7 Sisters Trail Race - Holyoke, MA - 5/6/12

I had been looking forward to this race for some time, and I'm sure I will remember it as my favorite race of the year.  Trail running to me is to much more interesting than running on the road.  The 7 Sisters Trail Race is not a race for the faint of heart, or for people looking to see what trail running is all about.  It takes a bit of endurance, stamina, will power and training to do this race sucessfully.

Maybe if you are a 20 something, you can get by without much training, if you are somewhat fit. Last weekend I had run the Lake George Half Marathon and there was no comparison in the level of effort needed. The 7 Sisters Trail Race is at least twice as hard and takes almost twice as long to complete. Naturally the pace of a trail run cannot match a road race, but the 7 Sisters Trail Race is a mountain run on the Holyoke Range escarpment. It is a cliff run for most of the time. You are running on ledges, jumping of rocks, using your hands to help you on the uphill. With 300 runners on the single track course, the trail turns to mud and the rocks get slippery.

     

An innocent looking start

Now 5 years later, I was ready. Although 5 years older, I have done a lot of cross training this year and I knew what to expect on the trail. I wore a lumbar 2 bottle water belt and brought gels to replenish the sugar level in my body. I ran on the flats and the downhills and did a brisk walk on the uphills. I resisted the temptation to push myself too hard because I knew the return trip would take all my energy.

My tactics worked this time around and I was able to run a much better race. I did have my left leg cramp up a bit on the last steep uphill, but I was able to get through it. I thoroughly enjoyed this year's race and feel like I was successful in getting the most out of my body on this run.

And now the crowds

I did make one wrong turn on a downhill stretch shortly before the turn around. Myself and 3 others lost a couple minutes when we went right instead of left on the trail. We quickly realized our mistake and did an about face.

I was hoping the event website would have the results posted by now, but they are still not available. One of my pet peeves is when the results of a timed event aren't posted within 24 hours of the event. It makes me crazy. They know everyone is waiting to see the results. In any case, I heard that this year, there were approximately 310 runners, as opposed to the normal field of about 250. That is great news for the organizers. It did make the course quite crowded for the first mile or two. I started towards the back of the pack and it was awhile before I was able to pass anybody. The course really is narrow and difficult to pass on.

1 minute to the start

I was hoping the event website would have the results posted by now, but they are still not available. One of my pet peeves is when results of a timed event aren't posted within 24 hours of the event. It makes me crazy. They know everyone is waiting to see them. In any case, I heard that this year, there were approximately 310 runners, as opposed to the normal field of about 250. That is great news for the organizers. It did make the course quite crowded for the first mile or two. I started towards the back of the pack and it was awhile before I was able to pass anybody. The course really is narrow and difficult to pass on.

And ther're off!

I carried my GPS unit by water pack and recorded the track. My GPS recorded that the race distance was only 10.1 miles as opposed to 12 miles as advertised. Other people have reported the same thing. Maybe the course really isn't 12 miles. It is also advertised as 3700' of vertical gain. I measured 4500' although that seems a little high. I've included my track at the end of this post. Have others recorded any track information?

My 7 Sisters Trail Race GPS track at EveryTrail