(Bimblers) Bluff 50k: After Hennepin, the next race I did was the Bluff in Connecticut.
It was a long drive. The plan was to drive up Friday after work, so there would be more time in connecticut on Saturday to browse around before the race on Sunday, but I had to work late into the evening. Friday night drive was a no-go. Also, I was running low in fund. And extra night at home means saving of an extra night of hotel.
We drove up saturday and took our time. We made stop at the Maryland House Rest area. New York was always trafficky but we made it through. We arrived near evening in Guilford. We had dinner at the best pizza place in Guilford. Then we went for a walk before heading to bed.
I elected the early start with other 8 runners. After the start, it was me alone at the back. I took my time. The trail of the first few miles was rough, and I got lost a few times. That was surprising, because I have done this race the last few years and hardly ever gotten lost. This year was an exception. The trail was well marked but I was tired and usually in deep thought, so my feet just took every wrong trail possible.
We had a fine day weatherwise. Nice and mild but it was a long sleeves day in the 40s. Soon it was warming up.
I ran when I could and walked the rest of the time. Couple hours in, the normal start people caught up. Caroline met me at the first water stop. From there, we climbed the bluff. It was a beautiful day up there.
By noon, I reached the second aid station. I caught up with couple runners who took the early start. Roy a friend from MA was still nowhere in sight. I did not see Roy until a few miles later. From there I walked with him to the next aid station.
Roy took off after getting his water filled. I lollygagged a bit and got some food. Then tried to chase Roy down. My feet were done so I just kept at it. I caught up with some normal start runners. We tried to make it to the next aid station before they closes at 5 pm. I got there at 4:30 and Caroline was there. There maybe 3.5 miles left. So one last push to the finish.
I still made a couple wrong turn. A runner came running back and said, it is not the right way. She claimed she went for at least couple miles down the trail. Her husband came out and looked for her. Together, we turned back around and found the correct trail. Soon we reached the school. I still had to make one wrong turn even though I heard Caroline calling from the hill above, “this way.” Finally, one more backtracking, I made it in around 5:15 pm (total elapsed time 10:11:08). We watched the rest of the runners came in. Roy was like 10-15 mins ahead of me. We took pictures and called it a day.
On the way home, we stopped at a McDonalds in Bronx. Then we spent the night in Jersey before making our way home. I had to work the next day, so I telleworked from Delaware’s Welcome Center, then finally drove the last stretch and arrived back home in the afternoon.
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