Category Archives: Running

New York, Running, Trail Running

FLT Danby State Forest

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I have been writing a lot about my trail running experiences. I hope you aren’t getting sick of it because it seems to be a growing trend, especially as I explore new trails. I’ve written about how trail running has allowed me to and encouraged me to explore so much more of the natural world that I love so much. Today was no different.

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Without running, but hiking instead the amount of distance one can cover on a trail in a reasonable amount of time is limited. If I was going to go for a hike would I choose to drive an hour to hike a few miles on some random trails in the woods or would I go to a well known state park where I knew that at least in those few miles I will be able to enjoy nice scenic views. I think I would probably choose a park. Nothing against state parks, I love them and go there frequently but that’s the point. I don’t see something new by doing that. There is less exploration.

Thanks to running I can cover 8 miles in a couple hours.   So that is 8 miles of state forest land I can explore and discover for myself for the first time. Being able to explore that much nature in a relatively short amount of time is worth it to me even if there aren’t any majestic views. That all lead me to choose to go explore the Finger Lakes Trail through Danby State Forest.

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I am not going to try to oversell Danby State Forest. I really enjoyed my time there, but I am sure it’s not for everyone. It is beautiful without being scenic, if that makes any sense. There are no grand waterfalls, or even small waterfalls that I saw along the FLT. There are no lookouts with wide open scenic vistas. You are in a forest just about all the time. There are trees of all sorts. There are roots. There are streams. There are flowers.  And there are countless little spotted newts that I did not stop to take photos of but had I been out on a hike I surely would have. Being in Danby State Forest means enjoying the simple little things about nature. I didn’t even see any people until I had gone about 12 miles of my 16 mile run.

The run itself was very fun and interesting. I really didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t look at the map other than to confirm I could get a total of 16 miles in and stay in Danby State Forest. I didn’t look at contour lines or anything like that. Maybe I should have, but I am glad I did not. If I had maybe I would not have done it. My first thought when I began running on the trail was “oh nice this is rather runnable, not very rocky, no big climbs looming.” Then I started to go down and down and down. This was in the moment fine by me because I love downhill running and the trails were very runnable and I really enjoyed it. But it was one downhill after another without much climbing back up in between. I was loving all the runnable downhills but in the back of my mind I kept thinking “This is going to be a lot of climbing on the way back.” And it was. The first climb I came to I felt like it wasn’t so bad, but then climb after climb just wore me down. By the end I felt like I was barely able to move. I ended up with over 3,000 ft of vertical gain which wasn’t shocking but I was really thinking it would be more in the 2,000 ft range. I really loved the first half of the run with all the open downhill running. I just need someone to pick me up after eight so I don’t have to go back up next time.

I am looking forward to continuing to explore the Finger Lakes Trail, but as I explore it more and more I will need to drive farther and farther from home to reach new trail sections so that might make further exploration a continually growing challenge, but I will find ways to get out there and keep exploring. Maybe at Twisted Branch 100k next year.

Appalachian Trail, Running, Trail Running

Running on the Appalachian Trail

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If you are someone who loves the outdoors you have probably heard of the Appalachian Trail. The trail runs from Maine to Georgia. I had heard of the trail and read about the trail, but I had never stepped foot on the trail. That was about to change.

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I was so excited when we planned a trip and we were able to find a place to camp that was located right along the Appalachian Trail I was so excited to get a chance to explore this legendary trail. As it turned out our campsite was literally on the Appalachian Trail. There was a blaze on a tree at the entrance to our site.

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There was a time when I would have hiked on the trail and loved every second of it. But now as my outdoorsiness has evolved to include trail running I was super excited to have an opportunity to run on this trail. I did do some hiking on the Appalachian Trail especially to get some initial exploring in before I set out for any running and that was a great experience in its own right. But still going for a run on the AT was the one must do on my list of activities while we were camping.

