the first time all day, after initially struggling with some nausea and trouble taking down fueling the first ten miles for whatever reason. Cayuga Trails features four crossings of the same stream at Miles 12, 24, 37, and 49, and I was quickly coming up on the first crossing, which would leave me with wet socks for the last thirty-eight miles of the race! This year the stream was at about the same level as last year, coming up to about my knees. After the stream crossing, there was another half mile of grass field trail before I approached the nearly 650-foot, two-mile-long switchback climb where I would work my way up to the next aid station. Last year, this was where Justin Lewandowski had buried me, and while I was now running much stronger due to the uphill climbing work I had been doing, I was still watching Dragon pull away a bit as I had been tracking him about thirty seconds down since we left the Y-Camp Aid Station.

Stream Crossing at Mile 12

As I reached the top of the climb I made an irritating, but not fatal mistake as I crossed the road and went over a short foot path instead of making a right-hand turn. This trail then led me up to where I bisected the paved road that runners come down at about Mile 22, so I quickly turned around and made the correct turn, losing about three and a half minutes in the process. Doubling back on to the correct trail, I had now lost Dragon and was feeling a bit down and wanted to reach the Mile 15.5 aid station, Buttermilk, to regroup. I turned off the single track onto the grass field trails, which were thankfully nowhere near as muddy as last year. The grass trail then connects back to more single-track trail with a few steep punctuated stair climbs before dropping back past another gorge into the Buttermilk Aid Station.

Buttermilk – 1 – Mile 15.6, 3^rd Place, 2:14:32 Total Time, 8:37 Average Pace

Oddly enough, I hit the aid station and was told that I was in third place, though running eleven minutes behind Jordan and Chris, who were still running together. While I didn’t feel it was insurmountable, this was more of a gap than I was expecting, and larger than any lead I had given Chris in our prior two races. We would now be tackling a five-mile loop that would take us back to the Buttermilk Aid Station before another five-mile section to the start line. The last ten miles of each loop are perhaps the most runnable of the course and features very predictable ascents and descents and more open gravel and paved road, which I thought was a welcome relief from the constant rolling terrain of the first fifteen miles. I left the aid station and started off down a nearly two-mile flat road section that transitioned into a moderate descent along a dirt fire road, allowing me to open up my stride and stretch down to a 6:50 Mile 17. This section of the gravel road ends and then turns into one of the biggest climbs on the course at Mile 18 with a prolonged single-track trail climb that gained approximately 350 feet over a mile and then featured some tight switchbacks descending along the backside of the hill. I would later learn that Buck and Petroff had separated at Mile 18 as Petroff had taken off on the climb to put a gap on Jordan. After this climb and descent, the trail then connected with a short, flat road stretch along the Buttermilk Falls Camp Access Road over to one of the signature climbs of the race alongside Buttermilk Falls itself.

Featuring over five hundred feet of soul-sucking climbing, much of it composed of stone steps, Buttermilk Falls is easily the toughest climb on the course. Lucky for me, I only had to do it twice, now, at Mile 20, and then again at Mile 45. I had trained specifically for this climb, working the stair stepper at my gym with a twelve-pound weighted vest for fifteen minutes a few times a week to try and mimic the quad fatigue that I would be feeling. Every time I was on the machine, I pictured this climb. Like last year, I tried not to burn myself out on this climb as I finally crested the top and hit a road crossing back to a single-track trail which goes on about another half mile before returning to the Buttermilk Aid Station.

Buttermilk – 2 – Mile 20.9, 3^rd Place, 3:00:34 Total Time, 8:39 Average Pace

Never Ending Stone Stairs

Leaving the aid station for the second of four times, I was told I had closed down some on Jordan, who was in second place about seven minutes ahead, and Chris, who was about ten minutes ahead. The last five miles of the course is my favorite, as there is a tiny bit more trail after the aid station before runners hit about a mile and a quarter of paved road. The first half of the road is a slight uphill, and as I expected, I couldn’t see anyone ahead of me, but I also could not see anyone behind me, which was a relief.

I was moving much faster on this section than last year, which I credit to the gear upgrades I have made the last several months relative to last year. Gone were the weighty Salomon Active Skin 4 vest and the Speedgoat 5’s and in their place, I had switched to the much lighter and less constricting Naked Running Belt, with the HOKA Tecton X 3’s, with embedded carbon plate, on my feet. I was carrying two 13.5-ounce bottles, one filled with 50g concentration of Skratch and the other filled with water. Given the relative lack of distance between the aid stations, this was a solid set-up that I had used in shorter ultras but was still holding firm past twenty miles of this race. Additionally, I was also primarily fueling using Gu Gummies (fruit punch flavor, for those curious) with the target of approximately 85-90g an hour of carbs.

Back to the race, as I continued on to the road after making a right and then a quick left as I passed by South Hill Cider and continued down to hit the trail (and where I had made the wrong turn back at Mile 13). This trail then takes you on some more very steep switchbacks, dropping over five hundred feet and forcing you to jam on the brakes. The trail then connects back to the grass trails as I prepared for my second stream crossing at Mile 23. The last mile and a half of the race are sneaky uphill as I was just beginning to run into the 50K runners who had started later in the morning at 7:30 AM. I made my way back to the Y-Camp Aid Station, hitting the half-way in 3:39:03, exactly where I wanted to be and at the fast end of my range if not for the wrong turn.

Y-Camp – 2 – Mile 25.5, 3^rd Place, 3:39:09 Total Time, 8:36 Average Pace

Making quick work of the aid station, I grabbed a fresh bottle of my concentrated Skratch and set off down the trail for the beginning of the second loop around Treman State Park. I was feeling strong at the half-way, but the gaps ahead loomed large as Chris had come through half way ten minutes ahead in 3:29:05 and Jordan had come through about six minutes ahead in 3:32:39. I later learned that John Dragon had come through the half-way in 3:49:19, and while I’m not sure how much time he added it seemed it was fairly significant and close to ten minutes.

Gorge Trail

While the last five miles of each loop are my favorite, the first five miles are perhaps my least favorite. The terrain is certainly runnable to be sure, but there is more elevation gain per mile, a ton of wooden steps, and constant ups and downs. As I passed Mile 28, I was reminded of my undoing from last year’s race, when I slipped on those same wooden steps and went down hard on my hip, ultimately being passed and put into fourth last year by Cole Johnson, who put a gap on me I was never able to recover from. As I worked my way along the gorges at one point I was told I was sixty seconds back of second, and I spent the next mile or so expecting to see Jordan just ahead, but this never materialized. I knew, however, that the upcoming miles would be the best chance I would have the rest of the race to understand what kind of gap I would need to close, as I would have a clear view of most of the grass fields on my way down to the Treman Meadows Aid Station. In fact, I had just begun to glance at my watch shortly past Mile 29 to make a mental note of the absolute time when I saw Jordan coming from the field, who I initially thought had retaken the lead from Chris, but as I set off down the grass trail I bisected the trail at the same time as Jordan, who, to my surprise, turned left and started running with me down to the aid station instead of back up the hill. He told me that he had begun going around the field the wrong way but turned around when he saw Chris coming towards him. Sure enough, I could see Chris about a minute from the trail running along the last parts of the grass field as I hollered at Chris before Jordan and I disappeared down the trail down to the aid station.

Treman Meadows – 2 – Mile 29.8, 3^rd Place, 4:18:40 Total Time, 8:41 Average Pace

I chatted with Jordan for a few minutes about our races as we came into the aid station together, though I stopped to refill my bottle and he didn’t and so he was already powering away from me around the field by the time I left Treman Meadows. It seemed Jordan was moving very well on the flats and downhills and the gap stayed steady around the field, however, as we got to the end of the loop Jordan was waiting for me as this was one of the more confusing parts of trail as four different sections of the trail all converge. I checked my watch as we were coming off the grass field just passing Mile 30 at about 4:20, making very good time and putting us about seven minutes behind Chris. About a minute after leaving the field, we spotted Dragon coming down the trail toward us, putting him ten minutes back.

