Running the Breakneck Point Trail Marathon in Beacon, NY
, 2023-05-15 11:06:41,
While the race attracts local competitors who love a technical trail and gnarly descents, it has also become a magnet for some of the fastest mountain legs in North America as host of the United States Track & Field Trail World Championships and a USA National Team Selection Race for the Trail World Championships in Austria next month. The top two male and female finishers in the trail marathon automatically earn a spot on the National Team for the 45K trail race in Austria, and the first-place finisher receives a cash reward of $1,000 — paid in $1 bills.
The lure of some crisp singles and a spot on the national team brought trail runners from as far as Colorado, Oregon, Texas and Alaska. The half-marathon was part of the elite Golden Trail Championship Series of North America, where trail runners compete in six races across the continent vying for the top positions which also earn prize money and a ticket to Italy for the finale.
The race begins and ends in the heart of Beacon at the University Settlement Camp, an abandoned summer camp for children, which has been preserved by Scenic Hudson (and partially turned into a local disc golf course). It is put on by Ithaca-based Red Newt Racing and sponsored by Salomon, an outdoor apparel brand, as well as USATF which monitors the National Trail Running Team selection and competition process.
Race day
Leading up to the race, runners set up tents in the meadow or parked makeshift van homes on a gravel lot. They did reconnaissance of the course, heated up pasta on cooking stoves and met up with friends.
One glance at the constellation of runners that had gathered as part of the elite competitive field would tell you a few things: 1) Their legs were so strong that the ground seemed like it would whimper as they ran. 2) The unofficial dress code of elite trail runners has more in common with the fashion statement made by “The Dukes of Hazzard” than it does Nike. 3) If you’re not sporting a 70s mustache, you’re not likely to be in the top 10 for men. And 4) Their laid-back attitude does not mean that they won’t crush you on the trails.
Having signed up for the race because it was local and seemed challenging and why-the-heck-not, I went a day early to pick up my bib and get a lay of the land. It became quickly apparent that the description of the…
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