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Trail running is in some ways a double edge sword for me. No matter what pace you are moving at during a run you are going faster than you would be if you were hiking so you inevitably cannot soak it in for every mile that is spent on the trail quite like you can if you are on a hike. I think your senses just can’t process all that amazing nature quite the same as you move through it at a running pace. It’s a slightly different experience. The other side of the coin is that when I am running I can explore at least twice as much as I could if I were hiking because of the faster pace. So I get to see and experience more but maybe perhaps not experience it at quite as deep a level. This is especially true for me as a photographer as I am constantly seeking ways to incorporate my photography and increasingly videography into my trail running. But I also se and photograph things I would never see without the running.

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Before I went for a run I scouted out a little part of it as it left our campground in either direction. I determined to first run the trail leaving our campsite from near the entrance. I chose that direction because what I had seen was relatively flat if not slightly downhill. My goal was to run 10 miles, 5 out 5 back. As I started out the trail was just as I had anticipated it was flat or downhill for the first two miles. It was the start of a perfect run. Near the end of the first two miles you run down a very nice boardwalk that is a part of a trail that leads to a waterfall just a short ways away. (We would later return to that waterfall during our trip. Part of the discovery during running I mention.)

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After crossing a road and then entering the woods the trail began to go up. The AT went up and up and up. I am not a strong climber and I do not like climbing, but I would not relent and I continued to climb. That section of climbing went on for at least one and a half miles. Nothing but going up. That climb so completely drained me that when I reached what seemed to be the top, as the other side started to appear to go down, I decided I would call it good enough here at just 3.5 of my 5 mile goal. I wasn’t too disappointed as I know climbs wreck me and it was a tough climb. Not just steep but twists and turns and rocks and roots.

I turned around and descended the mountain I had just climbed. I recorded the decent with my GoPro. I love descents. I like to run them fast if at all possible. This descent took a lot longer than I expected. That is because it was a lot more difficult than I realized it would be even though I had just climbed it. For me climbing is more about strength and exertion and just powering through it. However on the decent it is about being as agile as I can as I watch the terrain ahead of me and try to place my feet accordingly. The unforgiving Appalachian Trail was making that very difficult for me. I was trying to go fast but there were so many rocks and roots and trees and twists and turns and edges to watch. It was above my skill level to run down that trail as fast as I would have liked. AS I reached the bottom I took a moment to appreciate how difficult that section of trail was. How it repelled me and turned me away and sent me back home and taught me a thing or two even on the parts of my running that I felt are my strong suit.

My next adventure on the AT I left the campground in the opposite direction on a trail that I expected would begin with a bit of climbing and I was not wrong about that. There was a significant amount of climbing to start off. One reason I wanted to explore this section of trail is because I knew that I could use this part of the Appalachian Trail to check out another area we planned to hike later, Dear Leap. I wanted to see how difficult it would be to get to Dear Leap from our campsite. The answer, very difficult.

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Once again I started out with a goal of 10 miles. I powered up the climbing in the beginning. Eventually I arrived at the intersection of the AT and the Dear Leap trail. I turned on my GoPro thinking this will be cool to record the run out to Dear Leap and show what the view is like. I started running up the trail. Up being the operative word. There was much more up than I had anticipated. I was very quickly hiking at a relatively slow pace up that climb because it was longer and steeper than I had anticipated and in my excitement I had started out to fast.

I ran out to the scenic view at Dear Leap took a panoramic video of it that hopefully turned out ok. Then I headed back the way I had come. I expected to rejoin the AT where I had left it but instead ended up staying on the Dear Leap Mountain Path and reconnecting with the AT farther along. I eventually came to this nice long gradual downhill. I think it was one of the most runnable sections I experienced on the AT and it came at the perfect time for me. I was getting tired and this section lifted my spirits and helped me recover physically as well. Eventually I crossed a road and ended up getting on the Long Trail and going out on the part of the long trail we should have hiked if we wanted to hike Pico Peak instead of doing it accidently earlier in the weak.

