Login | April 26, 2024
Mohican Trail Marathon
PETE GLADDEN
Pete’s World
Published: October 19, 2020
Are you among the vast legion of competitive athletes who have been dealing with race cancellations, one after another, week after week, month after month, all due to the COVID-19 pandemic?
As I’ve written in previous columns, this year’s been unlike anything I’ve ever experienced as a coach, precisely because my clients, all dedicated people who have trained and sweated and planned and scheduled, have had to endure disappointment upon disappointment through this 2020 season.
But hold on, amidst all this doom and gloom I just might have a little sliver of sunshine to tell you about, especially if you’re an Ohio marathoner who’s looking for a real - not virtual - 26.2 with which to end the season.
The shard of sunshine I’m referring to is a locally produced trail marathon that will take place in Loudonville, Ohio on Oct 31st. In addition to the trail marathon, there’s a 100-mile and 50-mile ultra going on at the same time. Yup, there’s a whole lot of trail running about to take place this coming Halloween.
All of this is part of the 31-year-old Mohican Trail 100, a race that has metamorphosed into one of the nation’s premier ultra-marathons. As the fifth oldest ultra-running race in the USA, Mohican was host to the first ever USATF Ultra Running Championship back in 2005.
Now I’m fully aware that my little ray of sunshine here teeters on the “too little too late” side, but I’m throwing it out there for you marathon junkies anyway because I know many of you are just aching to get in an honest to goodness race.
So let’s dive into the most important stuff pertaining to the Mohican event in this year of the COVID virus…the safety measures. First know that the event will be abiding by the states guidelines regarding COVID-19.
“Like the Mohican MTB100 [a 100-mile mountain biking event] held on May 30,” says race director Ryan O’Dell, “The Mohican Trail Run will follow a similar plan, sending small groups of runners off on a giant loop outdoors. There will be drive through packet pickup to prevent congregating, and a suspension of awards and post race activities.”
And second, the aid stations will be run as self serve stations, each containing sealed items from which the runners can choose. Masked aid station volunteers will be on hand to keep the aid stations well stocked with food and water. “We want all runners and volunteers to feel safe,” says O’Dell.
Okay, so with respect to the marathon component of this three-race trail event, you’ll be looking at about 2300 feet of vertical gain - with the steepest grade topping out at 11.7% - and on the other side, you’ll be looking at the very same amount of vertical loss. The marathon course, a single giant loop with aid stations positioned approximately every five miles, will follow a collection of gravel backroads and trails that run through the lush, 5000-acre Mohican State Memorial Forest.
As you can see, this marathon isn’t a cake walk, nor is it a PB (personal best) kind of course, but O’Dell believes it’s still a doable race for those of you who are first time marathoners…IF you’ve put in the proper training time and mileage.
Now I can give you a little perspective on this venue…since I paced (helped) the second place finisher of the Mohican 100-miler back in its inaugural year. There are no really long climbs, but be aware that there’s a host punchy little buggers that can be quite short and steep.
But what I best remember about running through the Mohican wilderness is the wonderful sense of peacefulness and solitude it imparted to me. The area’s remoteness and the beauty of its trails and gravel roads gave me the very real feeling that I was partaking in an exotic wilderness adventure. And to this day I still have vivid memories of myself running down those quiet, ethereal tracks.
Interested in the Mohican Trail Run? Go to http://ombc.net/mohican-100-trail-run/mohican-100-trail-run-general-info for more info.
Curious about the marathon course? Go to https://ridewithgps.com/routes/34259205 for a great interactive map.
Have a happy trail running Halloween.