Trail conditions continue to be mostly ideal as the rain and snow seems to be more off than on - which is a good thing. The 1 inch of snow over night is about all gone and the only rain in the forecast is for light amounts. Never give up on McNaughton! While the trail can be very slick during rain, it tends to pack down and dry out quickly once the rain stops. So, even though the forecasters can not seem to be sure what race weekend will bring, it looks like you will have a good surface on which to run. Yes, there are muddy places and there is water deep enough to get your feet wet - but that's what a wilderness race is about. If you are one that can not handle mud or water, perhaps a road race is more to your liking. My people and I spent a bunch of hours cleaning up the limbs and such getting ready for your run over the weekend and the trail was great. I expect conditions will be just soft enough to not jar your knees yet firm enough to have traction - over at least 90% of the course.
With Andy's announcement of "pulling the plug" after this year, the future of an ultra trail run in McNaughton is still up in the air. There will likely be races here again but this dog doesn't know the details. This web site's license is about to expire as well so this dogs' blog is near the end. I hope to see as many of you as possible this weekend and wish you all the best in your efforts. Thanks for the many head pats and tummy rubs. It has been a true pleasure interacting with all of you.
See you on the trails,
Trailrunner Courage
7 comments:
Thanks for the update. This is very helpful for us who are traveling. Looking forward to seeing everyone and the "nice" trail. - Tony C.
Thanks, Courage, for all the great photos and race reports over the last couple of years. I'll see you out on the trails.
what's the good word, courage and marvin? any more details on andy's announcement that can be voiced on a public forum? we'd all love to see mcN continue.
Trailrunner Courage and human owner/pet:
Thanks for all the updates and other help. Look forward to maybe meeting you in a few days(?)
dirttrailrunner,
With Andy living so far away, it is very understandable that he move his race to a location where he can be hands on. That is what will happen. You will soon see a great ultra trail run in the Vermont area. I expect McNaughton will still host races but without the heart and soul of ULTRA race director Andy, I'm guessing the concept of 100 and 150 mile events fading - but it might still happen. There is just soooo much work to pull off such an event. If one of our local trail runners decides to give it a try, I'm sure he will get a lot of interest and support due to the history of Andy's "child". Most of you don't come to McNaughton just to run a wilderness trail, you come here because Andy and his crew understand you and have been in your shoes. You are truly friends.
Courage
Thanks for all the trail updates over the years! Nice photos too. And a big thank you for helping to clear the trails.
I have to admit that during some of those muddy hill climbs I thought "good riddance" :-)
But yeah, I'll miss it, even if I end up "enjoying" McNaughton in another form or iteration.
ollie
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