As it turns out time was moving faster than I was and as it got to be the time I would have expected I would run for to get to the half way point in a 10 mile run I was at mile 4 instead of mile 5. I decided that I should turn around anyway. I didn’t want to be gone to long and make my wife worry. Also, I was tired. The way back was not too bad. Going up that nice long descending runnable part wasn’t too much fun, but at least the path was relatively smooth. Instead of going on the Dear Leap Mountain Path I stayed on the AT to hopefully same time and energy. As I got close to camp I began descending the climb that began this adventure I was exhausted. The rocky outcroppings and boulders sticking out of the ground were tormenting me. I couldn’t go at much of a decent pace at all. It was one of the least fun descents I had ever had. But I powered through it and got back to camp all in one piece.

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I have done a fair amount of trail running and run on a variety of different types of trails. So far in my experience the Appalachian Trail is the toughest trail I have ever run on. I am impressed by all the through hikers that take it on. I am even more amazed by those that have attempted and those who have succeeded at Fastest Known Time attempts on the Appalachian Trail. It has to be brutal. I cannot even imagine. I ran a total of 15 miles on two different days at it kicked my ass. But I would go back and run it some more in a heart beat.

Finger Lakes Region, Running, Trail Running

Exploring More of the FLT

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I had the opportunity to get out for a nice long exploration run today. I just had to decide where I wanted to run. I have really been enjoying exploring the Finger Lakes Trail and I decided I wanted to explore more of it. I wanted to run on a section that would be new to me. The question is where. There are so many options. I decided I wanted to go up to the Ithaca area and make a day of it. I was thinking about either starting in Danby State Forest or at the outlet of Robert Treman State Park and go up to Sweedler Preserve. I wanted to run about 8 miles out and back for a total of 16 miles. I decided that I would pick up where I have ended on the farthest out I have run in that direction, which is where the trail leaves Robert Treman State Park.

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I wanted to make this a nice casual run and enjoy some nature. I took my phone and my GoPro so I could capture some images of the trails. That is part of what I love about trail running, it has allowed me to experience and capture nature where I never would have been able to before. This trail run did not go as I had hoped especially in the beginning. I continuously tripped and stumbled along the path. Just not picking up my feet. I don’t know if I was stumbling along the path because I wasn’t running hard and focused or what. It was just not going smoothly. At one point I tripped so hard that I just about peeled the sole of the shoe off of the upper. I ripped a big split in the shoes along the seam of the upper and the sole. Thankfully these were an old pair of trail shoes. They were actually the first pair of trail shoes I had ever had, but I loved them and I liked running in them occasionally. They had served me well but now their time had come. I will miss you my super light weight, minimalist, do it all Teva Sphere trail shoes.

Then there is the other aspect that didn’t go so well, and that is the exploring a new section of trail. There was a long stretch on the road where I didn’t see any trail blazes along the road or on signs or anywhere. Maybe I just missed them. But it was a long section of road where you begin to doubt yourself and think that you should have gotten off the road by now. I have in the past missed turns to get off the road. My friends that have gone on trail adventures with me will tell you all about it. Luckily I had bought the downloadable maps and was using them with the Avenza app so I had GPS telling me if I was on the trail or not, and I was on the trail the whole time I was on the road and eventually came to the area where I left the road. Eventually I came to another section that was confusing. I emerged from the woods into a large field that was mostly overgrown except for a few areas. Once again I did not see any obvious blazes; maybe I just missed them again. I headed out in one of the two different directions where the field had been cleared figuring one of them had to be the trail. Turns out I chose wrong, but after a short time I was able to meet back up with the trail without having to backtrack. It just meant some bushwhacking through an overgrown field. As I trudged along through this field I was watching the map on the Avenza app and I could see that I was going in the same direction of the trail but I was slowly getting farther and farther away from it. I was basically tracking parallel to the FLT. I must have missed something. I started to back track and figured I must have been supposed to turn out of the field and into the woods at some point, but I never saw a place to do that. Where I was at the time there was a thick hedge row where you couldn’t see the woods. Eventually I found a thinning in the brush and pushed through into the woods. Now just navigating by GPS on the map looking for trail blazes and watching as my dot on the map got closer and closer to the trail. Eventually I found it and was back on the FLT. This was at about mile 5 and I was about to give up and turn back because I was so frustrated with not being able to find the trail. I would have had to turn back without the Avenza app.

