2020

Harda’ck Fall Running Series Week 2

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The skies were much clearer this week, as the meadows and trails were fully bathed in sun on a beautiful, late autumn afternoon. The overnight lows dropped into the teens in some places, reminding everyone that winter is truly on its way, and the last holdouts who resist turning on their home heating were forced to give in. The early morning sun quickly baked away the night’s frost, and temperatures rose close to 40 degrees by race time.

This week featured a never before seen race course, a course that race director Tyler Magnan discovered this summer and fell in love with. After the tough but relatively short climb up the bottom of the sledding hill, the course gently rolls downward back towards the low point of the course. At this point, the runners took a direct route to the top of Mashtare’s Massacre, the highest point of the XC trail network. It is a nearly continuous climb for about a quarter mile, with only a short flat section for relief. Once at the top, the course is mostly downhill for the next half mile, providing some recovery time before hitting the dragstrip. The dragstrip is a straight shot across the meadows, stretching for about 600 meters. It looks flat, but locals know that running north across the strip is much easier than running south across the strip. Today, we were running south.

In a cruel twist, a steady breeze from the south picked up just before race time, causing many runners to find that running the strip into the wind was more difficult than the climb. Tyler was aware of this risk, knowing a southern wind would suck some of the fun out of this course, but his strong desire to do this course and the lack of wind earlier in the morning perhaps clouded his judgment. Nonetheless, I don’t think it ruined anyone’s day. It was still a beautiful day for some fall running.

42 runners made the start line today. In an extra show of perseverance, Scott Magnan managed to get to the line after his car broke down. He could have bailed on the race, but he found a ride, borrowed a vehicle, and when he got to Hard’ack, he ran straight from the car to the start line, still pinning on his bib as the first racers left the start line. It was great to see the Georgia middle school runners come out in force. Jonah Gorman edged out Matias Citarella to get the win in the 2.5k race. Unbeknownst to them, a vintage tractor trophy was up for grabs. Perhaps Matias would have kicked a little harder if he had known.

Through the first lap of the 5k race, a battle for top honors was shaping up between Joe Frost and St. Albans Nordic board member Brook Hodgeman. Joe pulled away on the 2nd lap, posting a winning time of 21:07. Lurking behind in 3rd place was Damian Bolduc, whose race form improved from last week, but wasn’t quite enough to reel in Brook. Elisabeth Vachon took top honors for the females, finishing 4th overall with a time of 24:05, just ahead of local legend Bill Simmons, who has a perfect 5 for 5 attendance record at this series. The next 3 places were filled out by women, as Laura Schned, Jessica Bolduc, and Jessica Bunce put in strong performances.

Most impressive from the day was the amount of youngsters that tackled the full 5k. There were at least half a dozen middle or elementary school runners who took on the difficult 5k course. The older folks will look on with a mix of enthusiasm and envy as we watch these young runners start to set PRs in huge chunks as they grow older.

After the race, runners were able to enjoy the sunny skies, the company of fellow runners, refreshments from Hannaford, and the ample prize table. One of the younger runners went home with a slick new Salomon jacket, so he can look like a pro.

The final race of the series is coming up on the 14th, and runners will get a slight reprieve, as the course will not go up either side of the massacre. We’ll see what the weather brings. Anything can happen in mid-november.

Results

Keep the Torch Burning

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The following is an account of the annual BFA Citizen’s / Alumni Race held on March 15th, 2020. Authored by Tyler Magnan, it is not just a report about a tiny ski race, but an essay that exemplifies the passion for nordic skiing that lives in this community and is just waiting for an opportunity to blossom into something greater.

2020 BFA Citizen’s / Alumni Race Report

While the rest of the sporting world has been prematurely sent into the offseason, a small group of skiers descended upon a small farm in St. Albans to battle it out and earn the coveted epithet; The Pride of St. Albans.  This special farm tucked away in a cold hollow behind St. Albans Hill grows much more than grass, maples, and Angus beef.  Hundreds of local skiers have taken their first strides in these meadows, and honed their skills on the twisty, hilly tracks through the woods.  The roots of St. Albans nordic grow deeper and deeper on this property with every passing year, and are now older and stronger than many of the maple, birch, and beech trees that populate the landscape.

