Set out Saturday morning to the foothills of the White Mountains in western Maine to run the Moose Pond Half. Small race ~140 in the half, not sure how many in the 5K, I'd guess another 150 or so. Raises money for an adaptive skiing program

I ran this event in its inaugural and 2nd years back in 2012 & 13 but hadn't been back since, primarily because it often conflicts with Seacoast Half. I looked back at my notes in my RA log because I recalled the course is pretty tough hills, so I knew it was going to be a slow time.

After howling wind and rain storms on Thursday and Friday, Saturday was a stunning fall day -- totally clear sky, temps in the high-20s rising to about 40F at race start, and no wind.

Race course is a loop around Moose Pond. Starts and finishes at a ski area, so easy parking at the ski area and packet pickup in the lodge. Course is a bunch of long climbs and then sharp downhills giving back all the elevation you just climbed. It screams even effort over any sort of even pace.

Fashion report...deer hunting season has started, so nothing white since we'll be in rural roads (and it is long past labor day for heaven's sake)...I rummaged in my drawer for an orange or yellow shirt and found the same shirt I wore my last go at this race ("ha -- maybe I can get matching finish photos 6 years later!"); shorts over compression shorts (standard fall stuff), went down the basement and raided the rag bin for a toss shirt.  Shorter version...an old orange race shirt, shorts and a raggedy long sleeve cotton top. Picture Red Green running.

I usually run my half marathons as segments of 5mi, 5mi, 5k. This race I'm mentally managing it as  seg 1=uphill to 6, seg 2= down and up to 10, seg 3 = rolly-polly to finish.

A few quick announcements...primarily about trees down from the recent storms and we're off. Opening 4 miles have some sections on a busy road, running with our backs to the traffic, most uncomfortable as cars and trucks scream by at 50mph. The sun has cleared the hills and it's time to shed the toss shirt and just manage effort. Turn onto rural country road at mile 4, so no longer any traffic to deal with.

After a short flattish segment, we start the climb from 4.5 - 6. I really focus on not using too much toe off in order to hold calf cramps at bay in the late miles. Sections are steep enough that power hiking might be better, but I stick with jogging. It's a solid workout to get to the top, pace is way off for this mile split.

Nearing the top:

Segment 2 has sharp downhills and sharp uphills. I'm not a fast downhill runner, so 4-5 of the runners I've distanced come back by as these miles wind through deep woods. There are two places where trees are down and the race folks have chainsawed a path past for the runners, a nice touch as they could have left it for us to figure out how to navigate. On he other hand, this gets rid of the Honda with out-of-state (read Mass) plates annoyingly hopscotching some runners on the course.

As we cross the south end of Moose Pond at mile 10, there are 4 runners strung out ahead of me. I use the 10 - 11 segment to just log miles. Things feel pretty good overall. So I start upping my effort and get past 2 of the runners. Of the 2 still in sight, one is a guy in a red top I passed climbing at mile 5, but when he went by me between 7 and 8, I thought I'd never see him again.  I gain on the 2 going uphill, they hold station on the flatter sections. Around 12.5 there is enough of a steady climb that I decide to really push to get past, and hope they don't run me down in the last section to the finish chute. It works and I end up with 14 seconds on them. They finish dead even, to the second.  (this is one of the good things about gun timed races...who you're running with is the race order)

Half marathon #65 goes into the books as 28OA, 3AG and 10min slower than the last time I ran this event in 2013.

Nice race milktruck & great color choice for the season.

Paul