Triennial Finger Lakes Trail Relay XI

Yes, we've been at it since 1981. Host team ATROCIOUS was pleased to welcome you to the original, only, mother of all trail events -- Triennial XI!

Race date was 17 September 2011. Scratch start stage 1E 0730. Projected finish 1709 at Schuyler County Veterans' Memorial Park (on NY228 near CR10).

Raw results as a Excel spreadsheet

In the raw (i.e. uncooked) results, the two action-figure teams were only separated by one point, 20 for the Hooded Cobras, 21 for the Adventive Weevils, the main separation being on stage 4E (O'Dea vs. Dzikovzi aka "where is the f***ing trail?"). The middle group was Aching 8 (36), Atrocious (43 -- two runners badly lost), and the appropriately-named but hard-running Over the Hill Gang (47). Near the bottom end were Bottom Feeder (57) -- not really living up to their name, getting better with age -- Newt Nation and the T.U.R.D.S. aka Joe's harem (both 58), Mighty Isis (59, first all-female team), and Too Beer Determined aka Hash House Harriers (60). And bringing up the rear, despite their provocative outfits, Mighty Artemis (69),

Cooked results TBA..

• Catherine the Great (out-standing performance): Liz Brundage
• Admiral de Ruyter (clean sweep): Yvette de Boer
• Eager Virgin: Just Nora
• Timothy Leary (long, VERY strange trip): Ann Curran
• more TBA...

The committee met in its bathtub several times and went on fact-finding missions to the Heavenly Mountains, the Jurassic Coast, Indian Pass, Calamity Brook, Blodgett Canyon, Mount Sentinal, South Danby, Shindagin Hollow, Connecticut Hill, Lick Brook, and Sugar Hill. We held high-level talks with Kim Jong Il and asked a psychic to channel Joe Dabes. After due deliberation, for this 30th anniversary we decided to stick to the tried-and-true format with a few wrinkles to keep everyone on their toes.

1. We added a beautiful section of trail, from Sugar Hill Fire Tower (Schuyler County) downhill to Vanzandt Hollow Road FLT crossing (start of stage 1W in Tri X), otherwise the same length of trail as Tri X. Total trail length is 87.6 miles according to the latest FLTC maps as certified by Joe Dabes wearing his GPS hat (also allows him to channel instructions from aliens).
2. There will be eight stages
3. Finish will be at the Schuyler County Veterans' Memorial Park (on NY228 near CR10), from two directions:
   • East to West, starting at NY79 (Caroline). This includes Shindagin, S Danby, Lick Brook, Treman Park, Connecticut Hill, and Cayuta Lake. Five stages, 56.5 miles
   • West to East, starting at Sugar Hill Fire Tower, using a short connecting trail to reach the FLT. This includes Van Zandt Hollow, Watkins Glen, Excelsior Glen, Burdett, Satterley Hill, Burnt Hill, Bennettsburg, and Texas Hollow. Three stages, 31.1 miles.
   Post-race party at the excellent Bleachers Sports Bar in Watkins Glen.
4. Older/female runners start earlier than scratch time, according to Joe Dabes' handicap tables.
5. Cross-country scoring, points deducted or added according to the rulebook.
6. Additional rules to be announced one week before the event -- hint: make sure to have your copy of the official FLT maps
7. Starts of the final sections will be set so that, in theory, both sections finish together (the "simultaneous orgasm" idea).

This is a participation event and is only for well-conditioned, experienced trail runners. Fitness of the runner to finish their stage (physical condition and trail racing experience) was the responsbility of the team captain, organizers take no responsibility.

Qualifying: Although the Finger Lakes Trail is open to any pedestrian (except on Feb 7), all runners who take part in this participation run must either (1) completed a stage in any previous Triennial; (2) completed a FLRC or similar trail race of 15km or more since Triennial X, at a pace of at least 8kph (5 mph); (3) completed a run-through of the part of the FLT they plan to run on race day in the past year at this pace. These standards are to ensure that all runners knew the reality of trail running in the Finger Lakes.

The course: The Finger Lakes Trail is described on maps M14 through M18 (5 sheets), available from the Finger Lakes Trail Conference, 6111 Visitor Center Road, Mt Morris, NY 14510, or order at their web site. They have GPS'd the entire trail and will sell these also. But the trail is not static...

The trail on the ground is what must be followed; there may be re-routings not shown on the map. The main FLT is marked with white blazes, double blazes indicating a turn ahead. Road crossings are marked by yellow and green FLT signs. Marking is generally good, but there may be recent events such as treefall, logging, floods, and latter-day landowners who have cut off access that make the trail difficult to follow. If at all possible, participants should have pre-run the part of the trail they will run on race day. Make sure to check out the latest trail conditions from the FLTC!

Support: Teams must support themselves -- this is a participation run. Organizers will provide starters, recorders, and roving monitors.

• 1E (13.5 miles, total climb 479 m, net -52 m): start at NY79 in Caroline (Tompkins-Tioga line); scratch start 0730
• 2E (11.5 miles, total climb 320 m, net 61 m): start at Ridgway Rd. just E of Coddington; scratch start 1000
• 3E (10 miles, total climb 101 m, net -253 m): start at Michigan Hollow Rd (Diane's Crossing)); scratch start 1200
• 4E (11.6 miles, total climb 613 m, net 506 m): start at Shady Corners NY 13/34/96 fisherman's parking area; scratch start 1345
• 5E (9.9 miles, total climb 67 m, net -229 m): start at FLT at Connecticut Hill fire tower; scratch start 1600
• 1W (10.5 miles, total climb 30 m, net -491 m): start at Sugar Hill fire tower (follow side trail to main FLT); scratch start 1200
• 2W (12.5 miles, total climb 515 m, net 204 m): start at W side of bridge across Watkins Creek at lower entrance to Watkins Glen State Park; scratch start 1400
• 3W (8.1 miles, total climb 311 m, net 55 m): start at corner of NY79 and South Rd in Bennettsburg; scratch start 1615

All the staging points are included in a Google Earth file.

Calculate your start time with the handicap tables. Find your age/gender for the appropriate stage, and subtract from the scratch start. Example: a 62-year old male on stage 1W (scratch start 12:00 noon) has a 19:00 handicap, and will start at 11:41.

Calculate your projected finish time according to your fitness/trail running expertise; top condition and experienced athletes should finish at the scratch start plus scratch time. Example: on stage 1W (scratch start 12:00) noon, scratch time is 82:41 minutes, expected finish is thus 13:22:41 in the afternoon. You can multiply this by the proportion of your finish time to the winner in your age division in a similar difficulty trail race, e.g., Virgil Mountain Half-Marathon. Example: Danby Down & Dirty 2004 20~km, winning time 45 year old male 1:37, runner X (also 45) runs 2:03, proportion is 123/97 = 1.27, i.e., 27% slower, his predicted time on stage 1W would be about 104:30 = 1 hr 44 min 30 sec; subtracting his handicap of 5:12 gives a predicted actual finish time of 13:39:18 in the afternoon

Of course, this assumes you don't get lost (Lisa? Ann? Herman?), fall down, hit the wall etc....