Hudson Valley Endurance
If you’re looking to challenge yourself physically, while being surrounded by mountains and a welcoming community, look no further than Beacon Endurance and Red Newt Racing, a few of the Hudson Valley’s premier endurance sport organizations. “One of the things we’re known for is putting on challenging races in beautiful places,” said Red Newt Racing Director, Ian Golden.
Red Newt Racing uniquely crafts trail running and mountain races during the spring and summer months, ranging in distances from a half marathon all the way up to a 50 kilometer race.
Golden describes a typical morning of a race as, “A cool morning air, mist rising over the Delaware River, the crunch of leaves underfoot and remaining colors on the sharp hillsides, surrounded by friends for the next 31 miles. Rounding a corner of soft deciduous single-track forest, enveloped by a dense green canopy, when the steep hillside opens up into a waterfall spilling into a deep tight gorge, the smell of water in the air, a historic stone staircase rising along its flank that you’ll soon crest, quads smoking for the culminated effort.”
When it comes to trail and mountain running and racing, the west coast receives a lot of notoriety surrounding the sport, specifically in Colorado. “The Rockies and some parts west may have higher altitudes and a perception of being tougher mountain races, but many of my events, as examples, have greater elevation gain per mile and more technical terrain,” Golden notes.
The challenging and scenic geography that the Hudson Valley boasts allows like-minded individuals to come together and share their passion for endurance sports. Beacon Endurance, a local endurance club specializing in triathlon, organizes training, racing, and workshop events throughout the spring and summer months to continue to expand upon the existing endurance culture in upstate New York. Beacon Endurance founder and CEO, Stephen Heath, created this organization to help like-minded athletes find each other and train together.
He notes, “Everyone swims, runs, and rides at different paces and for different reasons. What we share is a passion to get out there. It’s harder to skip that workout when you know that your friends are waiting for you. That’s why we plan workouts together, and lean on each other for motivation and encouragement.”
Beacon Endurance allows anyone to join and participate, regardless of previous level of experience. This club brings together a community of racers in hopes of helping one another unlock their ultimate potential and attain of their goals, while tapping into a growing culture in the Hudson Valley. The vastly unique landscape gives racers complete access to some incredibly beautiful and peaceful routes.
Golden highlights the uniqueness of endurance sport in this region of the country, “It’s more laid back than some other segments in running, it takes us to and immerses us in beautiful outdoor settings, provides personal challenges where it’s not really about hitting a certain time, and allows us to enjoy a pretty great community of individuals.”
