Blue Hills Reservation, MILTON, MA by Howie Breinan.  I had loved the idea of the TARC 50 since last Fall when Bob Crowley set up the new Trail Animals site and announced his plan to create a 19 mile addition to the Trail Animals Don’t Run Boston 50K course to create a 50 miler.  At the time I didn’t give much thought to actually running it, as I have found it hard to get above 20 miles a week for many years.  The Spring gave me new hope, however, as I recorded a string of 30 mile weeks and ran well at the 50K.  As summer rolled around I was able to further increase my mileage and had been averaging about 50 miles for several weeks.  When Bob announced that the “official” first running of the TARC 50 would need to be postponed because of the summer racing schedule (almost everyone was training for or recovering from 100 milers), I decided to make a go of it as an informal run and sought company from others.  On Aug 9,  I joined a large crew on a training run to cover the 19 mile addition, very little of which I had run on.  With the confidence of this training and a favorable long range weather forecast, Stephen Peckiconis and I decided to make a go of it the following Sunday.  Unfortunately, as the week went on the forecast got hotter and hotter, but we had already set the plans and figured we would still make the attempt.

The day started with Stephen and I making our way around the Blue Hills at 6:00 am dropping food, water, and even a little ice.  Our many drops proved critical because we never had to go more than 6 miles without resupply in the hot weather to come.  We pulled into Houghton’s Pond at 6:30, meeting DRB 50K veterans Norm Sheppard and Paul Lanham newcomer Dave Molt for the start.  Norm and Dave were just out for shorter training runs, but Paul wanted to do at least 50 K.  We got off at 6:40 and although it was already warm, it was pretty comfortable without the sun shining on us.  After running this course exclusively in April over the last thirteen years, it didn’t take me long to find out that that there are some differences in the summer.  As I was leading up Hawk Hill, I couldn’t remember where the main trail was.  In April it doesn’t really matter as there are many crisscrossing trails that all lead up to Skyline and any of them work.  However, the one I picked was so overgrown with the summer leaf growth that I couldn’t find the trail easily and we ended up having to push pretty aggressively through the brush.  Mantracker (Tim Reif) found us at the crest of the hill and joined the party for the section east of Rte 28.  The morning proceeded smoothly, but by the time we got to skyline the sun was pretty high and starting to take its toll.  Even at the early aid drops I was taking more time than I had planned to make sure I got plenty of fluids and food in.  After the skyline loop at Headquarters (miles 13 to 16, total time now just under 4 hours) Norm (recovering from Vermont100) and Dave decided they had had enough.  Stephen was also feeling the effects of the heat and decided that the full 50 was not in the cards, but he would stick around to “crew” and keep me company later in the run.  So Paul and I left for the infamously twisty “yellow and green” highlight portions of the 50K course.  I was running pretty conservatively and things were going smoothly, but Paul was already suffering from chafing.   We kept moving slowly and steadily, realizing we were not yet half way and were experiencing the hottest part of the course on the exposed ski hill and trail around Great Blue Hill.  After that point however, the course is mostly shaded so we had some relief some the sun.  Still, with the humidity and dead air, we were very glad we dropped water at both the museum (mile 20) and where the trail nears the road around mile 23.

Just after the mile 23 aid drop, Mantracker2 (Chris Haley) found us.  Chris was getting in his final long run/heat training for Cascade Crest 100 and his company was very welcome.  Chris was the originator of the Trail Animals and instrumental in its revival and laying out the addition to make 50 miles.  It is too bad that Bob Crowley had to miss this run after a change in his plans, as he was the major driver of the club revival and laying of the course.  We got back to HQ at mile 26 in about 6:20 with Stephen there to help and clean up the drop bags.  On the last loop of the 50K Paul was really suffering with the chafing and decided enough was enough.  Chris and I had some confusion over how the last section of the 50K course connected to the new 19 miles and we ended up wasting some time and running a short bonus section.  Stephen met us with a car first for aid, and after the delays we finally crossed the 50K line in 7:50.  Stephen then joined us for the 6 mile Ponkopoag loops, the flattest section of the course.  For me this was quite tough as I was at the longest I have run in 14 years and on the flat section there were fewer hills so fewer walking breaks. The highlight of this section was the crossing of the construction site over the highway.  Compared to the previous week’s training run, the area was more securely blocked off due to the fact that the first section of concrete was completely missing!   After “hopping” the barriers, fences, and caution tape, we had to cross either on the bare steel girder or some wooden ply lain over the open areas.  I chose the girder, figuring that it was more permanent and secure.