Jordan and I played leapfrog for the next mile or so, me passing him on some of the wooden step climbs and he blasting by me on the descents. I felt like I was still climbing well and finally went by Jordan on the last climb before the trail forks off around Mile 32 to wrap back around to Y-Camp Aid Station. Right off that turn again was the steepest sustained climb of the course, requiring hands-on-knees power hiking as I tried to really work the climb and put some time on Jordan to snap the connection. I heard from a volunteer shortly after this climb at Mile 33 that I was now down six minutes of Chris as the course transitioned back to single-track and grass trails. I was still feeling strong, though definitely stiff on the last mile long descent back into Y-Camp as I made a mental note of this being an area to work on for Vermont 100. I was happy to get off this loop as I rolled into Y-Camp Aid Station for the penultimate time.  

Y-Camp – 3 – Mile 35.9, 2^nd Place, 5:13:43 Total Time, 8:44 Average Pace

More Stone Stairs

I tried to move out of Y-Camp as quickly as possible knowing that I had Jordan and Dragon, both of whom still looked very strong, right behind me. However, to my frustration, someone had moved my drop bag as I spent an additional thirty seconds or so looking for it before I finally found it. Finally, I left the aid station a little under five minutes behind Chris (though I was told it was only two or three minutes), and with Jordan about four minutes back.  

I felt like given that I had slowly been closing all day that a 2–3-minute gap was in my wheelhouse, but I knew we had a lot of pretty runnable terrain left in the race. I made my way back down to the stream crossing, beginning to pass more and more 50K and 50 Mile runners in both directions. It was starting to get a bit hot for the first time all day, so I dunked my HOKA hat in the stream before crawling my way out of the slick little mud slide that we had turned the creek exit into. I took another huge handful of gummies as I set off on the big switchback climb at Mile 37, running up this climb well as opposed to last year when I really struggled. Over the next two miles or so I was constantly asking any volunteer I passed about the gap, but I couldn’t get a good read to save my life, hearing “2-3 minutes”, “5 minutes”, “about 10 minutes” etc. I didn’t blame the volunteers, but I could not tell if I was closing anymore as I crested the climb and began taking the grass fields back over to Buttermilk Aid Station. I was certainly feeling it by now, though thankful not to be dealing with deep ankle mud on this section of the course like last year. Moving into the aid station at Mile 41, I regrouped and refilled both bottles and set off being told I was still about three minutes down from Chris.

Buttermilk – 3 – Mile 41.0, 2^nd Place, 6:03:13 Total Time, 8:51 Average Pace

I was moving well on the flat roads but was very stiff as the course transitioned to gravel road and the descent steepened and I couldn’t quite capitalize as much as I wanted to here. I hit the second to last big climb on the course and was actually running up this one as opposed to being reduced to a walk last year, a testament to the climbing work I have been doing and working to improve quad strength. After ascending, I hit the sharp switchbacks again that brought me down to Buttermilk Falls Camp Access Road as I made my way to Buttermilk Falls for the last time. I made the mistake of asking a volunteer right before the climb for an update on the gap, and, to my dismay, she said it was about five minutes. As expected, the climb at Buttermilk Falls at Mile 45 was the hardest of the day and by now the quads were feeling the burn, despite the stair stepper training. The climb features an initial onslaught of stairs for the first half and then transitions to some flat sections interspersed with stairs as you keep climbing up the gorge alongside the waterfall. Coming through the second time, this section was way busier than last year as I navigated runners and hikers alike, nearly plowing right through a child who cut across the trail.  

I crested out at the top of the gorge a bit discouraged, thinking surely if I was going to have caught Chris that it would have been on that climb. I had just crossed the road, suffering from the heat a bit, and mentally transitioning to playing defense to hold on to second place when I passed a hiker who suddenly said, “He’s just up ahead, you’re going to catch him” and sure enough I took my eyes up from the ground and Chris was about fifteen seconds ahead up the trail! I closed the gap to Chris over the next quarter of a mile or so and gave a brief word of encouragement as I had no choice but to move by him hard. We were about a quarter mile from the aid station at this point and I really wanted to stop to top off my water, which was about half full, but decided I had no choice but to blow through it given we were only five miles from the finish, with about three and a half being downhill or on the road.

Buttermilk – 4 – Mile 46.3, 1^st Place, 6:54:09 Total Time, 8:57 Average Pace

Finish!

I powered past the Buttermilk Aid Station for the final time, moving along the single track for about a half mile before hitting the road again. The Tecton X’3 felt so snappy on the road, even this late in the race, and I was pushing down to 7:20 Pace into the wind on the slight uphill and then into the 6:40’s on the road downhill past the South Hill Cider Mill as I hit Mile 48 in 7:26. However, my quads were pretty toast as I began the final brutal descent down the switchbacks over the next mile, navigating a host of 50K runners, in what was my slowest grade-adjusted mile of the day at Mile 49. I came off the descent, working my way back to and over the stream crossing for the final time, successfully navigating the slick, muddy hill without going headfirst into the stream, and began charging for home. I knew I had that sneaky final mile with two hundred feet of climbing but also figured I likely had the race secured at this point. About a quarter mile before the finish, I allowed myself to check my watch and was shocked to see I was heading for a time in the mid-7:30s! Finally, I crossed the finish line for the win in a hair under 7:34 on my watch, though for whatever reason the race timing ended up giving me a time of 7:35:53. While I felt like I was in significantly better shape than last year, I was not expecting the second-fastest time in modern course history as I was just ahead of Parker Weeks’ time of 7:36:47 from 2024 and a bit off of Ryan Clifford’s modern course record of 7:18:33 from 2022.

Finish – Y-Camp – 4 – Mile 51.0, 1^st Place, 7:35:53 Total Time, 8:56 Average Pace

Podium Photo with Chris (2nd) and John (3rd)

I didn’t have to wait too long for Chris as he came through about eight minutes later to finish second overall in 7:43:06 after a gutsy first half. To my surprise, John Dragon followed him very shortly after flying across the finish line for third overall in 7:45:53. Looking at the splits from the back-half of the race, I had run about 3:56:40 for the back-half and Dragon had run 3:56:34, so I had put no time on him at all over essentially the last thirty miles of the race. I shudder to think how close this might have ended up if he hadn’t make that wrong turn. A few minutes later Jordan Buck also came across the line just over eight hours in 8:02:03. In an incredibly fast year, Jordan’s time would have won last year’s race outright, with our race being the deepest year since the race was last a USATF championship.

After the race, I hung around talking with Buck, Petroff, and Dragon about our respective upcoming races, which were obviously all hundred-mile races, as these guys are all beasts. Jordan would be running the Grindstone 100 by UTMB in September, targeting a Top 3 for UTMB auto-entry while Dragon would be running the Bighorn 100 only three weeks later out in Wyoming. I didn’t have to ask Chris what he was doing as I knew he and I would be having another showdown in seven weeks’ time at the Vermont 100, squaring off for the fifth time in as many months! Post-race, the top three of us received wonderful awards, including a bottle of South Hill Cider, which we had passed on the course, as well as homemade pottery!

In summary, I couldn’t be happier with the results of the race and feel like it is a great indicator of fitness. I stayed patient even when it was hard and ran a time that I thought was outside of my reach. It is time for a well-earned down week before a final five-week build for the Vermont 100, where I am excited to see what I can do, and hopefully contend for the win. As always, thank you to Red Newt Racing and Race Director Ian Golden for the fantastic event, thank you to all the volunteers manning the aid stations and serving as course marshals, and thank you to the photographer Goat Factory Media, who takes some of the best race photos I have ever seen. 

On to the Vermont 100!

Breakneck Point Trail Marathon - Race Report - 1st Overall

The twelfth edition of the Breakneck Point Trail Marathon, put on by Red Newt Racing, took place on May 3^rd at Breakneck Ridge in Beacon, New York. The Breakneck Point course is well-known for its expansive views overlooking the Hudson Valley, but also for providing more vertical gain per mile than all but a handful of races in the country and was ranked as the toughest trail marathon in the Northeast. In 2021 and 2023, USATF selected the Breakneck Point Trail Marathon to serve as one of two qualifiers for the US Mountain & Trail Running Team. In those years, the race brought out some of the best technical and mountain runners in the country, and even in a regular year, the course attracts some of the best mountain trail runners in the region.

