New England Green River Marathon: Two states, one race

Running under the covered bridge in 2019

I signed up for this marathon on a whim and a facebook ad.  I have a desire to run one race in 50 states and this one qualifies for either Vermont or New Hampshire per the 50 States Marathon Club rules.  I will most likely not every qualify for Boston, nor do I have the desire to, so, why not enjoy the race experience and get Massachusetts out of the way?

I was able to encourage some of my friends from the Mohegan Striders (AKA "the family") to make a trip from Southeastern Connecticut up to Greenfield, Massachusetts.  The desire to run this marathon was strong, so I continued to check the marathon website to see when registration opened.  Registration closes fast due to the small size of the marathon.  I probably will not runt his marathon again until 2022 or 2023 (thank you, CORONA VIRUS).

I found a sweet AirBnB for the family to rent for the trip (bonus: late check-out!) and confirmed all arrangements with the family. Yeah!!!  Don't expect to find an elaborate listing of hotels to stay in the area. The race is small and you will find something that meets your needs.

The marathon took place on Labor Day weekend in 2019.  Prepare to wake up early to take a bus from the finish line to the starting line at Marlboro College in Vermont. The ride takes about 45 minutes to get to the start. Be prepared to have a chilly start and a tepid finish.  The race is small enough to bring layers to shed and have stashed with the bag drop-off crew at Marlboro college.  There are also plenty of port-a-potties at the start line.  There are a few scattered throughout the race, with the one after the covered bridge being the most popular one (jmho) because I had to wait to relieve myself.

A few things happened on this trip: the family adopted matching sunglasses.  We made an impromptu trip to Sound Runner in Glastonbury because I needed compression sleeves since I outgrew my bright blue pair.  Guess what said "buy me?"  A pair of Goodr OGs in color Nessy's Midnight Orgy.  

The Family: TeamNoTraining and Gigi on race morning

Race day started early (not unusual for a marathon) and a bus ride up to Marlboro College in Vermont.  As I mentioned earlier, it is a chilly start.  The race directors kept the registration around 500.  I think it was capped at 450 in 2019 - but there were not this many finishers.  One of the family members on the trip decided not to run due to an injury (but she biked over 50 miles).  The course is serene and it was well-controlled with the race cap and marathon-only crowd.  Yep, no half runners allowed based on the course design.  There are no out and backs - just a one-way trip from Vermont to Massachusetts.

Covered bridge selfie :)

Not the best selfie... But covered bridge!!!

One of the other bonuses was the packed gravel.  Normally, my legs are beat up with running on pavement. Not so much with this race.  I expected to have pain with the downhill since most of my marathon training involves up and down hills.  You get a lot of that with the packed dirt/gravel.  It is awesome.  

I'm usually social on a race course - take it for what you want, saying hello to a fellow runner is not a bad thing.  Make some small talk and move on.  Gigi and I met a runner who was completing her first marathon after injury.  She did well and has an amazing life story.  

This is also the race where Gigi recommended I see my physician about Exercise-induced bronchospasm.  She and I were in the last couple of miles- where I should be able to handle a faster pace, especially after a comfortable run-walk.  But, I could not handle going beyond an 11-minute mile.  The heart rate would go up and breathing tanked.  This was something I was used to and thought it was normal.  Apparently, this is not normal.  More on that in another blog post.

The marathon was finished in 5 hours, 1 minute, 6.8 seconds.  Gigi was an amazing running partner.  She partied in the back, got puppy cuddles, and encouraged a PR.  The post race party was pretty chill.  Good food, interesting maple-flavored drinks, and beer.

We finished!  Gigi was awesome!!

Curious about the gear, pros and cons? Here is a readers digest synopsis of my experience with this race:

Shoes: Altra Torin 4

Compression: CEP compression sleeves 

Awesome race shirt: Raw Threads flowy tank from the Toy Story 4 collection.  Stretch wanted to let his behind catch up.

Shades: Goodr OGs in Nessy's Midnight Orgy.

Pros: Downhill, no leg or muscle pain (thanks to the packed gravel/dirt), chill post-race party, running on dirt

Cons: Not enough puppy cuddles earlier in the race.