Thankfully I found the trail and I was off and running again. I finished out that 8 miles almost reaching Danby State Forest which I would have liked to get to but it wasn’t really worth adding any extra miles at that point. I turned and began the run back to my car. The run back turned out to be much less eventful. No getting lost. No tripping and falling. It felt much more enjoyable. Maybe it was due to the fact that the return trip was essentially a nice meandering 8 mile assent while the way out was an 8 mile climb. That could have something to do with it. Especially since I much prefer going down than up. The only event occurred when at one point I emerged from the woods and heard a loud buzzing. It was like there could be a bee hive nearby. I looked around and didn’t see anything. I figured there just must be bees out in the field of flowers that I hear. Then all of a sudden something stung me. I took off at a sprint. Not so fun when you have already gone over 10 miles and have 3 or 4 still to go, but I wanted to get away from whatever the hell had just stung me. As I ran I determined that I think it was a huge horsefly that had bitten me as it continued to chase me down the trail trying to bite me. I even swatted it out of the sky once but that did not stop it. Eventually it gave up the chase as I reentered a wooded area.

As I began to feel better about the run my creative juices began to flow. I recorded several videos of the return trip using my GoPro and I also took some still photos using both my GoPro and my phone. The downhills were nice. I could have run faster but this run wasn’t about speed or hard effort, it was about fun and enjoying nature. I never actually felt like I was pushing too hard at any point during the run, except when I was trying to escape that horsefly. I figured that since I never really felt like I was struggling either on the uphills or downhills that there must not have been too much climbing. I figured I would be below 2000 ft elevation gain. I was surprised when I checked my Strava and saw that I was at almost exactly 2000 ft. So I am happy to have gotten out for a run exploring a new section of trail and enjoying myself and still getting in a decent amount of climbing which is where I really need to work anyway when I train. So all in all it was a good day.

I ended the day with a nice soak in the creek. I really needed that. Despite not pushing myself very hard on this run I have been battling some issues with hip pain and ankle pain and that cold water felt soooooo good. IT was amazing. I think I have another opportunity to go explore some trails again soon. So it is either pick up where I left off here and start at Danby State Forest or go the opposite direction and start at the farthest point that direction I have been at Birdseye Hollow Park. Oh the hard choices one has to make.

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Photography, Running, Trail Running

