Eastern New England Trail Race Series

Now that the snow and ice has started to recede from the trails what it is revealing is just how severe the December 11th ice storm in northern Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire really was. If you live in these areas or have had the opportunity to drive through you will see tops of trees snapped off, piles of brush and branches like oversized bird nests along the side of the road, as well as once healthy trees uprooted. For the trail runner and in particular the trail race director the challenge now is to make once passable trails clear and safe for our trail races. In Fitchburg where our club, The North Medford Club, holds its 7Mile Overlook Trail Race the trails that run through Audubon, North County Land Trust, and city property are clogged with limbs and tree trunks. Trails that were visible are now almost impossible to follow or navigate. My first run through some of these trails was very discouraging and was thinking the May 3rd race would have to be postponed. Fortunately, runners and local citizens value this resource enough to have taken the initiative to begin clearing trails on their own. Land Trust managers have orgainzed a clearing party and the Audubon has dedicated two days a week to clearing with chainsaws. Smaller groups have gotten together to work stretches of the course. I am much more optimistic that all will be ready for the day of the race. Every trail race presents its own unique challenge and this one will at the very least allow runners to see just what kind of damage ice can cause. I assume other races have had their own clean up needs. If you are a runner in these areas consider contacting your race director and donate a couple of hours to help clean up. I'm sure it would be greatly appreciated.