The last two years during the first weekend of May, I have found myself racing at the SpartanTrail Bear Mountain 50K, just over the Hudson River at Bear Mountain State Park, but this year I was hoping to test myself on something new. I have run at Breakneck a handful of times, including completing repeats of the Bull Hill Climb, with my good friend, Mike Skluth. Additionally, I attended a course preview run covering the first half of the race a few weeks prior and ran with a handful of great guys including Ian Shultis, Matt Decker, Andrew Knesnik, Joseph Mullhaupt, and Cristhian Galeano, a few of whom would also be running either the Half Marathon or Marathon. That’s all to say, I did have a solid understanding of what type of terrain I was getting myself into, at least for the first half of the race. I also had a couple of other friends who would be racing the Marathon, including Christopher Petroff, who I had dueled with for nearly twenty-nine miles a few weeks prior at the Sleeping Giant Trail Runs 50K, and Kris Mack, who I first met a few years back at the NYC Trail Mix 50K. 

Elevation Profile; 8,500 Feet of Climbing 

I arrived at University Settlement Camp a little bit later than I had intended to; only about forty-five minutes prior to the start of the race at 6:30 AM. It was colder than I had expected, with the feels like temperature hovering in the mid-thirties, but overall excellent condition for racing. I made my way over to the bib pick-up in the large barn adjacent to the start line and settled myself in and began preparing my gear. As I do now for all races under 100K, I was rocking the HOKA Tecton X3’s with the carbon plate, Nike half tights, a HOKA Aerolite Tank Top, HOKA hat, and, most importantly, my Naked Running Belt. I would be carrying two 400ml bottles, one filled with water and the other with 50g concentration of Skratch, as well as an assortment of gels and gummies.

About twenty minutes before the race, I ran into both Kris and Chris as we chatted a bit before making our way over to the start. Chris was a late addition to the race, only registering the Friday night before. We would be meeting again a little less than a month later at the Cayuga Trails 50, another spectacular Red Newt Racing event, up in Ithaca, New York. My goal time for the race was between 4:45 – 4:55, which I thought was aspirational, but hopefully good enough to contend for the podium based on historical race results for non-USATF years. After a few announcements, we were off and running, charging up the 1,000-foot climb that takes place over the first two and a half miles of the race.

Pre-Race

Redlining from the gun is certainly a choice for opening a nearly five-hour race, but I found myself leading for the first half mile or so, uncomfortably and haphazardly navigating the loose rocks on the climb. I did not like being the one setting the tone this early, especially at our torrid pace, and so I let both Chris Petroff and Felix Ostendorf go by shortly thereafter. Both Chris and Felix are quite fast, having run 2:32 and 2:27, respectively, at the Boston Marathon just two weeks prior. In fact, Chris had blown by me at Mile 22 during that race as I was en route to my own 2:34 finish. I was discouraged that I had to let Felix and Chris go less than a mile in, with the pair out of sight by Mile 2, but the pace was simply too hot this early and I couldn’t afford to burn the matches. In fact, we came through Mile 1 at about 9:00 with over five hundred feet of gain over rocky terrain, which graded out to a six-minute mile, not even considering the course technicality. Even though I lost Chris and Felix, we had put a considerable gap on the rest of the field, and I sat comfortably in third, though I was struggling early to get my body and my mind to lock-in.

Breakneck Point Trail Runs features a distinct two-loop course, with an overlap where runners begin with this two-mile climb, descend back down the trail at Mile 13 to the start area, climb the same trail yet again from Mile 15-17, branching off onto the second loop, and then fly down the descent for a final time to end the race. The two-mile initial climb came to an end as we forked right off the Notch Trail (Blue) onto the Wilkinson Memorial Trail (Yellow) to begin a steep two-mile descent down. It took me a bit to find my trail legs, navigating the technical switchbacks  and rocky descents, and by the time I reached a course marshal at Mile 4, I was already two minutes back of Chris and Felix.

As I began the next climb, I was grateful for the fantastic, cool weather we had this morning. I had heard from a friend who had run the race last year, a wet one, to expect a cacophony of bugs, but thankfully they never materialized given the temperatures. The next ascent, Breakneck Point, is considered the signature climb of the race, and is described as “steep, gnarly, exposed, and absolutely beautiful.” The climb begins with several hundred steps composed of the signature granite and gneiss that the Hudson Highlands are known for, before transitioning to the sheer, exposed scramble up the cliff face. This was a horribly slow mile in general, and as I reached the photographer from Goat Factory Media at the top of the climb, he indicated that the lead guys were still running together and about four minutes up. This climb continued a short ways past the exposure section and then transitioned to a steep decline down more granite stairs before finally opening up to a groomed gravel trail at Mile 6, which drops over three hundred fifty feet over the next mile and a half to the first aid station.

I used this groomed trail to reset mentally and physically, and as an opportunity to refuel. Between gels, gummies, and Skratch, I ended up taking down 60-70g of carbs this mile alone and was on target for the overall goal aiming for approximately 90g-100g of carbs an hour. Despite the runnability, I decided not to completely bomb this section because I knew we had a huge 1,100-foot climb out of the aid station. Just after Mile 7, the trail flattened out as I took a left-hand turn onto a quick quarter-mile section, taking me to the first aid station, Cold Spring.

Cold Spring – Mile 7.4, 3^rd Place, 1:13:23 Total Time

Top of Breakneck Point!
PC: Goat Factory Media

I was in and out of Cold Spring quickly, stopping only to refill one of my bottles with water. Again, inquiring about position, I was told I was about six minutes down of the lead. I began the climb up the Washburg Trailhead (White), reminiscing about the late August day last year my friend Mike and I had tackled this climb five times in a single morning. The Washburg Trailhead is one of the most well-known trails in the state of New York and is a particular favorite of the day hikers coming up from the city. As such, the trail can get crowded early, but, this morning, I mostly had the trail to myself. Overall, I was still feeling relatively unremarkable at this point, and all I could do was tip my hat to the bagpiper the race had stationed about halfway up the climb, who was playing some rendition of “Taps” or something similar. I made my way to the top around Mile 9, ending the third (and longest) of the four climbs on the first half of the course. Breakneck Point has its share of rollers to be sure, but unlike other races with relatively similar elevation profiles such as Sleeping Giant, Breakneck tests you with extended climbing and descending with 1,000-foot climbs followed by 1,000-foot descents, which take an ever-increasing toll on your quads (and your knees).

The next two miles were probably the least memorable of the front half of the course but featured a  steady descent with some of the more rocky and technical sections of the race. I descended down past Mile 10 to a course marshal who said the leaders had now split up, with Chris Petroff in the lead. After taking a right-hand turn onto another trail, there was a nice half-mile groomed path to the beginning of the fourth climb, which had its share of rocks, but was the easiest of the four on the front half. Peaking a bit after Mile 11, the course took a “transition” mile along undulating, rocky singletrack, which would take me to the downhill back to the start area. During this mile, I kept looking over my shoulder sensing that someone was coming up to me, but no one ever did.

Eventually, the trail bisected the Notch Trail (Blue) again and I began the two-mile downhill to the start. This was an exciting and nerve-wracking section of the race as it would be my first and only opportunity to get a bead on where the leaders were as I was coming down the trail and where the chasers were as I was coming up. As I worked my way down the trail and closer to the start area, I was checking my watch practically every minute, noting that I had split approximately halfway distance-wise in about 2:23, right on pace for that 4:45 finish target. Finally, I saw Felix, who had now taken the lead and looked very strong (and who I later heard from Chris had bombed down the descent by him), and I made a mental note of the time on my watch to calculate the gap when I was coming back up to the same spot. Probably the story of my race, but I took a more cautious approach on this descent, knowing we had a gnarly 1,500-foot climb out of the aid station. As you approach the start area, you begin a small quarter-mile loop or so that takes you behind and through the start line to the aid station. Making this turn, I still did not see Chris, so I knew I was close, as I entered the University Settlement Camp aid station at Mile 14.7.

University Settlement Camp – Mile 14.7, 3^rd Place, 2:31:59 Total Time

Another Shot of Breakneck Point!
PC: Goat Factory Media

My plan approaching the University Settlement Camp aid station had been the same as before the Cold Spring climb, and that was to build up a calorie reserve, which I began towards the end of the descent when the technicality temporarily eased, and continued at the aid station as I had prepared an extra Skratch bottle for this aid station that I had guzzled about half of. I moved out of the aid station quickly in about thirty seconds, inquiring about Chris’s position and was told that he had just left! Sure enough, as I rounded the trail and began the climb, I caught my first glimpse of him since Mile 1. It wasn’t long after that I saw the host of chasers coming down the trail, led by Samuel Kirk, who was approximately four minutes back from me, and several other guy who were about six to eight minutes back. In fact, I passed the spot where I saw Felix trailing him by about eight minutes. I was beginning to feel better but had doubts about being able to close that kind of gap over the next twelve miles. Instead, I focused on the simpler task at hand, which was trying to reestablish connection with Chris without burning myself out too much. Over the next mile and a half or so, I slowly closed the gap down to about ten seconds, but perhaps Chris could sense I was behind because I couldn’t fully bridge the gap.  