Photographing UA Mountain Running VT

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My wife and I love to go camping. We planned a trip to camp in the mountains of Vermont this summer. We ended up choosing a campground near Killington, Vermont. Out of pure coincidence it turned out there was a race event happening in Killington during the same time frame that we would be camping. The Under Amour Mountain Running Series Killington, Vermont was the Saturday before we went home. I contemplated registering to run one of the races while we were on vacation but as fate would have it I would end up deciding not to race in the event for a variety of reasons and I am happy with that decision.
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I have been running for a while now and as I have gotten more invested in the sport my wife has become more invested as well. I think we both are at the point where we are just as happy going to watch a running event as we are to be running in an event. I enjoy it even more when I have a camera with me. Showing up to watch the Under Armour Mountain Running Series event in Killington, Vermont with my wife, my dog, and my camera was just about as perfect of a vacation activity as it gets for me.
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We arrived at the event to see the 5k runners take off as we were getting out of our car. We were in place to watch, cheer, and photograph the event in time to watch the 10k participants begin their race. We figured out where we wanted to watch the 5k runners finish from just in time to see the top two runners approaching us in a blazing fast time of 19 minutes, which we couldn’t believe after the announcer had reported that the winner from last year had finished in 30 minutes.
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We watched as the 5k runners crested the hill where we were standing and turned towards the finish. We were ready just in time for me to get some ok photographs of the race leaders and then watch them to the finish line. As the 5k rnners were finishing we turned to see the lead 10k runner begin descending the mountain in the other direction from where we had positioned ourselves. We positioned ourselves at the perfect spot. It was the confluence of the 10k course and the 5k course as they approached the finish line. The 5k runners approaching up over a hill from one direction and the 10k runners decending towards us from another direction. It was a lot of action to take in. I was honestly surprised there were no incidents of a 10k runner careening down the mountain at high-speed colliding with a 5k runner who had been slowed down by their ascent merging at just the wrong time. Thankfully that scenario did not unfold before us.
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After most of the 5k and 10k runners had passed us by we moved to a new location to watch the 25k and 50k runners. We had estimated how long we thought it would be until the first finishers of the 25k race would be getting done. We hiked up the trail for what turned out to be about a mile. We sat along the trail waiting for the runners to arrive. Soon enough the race leaders appeared on the trail kicking up dust behind them. We sat along the trail and cheered on the runners. Brynn, our dog barked to help encourage them. We were able to watch many of the 25k runners pass by on their way to finish the race. We stayed long enough to see some of the first finishers of the 50k race as well. Some of the runners were cruising to the finish, some of the runners were struggling. We tried to encourage them all along the way. Some of the runners we got to cheer multiple times as a few were unfortunate enough to miss a segment of the course and have to head back out on the trail to complete the areas they missed. So they got to run bonus miles.
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I love watching races unfolds and capturing images of runners giving their all along the course. My photographs are no glamour shots they are photographs of runners giving their all and busting their buts. My wife is super supportive and encouraging as she cheers on the runners and I hope they get the same feeling from my presence on the course taking photographs and then again when they see the photographs from the race they just busted their ass for. Runners don’t always like seeing me out on the courese because I have a hbbit of being at some of the hardest segments of the course. Areas where they might not be at their best. Areas wher ethey might be struggling. Areas where they might feel weak. Most people think these don’t make the best photographs. I think they are the perfect photographs because it shows them concuring the hardest parts and it is proof of what they can do.
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I love hearing my wife call out words of encouragement to the runners. It reminds me why I love this crazy sport so much. It’s about the people. The people who support us and cheer us, the people who are out there to watch us, the other runners we share time with on the course.
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Check out my first album of photographs of several to come from the race here on Facebook at Kyle Reynolds/KRNaturalPhoto. The photographs are essentially unedited so the great the good, the blurry, and the out of focus photographs are all in there. I want them all to be available to the runners for them to enjoy.
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If you like the work you see here please consider supporting me here on Patreon at KRNaturalPhoto for as little as $1 a month. Thank you.
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Photography, Running, Trail Running

2018 Trailfest at Pinnacle

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Last year the Southern Tier Running Club launched its first trail running event. I was so excited for this and I had to participate by running in the first ever STRC trail race. This year the STRC is launched its second brand new Trail Running event: Trail Fest at Pinnacle. I was equally excited for this event as well. I love seeing our running club grow and provide more events for our members and the rest of the running community. I did not run this event. I was able to be part of it in a different way.

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I started off the day volunteering and helping with race day set up. We had a great crew of volunteers out there making this event happen many of whom put in countless hours before race day. The Trail Fest at Pinnacle consisted of two races. The event kicked off with a 3.5 mile race and then that would be followed by a 7 mile race. Runners had the option of running one or both races.

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As start time for the 3.5 mile race began I took on a different roll. I would be providing race photography for the event. I was able to secure a ride out onto the race course to where I was ensured by our club member who designed the course that I would be able to capture some great images. He was right. It was a great spot. I was able to capture great still photos as well as time lapse footage and long video of the entire race. The best part for me as a photographer was that this location was where the 3.5 and 7 mile courses converged. So I could photograph the 3.5 mile race and then only readjust my set up a little bit and reposition and be able to photograph the 7 mile race without really even having to move much at all. I appreciated this aspect even more as the temperature rose to over 80 degrees.

