by Carrie Shafer
I am a trail runner and hiker. This past July, I befriended a marathon runner, Angel, who is also a trail runner. Angel is about 10 years younger than I and a natural-born runner. She loves to run; in fact, she runs almost every day, in any weather. We’ve been running together once a week, after work, since we met last summer. Since that time, we’ve increased our run distance from 3 miles to 6. Generally, we run trails at Flag Pole Hill in the town of Huntingdon. Occasionally, on weekends, we run the rail trail in the town of Alexandria. Angel also has other friends whom she runs with. One of them, Schlise, sometimes joins us for runs.
On Sunday, January 10, Angel texted me about a 5-mile trail race that she and Schlise had both registered for. From the race Web site, I learned that the race was scheduled for 11:00 the following Saturday morning at Greenwood Furnace State Park, Huntingdon County, with registration at 9:30. The online registration deadline was January 8 to guarantee a long-sleeved tech T-shirt; then race day registration would be available. Before the race, runners would get the shirts, as well as free coffee and donuts at the pavilion; then, after the race, they would get hot food at the concession stand (donated by the Standing Stone Coffee Company, the Whipple Dam Store, and Couch’s Subs and Groceries). Free food and a free tech T-shirt! This is tempting, I thought. Races often offer tech T-shirts, but long-sleeved ones are rare.
I decided to contact the race director, Michael Dinsmore, to find out the likelihood of actually getting a shirt at race day registration. He informed me that he had ordered extras. I didn’t have plans that weekend, so I checked the weather for Saturday. Temperatures were expected to be in the 40s. OK, I thought—I’ve run in 40-degree weather, so let’s do this and have a girls’ day.
Angel, Schlise, and I met at 9:30 Saturday morning and drove over together. Angel was pumped for a good, hard race; Schlise was a little under the weather but still up for a run. We parked and went to pavilion 7 to sign in, pick up our race bibs, and get our tech T-shirts (turquoise with a picture of a snowman running). The registration station was manned by the Juniata Striders, a local running group. Runners were each given a goody bag, which Craig Fleming helped provide. We took our bags to the car and checked out the contents: a reflective knit hat or reflective gloves, Carb Boom Energy Gels, a Greenwood Furnace State Park Patch, state forest info, and other items. My friends also got compression running socks (they had registered online instead of on race day).
We strolled over to the race start area to warm up and get into position. Angel introduced us to her friend, George Conrad, who discussed the trail with us. Before the start, Michael Dinsmore thanked all the sponsors and volunteers and noted that we were to follow the pink flagging. He also warned us about a patch of ice near pavilion 8. Then we were off. Angel moved ahead quickly, and I lost sight of her with in the first 2 miles. The ice proved tricky, but I was able to go around it instead of across it. Then we went up a slight hill. I was beginning to wonder whether I’d be able to run the whole way. I pushed myself and picked someone to focus on. Schlise was behind me, going slower because of her cold.
Eventually I settled into my pace, and the trail leveled off a little. There was a man behind me talking to the runners around him. He was in his mid-50s and hadn’t run in years. His son had challenged him that he could not do it. I learned he was from Lewistown and the 2 women running behind me were from Potters Mills and State College. One of the women had a GPS watch and was able to tell us how far we’d gone. I had more experience with trail races and informed them I usually do 3 miles per hour on the trail but 10 minutes per mile on the road. I felt that I was slowing down and they were catching up with me, so I offered to let them pass me—an offer they declined. They liked the pace I was setting, so they decided to stay behind me.
Eventually we came to the switchback up the mountain. Here I stopped running and walked to the top. The 4 of us chatted back and forth about where we’d lived, the weather, our jobs, outdoors activities, and other things. One of them had lived in South Carolina for 7 years, working for the state Fish and Game Commission. A couple had done triathlons; one was an avid mountain biker. The strange thing about chatting while running is that because much of
Our little group ran together for the rest of the race. When we reached the top, the trail leveled off. I pointed out a vista but kept running for my time. The trail was rocky, and making up the time we lost from our uphill climb was difficult. Then the trail headed down the mountain and I picked up my pace. The man from Lewistown jokingly warned us that when we got to the finish line, he would kick it in and blow past us to have a good finish for his son.
We kept a good pace heading back to the finish line at pavilion 7, where Angel, who’d completed the race in 55:01, was waiting for us. I finished in 1:09:38. Our little group congratulated each other and exchanged names; then we went our separate ways. Angel and I headed over to the concession stand to grab some coffee and homemade soup provided by the Friends of Greenwood Furnace; then we headed back to the finish line to wait for Schlise. There, we stood around a little campfire and chatted with a contestant who’d run with his border collie, Reese. Schlise showed up shortly and informed us she’d gone slightly off-course from missing the turn at the bottom of the mountain.
We headed back to the concession stand to get more food; runners were permitted anything on the menu, and I had a hot dog and cookie this time. We then warmed ourselves by the bonfire on the beach and took pictures of the frozen lake.
From the park ranger, we learned that a heated lodge was available for visitors to warm themselves in after the Polar Plunge (scheduled to start at 2 PM), so we checked it out. Benefiting the Burnham YMCA, the Polar Plunge was the centerpiece of Snowfest, with activities including broomball, ice skating, free snowshoe trials, educational programs, a bonfire on the beach, winter camping, and ice harvesting.
Since Angel had childcare only until 2 PM, we didn’t stay for the other activities. It was a good race, and I hope to run it again next year.
The following volunteers assisted with the event:
· From the Standing Stone Trail Club (KTA)
o Joe Clark (trail work/prep and aid station)
o Greg Garthe (map master)
o Jim Garthe (trail work/prep)
o Ken Horting (trail work/prep and aid station)
o Jim Savory (trail work/prep and aid station)
· From the Friends of Greenwood Furnace
o George Conrad (promotion and advertisement)
o Mike Rubano (ran sweep)
o Missy Rubano (concession)
o Joel Yoder (concession)
· The Juniata Valley Striders
o Scott Falkner (timing, registration)
o Stacey Falkner (timing, registration)
o Nate King (registration, timing)