When we returned to Houghton’s at mile 37 (about 9:05) Chris left to do some hill repeats and I set out on the final 13 mile loop alone.  I was still running the flats and downs, just pretty slowly.  I felt I had a bad stretch after crossing Rte 28, slowing down even a bit more.  After the previous week’s training run I was confident that I could navigate this section without the map, but like so many others before me in the 50K, the course won.  I know I was looking for the turn from the pipeline to the CCC camp- it should be easy to spot since there is a sign on the tree-  but somehow I missed it.  The next turn also had a sign to the camp, so I took that one.   At that point I didn’t realize that I was running the loop the wrong way.  After some confusion at the end of the loop I realized what was going on and decided to just finish the loop backwards.  The confusion cost a few minutes and caused me to run a section of the pipeline that was not part of the course twice.  Anyone who has done the 50K has probably known this feeling at some point.  Fortunately, this mistake coincided with a pickup in my general energy and demeanor and I actually felt like I moved well from that point on.  After leaving the camp, most of the trail is extremely enjoyable single track or seldom used wider paths.   I stumbled on a couple lounging with a hammock between the poles on the “off trail” lookout from the top of Rattlesnake-  I took a quick look around and didn’t stay long.  I had been anticipating the “both hands and both feet” descent from Rattlesnake Hill since I saw the course design and it didn’t disappoint.  It was a fitting section for 45+ miles into a tough course.   The sky was getting noticeably darker as I ran some of my favorite trails on the course back to Chickatawbut, but the sun was still baking the open field after crossing the road in front of the education center.  I had some tired legs on the long downhill off of Chickatawbut Hill, but the closing adrenaline took care of that after I crossed Rte 28 the last time.  Here I was feeling pretty good and finally, after the long hot day, it felt like it was cooling off.  Stephen ran out to meet me for the last mile and got me to pick it up even more, somewhere I think under 9 minutes for the last mile.

Houghton’s was still mobbed at the finish after 7 pm.  I felt like my quicker pace earned me a little more respect than the slow jog I managed the previous time and a half around the pond hours earlier.  While I had cooled off since mid day, I was still eager to jump in the pond.  That got me thinking back to when people went in the pond after the DRB 50K.  Does anyone lay claim to that or remember others who did it?   I would bet water temp in April was a bit more “refreshing” than my dip into what Stephen said was 76 degree water.

Howie Breinan, creator and RD for the Don’t Run Boston 50K, achieved a feat unique to the ultra community and closed the circle of life with his accomplishment.

On a sweltering and steamy Sunday, Howie set out to be the first person test run and finish the entire TARC 50 Miler course.  He crossed the finish line after 12 hours and 28 minutes of enduring brutal heat conditions and set the course mark to beat.  It only seems appropriate that not  only Breinan -the first 31 miles of the course are the DRB50K -  be the one to attempt this effort but that it be done on the hottest day of the year.  In true Trail Animal style he pierced the heat, got”off track”, recovered and ended strong and in good spirit.  Hid account is below.  Congrats to Howie for again, showing us how we Animals do it right!

Howie Breinan’s account:

Came in feeling strong in 12:28.   I missed the turn to the CCC and ended up
doing the loop backwards plus some bonus pipeline twice (it is a trail
animal race after all, and someone had to do it).   I was able to run the
whole way, overall probably at least as good as the Ponkapoag loop.   I had
a slow stretch from 28 to the CCC, but then picked it up, especially the last 2 miles.  I really enjoyed the section after getting out of the CCC all the way to Chickatawbut.  Had a bit of a tough time from Chick to Rte 28 just because legs were a bit fatigued for a long rocky downhill.  Finally started to feel like I had cooled off some once I left the house of poison ivy.  Stephen ran me in the last 0.88 or so.  Overall it was a really good day for me.  I did jump in the pond… not quite as refreshing as for those in the past who did the same after DRB (can’t remember who…. maybe Craig?)

Stephen Peckiconis also writes:

Howie finished 50 (or more) miles in 12:28, running from 0641-1909 on a day with dew points regularly registering over 70.  I dropped at 16 because 70’s my limit, my body just can’t handle that.  Had thought it would be like Saturday but the temps on Sunday put things over the top.  Howie didn’t seem fazed and a good sign was the he was the only one regularly peeing, processing plenty of fluids.

Paul was there running with Howie through the 50K.  David Molk and Norm Sheppard also started with us.  Like myself, they decided 16mi was a good drop point, as it was a quarter mile from our cars.  Howie’s pace was faster than I expected.

Tim Reif again amazed me by finding us in the middle of nowhere to run for a couple hours.  Chris Haley ran with Howie from approx 28 to 50K, and then he and I ran the
6 mi Ponkapoag loop with Howie.  My favorite part of the course but Howie’s least fave.

After 4pm Howie was on his own, and that included the period from 5pm until Now with the dew point at 72 degrees!  I ran the last mile with Howie and he did it in around 8m30s.

There was some discussion/misunderstanding on the part of the course from 28-37, hopefully Chris Haley or Howie can explain that.