The warm March weather had taken it’s toll on the snowpack at the Dickinson Farm, closing down about half of the already limited trail network.  A combination of natural geography and snowfarming efforts earlier in the season produced good coverage on what remained.  The 1.25k race loop was groomed beautifully on Saturday afternoon, and with a deep freeze overnight, it was firm and fast, but very skiable.  The attempt to scratch up the surface in the morning was thwarted by a machine with chronic mechanical problems, but the course was deemed good enough for a race.  A touch of lightly falling snow came just before race time, and while it wasn’t enough to soften up the course, it was a welcome sight to see some snowflakes instead of raindrops.

The course started at it’s lowest point in the bottom of the horseshoe, went up, and took a right through the narrow connector and under the sap line, which some spectators graciously held up for the racers so they wouldn’t get clotheslined (or saplined?).  After a very brief flat section, the course headed up Doc’s Hill, steep at first, but mellows out the second half, a great place to gain some ground if you haven’t burned up on the steep section.  At the top of the hill, you enter the woods to do the rolling, twisty middle loop counterclockwise.  Then with a brief section of two way traffic, you wind your way back down the hill through the woods and meadows, under the sap line again, and down to the bottom of the horseshoe. 

About 15 racers took the start line.  Most notable was the presence of Damian Bolduc, Scott Magnan, and Perry Bland.  It was very fitting that these three were on the start line today.  There was every excuse to not show up today, but these are three of the original NWVE club members, and they built the club on the motto that you show up for a ski race anytime, and anywhere.  Anytime I see these three men gathered together, I know I’m in the right place. 

Besides these three, there were many more familiar names in the mix as well as some fresh faces from the high school team.  Other alumni included Tyler Magnan (NWVE), Brook Hodgeman(St Mikes), John Thompson (Castleton), and Meredith Mashtare.  Jessica Bolduc raced as an Alumni-in-law.  The rest of the field was filled out by some devoted high school skiers who show the passion and perseverance necessary to succeed in this beautiful but humbling sport we love.

It was an uphill start, but the fast conditions kept the pack tighter than it normally would be in a race of this size.  By the top of Doc’s hill, things had begun to sort themselves out, with Tyler taking the lead, followed closely by Brook and John.  Behind them was a mix of current BFA team members and alumni including Jacob Tremblay, Ethan Mashtare, Damian, Scott, and Lydia Hodgeman.  Further back, the field spread out quickly, as most were focused on staying on their feet while navigating the technical course in difficult conditions.  On days like this, even the most experienced racer can be swiftly brought down by a small rut or a poor weight shift.  At the front of the race, Tyler soon looked back with disappointment to see that nobody could hang with him, as Brook had some issues with soreness in his shins and resorted to double poling.  John took on the chase, taking 2nd quite comfortably and proving he is very much worthy of the BFA all-star team that was supposed to make an appearance at Craftsbury next weekend.  Things were a bit tighter behind, but Jacob pulled ahead and took a podium for the high school team, while Brook had to double pole into the uphill finish to fend off Ethan and Lydia, who won the women’s title for the first time.  Damian came in shortly after, while Scott, Jessica, Meredith, Perry, first year skier Maya Frost, and a couple more skied strong to the finish, even with no positions to fight for.  

While victory in this race is highly coveted by some, people show up to keep the torch burning; the torch within your soul that lit your passion for the sport, and the torch that brings energy and life into the local nordic community.  Back on November 16th, this community had the honor of hosting the first ski race in New England and possibly North America.  Although it’s nothing to celebrate, we may have also hosted the last race of the season in North America.  Here in St. Albans, the race must go on, and the sport will live on.