At about Mile 16.5, we took a sharp left-turn to follow orange flags for the remainder of the second loop, onto some more incredibly steep terrain with another exposed climb, though not nearly as tough as the one on the front half. Still, I paid for my hard charge this mile, feeling wiped as I bled about thirty seconds back to Chris. I was now officially on unknown terrain. In reviewing prior finishers’ times on Strava, it was evident that most people had a pretty sizable slow down on the back half, though it was hard to say for certain whether the terrain became more challenging or it was simply a case of attrition. Only time would tell. Near the peak of the climb, there was another course marshal who indicated that Felix had about a ten-minute lead.

Finally, I summited South Beacon Mountain (1,610 feet) around Mile 17.5 and was met with views of an incredible looking watchtower. It truly was amazing how much vertical gain this race packs into it with a peak elevation of a little over 1,600 feet. Topping out at the tower, I suddenly saw Chris appear from my right-hand side, only seconds ahead, looking like he had temporarily lost the orange markers and gone off trail. About a quarter-mile later, I had caught up to him, and we chatted for a moment before he let me take the lead, saying he was having some difficulty following the flags. I wasn’t ready to put in a full move, as there was a lot of race left, but I did want to apply some pressure. I sped up over a relatively flat and rocky section of trail bordering the Beacon Reservoir, which then transitioned into a beautiful, groomed gravel road at Mile 18. I pressed here and opened up a gap over the next half mile, stealing a glance back as I hit a right-hand turn back onto another steep, rocky climb to see I had about thirty seconds on Chris. I kept pushing up this climb, thinking I was moving a bit better uphill at this point and wanted to use it to my advantage.

Topping out again at Mile 19, I had about a mile and a half descent to “run” into the final aid station, Sunnyside. I use the term “run” loosely, as this was one of the most treacherous descending miles I have ever run; an absolute minefield of boulders and twisted branches on shot quads, where one wrong step and you are toast. I’m likely not alone in this feeling, but if I were looking for where to find time on this course, it’s almost certainly on the descents. I think it takes a certain skill set that is difficult to learn, and harder to master, coupled with familiarity with the terrain (which I didn’t have) and a sort of abject fearlessness (which I’m also not quite sure I have) to excel here. It was another one of those miles where your anxiety makes it feel like someone is going to blow by you here and you will have no response because of the terrain. Finally, this never-ending mile and a half ended as I dropped down into Sunnyside aid station at approximately Mile 20.3.

Sunnyside – Mile 20.3, 3^rd Place, 3:35:50 Total Time

It was getting a bit warmer, so I paused for a few seconds to refill both my bottles with what turned out to be lifesaving, ice-cold water. Huge thank you to the volunteers who had to truck those big jugs up to this aid station. I again inquired about Felix’s position, and they said he was six minutes ahead, but were unsure if he was catchable. Leaving the aid station, I was hit with a climb I have now come to find out is appropriately called the “The Abusive Jeep Trail” on Strava. You might be wondering how I could have missed a 1,000-foot climb at an average grade of more than 16% over 1.15 Miles, but the course map is remarkably deceiving in the sense that the 1,500-foot climb to begin the second loop makes it appear like you have a few moderate-length climbs throughout the back half but that it is largely rolling. I had no idea how long this climb was, so I was forced to moderate the effort more than I might have and was reduced to about 85% power hiking. However, this was exactly the situation I had been training so extensively for, as I have been working for months at climbing intervals on the treadmill, lately modeling climbing workouts based on David Roche’s workouts. Coupled with some weighted vest training on the stair stepper, I was about as prepared as I ever had been for this type of climb late in the race. Still, this was certainly a low point for me. While I wasn’t tracking the total gain on my watch, the only saving grace was that I knew that there was likely only rolling terrain with a few small climbs, and then a few miles of descending back to the finish, as I finally crested the top.

It took me a few minutes to recover at the top of the climb as I entered about a mile and a half of undulating singletrack along the ridgeline. Coming off the ridge, I made a left-turn down and was shocked to suddenly see Felix only about 15 seconds up ahead! It had appeared that I had cut four minutes off his lead on the last climb and then slowly taken the rest over the past two miles or so. I worked to close the gap over the next quarter-mile, as I came up on his shoulder right before Mile 23. I am a big proponent of when you make a move late in a race you have to make it with authority, and so I went by Felix hard on a stretch of flat trail to take the lead for the first time since Mile 1. I was immediately rewarded (punished) for my move as the flat trail transitioned into another crushing climb.  Ideally, I would have moderated this climb a bit more but was instead forced to commit to the attack and, despite the pain, it appeared that doing so had snapped the connection.  

Finish!

This course is described as being approximately 26.5 Miles via the GPX file; however, my watch was telling a different story, clicking past Mile 23.5, Mile 24.0, Mile 24.5 and still not connecting back to the trail I had come up, though now I had begun gradually descending. Right before Mile 25, I finally turned back onto the Wilkinson Memorial Trail (Yellow) and reconnected with the Notch Trail (Blue) for the descent to the finish. While I pressed on hard to the finish, I was also cautious so as not to clip one of the countless loose rocks on this section of the trail. Still, it was hard to ignore the energy from the other runners, with marathoners going up the climb for their second loop, and half marathoners working their way down the climb with me. I checked my watch with a bit less than a mile to go and saw 4:44, knowing  I would have a shot at sub-4:50, but it would be very close. The trail leveled out for the final time as I made the left-hand turn onto the small loop to the finish, which signified about a quarter-mile to go, as I saw a few ticks over 4:48 on my watch. I kicked it in hard, finally crossing the finish line with a few seconds to spare, officially finishing with a time of 4:49:44 and earning the win! 

Finish – Mile 27.3, 1^st Place, 4:49:44

Post-Race Photo with Kris!

It was funny, but I’m convinced not a single person knew I finished due to the fact that I had come in with a flood of half marathon finishers around the same time as I had to notify the timer that I was in fact done with the marathon. Thankfully, I found some nice women who were my cheerleaders after figuring it out! I waited at the finish line for Felix, who was second at 4:57:30, and then Samuel Kirk, who had overtaken Chris to finish third on the podium right behind Felix in 4:58:49. Samuel is an incredibly strong runner with multiple Top 10 finishes at JFK 50, and it was great to spend a few minutes chatting with him after the race. Chris ended up crossing the line in fourth in 5:07:05 after some stomach troubles had resulted in a tough last third of the race. A bit later, Matt Decker, whom I had met a few weeks back at the preview run, finished seventh in 5:38:34. Finally, my buddy Kris Mack crushed his goal of sub-6:00 hours, running 5:40:14 for ninth overall! After everyone finished, I chatted with Chris and Kris post-race as we waited for awards. I ended up receiving a very nice peach crumb pie, which I brought up to Newtown, Connecticut later that day for my grandmother’s birthday (winning the best grandson award). 

This was such a special day for me, and I can’t thank the race directors at Red Newt Racing enough for putting it on. I’m also very thankful for the photographers at Goat Factory Media for capturing photos, as well as all the volunteers, especially those at the Sunnyside aid station! This race was definitely a big confidence booster for me. I always like to go in with the mentality that I am capable of winning, but this race has had some seriously stout winners in the past, and it means a lot to be able to add my name to that list. It’s also a big indicator that the training I have been doing is working, and that the treadmill workouts, the weightlifting, the fine-tuning gear and nutrition, are all making me a stronger and more competitive runner. Maybe I’ll have to come back here next year to defend my title, but for now, I am just going to soak it in for a bit, as I recover over the next few days before my next big race, returning to the Cayuga Trails 50 at the end of May in Ithaca, New York, also put on by Red Newt Racing.

When I first ran here back in August of last year, I had said on Strava afterward that I think “Breakneck might have broken me a bit.” Well, I’m happy to have finally evened the score.

