Race Preview: Mountain Madness 50K

Let me tell you something - the opportunity for a mid-October 50K through the New Jersey Highlands - is not something to miss. And when that 50K's starting line is less than 10 minutes from home and on the trails I run most often, well, I'd better have a very good reason to miss it.

But I don't have a good reason, so tomorrow morning I'll be toeing the starting line of the Mountain Madness 50K in Ringwood, NJ. And like I said, I'm really excited about this one. I love running on these trails. They're the perfect amount of rocky & technical as single-track can get. Runnable but challenging. And, from the looks of the course, they're taking full advantage of the hilly topography that this area has to offer.



The only challenging factor about this race for a fat slowpoke like me is that, because of the topography, the 8.5 hour time limit might be a bit tough. I'm hoping my rather extensive experience running in this area will make up for that. Weather looks fun, too. It snowed here on Thursday (Oct 15th!) and the mercury hit 32 on my drive home from work. Saturday doesn't look like it'll be quite that cold but the weather isn't going to be bright and sunny either. No matter, as long as it's not muddy like Vermont, I think I'll be happy to be out there.

I don't think live results will be available online, but if you're in the area you might want to come out and watch a little of the race! And, I believe there's still time to register for the 50K or 7.77 mile option if anyone feels up for it! Hope to see you there!

New entries for Steve's blog are published every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 10:00am NY time and can be seen at http://www.tursi.com