Race injuries: Toe blisters

Rating: Five out of five running shoes.  The family is planning to make this an annual trip!

Is it worth the price? The Asheville Marathon

Finally finished! Need to catch a plane now.

My answer: No.  And here is  why: The race fee and lack of need for police support.

I will admit, I was initially excited to run on the Biltmore estate given that this is a place of American Royalty.  If you live close to Newport, RI, then you can see the expanse of summer manse from families like the Biltmore's, Vanderbilts, and Drexlers.  The race slogan is "run in America's largest back yard."  It is a back yard filled with vineyards, ponds, and gardens.  None of the vineyards are in bloom, nor are the gardens.  I hardly think running through hibernating foliage is worth the race fee: $150.00.

The race expo was held in a hotel outside of the estate.  It was small and well-run. I purchased a pair of lucky socks since the race was held on St. Patrick's day.  The race expo has the usual packet pick-up and an additional station to obtain your shuttle tickets.  Read the fine print with this race: there is a fee you have to pay for being shuttled to and from the estate.  This is in addition to your race fee, folks.

Asheville is a cute southern tourist town with some posh buildings, ambiance of wealth, and funky restaurants.  Caroline and I met up at the airport, went to the expo, then parleyed what to do for dinner.  We agreed on tacos.  Because, tacos.  We had dinner at the White Duck Taco Shop where bonus: the pre-race beverage was a Cheerwine slushie.  I considered this a win being a southerner displaced in the northeast.  There are some southern-isms I miss that cannot be found above the Mason-Dixon line.  But digressing, the food was great as well as the beverages.

Fast forward to race day, and here is where things go awry (at least in my humble opinion).  Caroline and I wake at our usual 2 hours before the race, get ready to embark to the shuttles about an hour and a half before we need to be at the start.  The bus ride was not so bad- it was a usual state of quiet except for the diesel motor changing pitch as we ride through the estate.  Keep in mind this race starts as spring is starting so it is off to a cold start.  The down side: there are not many places to access a toilet or warmth at this point. Hello shivering for an hour.  Side note: I wore layers to shed and was too cold.  We eventually found a covered are with propane heaters to hover around until it was time to walk to the starting line.  There were several announcements (nothing unusual) about the race, then came the request to make donations to support the post run beer.  OH HELL NO, they did not!  I just paid how much to run, no police support needed, a portion of the race fee is a donation, and you want me to donate more?  No.

Pre-race selfie.  Sooo cold!

The first few miles of the race were not so bad.  There are a lot of  out and back loops.  No big deal - mapping out a USATF course with exactly 26.2 miles is challenging.  But the off road areas of the course are concerning.  I found the roads on the back portion - near the vineyards - to be too worn from work vehicles.  They were so uneven that I treated them as if I was running a technical trail.  One of the portions of the trail had bulky gravel - I tripped several times because I lost footing. 

I also missed my original flight because I thought I could run faster than I planned.  There were limited options leaving Asheville. 

Breakdown of the expenses:

Race Fee: $150

Shuttle Fee: $20

Airfare: $500 + $150 fee to change flights

Hotel (split): $125

Rental (split): $40

Dining: $100

Running gear purchased: $50

Airport Parking: ??? Cannot remember if I flew out of Hartford or Boston

Total estimated cost: $1100 - $1200 plus donations for the post race beer 😉

Curious about the gear, pros and cons? Here is a readers digest synopsis of my experience with this race:

Shoes: Topo Flylite 2

Compression: Sleeve purchased off a large internet retailer.  Last use for this one! My legs are now too big. 😂

Pros: Race swag: great long-sleeved t-shirt and buff/gaiter.

Cons: cost, uneven dirt roads, asking for donations for the post-race beer, cost, lack of warmth pre-race, limited flight options to Asheville.

Race injuries: Recurring shin splints and toe blisters.

Rating: 2 out of 5 running shoes because of the cost, limited flight options, continual requests for donations, need to purchase additional shuttle tickets to enter and exit the estate, and lack of warm areas pre-race.