Podium Photo with Felix and Samuel 
PC: Goat Factory Media

Sleeping Giant Trail Runs 50K: Return to The Giant

The second edition of the Sleeping Giant Trail Runs 50K, put on by Steep Endurance, took place on March 29^th, at Sleeping Giant State Park in Hamden, Connecticut. While not necessarily an “A” race, Sleeping Giant serves as a great season opener and stepping stones to some longer races I have later this year, including Cayuga Trails 50 in May, Vermont 100K in July, and Javelina Jundred in October. I would be back for the second year in a row, and with some unfinished business. Last year, for the inaugural edition of the race, I was recovering from the flu, and while I took third, I struggled the whole way through the technical terrain and the nearly eight thousand feet of gain the race features. I was miles behind winner, Justin Kousky, and second place, Lee Davis, and so I came in this year excited for the chance to see what time I could put down when healthy. I thought the win, and a time somewhere in the 5:15-5:20 range, just off of Justin’s course record of 5:12:47 last year, was certainly in play. However, I would have to battle multiple fast runners coming from out of state including, Darius Parker from Vermont, Christopher Petroff from New York, and Peter Bonito from New Hampshire. Not to mention a couple of other strong local runners from the great state of Connecticut.

Pre-Race

I would be running this race with my friend Nick L’Amoreaux, no stranger to long distance running, but who would be completing his second official ultra. We arrived at the start line at about 6:15 AM on a chilly morning where the temperature hovered at 28 degrees. We quickly grabbed our bibs and then beelined back to the car to prepare our gear. For the race, I would be using the Naked Running Belt with three 13.5-ounce bottles, two of which were filled with 50g concentrated Skratch mix, and then I would be supplementing with some Gu Gummies as well as Maurten Gels. Ultrarunning appears to be very much making the pivot away from the running vest and towards the running belt; as an example, Hans Troyer rocking the belt for wins at the JFK 50 and Black Canyon 100K. As such, I had spent a lot of time practicing with the belt with plans to use it going forward for the 100K and under distance. After pulling my gear together, Nick and I huddled around the starting area before gathering shortly before 7:00 AM for pre-race announcements. After a few announcements, we were off and running!

One thing I have learned after twenty-two ultras is that no matter how much experience you have, you can still make stupid mistakes. That was apparent immediately as about thirty seconds after the start, two of my bottles and half my gels went flying out of my belt all over the asphalt in front of a storm of charging runners. Total rookie hour. Apparently, I had accidentally put the belt on inside out and so the loose end of the pockets were facing outward instead of pressed up against my body. I guess all that practice didn’t pay off! Just like last year, the race started off hot and by the time I had collected my bottles and tried to salvage some of my dignity, four runners, including Darius and Christopher, had already taken off and were well on their way down the trail.

Before the Bottle Mishap

After a short technical section right off the asphalt, the course opens up for the next several miles to rolling, runnable singletrack and I had to work harder than I would have liked, barreling through a couple sections of frozen mud, to bridge the twenty second gap I had gifted to third and fourth place. Darius, and another runner, Justin Halmose, were already out of sight, but I had regained contact with Scott Greinig and Christopher Petroff as we ran in a tight bunch in third, fourth, and fifth. We were already moving way faster than last year’s course record pace, but I had no choice but to hang along for the ride. One of my goals over the next several months is to get more comfortable being aggressive and trying to survive a hot early pace. I was certainly in good company, with Christopher being a 2:37 marathoner, and Scott being a 2:31 marathoner. It’s wild to think about how the sport of ultra running is changing and how you can now have nearly half a dozen 2:30 something marathoners lining up for a local ultra!

I attempted to make a move by Christopher and Scott around Mile 4, holding the advantage for all of about a minute before I tripped over a rock and ate the ground hard, easily the hardest I ended up falling all day, and leaving a giant contusion on my hip. By the time I had shaken off the fall, and given myself a minute to recover, I had lost both runners down the trail. I tried my best to regain my composure as we hit a long, rocky downhill before the first aid station at Mile 5, right before we begin the infamous Headwall Climb, a lung busting rock scramble of 500 feet in just 0.3 miles.

Headwall Climb – 1 – Mile 5.1, 5^th Place, 39:45 Total Time

Up the Headwall

I hit the Headwall Climb seconds behind Scott, who had stopped briefly at the first aid station, with Christopher out of sight further up the climb. This climb definitely caught me off guard last year with its precipitous 30-40% grade at times, so I’m glad I knew what to expect this year. I was also thankful that unlike last year, conditions were dry and crisp, instead of wet and slick. Despite the cool temperatures, which were now in the low thirties, I was feeling warm enough to ditch my gloves early, but still comfortable with the Vuori Strato Tech long sleeve I had on. Overall, the next three miles represent one of two sections that really take you through the meat of the course, featuring technical rock scrambles and sheer descents. This year, in addition to ditching the vest for the belt, I had made another gear change, switching out my HOKA Speedgoat’s for the HOKA Tecton X3’s, with the carbon plate. While I certainly think the carbon plate helped, and I plan on continuing to use it, there were points where I felt like the Tecton X3 did not handle rocky descents well, twisting and shifting more than I would like amongst the rocky terrain.

I ended up catching Scott shortly after the climb as we chatted for a few minutes continued toward the southern end of the park, briefly bisecting the Tower Trail, which we would finish the loop steamrolling down. Scott started to fall back over the next mile as I hit, in my opinion, the second hardest climb of the course with several wooden staircases, before a gentle singletrack trail took me down to the next aid station at Chestnut Trailhead.

Chestnut Trailhead (Yellow Trail) – 1 – Mile 8.3, 4^th Place, 1:17:10

I ended up running through this aid station as I still had sufficient water and was carrying all of my fueling. If all went according to plan, I would be aiming for about 95g of carbs an hour. I will say though, it certainly felt like a force to get fueling down on this course. Technical climbing and descending are unforgiving, and, at least in my case, if I lose my concentration for more than a second, I am hitting the ground. That made it feel difficult at times to get in the constant fueling that makes 95g of carbs an hour possible. Leaving the aid station, we entered the infamous Yellow Trail loop, which I would characterize as the slowest portion of the course by far. While it does not have some of the same massive climbs, there are an uncharacteristic number of sheer descents as well as what feels like unrelenting rocky terrain. Last year, these sections, especially on the second loop, were by far my slowest miles and where I bled a ton of time to Justin and Lee. I was feeling strong early, despite the hot pace, as my watch clicked into double digit miles. By now, I had begun to wonder where Christopher had gone, the discomfort of being in the fourth-place position weighing on me, when I finally got a glimpse of him about 30 seconds ahead when the trail opened up after another sheer descent. I seemed to be moving better than Christopher on the descents and more technical terrain, and I managed to bridge the gap to him by Mile 11, however, the opportunities to pass here were limited so I sat behind him. Finally, the trail smoothened out as we hit the White Trail, which is a little less than a mile or so of faster terrain, before we would hit Chestnut Trailhead at Mile 12 for the second time.

Chestnut Trailhead (Blue Trail) – 1 – Mile 12.2, 4^th Place, 1:56:37

Navigating the Boulder Field

Christopher and I both ran straight through the aid station as we began the two-mile climb up to the top of the park via the Blue Trail, where we would then pop out on the Tower Trail and begin our descent back to the start of the race at the Pavilion. Like last year, this stage of the race was a welcome relief, as it felt like, despite being nearly four miles to the finish, that you were closer than it seemed. However, it may have been those rose-colored glasses that lead me to misremember how difficult this section of the trail was as Christopher ended up dropping me pretty hard over the next two miles of climbing. He was out of sight as I finally made my way to the Observation Tower as I turned left off the Blue Trail onto the soft gravel of the Tower Trail, which would begin a 1.5 Mile, 500-foot descent back to the Pavilion. By far the fastest terrain on the course, I did not take advantage of it the first lap last year and I would not make that mistake again, as I came through this next mile in a bit under six minutes. As I exited the Tower Trail and approached the short uphill to the Pavilion, I could see Christopher just beginning to enter the drop bag area. I crossed into the drop bag area at Mile 15.7 in 2:27:59, about 46 seconds down of Christopher and nearly a full twenty minutes faster than last year, not to mention five minutes up on last year’s course record pace! Despite our torrid pace, Christopher and I were still down about six minutes to Justin and almost twelve minutes to Darius.

