Going uphill in cold weather

My sister, who lives in Maine, sent me a message about a race in New Hampshire that her son had entered, and finished in the top 100 out of 1500+ runners.

She also included a video of the race. Looking at the information about the race had me wondering why that many runners would even think about entering this race. The race is sponsored by the Delta Dental Association to raise funds for dental work for individuals that are struggling with extra finances for dental care. It is called the Delta Dental Mount Washington Road Race.

The somewhat misleading information includes, 'There is only one hill.'

What is not mentioned is that the entire race of 7.6 miles is up that one hill.

The grade for the hill is 22%, and if you are a runner, you know that that is a fairly steep hill to run for 7.6 miles.

The difference from the starting line to the finish line in elevation is 4,650 feet. When you think that a mile is 5,280 feet, it means runners are only about a tenth of a mile short of running up one mile in elevation.

The one other PR message for this race is that at the top you will find the worst weather in the area. The video shows the runners start off on the paved two-lane narrow county road in sunny cool temperatures. The video at the top shows a heavy fog, with a visibility of less than 10 yards, and the finish crew are all wearing heavy winter coats and rain gear. The race promoters mention that you will receive a nice flannel blanket to put over your shoulders when you finish. I was thinking a flannel blanket in a temperature where everyone else is wearing down-filled coats and hoods, with big gloves on their hands, is not going to keep me warm after the race.

One of the sponsors from Delta Dental is on camera saying, ”This is a fun race that supports a worthy cause.”

It may be my dislike for running up hills, but I seem to remember that running up a steep hill was anything but fun. And the race director says one of the highlights of the race is finishing in the worst weather in the world, for this part of the state.

How the race will have 1500 runners run this 7.6mile uphill course had me wonder, what were these people thinking.

And looking at a long range view of the runners at the start, showed some senior-aged runners in that group.

The winner for the men’s division finished in 1:00 hour and a few seconds. The winner for the women finished in 1:15 hours. The views of runners finishing later in the race had the time on the clock showing 1:43 hours. And I am sure that there were a good number of runners finishing behind them. The view of runners along the course, showed some weary legs pushing off the pavement, like someone who was nearing the top of the Washington Monument after walking the stairs instead of taking an elevator. I did that exercise when I was younger, and can’t imagine a senior citizen doing something even higher and steeper, in cold and wet weather.

There are runners that like a challenge and will enter the race to accept the challenge. The view of the later runners at the top showed individuals that were exhausted from the effort, but had a smile on their faces, showing that the challenge was worth it. Looking back at races here in Central Texas, two races were considered a hilly course. One was the Better Half Marathon here in San Marcos and the main topic at the end of the race by runners was ‘the hill’ at about mile two. The best part of that hill was that it was early in the race when the legs were still fresh. The bad part of the hill was as a runner was looking ahead and finally reached the top of the hill, only to find another uphill section hidden behind the top. It had to be a discouraging feeling to know there is still more of the hill to run. The other race usually mentioned was the Decker Challenge for one or two loops around the lake. One loop was 11 miles and the “Double” was doing the loop twice for 22 miles. I used to tell runners training for a marathon later in the year that if they could do the double loop of the Decker Challenge they could do any marathon they entered. A runner only has to finish one marathon to say, “Yes, I ran a marathon.”

If you are a runner looking for something different in a race and want a challenge, the Mount Washington race in New Hampshire in June is a good one to put on next year’s race calendar. Check out their web site and know that “only one hill” and “it is a fun race” is a little deceiving for a runner.