Jimmy McCaffrey stands at a green gate in West Rock State Park CT on one of the last days of 2018. With his bobble hat and smile its like being at The Barkley Marathons if it was organised by South Park.

Although its cold outside Its bonkers and utterly brilliant and the perfect antidote to a festive season of food excess. I’m at the ‘Fat Ass 50’ non race and the enthusiasm of the people around me this early in the morning is bordering on the surreal. There is an incestuous overlap from the local runners between the West Rock Ramblers and the CT Trailmixers. I’m here representing the international community and hoping to be fastest Brit.

  The Fat Ass 50 is not a race. Nor is it an event. It revels in the beauty of being a guy going out for a run and letting people know his route and if any friends fancy doing some or all of it too then thats a bonus. No Medal. No Winner ….and therefore thankfully no coming last. Just some people on a trail all at the same place.

With a lonely metal gate in a state parkas the start and lap marker its easy to draw comparisons with the dreaded Barkley Marathons, but where Barkley wants runners to suffer The Fat Ass 50 wants everyone to have fun.

West Rock Ramblers Fat Ass 50

The route is casually marked, there is one pile of water and food on a rock in a car park which due to the nature of the loops you pass every once in a while. The West Rock State Park is the second largest state park in CT and it has some very challenging rocky trails. The Regicides Trail which runs along it has become one of my favourite daily runs here.  The elevation and rocks mean that for an average trail runner you struggle to do more than 4 miles per hour.  I wheezed around at about 3 mph as a terrified Brit used to the smooth rolling hills of the UK.  I’ve come to call the rocks and boulders on the CT trails as ‘Gods Gravel’. The local runners hit these trails like they are being chased by a Bear. It makes me feel sick to see the speed they fly over the rocks. 

West Rock Ramblers Fat Ass 50

The beauty of this event is its simplicity. Its fun because there is no pressure. Pick your distance, change your mind , amble along and chat. Whatever suits you works just fine. 

West Rock Ramblers Fat Ass 50

The non race race had no real start. People turned up when they did and set off at various paces. The beauty with the figure of 8 loops was that all runners of all ability got to meet up on the trail or at the ‘Green Gate’. Jimmy would charge round the course shouting ‘YOU’RE DOING GREEEEEEAT’ at people with his big smile and I would wave back and smile and pretend that I was petrified of twisting my ankle on the rocks.

West Rock Ramblers Fat Ass 50

After a full 25K and one whole lap completed it was clear there was no way I was going to get round again before the sun went down. I’d had a superb day enjoying the scenery and chatting with various new runners I had met so why would I want to spoil that by doing a second lap ? 

Others went out smiling for another lap. I sat at home drinking tea after a hot shower and toasted their fortitude.

Tobias Tello (not yet old enough to vote) ‘won’ the event and had the audacity to go out again in the dark for another 6 miles because apparently 50 k wasn’t enough. Hopefully as he gets older and wiser he will choose tea over trails and not make the adults look bad. PBs were set. Friends were made. Navigation skills were honed the hard way.

This event was everything that makes Trail running great, superb scenery and company and the chance to make a dent in my christmas dinner beer belly. 

I’ve often observed with trail running that it’s the people around you that make or break a race, with the scenery or organisation coming secondary. I’ve run some dreadful trails with great people and still enjoyed it ( I’m looking at you Portsmouth Coastal Marathon) but when you get the rare combination of great people, epic trails ( with the safety catch well and truly set to OFF) and a relaxed USA approach to a meet up you get something as great as the Fat Ass 50. I’ll be sure to come back next year to defend my fastest Brit 25k crown.