Pavilion – 1 – Mile 15.7, 4^th Place, 2:27:59

Leaving the Pavilion

Executing a pretty rapid transition, I was able to leave the aid station only about fifteen seconds after Christopher as I set off on the second, and final, loop. I had refilled my water bottles and Skratch, grabbed more gels and gummies, and executed a shirt change, moving into my much lighter HOKA Aerolite short sleeve as the temperatures had risen into the low 40s. Last year, the second go on the single-track miles were a slog for me, but this year I was moving well, despite the copious amounts of mud that had now thawed, running about the same pace for these miles as I did on the first lap last year. Overall, this was probably the section where the HOKA Tecton X3’s helped the most. I was gradually closing down on Christopher, though still back about thirty seconds at Mile 18, when I spotted another runner just ahead, who turned out to be Justin Halmose. He seemed to be hurting a bit after the hot early pace, as I closed that gap within the next half a mile and pulled away as I began the descent down to the next aid station. I could feel some of the tenseness leave my body after moving into third, knowing I was now in a podium position and would need someone coming on very strong to pass me. Perhaps the trail sensed me relaxing, as I took another digger, and in nearly the exact same spot as the last loop. So once again, I moved myself gingerly down the trail, running through the next aid station, to begin the Headwall Climb for the second time.   

Headwall Climb – 2 – Mile 20.6, 3^rd Place, 3:09:23 Total Time

Headwall Climb

My legs were screaming at me as I made my way up the Headwall Climb for the second time, but I knew with this climb out of the way, there were only a handful of big ones left on the course, and more importantly, less than ten miles to go. I was a lot more confident on the technical terrain this year, but I could still sense the footwork starting to get sloppy at times as fatigue set in. However, my legs were still feeling relatively good and spirits were high, despite the fact that I had lost Christopher at some point during and immediately after the Headwall Climb. Shortly after, I bisected the Tower Trail again, dodging other 50K runners coming down the trail, and made my way east on the Yellow Trail, before hitting the second longest climb on the course, where the forest opens back up. I tried to power through this section quickly as it is one of the only spots in the middle of the race where you can really get a glimpse of your competitors if they are within two minutes or so. Third place is already an anxiety inducing spot to run in, and I would have liked to avoid giving away any sense of my positioning if I could help it. Despite what I felt was some pretty strong running (!), in my review of race splits, it looked like Christopher had put his largest gap of the day on me by Mile 24 of about three minutes as I made my way into Chestnut Trailhead for the second time.

Chestnut Trailhead (Yellow Trail) – 2 – Mile 24.0, 3^rd Place, 3:52:14

Outside of the Pavilion, I made my only other aid station stop of the day here, gathering a bit more water, as the temperature, while quite comfortable, was heating up a bit, and I wanted more for the slow, technical Yellow Trail. Last year, the second loop of the Yellow Trail was my undoing, only saved by a very strong finish on the Blue Trail. This year, I was moving much better and more confidently, though I ran into a traffic jam of 25K runners much earlier than last year. Consider it to be another challenging piece of the puzzle to try and run through exceptionally rocky terrain, taking 85-95g of carbs an hour, and also dodge 25K runners (who I will add were all very gracious and accommodating!), with fatigue continuing to increase. It was towards the back end of the Yellow Loop, where I moved around a 25K runner on a descent, where I fell forward bracing with my hands in a triangle position and just stopping a sharp rock inches from hitting my face. The technicality of these trails is absolutely no joke, and I always have to remind myself to snap back into it whenever I feel my concentration lapsing. As I moved through the meat of the Yellow Trail, I kept looking over my shoulder, especially with several sections that back-tracked close by one another, but I did not see anyone behind. I also did not see anyone ahead of me, but unbeknownst to me, I had begun to gradually close down on Christopher. I was feeling strong but knew I was running out of real estate as I approached Mile 27 on the White Trail, as the terrain eased up and I headed back to Chestnut Trailhead for the final time.  

Chestnut Trailhead (Blue Trail) – 2 – Mile 27.8, 3^rd Place, 4:34:59

Photos by Dan Brehant 

I hit the Chestnut Trailhead for the last time and took a left turn, beginning the final two-mile slog up to the Tower Trail. As soon as I made this left turn and the trail smoothed out a bit (and I was able to actual look straight ahead instead of at the ground for the first time in miles), I finally saw Christopher about 30 seconds ahead. There was about a half mile of quicker rolling terrain that I used to my advantage before we would take a sharp turn and begin the meat of the climb. I tried to close as much distance over the next half mile as I could before that climb, and without letting Christopher know that I was coming up on him. As we approached the turn, I managed to bring the gap down to about five seconds before I was spotted. As I caught up to Christopher on the beginning of the climb, he put in a bit of a surge and held me off as I took a breather and power-hiked for a few seconds. I really wanted to avoid another battle down the Tower Trail like last year, but I also didn’t want to blow my legs with three miles to go. A lap ago, Christopher had pulled away from me decisively on this section, but as I caught up to him for the second time on this climb, I decided I had to make my move now, a little more than a mile from the Tower Trail, and try to put the race away. I went by hard, trying to put some distance between us and using the numerous 25K runners we were going by as buffers to snap the connection. Looking behind me, it seemed like I had bridged a sizable gap, but I did not want to let off the gas until I hit the Tower Trail and could reassess.

The last climb up to the Observation Tower is definitely sneaky. It has several false peaks where you expect to see the Observation Tower up ahead, but you end up dipping down on the trail and then climbing again. I finally hit the last peak and turned left on to the smooth ground of the Tower Trail and started making my way home, with little more than a mile and a half to go. It was here that I checked my watch for perhaps the first time in hours and was pretty stunned to see about 4:56 elapsed on my watch. I knew it was little more than ten minutes to finish and thus it looked like I would be under Justin Kousky’s incredible course record time from last year of 5:12:47 by five minutes and change. I was relieved that I didn’t need the same all-out final mile of 5:23 that I needed last year to snag third, as it looked like my second-place position was secure as I could not see Christopher behind me. So, I figured a little bit more relaxed Mile 31 of 5:49 was in order for this year! I made my way down the last of the switchbacks on the way back to the Pavilion and began the final climb up the grass hill. I finally crossed the finish line in second overall in 5:06:48, about six minutes under the course record from last year!

Pavilion – 2 – Mile 31.4, 2^nd Place, 5:06:48

Peace

However, the course record was not officially mine as Darius had run a mind-altering 4:43:03 to win going away; a time I didn’t even think was possible prior to the race! Christopher ended up rounding out the podium in 5:09:13, with Peter Bonito finishing fourth in 5:30:37. Shortly after, Brian Vanderheiden called the three of us together for a podium picture where we got some amazing swag from several of the sponsors including CT Run Co., Athletic Brewing Company, TrailHeads, and Twelve Percent Beer Project! I also had the opportunity to talk with Darius, Christopher, Peter, and a bunch of other friends following the race. It was great to share stories, discuss training, and talk about upcoming races. In fact, I’ve got a rematch with Christopher, who lives in Ithaca, in two months’ time at the Cayuga Trails 50! We all chatted until my friend Nick ended up finishing his race in 6:43:49, good for 18^th Overall, and an incredible time for a second ultra on this course.

Overall, I would say I was extremely satisfied with my time and race on this course. While I hung on to the podium last year despite recovering from the flu, I found myself pretty disappointed in how far back from Justin and Lee I was, so this was a great personal redemption run for me on this course. You always want to be able to win, but I was beat by someone who I expect is going to be mixing it up with the big dogs of the sport over the next couple of years, so I can’t complain about second place! Additionally, I would say I was very happy with the pacing consistency after the hot first half in 2:27:59, still coming home in 2:38:49.  

I have a pretty packed schedule for the rest of the year that begins in haste with the Boston Marathon (and hopefully a sub 2:35 time there!) followed by the Breakneck Marathon in early May, Cayuga Trail 50 in late May, and then the big “A” races of the year with the Vermont 100K in July and the Javelina Jundred in October. It’s definitely a bit away, but I also registered for the Black Canyon 100K in February 2027 as I have been itching for more opportunities to see how I stack up regionally and nationally.

A final shout-out again to Brian Vanderheiden and Steep Endurance, as well as all of the volunteers, for putting on what I think is one of the coolest races in Connecticut and the region! Third place last year, second place this year, that means next year must be my year, right?

