Sep 27, 2010

Race Report: Pfalz Point Challenge 2010 - 2:09:07

Mile 2. Photo by Carl Cox

I had a great day in 2007 when I ran the Pfalz Point Challenge 10-miler. It was my first trail race, in an incredible setting, my first introduction to the Mononk Preserve - a place I've returned to many times since to train. I also managed to break two hours that day, which was great. You can read the report here: http://stevetursi.blogspot.com/2007/09/race-report-pfalz-point-challenge.html

Unfortunately, every year that I've been paying attention, the race occurs on the same day as the Vermont 50, and in 2008 and 2009 I opted to do Vermont instead.

Map

Many factors contributed to my decision not to run Vermont this year, most of which was the family obligations that would provide me only half-a-day for a race. I can't tell you how happy I am that I returned to New Paltz in 2010 and ran the Pfalz Point Challenge again. While I'm not exactly thrilled with the result (more than ten minutes slower than my 2007 time), I can say that I really enjoyed myself.

Elevation

After a mile or two, the pack spread out enough that I was alone most of the time. With This American Life in my headphones, I meandered through the trails and Carriage Roads of Mohonk with a smile on my face most of the time. Two hours on those trails felt like 30 minutes. The course is such that any really steep hill is not super long, and any long hill is not super-steep.

Photo by Cathy Cox

Be sure to check out Cathy's Report of the race. It was her first ever trail run. She had an awesome race and a great day!


New entries for Steve's blog are published on Mondays and Thursdays at 10:00am NY time

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