I finished my last long run today in preparation for my legs in the upcoming Mass Dash relay race. We are tentatively starting off next Saturday morning at 6:00 am from the official starting line at the Mount Greylock visitors center. For those not familiar with Massachusetts, Mount Greylock is the highest point in Massachusetts and the second leg of the relay takes you 3.1 miles up to the summit (3,489 ft above sea level). For a West coast guy, that is not a very high summit. But I am sure my teammate Josh will think it is challenging when he heads up that 4-6% grade.
We were not able to entice enough runners to field a team of 12. So, a couple of us more daring runners have volunteered to log 4 legs. As you probably guessed, I opted to take on 4 legs. This means that I will be running 25.43 miles in total in this race. I have to admit I am a little nervous about being able to do 4 legs on very little sleep. The only comforting thing is that I will have some rest in between legs. I have completed 6 marathons, I am sure I can cover the distance. I am more worried about the heat and humidity during the daylight legs. All I can do is stay hydrated and go for it.
The first of my 4 legs (assuming we start at 6:00 am) will be at 1:30 pm on Saturday afternoon. It will definitely be warmed up by then. My first leg is Leg 11 and covers 6.21 miles and has a net elevation gain of 830 feet. I will be running on Route 112 from just south of Ashfield to Buckland Center. The race director says that this is a beautiful scenic area and very tranquil. Doesn't sound like a bad place to log my first leg.
Ashfield was first settled in 1743 and was officially incorporated in 1765. The town was originally called "Hunttown" for Captain Ephraim Hunt, who died in King William's War, and who had inherited the land as payment for his services. The first permanent settlement was in 1745, by Richard Ellis, an Irish immigrant from the town of Easton. The town was renamed upon reincorporation, although there is debate over its namesake; it is either for the ash trees in the area, or because Governor Bernard had friends in Ashfield, England. Ashfield is the birthplace of prominent director Cecil B. DeMille (whose parents were vacationing in the town at the time). (Quoted from Wikipedia)
Buckland was first settled in 1742 as "No Town," as it was not currently part of either the village of Charlemont or Ashfield, which the land belonged to as one large town. A sawmill was set up that year by Othneil Taylor and Asaph White, and eventually settlement occurred. However, the townspeople did not want to cross the Deerfield River or travel the long distance to Ashfield Village to attend services, so they petitioned the Massachusetts General Court for a separate incorporation. The town was incorporated on April 14, 1779 as Buckland, presumably named for the abundant hunting in the area. (Quoted from Wikipedia)
My second leg is Leg 18 which finishes at UMASS at Amherst. I should be starting this leg around 6:00 pm on Saturday. The leg covers 3.84 miles and has a net elevation gain of 30 feet. The end of this leg is the midway point of the race. They are supposed to have a campfire and "psychedelic Dixieland jazz" band playing there. They will also have food for us which will be helpful. The race directors recommend that teams stop here and rest for a while. There will be showers in the nearby gym that the runners can use. I am not sure what my team is going to do when we get to this point. We will have to see when we get there.
My third leg is Leg 26 and is the longest leg in the Mass Dash. If we don't rest at UMASS, I should be starting this leg around 2:00 am. The race organizers recommend that runners on this leg "take it easy here and enjoy a nice relaxing jog". The leg covers 9.8 miles starting at the Charlton Depot in Charlton. The leg has a net elevation loss of 380 feet.
Charlton was first settled in 1735. It was established as a District separated off from Oxford on January 10, 1755, and became a Town in 1775 by a law that made all Districts into Towns. It was named after Sir Francis Charlton. During the 1800s, farming continued to be the major occupation, but woolen mills were being built along some of the town's brooks by the turn of the twentieth century. The grave of John "Grizzly" Adams is in Charlton. Adams died of meningitis that he had contracted from an open head wound that resulted from an accident while training a monkey on tour with P.T. Barnum in 1860. It is said that P. T. Barnum paid for his tombstone. (Quoted from Wikipedia).
The finishing point of the leg is Lemansky/Rocketland Park in Auburn. Auburn was first settled in 1789 and was officially incorporated in 1808 as the town of Ward, in honor of American Revolution General Artemas Ward. The town changed its name to Auburn in 1837, after the Post Office complained that the name was too similar to the nearby town of Ware. Robert Goddard launched the first liquid-fueled rocket from his Aunt Eiffie's farm in Auburn on March 16, 1926. (Quoted from Wikipedia).
My fourth and final leg will be in Westborough. The leg is Leg 29. I should be starting this leg around 5:00 am on Sunday morning. I suspect that Mara and Nathan won't walk down to see me run by my neighborhood. The leg covers 5.58 miles and has a net elevation loss of 20 feet. The leg finishes at Westborough High School. If all goes well, I will be done running my legs by 6:30am on Sunday morning and then I can cheer on the rest of my team as we finish the last 7 legs.
The race finishes at UMASS Boston which is the home of the JFK Presidential Library. They say we will enjoy food from Domino's Pizza. If we can hit our goal pace of 9:00 minutes per mile, we should be finishing up just after noon on Sunday.
The Mass Dash was ”conceived as a two-day team adventure race with a very significant purpose, the Mass Dash will bring together hundreds of runners, sharing their time, their thoughts and themselves while racing across Massachusetts on a summer weekend, all dedicated to raising awareness and funds to support family, friends and neighbors in the fight against cancer." Each member of my team already donated $84 per member to meet our minimum fund raising requirement for the Dana Farber Cancer Institute's Jimmy Fund. If you are so inclined, please donate to our team. No amount is too small. You can donate by going to this link:
www.active.com/donate/massdash2011/tfrumkin
I will post full race report (assuming I survive) for your enjoyment.
Jun. 19 – 10.10 miles (1:31:38, 9:05 pace)
Jun. 20 – 6.10 miles (56:55, 9:20 pace)
Jun. 30 – 6.20 miles (54:09, 8:44 pace)
Jul. 1 – 6.20 miles (54:02, 8:43 pace)
Jul. 2 – 8.20 miles (1:12:02, 8:41 pace)
Jul. 3 – 10.10 miles (1:29:30, 8:52 pace)
Jul. 4 – 6.10 miles (53:46, 8:49 pace)
Jul. 5 – 3.10 miles (23:22, 7:33 pace) – Speed Work
Jul. 7 – 6.10 miles (53:16, 8:44 pace) – Tempo Run
Jul. 8 – 6.20 miles (54:56, 8:52 pace)
Jul. 9 – 8.10 miles (1:11:27, 8:49 pace)
Total Miles: 76.5 miles
2011 YTD Miles: 810.6 miles
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