SRC Presents: A Backyard Ultra - Race Report

The SRC Presents: A Backyard Ultra took place on December 13^th and 14^th at Blydenburgh County Park in Hauppauge, NY. I had signed up for this race several months ago after a recommendation from a friend, who had run the race last year, and who would be running it again. This was going to be my second “A” race of the year after the Vermont 100 in July, and I had big aspirations going in.

For those that are not familiar, a Backyard Ultra is unlike any other type of ultra and is effectively a “Last Man Standing” race. Rather than being a set distance, instead, competitors complete a 4.167 Mile loop, called a “Yard”, every hour, on the hour, until only one runner remains. For example, if you complete the yard in fifty minutes, you then have ten minutes to rest, fuel, or do whatever you like, but you must be back in the starting corral at the top of the hour, no exceptions. Fail to be back in the starting corral or take longer than an hour to complete a yard and you are out. Why 4.167 Miles, you ask? With this lap distance, every twenty-four hours represents one hundred miles. This unique concept was pioneered by Gary Cantrell, otherwise known as Lazarus Lake, in 2011 who puts on the annual Big’s Backyard Ultra in Bell Buckle, Tennessee, which serves as the “World Championship” for this race format.

Pre-Race Photo with Skyler and Mike

Going into the race, I did have some experience with Backyard Ultra’s. I first took a stab back in 2020, running the Quarantine Backyard Ultra for 10 Yards (41.67 Miles), and then took additional attempts at the Mountain Lakes Backyard Ultra in South Salem, NY, which was put on by Steep Endurance, where I completed 13 Yards (54.16 Miles) in 2021 and 12 Yards (50.00 Miles) in 2023. However, I had much loftier goals for this race; I wanted to put myself in contention for “Last Man Standing”, no matter the distance. I thought that it would take somewhere between 27-30 Yards. Competition going into the race was going to be stiff with defending champion and NY-native Jordan Buck returning. Jordan is an incredible runner who just ran 14:22 for 100 Miles at Tunnel Hill in November and earlier this year was a part of the Old Glory Ultra Relay, where he, along with 11 other veterans, began a coast‑to‑coast relay from San Diego, CA, to Washington, DC carrying a single American flag to raise $1 million for Veteran health and wellness. In addition to Jordan, there were multiple other runners from the previous year who had reached 24 Yards, or 100 Miles. 

Much of the week leading up to the race was spent gathering gear and fuel. A Backyard Ultra is almost as much about your “post-loop” setup as it is about the actual running, and for a race taking place in the middle of December, the setup was going to be crucial. Thankfully, I would be sharing a camp with my two great friends, Skyler Silsdorf and Mike Skluth, who would both be running as well and hoping to put up some big miles.

Race Start!

I arrived at Blydenburgh County Park at about 6:45 AM on race morning and quickly went to work on pulling together my setup. Skyler, Mike, and I would have a mostly enclosed canopy tent, which would provide much needed relief from the elements, as well as a smaller sun shelter that I had brought. I would also get the benefit of some incredible crew members for a large portion of the race, Skyler’s family, who lived 15 minutes from the start. The next hour was a blur as I organized my supplies and mentally got into race mode. We spent a couple minutes chatting with Jordan Buck, and another friend Spencer Satterlee, before it was almost time to start, which would be at 8AM sharp. As the minutes ticked down, I reflected a lot on what I wanted out of this day and this race. My motto for this race was taken from my favorite Stephen King book, The Long Walk, which has incredibly parallels to the Backyard Ultra format and was “Live a little longer. Live a little longer. Live a little longer.” I lined up on the start line; 227 souls in total, embarking on a race with no finish line, as the final countdown began.

And then we were off.

The Day Loops

Early Loop Finish

There is no definitive winning strategy in a Backyard Ultra per say, though there are several prevailing schools of thoughts. The two most common seem to be targeting the 45–50-minute Yard, and then the 50–55-minute Yard, requiring a tradeoff between quicker pace and more rest time or slower pace and less time in between loops. My goal for today was to settle in to consistent 46–49-minute loops, not so fast as to trash the legs, but not so slow as to feel rushed in between loops. We would be beginning on the Day Loop. It is very common for Backyard Ultras to have a “Day Loop”, which is typically more trail, as well as a “Night Loop”, which is more roads or carriage trails. Before the start, Skyler had made me a little bit antsy with his experience from last year, as the single-track trail bottled up early and he was reduced to a walk, so I made the decision to get out a little bit quicker on the quarter mile road stretch before we turned right into the single-track trail. The Day Loop was a nice mix of single track and bridle path trails, some root, sand sections and fallen trees with two wooden foot bridge crossings and approximately 135 feet of elevation change. It was very runnable.

With Mike "The Alley Cat" Skluth

I was glad to be able to experience the first loop largely on my own as it allowed me to settle my nerves and also feel out the course, figuring out where the walking spots would be and mentally benchmarking my time at various landmarks to track for future laps. I ended up completing the first loop a little bit faster than anticipated in 45:35, with Skyler and Mike coming in about five minutes back. Mike joined me for the next lap as we talked about anything and everything, coming through at 45:15. The next lap I was alone again, as I was starting to get familiar with the people around me taking the same approach with their own strategy. The weather was dry and comfortable for mid-December with minimal wind, a far cry from the conditions to come later on. I do run quite cold, so I kept on my fleece lined New Balance jacket and beanie but subsequently switched into my sweatshirt and HOKA hat beginning on the third lap. Underneath I had a comfortable Vuori base layer on and then a long-sleeved tech shirt on over that. I was not warm necessarily, but felt comfortable as the goal was to minimize sweating so as to not get cold in between loops.

All Smiles at Yard 6

Moving back into Lap 4, 5, and 6, I was rejoined by Mike, with whom I would spend most of the day. We were clicking off steady 47-minute laps, which seemed to be the sweet spot for me. It was around this time that I had decided to grab my handheld bottle to take with me on loops. The prevailing strategy for the most part seemed to be that people were foregoing bottles or vests during the loop. I had figured I wanted to avoid a vest, so that I could more easily change layers, and avoid a handheld bottle generally so I would not risk soaking my hands in the cold. However, the cold weather definitely saturates your thirstiness, and I was not taking in nearly enough water, so I grabbed my bottle, mixed with Tailwind, for a few laps. Mike and I were passing the time cracking the same jokes at the same spots each lap, talking to a couple different people, and coming up with nicknames for each other.

It wasn’t until about Yard 8 and Yard 9, which were the first real milestones, that we finally started to see the field atrophy a bit, as Mike and I gradually saw the pack thin out up front as we went from coming in for the loops in about 25-30^th to about 10-15^th. A cool concept, the race was giving out stickers at certain laps of the race, which would later fit into your race medal. After Yard 7 (29.16 Miles), we received our “Beyond a Marathon” sticker and after Yard 9 (37.50 Miles) we received our “Chasing the Sun” sticker, indicating that we were about to switch to the Night Loop. After Yard 9, the 227-person field had been whittled down to 126.

The Night Loops

First Night Loop at Yard 8

The race doesn’t really begin until the Night Loops, and some would argue that the race doesn’t start until much later. The goal was to get through the Day Loops with as little damage as possible to the legs, and other than some early low points around Yards 6-7, I was feeling very strong. Fueling thus far was also going well, as I subsisted primarily on pizza, chips, pretzels, as well as the more classic fueling of Tailwind, Gu Gummies, and Sis Isotonic Gels (which were fantastic for this format). Additionally, Skyler’s family who had been out all day with us thus far had brought in a heater hooked up to a propane tank as well as a burner and had heated up tomato soup and canned potatoes for us. To this point, Skyler and Mike also both seemed strong as we prepared for the shift to the Night Loops, putting on our required safety gear, including headlamps and blinking vests, as I also switched from my HOKA Speedgoat 5’s to my HOKA Clifton 9’s.

The Night Loop was a mix of road and bridle path trails, with some sand sections, and approximately 140 feet of elevation change. It was essentially a straight line with two different U-turns at each end. I thoroughly enjoyed the Night Loop, and am probably in the minority, but I liked the monotony and predictability of the asphalt, as my legs felt much better switching into a new pair of Clifton 9’s. The first third of Night Loop was all on asphalt as we then moved back down onto the sandy bridle trail, which was a slight net downhill to the next turnaround. It was definitely a lot more fun to hit the turnaround and to get tabs on who was behind you and how they looked. It was also really the first time that I got to consistently see Skyler, Jordan, and Spencer on each loop and it was refreshing to be able to talk to them in passing and shoot out encouragement each lap. The third mile of the Night Loop, heading up a consistent slight incline was the worst part of the loop, but also a good chance to walk and reset. It was hard to say for sure whether the night loop was any faster than the Day Loop, though I will say while the elevation was minor, I definitely felt it more on the Night Loop.

