Well, the long runs continue to increase in their scale. This weekend the college group (colloquially known as “MNC University”) joined the junior group for the “Triple Crown” loop. This run encompasses three trail networks: Sleepy Hollow, Hinesburg Town Forest, and Carse Hills, and a road route back to the start.
The dirt roads are hilly, the singletrack it rooty and vintage, and the entire run is 18 miles long.
We had a table of snacks, a van full of bikes in case people needed to swap to wheels partway through, and a gathering of 21 athletes lined up and filling the entire parking lot of the Audubon Center in Huntington. It felt less like an MNC training day and more like an actual running event with only a registration form and prize raffle missing.
No bikes were needed, it turned out. Everyone went full run, and compared to the handful of participants last year this felt like totally new scene. Not everyone in this group has rollerskied a ton, and running comes naturally. Others loathe running but crave the double pole workouts and rollerski agility. Here we had an “armada” (as a few of the team described it) strung out like a neon snake along switchbacks and narrow bridges. I believe we’ve entered an era where MNC has the greatest depth and highest level of pure, raw athleticism the club has ever had.
The last mile of 18 was a pretty rapid pace, as four or five jockeyed for the lead and a breakaway formed. Instead of collapsed bodies at the end, everyone milled around on their feet and even jumped into cars to take off for work obligations. Things have come a long way from the days when getting folks to show up to a run longer than an hour was like pulling teeth!
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