50k & 10k race while the NYC Marathon
November 4th is an important day in the running world. It embodies the day of the emblematic New York City Marathon for this year’s edition. For those avid runners in the Hudson Valley that couldn’t make it to the promised land that the NYC Marathon represents there is another challenge: The Fall Back Into the Trails 50k/10k race.
The main purpose of this race as its description mentions is to get the people moving. “Take advantage of that extra hour of sleep and come out rested and ready to take on the beautiful and challenging trails of the Red Wing Recreation Area in Lagrangeville, NY.” The 1,000+ feet total elevation gain in the trails with a distance of either 10k or an ultramarathon, 50k is the perfect challenge to make the “extra” hour count.
For the 10k, 85 runners signed up and finished. However, the bigger challenge of the ultramarathon, 50k, had 26 registered: 20 finished, 2 did not finished and 4 did not started. Meghan Graham a 23 year old resident of Granier describe herself as a newly runner. Graham started to run as a recreational activity this year and decided to take a chance in challenge herself on a race. “I used to run without time or any kind of measures. I like to take my runs as “me time” to think and exercise. Taking a 10k challenge in the trails made me more consistent and focus to have a reachable goal,” Graham said.
Fran Vaccaro a 44-year-old La Grangeville resident finished the 50k ultramarathon in last place with a time of 9 hours and 34 minutes. Vaccaro had a plan in mind when she decided to finish the ultramarathon on a single day. “I train to finish. Not to be fast or beat anybody but myself,” Vaccaro said. She came last, but had the chearings of the crowd for finishing the 50 kilometers challenge.
Handmade medals and t-shirts were given to every participant as a souvenir of their commitment. Steven Estremera one of the coordinators of the race highlighted the reward feeling that helps to continue to do this kind of races. “Looking at everyone’s face when they cross the finish line is a wonderful feeling. I always wonder what kind of obstacles they have to overcome to be able to finish,” Estremera said.
