Got Shirts?

As runners, we all have tons of race shirts but if you don't have an official Hamilton Area Trail Runs shirt then surely you have room for one more. That's right! The group you love to run with and read about is now offering you a chance to get your very own t-shirt! And it's not just your average cotton tee, no way! We're talking moisture wicking performance fabric here folks complete with the Hamilton Area Trail Runs official logo emblazoned across the chest and the official hamiltonareatrailruns.com URL across the back.

So how do I get one, you ask?

Thanks to the generous offer from our own Butch Cuilla, who is volunteering his manufacturing time and passing the shirts along at cost, you can get yours for just $15! That's right...$15! Or just 1 easy payment of...you guessed it...$15! That's probably less than the price of your last race fee for a better shirt and you don't even have to race to get it!!! To order, send me an email indicating your desired size, choice of men's or women's style, and then just bring your payment to the next group run.

Races...

A couple of reminders about trail races coming up this weekend:

On Saturday evening, the folks at Pretzel City Sports are hosting what promises to be yet another spectacular event. The Dark & Dirty Nightime Trail Run, a 6.6 mile trail run *starts at* 8:00PM out in Reading, PA. It does require that all runners wear a headlamp so if you want in make sure you have, or can borrow, the necessary gear.

On Sunday, the DREGS will be hosting THE GREAT UNDERGROUND TRAIL SERIES #4 - WATCHUNG RESERVATION. This 7 mile unofficial race starts at 1o:00AM and takes place in Watchung, NJ. For you facebook friends, you can also check out the event page at http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/event.php?eid=66116170148.

If you're interested in either of these events leave a comment below, or send me an email, and I'll make sure to hook you up with the rest of the HATR's that are heading out to which ever one you're interested in.

Trailblazing...

For the second week in a row we had one of the lowest turnouts of the winter. Still, compared to last year's numbers 6 people is a lot. I can't help but wonder where the rest of the gang is though? We'll give it a few more weeks before we start calling people out by name (you know who you are!) but barring injury why would you train all winter only to give up just before Spring???

Anyway, the six of us hit the trails at Clayton Saturday and at one point in the middle of the Doctor's Trail Nate noticed a path off the one we were on and said: "I wonder where this one goes...I don't think we've ever taken it..." He was right, we had never taken it but we were lucky to have found it. It took us on a nice loop and, of course, since this was Clayton it included some great hillwork. The best part was when it was over because it dumped us right back out to the original spot where we had picked it up at. The meant that while we had just added a newly found, extra, mostly uphill mile loop to the course, we had come out no closer to the finish than we had been when we started in. Good stuff!!!

I'm always amazed at how lost most of us, including me, still get in the trails at Clayton but we always come out feeling better for having put in the hill work. Be sure to check out Charlie's post to see the map of the course we ran along with the elevations, all courtesy of his new Garmin Forerunner 205.

Roll call: Bill S., Bill Y., Cassi, Charlie, Diana, Nate, Terri

An Army of One...

With the snowfall we had today I just couldn't pass up the chance to trail test the Kahtoola MICROSpikes I picked up a few weeks ago. I had ordered them for the Ugly Mudder, but realized afterwards that it was going to be a much different race from Chilly Cheeks so I didn't get to use them. Anyway, I put them on today and hit the trails at Mercer County Park all by my lonesome.

I started out at our usual meeting spot, put the spikes on, and headed out cautiously not really knowing what to expect. The bike path had been plowed but was covered in ice. The spikes worked great and I had no problems at all keeping my footing there. I then headed into the snow covered trails and found about 4 inches or so of fresh powder there to greet me. It was very different running the trails when they were snow covered. At some points I had deer prints to follow but had to be careful not to follow them too closely because the deer don't really stick to the beaten path. A couple of times I found myself off the trail and had to cut back over snow covered brush to get back on track. At least I didn't have to worry about slipping though because the spikes continued to work flawlessly. I took the trails up to the boat house and decided to head up towards the volleyball courts on the bike path. Then I cut it in to the twirly bird which was damn near impossible to get through because of how covered the trails were. Still, it was very cool just to be out there and I felt pretty safe. Having completed the twirly bird -- except for the sections I ended up cutting unintentionally -- I had enough and decided to turn around.

As I peeled back around the tree line and high stepped it uphill through a couple of snow drifts I couldn't help but recall the scene from Rocky IV where he's running up the mountains in Russia and then I realized...there's no easy way out! So I tucked back into the twirly bird and took it back towards the boat house where I scared a mother and her kids as I crested a small hilltop they had just sled down. I guess they weren't expecting some crazy man to come running up behind them in spikes. Oh well! As I ran downhill behind them I just smiled and told them to have a great time playing in the snow. Afterall, I was.

At this point the spikes were working better than I expected but I still had to give them one more test just to be sure so I headed back into the trails behind the tennis center and decided to climb some real hills. Once again, they provided all the traction I could want and made the snow and ice a non-issue. My legs did feel a little heavy at this point but I think that had more to do with the high stepping through the snow drifts at various point along the way than it did to do with the spikes themselves. As I finished up I sprinted past an old man who was walking over the foot bridge. He gave me a look like I was crazy...I don't know why?

If you couldn't make it out to run in the snow today, take solace in the fact that I was thinking of you all along the way. While I enjoyed the time alone out there today it's definitely more fun running with the group.

Slip-on install...and then no more slipping

Where's the twirly bird?

Time to climb!