I thought I was drinking well before I dropped.  After that I drank more, rested, went home, drank more, and then weighed myself.  Down 4.5 lbs, or 3% after all that.  Not what I expected.  I think I was using my spring water loss rate and forgot that it just might be a little higher today.  Going to have to learn to drink until it hurts.

To commemorate the running of this weekend’s first attempt of the TARC 50 Miler, member Don Allison offered his reflection on the first running of a 50 miler in the Blue Hills, years before the TARC 50 Miler was conceived.  Don is the author of A Step Beyond: A Definitive Guide To Ultrarunning and past publisher of Ultrarunning Magazine.

Solo Skyline 50 Mile, Circa 2002

By Don Allison

Every Boston area trail ultrarunner knows about the Blue Hills trail reservation, where seemingly endless trails crisscross the 7,000-acre park. Howie Brienan’s Don’t Run Boston 50 Km is an annual rite for ultrarunners in training for the upcoming season of races.

Having begun to train in earnest at the Blue Hills in the late 1990s, I took to occasionally completing a full out-and-back on the blue-blazed Skyline Trail, which cuts nine miles across the spine of the Blue Hills reservation, from abutting Route 93 at the southern end in Canton all the way to the northern end at the skating rink parking lot off Willard Street in Quincy.

I’ve had some epic runs on the Skyline Trail, including actually staging a one-time race, the “BUST” 50 Kilometer (Boston Urban Streets and Trails) in 2002 that ran on roads from downtown Boston to the Quincy Rink, followed by a full out and back on the Skyline Trail. Another time I was caught out on the trail in December, miles from my car, when a fast-moving, raging snowstorm hit, obliterating the trail and reducing visibility to a couple of feet. The wind was measured at more than 60 miles per hour at the weather station that day. On another occasion, I fractured my thumb after a fall on a slippery downhill, losing my eyeglasses in the process. I was for forced to slog back on the trail holding my thumb to stop the bleeding, and then drove to the emergency room, hardly able to see a thing without my eyeglasses!

So in 2002, training for the Angeles Crest 100 Mile (which never happened because of forest fires), I set out at 7:00 a.m. from the Quincy rink parking lot, attempting my longest-ever Blue Hills run. Taking a “vacation” day, I planned the run for a weekday, when the trails would be far less crowded than on a weekend day in the summer.

I completed a full out and back on the Skyline Trail (across 138 and all the way to the end), with a side trip to the auto road (then up and down the road to the top) added in, approximately 21 miles. I felt great, as the air was cool and I was handling the steep climbs easily. I had a radio/MP3 player to keep me company, and was back at my car well before noon, where I took a 10-minute “lunch” break.

By then it had warmed up to typical summer-time conditions, as I set out to repeat what I had just accomplished, an effort that on almost any other day would have been more than enough for a long training effort. With 21 trail miles on my legs, this time the going was a lot tougher, as the climbs that felt easy the first time around were much tougher, especially the long uphill after crossing Route 28, heading north .

I remember stopping at the Mobil service station on route 128 to buy a sports drink; after nearly eight hours on the trail, I was really feeling it. Sitting on the curb, I wondered if I would even be able to make it eight more miles back to my car in Quincy.

However, as I continued I started to revive and was actually feeling good as I neared the car. Calculating that I would need another eight miles to make it an even 50 for the day, I asked myself if I could actually add the four miles out to Route 28 and then back again. Heck, I was going to have to be doing 100 the next month, so I should be able to complete 50 in training, right?

Before I gave myself too much time to think about it, I headed back out on the trail. Funnily, I did not feel all that bad, perhaps because it had cooled down, and because I knew I did not have to go all the way back out to Canton again! At about 7:15, 12 hours and 15 minutes after I started, I emerged at the trailhead, my Skyline Trail 50 Mile completed.

I beat the rush hour traffic on Route 3 in the morning and missed it on the way home too, the commuters having already come and gone. That run turned out to be my peak effort, since the Angeles Crest 100 was cancelled shortly thereafter. I did end up going out to the Olander Park 24 Hour in Ohio, but since that race was run on roads, my extensive trail training was of little use, and I had a poor race. However, I will always have the Skyline 50 Mile to remember.

TARC plans to run the inaugural TARC 50 miler trail race sometime in 2009.  Originally scheduled for the last weekend in August, due to conflicts this date has been postponed to a future date TBD.  We’ll let all TARC members know of the new date via email and Facebook (click to join our TARC Facebook group).

Meantime, if you want to preview the course, you run the entire DRB 50K course (above) and then pick up the last new 19 miles below.  Click here to print out the new 6 mile loop and 13 mile loop and take them with you.   As is the case with DRB50K, there will be no trail markings - just these maps and description.

TARC now has a group on Facebook.  Click on the Facebook logo to the left or simply search on “trail animals” in Facebook to find and join the group.  We will be announcing weekly trail runs there as well as via email in the future and is a great way to meet other members (we are 128 strong).

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