#manitousrevenge

[parentathlete]

Hudson Valley from the climb up Stopple Point. #Catskills of New York. Shot during last weekend's #ManitousRevenge! #mountainrunning #TrailRunning #trailporn #TrailsROC (at Race Report -> BENMURPHYONLINE.com)

[joshuaburns]

Welcome to Silver Hollow Notch aid station! Friendly attendants and a salty cup of noodles go a long way.

[joshuaburns]

The DNS

The big "Did Not Start." I always envisioned this differently. A broken bone or food poisoning the night before the gun goes off. Nope. Totally healthy, well tapered, and motivated with an inability to reach the start line. 

It's been my passion of mine the past few years to aim for a 100 days of skiing. This has transplanted me to the Rockies, Greens, and the Catskills with successfully accomplishing that goal 4 out of the past 6 years. This has incorporated a career path that will allow me to do so. A career that ramps up in the summers filled with long hours, and random destinations that is absolutely rewarding testing both physical and cognitive abilities, but requires the travels of a gypsy with a broken compass. I may not be able to reach the start line, but I sure won't miss the excitement of Manitou's!

Good luck to the stacked field of participants and I'll see all you brave souls at Silver Hollow Notch!

[joshuaburns]

Inaugural Manitou's Revenge Ultra Marathon

This traverse through the Catskills boasts roughly 15K of climbing over the fifty-six mile path that concludes in Phoenicia, New York. The region is known for their Ridge and Valley formations, which becomes evident in the relentless climbs and scrambles followed by pounding descents. The infamous wall of Manitou is the least of your worries with numerous climbs above 3500 feet after the mile 30 Platte Clove aid station. This jaunt through the New York State Forest bags peaks like Twin, Sugarloaf, and Plateau as a portion of the infamous Devil's Path. 

The pleasantly low-key race kicks off near Windham at 5 A.M with the blast of a kazoo by legendary Escarpment race director Dick Vincent. This would commence a day filled with power hikes, steep loose rock sections, mellow loose rock sections, confused weekend warriors, mountain streams, awesome aid station volunteers, beautiful vistas, stinging nettles, good competition, black bears, and a local running scene that made it all come together. 

The mile road section off the start made for a fast lead pack anxious to get to the trail head. For the remainder of the participants, it gave us a solid chance to wake up and stretch it out for the days event. Reaching the first climb up Acra Point I found myself skipping past a few folks while attempting to keep a reserved pace. Along the Escarpment Trail, an aid station attendant mentioned that I had surprisingly moved into third place. It was early, so i tried to remain patient for the day and climbs ahead. By the North Lake aid station I arrived to see second place Ryan Welts filling his bottles with ice. I hung with him for the next few climbs, and then settled back into my own pace. My "long" day started leaving Platte Clove aid station.  I had planned on taking two water bottles from that point forward anticipating the heat of the day. This mistake had me climbing a majority of Twin and all of Sugarloaf with an empty bottle resulting in dropping a position, and sitting at Mink Hollow downing electrolytes and a cup of noodles concoction the aid station attendants thankfully sherpa'ed to that intersection. I'd stuck with Ashley (3rd overall) for the next few climbs up Plateau where on the downhill and up to Edgewood she would eventually gap me. The remainder of the day would be a push on weakened quads. The switchbacks out of Warner Creek and the finally descent off Mount Tremper were no easy feat in the closing miles of the run.

A bunch of comparisons to alternative ultras were thrown out at the finish line comparing terrain, aid station gaps, physical, drop rate, and mental fatigue pleasantly offered by the day's meanderings. Probably best to leave it to exactly what it is. A beast. See you next year!

Special thanks to Charlie and crew for making it happen!!

GPS Track: Manitou's Revenge 2013