Before the Storm

Mike and I clicked off Yards 10-12 like a metronome, consistently coming in in the low 47-minute range. We were now coming up on the next big sticker milestone which was Yard 12 (50.00 Miles), and which undoubtedly would have a number of drops. It was at this point that Mike was also beginning to reach the end of his day. He had come in with a target goal of 12 Yards and had been running so strong all day. I think Skyler and I gave him so much shit about stopping on a milestone distance that we got him out there for one more lap as Mike finished his day at Yard 13, with 54.16 Miles. By Yard 13, the field had truly begun to atrophy as 94 runners had completed 12 Yards, but only 47 went out for another lap with the field being culled further to only 35 runners after Yard 13.

If I had to identify the singular point where the race really “began” for me it was here, at Yard 14. Setting off for the first time alone without Mike, whom I had run with for the vast majority of the thirteen hours, was a bit jarring. It was also at this point that the weather had turned. Throughout the week leading up to the race, there had been a possibility of some wintery mix, but the forecast had oscillated constantly, and it was unpredictable as to what the actual weather would be. At 9PM though, as we lined up for Yard 14, the snow began in earnest.

Yard 14 and Yard 15 were some of the lowest points for me. There is something about the 50-60 Mile range, especially in a hundred miler, and even more so in a Backyard Ultra, that the finish just feels “far away”. It was at this point that I made a complete reset of my gear as well, replacing my base layer, tech long sleeve, and putting my New Balance fleece lined jacket back on as well as a Nike Trail rain jacket. I got to share a portion of these loops with Skyler, who had been picking it up the last few yards and was looking really strong.

Last Loop with Mike; Yard 13 (Mile 54.17)

Surprisingly, there were minimal drops through Yard 15 (Mile 62.5) which represented the 100K mark. Maybe not so surprising, as I feel like nearly every person I talked to said they were aiming for at least 100 Miles. After Yard 15, Skyler came in and said he was calling his race. The Backyard Ultra is one of those race where it’s easy until it’s not easy. Jordan, Spencer and I rallied Skyler to not “quit in the chair” and to get back out there for one more yard. We were successful, but Skyler ended up missing the time cutoff, ending his race. By the end of Yard 16 we were down to only 22 runners remaining. It was at this point that Skyler and his family, who were lifesavers throughout the day, packed up their gear and were going to head home. Thankfully, they generously left me with the canopy tent, extra chairs, and a light, and would come back in the morning to pick them up.

Yard 17 featured one of the last milestones “After Midnight” as the 22 of us set off into Sunday morning . In reviewing the results post-race, Yard 17 and Yard 18 looked to be where the race really shifted and a ton of damage was done to a strong field, including multiple 100 Mile finishers last year. Conditions just continued to worsen and worsen as snow was beginning to accumulate on the road and trail. My shoes and socks were already starting to get very wet, but thankfully the temperature was hovering right around freezing and the wind was minimal to nonexistent. After Yard 18 (75.00 Miles), our field had been reduced further to only 12 runners. It was honestly shocking lining up in the corral at this point and seeing the numbers reduced to so few. I wasn’t expecting a tremendous number of additional drops from here to Yard 24, but still, I had thought more of the field would remain at this point.

Yards 19 and 20 were more low points for me as I continued to battle the elements, the sleep exhaustion, and some awful heartburn that was significantly hampering my ability to take in calories. However, I was still moving incredibly well, splitting in the low 47-minute range. At this point, I was repeating my mantra to myself every single lap, “Live a little longer.” I still had Jordan Buck out there who locked fresh and effortless as well as Spencer Satterlee, who was aiming for 24 Yards, and who had been consistently coming in the mid-50s each lap.  Three more souls dropped at Yard 19 and Spencer was an unfortunate casualty at Yard 20 as he came in over the cutoff, as our field was whittled down to the final eight remaining out of the 227-runner starting field. Everyone remaining looked incredibly strong as I was consistently coming through about mid pack and nearly everyone was in before 50 minutes.

Finish of Yard 24!

We were deep into the morning at 4AM as Yard 21 began and the storm was reaching its crescendo. By now, the road had been reduced to a slushy, slippery mess and the trail was blanketed with inches of powder. It was absolutely surreal to be running in these conditions in the middle of the night and reflecting on how this felt like a completely different race from earlier in the day, one that only a small minority of the original field was still around to experience. I had switched to carrying my bottle with me again as I was really struggling with calories at this point, only able to get down about half a Sis Isotonic Gel at a time and having to dilute my Tailwind mixture further just to be able to drink it. Not to mention, my shoes, gloves, socks, and chest were all completely soaked at this point. It was this yard where I made the decision in my head that Yard 24 and 100 Miles was going to be the end of my day (or night rather). And it was honestly a relief. My legs felt surprisingly strong and my pace was not slipping, but the lack of sleep, inability to put down calories, and drenched gear was grinding me down. There were several runners, including Jordan Buck and Pavlo Li that still looked incredibly strong, and I also knew it would likely take several more yards on the Day Loop to win it and I felt like I didn’t have the gear or the willpower to wade through the six inches of powder that had been accumulating on the loop overnight.

Second Belt Buckle Secured!

Yard 22 brought the advent of the 90+ Mile mark, as this was the first point for me where the race  really and truly felt like it was approaching its culmination, and was my slowest lap of the day in over 49 minutes. By now, the interloop period had become worse than actually running, as I sat in my chair, staring blankly ahead, actually hoping for the minutes to count down before we were back on the start line. However, Yard 23 was a wave of relief, as the sun was finally beginning to come up by the end of the loop, as I treated this as the “final yard” with the last one being the “victory yard”.

Finally, our group of eight, who had forged together through the deepest parts of the night, set off on Yard 24, as for the first time all race, the Night Loop was illuminated. This lap was honestly surreal and otherworldly as I reflected on the last 24 hours spent running around the same county park over and over again in Long Island. I continued to pass the same landmarks that had greeted me the last 15 hours as I got a final boost of energy at the thought of being done. Watching my watch pass the 100 Mile mark, with about half a mile to go (and losing the hundredths number) was an absolutely surreal and incredible feeling. I finally crossed the start line for the final time, which had now become the finish line for me, with a smile on my face, in my fastest lap of the day in just over 43 minutes.

Yard Splits

I collected my final milestone “24 Hours”, as I, and three other runners, tapped at the 24 Yard (100.00 Miles) mark as I officially came in 7^th Place out of 227 runners, and tied for fifth in distance run. It was great as well having both Skyler and Spencer back at the start line as we finished the 100 Mile mark. While my race had concluded, four runners, Jordan Buck, Pavlo Li, Andrew Drake, and Jake Meeker lined up for another yard, as Andrew and Jake would go on to complete one more yard before tapping, and Jordan and Pavlo would go to battle in the powder of the Day Loop for several more hours before Jordan earned an incredible victory in Yard 29 (120.84 Miles) to defend his title. 

I am absolutely thrilled to earn my second hundred-mile finish and second belt buckle of the year. For the longest time, I just could not figure out the hundred-mile distance, and to be able to complete it twice this year, is incredibly special. The Vermont 100 was the hardest thing physically I have ever done and SRC Presents: A Backyard Ultra was by far the hardest thing mentally I have ever done. To continue to put myself out there loop after loop and reach 100 Miles, in the cold, dark, snow, everything soaked, everything hurting, was something I never thought I was capable of doing and I think unlocks a lot of fun goals and adventures for me in the future as I push myself to see how far and how fast I can go. I have a really exciting racing season lined up for 2026 that I am hoping to finalize in the coming weeks. For now, though it is in to a nice two or three week reset into the new year before beginning the next build for the first “A” race of 2026, which looks like it will be Canyons 100K by UTMB.  

I can’t thank RD Mike Petrina, Smithtown Running Company, Sayville Running, and SRC Timing enough for putting on this incredibly well run and fun event. I also want to thank all of the volunteers and photographers who were out there, as well as a big shout out to Skyler and his family, who I couldn’t have done this without. Finally, a shout out to my fellow runners, who continue to help each other raise the bar and find out what they are truly capable of.