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Although I loved this location for photographs I am not sure the runners appreciated me being there. For each race I was at the top of a tough climb. I am pretty sure some of the runners wanted to curse at me. No one really wants there photo taken as they struggle up a climb, but for me as a photographer it allows me to show what trail running is really about. It is about the grit and determination it takes to climb those elevation gains that others would avoid. It’s not always fast or fun but grinding out those miles with effort is what makes trail running the sport I love and other people love as well. Photographs might not be traditionally “good” photographs (My thoughts on that here: What IS a “good” Race Photo) but they show the amount of effort runners are putting into the course.

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Even photographing a race I make sure to get photos of a dog.

This year has really been about trying to add new dimensions to my race photography and many of the races I’ve photographed this year have allowed me to do that because of the way they were structured. This one was no different. Never before have I shot such long segments of video and time lapse footage at the same time as photographing a race. Never before have I secured a camera to a tree in order to record video from a different angle. I love being able to do different things for race coverage. I hope other people enjoy the variety of things I provide from races as well. As I am still processing the photographs from the race this post includes some of my favorites so far. Enjoy. I’d love to hear any feedback you have.

life, Running, Trail Running

27 Miles on FLT with Friends

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I have written often about how running has really been this synergy for me that has allowed me to combine many of the things I enjoy together in new ways. I have always loved getting out into nature, but previously I did not know very many people that loved getting out into nature the same way I did. Now that I have connected with and made friends with so many runners who enjoy nature the way I do it has opened up a whole new world of experiences for me. I can now spend hours and hours outside moving through nature with friends.

Previously I decided I wanted to challenge myself to go out on the trails for a long trail run that ended up being 31 miles (For that story you can link here Finger Lakes Trail Run/Hike). I went alone, because I didn’t know anyone else who I thought would enjoy that. After spending more time getting to know other runners. I decided I wanted to go out and try it again and invited some friends for a 26-mile adventure. It went from a solo adventure to a party of three.

 

This year I was already planning to run a trail marathon and a 50k so I hadn’t really thought about planning any independent adventures. Then my friends who accompanied me on the last suggested that I should plan another long run for us. I want to make this very clear for the record. I was asked to plan a long run for us to adventure on. It was Not my idea. Somehow, I always get the “blame” for these crazy running things that people in my orbit tend to be sucked into. So, I undertook the task of developing a plan for a run.

 

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We wanted to run about 26miles. No Further. I was warned. I also wanted this to be a new adventure. We are fortunate to live near the Finger Lakes Trail that traverses most of the southern area of NY. We wanted to explore a new section of the FLT since we had explored one section last time. Part of the challenge of planning this run was the distance and the way the maps are laid out. I am not great at using maps and measuring distances and orienteering etc. On the FLT website, each map section shows its total distance. We knew where we wanted to end so we only had to plot the distance back to where we would start. The problem arose from the fact that the end point was just off of one map section and in the beginning of another map section and not right along the trail. So I had to estimate the distance we would travel on that new map section. Then subtract that from the beginning. If we had been able to stay only on one map section, we would have been able to know exactly how much we would run. Therefore, I subtracted the amount I thought we would run over onto the new map section from the beginning of the map section where we planned most of the run to be. I figured it would be a safe bet if we stated at Birdseye Hollow Park, It was right on the FLT, and we would end in the Sugar Hill State Forest area. Turns out my map skills were off a little bit, about 4 miles, and I would never hear the end of it.

 

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I asked some more of our friends that we knew liked to do some trail running if they would be interested in an adventure that would be part run, part hike and likely take all day traversing 26 miles of the FLT. It turns out there are more people out there that want to explore 26 miles on the Finger Lakes Trail. Our number grew from 3 people last year to 5 people this year.

