I have a knee jerk reaction to looped races. I’ll tell people I don’t like them because they are boring and soulless but deep down I know I’m wrong. Looped races do something that no other trail race can do, and that’s to put all types of people of all abilities running side by side and having fun.
This weekend was the CT Trailmixers Spring Fling 600 race and despite the ‘very British weather’ this was something of the perfect trail race and it all comes down to one person and three essential things that all great races must have, Great Facilities, A superb location and Bottomless Pizza.
About the CT Trailmixers
The CT Trailmixers are a trail running club based in central Connecticut. Their members are passionate about sharing Connecticut’s many wonderful trails with friends and visitors and I’ve met some fantastic people in the last 9 months since I moved here from England (Old).
I’ve run with them on a Beer Loop on the Regicides Trail and also had a large number of them come out and help me this year on my 365 Mile Leatherman Loop Run this year.
Course Description
The course was a roughly three-mile loop with moderately rolling hills and about 250 feet of elevation gain. The race uses the YMCA Southington site so the facilities were great. There was easy parking and a huge sheltered area for runners to leave their gear and stay out of the weather.
The trail was mostly on single-track wooded trails, but included some grass and dirt road sections. Parts of the course were covered with rocks and roots, while other sections were smoother. Due to the rain there were also some sections with some very deep muddy stream crossings which caused an equal amount of horror and hilarity.
The race started with a briefing from the CT Trailmixers founding father and Spring Fling Race Director ‘Michael Lo Presti’ and the National Anthem. It was so wonderfully patriotic I almost expected Janet Jackson would maybe perform at half time*
The runners started at 7.30am to give them enough time to do up to 600 mins (10 hours) to do as many or as few laps as they fancied. Some did 1 lap and some went on to do more than 50 miles. My favorite moment was a guy that ambled up and started around 1.30pm in the afternoon. This was my kind of race. People took breaks between laps to chat and eat and dry off from the rain. The whole thing felt more like a running club social than a race.
The rain and streams and mud churned up the course and people had a couple of very wet muddy stream crossings that were described with equal amounts of horror and hilarity.
The Old Leatherman – CTs Greatest Trail Loop Runner
The looped course also overlapped with Connecticut’s greatest Trail Loop runner of all time. The Old Leatherman used to complete a continuous 365 mile loop in the 1880s which overlapped with the Spring Fling Course. He had many caves to stay in on his route and I had a nerdgasm when I found out one was near Slopers Pond on the course.
I went and found the shelter and stood out in the rain with my back to runners going past while I took gleeful pictures of a large rock. It must have been very puzzling for the people running the course.
Shonas First Ultra
Shona decided to celebrate her up and coming 30th birthday with a ’30 at 30′ by doing her first Ultra Marathon at the Spring Fling. I quickly lost track of her as she flew round and it wasn’t until her 8th lap of 10 that I realized she was leading the women’s field. She finished her 10th lap and her first Ultra in about 5 hrs 40 mins. I was thrilled to see her do so well in such muddy conditions.
Everything that the enthusiastic CT Trailmixers encourage was on show in this race. To have people running one lap side by side with people running over 50 miles is something special. There were children out doing laps with their family and people of all ability enjoying themselves without any pressure other than their own personal goal for the day.
I’ve done a number of races where I’ve spent hours on my own at the back of a trail race and this was the opposite. By keeping the number of runners low ( I reckon about 150) there is also no mad barging or dashing in any bottleneck sections. The race wasn’t even daunted by the rain (I’ve seen a great trail race turn into a disaster due to poor planning and rain at Ragnar Vermont).
Verdict
With a stupidly low price, great facilities and parking and a social event atmosphere this is one of the best running events I’ve seen so far in CT. I cant think of a better place for trail runners to have the chance to set new personal distance or speed records.
You’ll come for the running but stay for the maple bacon.
And I found a cave for my collection so that made me happy.
Location
YMCA Camp Sloper
1000 East St, Southington, CT 06489
You can find out more and sign up for any CT Trailixer event here
Race proceeds will go to a variety of local organizations, including the Southington YMCA and the Connecticut Forest & Parks Association. They will also go to the CT Trailmixers Shoe Scholarship Program, which gives free shoes to kids in need who want to run cross-country or track in school.
*Janet Jackson did not perform at half time, although Terrys Beaver did keep people entertained.
