Waiting
I wait until 18 hours before the race to register as I track the weather for the Seneca Creek Greenway Trail Marathon/50K. Some rain on Friday, but Saturday's forecast calls for temperatures in the mid-30s to near 50 with blustery winds, but no rain. There is no increased registration fee as the day draws closer, the race is well under its capacity and the registration cut-off is a half hour after the start, so no reason to hurry to sign up. I'll run if the course is muddy, which it often (see my 2019 and 2014 reports), but I won't run in cold rain (unless in Madrid).
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| Waiting to start |
Running
The 230 or so runners gather at the Nut Hatch Pavilion in Seneca Creek State Park for the start and at 0730 we are off down the park road. That helps spread out the field a bit before the turn onto the single track of Long Draught Trail to head south.
The pace is easy and it is a change to become acquainted with one's fellow runners. As we merge onto the Greenway Trail I get chatting with two runners who ran Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim in the Grand Canyon last September. It is an excellent opportunity to get a briefing on the iconic crossing that I plan to do in June, although the plan is to cross from the South Rim to the North Rim, overnight there, and return the next day. The two runners did it all in one day.
Inevitably they pull away from me and I run along chatting with others. The pace is easy and the trail is in excellent shape without mud to speak of. Temperatures are in the upper 30s and the day is a blustery, but the wind largely does not penetrate the woods. Only when the course is along fields is the wind felt, and I take my hat on and off several times as the day progresses.
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| Volunteers at the Route 28 Aid Station |
A pass through the Route 28 aid station (about mile 8) leads to a crossing of the bridge over Great Seneca Creek to the Seneca Bluffs Trail on the west side of the creek. Before long there is a large tree that has been uprooted and toppled across the trail and it requires a bit of scrambling to get around. The forest does not seem particularly vibrant to me, as there is thick undergrowth everywhere, and vines climb on nearly every tree.
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Seneca Bluffs Trail - Note vines strangling trees
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Crossing Dry Seneca Creek is not a problem for me this year. The stepping stones across the creek are well above the creek and I don't suffer from the hesitancy that I had last year. The reach to the first stone seems a bit daunting but I don't hesitate to take the first step into the shallows by the bank even if it results in one wet foot.
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| Trail Marker |
After finishing Seneca Bluffs Trail and crossing over Great Seneca Creek on River Road (mile 13.5) I look forward to the very unofficial aid station just before turning onto the Greenway Trail. But the aid station is not there! No adult beverages for fortification! Alas!
So on I go to toward the aid station at Berryville Road (mile 15). Fewer runners out here now. A woman passes me while I make a phone call, then I pass her back while a pair of males pass us. Getting to Hooker's Branch just before Berryville Road I spot one of the guys trying to maneuver across the stream. I'm feeling light footed and not particularly concerned about getting wet (I have shoes and socks in a drop bag at the aid station if needed). I bound from rock-to-rock and am almost upon his back when I tell him to keep going. One foot gets a bit wet but I'm unconcerned.
I grab some chips and M&Ms at the aid station, miss the peanut and sweet pickle sandwiches, ignore my drop bag and go on. I run the entire section back to the Route 29 aid station alone. Occasionally trees creak in the wind and I wonder if they will topple, but the fear is unfounded.
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| DNF: Upside down and in a tree (miles 7.5 and 19.7) |
At the aid station I drink a cup of Coke, get a handful of chips and go on. I pass, for the second time of the day, the upside skull.
Emaad is waiting for me at Black Rock Mill (mile 21). He has agreed to pace me to the finish. The section on the Seneca Ridge Trail from there to the aid station at Riffle Ford Road (mile 26.8) is one I do not particularly enjoy. I just seems long and lacks any significant landmarks.
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| The Santa Mariachi Shrine |
Except one, For years the Shrine of the Santa Margaritas has been a welcome sight. There are rumors that the shrine has been desecrated and is no longer there. But it is there! And perhaps better than in the past. The saints are wearing new hats and the decorations look fresh. Later I learn that the acolytes and tenders of the shine (Anton and ML) have restored it to its former glory. Indeed, better than its former glory, for it now has six, rather than the former five, saints.
Having paid our devotions at the shrine we proceed. We are now in the company of another five runners, with whom we leapfrog, sometimes ahead, sometimes behind. One is a solo woman runner, and the other two are two pairs of men (waggishly described by Emaad as "the CrossFit guys" and "the Marines").
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Stream crossing near Riffle Ford Road
(photo by E. Burki) |
We are following the red-blazed trail but slowly become aware that we have not seen any of the blue flagging that marks the course. We realize that we haven't seen any since leaving Black Rock Mill. At one point we come to a trail intersection and I plow ahead, but Emaad calls me back. The other runners catch up and there is a brief debate as to the way to go, but the consensus is to stay on Seneca Ridge Trail and follow its red blazes. As we proceed I alternate between "this is familiar" and "this is the not the course."
But finally I settle on "this is familiar" and in a mile or so we reach Riffle Ford Road and the aid station (mile 26.8).
In another mile or so we reach the decision point where one chooses whether to go left to the finish for the "at least a" marathon or go straight for the loop around the lake for the "at least a" 50K. I'm feeling good, and we are at least 40 minutes ahead of the cutoff for starting the 50K loop. Most times this would be a no brainer and I'd go straight. But I don't really like the lake loop and don't feel any desire to do it so I elect for the left turn to the marathon finish.
Results
My GPS reads 29.3 miles, about 1.2 miles longer than the GPS reading in 2021. The course seemed the same except for the unflagged section, which may have led us astray. The GPS tracks from 2021 and 2023 appear to be about the same. Another runner who dropped out at the Riffle Ford Road aid station had 28 miles to that point, consistent with my finishing distance and the longer distance this year. In any case, it is what the race director says it is.
I finish in 7:11:48, good for first, last and only in my age group. I'm the oldest finisher and 63 of 80 overall and 50 of 59 males. There are 117 finishers in the 50K. I collect my wooden coaster finishers' award and a couple of bagged snacks. Then I drive Emaad back to his car at Black Rock Mill and we go off to enjoy a beer and bite to eat.
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| Swag: bib, wooden coaster |