I am the kind of person who enjoys time alone on the trails be it running, hiking, or photographing nature, but there is something to be said for spending an extended period of time out in nature with friends. My wife and I have always enjoyed camping and hiking together, but now I was becoming part of an expanding group of friends that I can explore the wonders of nature with.

 

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The beginning heading out of Birds Eye Hollow Park was a nice long relatively flat runnable section. We loved finding a really nice lean-to and camping spot during the early portion of the run. We were all anxious to reach the “Food Truck” at the halfway point. Then the never ending climbing started. When we reached the Sugar Hill area, we started to be ready to be done, some of us more than others. Then we eventually found the road and called it the finish line.

 

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I have no idea what they are looking at.

Combine running; nature, laughing, talking, and friendship with time, physical challenge, and exhaustion and you are in for a good time. Running, talking, and laughing with your friends while passing through great natural scenery is really a part of life everyone should experience. We weren’t out there to race; we were out there to just have fun and enjoy nature and enjoy each other’s company. I think that this is an aspect that gets lost sometimes in our overly competitive society. Have fun, enjoy the things you enjoy, and find some friends to share it with. I have been very fortunate to meet these friends.

Some of us have a tendency to have some sort of new unfortunate incident on every trail. Some of us get mad at the never-ending trails. Some of us we learned have never-ending song lyrics and dance moves that they let out on the trails. Some of us carry around a camera and photograph it all. Some of us are perfect steady companionship and put up with all the nonsense.

Adirondack Mountains, Adirondacks, Running, Trail Running

Mt Marcy Part 2: Running

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Earlier this year a friend of mine and fellow runner posted online that he wanted to go run up Mount Marcy in the Adirondacks. He wanted to know if anyone would want to go with him. At the time I really knew nothing about what the rout up Mount Marcy was like. But it did sound like an interesting idea.

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I went to the Adirondacks with the idea in the back of my mind that I would possibly try to run up a mountain and that I would maybe even attempt it at Mount Marcy while I was there. I did get an opportunity to run up a mountain while I was in the Adirondacks, but I did not run up Mount Marcy. After doing a little reading about what the climb up Mount Marcy entailed and some realistic evaluation of my fitness level and running ability I decided it might be rash to just decide I was going to go run up this mountain sight unseen.

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I think that was probably a wise decision. I love trail running, but my weakness is definitely in climbing and Mount Marcy would require significant climbing. I did venture out to Mount Marcy and hike up to the summit. A journey that I highly recommend to anyone. While I was out on the trail Multiple groups of people ran past me on the trails. They passed me on their way up while I was working my way up to the top.  I was hoping that they would take long enough to reach the top and then hang out at the summit long enough that I would get a chance to talk to them when I arrived at teh summit myself.

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However, I would have no such luck. Before I was even clear of the forest and above the tree line the runners came back down. I wish I had been ready and was able to get more photos. Two groups completely passed by me before I could get my camera out and ready to get a few shots as they passed out of view. Luckily I was prepared for at least one of the groups and captured some nice images of a group of women running down Mount Marcy.

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When I arrived at the summit I overheard some of the other hikers saying that the runners were part of the Olympic ski team out here training. They were really kicking ass on the trails, both on the way up and on the way down. Granted I did not see them on the steepest rockiest terrain but they were making it look pretty easy running up the trail to the mountain summit.

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After hiking it and getting a little experience on that trail and learning the layout of the trail I think running it may not be out of reach. I think I know many runners that could put on a pretty good run up and down that mountain. I don’t know how much actual running I would do after the first several miles on the ascent, but the descent could be pretty fun. I have been known to organize groups of friends to do some fun (crazy) stuff. Maybe I will have to see if I can find some friends who want to go for a day trip to the Adirondacks and give this running up Mount Marcy thing a try. I am always looking for new experiences and that sure would be one.

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